Chapter 14: Echoes in the Veins of the World
The sky hadn't stopped screaming.
Even after the rift had closed, its echo lingered like phantom thunder, rolling through the heavens as if something monstrous had stirred just beyond the veil. Above Nightreach, the fractured moon pulsed faintly with veins of shadowlight—marking the place where Shen Nightfall had called forth Nullbrand and defied the divine order.
The world had changed. Everyone could feel it.
The storm had passed. But it left behind unnatural stillness—the kind that whispered before something worse arrived.
Shen stood in the crater formed by the impact. His coat fluttered in the moonlit wind, torn and smoldered with the ashes of divine flame. Around him, blackened stone still sizzled. The Nullbrand—the god-forged anomaly weapon—rested against his back, humming with quiet hunger.
[System Notice]
Nullbrand Bond Strengthened: 11%
Resonance expanding. Signature detected.
⚠ Divine Surveillance threshold crossed.
He exhaled slowly, his breath misting in the cold. The notification felt… heavier than usual. As if the System itself was strained, carrying messages through some unseen resistance.
He raised his hand. A faint network of glowing marks pulsed beneath his skin—new runes etched directly into his veins by the backlash of activating Nullbrand.
"Still alive," he muttered.
"Impressive," said a soft voice behind him.
He turned sharply.
The girl with the pale eyes was standing on the edge of the crater, her white robes dancing in the wind. Her presence was quiet, yet the world seemed to hold its breath around her.
"You saw it," Shen said.
"I felt it," she replied. "So did others. All across the continent. Possibly across realms."
Shen narrowed his eyes. "You're not just a wandering herbalist, are you?"
She smiled, sad and unreadable. "No one truly is. Especially not here."
Elsewhere — far beyond Nightreach
In a frozen temple buried beneath a shattered star, an ancient being stirred.
A cloaked figure knelt before a burning altar of fractured time.
"The Nullbrand… has awakened."
"So the God-Slayer lives."
Far above, in a throne floating beyond space, a Divine Witness opened their eyes for the first time in millennia.
All across the divine planes, artifacts vibrated. Seals cracked. Old names returned to lips that had forgotten how to speak them.
Back in Nightreach
"Your System isn't ordinary," the girl said, her voice quiet as she stepped down the crater slope toward Shen. "And that sword—Nullbrand—it shouldn't even exist in this era."
"I didn't ask for it," Shen replied.
"But it chose you." She stopped beside him, gazing up at the pale moon. "Do you know what this means?"
"No," he said honestly.
She pointed toward the sky, where the scar from the rift still glowed faintly.
"That wound in the sky? That wasn't just power. That was a statement. The gods will notice. The Hollow Moon Order will respond. And the things that sleep beneath this world…"
She trailed off.
Shen's eyes darkened. "Let them come."
[System Update Received]
New Passive Acquired: "Echoborne"
You are marked by the echo of forbidden power. Divine and Void entities will now feel your presence.
⚠ You are now classified as a "Category: Wyrmbrand Host" by higher realms.
New Quest: The First God That Falls
Objective: Survive the coming hunt.
Optional Objective: Claim the sigil of a fallen god.
Reward: ???
Risk: Infinite.
Shen felt something crack open inside him.
Not pain. Not fear.
But clarity.
The gods would come. The Order would send its champions. This world would bleed. But Shen Nightfall, once left for dead at the bottom of divine hierarchy, now carried the blade that slayed the skies.
He looked toward the girl beside him. "What's your name?"
She hesitated.
"…Nyxria."
He nodded. "Then let's go, Nyxria."
Far above, just past the veil between worlds… something blinked.
A giant eye, lidless and stitched with runes, turned toward the land below.
And it began to watch.