Chapter 21:The Brand of Sovereignty

The air above the ruins still burned.

Ash spiraled gently in the aftermath of Kael's triumph. The scent of divine blood still lingered, a sacred fragrance forbidden in all known realms. The others — Selena, Gorn, Kiri, and the remaining Crownless — stood in reverent silence.

Kael held the Godbreaker Codex in one hand, its flame-etched pages now calm, humming faintly with dormant wrath. His own body still trembled. Not from pain — but from evolution. The Sovereign's Will pulsed beneath his skin like a second heartbeat.

A system notification flared briefly in his vision:

[You have slain a Celestial Envoy.]

Reward: +3 Celestial Marks | Realm Reputation Updated.

Status: Hunted by the Solarian Order.

Your path to ascension has fractured the Pact of Realms.

The Void stirs…

---

"Kael… something's wrong," Selena said.

Her hand gripped her staff tightly. Behind her, the sky was... distorting. A ripple moved through the air, like heat rising off shattered glass. Gorn took a defensive stance immediately. Kiri pulled Kael close.

Then — space split like cloth.

Out stepped a figure wrapped in flowing voidsilk, no face beneath the cowl — only a swirling abyss. Around him, time slowed. Ash floated unnaturally in the air. Birds froze mid-flight. Even the Codex grew dim.

"You have awakened more than flame," the figure said, voice echoing like distant thunder.

"You've awakened your mark."

The figure raised a hand, and Kael's chest suddenly seared. His shirt ripped open as a burning sigil — a black crown woven from celestial chains — shimmered beneath his collarbone.

"That brand… that's not just Sovereign. That's Voidborn," Kiri gasped.

Kael's breath caught. The Codex trembled.

"You were never meant to be just a Sovereign. You are a breach point. A child of forgotten stars."

The figure slowly bowed.

"I am the Shadebound Curator. I serve the Throne of Silence. And you… are invited."

---

System Notification Appears

[You have triggered a Forbidden Legacy Quest: Rise of the Voidwalker]

· Status: Hidden Faction Path Unlocked

· Choose: Embrace the Voidwalker path or reject it (Warning: irreversible)

· Time Remaining to Choose: 48 hours

---

The others pulled Kael away as the Curator faded.

No attack. No threat. Just... a warning. Or a prophecy.

Back at camp, Kael sat alone with the Codex open on his lap. It had rewritten itself.

A new section had appeared.

Voidwalker Script – Page 1

"They will call you monster, heretic, destroyer. But to the chained stars and silent exiles, you are salvation."

Kael clenched his fist. His path had already drawn divine wrath. Now it demanded he choose a side.

Was he still fighting for the realms? Or was he destined to become the flame that consumed them?