Recap:
Kael Vire has just taken his first territory—the Market of Bones—standing firm against the monstrous Bonegnashers and placing the first Hollow Sigil. But as the Hollow Court starts to take shape, something lurks in the shadows, a whisper in the dark. It's a force that's not just a product of systems, but something ancient. As Kael presses on, he must confront a piece of the madness he's inherited... and an old ruin where even the ashes seem to laugh.
---
Smoke curled through the air like silk.
The Market of Bones had transformed.
No longer just a shell of forgotten stone, it now pulsed faintly with Kael's mark. Whispers flitted through the cracks, and the children dared to inch closer.
Joran, now subdued and hollow-eyed, stood guard at the perimeter in silence.
Elric stood next to Kael, peering beyond the main plaza.
"What's that building?" the boy asked.
Kael followed his gaze to a charred structure nestled deep within the marketplace.
Half the roof had caved in, and strange symbols were carved into the walls—too precise to be mere graffiti, yet too chaotic to be a language.
He didn't recall seeing it yesterday.
"It's new," Kael murmured.
[Alert: Sovereign Anomaly Detected] Location: Ashen Vault - Access Forbidden Status: Infiltrated by External Will Effect: Sanity Resistance check required upon entry.
"Elric," Kael said firmly.
"You stay here."
"You're going in there?"
the boy asked, fear creeping into his voice. Kael nodded.
"I have to. If I don't face whatever's twisting my domain now, it'll spread like a disease."
He stepped toward the building, feeling the ground shift beneath him... wrong.
With each step, his thoughts grew heavier, like sand sinking into his skull.
Inside, shadows twisted on the walls. And then the laughter began.
Soft at first, mocking, then swelling into a cacophony of madness.
Kael found himself in the center of the ashen chamber, surrounded by murals scrawled in blood and soot.
Each image depicted him.
Him—kneeling.
Kael was on the brink of collapse.
He could feel the heat of his own body burning away.
[System Warning: Mind Stability Failing - 82% -> 64% -> 52%]
Effect: Memory hallucinations imminent. Use caution.
With clenched fists, Kael stood his ground.
A voice slithered into his mind:
"They will never follow you. You're just a broken boy pretending to wield power."
Another voice chimed in: "Even your shadow serves you out of fear."
And yet another taunted: "Why act like you're not the villain?"
Kael growled in defiance. "I'm not pretending."
[Inner Trial Initiated: The Laughing Ashes]
Type: Mental Domain Conflict
Objective: Defeat the Manifestation of Inner Doubt
Penalty for Failure: System Fragmentation + Permanent Stat Loss
Smoke began to swirl in front of him.
From it emerged a twisted version of Kael—his face was identical, but the skin was decayed, and a jagged, mocking grin was stitched across his cheeks.
"I'm what you truly are," the doppelgänger sneered.
"Not a ruler. Just a frightened child with a fancy system and a knack for cruelty."
Kael remained silent.
The figure lunged at him.
[Skill Activated: Echo Field - Overdrive Mode]
Effect: Inflicts Confusion and Reflection Delay in non-living mental constructs.
Kael dodged the first attack and retaliated with his shadow-whip, but this time it passed through the specter like smoke.
Then the voice struck again.
"You thrive on fear.
You govern through pain. That's not power; that's a disease."
Kael winced as a sharp pain pierced his mind—not from the attack, but from the truth of those words.
Partially true, at least.
[System Sync Error: Willpower Drop Detected - Danger Level Rising]
But then, a voice called out from beyond the chamber.
"Elric?"
Faint. But real.
Kael's vision sharpened just enough for him to see the sigil on his arm glowing—the Hollow Bond.
He recalled the look in Elric's eyes. It wasn't fear. It wasn't awe.
It was hope.
Not because Kael was kind.
But because Kael hadn't shattered him.
[Skill Surge: Hollow Bond Interference - Willpower Stabilized]
New Effect Gained: Sovereign Rejection - Immune to Inner Doubt Manipulation for 30 seconds.
Kael let out a primal scream and drove his fist into the shadow-Kael's chest.
"I know who I am!" he bellowed.
"And I will become something worse if this world keeps feeding me its decay!"
The shadow wavered.
Kael coiled the whip around its throat.
"But I will never break again."
He yanked.
The shadow shrieked—then burst into black flames.
[Inner Trial Complete: The Laughing Ashes - Success]
Reward: Ashen Core (1)
Skill Gained: Sovereign Resolve - Grants immunity to mental corruption effects below Sovereign tier. +5 Willpower.
Kael dropped to one knee, breathless.
The laughter had vanished.
The air was still.
A glowing stone—ashen grey with a pulsing red core—lay on the ground.
[Ashen Core Acquired: Can be used to Awaken Domain or Forge Tier-1 Sovereign Artifact]
Kael walked out slowly.
Elric rushed to him. "You were gone for hours. I thought—"
Kael glanced down at him, weary but composed.
"I'm still here. And now... this place belongs to me."
He turned back to the ruin.
They would call him mad.
They would call him a tyrant.
And they'd be right.
But this was his court now.
And even the ashes bowed.
---
End of Chapter 5