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Chapter 8: Thrones of the Unseen
The tear in the sky pulsed like a wound refusing to heal. From it descended silence—so dense, so crushing, that even the wind dared not whisper.
Kaelen's knees buckled.
The three figures stepped onto the stone plaza without sound. Their faces were concealed behind hollow masks—one silver, one obsidian, one bone-white. Their robes shimmered like the void, each thread moving like star trails. And behind them… an after-image of thrones, floating miles above the clouds, etched into the very fabric of the sky.
Kaelen couldn't breathe.
>
"Look at it," the bone-white one whispered. "Still clinging to shape. Still bound to gravity and fear."
"He bled," murmured the obsidian figure. "Yet rose. That alone makes him… interesting."
The silver-masked Sovereign leaned forward. Though faceless, Kaelen could feel the weight of his gaze.
"You've bound death, boy. But you have not yet earned it."
Kaelen forced himself to stand, legs trembling. "Who are you?"
They ignored the question.
Instead, the silver one raised a hand—and space warped.
A blade, tall as a man and black as the void, unfolded from thin air.
"Lesson one," he said. "Ascension is not granted. It is stolen, clawed, torn from the corpse of the cosmos."
And then he threw the blade—directly at Kaelen.
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> SYSTEM OVERRIDE – EMERGENCY TRIAL MODE ACTIVATED
TRIAL: Survive the Judgment of the First Eclipseborn
DURATION: 60 Seconds
FAILURE = DEATH
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Kaelen dove aside. The blade missed by inches and buried itself in the stone. The shockwave flung rubble high into the air. His system roared.
>
—Instantly shift through adjacent shadows. Cooldown: 10s.
Without hesitation, he vanished into shadow—reappearing behind a broken pillar. The obsidian Sovereign snapped his fingers.
A dozen Shadow Echoes materialized—twisted versions of Kaelen himself, each bearing a warped Eclipse Edge.
They rushed him.
Kaelen's bound Ashwalkers intercepted two, but the rest surged forward. Kaelen fought like an animal—slipping, slicing, using every drop of void energy he had.
> 45 seconds.
30 seconds.
15…
His blade shattered.
A Shadow Echo lunged, ready to finish him—
—and froze.
So did the others.
The Sovereigns watched silently.
The silver-masked one stepped forward, retrieving the black blade with one hand.
"Enough."
He looked directly into Kaelen's soul.
"You are still weak. But you do not run. You are not broken."
He reached out and touched Kaelen's forehead.
>
REWARD GRANTED: Eclipse Shard (Sovereign Grade) ]
"We leave you this gift, Null-Sovereign," he said. "Survive long enough… and we may kill you properly next time."
The sky ripped open again—and the three disappeared.
Kaelen collapsed.
Alive.
Upgraded.
But haunted.
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