Chapter 443: KAROKAI CRATER

The biting morning wind howled through the towering black stone spires of Karokai Valley.

In the center of the vast, circular basin, Sagiri sat cross-legged upon a flat slab of ancient bedrock, his dark cloak resting beside him on the frozen gravel.

Across his bare chest, shoulders, neck, and jawline, the ink-black markings were glowing with intense, radiant heat.

The dark runes squirmed like living serpents, pulsing with five distinct, vibrant colors that resonated with the primordial stone beneath him. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Deep within his bloodstream, the Five Relics were no longer merely tearing at his veins; they were humming with an ancient, irresistible song.

The Golden Spear, the Beast Horn, the Living Stone Hammer, the Silver Mask, and Nokai were calling for their primordial cradle.

This forgotten northeast valley of primordial bedrock possessed the same deep geological resonance as the ancient foundations of the world.

Sagiri had not fled here solely to die in isolation; he felt the relics pulling him toward this sacred stone, knowing that being grounded in ancient earth gave him his only fighting chance to survive the descent.

"If I am to tame five gods," Sagiri whispered into the freezing wind, his teeth gritted as dark steam rose from his throat, "I must face them where the earth was born."

He reached behind his back, drawing the radiant master blade of Nokai and driving its tip deep into the black bedrock.

BOOM!

A colossal shockwave of pure void energy erupted from the blade, sending towering sheets of pitch-black spatial glass surging into the sky.

The black crystal sheets curved overhead, locking together in an impenetrable, miles-wide hexagonal dome that completely sealed the central basin.

Outside the barrier, colossal titan serpent Zaira pressed her armored snout against the smooth black glass, letting out a heart-wrenching roar of grief as tears ran down her scales.

Inside the dome, the howling wind vanished, replaced by an absolute, suffocating silence.

Sagiri closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the heavy metaphysical weight of the Living Memory dragging his consciousness down into the abyss.

Meanwhile, leagues away to the southwest, morning sunlight broke over the stone dormitories of Galka War Academy.

Lira stirred awake upon her wool blankets, the soft chirping of northern mountain birds filling her quiet room.

She reached out instinctively toward her bedside table to prepare her morning tea, but her fingers touched a small, smooth wooden object.

Lira opened her misty grey eyes and sat up quickly, her breath catching as she lifted the hand-carved wooden shyflower pendant into the morning light.

A sudden, terrifying coldness gripped her chest, and she clutched the wooden blossom tightly in her trembling palm.

"Sagiri..." Lira whispered, her voice trembling as she leaped out of bed and sprinted down the hallway in her white night tunic.

She burst into the common room, finding the entire squad already standing in stunned, frozen silence around the low table.

Kiuga held the open dispatch scroll in his trembling hands, his face pale as he stared at the silver War College commander's insignia resting beside it.

Kaka stood with his fists clenched so tight that his knuckles turned pale, his heavy battleaxe lying untouched upon the cedar floor.

"What does it say?!" Lira cried, rushing to Kiuga's side with tears already brimming in her eyes. "Where is he?!"

"He left during the night," Kiuga answered in a hollow, shaking whisper. "He ordered us to stay at the academy... he transferred his council mandate to City Lord Azir."

"That stubborn, arrogant fool!" Kaka roared, his northern fury exploding as he kicked a heavy wooden chair across the room, smashing it into splinters against the wall.

"He thinks he can just walk away and die alone?!" Kaka bellowed, tears of pure rage spilling down his scarred cheeks. "Squad 25 walks into hell together! We swore that oath in blood!"

Maita gripped the hilts of his daggers, his sharp face tight with fierce, stubborn resolve. "He cannot have gone far on foot. We track him now."

"Wait, did Sagiri go to buy more honey bread?" Ulekai asked, blinking in confusion before seeing the tears on Lira's face and falling silent.

"He didn't go to buy bread, Ulekai," Zolinka choked out, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "He went to face the Archive."

In the doorway of the recovery room, Bukata stood leaning against the wooden frame, his broad chest wrapped in fresh linen as he glared at the dispatch scroll.

"I don't care if my ribs are cracked into ten pieces," Bukata growled, his voice deep and rough. "Saddle the fastest sand-striders. We are going after him."

Lady Kiana stepped forward from the hallway, her dust-rose eyes glowing with sharp, unmistakable silver light.

"He did not go south to Nkara," Kiana announced, pointing her slender finger toward the northeast horizon. "I can feel the void frequency of the Silver Mask pulling toward the mountains."

"The Valley of Karokai," General Zafaru said, stepping into the room alongside Master Sandshade Koru and Marshal Salka. "The ancient gorge of broken stone."

"He was drawn there because the primordial bedrock answers the call of the Five Relics," Koru murmured, his white pupil-less eyes narrowing with ancient understanding. "The boy is trying to anchor himself to the earth's cradle."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Kaka snarled, snatching his battleaxes from the floor with dangerous intensity. "We ride north and tear that mountain open!"

"The Sandshades are already saddled," N'varu declared, stepping into the doorway in full desert scout gear, her twin curved blades ready. "Ten riders and two supply wagons are ready at the lower gate."

Lira clutched the wooden shyflower pendant tightly against her chest, her emerald cellular aura flaring brightly to life around her hands.

"I promised him I would stay by his side," Lira said, her voice trembling but filled with unbreakable resolve. "I am not letting him die in that dark place."

Within minutes, the courtyard of Galka was alive with the thunder of galloping sand-striders and heavy northern warhorses as the rescue force surged through the front gates.

Back in the frozen basin of Karokai, the physical world was fading rapidly from Sagiri's senses.

Sitting motionless on the bedrock, his skin was slowly turning cold and rigid, taking on the dark, crystalline sheen of black obsidian stone.

The ink-black markings across his jaw, neck, and chest had ceased their frantic squirming, setting like frozen glass upon his mortal flesh.

His physical heartbeat slowed to a single, heavy thud every minute, his breathing growing so faint that the air around his lips no longer frosted.

Around the black dome, the ancient bedrock of Karokai hummed in harmony with his bones, providing the fragile anchor he needed to keep his soul from shattering instantly.

Within the deep hexagonal void of his soul, Sagiri fell downward through an infinite ocean of pitch-black cosmic space.

The great trial of the Last Keeper had officially begun.