The meeting ended quietly.
Too quietly.
The three Sovereigns left without another word, their presence disappearing from the Academy like they had never been there at all.
But the atmosphere they left behind remained.
Heavy.
Thoughtful.
Uncertain.
Storm dropped onto a nearby chair the moment the chamber doors closed.
"…Okay, I officially hate talking to powerful people."
Frost stayed standing.
"…That wasn't a conversation."
A pause.
"…It was an evaluation."
The Headmaster finally relaxed slightly, exhaling through his nose.
"…And fortunately, it ended better than expected."
Storm blinked.
"…Better?"
He pointed toward the door.
"One of them basically said Harold might become unstoppable."
The Headmaster looked toward Harold.
"…Yes."
A pause.
"…And yet they still left peacefully."
That alone—
Said enough.
Harold remained quiet.
Not because he was thinking about the Sovereigns.
But because something else bothered him.
Lucien's words.
You are balance.
Inside—
The system remained unusually calm.
Unity pulsed softly.
"External confirmation received."
The Counter-Sovereign whispered,
"Identity stabilization complete."
The Devourer rumbled low.
"…Yet external movement continues."
Harold's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…I know."
Frost noticed immediately.
"…Something's wrong."
Harold looked toward the window.
Far beyond the Academy walls.
"The world's moving too fast."
Storm frowned.
"…What does that even mean?"
Before Harold could answer—
The entire Academy shook.
BOOOOOOM.
The chamber trembled violently.
Barriers across the walls flashed instantly.
Alarm signals echoed through the Academy.
Storm shot to his feet.
"…Okay, THAT sounds bad."
Frost's aura flared immediately.
"…That wasn't internal."
The Headmaster's expression darkened.
"…An attack?"
Another explosion echoed in the distance.
This one stronger.
Closer.
Students outside screamed.
The Academy barriers activated fully.
Harold vanished.
The room cracked from the force of his movement.
Outside—
Chaos had already begun.
A massive section of the outer Academy wall had collapsed inward.
Smoke rose into the sky.
Students and instructors rushed everywhere in confusion.
And at the center of it all—
Something stood there calmly.
Not human.
Not Titan.
Something in between.
Its body looked stitched together from different forms, unstable energy leaking constantly from its skin.
Its arms were uneven.
Its face incomplete.
Its very existence—
Wrong.
Harold appeared instantly above the destroyed wall.
His eyes sharpened the moment he saw it.
Inside—
The Devourer reacted violently.
"…Artificial creation detected."
Unity dimmed.
"Balance rejected."
The Counter-Sovereign whispered,
"…Forced fusion."
Then—
Recognition.
Harold's gaze darkened slightly.
"…Kael."
The creature looked up slowly.
Its movements twitching unnaturally.
Then it spoke.
"…Failed…"
Its voice sounded broken.
Layered.
Like multiple beings speaking at once.
Storm and Frost arrived moments later.
The moment Storm saw it—
His expression changed immediately.
"…What the hell is that?"
Frost's eyes narrowed tightly.
"…Someone forced Titan integration too far."
The creature twitched violently.
Energy burst from its body in unstable waves.
The surrounding ground split apart instantly.
"…Hurts…"
Students nearby panicked and retreated further.
Several instructors activated barriers immediately.
The Headmaster appeared above the Academy walls.
His expression hardened.
"…Who did this?"
The creature suddenly screamed.
BOOOOOOM.
A massive wave of corrupted Titan energy exploded outward.
Harold raised one hand.
The energy stopped.
Not blocked.
Not destroyed.
Stabilized.
The shockwave froze in midair for a split second before dissolving harmlessly.
Everyone watching froze.
The creature itself paused.
Its distorted eyes locking onto Harold.
"…Help…"
Silence.
Storm looked stunned.
"…Did it just ask for help?"
Inside—
Unity pulsed urgently.
"System collapse ongoing."
The Counter-Sovereign responded.
"…External corruption spreading."
The Devourer rumbled low.
"…Consumption impossible."
Harold slowly descended.
The creature trembled violently the closer he got.
Not aggressively.
Desperately.
"…Make it stop…"
Frost's voice lowered.
"…It's dying."
The Headmaster looked grim.
"…No."
A pause.
"…It's becoming something worse."
The creature's body suddenly expanded unnaturally.
Bones shifted.
Energy burst outward.
Its unstable Titan fusion began spiraling out of control.
Storm stepped back.
"…Okay yeah, now it's becoming a problem!"
Inside—
The Counter-Sovereign warned immediately.
"Critical mutation approaching."
Unity flared brightly.
"Balance collapse imminent."
Harold looked directly at the creature.
Then—
For the first time since completing his integration—
He reached deeper into the system.
Not toward power.
Toward authority.
The air around him changed instantly.
The world itself seemed to pause.
Every unstable energy wave around the creature—
Stopped moving.
Everyone froze.
Because for one terrifying moment—
It felt like Harold had taken control of reality itself.
The creature trembled violently.
Its unstable form slowly beginning to calm.
Harold's voice echoed quietly.
"…Enough."
And the world obeyed.