Chapter : The Devourer
"Retreat!"
The First Creator's command thundered across existence.
For the first time since Seraph had encountered it, there was unmistakable urgency in its voice.
The Seven Architects didn't hesitate.
They fled.
Not one of them questioned the order.
Not one attempted to continue the fight.
The beings who had ruled countless worlds abandoned everything and rushed toward the collapsing gateway.
Seraph stood frozen.
"They're... running?"
Halo's answer came immediately.
[They're surviving.]
[There's a difference.]
The darkness beyond the gateway moved again.
It wasn't fast.
It didn't need to be.
Space folded around it like paper.
Stars disappeared wherever its shadow passed.
Seraph frowned.
"I can't sense its cultivation."
[Because it doesn't cultivate.]
"What is it?"
Halo hesitated.
Even now, it seemed reluctant to answer.
Finally, it spoke.
[We called it the Devourer.]
Astra continued.
[The First Creator called it the End.]
