Time didn't flow here—it cracked.
The moment Iden rose above the fragment's throne-ring, his entire frame pulsed with layered halos of monarchal aura. And yet, not even the power of a world-fragment could prepare him for the presence lurking just beyond.
A soundless scream folded the air behind him.
Rael spun first, staff drawn. But it was already too late.
From behind the throne emerged a twisted silhouette—wrapped in broken regalia, eyes hollow with bound hatred. Shackled chains floated around its wrists and neck, dragging broken throne-pieces from eras long erased.
"A second claimant," Iden murmured. "Or the first that failed."
The being didn't answer with words.
Its gaze locked on Rael, and the moment it did—the world twisted. Rael's eyes dilated. Her stance faltered.
"Iden… I can't—move—he's…"
The echo reached a hand toward her.
A voice rippled from its withered throat, ancient yet clawing for relevance.
"If I can't be King… I'll make the Queen mine."
Iden's form exploded forward in fury.
A flash of divine mana clashed against the ghostly force—but the echo didn't vanish.
It grinned.
And everything blurred.
Kael's breath was ragged. His armor was cracked. His Bastions reduced by over 70%. Beside him, Nyra's breathing was sharp, one eye sealed shut, blood trailing down her cheek. The Drowned Claimant stood above the ruins of an entire front-line, now coated in molten decay.
"We're—done?" Nyra rasped.
Kael didn't answer.
Because overhead, the abyss rumbled.
"Deploy them," he muttered.
A transmission pinged to Arlen.
[Authorization: Code Crimson—Activate 'Hydra Halo' Platform]
Seconds later—
Twenty turret-points emerged from Sanctum's abyssal ridge. Circular frames folded open like blooming steel flowers, each housing a mana-core-fused Gatling Gun. Designed, refined, and built by Arlen himself.
"Presenting: The Leviathan Fangs."
Each turret locked onto the Claimant.
BRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Mana rounds laced with nullmetal and corruption-piercing cores tore into the beast. The Claimant screamed, its armor-like skin cracking from all angles.
It tried to turn, to retaliate—
But twenty synchronized auto-turrets shredded it again.
Kael watched silently as the creature buckled.
"Arlen," he whispered, "you crazy bastard… You saved this front."
Iden stood shield-first before Rael, now protected within a shimmering golden sphere.
But the Chained Sovereign didn't relent.
"You've claimed my throne," it rasped. "But she carries what I lost. Soul-thread. Inheritance. I will reclaim it!"
Iden's hands flared.
[Ninefold Legion: Inner Ring – Engaged]
[Summoning Permission – Override Vault Seal]
Hundreds of elite summons blinked into the hall, surrounding the echo. Their weapons were drawn, eyes burning with his crest.
"You wanted to see what a real Sovereign looks like?""Then kneel—before your extinction."