The incident at Archon Square, where I casually summoned and crushed the Ironclad Behemoth, was the final catalyst. My defiance of the Central Authority and the subsequent humiliation of the Grand Guild Master Theron ripped the veneer of order from Solaria City. The System Error: Blackout designation, combined with my unstoppable resource farming, created the perfect conditions for chaos: the major Guild Factions realized that the Central Authority had lost local control.
The result was an immediate, brutal territorial dispute. The Obsidian Pact (the Purists) and the Celestial Concord (the Reformers) saw my presence as an opportunity to weaken Theron's authority and seize lucrative, high-rank dungeon territories near the city center. Solaria, the city of order, descended into open Guild warfare.
My initial intention was to ignore the squabbles and focus on preparing for the Mythic Enforcers. But the conflict quickly devolved, and I was inevitably drawn in.
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The most valuable contested zone was the Prime Elemental Nexus—a massive underground conduit that supplied energy to the entire city and contained several Epic and Legendary essence nodes. Both the Obsidian Pact and the Celestial Concord launched full-scale assaults on the Nexus simultaneously, initiating open combat in the streets above.
I was pulled in when a stray AoE Firestorm launched by a Celestial Concord mage nearly hit my secured safehouse.
I activated my Aura Projection and strode into the conflict, not to pick a side, but to enforce my own territorial claim. The sheer continuous pressure of my Mythic-infused aura forced an immediate, terrified ceasefire from the hundreds of hunters engaged in the firefight. They realized that their combined power was insignificant compared to my sustained presence.
"This territory is closed," I announced, my voice amplified by a directed kinetic pulse. "Any hunter remaining in this area will be treated as a hostile breach."
I reinforced the command by sending out a Kinetic Thunderclap that didn't hit any hunter, but pulverized a decorative bronze statue nearby into dust, demonstrating the destructive, casual power I commanded. The message was received: the zone was now mine.
The Obsidian Pact leaders, realizing their brute-force tactics were useless, quickly retreated. The Celestial Concord leadership, known for their tactical patience, ordered a withdrawal, calculating that fighting me was a waste of resources. I had successfully enforced neutrality through overwhelming, non-lethal dominance. I had established a no-go zone in the heart of Solaria.
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My disruptive actions were not confined to the Guild Halls; they were now destabilizing the regional environment, causing apocalyptic events in the surrounding areas. The Central Authority's system of controlled chaos was breaking, and the natural world was responding violently.
The day after the Nexus incident, an unprecedented, rogue Red Gate ripped open 50 kilometers from Solaria, spewing forth creatures that should not have manifested on the surface—a flood of Void Hounds, creatures of pure anti-mana that had been confined to deep Legendary dungeons for centuries. Their appearance triggered a localized Anti-Mana Zone that neutralized all common artifacts and caused massive infrastructural collapse in the surrounding area.
This was not a planned event; this was a system failure caused by the immense, chaotic energy I had been broadcasting through the Summoner's Bell and my continuous Epic output.
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The Void Hounds were a significant threat because their existence counteracts my core principle of mana synthesis. Their anti-mana aura rapidly drained any conventional hunter's reserves, making them a lethal challenge to even Rank S hunters. For me, they posed a specific problem: their presence actively worked to neutralize my stabilized Arcane Catalyst pool.
I flew to the site immediately, not to save the area, but to acquire the Mythic Void Essence that was likely the core of the rogue gate.
Upon arrival, I found the Grand Guild's remaining Rank A and Rank S teams in full retreat, their weapons failing, their protective runes collapsing.
I activated my defensive matrix to its absolute maximum, channeling the full, filtered energy of the Storm Titan Core into a complex, layered defense. The Void Hounds' anti-mana aura ate at my external Polaris Ursus shield, but the constant, self-regenerating power of my broken system meant the shield never fully collapsed; it just regenerated the decay instantaneously.
I met the Hounds' charge with a terrifying new application of my power. I used the Aura Projection to its absolute limit, projecting not just pressure, but a localized energy density field. The Hounds, creatures of pure void, were momentarily repelled by the sheer, unyielding presence of energy I was broadcasting.
I bypassed the guardians, focusing only on the source of the rupture: the nascent Mythic Void Gate.
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The source of the void event was the Void Gate Keeper—a massive, almost invisible creature of pure shadow and anti-mana, slowly consuming the environment around it. It was a true Mythic entity, even more dangerous than the Phoenix Sovereign because its power directly counteracted my established defenses.
The confrontation was swift and brutal. My Lich Soulfire was partially neutralized by the anti-mana field, forcing me to rely entirely on Kinetic Force and the chaotic power of the Storm Titan.
I closed the distance using short, rapid bursts of Chain Lightning Evasion, ignoring the physical attempts of the Void Gate Keeper to ensnare me. I slammed my Epic Gauntlet into the creature's core, initiating a sustained, Kinetic Thunderclap directly into its essence. The explosion of concentrated force, combined with the neutralizing anti-mana field, resulted in a localized, catastrophic implosion.
The Void Gate Keeper was annihilated. The anti-mana field immediately collapsed, and a crystalline Mythic Void Essence floated in the ruins.
I didn't absorb it immediately. I placed it into containment. My Epic Gauntlet was powerful, but I knew the next essence I consumed had to be chosen with extreme caution, integrating perfectly into my final form.
My clean-up was interrupted by a chilling sight. Approaching the destroyed Void Gate were three figures. They were not Guild hunters; they were clad in polished black armor that absorbed all light, and they moved with synchronized, absolute precision.
These were the Mythic Enforcers—the Central Authority's final solution. They had arrived early, drawn in by the overwhelming, catastrophic power signature of the Void Gate's destruction.
The Enforcers stopped roughly 500 meters from me. Their leader raised a hand, and the sound of his voice was a cold, synthesized command that cut through the silence:
"System Error: Blackout. Surrender the contraband essences and comply with mandatory de-activation protocols."
I looked at the approaching Enforcers, then back at the destruction I had caused—the city in chaos, the laws of physics shattered, the Grand Guild broken. I had achieved everything I set out to do in Solaria.
I threw the empty containment vial I had used for the Volcanic Chimera Essence at the ground, shattering it.
"I don't surrender," I announced, amplifying my voice with a directed kinetic pulse. "The system is broken. You should have sent more."
I activated the Recall Shard contingency I had been saving. I channeled massive amounts of energy into the Chronos essence, preparing for an instantaneous jump. The Enforcers, recognizing the forbidden Chronos signature, immediately launched their attack—three synchronized, terrifying Mythic-level energy bolts.
The teleportation field flared to life just as the blasts struck. My external defenses absorbed the initial impact, buying the split second I needed.
I vanished. The Mythic bolts struck the ground where I stood, vaporizing the remaining debris and leaving a massive, smoking crater.
My last thought before the jump was of Juts. He had the money, the new skills, and the growing hatred. He was my only liability and my only anchor. The next phase of the conflict would involve drawing out the Central Authority into a direct, global confrontation. I had secured the resources, broken the system, and now, I would force them to play on my terms.