Scott’s features creased as the charred bodies of the plump cultivator and his pet crashed heavily into the ground. The sizzling cries of lightning faded, and Ember, moving like a bullet, landed a few paces from where Scott and Orion stood. In the blink of an eye, Slim joined them, adjusting his cufflinks with practiced ease, while Plume gradually reverted to her original form.

“I don’t like the look on your face, buddy,” Slim remarked, his voice tinged with concern. “Please don’t tell me there’s bad news,” he added, his gaze scanning the area for Zara.

“If my theories are correct, it’s worse,” Orion replied, a sardonic smile playing on his lips.

Simultaneously, Ember, Slim, and Plume let out resigned sighs. Just then, Zara emerged from the bush path, her eyes lingering on her companions who stood a fair distance away from Big Bao’s and Wailu’s corpses.

As expected, they’re all done with their battles, she smiled upon noticing her companions, but her frown quickly disappeared upon studying their expressions. Why do they look so serious, though? she muttered to herself as she silently approached.

“Why do you guys look so crestfallen?” Zara asked, her gaze shifting to the mangled remains of the zombies scattered across the area.

Wasting no time, Slim recounted Orion’s latest discovery to the feline, and her expression instantly turned grim.

“B-But, can they really do that?” Zara stammered.

Orion turned toward her, his gaze steady. “What’s stopping them? I’d do the same,” he said matter-of-factly.

“But,” Zara began, but the words faltered in her throat. She couldn’t muster a decent argument. Even if she had one, they were powerless to act on their thoughts, right or wrong.

“So, what do we do now?” Ember broke the lingering silence, and instinctively, the champions all turned to Orion. The mage prepared to speak, but a new system notification appeared before them, drawing their attention.

Your rewards for completing the Ranking Games have been determined! Congratulations! You have received 100,000 Experience Points! Congratulations! You have leveled up! Level: 86! Experience Points: 6,700/8,700 For your outstanding achievement, you have been bequeathed a total essence stone! You have gained a participation ticket to the grand opening of the next chaos vault! Note: A participation ticket cannot be traded, destroyed, sold, bought, or abandoned. All ticket holders must compulsorily enter the vault when it opens. Note: All champions will be forcefully taken to the entrance of the chaos vault at the appointed time, regardless of their current location or timeline. However, champions who have crossed the Point of No Return but wield a participation ticket will have a sentient avatar of their form before they crossed participate in their stead! Note: The death of a ticket holder will result in the destruction of the ticket within five years. Should the vault open during this period, the ticket will be destroyed instantly!

Several luminous stones appeared before Scott and his companions. Scott, however, focused on Slim and Plume, both encased in contrasting mana cocoons. Slim’s cocoon was thick and black, exuding a baleful aura, while Plume’s was vibrant and thin, emitting a calm, soothing radiance that even the surrounding vegetation responded to.

Of all times for a level up. What would happen if we were being ambushed or pursued? Scott thought, his gaze shifting back to the levitating stone.

Total essence stone… Scott repeated in his mind as he read through the notifications, noting that no explanation was provided about the gleaming item. He turned to Orion, who was staring curiously at the stone, just as he was. Scott then glanced at Zara and Ember. Like Orion, the feline’s gaze shifted between the stone, the cocoons, and the notifications. Ember, on the other hand, had a look of recognition that Scott couldn’t help but notice.

“Does it seem familiar to you?” Scott quizzed mentally.

Ember nodded. “It is, but I didn’t know it was called a total essence stone,” she replied.

Scott's brows shot up. “What do you know it as, and what purpose does it serve?” he asked, approaching the dragonkin.

Zara and Orion reacted to Scott’s movement, with Zara speaking first. “What’s going on? Did you detect something?” she asked, her gaze scanning the area. They couldn’t afford to be caught off guard while Slim and Plume were in their current state.

“No,” Scott said, stopping a few paces from Ember and gently raising his stone. “It seems Ember might know what this stone can do—or, rather, what purpose it serves.”

Zara and Orion turned their curious eyes toward the dragonkin, Orion barely restraining himself from rushing over to ask the questions racing through his mind. Meeting their fervent gazes, Ember took a deep breath, brushing aside a loose strand of hair. “Where I grew up, they called this the reformation stone,” she began, her voice solemn. “There was only one in my village, and it had mostly lost its luster. According to the elders, those favored by the ruler of the tower would be bequeathed the reformation stone. With it, they could reform their bodies by absorbing the light within.” Ember suddenly paused, frowning as she recalled a stray memory.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“I only saw it from afar, so I don’t really know if what they claimed is true or not,” she added after a moment.

“Why were they so confident that it worked?” Orion suddenly asked, drawing all eyes to him.

Ember hesitated. “They said… because I’m alive.”

A heavy silence followed as the champions’ thoughts raced. No one could decipher exactly what she meant, but each had their own theories.

Orion chuckled softly, tightening his grip around the glistening stone. “Did they mention anything about its activation?”

Ember nodded. “It can only be activated when blood touches it, but that doesn’t mean it’s bound to whoever spills their blood on it. I’m sorry, but I’m not entirely sure what’s supposed to happen, but that’s all I know,” she explained.

Orion’s interest piqued as he prepared to prick his left thumb.

“Hey, hold on,” Zara chimed in, frowning. “At least wait until those two complete their advancement. We have no idea what will happen to you. We can’t take unnecessary risks. Got that?”

Orion offered a resigned smile and nodded, tucking the stone back into his inventory. Zara’s tense features relaxed slightly as she also stored her stone, but her senses remained on high alert, constantly scanning the area for potential danger.

“You were saying something earlier,” Scott suddenly said. “What do you think will happen once the bridges manifest physically?”

All eyes turned to Orion once more. The mage took a deep breath. “To put it simply: chaos,” he declared solemnly. “The random nature of the current method prevents most people from mindlessly hopping between timelines. But with a physical and established pathway, nothing will stop people from traversing timelines—”

“I’m not as smart as you, but I can’t quite figure out what makes it more dangerous,” Zara interjected. “Even with an established pathway, I doubt many people would be willing to cross multiple timelines.”

“You’re looking at it the wrong way,” Ember chimed in before Orion could reply. “There’s probably a near-infinite number of timelines. Imagine one person in each of them having the will to traverse timelines. Suddenly, that number isn’t so small.”

Zara’s features lit up in realization, and then Scott spoke. “The situation will be even more perilous if there are powerful entities with ambitions to conquer multiple timelines. The impending destruction would be unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”

Orion clapped cheerfully, directing his applause toward Scott and Ember. “That’s just the surface of it. What Scott said is bound to happen—of that, I’m certain,” Orion said. “The tower houses countless champions with ambitions that rival ours. As soon as the bridges manifest, a new era will dawn upon the Tower of Champions, and it will be marked by bloodshed and endless wars. But that’s not even the scariest part.” He paused, giggling.

All eyes locked onto the mage, silently urging him to continue and stop stalling. Orion cleared his throat. “Has any of you thought about what would happen if the gods decided to make every possible floor across the infinite timelines their sanctuary?”

The expressions of the champions turned grim as the chilling thought settled in their minds. Not only would they have nowhere to seek refuge, but they would also be forced to flee for the rest of their lives.

“The only safe havens will be the official trial grounds, but they’re sure to be teeming with the gods’ stooges,” Orion said, breaking the silence. “Naturally, this is all under the assumption that every champion would be willing to submit to the gods. But remember, there are countless others out there whose ambitions match ours. They would rather die than become puppets. As the cliché goes—”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Scott finished.

“Bingo,” Orion grinned. “From now on, part of our goal should involve making as many friends as possible.”

The champions’ countenances remained strained after the mage’s explanation, the weight of their impending reality slowly dawning on them.

“The annoying part is that we have no accurate timeline for when this will happen,” Zara sighed, her gaze drifting back toward the cocoons.

“Then again, it’s not like we’d even know when it happens. The gods or the administrator might not announce it. I wouldn’t if it were me,” Ember said, her brows furrowing in thought.

“Trust me, we’ll know,” Orion declared confidently. “That’s not the kind of thing you can just hide all willy-nilly. There’s bound to be…” His voice trailed off as his attention drifted toward Scott. The voidweaver had been unusually silent, both mentally and verbally, his focus fixed on the clear skies above.

Does he see something up there? Orion wondered, scanning the skies, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Zara and Ember followed suit, their eyes lifting to the heavens. Like Orion, they saw nothing unusual, but their gazes eventually returned to Scott, who remained eerily still.

Ember approached cautiously. “Do you see something up there?”

Scott stayed silent, his eyes seemingly glued to the sky, his expression unreadable. The trio exchanged uneasy glances, their thoughts racing with concern.

“Scott, are you there?” Zara called out, her voice tinged with worry. But like before, no response came. She moved closer, intending to shake him out of whatever trance he was in, but Orion stepped in her path, shaking his head.

“Leave him alone. Something’s happening,” he whispered, though the concern in his voice betrayed his attempt to stay calm. It was a rare sight—the usually unflappable mage showing signs of unease.

“Great. Could this day get any worse?” Zara sighed, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. She turned her attention to the cocoons, approaching them cautiously. On her fifth step, a sudden chill ran down her spine. She quickly spun back to Scott, noticing that Ember and Orion had also taken a few steps back from the voidweaver.

What’s going on? Zara thought, her eyes darting to the pendant on the rustling chains, which seemed to be slowly unfurling, as if preparing for combat.

“Scott, are you there? You’re scaring us,” Zara called out, dropping into a battle stance, her senses on high alert.

For the first time, Scott tore his gaze away from the skies. The expressions of his companions grew even more serious as they noticed the bright, somewhat illusionary flame dancing in his right eye. His pupils resembled countless worlds engulfed in flames.

“Get ready for battle,” Scott suddenly declared, his voice carrying a weight that made the air feel heavier.

“Huh?” Zara blurted out, her eyes frantically scanning the surroundings. “Who’s the enemy?”

Scott raised his hand toward the sky. “I don’t know them, but they’re powerful.”

Zara, Orion, and Ember looked up again, straining their senses to detect anything unusual. Though they saw nothing, they knew better than to doubt Scott’s instincts.

Suddenly, a system notification appeared before them.

The Calamity of Endurance is descending!