The shattered plaza shook under every step of the Fallen Fragment.
Its hollow eyes burned with twisted hunger.
Above, the night sky cracked with streaks of crimson mana storms.
Kaelen stood alone before the monster, Sovereignblade Astryn gleaming silver in his grip.
Behind him, the Pathbreakers fought desperately against the Fragment's minions — creatures of bone and shadow.
But Kaelen never looked back.
This battle was his.
[System Notification]
[Warning: Opponent Threat Level - Unknown (Above S-Class).]
[Battle Strategy Recommended: Delay. Disrupt. Survive.]
Kaelen inhaled slowly, steadying his heartbeat.
He stepped forward.
The First Clash
The Fallen Fragment struck first —
a clawed hand of blackened crystal descending like a meteor.
Kaelen dashed sideways, Arcane Step flaring, the ground shattering where he had stood.
He countered with a sweeping arc of Astryn's Shardblade, silver afterimages slicing the air.
The Fragment recoiled, but not from damage.
From recognition.
It remembered.
It feared Sovereign power.
[System Notification]
[Hidden Sovereign Blade Skill: Resonance Initiated.]
[Astryn's True Aspect Awakening: Crownsever Edge.]
Kaelen's blade pulsed brighter —
a thin, sharp line of light extending from the Sovereignblade's tip.
A weapon meant not just to kill…
But to break rulers.
To sever crowns.
Kaelen moved.
He charged head-on, Sovereignblade Astryn humming with suppressed fury.
The Fallen Fragment roared — a soundless screech that shattered stone and mind alike.
Kaelen didn't flinch.
He ducked under a sweeping claw.
Rolled between a raining hail of death-mist.
And drove the Crownsever Edge directly into the monster's chest.
The Result
The light flashed.
The Fragment staggered backward, its body cracking where Astryn struck.
Dark mana leaked from the wound, burning the ground it touched.
The Pathbreakers gasped from their defensive lines.
The unstoppable monster had been wounded.
By one man.
[System Notification]
[Crownsever Strike Successful!]
[Target Integrity Reduced by 12%. Weakness Zone Exposed.]
[Talent Resonance Gained: Sovereign Suppression Aura +5%.]
Kaelen straightened, breathing hard.
But he smiled.
"You're not invincible," he said quietly.
"You're just another relic of a world too afraid to change."
Meanwhile — Far Beyond Elyndor
In an unseen plane high above the world, ancient beings stirred.
Silent watchers — draped in cloaks of stardust and chains of forgotten light — turned their ageless eyes toward the battle.
One figure, wreathed in silver flame, spoke:
"Another Sovereign candidate breaks the threshold."
"Too soon. Too fast."
Another — crowned with horns of ice and fire — laughed softly.
"Let him climb. Let him rage.
The real trials have not even begun."
The heavens themselves were watching now.
And Kaelen Drayce had just earned their attention.
Back on the Battlefield
The Fallen Fragment shrieked and charged.
But this time — Kaelen was ready.
With a shout, he met the horror head-on, Sovereignblade Astryn blazing bright enough to outshine the broken moons.
And as their clash lit the night —
a single thought burned through Kaelen's soul:
"I will break every chain."
"I will sever every crown."
"I will forge a throne higher than the stars themselves."