The sky was too quiet.
Even in the final seconds before armageddon, there was a silence that clung to every breath, like the world was holding itself still, knowing what came next could never be undone.
Iden stood at the helm of the Fallout Launch Console, deep beneath the Sanctum command node. A crystalline screen before him pulsed as 200 golden constructs drifted above the earth like vengeful stars. Each carried a Big One-class warhead, wrapped in a net of compressed mini payloads—designed for nothing less than the annihilation of gods.
Above them, in the charred ruins once known as Northern Plateaus, the creature stirred.
Tzakaroth.
The Omega-tier Abyssal Monster, born in chaos, woven from the corpse of a fallen reality, pulsed with eyes older than time. Its maw split open, baring jagged rows of dimensional rift.
And yet… it did not attack.
It was watching.
Waiting.
As if entertained.
As if challenging Iden to press the button.
"Fallout protocol engaged," Arlen whispered beside him. "Systems are stable. Mana reactors are synced. Awaiting your mark, Commander."
A deep breath. Iden's fingers hovered above the crystal pad.
"Bring the silence," he said.
In an instant, the sky shattered.
The 200 aerial constructs exploded into speed, trailing burning magic across the sky. They converged above Tzakaroth in a spiral of golden fury, each unleashing their warheads in a coordinated, synchronized strike. A sun bloomed where none should have existed. Mana scorched the clouds. The continent shook.
The golden shield—built from reinforced hexbarrier runes and powered by Sanctum's raid points—snapped into place a second before the shockwave hit.
And even inside the barrier, the world screamed.
System Notification
Omega-Class Threat [Tzakaroth] – Status: Eliminated.Fallout Superweapon successfully activated by [Iden – Leader of Sanctum].Massive EXP Overflow initiated.All skills with evolution potential—activating second form.Global Threat Level: Reduced.Regional Mana: Reduced to 10% for 14 days.
The light faded slowly.
Sanctum stood unharmed.
Iden, breathless, leaned forward and looked through the translucent surface of the shield. There was nothing left outside.
No soil.No trees.No body.Not even a shadow.
Tzakaroth had been wiped from the world.
And then came the surge.
[Iden's Level Update]
Previous Level: 32
After-Fallout Level: 45
Double Effect Activated:
Level 32 → 5,376
Level 34 → 10,752
Level 36 → 21,504
Level 38 → 43,008
Level 40 → 86,016
Level 42 → 172,032
Level 44 → 344,064
Level 45 → Max Tier Reached. Skill Evolutions Initiated.
Iden's entire body pulsed with power. Skills slotted in his core interface blossomed into their second stages.
[Summoner's Core] → Ascended Core: Sovereign's Mantle
[Command Network] → Neural Overlink
[Skeleton Sync] → Soulbind Threads
The Fallout hadn't just destroyed the Omega-tier monster.
It had evolved everything.
In every part of the known world, those tuned to the System felt it.
A tremble in the veins.A heat behind the eyes.The sense that something irreversible had just occurred.
Allied leaders across the globe received the same message:
"The Tyrant of the North has fallen. Fallout has awakened."
Factions that had once scoffed at Sanctum were now silent.
Others sent emissaries immediately, begging to join the growing power.
The raid zones across the world trembled. Dungeons flickered. Portals closed.
And in the South, a new faction of kingdom-builders saw the light above the sky and called it an omen.
Within Sanctum's reach—territories, districts, strongholds—EXP overflowed like a flood.
All Summons under Iden have Leveled up. Many reached Tier D, some Tier C.
Kael also Shot up to Level 29. His Tyrants began to mutate into Leviathic Warlords.
Arlen isNow Level 26. His blueprint library glowed with new Earth-Magitech fusions.
Rael and Nyra Both reached Level 30. Their familiars gained second awakening traits, and their bond with Iden solidified.
Even farmers, builders, and blacksmiths across Sanctum saw stat increases and skill awakenings.
The global EXP bonus had ignited a renaissance of power.
The battlefield beyond the shield was still a crater of glass.
Rael reached Iden first, standing beside him in awe.
"We… we actually did it," she whispered.
Kael joined them, still covered in soot, eyes scanning the horizon. His summons now hovered behind him like silent death-knights.
Nyra stepped out from the bunker beneath the research tower, her hand resting on her curved blade.
"They'll come for you now," she said. "Everyone will. They know your name."
Iden didn't respond.
He simply looked at the fading horizon, where the last heat shimmer of Fallout still danced.
"Let them come," he said at last. "We're ready."