Genesis & Oblivion: The Celestial Evolution System

Chapter 84: Chapter 84 — Breaking Through

The old fortress stood before them.

Its massive entrance was blocked by the black-cloaked disciples.

Behind them, more participants continued pouring out from the courtyard.

Azrael counted them again.

Twenty-three.

Their formation was organized.

They clearly weren’t random participants who had decided to work together.

Someone had trained them.

The leader slowly raised his sword.

"You won’t enter."

Azrael rested Astraeus against his shoulder.

"We’ll see."

The leader’s eyes narrowed.

Then he charged.

BOOM!

His sword collided with Astraeus.

The impact shook the stone beneath their feet.

Azrael slid backward.

The leader followed immediately.

Another strike.

Azrael blocked.

A third.

He stepped aside.

The leader spun and attacked from the opposite direction.

Azrael ducked beneath the blade.

He noticed something.

The other black-cloaked disciples weren’t attacking randomly.

They were waiting.

Whenever Azrael moved toward the entrance, two people immediately closed the gap.

Whenever Caelan attempted to advance, another pair moved to intercept him.

Their goal wasn’t to defeat them individually.

It was to prevent them from entering the fortress.

Azrael understood.

"Caelan!"

The spear user looked toward him.

"Take the right side."

Caelan nodded.

"Understood."

"Lyanna, left."

"Already moving."

"Orin, stay with Seraphina."

Orin raised his shield.

"Got it."

Seraphina smiled.

"Then what are you doing?"

Azrael looked at the leader.

"I’m opening the door."

Caelan moved first.

His spear thrust forward.

BOOM!

A black-cloaked disciple blocked the attack.

Caelan twisted the spear.

The shaft struck the opponent’s wrist.

The man’s weapon dropped.

Caelan stepped past him.

Two more enemies rushed toward him.

He planted his foot.

"Storm Spear."

Blue-white lightning wrapped around the spearhead.

He swung.

CRACK!

The two disciples were forced backward.

Caelan immediately advanced.

The right side of the formation began collapsing.

At the same time, Lyanna disappeared.

No sound.

No movement.

Nothing.

One of the black-cloaked disciples suddenly looked behind himself.

"Where did she—"

A dagger stopped against his throat.

Lyanna whispered.

"Too slow."

She struck his shoulder instead.

He fell unconscious.

Lyanna moved again.

Another target.

Then another.

She wasn’t trying to defeat everyone.

She was removing the people maintaining the formation.

On the opposite side, Orin raised his shield.

Three attacks struck it simultaneously.

BOOM!

His feet dug into the ground.

"That’s a lot of people."

Seraphina stood behind him.

"Can you hold?"

Orin grinned.

"I can hold."

Another attack struck.

BOOM!

His knees bent slightly.

"...Probably."

Seraphina laughed.

"Then I’ll help."

Golden light gathered around her staff.

"Genesis Bloom."

Golden flowers appeared beneath the attackers.

Vines erupted from the ground.

The black-cloaked disciples struggled to move.

Orin immediately charged.

CRASH!

His shield sent two opponents flying.

Seraphina followed with a burst of golden energy.

The center of the formation opened.

"Now!" she shouted.

Azrael was still fighting the leader.

Their weapons collided repeatedly.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

The leader was powerful.

His sword carried enormous force.

But Azrael had already understood his rhythm.

The heavy attacks always came with a slight pause.

A tiny recovery window.

Most opponents wouldn’t notice it.

Azrael did.

The leader swung again.

Azrael blocked.

The moment the man’s sword reached the end of its movement—

Azrael stepped forward.

Astraeus struck his chest.

BOOM!

The leader stumbled.

Azrael didn’t follow immediately.

Instead, he stepped backward.

The leader looked confused.

"Why did you stop?"

Azrael smiled.

"Because you haven’t lost yet."

The leader’s eyes sharpened.

He charged again.

This time, he abandoned his previous rhythm.

His attacks became unpredictable.

Azrael’s expression changed.

"He adapted."

Good.

Azrael welcomed it.

The two exchanged another series of attacks.

The leader’s sword grazed Azrael’s arm.

Azrael’s blade cut across the man’s side.

Neither stopped.

Then Azrael suddenly lowered Astraeus.

The leader’s eyes widened.

He thought Azrael had made a mistake.

He attacked.

Azrael stepped to the side.

The sword passed him.

Astraeus struck the man’s wrist.

CLANG!

His weapon flew from his hand.

Azrael’s blade stopped against his neck.

Silence.

The leader stared at Astraeus.

Then slowly raised his hands.

"I lost."

Azrael lowered his sword.

"Good."

The leader looked toward his remaining companions.

Their formation had already collapsed.

Caelan had broken through the right side.

Lyanna had eliminated several key fighters.

Orin and Seraphina had opened the center.

The black-cloaked group no longer had the advantage.

The leader sighed.

"Stop."

The remaining disciples hesitated.

"Stop fighting."

One by one, they lowered their weapons.

The battlefield became quiet.

Several participants were injured.

None appeared to be dead.

Azrael looked toward the leader.

"Why were you controlling this fortress?"

The man retrieved his sword.

"Because of what’s inside."

Caelan stepped closer.

"What is inside?"

The leader looked toward the fortress.

"A resource."

"Which resource?"

He hesitated.

Then answered.

"An ancient training chamber."

Lyanna frowned.

"That’s it?"

"No."

The leader shook his head.

"It’s not a normal training chamber."

Azrael remained silent.

The man continued.

"The fortress was originally built by an ancient civilization."

"They left behind several facilities."

"One of them is still functioning."

Seraphina looked toward the entrance.

"What does it do?"

The leader smiled bitterly.

"Improves comprehension."

Azrael’s eyes narrowed.

"How?"

"The chamber creates an environment based on the user’s understanding."

"It forces you to confront your weaknesses."

Caelan’s expression became interested.

"So you’ve been protecting it."

"Yes."

"How long?"

"Four days."

Orin frowned.

"Then why attack other teams?"

The leader looked uncomfortable.

"Because once we discovered the chamber, everyone wanted it."

"We needed resources to survive."

"So you decided to take them."

The man didn’t deny it.

"Yes."

Azrael looked at him for several seconds.

"You could have simply negotiated."

The leader laughed.

"Do you think everyone would agree?"

"No."

"But you never tried."

The man fell silent.

Azrael turned toward the fortress.

"That doesn’t matter anymore."

He began walking forward.

The leader looked at him.

"You’re going inside?"

"Yes."

The man shook his head.

"You don’t know what you’re entering."

Azrael glanced back.

"Neither did you."

Then he continued.

The group entered the fortress.

The interior was far larger than expected.

Huge stone corridors stretched in multiple directions.

Ancient symbols covered the walls.

Some were completely faded.

Others still glowed faintly.

Lyanna touched one of the walls.

"This isn’t normal stone."

Caelan examined the markings.

"They’re formation inscriptions."

Seraphina looked around.

"Who built this place?"

The former leader followed them inside.

"We don’t know."

"Then how did you discover the chamber?"

"One of my teammates activated a mechanism."

He pointed toward a large stone door.

The door was covered with circular symbols.

Azrael approached.

He immediately felt something familiar.

Not power.

Resonance.

The same sensation he had experienced when studying the white stone beyond the Thirteenth Gate.

He placed his hand against the door.

Nothing happened.

Then—

A faint vibration passed through his palm.

Azrael’s eyes widened.

The symbols began glowing.

Click.

Everyone stepped backward.

The ancient door slowly opened.

A circular chamber appeared beyond it.

At its center stood a single black platform.

Above it floated hundreds of small crystals.

Each crystal contained a different image.

Swordsmanship.

Magic.

Alchemy.

Formation Arts.

Healing.

Body cultivation.

Elemental control.

And countless other disciplines.

Seraphina stared at them.

"There’s so much."

Caelan stepped forward.

"This place..."

The former leader looked shocked.

"I’ve never seen those crystals activate."

Azrael entered the chamber.

The moment his foot touched the floor—

The crystals began rotating.

One after another, they released light.

The chamber responded to his presence.

A translucent System screen appeared before him.

[Ancient Comprehension Chamber Detected]

Function:

Accelerates understanding through controlled trials.

Restriction:

The chamber cannot teach what the user refuses to understand.

Recommended Duration:

3 Hours

Warning:

Failure may result in temporary loss of comprehension progress.

Azrael read the message carefully.

Then he smiled.

"This might actually be useful."

Seraphina looked at him.

"You’re going in?"

"Yes."

Caelan nodded.

"We’ll guard the entrance."

Azrael stepped toward the platform.

Before sitting down, he looked at the others.

"Don’t interfere unless something goes wrong."

Orin raised his shield.

"Understood."

Seraphina smiled.

"Good luck."

Azrael nodded.

He sat cross-legged on the platform.

The crystals surrounding him began glowing brighter.

Then the entire chamber went silent.

A familiar feeling spread through his body.

Not power.

Not energy.

Understanding.

Azrael closed his eyes.

The first trial began.

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