The Cycleborn Echo Realm floated quietly in the aftermath of the Ascension Trial, now partially detached from the rules that governed normal multiverse travel. Its skies shimmered with streaks of silver light—residual fragments of broken laws and half-erased stars. Beneath its shining horizon, new gates opened. Not from the System, but from something older.
---
[ Global Notification: Secret Tier Unlocked – Black Market of the Skyless Gods ]
> Location: Forgotten Void Sector
Access: Only for Realms that have achieved "Ascendant" status
Rule: System law is suspended within. Beware—gods, demons, and broken souls trade without consequence here.
Objective: Unknown
Warning: No resurrection. No road protection. No System interventions.
---
Lian, Jayce, and Demist stood in front of the new gate—an obelisk made from reversed timelines. It didn't shimmer—it shuddered, as though it was afraid of being opened.
"We're being invited somewhere even the System avoids," Demist muttered. "And yet I don't sense hostility."
Lian narrowed his eyes. "No. Just opportunity."
Jayce grinned. "Did somebody say forbidden bazaar? You had me at 'illegal shopping.'"
---
Scene: The Black Market
As the trio crossed the threshold, they entered a world without gravity, color, or light—yet somehow filled with presence. The structures here bent logic: staircases moved like serpents, booths floated in chunks of shattered reality, and traders ranged from demigods to sentient shadows.
Each vendor had no name—only titles.
The Bone Architect. The Memory Scribe. The Child of Last Days. The Trader of Misfortune.
And above them all floated a shrine made from bones, time loops, and fractured prayers.
---
[ System Fragment Detected: Hidden Rank Store Unlocked ]
> Talents Available: Forbidden Evolution Paths
Vehicles Available: Legendary Grade Constructs
Currency: Soul Tokens, Concept Fragments, or Echoes of Fallen Worlds
---
Lian's eyes focused on the store's centerpiece: a floating cube with a locked talent inside.
Talent: Fate Diver – Version Alpha: Thread Rewrite Protocol
> Passive: You may challenge fate once per world
Active: Steal the "destiny" of another being and weave it into your own
Hidden: ??? (Requires Ascended Coin Multiplier synergy)
Cost: 3 Soul Tokens
Lian currently had one.
"…We're gonna need more," he said.
---
Quest Triggered: Market Mayhem
Just as the team split to explore, a siren wailed. A group of invaders burst from a side gate—System Cleansers. They wore cracked admin badges and armor made from algorithmic mesh.
"Unauthorized multiverse interface detected. Purging illegal systems…"
A countdown appeared:
[ Black Market Collapse Imminent – 1 Hour ]
---
Battle Phase Begins: Chaos Under No Gods
Enemies:
Algorithmic Beasts: Creatures formed from corrupted code, blending with broken law fragments.
Cleanser Operatives: Agents using System-based weaponry, like reality editors and status erasers.
The group split across zones:
---
Lian's Zone – The Threads of Theft
A Cleanser wielding an "Edit Staff" tried to erase Lian's name mid-fight.
> "Target Identity: Nullified."
But Lian triggered his coin system—recasting his name into ten thousand copies, overwhelming the algorithm.
Then he activated his new weapon: Threadblade, a sword crafted from failed fates.
Each slash severed a possible future from his enemy—until they became too empty to even exist.
---
Jayce's Zone – Laughter Is Law
Jayce was chased by three Cleanser bots, each trying to mute him.
Every joke he cracked exploded into AoE effects:
A "knock-knock" joke created a black hole.
A pun about system bugs summoned literal insects made of error code.
A satire of admin commands caused their own HUDs to crash.
He activated his evolved mic: Comic Surge.
> Passive: Immune to silence, suppression, or despair-based debuffs
Active: Amplifies morale of allies in a 500-meter radius
Ultimate: Laughtrack Overload – forces enemies to re-experience all comedic failures
The bots short-circuited… from embarrassment.
---
Demist's Zone – The Last Stand Again
He faced a Cleansing Juggernaut wielding a weapon that "deleted" battle history.
Each time Demist blocked an attack, his previous victories were erased.
He kept fighting—without history, without memory—but with resolve.
At the brink, a soul appeared: his brother's.
> "One more time?"
Demist nodded.
His talent flared—
Talent Evolution: Eternal Stand → Origin's Bastion
Now his shield blocked not only damage, but destiny.
He crushed the Juggernaut under pure weight of earned will.
---
Final Countdown: 10 Seconds
The group reconvened.
Jayce had looted 1 Echo of Fallen World.
Demist had 1 Concept Fragment.
Lian had stolen 1 Soul Token from a Cleansed realm.
Lian placed all three into the Fate Diver's cube.
[ Evolution Triggered – Fate Diver: Thread Rewrite Protocol UNLOCKED ]
A new symbol burned on his screen:
> "You are now marked by the Watchers of True Fate. Be warned—rewriting fate draws attention."
---
[ Market Evacuation Complete – Location Erased from System ]
They stood at the exit gate, breathing hard.
Jayce: "We just fought copyright infringement… with memes and metaphysics."
Demist: "And we still have no idea where to go next."
Lian looked up as a new portal bloomed—one unlike the rest.
It didn't shimmer or pulse.
It called.