CHAPTER 1163: STRANGER

King Gulben lifted his hand, and the Codex drifted upward as if obeying a command.

The tome floated toward him. Its thick black-leather surface cracking with faint pulses of crimson light.

When it reached him, he caught it firmly. Even in his grasp the crimson aura did not fade. If anything, it intensified and coiled around his arms.

"I have considered asking you to read this Codex with me for a long time, Saeldir. This decision isn’t sudden, nor is it because of what happened recently. In truth... you were always the one who should see these pages first," King Gulben said with a smile at Saeldir.

"Let’s take a look at this," he said in a voice steadier than before.

When he carried the book, Saeldir sensed a subtle shift. Some of the king’s former strength returned. Like the power he once held before he was injured coming back.

His spine straightened, the tremble in his steps faded. The Codex was granting him power just by touching it.

They walked toward a table in the corner of the room. King Gulben sat down, and Saeldir sat beside him.

Saeldir’s mind spun. He had planned to gather a few soldiers to investigate the necrotic energy points himself.

His thoughts had been full of strategies, preparations, and tactical movement. He had never imagined that the king would hand him something so precious and overwhelmingly powerful when he just wanted to ask for permission.

But as an experienced Archmage, he quickly forced his thoughts back into order.

He steadied his breathing, trying to prepare himself. This was not an ordinary tome. It was not even on the same tier as ancient grimoires.

Whatever lay inside this Codex carried Magic older than the Elf kingdom itself.

King Gulben opened the first page. He muttered something under his breath. Words that Saeldir couldn’t catch, even though he sat right beside him.

Then the king gently pushed the book toward him, signaling for him to begin.

Saeldir placed his hand on the page and started reading.

The moment his eyes locked on the first line, his mind felt struck by a violent wave of unknown Magic.

It was like a force ramming into his thoughts, trying to pry them open. He stiffened in shock.

He had believed that with everything he had learned, with his centuries of knowledge, he could endure any ancient script and any Magic embedded in old texts.

But this Codex was different. Everything inside it was on a scale beyond anything he had imagined.

Still, Saeldir kept reading.

—

At the same time, Erend remained at home, still sitting in the reclining chair in his backyard.

He stared at the late-afternoon sun hiding behind dark clouds. He knew he should have gone back to the other world already, at least to see Adrien and Billy. But his body refused to move.

Everything felt too overwhelming.

He lay there, eyes blank, breathing shallow. His mind churned and unable to settle.

Should he search for Krono first?

Should he handle the danger growing in his world or should he focus on the threat in another world?

Should he talk to Aurdis and the Elves... and tell them he failed?

He didn’t know. His mind was completely blank. And underneath all of that sat another fear—the System.

Zerathul had said the System wasn’t what Erend thought it was. Now Erend wasn’t sure of anything. He didn’t know what the System wanted. The System hadn’t even given him a prompt or a warning when he failed to stop Zerathul.

The uncertainty terrified him. The System might be something dangerous that could threaten him and the worlds he wanted to protect.

Then, at that moment, a familiar sensation rippled through him.

The System was activating again.

A glitching text flickered in his eyes. Then it repeated, stuttering, unstable.

A cold pressure gripped his chest. Erend tensed, his heart pounding.

A few moments later the text stabilized.

[Quest Failed!]

Another line appeared, its edges distorting like a broken display.

[Now, the total collapse of the realms will be starting.]

Erend froze, the words burning into his vision like a cold blade. His body reacted before his thoughts caught up. He shot up from the reclining chair, standing stiff and trembling with a mix of anger and fear.

His fists curled at his sides as he stared at the glitching interface hovering before him.

"Something is wrong with you. What do you actually want? Why are you only showing up now?" Erend demanded in his mind, his thoughts sharp and cracking with frustration.

The System didn’t answer immediately. Its text flickered and warped, breaking apart into messy, unreadable fragments as if something inside it malfunctioned, or was fighting itself.

After several tense seconds, the words finally stabilized.

[Something is happening right now, host. We are investigating what occurred. Several system functions are currently not working, but you can still use the powers granted to you]

Erend’s jaw tightened until his teeth ground together.

"You know Zerathul,"

he said sharply. "He said something about you... that you aren’t the kind of power I thought you were. So who are you really? What do you want from me?"

The response appeared slowly, almost reluctantly.

[I want to help you.]

Erend’s breath hitched.

"Then why could Zerathul recognize you?"

This time the text distorted violently.

Words broke apart, reformed, then shattered again like something inside the System was resisting the answer itself.

Erend’s patience thinned with every passing second.

Finally, the System managed to produce a line.

[The host is developing suspicion. Adjustment required]

Erend’s eyes widened.

A chill spread across his spine.

This didn’t feel like the System he had known until now.

Something else, some foreign presence, was pushing through it, trying to override the familiar texts. It was trying to speak through the cracks.

Erend felt like there was a stranger inside his mind.

He stepped back slowly, tension coiling in every muscle.

"What is happening...?" he whispered to himself, his heart pounding so hard it echoed in his ears.

The System didn’t answer.

The text glitched again. But this time, the distortion wasn’t random.

It looked like something was trying to break through from the other side.

—