Chapter 11: The Weight of Sovereignty

The moment Kael's dagger sank into Varos's chest, a shockwave of power tore through the Archive. The walls trembled, bookshelves toppled, and the runes carved into the stone shattered like glass.

Varos's body seized, fractures glowing violently, as if the very essence holding him together was unraveling.

For a single, breathless second—Kael thought it was over.

Then Varos moved.

His decayed hand snapped forward, gripping Kael's wrist with inhuman strength.

Kael's entire body locked up.

A pulse of energy surged from Varos's touch, sending a wave of pain through Kael's mind—not physical pain, but something deeper. Something tearing at his very soul.

His system pinged frantically.

[Warning: System Instability Critical.]

[Fracture Progression: 17% → 22%.]

Kael's vision blurred. His breath hitched.

Too much. This was too much.

Varos leaned closer, his fractured eyes burning like dying embers.

"You still don't understand, do you?"

Kael gritted his teeth, trying to pull back, but he couldn't move.

Varos's grip wasn't just physical—it was something else.

"You think this is a battle you can win," Varos whispered. "That if you fight hard enough, if you struggle enough, you'll be different."

The fractures in his skin spread like cracks in ice, pulsing with raw energy.

"You are wrong."

Kael snapped.

"Then why are you still talking?"

With everything he had left, he poured his remaining energy into one last, desperate attack.

His dagger flared, a surge of shadow-infused power erupting from the blade.

Varos's body convulsed as the magic struck deep.

Then—he let go.

Kael hit the ground hard, gasping for air as his vision flickered.

Varos stepped back, staring down at the wound in his chest. For the first time, his expression shifted.

Not pain. Not anger.

But acceptance.

He looked up at Kael, something almost like pity in his fractured gaze.

"…So be it."

And then—his body began to disintegrate.

The First Sovereign's End

The decay that had already consumed Varos accelerated, his form breaking apart piece by piece, turning into glowing fragments that dissolved into the air.

Kael could only watch as the first Fractured Sovereign crumbled into nothing.

A final whisper lingered in the air—a warning, not a curse.

"Your path leads to the same end, Sovereign."

Then—he was gone.

Kael's system flared violently, sending a cascade of notifications across his vision.

[High-Level Entity Defeated: Varos, the First Sovereign.]

[System Analysis: Partial Override Detected.]

[Fracture Progression Stabilizing…]

Kael exhaled sharply, slumping against the cold stone floor. His body felt like it had been burned from the inside out.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then—

"That was the most reckless thing I've ever seen," Nyssa muttered.

Kael let out a weak laugh, running a shaking hand through his sweat-drenched hair. "Yeah?" He closed his eyes. "You should've seen the alternatives."

The Archive's Secret

The silence that followed was unnerving.

Kael forced himself to his feet, legs unsteady but still working. Lysara had a fresh cut on her forehead, and Raith was dusting himself off like he hadn't almost been obliterated.

But Nyssa's gaze was locked on something else.

Kael followed her line of sight.

At the center of the chamber—where Varos had once sat—a new object had appeared.

A floating shard of black crystal, pulsing faintly with a familiar, eerie glow.

Kael's system reacted immediately.

[System Artifact Detected: Core of the First Sovereign.]

[Data Fragment Unlocked: Origins of the System.]

Kael took a slow step forward.

"What is that?" Lysara asked, her hand hovering near her sword.

Kael didn't answer.

He already knew.

It was a piece of the system itself.

Something that shouldn't exist.

And yet—it did.

He reached out—hesitated.

A single touch could tell him everything.

But if Varos's warning was true…

Would he still be himself after?

Kael clenched his jaw.

And made his choice.

His fingers brushed the crystal.

The world shattered.