CHAPTER 5
The walls of the Holy City Aethelgard towered high, made of white marble that emitted an eternal light. Yet, in the eyes of the Sovereign, the light felt hollow—it was artificial illumination powered by forced energy, not by the harmony of the universe.
"We have arrived," Elara whispered, her voice a mixture of reverence and unease. "This is the center of all our hope. Within the Central Cathedral resides the figure we know as the 'Rim Warden.'"
The Sovereign walked through the gates without inspection. The city guards froze as he passed, not because of magic, but because his aura of authority compelled their survival instincts to step aside.
As they entered the city square, the Sovereign stopped. At its center stood a colossal statue of pure gold. It depicted a mighty man with wings of light, holding a sword that cleaved the sky.
"Is that what they worship?" the Sovereign asked flatly.
"It is the representation of the Sovereign," Elara replied hesitantly. "It is said that he granted Levels and the System to us so that we could fight against annihilation."
The Sovereign observed the statue. He saw "threads" of energy linking it to every soul in the city. This was not a place of worship; it was a harvesting factory. Someone was using its name to siphon the life essence of this lower-dimensional realm.
Suddenly, the cathedral's great bell tolled. The massive doors swung open, and from within emerged a figure strikingly similar to the statue. He hovered above the clouds, radiating a blinding golden aura.
[LEVEL 500: THE DIVINE ARBITER]
[Status: Avatar of the Creator]
The city's inhabitants immediately knelt, pressing their foreheads to the ground. The figure in the sky gazed downward, eyes glinting with cold wrath as he saw the Sovereign standing unyielding amidst the prostrating crowd.
"Who dares stand before the emissary of the Rim?" the figure's voice boomed, vibrating with sound manipulation capable of shattering the eardrums of ordinary humans.
The Sovereign stepped forward. Each step cracked the golden tiles of the square—not by force, but because reality beneath his feet refused to uphold the lie any longer.
"You wear my face, you invoke my name, and you claim authority you cannot even comprehend," the Sovereign said. His voice was not loud, yet somehow it drowned out every sound in the city.
"Impudent wretch!" The Arbiter raised his hand, summoning a spear of light capable of obliterating an entire province in one strike. "I am the apex of this system! I am the law!"
The Sovereign tilted his gaze upward, meeting the false "god" with utter silence.
"If you are the law," the Sovereign said calmly, "then today, that law is revoked."
Without raising a hand, the Sovereign closed his eyes for a brief moment. He drew a trace of truth from the Outer Rim into this place. Instantly, the Arbiter's golden wings began to crumble like burning paper. His sacred light faded to a dirty gray, and the system window displaying "Level 500" glitched violently until it vanished entirely.
The figure that once soared high fell to the ground, stripped of all power. He was no longer a god; he was merely an old, frightened man who had stolen a power that was never his to claim.
"Reality does not need idols," said the Sovereign, walking past the trembling figure toward the heart of the cathedral. "Reality needs an honest foundation."