[CHAPTER 7 — THE TRIAL OF THRONES]

The celestial realm known as the Sanctum of Thrones was no place for mortals.

Suspended in a plane between galaxies, the Sanctum shimmered with floating palaces forged from crystallized time, orbiting a central void where the wills of ancient beings still whispered. Entry was invitation-only—and enforced by a trial so deadly that even many Immortals perished at the gate.

Fedrick was not invited.

He arrived anyway.

Hovering in orbit aboard the Aurealis Myrrh, he stood before a portal laced with the Laws of Judgment and Memory. The gate recognized bloodlines. It remembered crimes. It judged worth without mercy.

"System," Fedrick said calmly, "can you mask my bloodline?"

[Error: Law of Judgment Cannot Be Deceived]

Suggestion: Face Trial Head-on

He nodded once. "Good."

Serenya stood beside him, eyes narrowed at the portal's runes. "Are you really doing this? You've just ascended. This is cosmic-level territory—"

"I need a Throne Seed," he said. "If I want to become a Realm Sovereign, I need to claim one."

"You'll die."

"Not today."

The portal opened with a sound like the shattering of pride.

Fedrick stepped through.

The trial didn't begin with a monster or a puzzle. It began with himself.

He stood in a world shaped like his memories. His old room. His first training hall. The balcony where his mother once held him.

And in front of him stood a boy—twelve years old. Brown hair, uncertain eyes, fists clenched.

It was him.

The trial whispered: "Defeat the weight you once bore. Break the weakness you once embraced."

Fedrick raised his hand.

The boy lunged.

It wasn't an illusion. It was real. The boy wielded echoes of Fedrick's current power—but untempered, wild, fueled by despair and abandonment.

Fedrick countered strike after strike, watching how he used to fight—full of anger, without technique, without heart.

"This was me," he whispered. "Always swinging at shadows."

He disarmed the boy. Placed a hand on his younger self's shoulder.

"I forgive you."

The boy vanished. A throne appeared—silver, carved from comet bones, pulsing with ancient energy.

[Throne Seed Accepted: Variant Type — Sovereign of Dual Realms]

Bonus: Unique Skill Tree "Twin Mantles" unlocked

Perk: Able to manifest a second Law Domain simultaneously

But the trial wasn't over.

Because now, the other thrones stirred.

One by one, ghost-kings, ancient ascendants, and sealed monsters of eras long past turned their gaze on him.

And challenged him.

In twelve hours, Fedrick fought through more than 200 opponents—each representing a former throne holder. He unleashed his Lawweaver Domain, fused it with Celestial Heart, and forged new concepts mid-battle.

Time twisted. Matter folded. Dreams screamed.

And when it ended, he stood alone, barefoot on the final throne, blood steaming off his body.

Serenya, watching through the ship's vision feed, whispered, "What have you become?"

The answer came not from Fedrick, but from the throne itself.

[New Title Acquired: "He Who Devours Thrones"]

[Effect: All Realm Sovereigns must recognize the host as a peer upon sight]

He walked back into the warship, cracked a grin at her, and said—

"Let's go home."