The moment Kael crossed the archway, the world changed.
Not the floor.
Not the walls.
The world.
The Vault's central chamber unfolded like an impossible space—
an endless cavern of floating platforms
spiraling bridges of bone and crystal
and pillars carved with Monarch names long erased.
Light had no source here.
It simply existed—
a cold blue glow seeping from the cracks in the chamber's walls
as if the Vault itself was bleeding power.
Riven stepped in behind Kael, blade drawn, breath shallow.
Mr. Han followed carefully, leaning on the railing, his face pale from corruption.
Kael could feel it.
A presence.
Vast.
Ancient.
Something watching him from every direction.
Something waiting.
Riven whispered,
"We're in the Heart.
The place where Monarchs come to leave behind their truths…
or hide their sins."
Kael's fractured shadow stretched across the marble floor like spilled ink.
It moved even when he didn't.
It quivered, drawn by something deeper inside the chamber.
And then Kael saw it.
At the center of the massive room—
dangling over an abyss of swirling fractured light—
floated a throne.
Not carved.
Not built.
Formed of pure crack-light, perpetually breaking and reforming itself.
The Shattered Throne.
The throne of the Fractured King.
Kael stopped breathing.
The Echo inside him stirred like a beast waking from hibernation.
Riven's voice trembled.
"That thing… it should not exist. The Labyrinth erased the Fractured King completely. Even his throne should be gone."
Mr. Han swallowed.
"What… what does it mean that it's still here?"
Riven answered quietly.
"It means he left something behind.
Something he wanted someone to find."
A bridge extended from the platform they stood on—
slowly, silently—
forming a path toward the throne.
Kael stepped onto the bridge.
It crackled under his feet.
Every step echoed like a drumbeat.
Riven did not move.
Her eyes widened.
"Kael… I can't follow you."
Kael looked back.
"Why not?"
"The bridge isn't forming for me."
She stepped forward—
her foot hit nothing.
The air rippled, rejecting her.
Mr. Han tried.
The same.
The Vault only accepted Kael.
Riven's jaw tightened.
"You're walking into the memory of the dead King himself.
Be careful.
Not all legacies want to be inherited."
Kael nodded once.
Then he walked on.
His fractured shadow flowed ahead of him, pulling like a tether.
The closer he came, the heavier the air became.
Each breath felt thick, like he was inhaling starlight.
At last he stood before the throne.
From up close, the throne was even more impossible—
made of shards of time
splinters of space
and echoes of old Monarch battles.
His hand rose on instinct—
and the throne reacted.
A shockwave burst outward.
The floating platforms trembled.
The abyss below roared with crack-light.
Riven shouted from the platform,
"Kael! Something's happening!"
The Shadow behind Kael peeled itself off the floor.
Slowly.
Silently.
It rose until it towered over him like a dark colossus.
A giant shaped like Kael—
but older
sharper
crowned
The Echo whispered in his ear.
"Sit."
Kael froze.
"Why?"
The Echo's voice chilled the room.
"Because only the throne decides if you are successor…
or sacrifice."
Kael stared at the throne.
A thousand thoughts ran through his mind:
fear
hunger
doubt
destiny
choice
The Vault roared around him.
Cracks spiraled in the air.
Riven shouted his name again—
but her voice felt distant.
Mr. Han prayed quietly.
Kael took a breath.
Slow.
Steady.
And sat.
The throne exploded with light.
Crack-light surged up his body
through his veins
into his bones
into his mind
Kael screamed—
the sound ripped from his throat involuntarily.
The throne showed him everything.
The Fractured King standing atop a broken sky
fighting against a storm made of Monarchs
his Dominion splitting worlds like glass
a blade forged from broken dimensions
and his final stand—
surrounded
betrayed
destroyed…
by eleven Monarchs
Kael clutched the arms of the throne.
Blood dripped from his nose.
His vision blurred.
His heartbeat faltered.
Riven shouted desperately,
"KAEL! GET UP! YOU'LL DIE!"
Kael couldn't.
The throne wouldn't let him.
Behind him, the Echo stepped forward—
its cracked form towering
its voice filled with sorrow
"You see now.
You see why I chose you.
Because you carry something they could never break."
Kael gasped,
"What… do you want from me?"
The Echo leaned down.
"I want you…
to finish what I could not."
The throne's light flared brighter.
Kael's entire body shook violently.
His fractured shadow twisted
spread
and began to take shape
forming a second Kael—
larger
darker
sharper
A manifestation of his future Dominion.
Riven screamed in horror.
"KAEL! YOU'RE FORMING A MONARCH IMPRINT TOO EARLY—STOP!"
The Echo whispered softly,
"Rise, little King."
Everything went white.
A final system message burned across Kael's mind:
Monarch Evolution Initiated
Shard Dominion: Stage Two Awakened
New Title:
Heir of the Fractured Throne
And as Kael fell unconscious, collapsing onto the throne—
the Vault roared in fury.
The Wardens screamed.
The entire Labyrinth trembled.
Because Kael Mercer had just claimed the legacy of a dead Monarch…
and the Labyrinth could not ignore him anymore.