The silver chains around Raen's palm still glowed as he ascended the broken staircase from the Chain Vault.
Behind him, Griefhound moved silently—its fused form radiating sorrow and predatory grace. Hollowfang's agility merged with Despair Maw's dreadful aura created something terrifying… even to the Abyss.
The ruin above was no longer silent.
The air trembled.
[System Alert: Two hostile lifeforms approaching — Marked Agents of a Sovereign.][Classification: Messengers of the Black Dread Court.][Threat Level: High.][Recommendation: Do not engage without caution.]
Raen stepped onto the surface.
The black sun above had dimmed.
Shadows moved along the broken walls of the throne courtyard—long, twisting figures in cloaks that seemed woven from silence itself. Their faces were masked, blank porcelain etched with thorn runes.
The taller of the two spoke, voice echoing unnaturally.
"Throneblood has awakened. The First King's scent returns."
The second tilted its head. "You were not granted that legacy. Return the bond. Return the blood. Or be unmade."
Raen said nothing.
The system chimed again.
[Names Identified: Mourner Ash and Whisper Vein. Agents of the Sovereign of Silence.]
[Direct emissaries. Mission: Eliminate or absorb potential Beast King bloodlines.]
Raen's grip tightened on his chainblade.
"So the Sovereigns are watching now."
Whisper Vein hissed. "You tread where no beast should. This power is not yours. You will bring war to the Layers."
"I don't remember asking for your concern."
The taller one floated forward, its feet never touching the ground.
"Then we claim your beasts. And the chainmark that binds them."
Raen stepped in front of Griefhound, eyes cold. "Try."
They moved as one.
Mourner Ash vanished—reappearing behind Raen with a blade of black mist aimed at his spine.
But Griefhound reacted first.
The fused beast roared—its Wail of the Lost echoed like a scream across lifetimes.
Ash faltered mid-lunge, staggered. The grief aura seeped into his body, slowing his limbs like chains of memory.
Raen turned and slashed—barely grazing Ash's shoulder, but it was enough.
Whisper Vein launched forward, shadows swirling. Raen leapt aside—but a thin wire of shadow lashed across his cheek, drawing blood.
[Minor injury sustained. Soul disruption minimal.]
The system's calm voice belied the tension in the air.
Raen grunted. "Wyrm, now!"
The Jester Wyrm descended from above like a shooting star.
Three heads screamed three different jokes simultaneously—"Knock knock!", "Guess who forgot your name!", "I did, and I don't care!"
The chaos wave hit Whisper Vein squarely—his shadows flickered, unstable.
Raen pushed forward and activated Griefhound's second skill:
Shared Trauma.
The damage Raen had just taken bled through the soul bond—redirected back toward both enemies like a psychic backlash.
Whisper Vein stumbled, clutching his chest. Mourner Ash faltered, black mist leaking from his mask.
But they didn't fall.
They didn't even retreat.
They were smiling now—somehow.
"You have bonded deeply," Ash murmured. "Too deeply."
Vein raised his arm. "Then let us cut the chain."
Chains shot from the ground—Raen's chains.
But they twisted, distorted, turning against him.
[Warning: External force attempting to sever bond links.]
Raen staggered.
He felt his connection to Hollowfang—flicker.
To Despair Maw—shudder.
Even the Wyrm's constant mental noise dimmed.
"No—"
He focused, breathing slow.
"They aren't just beasts. They're mine."
He drove his hand into the ground, eyes burning.
Silver light erupted from his mark.
The severing chains shattered.
The enemies recoiled.
Raen rose, aura flaring, cloak whipping in the chaotic wind.
"You want the bloodline? You want the mark?"
He pointed his blade toward them.
"Come and claim it."
[Combat Escalation: Sovereign Agents retreating.]
Mourner Ash raised a hand.
"This is not the end, Throneblood."
Whisper Vein's voice slithered. "The other Sovereigns will come. They will not test you. They will devour you."
They vanished—shadows sucked into the air like smoke into a vacuum.
Silence returned.
But Raen did not lower his blade.
He stood in that silence until his beasts rejoined him.
Griefhound let out a soft, low growl—wound down from fusion. It began to separate again, light swirling as Hollowfang and Despair Maw fell back into their forms, panting.
Raen walked to them, placed a hand on each.
"You're not tools. You're the only reason I'm still standing."
[Bond Integrity Reinforced.][Throneblood Recognition Level: +2%][New Fusion Path Unlocked.]
Raen looked toward the blackened sky.
"Sovereigns, huh…"
He didn't know how many there were.
But one thing was clear.
They were watching now.
And he was no longer just a trespasser in their world—
He was a threat.