Iron Sky Sect — Outer Valley Training Grounds
A tournament was in progress.
Outer disciples clashed under watchful elder eyes.
The competition to determine representatives for the Global Sect Duel had begun.
Aria, Mira, Selina, Valessia, Lyra, and Lyanna stood among the finalists—
each a rising storm in her own right.
But none of them were focused on the battles.
Their eyes kept drifting toward the sealed training hall at the valley's edge.
Toward him.
Then— It Happened
The stone doors to Chamber Seven
shattered in a wave of lightless flame.
And Kaelen Drayce stepped through.
Silence dropped like a hammer across the field.
Kaelen's New Form
His hair flowed past his shoulders — dark as night,
yet laced with crimson-gold threads that shimmered like molten stars.
His body had transformed —
broad-shouldered, perfectly sculpted muscle beneath Sovereign-forged robes.
Powerful, but fluid.
Built for war, but impossible to ignore.
His skin bore faint, divine runes that shimmered only under qi-rich air.
His every movement radiated balance between destruction and grace.
But it was his face that stunned them.
Devilishly handsome.
Sharper jaw.
Eyes like cosmic fire — a swirl of molten gold and blood-crimson.
And behind them…
a stillness that made even elders hesitate.
System Broadcast: Cultivation Rank Update
[Sovereign Host: Kaelen Aurelius Drayce]
[Cultivation: Soul Manifest — Low]
[Trait Unlocked: Passive Aura Suppression Field]
[Bloodline Enhancement: Dominator's Flame Complete (Stage I)]
[Visual Impact Multiplier: 900%]
The Reactions
Disciples
Mouths opened.
Words failed.
The boy they mocked…
looked like a Sovereign carved from myth.
"That can't be the same guy…"
"He… he looks like…"
"A god."
POV: Aria
She couldn't breathe for a moment.
That's him…?
Her hand trembled around her blade.
Not from fear.
But from awe.
And something else she wasn't ready to name.
POV: Mira
She laughed softly — bitterly — in disbelief.
"Of course he'd come back looking like that."
POV: Valessia
Her breath caught.
Then escaped all at once.
He's not just a king anymore…
He's becoming legend.
The Sect Elders Respond
Elder Suzan stood slowly.
Elder Jin-Rho narrowed his eyes.
Elder Vess whispered under his breath.
"That pressure… it's not normal."
"It's not from this realm."
Kaelen Walks into the Arena
He said nothing.
Just walked — straight toward the dueling circle.
People parted without thinking.
Even Jin Rokan, who once laughed at him daily, took a step back instinctively.
Kaelen stepped into the light.
Then finally spoke.
"Who's next?"
Final Line
And across the Iron Sky Sect,
the only sound that followed was silence—
and hearts racing for reasons none could name.
He had returned.
Not as a disciple.
But as the storm they couldn't stop.