"Huh....."

Kaelen's eyes fluttered open, though for a moment he couldn't be sure if he was truly awake. The oppressive weight of the Ruptured Sky was gone—no thunderous rifts tearing the world apart, no crushing pressure threatening to splinter his soul. Instead, he lay in a field of soft, silver grass that swayed gently as if touched by a breeze he couldn't feel. A pale, endless horizon stretched outward, its sky painted with the calm glow of a perpetual dawn.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Kaelen slowly sat up, his body still aching from the unrelenting trial he had endured moments ago. He scanned the space around him—nothing but the rolling silver plains, no sign of that monstrous multi-eyed silhouette that had haunted the edges of his vision in the Ruptured Sky.

For the first time since stepping into the Crucible, he could breathe without feeling like the world wanted to crush him.

'Where… is this?'

The air here didn't taste like mana. It was purer, sharper—almost intoxicating in its clarity. He felt lighter, yet every instinct screamed at him to be cautious. He had just enough strength to stand, his boots sinking slightly into the grass.

He took one step forward.

And that's when the space rippled.

"Interesting....."

From nowhere and everywhere at once, a figure emerged, not by walking, but as if reality had bent forward to offer them into existence.

Kaelen froze.

The being before him was unlike any Celestial nor Eternal he had ever seen. Draped in flowing robes of shifting starlight, their form seemed almost human—almost—but their presence carried a weight far beyond comprehension. Their eyes were galaxies unto themselves, turning slowly like ancient constellations, and Kaelen swore each blink revealed a different universe entirely.

A voice—not spoken, but resonating in the depths of his mind—echoed through him.

"So… you are the one Endless seeks. I honestly didn't expect to see you so soon"

Kaelen stiffened at the name.

The Eternal tilted their head ever so slightly, regarding him with an expression that was both curious and uncomfortably knowing.

"Although, it's kind of strange… that you of all beings would stumble here. This place is not meant for the living, nor for the claimed. And yet—here you stand."

Kaelen's pulse quickened. "Who… are you?"

The Eternal did not answer immediately. Instead, their gaze swept over him, as if measuring every fragment of his existence. Finally, they spoke, their tone deep enough to make the ground hum:

"Names matter little to mortals, but since you ask… I am the one they sealed in this quiet prison, long before your kind drew breath, during the dark ages. I am the Eternal called Judgment. Keeper of the Scales. The one your enemy fears."

Kaelen's eyes widened.

'This.... Is another Eternal!? Don't tell me the Aether crucible is actually a prison for an Eternal?'

The Eternal—Judgment—took a slow step forward, the grass around their feet turning to threads of pure light.

"You have something… dangerous within you, child. And if you are here, it means you want it to be restored."

Kaelen's grip on the hilt of the Blade of Eternity tightened instinctively.

Judgment's gaze sharpened.

"Tell me… will you shatter the balance as Endless has? Or will you uphold it?"

The silence in the seperate space was suffocating, like the world itself was holding its breath. Kaelen's gaze never wavered from the towering, faceless figure of Judgement, whose radiant scales glimmered faintly in the eternal twilight above.

"I'll answer you truthfully," Kaelen finally spoke, his voice steady but carrying the faint undercurrent of defiance that had always burned in him. "I don't care about balance, not the way you define it. I'm not here to tip the scales like Endless… and I'm also not here to guard them like some silent sentinel. All I want—" he took a step forward, eyes sharpening, "—is to fulfill my dream of becoming the strongest swordsman in Aetheris… and to protect the people I love. That's it."

For a moment, nothing moved. Then, in the golden depths of Judgement's unseen gaze, a flicker of amusement stirred.

"…Hmph." The sound was like a distant bell tolling through the sky. "Such mortal simplicity… yet, in its way, it is purer than the ambitions of kings and gods."

The colossal figure leaned forward slightly, the air distorting around Kaelen as a wave of unfathomable power brushed over him.

"Very well… then hear this, mortal who walks with the weight of Pandora in his soul. You stand in a realm where truths are not bent, and lies cannot exist. So I will speak plainly."

Judgement's voice deepened, reverberating in Kaelen's bones. "You know of the Eternals… yet you do not understand them. There are twelve of us. Twelve pillars that have endured since the Dawn of Aetheris, each embodying a concept without which this world would collapse."

The air rippled, and behind Judgement, ghostly figures began to take shape—vast silhouettes, each emanating an aura so distinct it made Kaelen's senses reel.

"One for Judgement—I."

"One for Knowledge."

"One for Balance."

"One for Origin."

"One for War."

"One for Peace."

"One for Life."

"One for Death."

"One for Dreams."

"One for Time."

"One for Dominion."

"And one for Order."

The moment the last word fell, Kaelen felt it—twelve threads of incomprehensible presence weaving into the very fabric of the Ruptured Sky, like the heartbeat of Aetheris itself.

"These are not merely titles," Judgement continued, "They are the roots from which all existence in this land springs. Each Eternal governs their concept, whether they will it or not. Endless… was once Balance."

Kaelen's eyes widened.

"And now," Judgement's voice grew heavier, almost sorrowful, "The chain has broken."

Judgement's gaze drifted past Kaelen who is currently curious, as though seeing an age long buried.

"You wish to understand why the skies above you are torn, why the world limps through dying mana veins… It began with him—Endless."

Kaelen swallowed, feeling the name bite at him.

"Endless was one of us. A guardian, a keeper of balance concept, bound by oath to protect the mortal planes. But he looked upon the weave of creation… and deemed it flawed. He sought to rewrite it—bend the laws of mana and life itself into his own image. We forbade it."

A faint rumble rolled across the serene space, as though the telling itself stirred the memory.

"His defiance ignited the first great rebellion among the Eternals. Endless tore through worlds, draining their life-blood of mana to fuel his vision. The Celestials fought him for an age, until at last… he was sealed. Here. In this prison between all realms, where no mortal or beast may wander."

Judgement's eyes dimmed slightly, and his voice grew quieter, heavier.

"But his punishment was not the end. The rebellion left cracks—fractures in our unity. In time… the rest of us were deemed too dangerous to remain among life."

Kaelen's heartbeat quickened. "The rest of you…?"

"One by one," Judgement continued, "the Celestials turned their judgment upon us all. They scattered the Eternals into prisons, bindings, and voids beyond mortal reach. That was the dawn of the Ruptured Sky you have seen… and the mana rift you know as the Dark Ages. It was not born of mortal folly, Kaelen Dragonyx. It was the sealing of gods."

The last word rippled through Kaelen's mind like a shockwave, and he felt the serene space begin to shift, a storm rising in its once-still currents.

Kaelen's breath steadied as he stood in the vast, tranquil expanse. The air here still felt cleaner, untouched by decay, a sharp contrast to the oppressive dread he had just endured at the Ruptured Sky.

Judgement's form radiated a calm authority, each word carrying the weight of aeons.

"Kaelen Dragonyx," the Eternal intoned, his voice a deep resonance that seemed to bypass Kaelen's ears and settle directly into his mind. "Do you know why Endless struggles so desperately to break free of his chains of being in a mortal body?"

Kaelen's eyes narrowed. "Because he wants power over the world… over life itself."

"Not just power," Judgement corrected, his gaze like twin stars boring into him. "He wishes to reshape existence into his image. All he lacks to complete this blasphemy is the Magic Pandora… the very force that rests inside you."

The words struck like a blade. Kaelen's grip tightened at his side. "So… it's me. I'm the final piece."

Judgement inclined his head slightly. "If he takes it, Kaelen, there will be no resistance. Not Celestials. Not mortals. All will kneel… or be erased."

The silence between them was heavy. Then Kaelen stepped forward, meeting the Eternal's gaze without wavering.

"Then I swear—on my dignity as a human—that he will never lay his hands on it. Not while I still draw breath."

For the first time, Judgement's expression shifted—just slightly. Not amusement, but a flicker of curiosity. "And how do you propose to defy one who has fought gods and broken worlds?"

Kaelen's answer came without hesitation.

"Fix my Blade of Eternity."

Judgement's eyes glimmered faintly, the corners of his lips tightening in something that might have been a smile—or a grim recognition.

"Ah… so that is your resolve."

The serene realm seemed to ripple faintly, as though responding to Kaelen's will. Far away, thunder continued to roll—not the wrath of a storm, but the echo of history stirring awake.