Nexus Ascension: My Comprehension Defies the Heaven

On the far side of the Southern Region, within a sub-dimensional secret realm not far from the ice walls surrounding Starcrest.

A colossal castle stood at its center, its architecture reminiscent of the Victorian era, imposing and ancient.

Hooded figures filled the skies.

More than a thousand of them moved through the air in organized formations. On the ground below, even greater numbers gathered, their presence dense and oppressive.

Around the castle, military squads stood stationed in layers.

Ten thousand or more.

Every single one of them existed at the second rank.

Not a single first ranker could be seen.

They had already been sent out.

Sent to their deaths.

Their purpose had been simple.

Delay.

Buy time.

Time for the High Order to prepare for what was coming.

Then, abruptly, a grey hooded figure emerged from the depths of the castle, dressed in the same robes as the others below.

His expression was grim.

The moment he appeared, every military officer and High Order troop present turned their gaze toward the man standing in the sky.

Despite wearing the same robes, his presence alone marked him as someone of higher standing within the High Order.

Most of the troops gathered here had once been first rankers who failed to cross into the second rank. Under normal circumstances, they would never have been promoted. Yet the situation had long surpassed what could be considered normal.

Facing total collapse, the Southern Region High Order branch had chosen an extreme path.

They used pure abyssal energy extracted during the formation of corruption fields to mass-produce Abyssal Transformation Pills.

The result was staggering.

More than ten thousand second rankers now stood assembled.

There had been no alternative.

The southern branch stood at the brink of annihilation. The hellish demons summoned by Grey Lockhart had swept through their strongholds one after another. Fortress after fortress had fallen.

Only this location remained.

This was the final sanctuary.

The place where the core members of the Abyss resided.

Distress signals had been sent repeatedly to other branches.

However, no response ever arrived.

The neighboring Eastern Region alone possessed more than twenty-five third rank experts. Its fourth rankers numbered over three. Yet none intervened.

On the surface, the southern region only knew of five fourth rank beings. Those were the ones who openly controlled the floating cities: the Federation Master and the four Academy Masters. Their identities were public solely because of their positions.

Beyond that surface lay a deeper reality.

Blue Star's history ran far deeper than common knowledge suggested.

There were countless fourth rankers out there.

Even in the Eastern Region, there were three of them, those that were unaffiliated with the High Order.

Their existences remained concealed, hidden from public awareness. Many had remained in seclusion for countless years, pursuing comprehension of spatial mysteries, domain expansion, or deeper laws of existence.

Fourth rankers rarely revealed themselves.

Among them, the High Order's fourth rankers were far more active than most, regularly intervening when branches faced existential threats.

Yet even they remained silent.

No fourth rank response arrived.

No third rank experts came to assist.

The reason remained unclear. The senior powerhouses of the southern branch could only speculate that a major event was unfolding elsewhere. Their strongest suspicion pointed toward the western region, where abnormal movements had already been detected.

Even so, Grey Lockhart should have taken absolute priority.

Compared to anything happening in the west, Grey Lockhart posed a far more immediate and devastating threat.

Ignoring him was a fatal miscalculation.

If the higher branches truly saw the distress signals and chose to treat the situation as something manageable by the southern branch alone, then they had already committed a grave error.

Grey Lockhart.

If he remained unchecked, destruction would not stop with the southern branch. Every branch would eventually fall.

Reports confirmed it.

Thousands of summoned entities roamed the region, their strength matching the pseudo level of third rank. Months had passed without dissipation. No energy decay was observed.

They were real.

They required no maintenance.

And most importantly, they were not illusions.

That set a root of fear spreading across all High Order members' hearts.

For the first time, the High Order experienced genuine terror.

They no longer knew how to respond.

Shaking away the turbulence in his thoughts, the senior grey robed man slowly swept his gaze across the massive assembly before him.

Thousands of High Order members stood in disciplined silence. Their auras intertwined, forming a vast sea of dark currents. Abyssal energy saturated the air, heavy and suffocating.

No one dared to move.

No one dared to breathe loudly.

Then, the man spoke.

"Everyone present here today shares a single purpose."

His eyes narrowed, killing intent surging without restraint.

"That purpose is the complete annihilation of Grey Lockhart."

A ripple passed through the crowd.

"Understand this clearly. Grey Lockhart is not a mere enemy. He is a blight upon destiny itself. An evil existence that dares to obstruct the Abyss's rightful advance into Blue Star."

His sleeve fluttered as he raised his arm, abyssal energy roaring outward.

"We are the High Order."

"Our souls have already been offered to the Abyss. Our lives no longer belong to ourselves. From the moment you stood beneath the Abyssal Seal, your fate was sealed."

"If you retreat, you betray the Abyss."

"If you hesitate, you betray the Abyss."

"If you hold back your power…"

His gaze turned icy.

"You betray the Abyss."

The pressure in the air spiked violently.

"Those who dare restrain themselves will be judged by the High Order first, before Grey Lockhart ever has the chance to touch you."

Murmurs of fear and fanatic resolve spread through the ranks.

"Release everything you have."

"Burn your powers."

"Shatter your limits."

He clenched his fist.

"Your primary objective is simple. The summoned army of Grey Lockhart must be erased. I do not care how many of you fall. I do not care how much blood is spilled."

His lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Crush them. Tear them apart. Reduce them to nothing with your numbers."

Then, his voice dropped into a cold whisper that still echoed across the battlefield.

"And once his army is gone, Grey Lockhart himself will be left alone."

"That's when we, the senior ranking members, will unleash our powers."