chapter 42: Symphony of the Sealed Blood
In the depths of Neufelheim's sky, shrouded in dust and stillness, the wind howled with a strange tune—like a funeral dirge audible only to those teetering on the edge of madness.
*Xiao* stood there... unwavering amidst the ruins of the temple, his body stained with blood, his breath ragged as if fighting to escape an invisible weight.
He was not alone.
---
*The Seal's Return*
The ground cracked beneath his feet, releasing a deep purple glow that coiled around him, searching—as if for something long lost.
*Him* and *Aster* rushed toward him, but stopped abruptly... a sigil appeared knotted across Xiao's chest, glowing blood-red and surrounded by breathing black ash.
> "What is this?!" Aster cried, staring at the carved symbol as if it were a forgotten seal from the era of the First Gods.
Xiao said nothing.
The blood in his veins was no longer the same... he had begun to hear whispers.
---
*Echoes of the Ages*
A melody echoed in his mind—not a human voice, but something ancient, like a long-lost hymn from a forgotten time.
> _"Awaken, O Sealed One... not as a slave, but as balance."_
His eyes began to glow with an eerie hue—a mix of gold and black.
Behind him, a long shadow formed from a temporal fracture in the air, accompanied by the scent of iron and ancient bone.
*Varos*... was not merely a body, but a manifestation of heaven's shattered will.
> *Varos*: "I've been watching you, Xiao... not because you're an heir, but because you're an anomaly. You... are time's mistake."
---
*The Battle Unwritten*
An immense power surged from Xiao's body—yet not born of rage or will, but of internal conflict.
The ancient powers granted by the sacred blood clashed violently with the curse of the new seal.
And the result? A cosmic disruption.
> *Xiao* (whispering): "I... feel nothing... no pain, no fear, no time."
Every strike from his hand tore holes in reality itself.
*Him* tried to stop him, but an unseen force hurled him back dozens of meters.
> *Him*: "He's not the same anymore... this isn't power... this is a catastrophe on two legs!"
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*The Sky Shatters*
At the peak of chaos... the sky broke.
Literally—the sky of Neufelheim cracked open, and shards of light fell from above, as if the higher realms were collapsing under the weight of Xiao's presence.
In that moment... a single tear slipped from *Aster's* eye, a drop heavy with fear and realization.
> *Aster* (voice trembling): "As long as I'm alive... I'll bring you back, even if I have to face Varos alone."
---
*End of the Chapter*
Amid the smoke of a collapsing world, Xiao stood motionless—his gaze lost in the void, his back turned to both allies and enemies.
As though he had become... a doorway between life and death.
And deep within him, another voice echoed:
>The first chapter has ended... but the true story has just begun.