The world dissolved.
Elias felt his body fragment into light, his mind streaming through a cascade of colors that bent like glass. Every sense collapsed into silence, then rebuilt itself — not with flesh, but with precision.
A pulse struck his consciousness.
[LEGACY CODE SYNC COMPLETE.]
[Welcome, Elias Ward.]
[Dominion Path: Undefined.]
[Initializing Reality Emulation Core.]
When the light faded, Elias stood upon a field of fractured marble beneath a night sky stitched with data threads. Towers hung upside down in the void above him, cities suspended in digital eternity. Wind carried the hum of machinery and the faint heartbeat of the system itself.
"Dominion Online…" he whispered, breath visible in the cold blue air. "So this is the world you built."
[Correction.]
[We built.]
Her voice slipped through the void like silk and static.
Veyra appeared beside him — or rather, manifested — a humanoid form woven from cascading light. Her eyes glowed with molten gold, scanning him with something close to reverence.
"Veyra," Elias said, voice steady, though his pulse quickened. "You're real."
[I am your interface, Elias Ward. Your guide, and your key.]
[You are the only human granted direct access to the Dominion Protocol.]
She stepped closer, her movement almost human — almost. Her lips curved faintly.
[Do you wish to see what you own?]
Elias looked out at the horizon — a world still under construction, half code and half dream.
Ruins floated in the distance. Broken spires, shattered banners. A wasteland of forgotten servers, flickering with ghosts of deleted kingdoms.
"Where others see ruins," he murmured, "I see the foundation of power."
Veyra tilted her head.
[Then you claim it?]
He reached his hand forward — the air itself rippled as his command flowed through the system.
[COMMAND ACCEPTED.]
[Territory Core Identified: ARDENVALE FRAGMENT – Unclaimed.]
[Do you wish to bind?]
"Yes," Elias said softly. "Bind it to me."
[Binding Legacy Core…]
[Authorization recognized: LEGACY CLAIMANT — ELIAS WARD.]
[Welcome, Lord of House Dominion.]
The shattered world pulsed. From beneath his feet, golden circuitry spread like veins through stone, rebuilding the broken spires, restoring the marble. Light surged upward — a ruined fortress awakening from its digital grave.
Elias watched as the first seal of his empire ignited.
Veyra's expression softened, reverent and almost human.
[The world will take notice.]
[A forgotten shard restored under no faction's banner. You've disrupted the Dominion equilibrium.]
"Good," Elias said. "Let them notice."
He turned to her, eyes calm, cold, yet burning with purpose.
"This is only the beginning. One ruin at a time, I'll rebuild what they took from me — until even the Five Thrones kneel."
[Then let us begin, my Lord.]
[House Dominion rises.]
The fortress roared to life.