Chapter 10: The Sovereign’s Curse

Kael gasped as the vision shattered, his body snapping back into reality. His breath came in sharp, ragged bursts, sweat dripping down his temple. The ruins of the Abyssal Archive came back into focus—the cold stone, the towering bookshelves, and the decayed Sovereign, Varos, watching him with knowing eyes.

For a moment, Kael swore he could still feel it—the fractured version of himself staring back at him from the abyss.

He clenched his fists. What the hell did I just see?

Varos exhaled, his voice tired, worn. "Now you understand."

Kael forced himself to stand. "That was me," he said, his voice raw. "But it wasn't."

Lysara, Nyssa, and Raith watched him carefully, their weapons still at the ready. They hadn't seen what he had. They hadn't felt it.

Varos tilted his head. "It was you. And it wasn't."

Kael's patience snapped. "Stop talking in riddles."

The decayed Sovereign let out a slow chuckle. "Then listen carefully."

His eyes burned brighter.

"The Fractured Sovereign System is not a gift. It is not a power freely given."

His fingers clenched against the armrest of his ruined throne.

"It is a chain."

Kael's blood ran cold.

Varos's voice darkened. "The system was not meant for you to control."

He leaned forward.

"It was meant to shape you into something else."

Kael swallowed hard. "What… something else?"

Varos's eyes flickered with something deep, something ancient.

"A vessel."

The word hit like a sword through the gut.

Kael's breath caught.

"A vessel for what?" Nyssa asked, her voice sharp.

Varos's gaze shifted toward her, then back to Kael.

"You've heard the voice, haven't you?"

Kael stiffened.

"One step closer to ruin, Sovereign."

The whispers. The presence lurking at the edge of his mind every time he used his power.

Varos exhaled. "That voice… it is the system's true master."

Kael's mind reeled. "The system has a master?"

Varos nodded slowly.

"It is not just a parasite. It is an entity."

His voice turned grim.

"And it is waiting for you to break."

A heavy silence filled the chamber.

Kael felt something cold coil around his spine.

He forced himself to ask the question he already knew the answer to.

"What happens when I break?"

Varos's decayed smile was answer enough.

Kael felt sick.

This wasn't just about fractures. It wasn't just about losing himself.

If he broke completely, the thing behind the system would take over.

And when that happened—

It wouldn't be Kael Ardent left standing.

The Shadow of Sovereigns Past

Lysara's fingers tightened around her sword. "Then how do we stop it?"

Varos closed his eyes. "You don't."

Kael's pulse pounded. "There has to be a way."

Varos exhaled. "Perhaps. But no Sovereign has ever succeeded before."

Kael gritted his teeth. "Then I'll be the first."

Varos's eyes opened, glowing faintly. "Will you?"

He slowly raised one decayed hand—and the room shifted.

The air turned thick, heavy with power. The bookshelves around them groaned, pages fluttering as a deep, ancient magic pulsed through the Archive.

Varos stood.

His rotting body cracked, but power surged around him, pressing down like an unstoppable weight.

Kael's system pinged violently.

[Warning: High-Level Entity Engaged – Varos, the First Sovereign.]

[Threat Level: ???]

Kael's blood froze. "What are you doing?"

Varos's expression was unreadable.

"I have seen hundreds of Sovereigns fall," he said softly. "And yet, you stand before me and claim you will be different."

His fractured body began to glow, ancient power coiling around him like living fire.

"Prove it."

Kael's heart pounded.

This wasn't a test.

It was an execution.

A Battle Against Fate

Varos moved first.

In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance, his decayed hand lashing toward Kael's throat.

Kael barely dodged, twisting out of the way as Varos's strike shattered the stone behind him.

Lysara roared and swung her runeblade, golden energy crashing toward the First Sovereign—

Varos caught the blade in his bare hand.

The runes on the sword flickered, then died.

Lysara's eyes widened. "What—"

Varos hurled her across the chamber.

She hit the far wall with a sickening crunch.

Kael's rage ignited.

[Skill Activated: Shadow Step.]

Kael vanished, reappearing behind Varos in a blur of darkness. He drove the Voidfang Dagger toward the decayed Sovereign's spine—

Varos turned at the last second, his fingers snapping toward Kael's wrist—

A pulse of power erupted.

Kael's vision fractured.

Pain tore through his skull, a thousand whispers flooding his mind.

"One step closer to ruin, Sovereign."

Kael staggered, his thoughts splintering.

Varos's voice echoed in his mind.

"You are already breaking."

Kael gritted his teeth. No. Not yet.

He forced himself forward, dagger glowing with cursed light.

One strike. One chance.

He threw everything into it.

The Voidfang plunged into Varos's chest.

For a heartbeat, the world stilled.

Then—everything exploded.

End of Chapter 10

Kael has just learned the terrifying truth—the Fractured Sovereign System is not just a power, but a transformation. A slow death.

And now, he's locked in battle with Varos, the First Sovereign, a fallen ruler who has seen countless others fall before him.

Can Kael prove he's different? Or is this the beginning of his own downfall?

The next chapter will reveal the outcome of their battle—and whether Kael is truly strong enough to survive the path of the Sovereign.

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