Chương 329: Sleeping King Awakens

Atherius cleared his throat, drawing every gaze toward himself. The group of paragons regarded him with expressions ranging from confusion to outright disbelief. Callum folded his arms, Yuki's brow remained deeply furrowed, Artoria watched with the disciplined caution of a veteran knight, while Caesar's cybernetic eyes stayed fixed on the ruined titan below. Even Chrome paused beside Hachi, his optical sensors quietly studying the ancient sage.

The silence stretched long enough to become uncomfortable before Atherius finally spoke.

"But," he said evenly, lifting a single finger, "it takes far more than physical damage to awaken the real Tyrus." Caesar frowned.

"Wait." His voice carried confusion now.

"So you're telling me... the thing you fought a moment ago wasn't actually Tyrus?" Atherius shrugged as though discussing nothing more important than the weather.

"More or less." Caesar blinked several times before looking back toward the colossal machine resting motionless against the mountainside. Its shattered frame still pulsed with faint blue light, each flicker resembling the dying heartbeat of something far greater than a machine.

"No... that doesn't make any sense." His analytical mind immediately began replaying every second of the battle.

"He moved with intent. He reacted. He spoke. He panicked. His speech patterns weren't artificial, they showed emotional instability, contextual awareness, self-preservation... those aren't traits of a simple defense protocol." Atherius closed his eyes for a moment, carefully considering how to explain something that defied ordinary logic. Eventually he slapped his hands together, apparently satisfied with the comparison he had settled upon.

"Think of them as echoes." Caesar remained silent, waiting.

"The machine recorded the final moments of its master," Atherius continued.

"Every scream. Every command. Every desperate attempt to survive. Over countless centuries, those memories fused with its autonomous systems. What you witnessed was not Tyrus himself, but the machine replaying fragments of those final memories whenever it perceived danger." Caesar stared blankly before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"So..." He sighed heavily.

"... it's haunted by trauma."

"In a rather simplified sense."

"I hate that explanation."

"I know."

"I also believe you."

"You should." Caesar shook his head with quiet resignation.

"Forget it." He waved the discussion aside.

"I'll understand everything once I repair him." Without another word, his body shifted as thousands of metallic plates slid across one another with mechanical precision. Sections of armor folded inward while new tools emerged from concealed compartments beneath his synthetic frame. Diagnostic systems came online at full capacity, streams of holographic data racing across his vision as he prepared to begin the enormous task ahead.

Nearby, Chrome remained standing atop Hachi's shoulder, though his attention had shifted away from the fallen titan entirely. His sensors swept across the barren valley in widening circles again and again, repeatedly identifying the same impossible anomaly. Unknown signature detected. Location: Uncertain. Distance: Impossible to calculate. Source: All directions simultaneously. Chrome's optical lenses narrowed.

"... Strange." His scanners intensified, probing deeper into the valley's lifeless landscape, yet every result remained identical. Whatever he had detected refused to obey conventional positioning. It existed everywhere and nowhere at once, as though the valley itself possessed a heartbeat his systems had only just begun to perceive.

"Hey, Chrome." Callum's voice drifted up from below.

"Something wrong?" Chrome looked down from Hachi before giving a slow shake of his head.

"No. It is likely a sensor malfunction." Without another word, he climbed down from the enormous machine. His metallic body descended several dozen meters before landing heavily upon the stone, hydraulic joints absorbing the tremendous impact. Although the landing remained stable, he staggered slightly afterward as his recently repaired systems continued recalibrating from the immense strain they had endured. Callum instinctively stiffened. His heartbeat quickened.

His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword. Despite everything that had happened, despite knowing Chrome had never willingly harmed him, despite understanding he had only been a weapon under another's control, the memories refused to fade. He still remembered the slaughter, the overwhelming power, and the crushing helplessness of standing before something he could never hope to overcome. Trauma cared little for reason. Chrome noticed. This book is hosted on another platform.

Read the official version and support the author's work. His optical lenses softened.

"I see you have not yet recovered." Callum remained silent for several seconds before exhaling slowly.

"It wasn't your fault." Chrome looked up.

"You've already proven that." Callum rubbed the back of his neck, forcing a faint smile that never quite reached his eyes.

"You were being used back then." His expression faltered slightly.

"But... that day left a wound that probably isn't ever going to heal." Chrome's processors ran silently.

"I understand." Several minutes later, Caesar returned from his examination surrounded by floating holographic displays.

"Well," he announced, "I've got good news..." Yuki appeared beside him, looking as though she might collapse at any moment.

"The good news first," she pleaded.

"Please." Caesar smirked.

"The machine can be repaired." Relieved sighs spread through the group.

"It won't be easy," Caesar continued, "but structurally he's salvageable. His core is intact, his primary systems still exist, and enough of his processing architecture survived that I should be able to reverse-engineer the missing sections." Callum smiled.

"So he'll live."

"Eventually." Caesar nodded.

"The bad news is that it's going to take weeks." Silence settled over the camp.

"Possibly months." Nobody looked particularly surprised.

"Tyrus isn't built from ordinary alloys," Caesar explained.

"Most of his internal framework consists of composite materials I've never encountered before. Entire sections of his body are missing, countless kilometers of conductive wiring have been destroyed, and large portions of his internal support structure have simply... vanished." He scratched the back of his head.

"I can manufacture replacements." Artoria tilted her head.

"You possess such a forge?" Caesar smiled.

"Something like that." He removed a small metallic cube from his wrist compartment and tossed it onto the ground. The device immediately expanded as panels unfolded outward, mechanical arms extended from hidden compartments, and towering support beams rose toward the sky. Within moments, the tiny cube had transformed into what resembled a massive industrial fabrication plant fused with an impossibly advanced three-dimensional printer.

Steam hissed from dozens of vents while brilliant energy pulsed through transparent conduits running throughout the structure. The entire machine hummed to life with quiet efficiency.

"It converts raw materials into virtually anything," Caesar explained proudly.

"Steel, ceramics, advanced alloys, artificial muscle fibers... even certain forms of crystal." Callum stared at the enormous machine before laughing under his breath.

"... That's cheating."

"It certainly feels like it." Caesar chuckled.

"But complexity determines production speed." His smile faded as he looked up toward the broken titan resting against the mountainside.

"And unfortunately..." he said quietly, "... he's about the most complex thing I've ever seen."

"So..." Callum sighed, glancing around the rocky plateau.

"We're staying here... for a while." Caesar nodded as he reached into his pack and scattered several compact capsules across the stone. The devices sprang to life the instant they touched the ground. Metal frameworks expanded outward with mechanical precision as walls unfolded, roof sections locked into place, and support beams anchored themselves deep into the mountain. Within less than a minute, a small encampment stood where there had previously been nothing but bare rock.

Simple but sturdy prefabricated barracks lined the cliffside. Nearby, automated water purification units drilled into the bedrock while portable generators buried themselves beneath the surface, quietly supplying power to the camp. Caesar folded his arms with obvious satisfaction.

"There. A temporary base. The water systems are completely self-sustaining, and I've brought emergency medical equipment, spare power reserves, and enough supplies to keep everyone comfortable for quite some time." He gestured toward several reinforced storage containers before looking across the valley.

"The only thing we'll actually need to worry about is food." Atherius smiled faintly as his gaze drifted toward the surrounding mountains.

"I don't imagine hunting will prove difficult. Even weakened as we are, everyone standing here still possesses enough physical strength to tear apart mountains." Yuki, however, had already stopped listening. The moment one of the barracks finished assembling, she sprinted inside.

"Finally... a bed." A loud thud echoed from within. Then silence. Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"She fell asleep the second she hit the mattress... didn't she?" Caesar nodded.

"Probably." For a few peaceful moments, the tension hanging over the group finally eased. Then Evelyn frowned.

"... Hold on." She counted the buildings again.

"There are only five barracks." Her gaze shifted toward Caesar.

"We're ten people now."

"I've already planned it," Caesar replied, pointing around the camp.

"Chrome stays with me. Yuki can use my barrack too. You and Callum share one. The sages each get their own." Evelyn froze.

"... Oh." Callum shrugged.

"That's fine with me." Evelyn rubbed her arm awkwardly.

"I don't know if we're exactly... there yet." Callum smiled gently.

"Eve, if something's bothering you, just tell me. I don't mind sharing a room with you." He chuckled.

"I actually like sleeping beside you." Evelyn's cheeks flushed.

"That's not what I-" A deafening roar erased the rest of her sentence. The sound rolled across the valley like divine judgment. Mountains shook violently, the air fractured with a thunderous crack, and every barrack rattled as loose stone cascaded down the surrounding cliffs. High above, Ember's eyes snapped open. The colossal wyvern surged upright, ivory fire flooding his throat. Despite old injuries, he spread his wings and answered with a roar powerful enough to shake the heavens.

The shockwave staggered everyone. Yuki burst from the barrack with tangled hair and half-open eyes.

"What the hell is happening?!" Before anyone answered, Atherius, Hunter, and the horned woman landed beside the group. For the first time since Callum had met them, all three sages looked genuinely alarmed. Atherius rubbed the back of his neck.

"So... we have a rather significant problem." Callum frowned.

"Care to explain what that was?"

"You remember when I said the Dark Mist was the apex predator of this valley?" Everyone nodded.

"... That was only partially true." Silence settled over the camp. Callum's hand found the hilt of his sword.

"What do you mean?" Atherius forced a nervous smile.

"It was only the apex predator because the true ruler of the valley happened to be asleep." Callum's expression darkened.

"... Then what just woke up?" Atherius swallowed.

"The God of the Purge."

"... Xerax." Caesar frowned.

"... Who?"

"The God of the Purge."

"... That's not an explanation."

"No," Atherius admitted.

"It really isn't." Callum tightened his grip.

"... Will he leave us?" Atherius hesitated.

"... If we're polite..." He paused.

"... Probably." Caesar stared.

"... Probably?"

"I sincerely hope so."

"The hell do you mean you hope?!" Before Atherius could answer, the world lurched violently beneath their feet. The entire land shook. Enormous fissures ripped across the mountain while ancient peaks split apart, collapsing into clouds of dust and ash. Something unimaginably massive was moving beneath the earth. The rumbling grew louder. Closer. Above them, August and Hurricane shrieked before diving toward the group, their eyes fixed on the approaching presence.

Callum grabbed Hurricane's feathers as he forced himself upright. Then he looked toward Ember. The white wyvern had gone completely still. Not preparing to fight. Not roaring. Simply... Afraid. A chill ran through Callum as something enormous began rising behind the wyvern. At first it was only an immense shadow. Then came an impossibly long tail covered in black metallic scales, followed by six gargantuan wings of overlapping obsidian plates.

They unfolded with agonizing slowness until daylight itself disappeared beneath them. Ember finally turned. The White Demon looked terrified. The mountain behind him exploded. From the collapsing peak... A dragon emerged. No. The dragon. Its spine stretched like an endless mountain range lined with colossal black blades. Countless horns crowned its skull, while steel-like fangs disappeared impossibly deep into its throat.

Smoke rolled from its nostrils with every slow breath as ancient, cold, divine eyes settled upon the group. Every instinct within Callum screamed at him to run. Yet nobody moved. Not Caesar. Not Artoria. Not Evelyn. Not even Atherius. Because within the Undying Valley, where every form of supernatural power had been stripped away... A god...... was still a god. And every soul standing upon that mountain now existed entirely at the mercy of Xerax, the God of the Purge.