The battlefield froze.
It did not lock in place out of sheer terror, nor from the sudden physical shock of the spatial fractures tearing across the plaza. It was not even because a Tenth Authority—an unprecedented entity in the recorded annals of cultivation—had begun its volatile formation deep within the core.
Reality ground to an absolute standstill because of a singular, system-wide notification hovering over the sky in blinding, iridescent gold and deep violet text.
◈ EMERGENCY WARNING ◈
*Original Witness Responding*
*Status: AWAKENING*
*Threat Assessment: UNKNOWN*
*Recommendation: Prepare for Total Perceptual Shift.*
◈ ◈ ◈
A suffocating, absolute silence spread across every physical and conceptual layer of existence.
