Silence.
The Forgotten Forge had disappeared.
The ancient sanctuary that had existed for thousands of years was gone.
Only a vast empty space remained beneath the sealed heavens.
Golden flames drifted quietly around Renzo.
The Forge Domain pulsed within his soul.
He could feel it clearly.
The furnaces.
The anvils.
The rivers of molten stars.
Ignis.
Everything now existed inside him.
Corvus stood motionless.
Its crimson eye stared at Renzo with unconcealed hatred.
The Devourer's connection to the Outer Sea had been severed.
The overwhelming pressure that had once suffocated the sanctuary was rapidly weakening.
A system notification appeared.
Outer Connection Lost
Corvus has lost access to the Outer Sea.
Current Power Output:
32%
Kensei-Ryu smiled.
"Now the fight is fair."
Renzo looked at Corvus calmly.
"No."
Golden flames ignited around Starbreaker.
"It's over."
Corvus suddenly laughed.
A quiet laugh.
Then louder.
Then louder still.
"Do you believe you have won?"
Darkness gathered around the Devourer once more.
Though weakened, its authority remained terrifying.
"The Outer Sea is endless."
"There are countless Heralds."
"Countless Devourers."
"Countless worlds already consumed."
Corvus pointed its blade toward Renzo.
"You have delayed oblivion."
"Nothing more."
Renzo slowly raised Chrono Fang.
Golden flames spread across the blade.
"One Thought."
The forge within his soul resonated.
"One Cut."
Corvus charged.
Renzo moved.
No wasted motion.
No unnecessary power.
Only decision.
The Devourer swung.
A blade of oblivion split reality.
Renzo stepped forward.
Chrono Fang rose gently.
A single slash.
SHING.
The world became silent.
Corvus froze.
The black blade in its hand cracked.
A thin golden line appeared across the Devourer's body.
From shoulder to waist.
Corvus looked down.
Its crimson eye widened.
"…Beautiful."
The line expanded.
Golden flames erupted from within the wound.
The Authority of Oblivion began collapsing.
A system notification appeared.
Authority of Oblivion
Integrity:
0%
Corvus smiled.
Not with hatred.
Not with rage.
But with strange acceptance.
"So this is the sword that cuts concepts."
The Devourer looked toward Renzo.
"Remember this, Forge Monarch."
Its body began dissolving into black particles.
"Creation and Oblivion are twins."
"The day you create a perfect world…"
Corvus' voice grew softer.
"…is the day oblivion will seek you."
The crimson eye shattered.
The darkness disappeared.
Corvus was gone.
Completely.
Silence returned.
Golden flames drifted across the empty space.
A massive system window appeared.
World-Level Threat Eliminated
Corvus, Herald of the Outer Sea
Defeated
Rewards:
+12 Levels
Current Level:
50
Authority of Creation
Unsealed:
40%
Starbreaker
First Seal Released
Forge Domain
Stabilized
Renzo exhaled slowly.
Level 50.
Halfway to the world's limit.
Yet he knew the truth now.
Level 100 was not the destination.
It was a prison.
Vulcanos stepped beside him.
Golden flames surrounded the forge god.
"You have done well."
Renzo looked at him.
"Is it over?"
Vulcanos remained silent.
Then shook his head.
"No."
"The Herald was only a scout."
"The Outer Sea has finally noticed this world."
Renzo's expression hardened.
"So more will come."
"Yes."
Kensei-Ryu crossed his arms.
"And next time…"
"…they'll know your name."
Renzo looked at the empty sky.
The sealed heavens remained intact.
For now.
A small golden light appeared before him.
A fragment.
The last remnant of Corvus.
The fragment slowly floated into Starbreaker.
The divine hammer absorbed it.
A new window appeared.
Starbreaker
New Ability Acquired
Void Tempering
Allows the forge to refine corrupted materials without being consumed.
Renzo smiled faintly.
"Even the enemy can become a resource."
Vulcanos nodded.
"That is the nature of the forge."
"Nothing is wasted."
Suddenly—
The empty space around them began collapsing.
The dungeon was ending.
The Hidden Unique Dungeon was being cleared.
Light swallowed everything.
Renzo closed his eyes.
When he opened them—
He was standing in the abandoned subway tunnel beneath New York.
The rusted tracks remained.
Broken concrete surrounded him.
The mysterious fracture in reality had vanished.
It was as if the Forgotten Forge had never existed.
Only one thing proved it was real.
A golden emblem burned softly on the back of Renzo's right hand.
A hammer surrounded by a circle of stars.
His Forge Domain.
A blue system window appeared.
Hidden Unique Dungeon Cleared
Completion Rank:
SSS
Global Announcement:
Suppressed
Reason:
Divine Authority Detected
Renzo blinked.
"Suppressed?"
Kensei-Ryu laughed.
"The System is hiding you."
Vulcanos smiled faintly.
"For now."
Renzo looked toward the tunnel exit.
Morning sunlight filtered through the broken entrance.
The city above was completely unaware.
People were going to work.
Cars were filling the streets.
The world had not changed.
Not visibly.
But Renzo had.
Level 50.
Forge Monarch.
A portable Divine Sanctuary.
A Divine Class hidden from the System itself.
He looked toward the city.
Aegis Corp still existed.
The top ten players still believed they ruled America.
The first tutorial gates had only begun.
No one knew what was coming.
Renzo slowly walked toward the surface.
A new chapter of his life was about to begin.
This time—
He would not hide forever.