The silence after the battle was deafening. The ruins trembled, the stench of charred flesh and crumbled stone lingering in the stagnant air.

  The altar—once hidden beneath the blood-soaked battlefield—groaned and opened slowly, as if awakened by the boss’s fall. Ethereal light spilled from its center. From within, fractured chunks of obsidian and glowing symbols emerged—remnants of an ancient system, broken, discarded, and long forgotten.

  Kairyuuha’s expression shifted.

  "No… that system…"

  He took a single step forward, tension radiating from his body. He recognized it immediately—a prototype of the one he once created. The core structure of his life’s most dangerous achievement.

  Kazuki, meanwhile, crouched beside the boss’s fallen body, fingers brushing over the skeletal chest. The moment his hand made contact—

  —darkness erupted.

  It wrapped around his arm like chains, spread up his veins, and slammed him to his knees. His body refused to move. His vision dimmed.

  “Kazuki!” Kairyuuha’s voice cut the silence. Without hesitation, he traced a glowing sigil midair, hurling it toward Kazuki. As the symbol struck him, the chains of shadow shattered.

  Kazuki gasped for breath. But before either of them could act—

  a blinding white light consumed the chamber.

  ---

  Scene Shift: The White Hall of the Custodians

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  Kairyuuha opened his eyes.

  He was seated in a boundless white chamber. Before him sat six throned figures, cloaked in light and etched in celestial gold—the Custodians. The ancient arbiters of magic and fate.

  They clapped slowly, in eerie unison.

  > “You’ve done well, Kairyuuha,” one said.

  “Your system has reshaped the balance,” another added.

  Kairyuuha remained calm, unmoved. “Why am I here?”

  The six glanced at each other. One leaned forward. “Your system is potent… but too selective. Only a few—those in the chosen towns—have received it.”

  Another added, “We wish to change that. We want its ownership transferred—to us.”

  Kairyuuha’s eyes narrowed, unreadable. “And what do I receive in return?”

  The Custodians smiled. “Knowledge. Forbidden and beyond mortal comprehension.”

  A pause. Then a nod.

  A pact was sealed.

  > “Very well. The system is yours.”

  In return, they spoke of Primordial Forces—entities emerging from the void of existence. Forces that wield Time, Death, Reality, and even Elementless Destruction. They would rise soon, and only those who transcended normal systems could stand against them.

  > “You must become stronger, Kairyuuha,” one whispered.

  “For the world will soon kneel or burn.”

  ---

  Scene Shift: The Chamber of Death

  Kazuki blinked awake. He stood in a white expanse—endless and quiet.

  Before him stood a colossal being clad in dark, spiked armor. Shadows flickered around his form like living smoke. His voice echoed like thunder through a cave.

  > “So… you are the one chosen by the Echo.”

  Kazuki stepped back instinctively. “Who are you?”

  > “I am Noctharion. The Undead Lord. Keeper of the Silhouettes of the Fallen.”

  Kazuki’s eyes widened.

  > “Necromancy is not merely summoning corpses. It is copying the essence of the dead—their soul, their strength, their identity—and turning them into loyal soldiers.”

  A sigil pulsed beneath Kazuki. His body froze in place as the power began to surge.

  > “A force stirs, one that seeks to drown the world in everlasting night. I no longer have the strength to stop it. But you… you can.”

  Kazuki hesitated. “Why me?”

  Noctharion gazed deep into him. “Because you carry will. That’s rarer than power.”

  Suddenly, the dark sigil beneath Kazuki ignited. A black screen blinked into existence.

  > System Notification: Skill Unlocked — [Necromancy: Command of the Shadows]

  Kazuki stared, trembling.

  ---

  Final Scene: Unified Resolve

  Back in the white realm, the Custodians turned to Kairyuuha one last time.

  > “With the system now ours, history itself will shift. You will not be remembered as the creator.”

  Kairyuuha nodded. “That is fine.”

  > “Then what will you do now… with your power?”

  —

  In perfect synchrony, the scene shifted—Kazuki and Kairyuuha, standing in their separate realms, but framed as one. Light and shadow intertwined.

  Both opened their mouths at once, voices steady and strong:

  > “We will protect humanity… from what’s to come.”