The echoes of the crowd still thundered through the stone walls.
"Uncrowned Sovereign!"
"Uncrowned Sovereign!"
But Kaelen Drayce was no longer standing in the arena.
The moment Tyrian Drakonis fell, Valewind's senior mentors had pulled him into a secured chamber beneath the arena.
Not for celebration.
For politics.
Because now, the real war had begun.
Inside the Secured Chambers
Kaelen sat alone at a stone table, Sovereignblade Astryn resting across his lap.
The cracked-crown sigil gleamed faintly against his battered cloak.
The world had changed.
And so had he.
[System Notification]
[Reputation Update: Recognized Title - "Uncrowned Sovereign."]
[World Interest Levels: Legacy Clans 100%, Royal Houses 80%, Major Guilds 95%.]
[Warning: Multiple factions preparing offers — and threats.]
Kaelen exhaled slowly.
It was never going to be just battles anymore.
The First Invitations
The door creaked open.
Messengers entered — noble envoys, guild officers, merchant lords — each carrying gilded scrolls and jeweled contracts.
They placed their offerings on the table, bowed (some reluctantly), and left without a word.
Kaelen sat in silence, staring at the pile of promises.
He didn't touch them.
He didn't need to.
He already knew what they wanted.
Invitation
Offer
Ironwall Guild
Captaincy, command over 100 elite warriors.
Dawnspire Nobility
Knighthood, an estate near the capital.
Obsidian Hollow
Private meeting with their Grandmaster.
Merchant Consortium
Unlimited artifact sponsorship.
Zyren Empire
Title of "Sovereign Duke" for defection.
Kaelen smiled coldly.
"They don't want to honor me. They want to own me."
He turned his back on the scrolls.
When he stepped forward again,
it would be on his own terms.
Meanwhile — Deep Beneath Elyndor
Far from the sunlight, the Black Moon Guild gathered in an ancient temple.
Cloaked figures knelt around a black altar, where a relic pulsed with sickly red light.
A single phrase echoed through the chamber:
"The Sovereign rises."
"The Fallen must rise faster."
At the altar, the Guildmaster spoke:
"Prepare the ritual."
"Summon the first Fragment of the Fallen Sovereign."
Something ancient and terrible stirred in the darkness.
Later — Pathbreakers' Hideout
Kaelen returned to the abandoned watchtower.
The Pathbreakers — Eren, Selina, Mira, Lyra, Damon — rose as he entered.
Kaelen sat heavily on the cracked throne at the center of the room, Sovereignblade resting against his knee.
He met their eyes — his family, his future — and spoke:
"They think this was the peak."
"They think this is my limit."
He leaned forward, cracked-crown sigil burning brighter.
"They are wrong."
[System Notification]
[Pathbreaker Guild Status Updated: C-Rank Achieved.]
[New Title Available: Pathbreaker Sovereign.]
[Guild Expansion Slots Unlocked: +50 Members.]
Kaelen smiled.
The world was opening.
And soon, it would kneel.