The ground cracked like glass. Black veins of energy spread outward as the Obsidian Sect leader's qi ignited. His body swelled grotesquely, bones snapping under the pressure, yet he laughed madly.
"Hahaha! If I cannot claim the Sovereign… then none of you shall live to tell the tale!"
His aura surged, a storm of death swallowing the battlefield. Elders staggered back, their faces pale.
"Self-destruction… he'll annihilate the entire valley!"
---
### **The Terror of Self-Destruction**
The Obsidian disciples screamed as their leader's expanding qi consumed them first. Their bodies burst into dust, sacrificed for his madness. The night sky darkened, stars hidden by the storm.
The clan's defenses faltered. Women clutched their children, men roared in desperation.
Elder Vairaj slammed his palm into the ground, summoning the clan's ancestral barrier. A faint golden dome flickered into existence, but under the crushing tide of dark qi, it cracked immediately.
"Even with my life, I cannot stop this," he whispered, despair in his eyes.
---
### **The Infant Stirs**
Inside the hut, Ratan stirred. His tiny hands clenched the edge of the cradle as if sensing the doom closing in.
The serpent's seven voices echoed once more within his mind:
> "Earth is foundation. River is flow. Together, they are unstoppable."
The **Root Chakra** pulsed red, stabilizing. The **Sacral Chakra** surged orange, flowing wildly. For the first time, their rhythms intertwined.
Ratan's eyes opened, one glowing crimson, the other blazing orange.
---
### **The Birth of a Technique**
A deep hum filled the air. Cracks of red and orange light spread across the ground, merging into a circular mandala beneath the cradle.
The earth quaked. From the soil rose **pillars of molten stone**, glowing with river-light, flowing like liquid yet unbreakable like mountains.
The Obsidian leader froze mid-laughter, his swollen form shuddering. "What… what power is this?"
Ratan's lips parted. Though no words came, his cry resonated like an ancient chant.
The serpent's voice named the power:
**"Root + Sacral Fusion Art: *River of Mountains*!**\*
The ground split, and an unstoppable torrent of fiery stone surged upward, swallowing the black qi storm.
---
### **The Clash of Annihilation**
⚔️ **BOOOOOOM!**
Black storm met molten torrent. The valley disappeared in light and fury.
Mountains crumbled. Rivers boiled. Trees were shredded into ash.
And then—silence.
When the dust cleared, the Obsidian leader's body lay broken, half-dissolved by the molten current. His eyes were wide with disbelief even in death.
---
### **Aftermath**
The clan lay scattered, wounded but alive. The golden dome barrier, though shattered, had shielded many. Survivors gazed at the hut in awe and terror.
Elder Vairaj trembled as he looked at the cradle.
"He… he's not merely a Sovereign. He is the calamity and salvation of this world."
---
### **Beyond the Valley**
On the distant cliff, the silver-eyed watcher smirked.
"So the child can already fuse chakras. Dangerous… very dangerous. If left unchecked, he may surpass the heavens themselves."
He raised his hand, and a jade talisman glowed.
"Seven Star Halls must act swiftly. The Sovereign's path has begun."
The message shot into the sky, vanishing into the horizon.
---
### **Cliffhanger Ending**
The scene shifted back to the hut.
Ratan's eyes slowly dimmed, his body exhausted. But just as sleep overtook him, a faint **third light** flickered deep within his core… a golden spark at the **Solar Plexus Chakra**.
The serpent whispered:
> "The third gate stirs… the fire of will."
And then silence fell.
---
✅ **Arc 1 ends here** (Chakra Awakening + Valley Battle).
✅ Next begins **Arc 2: The Path of Fire**, where Ratan's Solar Plexus awakens, new enemies from the **Seven Star Halls** move, and his clan must decide whether to protect him or fear him.
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