Chapter 183: Fundamentally Wrong

?A sudden wave of quiet murmuring rippled through the crowd.

?While the experienced Lords didn’t blink, the younger novices looked visibly startled.

?"Consequently, you will be unable to summon additional units, access your personal territory, or utilize standard system interface functions while inside the rift. Whatever forces you bring through this platform are all you will have."

?Cassian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

?’Temporarily cut off from the Lord System.’

?It was a massive restriction.

?A Lord who entered without pre-summoning their army would be stuck relying solely on their personal strength and whatever vanguard units were already at their side.

There would be no emergency reinforcements, no instant supply pulls, and no quick troop replacements through the system interface.

?It transformed force management from a casual numbers game into a brutal war of attrition.

?Around him, the other Lords digested the warning.

?For the veterans, this was standard protocol for deep-rift exploration.

The Association maintained strict briefing procedures for a reason, much like safety instructions aboard passenger airliners in the old era.

?Even if a Lord had heard the speech a hundred times, the legal and operational necessity remained.

?The official waited for the noise to subside before concluding her briefing.

?"Finally, I must remind everyone that our understanding of dimensional rifts remains severely limited, and the Orion Rift is no exception."

?The holographic display shifted, showing theoretical diagrams of fractured dimensions.

?"Certain scholars hypothesize that these rifts open into fragmented pocket dimensions within the Lord System’s domain. Others argue they breach outer realities beyond our cosmos entirely. Neither theory has been proven."

?She lowered her hand, her interface vanishing.

?"Therefore, exercise absolute caution. Do not assume that the climate, the fauna, or even the basic laws of physics within the rift will behave logically."

?Her sharp expression softened into a professional smile.

?"That is all. May your expedition be fruitful, and may you return with glory."

?She stepped back from the lectern.

?Instantly, the station technicians around the perimeter initiated the launch sequence.

?The crystalline pillars surrounding the platform ignited one after another, channeling roaring rivers of blue energy into the runic arrays beneath the Lords’ feet.

The metallic rings began rotating in counter-directional patterns, their ancient symbols blazing with blinding light.

?A deep, hum vibrated through the floorboards of the entire station.

?"Spatial transit sequence initiated!" an officer shouted over the noise.

?Cassian felt the dimensional energy surging beneath his boots.

?Nyxara looked up at him, her purple hair swaying in the rising spatial wind. "My Lord."

?"Hm?"

?"Shall I stay anchored to your side during transit?"

?Cassian offered a calm smile. "Of course. There’s zero reason for us to split up."

?She nodded, her hand gripping the hilt of her weapon.

?The light beneath them exploded into a blinding flash.

?For a fraction of a second, the entire dais was swallowed by a roaring column of azure radiance.

The technicians covered their eyes as the spatial formation hit terminal overload.

?Then—

?WHOOSH!

?Space collapsed in on itself.

?The figures of the assembled Lords distorted into streaks of light as the array tore open a stabilized tunnel, pulling them into the dimensional void.

?An instant later, the massive dais stood completely empty.

?Cassian Voss and the expedition had officially entered the Orion Rift.

....

The moment Cassian and Nyxara materialized, the first thing that greeted them was the suffocating darkness of an underground cavern.

?The surroundings were eerily quiet. Jagged stalactites stretched across the vaulted ceiling, while faintly glowing crystals embedded in the cavern walls provided just enough pale light to reveal the treacherous, uneven terrain.

?However, before either of them could properly evaluate their location, something burst from the shadows.

?A gigantic jaw lunged straight toward them.

?Its mouth opened wide enough to swallow both of them whole, lined with rows of jagged, yellowed teeth.

The creature moved with terrifying speed, its enormous jaws snapping shut before they could even take a single step.

?Yet Cassian didn’t even flinch.

?The shadows beneath his boots surged upward.

?Pitch-black tendrils shot through the air, wrapping tightly around the creature’s massive head and abruptly halting its momentum mid-air.

Its jaws remained locked open inches from Cassian’s face, unable to close despite the tremendous physical force it exerted.

?Nyxara’s violet eyes narrowed as she examined their attacker.

?It was an exceptionally grotesque entity.

?Its body was disproportionately small compared to its massive, deformed head. The head itself resembled a bloated mass of pale flesh dominated entirely by a gaping maw, covered in uneven, pulsing protrusions.

Beneath its frame hung two short, underdeveloped limbs that looked utterly incapable of supporting its weight.

?Its overall design was so bizarre that Cassian briefly wondered how such an evolutionary dead-end managed to exist.

?More importantly, how had something so top-heavy moved with such explosive speed?

?Its body was practically eighty percent head and teeth. Yet its initial ambush had possessed enough velocity to catch standard explorers off guard.

’?Interesting.’

?Cassian studied the struggling beast for another second before turning to his Champion. "Kill it."

?"Understood, my Lord."

?Nyxara raised her scythe.

?There was no elaborate windup or unnecessary flourish. Her weapon simply vanished from its starting position, moving so fast that a human eye would have perceived only a blur.

?A faint silver arc flashed through the gloom.

?The creature’s oversized head detached cleanly from its neck.

?Its frantic thrashing ceased instantly as the severed mass hit the cavern floor with a wet thud.

The shadow tendrils released their grip, letting the rest of the lifeless body collapse onto the rock.

?Cassian looked down at the corpse.

?Although it was easily one of the ugliest beasts he had encountered, he saw no reason to let raw materials go to waste.

?After all, he possessed [Undead Summoning].

?Even if its base appearance was grotesque, its physical attributes and sheer jaw pressure might prove useful in combat.

And if he encountered a cluster of similar beasts, he could simply fuse them together to create something vastly more lethal.

?The Lord Association’s restriction preventing Lords from summoning additional troops from their territory didn’t bother him in the slightest.

?He carried his own army creation method right in his palm.

’?Let’s see what kind of undead I can harvest from this thing.’

?Cassian extended his right hand toward the fresh corpse, tapping into his internal mana.

?[Undead Summoning]

?He waited for the familiar system prompt to confirm the resurrection.

?Instead, a completely unexpected notification materialized before his eyes.

?[Undead Summoning Failed.]

?"...What?"

?Cassian stared at the stark text.

?He focused his mana and attempted to trigger the skill a second time, but the outcome remained identical.

?[Undead Summoning Failed.]

?His brow furrowed into a sharp frown.

’?What just happened?’

?Beside him, Nyxara’s eyes widened in subtle shock.

?She had witnessed Cassian raise legions of undead from fresh corpses on countless battlefields without a single hitch.

?Yet his core authority had just failed.

?And they had barely taken three steps into the dimensional rift.

?"My Lord..." Nyxara looked between Cassian and the motionless corpse, her hand tightening on her scythe. "Is something wrong?"

?Cassian lowered his hand, his eyes locked onto the lingering failure prompt.

?"Apparently... I can’t raise an undead from this creature."

?Nyxara’s expression turned instantly grave. "Is it because of the rift’s interference?"

?Cassian didn’t immediately reply.

?His blue eyes narrowed as he systematically analyzed the anomaly.

’?The Association said we’d be disconnected from the Lord System’s external functions upon entry. But my personal skills draw directly from my own soul and mana, they should function entirely independent of system framework.’

?There was zero logical reason for [Undead Summoning] to fail on a fresh corpse.

?Unless...

?Cassian looked down at the pale, severed head again, his gaze piercing through its dead flesh.

’?There’s something fundamentally wrong with the souls in this place.’