Chapter 2537: Story 2538: The Gathering of the Ancient Ones

Darkness spread across the heavens like an endless ocean.

The spiral of black clouds above Blackstone Ridge continued to expand, swallowing the stars one by one. From every corner of the world, faint pillars of silver light pierced the sky, marking places long forgotten by history.

The Devourer lowered its colossal arms.

It did not smile.

It did not roar.

It simply waited.

Its summons had been answered.

Far across the eastern desert, an entire mountain split apart.

A gigantic stone figure slowly opened its silver eyes.

Beneath the frozen glaciers of the northern wastes, another ancient titan stirred within crystal ice older than civilization itself.

Deep below the Endless Sea, monstrous shadows shifted beneath the waves, causing towering tsunamis to race toward distant shores.

Dr. Evelyn Brooks stared at the glowing horizon.

"There are... more."

Her voice trembled.

"So many more."

Arkanis closed his ancient eye for a brief moment.

When he spoke again, sadness echoed within every word.

"The Seven Fallen..."

"...Guardians who became prisoners."

Father Gabriel looked toward the First Prison.

"They were guardians?"

Arkanis answered.

"Long before mankind walked this world, we defended creation against the Endless Darkness."

"But the Darkness could not destroy us."

"It corrupted us."

Victoria listened carefully.

"Then the Devourer was once like you?"

A long silence followed.

Finally, Arkanis replied.

"He was my brother."

The revelation stunned everyone.

Even the Hollow King lowered his head.

"The First Fallen..."

"...and the Devourer..."

"Were brothers?"

Arkanis’s silver eye remained fixed upon the colossal creature.

"His name was Kaelor."

"Once..."

"...he carried the First Light."

The Devourer’s enormous body trembled slightly at the forgotten name.

For the first time, a faint expression crossed its ancient face.

Pain.

Then it vanished beneath endless hunger.

Victoria tightened her grip on the Dawnblade.

"So there is still something left inside him."

Arkanis remained silent.

The Hollow King laughed bitterly.

"There is nothing left."

"I watched him consume entire civilizations."

"I watched kingdoms disappear in silence."

"He cannot be saved."

Roland Thorne stepped forward.

"And yet..."

"You said the same about me."

The Hollow King glared at him but offered no reply.

Suddenly, the Crown of the Black Star began shining brighter than ever before.

The thirteen jewels released streams of golden light that spread across the battlefield.

One by one, they touched every defender.

Then something extraordinary happened.

The survivors’ weapons began to change.

Cole’s rifle became engraved with glowing golden runes.

Lucas’s bow transformed into polished whitewood, its string woven from strands of pure light.

Commander Selene Voss’s twin blades shimmered with radiant edges capable of cutting through darkness itself.

Father Gabriel’s silver cross glowed like a miniature sun.

Dr. Evelyn’s journal floated into the air, its pages filling with ancient knowledge written in golden script.

The Last Sentinel smiled.

"The Crown is no longer choosing one champion."

"It is awakening an army."

Hope spread through the defenders.

They no longer stood as scattered survivors.

They stood as the heirs of the Black Star.

Far beyond the battlefield, however, the silver pillars of light began moving.

One after another, colossal silhouettes emerged from deserts, glaciers, oceans, and forgotten ruins.

Seven ancient beings had answered the Devourer’s call.

Only Arkanis remained imprisoned.

The other six were marching toward Blackstone Ridge.

The ground trembled beneath their distant footsteps.

Victoria looked across the dark horizon where enormous shadows slowly approached.

She raised the Dawnblade high, its white fire burning against the endless night.

"Then we don’t just save this mountain."

She looked at every warrior standing beside her.

"We save the world."

Thousands of voices answered with a single battle cry that echoed across the frontier, challenging the approaching giants as the greatest war in history drew ever closer.