Chapter 15 Above the Rift
1007 Words
Twelfth day after the Night Domain disturbance.
03:00 AM.
All western energy towers of Raven City began to tremble simultaneously.
Not localized fluctuation.
But synchronized resonance.
The city’s central control system issued a red alert:
[Deep Night Domain Rift Expanding]
[Energy Reaction Detected Above A-Class]
The gray-haired man stood at the top of the tower.
For the first time, genuine gravity entered his eyes.
“This isn’t an invasion.”
“The probing phase is over.”
—
Deep within the Night Domain.
The rift stretched like a torn sky.
Purple-black energy surged like a rising tide.
Complex patterns formed across the ground.
Not biological.
Structural.
It resembled a passage—
A conduit.
And above that conduit—
A massive, blurred silhouette hovered.
Unlike previous A-Class entities.
It had no physical body.
Yet the pressure it emitted far surpassed A-Class.
The air warped.
Energy towers began to overload.
—
The academy mobilized urgently.
All A-Class and above were deployed.
The Special Observation Class was forcibly conscripted.
Lucas clenched his fists.
“This is worse than last time.”
Damian stood on the other side.
Calm gaze.
“This isn’t trouble.”
“It’s a prelude to war.”
Ava looked at Leon.
“Where are you now?”
“Fifty percent.”
“Is it enough?”
Leon didn’t answer.
Because he knew—
It wasn’t.
—
Beyond the defensive line.
A-Class hunters jointly expanded their domains in suppression.
The hovering silhouette merely pulsed faintly.
All domains were instantly flattened.
Several A-Class hunters coughed blood and staggered back.
For the first time—
The city truly lost its advantage.
The gray-haired man issued a low command:
“Activate reserve towers.”
“Buy time.”
—
Leon stood in the second wave formation.
The system interface appeared.
[Failure Catalyst: 50%]
The pressure exceeded anything before.
He felt his mental structure compress.
This was not mere power opposition.
This was dimensional disparity.
Lucas stepped to his side.
“Brother.”
“Don’t force it.”
Damian moved to his other side.
“If you fall—”
“We all die.”
Ava inhaled deeply.
“I’ll hold the first wave.”
There was no hesitation in her voice.
Leon looked at them.
For the first time—
He was not alone.
—
The first impact descended.
Invisible pressure crashed like a tidal wave.
The frontline shattered.
A-Class hunters were thrown back.
Leon forced a release.
First.
Failure.
[51%]
Second.
Failure.
[52%]
The reinforcement gained from failure was noticeably smaller now.
He frowned.
The bottleneck had appeared.
Ava’s ice-blue domain covered three meters around him.
“Quick!”
Lucas absorbed the shock head-on.
His shoulder split open again.
Damian’s gravity domain forcefully diverted part of the pressure.
Leon released a third time.
Failure.
[53%]
Mental pain began to spike.
Fourth.
Failure.
[54%]
The hovering silhouette shifted slightly.
As if it had “seen” him.
The pressure doubled.
Fifth.
Failure.
[55%]
The ground collapsed.
Cracks spread across the city towers.
The gray-haired man gripped the railing tightly.
“Thirty more seconds…”
Sixth.
Failure.
[56%]
Blood spilled from Leon’s mouth.
Ava’s voice trembled.
“Stop!”
Leon murmured,
“Almost there.”
Seventh.
Failure.
[57%]
The system flickered abnormally.
[Structural Load Approaching Upper Limit]
Eighth.
Failure.
[58%]
Consciousness began to blur.
Lucas roared,
“That’s enough!”
Ninth.
Failure.
[59%]
The hovering silhouette suddenly released a thin purple energy line—
Aimed directly at Leon’s core.
Ava moved almost instinctively, stepping in front of him.
Her ice-blue domain shattered instantly.
She was blasted away.
In that instant—
Leon’s heart contracted violently.
For the first time—
His emotions truly lost control.
Not calm.
Not calculation.
But anger.
Tenth.
Failure.
[60%]
—
The system interface burst in crimson light.
[Failure Catalyst: 60%]
[Structural Transition Threshold Detected]
Crimson energy no longer formed mere shockwaves.
A semi-transparent energy framework emerged—
Like a skeletal structure—
Overlaying his body.
The prototype of a second form.
Leon opened his eyes.
The world slowed.
The purple energy line became clearly visible in his vision.
He raised his hand.
For the first time—
He caught it barehanded.
The purple energy detonated in his palm.
Silence fell across the battlefield.
The gray-haired man lost his voice.
“This is…”
Not simple amplification.
Structural transformation.
Leon stepped forward.
The crimson skeletal frame extended into a blade.
He slashed toward the silhouette above the rift.
Cracks appeared across the purple-black structure.
For the first time—
The entity emitted something like a resonant hum.
Not pain.
But—
Surprise.
The defensive line’s morale surged.
Lucas stood again.
“One more time!”
Damian gritted his teeth and unleashed everything.
Ava forced herself upright.
Her gaze no longer wavered.
For the first time—
The four truly moved as one.
Leon swung again.
The rift structure was torn open at one corner.
The purple-black silhouette slowly retreated.
Not defeated.
Withdrawing voluntarily.
The rift began to contract.
The pressure dissipated.
The city’s defensive line stabilized.
—
Night returned to stillness.
Everyone was still breathing heavily.
Leon stood at the center of the ruins.
The crimson skeletal frame gradually faded.
The system interface appeared:
[Failure Catalyst: 60%]
[Second Evolution Path Unlocked (Incomplete)]
He knew—
What he had touched just now was only the edge.
True evolution—
Had not yet arrived.
Ava walked up to him.
She said nothing.
She simply embraced him.
Not impulsively.
But to confirm—
He was still here.
Her voice was almost inaudible.
“Don’t carry it alone anymore.”
Leon was silent for a few seconds.
Then replied softly,
“Okay.”
In the distance,
The gray-haired man slowly lowered his communicator.
“Confirmed.”
“A higher-tier entity has reacted to Catalyst.”
An assistant asked quietly,
“Is that good or bad?”
The man’s gaze deepened.
“That depends on—”
“Whether he walks farther than Arthur did.”
Deep within the Night Domain,
the darkness stirred.
A true presence—
Had memorized his aura.
- Writer
