The void trembled.
Kael stood at the edge of a bridge made from bones, the Crown Bastion behind him—a fortress still shaping itself with every breath of his will.
Layer 13 obeyed his command. Layer 12 bent to his presence.
Now…
Layer 11 would kneel.
But before Kael could descend deeper, he had a warning to deliver.
Not just to the surface.
But to everyone who ever left him to rot.
---
A Body for a Message
Kael extended his hand toward a black pool—one born from the souls of devoured invaders.
From its depths, a single body floated upward. Intact. Breathing.
A survivor of the last surface expedition.
> [Sovereign Skill: Soul Branding – Initiated]
[Host Identified: Scout No. 3 – Elric Halden]
[Memory Fragments Accessible: Noble House, Warlock Trainee, Lira's Ally]
[Override Rate: 100%]
Kael smiled.
He didn't need armies to send fear.
He only needed one man.
"Walk, Elric," he whispered. "Walk back to your people… and tell them who I am."
Chains slithered into the man's spine.
Elric's eyes turned violet.
---
Surface – A City on Edge
The capital of Velarion was a storm of scrolls and sermons. The throne room was filled with generals arguing, clergy praying, and magi divining in panic.
And then…
The doors opened.
Elric Halden stumbled in.
"By the gods," one guard gasped. "He's alive—!"
Elric fell to his knees. His skin shimmered. His breath rasped.
Then, his mouth opened—
And Kael spoke.
"Children of sun and silver… you sent me into darkness."
"You sent me to die."
"You buried me under the weight of your pride."
The room froze. Magic flared. Clerics screamed.
"But I did not die," Kael's voice echoed through Elric's body.
"I was reborn."
A shadow halo crowned Elric's skull. Chains bloomed from his limbs like roots.
"I do not seek war," Kael said.
"I bring judgment."
And with that, Elric's body exploded into ash and obsidian feathers—each one bearing Kael's sigil.
---
Kael's Court – War Preparations Begin
Kael returned to the Hollow Spire.
His monster generals knelt before him.
Glaiveclaw, the ravager-drake.
Whispershade, the banshee queen.
Ironfang, the stone ogre now clad in abyssal armor.
They had seen his message. And they bowed not in fear—but in worship.
> [Sovereign Authority Increased: +220]
[New Titles Earned: The Pariah King, Chained Prophet, Void-Sovereign]
Kael opened the war map—an ethereal diagram of dungeon layers, each pulsing with different mana hues.
Layer 11 glowed blue-white.
"Report," he ordered.
Whispershade hissed, "The Celestial Knight still rules Layer 11. Name: Ser Lumineth. He is not a monster…"
She lowered her head.
"…he is worse."
---
The Celestial Knight
In Layer 11, a temple of light floated mid-air—an inverted palace guarded by radiant statues and soulforged angels.
Ser Lumineth sat upon a throne of starfire.
He had once been a Hero of the Surface.
But when he discovered the truth of the gods, he was cast down—sent to purge the Abyss. Instead, he conquered a layer and made it his domain.
He was the Last Lightbearer.
And he had been waiting.
> [Alert: Layer Barrier Distortion Detected – Source: Kael the Pariah]
[Auto-Defense Protocol: Activated]
[Mission: Purge the Sovereign]
Lumineth's eyes glowed silver.
"So, the next god rises…"
"Let him try."
---
Meanwhile – Kael Evolves Further
Kael sat before the Sovereign Core.
It pulsed with raw creation.
> [Shard Assimilation: 40%]
[Unlocking Sub-System: Domain Tactics]
[New Trait: Authority of the Bound]
Chains wove through his skin like tattoos. His wings expanded, folding like cloaks. His voice, when he spoke, echoed across dimensions.
He summoned a map of Layer 11.
"Light meets shadow," Kael said. "Let us see whose god is real."
He raised his hand.
> [Sovereign Command: Begin Abyss March]
[Deploy Force: Vanguard of the Unchained – 10,000 Units]
[Objective: Breach Celestial Defenses and claim the Radiant Core]
---
The Abyss March
Ten thousand monsters marched in silence.
Behemoths with chained skulls. Swarms of winged terrors. Shadow hounds. Screaming banshees.
Kael led them at the front, cloaked in blacklight, his blade formed from sovereign will.
The gates of Layer 11 trembled.
As they breached the barrier, light exploded.
Angels descended.
Paladins of divine flame clashed with Kael's forces. For every monster slain, two more rose.
Kael stepped forward, absorbing a holy lance into his palm.
"You still think holiness means truth?" he asked the angel general.
He twisted—and the being screamed, ripped apart by sovereign chains.
---
Lira's Choice
Back on the surface, Lira watched Kael's message again. She stood at a crossroads.
"Go to him," a whisper came.
She turned. It was her old mentor—now blind, marked by dungeon madness.
"Why?"
"Because he still remembers you. And if you wait too long… he'll forget what mercy means."
She took her sword.
"I'm going down."
---