Reborn with the Devil's system-Chapter 43: Realm between

The battle ended not with a scream but with a breath.

A breath so loud it stopped the city of Trivane.

A breath that wasn’t human.

Steve’s body lay burning, cracked open like glass left in a forge. But he was smiling. Even as Elias stood over him, black flames dancing from his hands, Steve smiled.

"You did it," he whispered.

"I did what?" Elias asked coldly, his voice no longer echoing—just resonating, as if the world trembled to understand it.

"You opened the door."

Elias’s eyes widened.

The ground beneath them cracked. Time itself stuttered.

And from beneath the plaza, a rupture tore the air apart—a gate, swirling with shadows and frozen light.

> [SYSTEM ALERT]

Realm Between Unsealed

Dimensional Lock Breached

Warning: This passage leads to unquantified origin threads.

Myra shouted from the outer circle, "ELIAS! The gate! What is that?!"

But he was already walking toward it. fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

Kael tried to stop him, but Elias’s presence alone shoved him back.

The System whispered now—not with prompts, but with prayers.

> Sovereign Path Initiated.

Access granted to the Realm Between.

Proceed?

[Y/N]

Elias didn’t say a word.

He just stepped in.

—

The world stopped existing.

No air. No sound. No pain. No self.

Just becoming.

Elias felt himself pulled into a current that wasn’t water—but thought. It surged around him, cutting through him like sharp threads of memory. Moments flashed around him—his birth, his death, the moment he was reborn, the people he lost, the screams of Murael, the hollow throb of the Root, the System birthing its first code into his veins.

But beyond all of it, there was a silence.

Then a voice.

Not male or female. Not human. It was the voice of Source itself.

"You are late, Elias Black."

"Late to what?"

"To your own creation."

He spun in a void of mirrors. Every reflection showed a version of him—some noble, some monstrous, some dead. One was crying. Another was laughing with blood on his hands.

"You were never meant to live past Chapter One," the voice said.

"But I did."

"Yes. The Devil’s System cheated fate. You rewrote threads not meant to bend."

Elias felt anger rise. "Then what now? Punishment?"

"No. Purpose."

A figure emerged—pure white, cloaked in shifting code and shadow.

"You were a test," it said. "Now, you are the result."

The System interface blinked into view.

> Sovereign Classification: Beyond Authority

Title Upgraded: Origin Binder

Trait Unlocked: Threadwalk – You may alter fated outcomes within sight range.

Warning: Use at extreme risk. You may fracture the present permanently.

The figure extended a hand. "Take this power, and remember—Sovereigns are not made. They are chosen."

"What about Murael?" Elias asked.

The voice pulsed again.

"He was your rehearsal."

Then everything shattered.

—

When Elias opened his eyes, he was kneeling in the center of the ruined plaza.

The gate behind him had vanished.

So had Steve’s body.

The sky above Trivane was cracked—literal lines in the sky, like the realm above was glass ready to break.

Myra approached carefully, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You disappeared for hours. The whole city’s in stasis. We couldn’t even breathe until now."

Kael looked shaken. "Where did you go?"

Elias stood.

Something in his bones had changed.

His eyes now glowed not with flame, but with threads of living code. Reality around him shimmered slightly, like the world was afraid to disobey him.

"To the center of the System," he replied.

Myra took a cautious step back. "And what did it say?"

"That I’m not done."

He lifted a hand. His fingers twitched—and the cracked sky began to heal.

One breath.

One thought.

One act of will.

And time in Trivane resumed.

Citizens who had been frozen mid-scream continued running. Flames reversed. Ash turned to wood. Even the banners of the Red Thorn burned away into mist.

Ceryn dropped to one knee. "He’s not just Sovereign anymore."

"He’s the rule," Myra whispered.

But Elias wasn’t listening.

Not anymore.

He stared at the horizon.

A new prompt appeared before only him.

> [Next Quest Unlocked: The Binder War]

Seven Binders remain.

Not all are your allies.

Target: Binder of Hunger – Unknown

Status: Active

Location: Bleeding Vale

Reward: System Consolidation / Full Ascension

Elias closed his eyes.

This wasn’t just about revenge anymore.

Or redemption.

Or fate.

It was about who gets to rewrite the world.

The sky above Whitestone split like paper.

Black thunder didn’t boom—it screamed, dragging with it streaks of red lightning that didn’t light the sky but tore holes through it. The clouds bled. And the land beneath—the Bleeding Vale—welcomed it.

Elias stood at the edge of a crumbling cliff, overlooking the region known to myth as the land where gods went to die.

Now it was his waypoint.

A scarred map hovered in his vision.

> [Quest Active: Binder of Hunger – Unknown]

Status: Locating...

Realm: Bleeding Vale

Threat Level: Crimson Sovereign Tier

System Suggestion: Proceed with caution. Absolute Dominion is not guaranteed.

The last line flickered.

He ignored it.

The Bleeding Vale stretched into the distance like a wound—dead trees, blood-colored grass, veins of glowing red corruption across broken stone. No birds. No wind. Only whispers.

Kael pulled up beside Elias, dual pistols strapped across his back. "I thought hell would be hotter."

"This is worse," Elias murmured.

Ceryn climbed the slope behind them. "I did some digging. Bleeding Vale used to be a prison for Sovereign entities too unstable for the original System to handle."

Myra brushed her fingers against the air. "It still is."

Elias turned. "And now one of the Binders is hiding here. The Binder of Hunger."

"You mean Steve wasn’t the Binder?"

"No," Elias said. "Steve was... infected. A corrupted vessel. But not the true source. The real Binder is still alive—and feeding."

They began the descent into the Vale.

—

The deeper they walked, the more the world warped.

Trees leaned toward them, branches clicking like claws. Time bent strangely—footsteps echoed before they were made. Ceryn’s staff flickered between wood and bone. Myra swore she saw her dead brother walking ahead, only for him to vanish when approached.

Kael cursed. "This place messes with your head."

"No," Elias corrected. "It messes with your hunger."

He stopped suddenly.

The ground beneath him pulsed.

He felt it—a pull. The same sensation he’d felt when he severed the last Root, the gravitational ache of Sovereign power. But this was different. This wasn’t law or flame.

This was need.

> [System Notification]

Hunger Signature Detected

Proximity: 500 meters

Binder Mask: Weak

Identity: Compromised

A shape moved in the distance.

Cloaked. Hooded.

Not walking. Floating.

"Contact," Elias whispered.

Kael lifted his pistols.

Myra formed a blade of mirrorlight.

Ceryn readied his glyphs.

But Elias raised his hand to stop them. "I know that figure."

The hood dropped.

Elias’s breath caught.

"No..."

It was Rylen.

The one friend he didn’t save. The brother-in-arms from the first war. Thought dead. Consumed by flame. Betrayed by fate.

But he stood there—alive. Pale. Eyes blackened like void pearls. Lips cracked. He smiled, but it wasn’t human.

"Hello, Elias."

Elias took a step forward, fists trembling. "What did they do to you?"

Rylen tilted his head. "They? No, you. You left me."

"I watched you die!"

"You watched me burn." Rylen raised his hand—and from the darkness, shadowed beings began crawling. Twisted versions of humans. Bone-skin. Elongated limbs. Screaming with mouths they didn’t have.

"You were supposed to bring balance," Rylen said. "But you left me in the collapse."

Ceryn muttered, "That’s the Binder."

"No." Elias shook his head. "That’s what’s left of him."

Myra drew her sword, glowing bright. "Then we end this—"

But Elias held her back.

He stepped forward.

Alone.

The System blared.

> [Warning: Binder of Hunger is attempting merge.]

[Soul Flare: Corruption Level 27%]

[Option: Sever the tie OR Embrace the memory.]

Rylen stepped closer, shadows dancing in his wake. "What will you do, Elias? Will you kill me like you killed Murael? Or will you accept me—like you once promised?"

Elias closed his eyes.

He saw it all again.

The battle at Black Hollow. Rylen shielding him. The firestorm. The scream. The fall. The silence. Elias had blamed the system. The Sovereigns. Murael. But in truth...

He had run.

Rylen died because Elias wasn’t strong enough.

But now?

He opened his eyes.

His voice was steady.

"I didn’t come to kill you," Elias said.

Rylen froze.

"I came to take back what I left behind."

He surged forward.

> [Sovereign Command Initiated]

Skill: Dominion Threadwalk – Reclaim Broken Ties

Elias plunged his hand into Rylen’s chest—not to destroy, but to heal.

Light and darkness exploded around them.

Rylen screamed.

The shadows fought, shrieked, twisted—but Elias held firm.

> [Corruption Dispelled: 67%]

[Binder of Hunger – Purified]

New Title Gained: Thread Keeper

Skill Unlocked: Soul Link (Purified) – Bind with a former enemy to access hybrid skills.

The explosion faded.

Rylen collapsed to his knees, gasping.

His eyes were clear.

"My god..." he whispered. "You really... came back."

Elias caught him before he hit the ground.

"I never left," Elias said.

The others approached cautiously.

Ceryn blinked. "You didn’t kill him?"

"No," Elias said. "I reclaimed him."

Myra exhaled. "One Binder down."

Kael chuckled. "Six more to go."

Elias turned his gaze to the horizon.

The threads of fate shimmered like a curtain.

One had turned red.

Another now black.

But one—one glowed gold.

It pointed toward the next challenge.

> [Next Binder Detected: The Crownless Queen]

Realm: Echo Vale

Status: Imprisoned

Threat: Emotional Contagion – Soul Collapse Risk: High

Elias smiled faintly.

"Let’s keep going."

—

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