It began hours before the sun dared rise.
The wind shifted. Birds fled. And deep beneath the ground, runes buried under leagues of soil began to flicker in warning.
A low, primal hum rippled through Sanctum's western perimeter. Then, without ceremony—without even the shriek of a warning horn—the earth broke.
"SEISMIC SPIKE! BREACH—BREACH AT GATE FOUR!""We have Tier-B masses incoming—velocity patterns show siege creatures and hive formation. Sound the full perimeter alarm!"
Sanctum shuddered as the Fourth Wave began.
In the Central Spire, Iden rose from the war table, his expression unreadable. His soul-link flashed with hundreds of active units—combat signatures across all fronts. A fresh torrent of corrupted monsters was tearing through the ash-barrier defenses.
[EXP: 98.2% → 99.1%][Active Summons Engaged: 431,222 / 688,128][Enemy Composition: 81% Tier-B, 17% Tier-A, 2% Unknown-Tier]
"Deploy all long-range suppressors. I want Killbox Alpha online in five minutes," Iden ordered, sweeping his cloak aside as he stormed toward the Gate of Ash. "Kael, your Tyrants are airborne?"
"Already moving. We're cutting off aerial flanks. Sending Reaver-class reinforcement skeletons through shadow-surge corridors."
"Nyra," he said, touching his comm rune. "Delay their middle push. Bleed their vanguard. And if they send the Warden again…"
"I'll make them regret it," she whispered back.
The Gate of Ash—Sanctum's most fortified sector—detonated with impact as siege beasts, three stories tall, slammed through the obsidian-reinforced defense walls. Blackstone splinters flew like razors. Enraged roars echoed from horned maulers and tentacled aberrations.
And the skeletons met them in force.
Iden's field interface surged as waves of skeletal classes responded with surgical brutality. Flame-bone mages conjured Infernal Swathes. Frontline tanks used Earthbind Chains to trap massive beasts mid-charge. Archers fired mana-piercing volleys from cliff edges, and Stormbone Cannoneers unleashed waves of kinetic pressure that cracked carapaces open.
[EXP: 99.1% → 99.7%][Tactical Efficiency: 86%][Killbox Formation: 61% Constructed]
In the eye of this storm, Iden moved through burning trenches, a ghost among his own army, eyes locked on the horizon.
Then, it happened.
A hulking, venom-plated siege horror crashed into the central road. Iden raised his hand.
"Shatter Pulse."
A violent shockwave erupted. The beast screamed as its inner mana core fractured, its body rupturing from within.
[You have slain: Blightscale Colossus – Tier-A][EXP Gained: +0.3%][LEVEL UP!][Current Level: 50][Summon Capacity: 688,128 → 1,376,256][Mana Pool Expanded: +48.6%][Perk Unlocked: Sovereign of the Endless – Tier Scaling Enhanced][Mythical Skill Evolution Threshold Reached][System Upgrade Pending: Would you like to invoke a Class Core Evolution? (Y/N)]
The ground seemed to freeze beneath his feet.
A deafening pulse of golden mana rippled outward from Iden's chest. The air bent. Reality blurred for a second as his system integrated the overwhelming increase in soul-weight.
And above, in the sky, the summons surged.
Thousands of new skeletons—freshly crafted, freshly awakened—stood ready for deployment, waiting only for Iden's will to descend upon the battlefield.
Nyra's voice cut through the chaos.
"Killbox Alpha is primed. We can funnel the next cluster of elites into Sector V now."
"Do it," Iden ordered. "And tag the incoming Warden-class. I want every cannon pointed west."
Kael, airborne with his three Tyrants—each now towering, armored, and haloed in unnatural flame—led a direct charge into the sky against the enemy's flanking wraith-flocks.
"Warden contact confirmed!" Kael growled. "It's not the same as before. It's bigger. And it's learning."
[New Hostile Detected: 'Varnaxis the Hollow Bloom – Phase Two'][Tier: S][Adaptive Threat Type: Unstable Mana-Warp Entity][Killbox Target Lock: ACTIVE]
As the Warden moved closer, its breath turning the air into purple frost, Iden stood on the frontline wall—watching.
He held no fear.
"Let it come," he said, voice low. "This time, we're not defending. This time, we're hunting."