Chapter 81—The Primordial Forge.
Chapter 81—The Primordial Forge.
The blood moon of Sanguis dissolved into a blinding sea of incandescent amber and raw, unrefined elemental static.
When the spatial turbulence of the Floor 4 portal subsided, Kaelen’s squad materialized atop a massive, obsidian plateau hovering over an endless ocean of liquid magma. High above them, colossal floating islands made of jagged basalt and glowing runic gold rotated in slow, majestic orbits. Giant rivers of molten fire and liquid lightning cascaded from the sky, plunging into the fiery abyss below.
---
[WORLD SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT!]
FACTION ’SOVEREIGN’ HAS ASCENDED TO FLOOR 5!
ZONE ENTERED: The Primordial Realm—The Titan’s Forge
HAZARD RATING: EX-GRADE (Extreme Thermal & Elemental Hazard)
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECT: Primal Heat (Passive Elemental Damage for Unprotected Entities)
---
CRACKLE!
The atmospheric pressure was immense. The air hummed with raw, unbridled elemental mana that made the ambient space vibrate like a plucked harp string.
"Incredible..." Ignis gasped, a broad, thrilled grin breaking across his face as his claymore reacted automatically to the environment. The dragon flames around his blade flared twice as bright, feeding on the boundless thermal mana in the air. "Now this is my kind of floor! The elemental density here is off the charts!"
"It’s not just dense, Ignis," Ren warned, his visor rapidly recalibrating as his mapping drones deployed spatial heat shields. "The ambient temperature exceeds 1,200 degrees Celsius. Players without high-tier fire immunity or specialized elemental barriers will suffer thermal combustion in less than thirty seconds."
Lyra stepped up beside Kaelen, slamming her golden staff gently against the obsidian ground.
HUMMMMMMMM!
A shimmering, silver-gold dome of pristine holy light expanded around the squad. The divine aura, bolstered by her sister Elena’s distant blessing, completely insulated the party from the scorching heat and oppressive elemental pressure, turning the air inside the barrier cool and pleasant.
"Thank you, my light," Kaelen purred softly, his dark-gloved hand gently wrapping around Lyra’s fingers. He pulled her close to his side, his dark coat draped comfortably around his shoulders without a single speck of ash or heat damage.
"Always, Kaelen." Lyra smiled warmly, her bright blue eyes reflecting the amber glow of the magma rivers surrounding them.
Ren tapped his wrist gauntlet, projecting a sleek 3D map of Floor 5 into the air between them.
"Floor 5 is known as The Titan’s Forge," Ren explained, highlighting three towering volcanoes linked together by giant golden chains. "It is governed by the Elemental Triumvirate—three Level 165 Primordial Lords made of pure elemental core energy. Unlike previous floors, there are no cities or trade hubs here. It is an open, lawless trial realm."
Tsubaki materialized silently from the shadow of a basalt boulder, holding a dark leather scroll containing localized system data.
"My Lord," Tsubaki reported, sharp and clear. "The arrival of our faction has already alerted the scouts of the Titan Guard—the local elite player alliance that controls the magma highways. Their leader, High General Ignar, has fortified the central bridge leading to the First Arch-Lord’s domain."
Kaelen didn’t immediately reply.
Deep within his soul, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Heavenly Seals resonated in a powerful, synchronized triple pulse. The golden energy beneath his skin hummed violently, locking onto a massive, ancient energy signature resting inside the central volcano—the Caldera of Creation.
---
[HEAVENLY SEAL RESONANCE DETECTED!]
CURRENT PROGRESS: [3 / 7 Heavenly Seals]
TARGET DETECTED: Floor 5 — Caldera of Creation
DISTANCE TO 4TH HEAVENLY SEAL: Central Core Chamber.
---
A cold, amused smile curved Kaelen’s lips as his dark violet eyes flickered with lethal, golden-ringed authority.
’The 4th Heavenly Seal lies at the heart of the Caldera,’ Kaelen thought smoothly, his mind calculating their path with absolute, cold precision. ’More than halfway to the Holy Grail. No mortal player alliance or primordial lord will stall my progress.’
"Kaelen?" Lyra asked softly, looking up into his face with quiet devotion. "What is our command?"
"We march directly to the Caldera," Kaelen commanded, his low velvet voice carrying an absolute, unyielding weight. "Anyone who attempts to block our path will be erased."
An hour later, Kaelen’s group arrived at the Grand Basalt Bridge—a thousand-foot bridge forged from volcanic iron, spanning the massive magma abyss that separated the outer plateau from the central volcano.
Stationed across the bridge was a massive army of over two thousand elite players clad in heavy, flame-enchanted dragon-scale armor—the Titan Guard.
Floating above the bridge gate was a giant, red-bearded Paladin wearing a mantle of solid molten rock—High General Ignar (Level 160).
---
[HOSTILE ENTITY SPOTTED!]
TARGET: High General Ignar—Leader of the Titan Guard (Level 160 Elite)
ARMY SIZE: 2,000 Flame Vanguard Warriors (Level 150 - 155)
DEFENSIVE FORMATION: Iron Citadel Array
---
"HALT, SOVEREIGN KAELEN!" Ignar’s booming voice echoed across the magma sea like crushing thunder. He raised a giant, two-handed warhammer that crackled with white-hot elemental lightning. "We know who you are! We saw what you did to the Radiant Covenant on Floor 2 and the Sanguine Court on Floor 4!"
Ignar pointed his flaming warhammer directly at Kaelen’s chest, his eyes burning with intense combat determination.
"This is Floor 5—the Realm of Primordial Fire!" Ignar bellowed. "Our Iron Citadel Array is buffed by the floor’s core magma! You cannot simply crush us with spatial tricks here! Turn back, or prepare to be burned to ash!"
The two thousand vanguard warriors raised their heavy tower shields in unison, creating a massive, red-hot wall of steel and elemental fire across the bridge.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Ignis laughed out loud, stepping forward while loosening his shoulders. "They think lava gives them an advantage over us? That’s almost cute."
"Their formation relies on a shared elemental link," Ren noted, his gauntlet scanning their defensive network. "Break the central conduit, and the entire two-thousand-man barrier collapses."
Kaelen walked calmly past Ignis and Ren, stopping at the very edge of the basalt bridge. He looked at the two thousand warriors and High General Ignar as if looking at dry leaves waiting to be swept away by the wind.
"You speak of elemental fire," Kaelen purred softly, his low, velvet voice easily cutting through the roaring sound of the magma rivers.
He slowly reached down to his waist, his dark-gloved fingers wrapping around the hilt of the Void Blade.
"You do not understand," Kaelen whispered, a dark, chilling smile gracing his lips as he drew the black blade by two inches.
Pitch-black spatial fractures flared along the steel, absorbing the surrounding heat and light into a terrifying void vortex. "Fire, stone, and stars are merely physical constructs. Space is the canvas they exist upon... and I own the canvas."
SHING!
Kaelen didn’t wait for their defensive array to charge. He swung the void blade in a single, effortless horizontal arc.
"Void Art: Dimensional Severance!"
SKRRRRRRRAASH!
A razor-thin, three-hundred-meter line of pitch-black spatial deletion expanded across the entire Basalt Bridge!
The red-hot tower shields, the flame-enchanted dragon-scale armor, and the iron citadel barrier forged by two thousand elite warriors were cleaved cleanly in half in a fraction of a millisecond!
---
[CRITICAL HIT!]
TARGET: The Titan Guard Vanguard (2,000 Players)
DAMAGE DEALT: 16,800,000 (Pure Spatial Eradication)
DEFENSE NEGATED: 100%!
---
[BATTALION ELIMINATED!]
CASUALTIES: 2,000 Players Defeated Instantly!
Path status: unrestricted!
---
BOOOOOOM!
Two thousand elite players vanished into white death light simultaneously! The thousand-foot iron bridge cracked down the middle, its top half sliding smoothly into the magma abyss below!
High General Ignar stood completely alone on the remaining stone ledge, his massive warhammer cleaved in two, his face drained of all color as cold sweat poured down his forehead despite the 1,200-degree heat.
"One... one swing...?" Ignar stammered, dropping the shattered handle of his warhammer into the ash. "He... he erased two thousand level 150 warriors... with a single swing?."
Kaelen smoothly snapped the Void Blade back into its scabbard.
CLICK.
He stepped across the severed edge of the bridge, his boots floating effortlessly over the open magma void using spatial steps, with Lyra, Tsubaki, Ignis, and Ren following in flawless formation.
As Kaelen walked past the trembling high general, he didn’t even turn his head.
𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
"Tell the Primordial Lords," Kaelen purred softly, his dark voice echoing into the fiery depths of the Caldera of Creation. "Their new sovereign has arrived to claim the 4th seal."