The upper chamber was no longer empty.It had been silent when they passed through before. Still. Dead.Now, it thrummed.The air crackled with the scent of ozone, stone, and burning prayer.Leonis and Kael emerged from the spiral stairs to find the vault flooded with light—not flame, not torchlight, but something purer, more dangerous.A humanoid figure stood in the center of the chamber—eight feet tall, draped in robes woven from starlight. No face. Only a mask of mirrored glass, where light bent and refused to reflect.Its hands were folded.Its voice, when it spoke, was not heard. It was felt. Inside the sternum. Deep in the teeth."You were meant to stay buried."Kael inhaled through his teeth. "That's a problem."Leonis stepped forward.The Inquisitor tilted its head slightly—barely a gesture—and the chains that once bound the First rose from the slab, animated by divine will, and flew toward him.Leonis didn't dodge.He caught one mid-air with his new hand.The silver-veined fingers flared, and the chain screamed—yes, actually screamed—as it burned in his grip and dropped to ash.Kael blinked. "Okay. That's new."The Inquisitor didn't flinch.Instead, it raised its hands."Divine Protocol: Purification."Glyphs burned into the floor. Golden circles overlapped, spinning faster. The temperature dropped as columns of light burst from the ground—cages of holiness, trying to pin Leonis in place."System Warning: Host marked for erasure."Leonis smiled.Good.He raised his hand."Soul Severance," he whispered.The runes flared.The air split.And something snapped.It wasn't physical. It wasn't sound.It was reality giving way, briefly—just enough to let something deeper push through.The glyphs shattered.The Inquisitor staggered.Its mirrored mask cracked down the middle.Kael stepped back. "What the hell did you just do?"Leonis stepped forward, eyes now reflecting the same strange silver light he'd seen in the First's eyes."I cut its soul off from the divine."The Inquisitor raised its hands again.But there was no power behind it now.Only form.Only weakness.Leonis reached forward and pressed two fingers to the being's chest."You shouldn't have come alone."Then—He pushed.The Inquisitor collapsed. Not in a crash. Not in blood. But like a statue returning to dust.Ash, feather, glass, and light scattered across the vault floor.Kael was already backing toward the stairs.But the Revenant System wasn't done."Critical Event: System integrity compromised."
"Error: Core Code Conflict."
"Your path is no longer recognized.""Do you wish to overwrite your System alignment?"
[Y/N]Leonis didn't hesitate."Yes."The world flickered.For a heartbeat, every line in the tomb glowed.Then it darkened.New text appeared in his mind:"Alignment shift: Independent Host."
"You are no longer bound by Divine Tier Hierarchy."
"New Title Acquired: System Breaker."Kael, watching all of this, spoke slowly. "You just broke the thing that makes you alive?"Leonis turned toward him."No.""I broke the thing that thinks it owns me."