The floating marble platform tilted as the collective mana of the city's freed captives surged into Ren. It wasn't the cold, empty power of the Void anymore; it was a hot, vengeful tide.
[Synthesis Level: 100%]
[Form: Void Sovereign (Transitional)]
"Your 'batteries' have a mind of their own, Alaric," Ren said. He didn't wait. He moved.
He blurred across the platform, the Void-Reaper leaving a trail of collapsed space. Alaric raised the Sword of the First Sun, meeting the strike with a roar. The clash sent a shockwave that blew the remaining fragments of the Palace into the city below.
"You think a few thousand peasants can bridge the gap between us?" Alaric hissed, his light burning hotter, melting the marble beneath his boots.
"It's not about power," Ren countered, his voice a low vibration. "It's about volume."
Ren triggered Sovereign's Command: Devour.
Instead of a single strike, Ren's shadow erupted into thousands of tiny black needles. They didn't target Alaric; they targeted the air, the light, and the mana Alaric was using to stay afloat. The Emperor's wings of light began to flicker and fray.
[Enemy Status: Mana Leaking (20% per second)]
Alaric lunged, a desperate, blinding thrust aimed at Ren's heart. Ren didn't block. He stepped into the strike, letting the blade of pure light pierce his shoulder.
"Got you," Ren whispered.
As the light entered him, Ren used his own body as a conduit. He channeled the Emperor's "Saint-Grade" mana directly into the Old Pulse through their shared resonance. The energy hit the Forge, reflected, and came back amplified by the Void.
Alaric's eyes widened. "What are you—"
"I'm a circuit, Alaric. And you just caused a surge."
Ren's chest erupted in a pillar of violet-grey energy. The Event Horizon: Eclipse didn't expand outward this time; it imploded. Everything within a three-meter radius—Ren's shoulder, Alaric's sword, and Alaric's arm—was crushed into a single point of infinite density.
Alaric screamed as his arm was erased. He tried to fly back, but Ren's scythe was already there.
"Void Art: Final Harvest."
The scythe passed through Alaric's neck. There was no blood. The Emperor's body, made of solidified light, began to pixelate and dissolve into the Shadow Veil.
[BOSS DEFEATED: Emperor Alaric IV]
[Experience Gained: 1,500,000]
[Level Up! 55 -> 65]
[Title Acquired: Regicide]
[World Event Triggered: The Great Silence]
The Shadow Veil over the city shattered, but the sun didn't return. Instead, a silent, twilight sky took its place, filled with stars that were visible even during the day.
Ren stood on the crumbling ledge, his left shoulder a jagged, empty space that was slowly being filled by violet smoke. He looked down at the city. The Empire was gone. The people were silent.
Lia appeared at the edge of the rubble, her eyes wide as she looked at the empty space where the throne had been. "Is it over?"
Ren looked at the Void-Reaper, which was now glowing with a steady, calm light. "No. The Emperor was just a gardener. Now we have to deal with the ones who planted the seeds."
High above, in the silent twilight, three new stars began to glow with a sickly, rhythmic pulse.
[New Quest: The Stellar Hunters]
[Difficulty: Unknown]
"Let them come," Ren said, his gaze fixed on the sky. "I'm still hungry."