Chapter 43 – Requiem of the Hidden Sects

The wind howled across the scorched ruins of what had once been the Helios Outpost on Mars. Now, only a shattered dome and fragments of scorched steel remained, half-buried under red dust and faintly glowing Void residue. Rayan stood at the center of it all, the Chaos Ring pulsing softly, absorbing the ambient corruption, converting it to refined essence. Around him, Dominion agents scoured through wreckage, scanning for surviving data cores and spiritual nodes. Above, Yulin circled the ruins in his half-dragon humanoid form, eyes like molten suns watching for any shift in the void's residue.

"Third site destroyed in as many days," Kael growled, kneeling beside a broken artifact embedded with Martian runes. "Whatever the Void Kings are doing, they're not just corrupting. They're erasing memory, entire sects wiped from soul history."

"They're targeting lineage," Rayan muttered. "Any remaining sects with knowledge of forbidden techniques are being eliminated before they can reawaken."

GearMind's projection buzzed to life beside them, static distorting her synthetic voice. "Recovered data suggests multiple spiritual archives were sealed underground in Mars' third layer. All of them belonged to Earth's early interstellar sects—ones lost during the Celestial Schism Era."

Rayan's eyes narrowed. "How many?"

"At least five major sects. Possibly seven."

Rayan's fingers tightened. These were not just any sects. They were the fragments of Earth's ancient cosmic presence—orders that had once flourished across the solar system, until war, betrayal, and forbidden knowledge erased them from history. The Void Kings weren't simply trying to dominate—they were severing any chance of resistance by annihilating forgotten power.

"Secure the coordinates," Rayan ordered. "We'll move at once. If any of those sects still have their soul flames intact, we must recover them."

Meanwhile, far beneath Earth, inside the Dream Lotus Cultivation Room deep in Dominion's under-Earth sanctuary, Zero logged into the game world once again. His body, though connected through VR, was surrounded by pulsing spiritual arrays, drawing ambient Qi from Earth's leyline veins to enhance his game-world synchronization.

He emerged in the Sect City, fully armored, his avatar standing atop the highest tower of the Dominion Sect's in-game fortress. His Chaos Sovereign gear radiated violet light, bearing the sigil of the Void Flame Crown earned from the last raid. Across the game's forums and hidden sect boards, his status was now ranked number one globally—Zero, the only known player with confirmed access to Primordial-class techniques and dual world manipulation.

Messages flooded his inbox—ally requests, bounty warnings, and Void Faction scouts sending encrypted threats. One message caught his attention.

"Dominion Sect threat level has surpassed acceptable limit. Prepare for Realm Collapse Event. – System Admin: Reaper000X"

Zero didn't smile, but his aura rippled as if laughing.

He descended from the tower, finding Asha and Arya waiting in the inner courtyard. Asha's Ice Phoenix cloak shimmered faintly with azure runes, while Arya's arrays floated silently in orbit around her, anchoring her mental world into spatial equilibrium.

"The system just sent a threat notice," Zero said.

"We saw," Arya replied. "A Realm Collapse event means they're releasing a faction-wide boss strike against our entire base. In three days."

"It's a full-scenario siege," Asha added. "All players aligned with Dominion will be pulled into a survival map. It's like a temporary death realm—if your soul imprint fails there, your character is erased, and your cultivation progress reset."

Zero processed it quickly. This wasn't just an in-game event. It was a system purge—one designed by AI moderators likely corrupted by Void influence. And it was coming directly for them. The parallels with the real world were uncanny.

"We fight it head on," he said. "We turn their collapse event into our ascension."

Across both realms, time ticked.

In the real world, Rayan's ship descended into a deep Martian trench, one that ancient maps called K'tharah's Maw. The name was older than languages. Yulin spoke it in draconic tongue and flinched afterward.

Within the trench, Dominion elites found what they sought: a massive stone gate sealed by an arcane lock that hadn't opened in over 10,000 years. In front of it stood a statue—half-broken, but still emanating divine suppression.

"This is it," Kael whispered. "The final vault of the Ember Sky Sect."

Rayan stepped forward and raised the Chaos Ring. Its light responded immediately. The gate began to tremble, grinding open. As stone parted, a wave of heat—pure divine flame—washed over them. But it wasn't wild. It was mournful.

Inside the vault lay a sealed chamber, filled with spiritual coffins arranged in a circular formation. At the center sat a suspended crystal housing a flickering ember—the final soul flame of the Ember Sky Sect's Grandmaster.

GearMind's analysis confirmed it. "That ember contains over 400 martial scriptures, dozens of forbidden techniques, and the original Ember-Soul Refinement Art—a technique that can allow mortals to become flame-elemental demigods."

Rayan reached forward and absorbed the crystal into the Chaos Ring. In that instant, something within the Martian leyline awakened. Flame veins burst across the cavern, forming a massive rune in the air—a phoenix born of chaos fire.

"Another sect preserved," Rayan said. "And one step closer to rebuilding the spiritual spine of Earth."

At the same moment in the game world, the siege countdown began.

Players worldwide received the system alert:

"⚠️ Realm Collapse Initiated: Dominion Sector.

Enemy Bosses: 3 Void Lords, 10 Abyssal Commanders, 40,000 Elite Troops

Time Remaining: 72 Hours."

Within seconds, allied sects started requesting emergency conferences. Players from the Ice Vein Alliance, Black Thunder Hall, and Nightshade Garden began offering defensive reinforcements.

Zero sat inside the Dominion throne room, staring at a holographic projection of the battlefield. Arya and Asha flanked him.

Arya spoke first. "We need to divide the defense into four sectors. Outer perimeter array traps, inner core defense squads, and heavy artillery spell cannons around the Sky Gate."

Asha nodded. "We'll coordinate with NPC sects. I have enough influence to pull in Ice Phoenix disciples. We can freeze three flanks and block their mobility."

Zero stood. "And I'll hunt the Void Lords myself."

The room fell silent.

Arya frowned. "You'll be fighting them alone?"

He nodded. "I want them dead before they even reach the city walls."

Back in the real world, Rayan stood inside the transport as it returned to orbit, carrying the recovered ember vault. He opened a private channel to Chaos Core AI.

"Integrate the Ember Sky Flame Arts into our cultivation archives. Use fragments to refine our planetary defense arrays."

"Integration will take 14 hours. Sector-wide flame resistance up by 34%. Chaos Fire Protocols enhanced."

He leaned back. "Begin process. And find me the next sealed sect. We're not stopping."

Yulin entered the chamber quietly. "We received a ping from Europa's ocean trenches. A soul beacon pulsed for less than one second, then vanished."

"Another forgotten sect?"

"Possibly. One we didn't even know existed."

Rayan stood. "Plot a course. We're going."

And in the game world, the final day began.

The sky above Dominion Sect turned violet-black, rift lines forming in the heavens. Thunder without sound boomed across the land. Entire mountains trembled as the system began deploying enemy legions.

Zero appeared at the top of the city's Sky Tower, wearing the newly forged Chaos Flame Sovereign Armor, made using techniques retrieved from the Ember Vault. His blade shimmered with dual-element fusion—void and chaos flame entwined.

Arya and Asha stood by his side, each leading their own elite units.

At 00:00:00 on the raid timer, the world cracked.

Void Lords descended, bringing corrupted light, soul disruption waves, and twisted laws of death. They marched forward with armies at their heels, AI-controlled generals screaming digital orders in corrupted tongues.

But the Dominion Sect did not fall.

Arya's spatial barriers held the front.

Asha's phoenix flames burned the first three enemy waves into ash.

Zero flew above the battlefield, a comet of black and violet. His Chaos Flame blade cut through three enemy commanders in a single strike.

He moved like death itself—elegant, unstoppable, sovereign.

The game world trembled. The system glitched.

[ERROR: Player action exceeds event parameters.]

[Adjusting difficulty: Void King Fragment Manifestation triggered.]

The game cheated.

But so did Zero.

He activated the Primordial Scroll hidden since Chapter 12.

[Chaos Sovereign Domain: Activated.]

[All allied stats +300%. All enemies suffer 90% Qi disruption. Time field reversed within 1 km.]

The world bent. The Dominion Sect rose.

And the Void Lords screamed as they were erased by the will of one man.

When it was over, only silence remained.

Back in the real world, Rayan opened his eyes.

The ember of the Ember Sky Sect floated around him.

The game world had followed his lead. The real world now burned with sovereign flame.

Two realms.

One will.

One Chaos Sovereign.

And the war… was only just beginning.