Chapter 205 - 200: The Battle Beneath Ravencross
The first guard reached John before anyone else.
His sword came down hard.
John stepped aside.
The blade struck the stone platform and threw sparks into the air.
John caught the man’s wrist.
One twist.
The sword fell.
A quick strike to the chest sent the guard flying backward.
He crashed into two others.
"Three down!" Aerion shouted.
John looked toward him.
"Already?"
Aerion grinned.
"Four, actually."
He slammed his weapon into another guard and sent him across the cavern.
Darius stood several meters behind them, casting defensive barriers whenever someone got too close.
Sylvara stayed beside him.
Specimen 001 was fighting on the opposite side of the chamber.
And it was terrifying.
The massive creature moved with surprising speed, knocking guards aside without killing them.
But John noticed something.
The creature wasn’t attacking the researchers.
It was protecting the ancient platform.
Every time someone approached it, Specimen 001 intercepted them.
John understood.
It wasn’t fighting for them.
It was trying to stop anyone from reaching the seal.
"Don’t let Veyr near the platform!"
John shouted.
Aerion nodded.
"On it!"
---
Lord Veyr didn’t move.
He simply stood behind his guards and watched.
That bothered John more than the attack itself.
Veyr wasn’t surprised.
He wasn’t afraid.
He was waiting.
John blocked another strike.
Then kicked the attacker away.
His eyes remained on Veyr.
*What is he waiting for?*
A mage raised his staff.
A spell formed.
John rushed him.
The mage released it.
John cut through the spell with his sword.
The magical energy scattered.
The mage stared.
John struck him across the jaw.
He fell unconscious.
Another fighter came from behind.
Lythriel wasn’t there to warn him.
But John sensed the attack.
He turned and blocked.
The impact forced him backward.
The attacker was stronger than the others.
Heavy armor.
Large sword.
Experienced.
John smiled.
"Finally."
The man swung again.
John ducked.
The sword passed over his head.
John drove his shoulder into the man’s stomach.
The man stumbled.
John grabbed his armor and threw him into the ground.
The stone cracked.
The man didn’t get back up.
John looked around.
Most of the guards were down.
But more were coming through the entrance.
"How many people does this guy have?"
Darius answered from behind him.
"Enough!"
John sighed.
"Helpful."
---
Then Veyr finally moved.
He raised one hand.
The guards stopped attacking.
John frowned.
"What?"
Veyr looked at him.
"You are stronger than expected."
John pointed his sword at him.
"You’ve been watching us."
"Yes."
"Then you should know how this ends."
Veyr smiled.
"Do I?"
He snapped his fingers.
A magical pulse traveled through the floor.
John immediately felt it.
The ancient platform responded.
The symbols began glowing brighter.
Darius turned pale.
"He’s activating the seal."
John looked toward Veyr.
"What are you doing?"
"Finishing what my predecessors began."
Veyr walked toward the platform.
Specimen 001 moved to intercept him.
Veyr raised his hand.
A strange spell struck the creature.
Specimen 001 staggered.
John’s eyes narrowed.
The spell wasn’t an attack.
It was a command.
The creature’s body froze.
Veyr smiled.
"You really thought we abandoned our control methods?"
John looked at the broken control core on the creature’s chest.
The old device was gone.
But a faint magical mark had appeared beneath its scales.
Veyr had activated something remotely.
Specimen 001 struggled.
**I... cannot move.**
John looked at it.
"Hang on."
Veyr stepped onto the platform.
John charged.
A barrier appeared.
He struck it.
**BOOM!**
The barrier held.
Veyr looked at him through the translucent wall.
"You still don’t understand."
John hit it again.
"Then explain."
"The creature was never the key."
John froze.
Veyr’s smile returned.
"You were."
---
The cavern went silent.
John stared at him.
"Me?"
"Your presence activated the structure."
Veyr gestured toward the platform.
"We’ve spent years trying to find a compatible energy source."
He looked at John.
"Then you walked into our forest."
John’s grip tightened.
"So you planned this?"
"No."
Veyr laughed.
"That’s the interesting part."
He shook his head.
"We didn’t know you existed."
John didn’t like that answer.
Veyr continued.
"Your mana isn’t like anything we’ve recorded."
Darius looked at John.
"What does he mean?"
"I don’t know."
Veyr answered for him.
"You carry energy from somewhere beyond this world."
John’s expression hardened.
The entity’s words echoed in his head.
*You carry the scent of many worlds.*
Veyr stepped closer.
"Now I understand why the seal responded."
John raised his sword.
"You’re not using me."
"Of course not."
Veyr’s expression changed.
"We’re using what is inside you."
John’s eyes narrowed.
Then he attacked.
---
The barrier shattered.
Veyr barely managed to avoid John’s sword.
The blade cut through his coat.
Veyr stepped backward.
John followed.
"You talk too much."
He swung.
Veyr blocked with a magical shield.
John punched it.
The shield cracked.
Veyr’s eyes widened.
John punched again.
The shield broke.
Veyr was thrown backward.
He rolled across the platform.
John advanced.
"You’re finished."
Veyr stood.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
But he smiled.
"No."
John stopped.
"Why are you smiling?"
Veyr looked toward the center of the platform.
"Because it has already started."
John turned.
The black pool was changing.
The darkness inside it had become a swirling vortex.
The ancient symbols were glowing.
The cavern shook.
Darius shouted.
"John!"
"What?"
"Get away from the platform!"
John moved.
Too late.
A wave of energy erupted.
Everyone was thrown backward.
John hit the ground hard.
His sword slid across the stone.
For several seconds, he couldn’t hear anything.
Then—
**Thump.**
The same heartbeat.
But louder.
**Thump.**
John slowly raised his head.
The vortex was expanding.
A crack appeared in the air above it.
Not a physical crack.
Something deeper.
Like reality itself was splitting.
John stared.
"What the..."
Darius whispered.
"That’s not possible."
"What?"
"That’s not a magical portal."
John looked at him.
"Then what is it?"
Darius swallowed.
"It’s a breach."
---
The crack widened.
Darkness appeared beyond it.
But there was something else.
Stars.
John could see stars through the opening.
Not the sky above Ravencross.
Something much farther away.
Another place.
Another reality.
John’s breathing slowed.
For a moment, he simply stared.
The entity had spoken about many worlds.
Now he was seeing proof.
Veyr laughed.
"Do you see?"
John looked at him.
"You don’t know what you’re doing."
"Perhaps."
Veyr spread his arms.
"But neither do you."
The crack widened again.
A pressure swept through the cavern.
Specimen 001 suddenly broke free from the control spell.
The creature staggered toward John.
**It is coming.**
John looked at the breach.
"What is?"
The creature looked terrified.
**The thing behind the seal.**
Then something moved inside the opening.
John couldn’t see its full shape.
Only a silhouette.
Massive.
Far too large.
It seemed to exist beyond the breach.
The same eye opened again.
But this time, it wasn’t looking at John.
It was looking at Veyr.
Veyr stopped smiling.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared on his face.
"No."
The eye focused on him.
A voice echoed through the cavern.
**You opened the door.**
Veyr stepped backward.
"Wait."
**You called me.**
"I can control the process."
The eye seemed to narrow.
**You cannot control anything.**
The platform cracked.
Veyr fell to one knee.
"No..."
John watched him.
For all his confidence.
All his preparation.
All his plans.
Veyr had finally realized the truth.
He wasn’t the one opening the door.
He was the one who had unlocked it.
---
The breach suddenly pulled inward.
Everything loose in the cavern began moving toward it.
Broken weapons.
Dust.
Pieces of stone.
John grabbed a pillar.
Darius struggled to hold onto the floor.
Aerion dug his weapon into the ground.
Sylvara grabbed Darius.
Specimen 001 resisted the pull with its massive claws.
"Everyone hold on!"
John shouted.
The force increased.
John looked toward the platform.
Veyr was being dragged toward the breach.
He reached for the edge.
"Help me!"
John stared.
Veyr looked at him.
"Please!"
John’s expression didn’t change.
"You brought this here."
"I can stop it!"
"You said that already."
Veyr screamed as the pull intensified.
John could have saved him.
He knew it.
But he also knew Veyr would try to activate the machine again the moment he was free.
John turned away.
Veyr disappeared into the darkness.
His scream faded.
Then—
Silence.
The breach closed.
The cavern stopped shaking.
Everything fell still.
John remained against the pillar.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Darius whispered:
"Is it over?"
John looked at the platform.
The black pool was gone.
The ancient structure had become completely inactive.
"No."
Darius stared at him.
John picked up his sword.
"We’re not done."
---
A sound came from above.
Then another.
The facility was collapsing.
"We need to get out!" Aerion shouted.
John nodded.
"Move!"
They ran.
Specimen 001 followed.
The staircase shook beneath them.
Stone fell from the ceiling.
They reached the sixth floor.
It was already collapsing.
John jumped over a broken section.
Darius nearly fell.
John grabbed him.
"Got you."
"Thanks."
"Don’t mention it."
They continued upward.
On the fifth floor, they found Lythriel.
She was standing near the entrance with the rescued prisoners.
The moment she saw John, relief crossed her face.
"You’re alive."
John smiled.
"Yeah."
"What happened down there?"
John looked back.
"Long story."
She noticed Specimen 001 behind him.
Her eyes widened.
"And who’s that?"
John glanced at the massive creature.
"Longer story."
The creature looked at Lythriel.
She slowly raised a hand.
"Hello."
The creature stared.
Then nodded.
Lythriel blinked.
"It understands."
"Apparently."
The building shook again.
John looked toward the exit.
"We can talk outside."
---
They escaped the facility moments before the entrance collapsed.
The old bathhouse shook violently.
Then the ground beneath it sank.
People in the surrounding streets screamed and ran.
John stood several meters away, watching the building disappear into the earth.
The prisoners were safe.
The facility was destroyed.
But John didn’t feel victorious.
Too much remained unanswered.
Darius approached.
"We need to tell the guild."
John nodded.
"Yes."
"And the authorities."
"Probably."
Lythriel crossed her arms.
"Probably?"
John looked at her.
"We have no idea who else is involved."
Darius sighed.
"He’s right."
Specimen 001 stood quietly behind them.
John looked at the creature.
"You coming with us?"
The creature looked toward the distant Silverwood.
Then back at John.
**I have nowhere else to go.**
John smiled.
"Then you’re coming with us."
Lythriel raised an eyebrow.
"You just adopted a giant monster."
John shrugged.
"Seems that way."
Aerion laughed.
"I like him already."
---
Later that night, they returned to the inn.
The rescued prisoners were being cared for.
The guild had sent people to secure the collapsed site.
Nobody knew the full truth yet.
John sat near the window.
The city was quiet.
Darius placed the remaining documents on the table.
"We still have the names."
John nodded.
"And the locations of the other facilities."
"Yes."
"We’ll deal with them later."
Darius looked at him.
"Later?"
John nodded.
"We need to recover first."
Lythriel smiled.
"Finally, some common sense."
John laughed.
But then he looked toward the night sky.
He remembered the stars beyond the breach.
Another world.
Another reality.
The thing had recognized him.
And somehow...
It had known he wasn’t from this world.
John didn’t know what that meant yet.
He didn’t know whether it was connected to his past.
Or to the strange journey that had brought him here.
But one thing was becoming clear.
His arrival in this world might not have been as random as he thought.
And somewhere beyond reality itself...
Something had noticed him.
John looked at his reflection in the window.
"Who are you?"
For a moment, he thought he heard a whisper.
Not from outside.
From somewhere deep within himself.
**Traveler.**
John’s eyes widened.
Then the feeling disappeared.
He sat there silently.
The Silverwood arc was over.
Project Evolve was broken.
But the mystery behind John’s existence had just become much bigger.
And for the first time, John wondered whether his journey through this world had been leading toward this moment all along.
---
100 ps = 1 extra Chapter
200 ps = 2 Extra Chapter
1 Golden ticket = 3 Extra Chapter