Prime System Champion [A Multi-System Apocalypse LitRPG]

The trek back from the heart of the archipelago was quiet, a stark contrast to the chaotic din of battle that had defined our last few hours. The Plains of Severed Fate continued their erratic, glitching dance around us — islands shifting position in the blink of an eye, clouds changing color like bruised fruit — but the threat felt diminished. It wasn't that the world had grown safer; we had just stopped playing by its rules.

Anna led the formation. She moved with a strange, liquid economy, her feet finding purchase on shifting stones without hesitation. A Phase-Stalker, a massive creature of flickering blue static, lunged from a patch of distorted grass, aiming for her throat.

She didn't dodge. She didn't even draw [Final Word].

She simply turned her head. A flash of cold, mercurial silver ignited in her eyes — the manifestation of [Sovereign's Perception]. She looked at the creature, and in that gaze, she denied its ability to shift within her Domain.

The wolf's static form solidified mid-leap. The glitch faltered. It slammed into the ground, confused and entirely physical, scrambling for traction that wasn't there. Before it could recover, Kaelen was on it, ending it with a single, efficient snap of his jaws.

"She anchors them," Arthur murmured, walking beside me, his spectral form unaffected by the gravity fluctuations. "It is… distinct. Your domain, the Ashen Phoenix, is a furnace. It consumes. It forces the world to burn away until only your truth remains. Hers is gravitational. It is heavy. She looks at a chaotic variable and simply insists that it sit still."

"Decision," I said, watching her. She looked exhausted, battered, but utterly unbreakable. "Her soul affinity isn't just Time. It's Consequence. She forces the end result."

Admiration swelled in my chest, warm and fierce, but it was tangled with a quiet, hollow ache. The protectiveness that had driven me for so long — the desperate need to be her shield — was suddenly finding itself without a job. She soon wouldn't need a shield anymore, becoming a fortress of her own.

We decided to return to Bastion. The Spire's portal deposited us directly onto the main command deck of the Veiled Path, the transition seamless. The familiar, sterile hum of my Sanctum was a balm after the chaotic noise of the Flux.

Our team was waiting. Lucas, Eliza, and Silas were gathered around the central map table, looking up as we arrived.

"Welcome back," Lucas said, his voice deep and steady. He took in our appearance — the monster gore on Rexxar's blade, the scorch marks on Anna's armor, and the strange, glowing dust coating her. "I take it the 'training trip' was eventful?"

"Educational," I corrected, stepping down from the platform. "How is the city?"

"Secure," Lucas reported. "The quarantine is holding. We've integrated another three hundred verified refugees. With all the sleeper agents contained, thanks to Leoric and Eliza's new scanners."

Eliza beamed, polishing a monocle on her grease-stained apron. "The bio-resonance tuning was tricky, but once I cross-referenced the psychic footprint Nyx left us with the baseline human aura, the algorithm practically wrote itself. We're catching bad actors at the door."

Silas stepped forward, looking at Anna. The rogue was usually quiet, not a person to comment, but his expression clearly showed he wanted to speak. He could sense the change in her. He could feel the sheer, suffocating weight of the mana she was passively radiating.

"You feel… heavy, Anna," Silas murmured, tilting his head. "Like you're standing in two places at once."

"I'm tired, Silas," Anna said, her voice lacking its usual bounce but carrying a new, resonant depth. "Just tired."

"I hope you rest well then," he replied. Silas then looked at me, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. "Eren, could I… have a word? About the Shadow-Meld skill. I've been trying to push it to evolve, to detach my presence completely like you do with your Veil, but I keep getting snagged. The shadows don't want to let go of the physical form."

I paused, looking at my friend. Silas was a scout, a vital part of our eyes and ears. "The problem isn't the shadows holding on, Silas. It's you holding on to them. You're using the shadow as a blanket to hide under. You need to stop thinking of it as a cover and start thinking of it as a medium. Don't hide in the dark. Become the absence of light. Your Mana shouldn't wrap around you; it should vacate the space you occupy. We can do some training tomorrow."

Silas blinked, his brow furrowing as he processed the conceptual shift. "Become the absence… emptiness, not concealment."

"Exactly," I nodded. "Try meditating on the concept of 'Void' rather than 'Stealth'. It's dangerous, but it's the only way to hit the high Tier 4 milestones."

"Right," Silas muttered, already looking inward. "Thanks, Eren, I'll see you tomorrow."

I turned my attention back to Anna. She was swaying slightly on her feet. The adrenaline of the fight was wearing off, leaving behind the crushing reality that her body was vastly outstripped by her new Spirit.

"You need to rest," I said, gentle but firm. "And you need to evolve. You're leaking power, Anna. If we don't stabilize your Domain, you're going to damage your own channels."

"I know," she whispered.

"Jeeves," I called out. "Is the Chrysalis room ready?"

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"The preparation chamber is optimized, Master. Leoric has completed the array."

"Go," I told her. "Jeeves will guide you. Don't worry about anything out here. Just focus on rebuilding."

She looked at me, a moment of vulnerability breaking through her new armor. "Eren… if I change… if I become something else… something like that…"

"You'll always be my sister," I promised. "Go."

She nodded and let Jeeves guide her toward the set up chamber.

Once they were gone, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I walked to the private study adjoining the command deck. Leoric was there, obsessively arranging a collection of glowing items on a side table.

"The catalysts, Master," the Leonine artificer announced proudly. "Refined Mana-Oils, stabilizing tinctures, and the harmonic resonance forks. But… her density requirements are off the charts. We need raw materials. High-grade materials."

"I know," I said, pulling up the System Interface. "I'm not cutting corners."

I navigated to the high-tier exchange.

I had saved these shards carefully. They were meant for expanding the Sanctum, for upgrading our defenses. But looking at the readout of Anna's volatile mana signature on Leoric's screen, the choice was simple.

[Vial of Void-Root Nectar] – 4,500 QS.
[Fragment of a Star-Forged Behemoth Heart] – 8,000 QS.
[Essence of Primordial Sap] – 6,200 QS.

Almost twenty thousand Quintessence Shards. A fortune that could have fed a city for a century.

"Purchase," I commanded.

The Shards vanished from my total. A swirl of golden light coalesced on the table, resolving into three items: a vial of ink-black liquid, a pulsating shard of hot metal, and a flask of glowing green syrup.

Leoric's eyes went wide behind his goggles. "By the Forge… that is Void-Root. And a Behemoth Heart? Master, with these, she won't just stabilize. She'll act as a gravitational well for mana. This will restructure her physiology entirely."

"That's the plan," I said. "Is it possible… can we disconnect her? From the Kyorian System?"

Leoric hesitated, his tail stilling. "Disconnection… is theoretically possible. But dangerous. You, Master, achieved it through a unique paradox during interference from the Prime System itself, before they integrated their modules. For her… we would need to manually sever the connection to the local System. Without the Authority of an Administrator… the risk of Soul fragmentation is… significant."

I frowned, drumming my fingers on the table. "Okay. We'll just have to make do, keep working on finding a better solution, for all of them."

<Wise,> Kasian's thought-voice drifted into the room as the Chronicle manifested near the bookshelves. <The risk of forced severing outweighs the benefit of autonomy. Let the veil suffice until the Narrative allows for a cleaner break.>

"Fine," I agreed. "Get these to her. Tell her to drink the Nectar first."

Leoric scampered off with the precious cargo. I was left alone with Kasian and Jeeves.

I paced the room. Seeing Anna's growth was inspiring, yes, but it also lit a fire of inadequacy under me. I was the Vanguard. I was the one who was supposed to clear the path. I can't have a repeat of the Tower.

"I need to move," I murmured. "I've been managing too much. The Violet Tower… that thing didn't respect me, Kasian. It looked at me like I was a glitch. I need power that demands respect. A power that can grant real freedom and safety."

I turned to the elemental. "Can you find me a good fit? I want a High-Tier 6 world. Maybe low 7. Somewhere ancient but fitting. Somewhere where the rules of reality are harsh."

Kasian swirled, his form a vortex of parchment and ink. He drifted toward the holographic star map in the center of the room.

<The story… waits,> Kasian whispered, his voice a chorus of storytellers. <I seek the chapters you request. The dark places. The forgotten corners.> He extended a hand of shifting script toward a sector of deep space on the map.

Nothing happened.

There was no flare of activation. No coordinates scrolling.

Kasian recoiled, his form shivering as if struck by a wind no one else could feel.

<The ink… runs.>

"What?" I stepped closer.

<I see the destination. But the path… is omitted.> Kasian sounded genuinely confused, a rare emotion for the repository of all knowledge. <The gateway refuses the query. It is not locked by a key. It is simply… absent. As if the chapter has been torn from the book.>

"A blockade?" I asked sharply. "The Kyorians?"

<Negative. This is narrative architecture. A plot-lock. The Prime System itself obscures the way. It whispers… 'Wait for the Call'.>

"Wait for the call?" I repeated, cold apprehension settling in my gut. Since when did the System dictate pacing so vaguely? "Show me what is open. Show me where I can go."

Kasian hesitated, then gestured to a dim, sickly star on the fringe of the sector map.

<The light here flickers. A song of rot and holiness. The Ossuary. It pulses with High-Tier 6 signatures. Necrotic. Divine. It is… permitted.>

"The Ossuary," I rolled the name around. It sounded unpleasant. Perfect. "Necrotic and Divine energy mixed? That's volatile. Dial it in. I'm not waiting around for a phone call."

I moved to check my equipment, emptied my Storage of acquired materials and provided Jeeves with further instructions when an alarm went off.

The sound cut through the quiet room like a knife.

My belt. The secure communicator.

Only one person had the frequency.

I grabbed the device. "Report."

There was no static. No frantic whispering. The connection was crystal clear.

"Command," Nyx's voice came through, cool, smooth, and utterly composed.

I let out a breath. "Nyx. Are you safe?"

"Affirmative," she replied. Her voice had no echo, suggesting a small, enclosed space. "I have returned from the assignment. I am currently holding at the perimeter of the outer Aegis Shield, Sector 4. I did not want to trigger an automated alarm by bypassing security protocols unannounced."

"Let her through, and get everyone to the command room," I ordered, a surge of anticipation replacing my earlier dread. "Have you been successful? You should be okay to enter now, let us continue this conversation in person. It is good to have you back."

There was a brief pause on the line.

"I have," she said, her voice dropping a fraction of an octave, losing its professional detachment for just a split second. "And thank you. I am on my way."