The Astral Barrier—that geometric, violet dome of protection—dissolved into a rain of crystalline dust and blood-red sparks.
The "Gaze" of the Cosmos was no longer filtered.
But as the eyes of humanity turned upward in terror, a second, equally monumental event occurred in the heart of Central Asia.
For past two months, a grayish-white fog had swallowed the territory of Mongolia and its surroundings. It was a "No-Man's Land," a conceptual void where even the Star Stream's probability could not reach.
Legends called it the Western Continent, the forgotten foundation of the Celestial Worthy.
Then, the fog vanished.
It was deleted.
Like a miracle.
[Outer Deity 'Primodial Hunger' turns his disappointed gaze away!]
In its place, a landscape that defied modern logic manifested. Towering mountains of jade, floating islands anchored by massive iron chains, and spires composed of shifting, rhythmic numbers appeared where there had been only desert.
The air suddenly carried the scent of Golden Apples and ancient incense.
The Western Continent was back. And the "Unwritten" part of history was about to be drenched in ink.
The disappearance of the Fog Barrier was like a dinner bell rung for every hungry entity in the universe.
The Outer Deities had not yet fully focused their gaze, but the inhabitants of Earth—the vultures and the desperate—did not wait.
From the cracks in reality, the invasion began.
[Nebula
[Nebula
[The 'Church of Steam and Machinery' has declared a 'Holy Reclamation' of the Knowledge Moor!]
[The 'Church of Evernight' is deploying the 'Nighthawks' to the River of Eternal Darkness!]
...
All the Orthodox Gods had sent their dispatch teams.
Djinns from South America and Africa surged to their 'rightful' land. Pandemonium could finally rise on its original place.
They didn't care about the Dao or the Heavens; they wanted the Beyonder Characteristics— fragments that the Celestial Worthy had trapped in this land like bait in a cage.
Beside them, the surviving Demon Kings, those who had escaped from Demon Realm were attracted toward the new land. They sought the Sefirot, sensing the concentrated power that could turn a King into a God.
In the center of the Western Continent, on the peak of the Spire, the Current Celestial Master of the Knowledge Moor opened his eyes. He was dressed in a simple, unadorned robe, his long black hair tied with a piece of tree bark.
He looked at the sky and saw the stars falling. Not as meteors, but as invaders.
"The Demonic Foreigners have arrived," he spoke in Classical Chinese, his voice a resonance of pure information.
Behind him stood the Holy Monk of Mount Sumeru and the Haoli Sect Master. These were Dao Integrators, beings who had achieved "The Unity of Heaven and Man."
[Nebula
"The 'Great Fable' they carry is noisy," the Holy Monk whispered, his golden body shimmering with the light of the Key of Light. "They bring a 'System' that seeks to quantify the Dao."
"Let them try to quantify the end," the Haoli Sect Master replied, his eyes twin vortices of the River of Eternal Darkness.
As the first wave of Djinns and Vedas incarnations reached the borders of Penglai, the Dao Integrators acted.
They didn't use Skills.
"By the decree of the Heavenly Court," the Celestial Master roared, "I revoke the 'Logic' of your weapons!"
[Sefirah 'Knowledge Moor' is manifesting traces into the real world!]
[The Dao Integrator is burning his Life Force!]
A massive, illusory scroll unrolled across the sky. Thousands of Djinns suddenly found their guns turning into water and their mana into salt. The Vedas warriors were struck by lightning that didn't burn their bodies, but deleted their "Names" from the Star Stream.
[Many Constellations and Demon Kings are shocked!]
[Nebula
It was a spectacular display of Dao Integration.
The land itself rose to defend its relics. But the Daoists were mortal, their lifespans capped by the very gods they worshipped. For every invader they erased, their own souls were pulled deeper into the Sefirot, becoming part of a cold, unfeeling consciousness.
While the great powers fought over the Sefirot, the land of Mongolia began to warp.
The influx of "Evil" probability from the fleeing Devils and the greedy Djinns acted as a catalyst. The Criminal Zone—the infamous Pandemonium—began to rise once more. But this time, it wasn't a city of humans. It was a chaotic overlap of the Western Continent's Demonic Sects and the worst dregs of the Star Stream.
"Tsk. What a mess."
A man stood on a ridge overlooking the expanding chaos. He wore a practical tactical vest, a black mask covering the lower half of his face, and carried a blade that hummed with a flat, colorless mana.
Vast Expanse.
The world's best mercenary.
He was one of the people who were unlucky enough to stay in Central Asia when Convergence happened. He didn't have enough time and was trapped inside Fog Barrier of Celestial Worthy of Heavens.
His smartwatch finally ringed.
"Excuse me, Vast Expanse-nim..." that was the annoying voice of the strategist of Heroes Association.
He had been contacted by the Heroes Association to ensure the "Stabilization of the Border".
He sighed.
Vast Expanse was finally back.
"One million," he named his price, abruptly ending the call.
Beside him stood a few unlucky heroes who had been trapped behind the fog when it lifted, and—surprisingly—a few of the Nine Evils who had decided that surviving was more profitable than conquering.
"Vast Expanse-ssi," a young hero stammered, pointing at a group of Luo Sect refugees fleeing from a squad of Olympus incarnations. "Should we...?"
"The job is 'Peaceful Extraction'," Vast Expanse said, his eyes sharp. "We don't fight the Gods. We save the people they're about to step on."
He lunged.
He didn't use a flashy Stigma. He used the pure, honed efficiency of a man who had survived every "Impossible" standing back to back with Nine Stars during Outcall. With a single, silent strike, he decapitated an incarnation of Ares that was about to slaughter a group of Daoist children.
"Follow me!" he shouted to the refugees. "The Orthodox Churches have established a 'Green Zone' in the south. If you want to survive, move!"
Suddenly, in front of his eyes appeared a strange system window:
===
[Main Scenario #??? – The Great Expedition of the Vanished Cradle]
Category: Main
Difficulty: Indeterminable
Clear Conditions: 1. Survey the Ruins: Reach the designated coordinates of the seven Great Sects (Penglai, Mount Sumeru, etc.) and confirm the status of the "Vanished Sefirot."
2. The Extraction: Safely escort at least 1,000 inhabitants of the Western Continent to the established "Green Zones" under the protection of the Orthodox Churches.
3. Identify the 'Vessel': Locate the narrative signature of the missing Sefirot. They are no longer part of the geography.
Time Limit: 120 Hours (5 Days)
Reward: The [Fragment of a Censored World] and Qualification to participate in ■■.
Failure: ???
===
The battle for the Western Continent was a tragedy of misunderstanding.
The Church of Steam and Machinery viewed the Celestial Master's Sect as a goldmine of lost technology.
The Daoists viewed the Church of Steam as heretics who had enslaved the "Essence" of the world.
As the Jade Emperor's rogue incarnations began to bombard Penglai with "Sacred Sutras," the land began to collapse.
"We cannot hold the cradle," the Holy Monk sighed, his golden skin cracking.
In the distance, the Haoli Sect Master saw the arrival of the Tarot Club's representatives. He saw Emlyn White and Leonard Mitchell on the horizon, their black coats swaying as they tore the clouds on a helicopter.
He saw the Orthodox Churches offering a "Pact of Relocation."
"They offer us land in the place called Northern Superstate," the Monk said.
"They offer us a cage," the Celestial Master countered.
"But a cage is better than a grave." a smile played on Leonard's lips as he sat opposite representatives of Dao Integrators. "Many Evil Organizations will invade this land soon, there will be no intact place left. Not to mention the interest zone of Djinns and Devils."
"True Creator strongly advices to accept the offer," from the shadows appeared a tall man with grizzled hair, wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and a scar at the corners of his mouth. He looked like an old priest or bishop.
That was Stepth, the archibishop of the Church of True Creator.
Haoli Sect Master turned his head.
"Kim Junwoo, what do you think?"
He was one of the subordinates of Vast Expanse. He found his faith in the River of Darkness and joined Haoli Sect, gaining great achivements with all of his modern knowledge and powers as a mercenary.
Kim Junwoo scratched his head and smiled modestly.
"I guess that's the best choice for us. We will also receive support of Heroes Association."
The decision was made.
The great Daoist sects began to gather their relics. To pack all their lives in just a few bags.
Under the protection of Vast Expanse and the surviving heroes, a massive exodus began. Thousands of Daoists, cultivators, and "Extras" of the Western Continent streamed out of the jade mountains and toward the safety of the Orthodox "Green Zones."
As they left, they looked back.
The Western Continent was no longer a land of peace. It had become a blackened battlefield, a playground for the Nebulas and the Djinns. Pandemonium had fully recovered, a jagged, iron city of crime that sat like a tumor on the once-sacred land.
***
The air in the makeshift office was thick with the scent of cheap alcohol.
Kim Dokja sat slumped in a swivel chair, the green glass of a soju bottle cool against his palm. Outside the window, the sky of Seoul was a fractured masterpiece of violet and crimson—the Astral Barrier was gone, leaving the stars naked and predatory.
Yet, for two days, nothing had crossed the threshold.
No eldritch limbs had reached down to pluck cities from the earth; no cosmic whispers had driven the populace to madness.
It was too quiet.
"Klein," Dokja murmured, his voice projected inward toward the mahogany aisles of the Library. "Are you seeing this? Or rather... not seeing this?"
Inside the Fourth Wall, the figure of Klein Moretti looked up from a stack of decrypted historical records. His eyes narrowed.
[I don't understand it either,] Klein's voice echoed back, carrying a hint of Scholar-grade wariness. [The Sefirot were the prize. The moment the Fog Barrier fell, those Outer Deities should have descended like vultures to a carcass. The 'Brood Hive', the 'Nation of Disorder'... they are the foundations of their godhood. To ignore them now is... illogical.]
"Maybe the Probability is still lacking?" Dokja wondered aloud, taking a stinging sip of soju. "The Star Stream is nearing the Final Scenarios. The density of the story might be acting as a secondary shield. Unless..."
"Unless you stop drinking like a salaryman who just got fired, you're going to miss the actual end of the world."
The door kicked open.
Han Sooyoung stepped in, her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her black coat. She kicked a stray soju cap across the floor and glared at him.
"Seriously, Kim Dokja? The sky looks like a bruised plum and you're having a pity party?"
"It reminds me of the old days," Dokja replied, offering a weak, lopsided smile. "The office... the feeling that the world is ending but you still have to show up for work. Besides, Hajin said he'll handle the Scenario."
Sooyoung rolled her eyes and reached for the remote on the desk.
"Shut up and look at the news. The Heroes Association just pulled back a live feed from the 'Central Asia Reconstruction Zone'."
The flickering screen of the wall-mounted TV hummed to life.
The breaking news banner scrolled across the bottom in a frantic yellow:
[THE WORLD'S BEST MERCENARY RETURNS: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH 'VAST EXPANSE'!]
The camera focused on a man sitting in a reinforced studio. He looked exhausted, his tactical gear stained with the pale dust of the Western Continent. Known to the world as Vast Expanse, leaned forward, his eyes sharp despite the fatigue.
"The culture there... it was like stepping into ancient China," Vast Expanse was saying, his voice gravelly. "The people were trapped for generations. I did what I could. I worked as a mercenary for the sects, helped them clear the 'Demonic Path' dregs.
He was asked many questions by the interviewer.
"The Djinns that refused to leave Pandemonium? They're gone. They either hid somewhere or joined sects. I know that one of Nine Evils... of old Nine Evils... heh, the world seems to have changed a lot since I was trapped in that fog. That Djinn had joined Shadow Cottage. About all the others, I have zero idea."
The interviewer, a woman whose hands were visibly shaking, leaned in.
"And the legends? The 'Sefirot' the Nebulas are calling the 'Foundations of Godhood'? Did you see them?"
He went silent for a moment.
He looked directly into the camera.
"That's the news that isn't reaching the Star Stream yet," Vast Expanse said. "When the Convergence happened—the exact millisecond the Fog Barrier dissolved and the Western Continent merged with our world—the Sefirot disappeared. That's what I heard from daoists."
The studio fell into a deathly silence.
Even Han Sooyoung stopped pacing.
"Disappeared?" the interviewer stammered. "But the Sect Masters... they are still using that power."
"Only through a residual connection," he clarified. "They can call upon the 'Shadow' of the power, but the sources—the literal territories of the gods—are gone. They didn't just move. They were excised from the land as it touched our reality."
The TV screen flickered with static as a massive earthquake tremor shook the studio.
Dokja stared at the screen, his soju forgotten.
[Dokja,] Klein's voice was sharp now, vibrating with a realization that sent a chill through the Library.
[If the Sefirot are no longer on the Western Continent... if they vanished the moment the three universes became one...]
Klein stepped toward the edge of the Library, looking out through the transparency of the Fourth Wall at the ruins of Seoul.
"So where are all the Sefirots?"