We saw the vestige's army that already leaved the planet Qiyun. They moved towards their planet. They were in the space.

Thousands of space ships moved with countless vestiges. In the middle of among them the big ship was floated in the space moved towards their home.

The stars shifted, cold and wordless, as the Vestiges' fleet abandoned the battlefield. They left behind nothing but a distant glow of shattered mana, moving like ghosts through the void. Thousands of ships, each carved from black metal and woven with spells of forgetting, formed a silent procession toward their homeworld.

In the heart of their formation moved a single fortress-ship, a giant among titans. Its hull stretched miles wide, layered with bone-white plating and gold-infused crystal. The prow carried an eternal flame, fed by the memories of a thousand lost worlds. No mortal language could name the fortress; its markings were older than written history, its presence older than many stars.

Inside, the fortress was a cathedral of war. Spires rose like fangs around an open council chamber, where columns of obsidian carried the weight of sculpted ancestors. Massive banners of runic cloth hung from every archway, shimmering with blood-colored threads. A dome of crystal at the summit revealed the endless sweep of the cosmos beyond.

Commanders of the Vestiges had gathered, their voices low. There were seven of them, each bearing a title of destruction. The Third Commander stood apart from the others, silent and thoughtful, his pale hands clasped behind his back. His armor was made from forged prayers, every plate engraved with images of past victories. Infront of them Virion's body floated.

The first among them spoke, a woman whose presence bent the air like a crushing tide. "We have withdrawn. whyyy? They killed our second commander and king's son too," she said, her voice quiet as sharpened steel.

Another nodded, armor etched with a thousand funerals. "It matters not. The king will answer them if he wishes. He decided to retreat. We can't speak anything. But I think bcz of Virion. He decided to retreat."

A hush fell across the chamber as the doors at the far end opened.

He entered without fanfare... the king of the Vestiges. He was a figure that did not belong to any living age. His robes were the color of dusk, stitched from silence itself, flowing around him like a slow-moving shadow. His crown was no metal trinket but a circlet of woven bones, bound by black fire that whispered truths older than creation. His skin looked carved from bleached marble, eyes like wells of pale starlight, seeing yet unblinking.

His steps made no sound. His presence alone bent the magic in the room, pulling the air tight around him. At his left side walked his faithful servant an old priest named Azuel, whose spine was chained with runes that burned and healed with every breath.

The king took his place upon a throne sculpted from crystalized grief, looking over the assembled commanders with no trace of warmth.

The Third Commander stepped forward. "My king," he began, bowing low, "forgive me for questioning, but why order our withdrawal? We could have finished them. As you knew they killed our prince."

The king did not answer at first. The only sound was the slow grind of the ship's engines as they moved through cold space. Azuel stepped forward instead, head bowed. "Commander Sirael," he said, revealing the Third Commander's name, "the king will answer your doubt. Don't cross threshold. Don't be impatient. Just maintain your calmness. Hold your words too."

The king's voice was carved from a realm beyond language. It seemed to echo from the depths of the ship itself.

"The Origin Core," he said, as if stating a funeral sentence. "Its seal has broken."

Sirael's eyes widened. "After ten years? But the Core was bound beyond measure. How could it break so soon?"

The king's gaze did not shift. "Because the living on Qiyun will have to ascend beyond our paths. They must have to reach the threshold of planetary-level magic. After then the seal of origin core will broke. And you are right. Our prince was died but he was wanted that. He said that if anything will happens don't care about it. If I will die, don't care about it too. It was his choice and he was satisfied too. Looke at his face. In his face still you can see smile."

Another commander spoke, face hidden behind a visor of weeping crystal. "Then our path is clear. We wait until the Core devours them? Forgive me my king for interrupt you. "

Azuel shook his head. "No. The king's will is different. We will return to our world, let the Core awaken fully. Then we move. When they reach that level and be strong enough to break that seal, we will arrive once more. Only current living beings of Qiyun have powers to broke that shield. As we know we are also from Qiyun and we also can do that but something was changed. We don't know who was that or it's happened naturally but only current living beings of Qiyun can destroy that seal."

A hush fell over them. Sirael swallowed, his voice tight. "So the retreat... was mercy?"

The king lifted one pale hand, a gesture of finality. "Not mercy," he said, "but preparation. There is no mercy in destiny. Earlier our plan but during battlefield as you know our another squad was reached at core. And after according to plan they tried to broke that seal but they failed. Some of them also died bcz of reaction force from the core seal."

Then they all understood that why King decided to retreat.

Third commander nodded and asked...

"So, my lord... what are we to do with the prince's body?"

His voice was quiet, almost afraid to disturb the stillness that had settled over the hall. The weight of loss hung in the air, heavy and unmoving. Eyes flickered toward the shrouded figure lying in silence, as if waiting for someone to give meaning to the end.

"For now moved it towards the frozen chamber." King just answered. His face was emotionless but in his voice something hidden. A pain. Pain of someone's loss.

Then they greed the king and asked him for permission to leave. King moved his hand. And then they all leaved that place. Third commander carried prince's body with him on his right shoulder. Only servant and king remained in that place.

Beyond the fortress walls, the other ships drifted past like silent crows. Through the great dome of the fortress, the broken light of a dying star burned its last embers, caught in the spells that held the ship steady.

Azuel stepped forward, his staff tapping the black marble floor. "We will bring you the list of those to stand trial in the next council, my king," he murmured.

The king did not answer. His eyes turned toward the distant world of Qiyun, far behind them now.

It was a world he would one day burn, once the Core had finished its harvest.

For now, he rested in the fortress of his ancestors, surrounded by walls painted in memories of death, while his commanders stood at the different chamber. A frozen chamber.

Deep beneath the marble halls of the Eternal Sanctum (fortress's name) lay the Frozen Sepulcher a circular chamber encased in frost older than memory. The air was bitter and still, heavy with ancient magic. Along the curved walls, crystal coffins rested in solemn ranks, each one cradling a body untouched by time. Their faces remained serene, as if caught between breath and silence.

At the center of the chamber, a pillar of ice rose from the ground, covered in glowing runes that pulsed with a cold, pale light. Threads of frozen mana stretched from it like veins, feeding the stasis spell that kept the dead preserved. Silver torches burned with blue flame, casting long shadows that moved like whispers on the walls.

It was a sacred place, not of mourning, but of purpose. They putted prince's body in the middle of the platform of the chamber. There is only one platform in the centre of the chamber. The frozen cold winds like smoke sorrounded the body. Then they left that room. They moved towards their counsiling chamber. The commanders meeting room.

In the silence of that ship, only heavy pressure of mana felt.

We saw in that silence, one chamber located in the east side of that fortress.

The chamber dimmed slightly as the fortress entered the veil of a dark nebula. Lights along the pillars adjusted, casting long shadows across the gathering. Between them, the voices of the commanders stirred once more.

Commander Yurei, fourth in the king's circle, leaned against a column. Her armor was lined with frozen smoke, and her eyes carried rings of ancient frost. "So the seal broke due to growth," she said softly. "Fascinating. I watched the planet for a decade. It had no signs of harmony, no unified purpose. And yet it have potential to reach planetary-level resonance. That is… troubling and amazing at a same time."

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