The realm poured into them.
Not gradually.
Not carefully.
Everything at once.
Silver and black energy crashed through the core in endless streams, surging directly into Dominic and Leila as the prison forced the synchronization toward completion.
The pain was immediate.
Absolute.
Leila cried out as the force tore through every connection she had to the realm, expanding them beyond what her body should have been able to contain.
Dominic staggered for the first time since the transfer began, shadows exploding violently around him as the prison pushed deeper into both anchors simultaneously.
Marcus stared in horror.
"…That looks WAY worse than before."
The old man's face had gone pale.
"The seal is accelerating the process."
"WHY?!"
"Because it's desperate."
Below them, the massive claw tightened against the prison walls again.
The realm screamed.
Literal sound tore across existence itself as fractures spread through the sky in every direction.
The ancient thing beneath the abyss was forcing its way upward faster now.
And the prison—
Was running out of time.
The Sovereign raised both hands.
For the first time, his full power erupted without restraint.
The entire realm shook as massive streams of silver light spread outward from him, reinforcing collapsing sections of reality before they could completely break apart.
But even then—
The claw kept rising.
Dominic gritted his teeth as wave after wave of energy surged through him.
The prison was no longer testing him.
It was rebuilding him.
Strengthening every connection between him and the seal, forcing his existence deeper into the structure holding the abyss closed.
And through the bond—
Leila was experiencing the same thing.
She could feel him.
Every surge of pain.
Every moment of strain.
Every second he forced himself to remain standing.
"Dominic…"
Her voice trembled despite her efforts to steady it.
Not from weakness.
From fear.
Because the energy flowing into him was changing him faster now.
The markings across his body deepened, glowing silver beneath the darkness of his shadows. His presence expanded across the realm itself, intertwining with the prison more completely every second.
And still—
He held onto himself.
Held onto her.
The abyss noticed.
The countless eyes below narrowed simultaneously.
You bind yourselves willingly.
The layered voices echoed violently across the realm.
Then break together.
The claw surged upward suddenly.
Faster than before.
Its massive fingers pierced through sections of the fractured prison, ripping holes into the sky itself.
Darkness flooded through instantly.
Not empty darkness.
Corruption.
Everything it touched began to decay.
Marcus stepped backward rapidly.
"…That is VERY bad darkness."
One of the Alpha Killers struck at a spreading wave of corruption instinctively.
The moment his blade touched it—
The weapon dissolved.
The Alpha Killer barely escaped before the corruption consumed his arm.
The old man reacted immediately, severing the spreading corruption from the warrior before it could consume the rest of him.
Marcus looked sick.
"…Okay, new rule. Nobody touches evil nightmare goo."
The realm trembled harder.
The prison was failing faster now.
Leila forced herself upright against the overwhelming energy pouring through her.
"We're losing sections of the seal."
The Sovereign nodded once.
"The synchronization must complete now."
Dominic looked toward the rising claw.
Then toward the endless eyes below it.
And finally—
Toward the spreading corruption tearing through the realm.
He understood now.
If the prison fell—
Nothing survived.
Not his world.
Not this one.
Nothing.
The energy around him surged again.
Harder.
The prison responded instantly to his resolve, feeding even more power into both anchors.
Marcus stared upward.
"…Why does it feel like the world itself is panicking?"
"Because it is," the old man answered quietly.
Leila suddenly gasped sharply.
Dominic felt it through the bond immediately.
Pain.
Sharp.
Wrong.
The corruption spreading through the prison had reached part of the synchronization network.
And now—
It was spreading toward them.
Thin veins of black decay crawled across the core beneath their feet, twisting through the silver energy holding the prison together.
The moment Dominic saw it—
His shadows reacted instinctively.
Surging downward.
Blocking it.
The corruption collided with his shadows violently.
And for a moment—
Everything stopped.
The abyss fell silent.
The countless eyes widened slightly.
Even the claw stopped moving.
Because the corruption—
Wasn't consuming Dominic's shadows.
It was being held back by them.
Marcus blinked repeatedly.
"…Wait."
A pause.
"…His shadows can fight that thing?"
The old man stared at Dominic in shock.
"No…"
Leila's eyes widened slowly as realization hit her.
"It's because of what he became during the transfer."
Dominic could feel it clearly now.
His shadows no longer belonged solely to him.
They were tied to the balance itself.
Part prison.
Part weapon.
Part something entirely new.
The abyss roared violently.
The claw surged upward again, this time with genuine force behind it.
Because now—
It recognized Dominic as a threat.
The prison reacted immediately.
The energy pouring into Dominic and Leila intensified one final time.
Not chaotic.
Focused.
Purposeful.
The Sovereign's expression darkened slightly.
"…It's happening."
Marcus looked at him desperately.
"What's happening?!"
The old man answered instead.
"The synchronization is completing."
The core exploded with blinding light.
Dominic and Leila both cried out as the final wave of energy crashed through them.
The realm shook harder than ever before.
The claw beneath the prison tightened violently.
The abyss roared.
The sky fractured completely.
And then—
Silence.
The light faded slowly.
Marcus lowered his arms carefully.
"…Please tell me we're alive."
At the center of the core—
Two figures stood.
Dominic.
Leila.
The energy around them had changed completely.
No longer separate.
No longer conflicting.
Their powers flowed together naturally now, silver and shadow intertwined around both of them in perfect balance.
The prison stabilized.
The spreading fractures halted.
Even the corruption stopped advancing.
Below them, the abyss trembled.
For the first time since awakening—
It had been forced back.
But not defeated.
The countless eyes below slowly narrowed again.
Watching.
Waiting.
Learning.
And deep beneath the realm—
Something even larger began to move.