The Fallen Fragment shrieked, its body cracking with lines of leaking darkness.
Above Elyndor, the mana storms raged fiercer, tearing the heavens with crimson bolts.
But Kaelen Drayce did not falter.
He stood firm, Sovereignblade Astryn burning in his grip, his cracked-crown sigil blazing brighter with every heartbeat.
Behind him, the Pathbreakers tightened their formation, shields raised, spells charged.
They weren't just fighting for survival anymore.
They were fighting for their future.
[System Notification]
[Fallen Fragment Health: 58%.]
[Warning: Hostile Mana Field Expanding.]
Kaelen narrowed his eyes.
The Fallen Fragment was getting desperate.
Which meant —
they had a chance.
The Counterattack Begins
"Mira! Cover fire on the right!"
"Eren, with me! We cut through together!"
"Selina, keep Damon standing! Lyra, scout the flanks!"
Orders flew from Kaelen's mouth — precise, confident, relentless.
The Pathbreakers moved like a single living organism.
Mira's arrows crackled through the darkness, pinning the monster's joints.
Eren charged with a roar, his axe cleaving through summoned shadow beasts.
Selina's healing light flared, knitting shattered bones and torn muscles.
Lyra unleashed cutting winds, opening gaps for strikes.
And Kaelen himself —
he moved like a storm incarnate.
Sovereignblade Astryn danced in his hands, silver arcs of power carving deep into the monster's defenses.
Every strike was clean.
Every movement inevitable.
He wasn't just fighting.
He was leading.
The Sovereign Edge
Kaelen leapt high, Sovereignblade raised above his head.
Silver energy condensed along the blade's edge —
pure willpower, sharpened into lethal focus.
Crownsever Strike: Second Form.
He came down like a falling star.
The Sovereignblade pierced the Fallen Fragment's cracked core, splitting black crystal with a deafening roar.
The ground quaked.
The monster howled — a scream of defeat, rage, and fear — as its body began to disintegrate into black mist.
[System Notification]
[Fallen Sovereign Fragment Defeated.]
[Loot Dropped: Fragmented Sovereign Core x1.]
[Mission Complete: Survival Secured.]
[Sovereign Path Progression: 35%.]
Silence Fell
Kaelen landed heavily, breathing hard.
Around him, the Pathbreakers collapsed to their knees one by one — exhausted, battered, victorious.
For a long moment, there was no sound.
Only the ragged breathing of survivors.
And then, slowly, one by one, they rose.
And smiled.
Reflection
Kaelen stared at the ruined sky.
The stars peeked through the torn clouds, flickering like distant hopes.
He thought of his family.
Of a small house in a forgotten village.
Of a mother who cried when she thought no one was watching.
Of a father who stayed up late, sharpening worn tools with shaking hands.
Of younger siblings who dreamed of a better world they might never see.
His fists clenched.
He had survived.
He had fought.
But he hadn't climbed this far for power alone.
He had climbed for them.
To give them a life no one could take.
To give them a home safe from kings, monsters, or even gods.
[System Notification]
[New Quest Available: Protect the Roots.]
[Objective: Establish a Safe Haven for Family and Trusted Allies.]
[Reward: Sovereign Heartstone Blueprint.]
Kaelen smiled faintly.
"Soon," he whispered.
"Soon, I'll bring them home."
He turned back to his team.
The Pathbreakers were waiting — bruised, battered, but burning with fierce loyalty.
Together, they walked from the broken square.
Their first true victory.
Their first step toward building something eternal.