The voice lingered in the chamber long after its final words had faded.
"You awakened it."
Zarek stood at the centre of the judgment platform, his right hand trembling. The black mark beneath his skin had not disappeared. Instead, thin violet lines occasionally surfaced around it, resembling cracks in a piece of ancient porcelain.
He looked toward the seventh seat.
Something was sitting there now.
A figure concealed beneath a dark robe, its appearance difficult to distinguish. Zarek had watched the seven seats remain empty when he first entered the chamber. Yet he could not remember seeing anyone approach.
The First Keeper remained on one knee.
"Who are you?" Zarek asked.
The figure did not answer immediately. Its attention remained fixed on the First Keeper.
"You have guarded this chamber for too long."
The old man slowly raised his head. "I have fulfilled my duty."
"Your duty was to prevent an unqualified cultivator from reaching the judgment platform. Yet you allowed one to stand upon it."
"I did not bring him here."
"But you guided him."
The First Keeper said nothing.
Zarek looked between them. He was beginning to understand that the old man knew considerably more about the Hall than he had revealed. However, the fear in his expression suggested that even the First Keeper did not fully understand what had just awakened.
The figure finally turned toward Zarek.
"Stand properly."
Zarek frowned.
"Are you giving me orders?"
A faint ripple crossed the dark robe.
"You have consumed a fragment of heavenly judgment. You have no understanding of what you carry, yet you stand here speaking as though you have earned the right to challenge everything."
Zarek wiped the blood from his mouth.
"I didn't ask for your judgment."
"That is precisely why you are dangerous."
The black mark beneath Zarek's skin pulsed.
For an instant, he felt the violet lightning inside his body respond to the figure's presence. It moved through his meridians like a living creature searching for an escape.
The System spoke.
Do not provoke it.
Zarek ignored the warning.
"First Keeper, who is this?"
The old man hesitated.
"One of the original seven."
Zarek glanced at the remaining seats.
"You said some of the Keepers were gone."
"They are."
"Then how can this one be here?"
The First Keeper looked toward the figure.
"Because not all of them left."
The robed figure interrupted.
"Enough. Your explanations are no longer necessary."
It lifted one hand.
The circular platform immediately responded. Ancient inscriptions ignited, and the pressure that had weakened after Zarek consumed the lightning returned.
However, this pressure was different.
It did not attempt to crush his body. Instead, it seemed to examine every decision he had made since entering the Hall.
His first fight. His desire for strength. His attempts to understand the sphere. His refusal to abandon those waiting outside.
Everything appeared before him as fragments of memory.
Then the vision changed.
He saw himself standing before the Heavenly Order Sect's expedition. The First Elder was kneeling on the ground, blood running from his forehead. Disciples lay scattered around him, while violet lightning covered the sky.
Zarek's expression hardened.
"Show me something else."
The vision continued.
A second image appeared. This time, the expedition was gone. The First Elder's body had disappeared, and the disciples could no longer remember the person they had come to rescue.
Zarek stepped forward.
"Enough!"
The image shattered.
The figure in the seventh seat lowered its hand.
"You are easily disturbed by the suffering of others."
"They are not part of your examination."
"They are connected to the disturbance you created."
"Then examine me. Leave them alone."
The figure remained silent.
The First Keeper slowly rose.
"That is not how judgment works."
Zarek turned toward him.
"Then perhaps judgment needs to learn that not everything belongs to it."
The moment those words left his mouth, the chamber shook.
The seventh seat released a wave of darkness.
The First Keeper immediately moved between them.
"Careful, Zarek!"
But the figure did not attack.
Instead, it laughed softly.
"Interesting. You have barely glimpsed a principle, yet you already speak as though you can question the order of Heaven."
Zarek stared at it.
"Power doesn't make something right."
For the first time, the figure seemed genuinely interested.
"Who taught you that?"
"No one."
The answer was simple, but it carried the weight of his past. He remembered being weak, being mocked, and watching people use their strength to decide who deserved respect. He had once believed that gaining power would solve everything.
Now he was beginning to understand that power could create problems far greater than weakness.
The figure leaned back.
"Then let us see whether you believe your own words."
Above the Hall, the Heavenly Order Sect expedition was struggling to survive.
The protective formation had begun to collapse. Golden lines beneath their feet flickered as violet lightning descended around the entrance.
The First Elder stood at the centre, sustaining the formation with the last reserves of his spiritual energy.
"Everyone, reinforce the eastern side!"
Two disciples rushed forward.
A thunderous impact struck the barrier.
The entire formation bent inward.
One of the younger disciples screamed as a thin strand of violet lightning passed through the protective wall and wrapped around his wrist.
The First Elder moved instantly.
He struck the lightning with his palm, forcing it away from the disciple. The impact sent him sliding several steps backward.
"Elder!"
"I'm fine!" he shouted.
But his right arm had gone numb.
He examined the disciple. A dark mark had appeared around the young man's wrist, spreading slowly toward his elbow.
"Do not circulate spiritual energy through that arm," the First Elder warned.
"Will I lose it?"
"I don't know."
The boy's face turned pale.
A second disciple suddenly collapsed.
"Senior Brother!"
They rushed toward him, but the First Elder raised his hand.
"Don't touch him!"
The fallen disciple was staring at the sky with empty eyes.
"Who are you people?" he whispered.
The First Elder felt his heart sink.
Another person was being affected by the Hall's strange power.
He approached carefully.
"You are a disciple of the Heavenly Order Sect. You came here with us."
The young man shook his head.
"I don't remember."
The First Elder crouched beside him.
"Your name is Ren. You joined the expedition three months ago. You are the youngest disciple among us."
Ren stared at him.
Then his eyes moved toward the entrance.
"Why are we here?"
The First Elder looked at the Hall.
"Because someone is still fighting inside."
A faint tremor passed through the gate.
For a moment, a familiar voice seemed to travel through the stone.
"First Elder..."
The old man's eyes widened.
"Zarek!"
He rushed toward the entrance.
A golden barrier immediately appeared, throwing him backward.
The First Elder struck the ground with one hand and forced himself upright.
"Zarek! Can you hear me?"
There was no answer.
But something strange happened.
The violet lightning surrounding the Hall suddenly shifted away from the entrance and gathered above the roof.
The First Elder stared.
Whatever Zarek was doing inside, it was affecting the judgment.
And he had no idea whether it was saving them or bringing something worse.
Beneath the Hall, the seventh Keeper raised one finger.
A narrow line appeared in the air.
"Look."
The line expanded into a window showing the expedition outside.
Zarek recognised the First Elder immediately.
He also saw the wounded disciple, the failing formation, and Ren lying on the ground.
His jaw tightened.
"Stop the judgment."
The seventh Keeper tilted its head.
"You believe I control it?"
"You're one of the original Keepers."
"I guard what remains of the old order. I do not command the heavens."
"Then help me."
The figure's voice became colder.
"You still misunderstand your position. You are not here to bargain."
The platform began to glow.
A deep vibration travelled through Zarek's body. The heavenly lightning fragment inside him reacted violently, spreading toward his chest.
The System spoke urgently.
Zarek, your body cannot contain this much heavenly authority.
"What happens if it reaches my heart?"
I cannot predict the outcome.
The First Keeper stepped forward.
"Seventh Keeper, the examination has already changed. Continuing this process may destroy the chamber."
The seated figure ignored him.
"The disturbance must be resolved."
Zarek looked at the window again.
He could see the First Elder struggling to maintain the formation.
Then he looked down at the black mark on his hand.
He had consumed a fragment of the judgment, but he had not understood how to control it. Perhaps the answer was not to consume more.
Perhaps it was to understand the connection between the lightning, the Hall, and those outside.
He closed his eyes.
The pressure intensified.
The System spoke again.
What are you attempting?
"Something different."
He focused on the fragment inside his body. Instead of forcing it deeper into his cultivation foundation, he tried to separate its destructive energy from the authority directing it.
The violet lines beneath his skin began to move.
One by one, they gathered around his palm.
The First Keeper watched in astonishment.
"You're trying to separate the judgment from its target."
Zarek did not answer.
He could feel the distinction now. The lightning had been sent toward him, but its effects had spread through the Hall and reached the expedition. The judgment's power was travelling through a connection he had not yet understood.
He did not need to control the entire heavenly force.
He needed to interrupt the connection.
The black mark on his palm opened like a tiny eye.
A violet thread emerged.
It stretched toward the window showing the expedition.
Zarek's expression changed.
There it was.
The connection.
He reached for it.
Pain immediately tore through his chest. His knees buckled, and blood ran from his nose.
"Zarek!" the First Keeper shouted.
The seventh Keeper rose from its seat.
"Stop!"
But Zarek had already touched the thread.
For a single heartbeat, he felt the distance between himself and the expedition disappear.
He could sense the First Elder's spiritual energy, the disciples' fear, and the damaged formation. He could even feel the lightning pressing against the barrier.
Then he pulled.
Outside, the violet lightning above the Hall stopped moving.
The First Elder looked upward.
A thin black line had appeared across the sky.
It stretched from the Hall toward the clouds, dividing the violet light into two halves.
The protective formation suddenly stabilised.
The disciples looked around in disbelief.
The lightning had not disappeared, but its pressure had weakened.
The First Elder slowly lowered his hands.
"Zarek..."
Inside the chamber, Zarek fell to one knee.
The violet thread snapped.
His right hand went completely numb.
The System spoke.
You interrupted the connection.
Zarek breathed heavily.
"Did it work?"
Temporarily.
He looked toward the window.
The expedition was still standing.
But before he could feel relief, the black mark on his palm spread across his wrist.
A new inscription appeared on the platform.
The seventh Keeper stared at it.
For the first time, its voice carried unmistakable alarm.
"That is impossible."
The First Keeper turned toward the inscription.
"What does it mean?"
The seventh Keeper slowly looked at Zarek.
"His actions have created a second disturbance."
Zarek struggled to stand.
"What disturbance?"
The figure pointed toward the black mark.
"You have separated the judgment from its original path. But the authority you consumed has not returned to Heaven."
The chamber fell silent.
Then the seventh Keeper spoke the words that made even the First Keeper lower his head.
"The heavens will now seek the missing authority."
Zarek looked at his palm.
The violet flame appeared again.
But this time, something moved inside it.
Something that was watching him.
And it spoke in a voice identical to his own.
"Give it back."