---
The moment Kael stepped back into his soulscape, the air changed.
No longer was it a void—it was a battlefield.
Split sky. One side burning gold. The other seething black.
At the center, Kael stood alone, breath steady, eyes sharp.
Before him, two figures formed from divine pressure.
Alaric, the Hero King—clad in radiant armor, holy sword crackling with celestial flame.
Veyrion, the Demon God—wreathed in living shadows, obsidian spear humming with void.
They no longer whispered. They no longer tried to control.
Now, they stood as enemies.
And Kael, the soul between gods, no longer bowed.
---
"You've changed," Alaric said, disappointed. "You had the potential to be something more."
"I am more," Kael answered coldly. "I'm everything you feared a hero could become."
Veyrion grinned. "Oh, I like this version. Still, you're in over your head."
Kael rolled his neck. "We'll see."
---
They attacked.
Holy light and abyssal flame struck him from both sides.
Kael dodged, blocked, countered. Every blow nearly shattered his form, but he didn't break.
> [Skill Acquired: Celestial Footwork – Fragmented]
[Skill Acquired: Demonic Spear Arts – Fragmented]
He learned as he fought—absorbing, adapting.
His system hummed in overdrive, syncing to the rhythm of gods.
Pain tore through his being.
But beneath it… exhilaration.
He was no longer prey.
---
In a clash of blades, Kael caught Alaric's sword with one hand, twisted, and drove his elbow into the knight's face.
He spun, ducked under Veyrion's shadow strike, and blasted him back with a fusion of both elements.
> [New Skill: Forbidden Fusion – Light & Void Pulse]
[New Title: Soul Wielder]
Alaric stumbled.
Veyrion growled.
Kael smiled.
"I'm not your puppet. I'm not your heir. I'm the end of your stories."
---
He struck Alaric with a burst of void-enhanced light.
The hero screamed, body splitting into rays as Kael crushed his core.
Then he turned on Veyrion—who laughed even as Kael impaled him with a spear of light.
> [Heroic Soul – Alaric: Destroyed. Essence Absorbed.]
[Demonic Soul – Veyrion: Destroyed. Essence Absorbed.]
---
The world trembled.
Kael stood alone, his body glowing with unstable power.
> [Unique Evolution Triggered...]
[Class Advanced: Godless King]
[New Trait: Soul Devourer – You gain power from enemies slain within your soul.]
[Warning: Host body may not survive complete assimilation.]
Kael gritted his teeth. His veins felt like they were on fire. His bones screamed.
And yet…
He stood tall.
Alive.
Transcendent.
No longer carrying anyone else's will.
Just his own.
---
Kael Ardyn was reborn. Not as a vessel. Not as a pawn.
But as the first of his kind.
A god-killer.
---