The roar of the crowd faded behind him, dimming like the last
rumble of thunder after a storm. Zero walked with quiet purpose,
each step heavier than the last. Something had shifted—not just in
the arena, but in the air itself. The world felt tighter now, like it
was holding its breath.
He slipped into a narrow corridor reserved for tournament
contestants, the echoing cheers replaced by a muffled hush. Only
one sound remained—soft, but insistent. A chime.
It rang not in his ears, but in his bones.
System Alert
New Trial Unlocked: Shadow Sovereign – Hidden Path
Location: Unknown
Condition: Bloodline Activation Required
Timer: 24:00:00
Zero's hand curled into a fist.
That whisper again.
Not a voice exactly, but a presence—like a memory too old to
belong to him. Something ancient stirred in the marrow of his
bones, echoing beneath his skin like a forgotten drumbeat.
He wasn't
alone.
"Zero… you okay?"
Scarlet stood at the corridor's far end, her
silhouette framed in cold crystal light. She looked him over with
narrowed eyes, one brow lifted. Her purple hair was tied hastily
behind her head, streaked with sweat and the edge of a battle-won
bruise. She hadn't even changed after her fight. She'd come
straight to find him.
He answered by instinct. "Just a tournament."
Her gaze didn't budge. "Liar."
He didn't argue. Couldn't. How could he explain something even he
didn't fully understand?
They walked in silence for a few steps
before she broke it again.
"You know," she murmured, "when we met, you told me you didn't
do drama. 'Keep it clean. Keep it fast. Don't get involved.' That ring
a bell?"
"I still believe that."
She gave a quiet, humorless laugh. "Then what was that pulse I
saw ripple off you? That wasn't mana. That was something else.
Something wrong."
He stopped. So did she.
Around them, only
shadows moved—cold, tall, silent. The sconces flickered, as if the
darkness itself leaned closer to listen.
Zero turned, voice low. "Scarlet… if I told you something bigger
was coming—bigger than this city, this tournament—would you
believe me?"
She stared at him. Then nodded once.
"Of course. You always run toward the fire. Never away from it."
He exhaled through his nose. "Then I need to disappear for a
while. Can you cover for me?"
Scarlet frowned. "You mean lie? To the organizers? To the Guild?"
"Not lie. Just… stall. Say I collapsed. Say I'm unconscious in
medbay. Say I vanished in a puff of mystery—whatever sells."
She folded her arms. "This about that system alert?"
He didn't
answer.
He didn't need to.
Scarlet stepped forward and gripped his
wrist. Her fingers were cool, calloused. "You're not alone, Zero.
Whatever this is—"
"I have to be alone for this one," he said sharply. Not loud—but
final. "This isn't a dungeon or a duel. This is something buried."
A beat passed.
Then, reluctantly, she let go.
"Fine," she muttered.
"But if you don't come back in one piece, I swear I'll kill you
myself."
Zero smiled faintly. "Fair enough."
He turned, stepping into the
nearest shadow without hesitation. They didn't resist—they
welcomed him, bending around his body like silk soaked in night.
A rooftop above the Guild Hall. Quiet. Cold. The city sprawled
beneath him, alive with flickering signs, moonlit domes, and glowing
torches.
The timer ticked in the corner of his vision.
23:12:49
Zero sat cross-legged in the stillness, his breathing calm. Beneath
his skin, something old stirred.
Bloodline Activation Required.
The term Shadow Sovereign had first appeared when he broke past
his Rogue class. He'd assumed it was symbolic—a title earned
through power.
Now he realized: it was a key.
The whisper grew clearer, unraveling like thread through his
thoughts. He reached deeper than he ever had before—not toward
mana, not toward stealth—but toward something older.
Something
etched into his very being.
There it was.
Not a skill. Not a spell.
A mark.
A birthright.
And when he touched
it—
The world cracked.
Agony exploded through his chest, like chains searing molten
against bone. He doubled over. Shadows swallowed him whole.
And
then—
Not light. Not dark.
Space.
He landed hard on black stone.
The sky above was a swirling veil of stars and ash. The air
crackled with ancient force. He stood at the center of a vast onyx
circle, runes carved in violet fire spinning slowly beneath him.
Hidden Trial Initiated: Shadow Sovereign – Path of Origins
Objective: Confront the First Shadow. Survive.
A figure emerged.
Cloaked in rags and black flame. A mask—
familiar, yet twisted by time—covered its face.
And when it spoke,
it was his voice.
Older. Rougher. Worn.
"You are the last… and the
first."
Zero stood slowly. "Who are you?"
"I am what you could become. I am what you were made to be. I
am the First Shadow Sovereign. And now... I am your judge."
A
blade of pure shadow coalesced in the figure's grasp.
Zero's Mask of Eclipse slid into place. His Coat of Reversal pulsed
in response to the warping air. Emberfang and the Knight's Edge
flickered into his hands—gifts claimed from past victories.
The duel
began.
The First Shadow moved like vengeance given form. Each blow
struck with the weight of eons. Zero matched the rhythm, dodging
by instinct, parrying with desperation.
But this wasn't just a fight.
It
was memory.
Each strike mirrored his own style—only cleaner. Sharper.
Perfected.
"Why now?" Zero growled, rolling beneath a wide arc.
"Why test me?"
"Because power without understanding is decay," the
First Shadow answered. "Because the darkness within you is not yet
tamed."
Bad Omen. That was the name the system had given his original
perk. A mark of fate—one that bent the world toward disaster.
But
now he saw it for what it really was.
A warning. A seed.
He ducked
low, flipped over a blade swipe, and lashed out with both daggers.
"You were made to break the cycle," the First Shadow intoned. "But
to do that, you must become more than a thief of light."
The figure vanished—then reappeared behind him.
Shroud Step. His
own move. But refined.
Zero caught the shadow blade between
crossed daggers. Sparks flew. His boots slid backward across the
stone floor.
"I've evolved too," he snarled, twisting his heel into the
Sovereign's ribs.
The First Shadow stumbled.
And in that moment,
Zero saw him.
Not a ghost. Not a monster.
A man.
Scarred. Alone.
Tired.
A mirror of what he could become.
Then the shadows
exploded.
Clones formed from nothing. The floor split, revealing layers
beneath—ruined cities, kingdoms lost, thrones shattered.
Every
illusion was a memory.
And at the heart of them all… a singular
truth.
Negation wasn't just a perk. It was a principle.
A power meant not to serve—but to reign.
Zero fought through it
all. Bleeding. Exhausted. But driven.
This was his inheritance.
And
heirs didn't run.
With a roar, he surged through the storm—dagger
plunging into the First Shadow's heart.
Silence.
Then the sovereign
looked down. Then up.
And smiled.
"You are ready."
The arena dissolved. Zero collapsed.
Trial Complete.
Bloodline Awakened: Shadow Sovereign (True).
New Skills Unlocked: Shadow Genesis, Eclipse Domain, Sovereign's
Command
Title Earned: Heir of Negation
In his chest, the whisper solidified. Became a voice.
"Welcome,
Sovereign."
He awoke on the rooftop. The city remained unchanged.
But the
shadows had changed.
They didn't obey—they listened.
He flexed his
hand, and the darkness rippled outward, bending to his will.
He was
no longer just Zero, the rogue adventurer.
He was the next Shadow
Sovereign.
And the world was about to feel it.
Scarlet found him the next morning. He stood at the edge of the
rooftop, cloak rippling in the breeze.
"You came back," she said.
He didn't turn. "For now."
She stepped beside him. "What happened?"
Zero turned, the cyan in his eyes glowing faintly.
"The past. And
the future. I met both."
Scarlet hesitated. "And?"
Zero smiled—but the warmth was gone. Replaced by resolve.
"And
now… it's time I stop hiding."