The seven moons shattered.
Fragments of silver light fell through the darkness.
Kael stood beside Liora, watching them descend.
Neither moved.
Then the fragments stopped.
Every piece of broken moonlight froze in midair.
A voice echoed across the realm.
"Second Awakening."
The seven Sovereigns appeared.
But they were no longer gods in their original forms.
Their bodies had changed.
One became a giant made of fire.
Another was covered in endless chains.
A third had no body at all—only a pair of enormous golden eyes.
The remaining four surrounded Kael and Liora.
Seraphine's voice came through the dimensional link.
"Kael!"
Kael looked around.
Seraphine appeared as a faint projection.
"You have to leave!"
"Why?"
"The First King has activated the Second Awakening."
Kael frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Seraphine's expression was terrified.
"The Sovereigns are no longer restricted by their physical forms."
"They can now attack the soul."
Kael looked at Liora.
"Stay behind me."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Liora—"
"I'm not letting you fight another battle alone."
Kael sighed.
"You're stubborn."
"So are you."
For a moment, they smiled.
Then the first Sovereign attacked.
The world disappeared.
Kael opened his eyes.
He was standing in his childhood home.
The old wooden table.
The cracked window.
The small garden outside.
Everything was exactly as he remembered it.
His mother was standing in the kitchen.
"Kael?"
He froze.
His mother smiled.
"Dinner is ready."
Kael's heart stopped.
She had died when he was six.
He knew that.
Yet there she was.
Alive.
Smiling.
Waiting for him.
"Mom?"
She opened her arms.
"Come here."
Kael took one step.
Then stopped.
Something was wrong.
His mother had always called him by a nickname.
She wasn't using it.
Kael stared at her.
"You're not real."
Her smile disappeared.
The house cracked.
The walls turned black.
His mother's face became empty.
The Sovereign's voice echoed:
"Emotional illusion rejected."
Kael's eyes sharpened.
"You made one mistake."
The illusion trembled.
"I remember her."
He raised his hand.
"You don't."
The entire world shattered.
Kael returned to the battlefield.
He was standing exactly where he had been.
Only three seconds had passed.
Liora was fighting another Sovereign.
She was completely outmatched.
The creature raised its hand.
A blade of light formed above her.
"Liora!"
Kael moved.
But a wall of darkness appeared between them.
A Sovereign blocked him.
"You cannot save her."
Kael's expression became cold.
"Watch me."
He attacked.
The two collided.
Kael's fist struck the Sovereign's chest.
The god didn't move.
Kael struck again.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
The Sovereign smiled.
"Physical strength is meaningless here."
Kael looked around.
The battlefield was changing.
He wasn't fighting in a physical world anymore.
They were inside a mental realm.
The Sovereigns had dragged their consciousness into a dimension where strength meant nothing.
Kael smiled.
"Then I'll change the rules."
The black mark on his palm appeared.
[Absolute Authority available.]
Kael stared at it.
He hesitated.
He remembered the price.
Then he looked at Liora.
She was struggling.
Kael closed his fist.
"No."
The system disappeared.
The Sovereign laughed.
"Then she dies."
The blade descended.
Liora looked up.
Kael's heart tightened.
Something inside him screamed to use the Authority.
He didn't.
Instead, he did something unexpected.
He threw his sword.
It crossed the battlefield.
Liora caught it.
She immediately understood.
She turned.
The blade passed through the Sovereign's body.
The creature screamed.
Kael smiled.
"I don't have to fight your rules."
Liora pulled the sword free.
"And I don't have to fight alone."
Together they attacked.
Minutes passed.
The seven Sovereigns began to fall.
One after another.
Not because Kael was stronger.
Because Kael and Liora had learned how to fight together.
Kael created openings.
Liora exploited them.
Liora distracted enemies.
Kael finished them.
Neither used Absolute Authority.
Finally, the last Sovereign fell.
Silence returned.
Kael breathed heavily.
Liora leaned against his shoulder.
"We did it."
Kael nodded.
"Yeah."
Then—
a clap echoed through the darkness.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Kael's expression changed.
The First King stepped out of the shadows.
He looked completely unharmed.
Liora raised Kael's sword.
The First King smiled.
"You defeated my Sovereigns."
Kael stared at him.
"Your turn."
The First King nodded.
"Eventually."
He looked at Liora.
"But first..."
His eyes turned black.
Liora suddenly froze.
Kael's expression changed instantly.
"Liora?"
She didn't answer.
Her eyes became empty.
Kael grabbed her shoulders.
"Liora!"
She slowly looked at him.
But the person looking back wasn't Liora.
A voice came from her mouth.
"Kael..."
The First King smiled.
"Now you understand why she shouldn't exist."
Kael stared at her.
"What did you do?"
The First King answered:
"I showed her the truth."
Liora's eyes filled with tears.
Then she whispered:
"Kael..."
"I remember."
Kael froze.
"Remember what?"
She looked at him.
"I remember dying."
The world went silent.
Kael's face went pale.
Liora continued.
"In the First King's timeline..."
She touched her chest.
"...I was the one who killed him."
The First King smiled.
"And now she remembers why."
Liora looked at Kael.
"I wasn't born in this world."
Kael stared at her.
"Then who are you?"
Liora's tears fell.
"I don't know."
The black mark on Kael's palm suddenly burned.
The system appeared.
[Identity contradiction detected.]
[Liora Vale: existence status — impossible.]
Kael looked at the message.
Then at Liora.
For the first time since awakening—
he was genuinely afraid.
Not because an enemy was stronger.
Not because he could die.
But because the person standing beside him might disappear simply because the universe had decided—
she was never supposed to exist.
The First King smiled.
"Now, Kael..."
He raised his hand.
"Choose."
"Save the universe."
"Or save her."
Kael looked at Liora.
Then at the collapsing world around them.
His black mark began glowing.
[Absolute Authority available.]
[Estimated emotional erosion: 18.4%.]
Kael's eyes widened.
The price was enormous.
He had never seen a cost that high.
Liora shook her head.
"Kael..."
"Don't."
"Don't use it for me."
Kael stared at her.
She smiled sadly.
"You promised you'd remain yourself."
Kael's hand trembled.
For the first time—
his overwhelming power wasn't the answer.
It was the choice itself that terrified him.
And above them, the First King whispered:
"Let's see what kind of monster you choose to become."
TO BE CONTINUED...