The gateway pulsed like a heartbeat, its threshold rippling between dimensions. Kaelyra stepped beside Kaito, eyes reflecting the burning skies beyond. The Realm of Ascension was only the beginning. Now, they entered the Eternal Span—a realm of gods, fallen empires, and cosmic blades long lost to mortal memory.
As they crossed the threshold, gravity vanished. They floated briefly, weightless in a void of constellations. Then the ground formed beneath their feet—an obsidian bridge stretching toward a city suspended in the sky, ringed by stars and bound by runes.
"The City of Titans," Kaelyra whispered. "Where the First Blades once met."
But the silence was short-lived.
A blast of energy shot past them, followed by a towering figure descending with wings made of glass and lightning. His armor shimmered with starfire, and three swords hovered behind him.
"Name yourself," he demanded. "You trespass upon the domain of the Unbroken."
Kaito raised the Primordial Blade. "I am Kaito, Reforged Emperor of the Blade Lineage. I seek alliance—or trial, if that's what it must be."
The figure smirked. "Then trial it is."
The three swords shot forward like comets. Kaito blocked the first with a clash that echoed across the stars. The second scraped past, slicing his shoulder. Kaelyra cast a prism ward, but the third sword shattered it mid-air.
The titan's voice boomed: "You wield an ancient weapon, yet you fight like a man clinging to memory."
Kaito gritted his teeth, channeled the Blade Art of the Fallen Moon—a technique only the true emperor had ever mastered.
His blade split into echoes, each delivering a phantom strike. One hit the titan's chest, enough to slow him.
Kaito lunged, planting his foot on the bridge, pivoted, and slashed with the weight of the Realm of Echoes behind him.
The titan fell back. Not defeated—but impressed.
"You may pass," he said, retrieving his swords. "But beyond lies more than war. The Elderguard prepare to rise."
Kaelyra looked up. "The Elderguard?"
Kaito nodded slowly. "They were the first enemies. Before gods, before time. If they've awakened... the war will not just decide an empire—it'll decide existence."
They continued forward. Above them, stars dimmed as shadows gathered.
The warpath had begun.