Iron Sky Sect — Midnight, Private Training Hall
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Kaelen sat in the lotus position,
suspended midair by his own qi.
A slow, spiraling aura pulsed from his form—
stable, radiant, unnervingly calm.
But then—
the system spoke.
System Broadcast: Threat Protocol Initiated
[ALERT: Multirealm Hostility Pattern Detected]
[Encrypted Sovereign-Class Communications Intercepted]
[Status: High-Risk — Coordinated Legacy Response]
[Origin: Aetherion Legacy Houses — Connections Across 7 Realms]
[Current Realm (Vanyrion) Response: Hostile Alliances Identified]
[Objective: Neutralize Host Kaelen Aurelius Drayce at Global Sect Duel]
[Method: Public Defeat, Public Execution, or Dimensional Banishment]
[Resolution: WAR IMMINENT]
Kaelen's eyes snapped open—
not with fear.
But with something else.
Recognition.
System Audio Shift — Voice Interface Engaged
And for the first time in weeks—
the system spoke in full voice.
Cold. Resonant. Powerful.
"Sovereign Drayce."
"You are the War God of Aetherion."
"The Smiling Sovereign who smiled through death."
"The Dominator who defied the void."
"The Eternal Sovereign who cannot be erased."
"You were not created to be walked upon."
"You were born to rule."
"Now rise…"
"And let this realm learn the weight of your truth."
POV: Kaelen (Internal Shift)
He exhaled slowly, eyes burning brighter than ever.
So they remember me.
Good.
He stood—slowly—his aura unfurling like the wings of a divine beast.
The flame of cultivation behind him turned black-gold.
"They want war…"
"I'll give them war."
He picked up his blade.
Not just as a weapon.
As a message.
Elsewhere — Enemies Begin to Move
Realm 3: Caelverra
A masked elder read an intercepted report.
"He survived Aetherion. Now he dares to rise again?"
"Kill him before he crosses realm three."
Vanyrion: Iron Sky Inner Sanctum
Several elder-ranked disciples gathered in silence.
"He cannot be allowed to win the Global Duel."
"He's already becoming a symbol."
"Symbols are dangerous."
The Cultivator Courts — Whispered Murmurs
"Who is Kaelen Drayce?"
"A sovereign from nowhere… with everything to prove."
"Let him try. He won't make it past the arena gates."
Final Scene — Kaelen Steps into the Wind
That morning, before the sun even dared to rise,
Kaelen stood on the sect's tallest spire, his cloak fluttering.
Behind him, the world prepared to kill him.
But his voice—calm, cruel, and certain—spoke to no one…
and everyone.
"Let them come."
"I didn't survive to kneel."
"I came to conquer."