The club erupted into pure, weaponized chaos.
Velvet curtains tore in the shockwave. Tables became splinters. Players—those not instantly reduced to pixelated dust—scrambled for cover or for their weapons as the Hunter squad fanned out with practiced, lethal efficiency. Neon mana blazed from their rifles, etching the smoke-filled air with lines of searing light.
Sai Ji rose from the ruined velvet booth.
He didn't will himself to stand. Something deeper, something primal that had been coiled at the base of his spine, uncoiled and lifted him. A heat like molten silver flooded his veins, burning through muscle and bone. His fur bristled, each strand standing rigid. His breath plumed in the cold air suddenly leaching from the room. The thunder of his own heartbeat was a war drum loud enough to shake the crystal chandeliers, making them chime a discordant death knell.
The silver-haired dancer—Vera, he now knew—backed away, but not in blind terror. Her mercury eyes were wide, yet they glowed with a fierce, captivating fascination. "My king… what is awakening inside you?"
He had no answer. But the world itself seemed to.
A system-wide alert, stark and golden, burned across the vision of every soul in the club:
"SOVEREIGN AWAKENING — PHASE 1"
"ALL PLAYERS: SUBJUGATE OR FLEE"
The lead Hunter's synthesized voice cut through the din. "CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL ACTIVE! FOCUS FIRE! DO NOT LET THE ANOMALY BREACH THE PERIMETER!"
Anomaly. Containment. The clinical terms cut through Sai Ji's daze. He wasn't a player to them. He wasn't even a monster. He was a systemerror to be corrected.
The first Hunter, a swordsman whose blade hummed with null-code, lunged.
Sai Ji didn't think. His body—the King's body—reacted.
A snarl ripped from his throat, a sound so raw it shattered every remaining bottle on the bar. He lunged to meet the charge, his clawed hand, massive and trembling not with fear but with pent-up instinct, swung in a brutal, contemptuous arc.
CRACK—!!!
It wasn't the sound of impact. It was the sound of deletion. The Hunter didn't fly back; it disintegrated, its form unraveling into a shower of glitching pixel-shards that evaporated before they hit the floor.
The remaining Hunters hesitated, their advance faltering for one critical second.
"He one-shot a Stalker-class…"
"Impossible.Scan him! What is his threat level?"
"Override protocols!Use crowd control! He can't be immune!"
Sai Ji's vision narrowed, the world tinting a furious, crystalline red. Every detail sharpened: the rapid pulse in a Hunter's neck, the minute shift of a rifle barrel, the terrified flutter of a dancer's heartbeat from behind the bar. He could smell their fear, a sharp, acrid scent over the ozone of their weapons.
A Hunter designated as a Mage raised a gauntleted hand, threads of paralytic lightning gathering. Sai Ji turned his head, a slow, deliberate movement. The bolt lanced out—and fizzled into nothingness against the thick fur of his cheek, leaving only a faint static tingle.
A slow, wolfish smile spread across Sai Ji's maw. It held no joy. Only a terrifying, dawning recognition of scale.
Then he moved.
BOOM. His first step cratered the polished floor.
BOOM.He ripped a halberd from another Hunter's grasp and snapped the reinforced shaft like a twig.
BOOM.He lowered his head and charged, catching a Rogue-class Hunter in the chest with his crown. The attacker didn't cry out; it simply burst apart in a silent explosion of data.
He was a force of nature in a confined space. A hurricane with claws.
Vera watched, one hand pressed to her lips. "This power…" she breathed, the words lost in the din. "So this is the true King… unbound."
Two Hunters flanking him unleashed concentrated streams of searing hellfire. Sai Ji didn't dodge. He swiped a claw through the air in front of him.
The very space cracked.
A visible wave of distorted pressure, like heat haze given intent, blasted outward. It snuffed the magical flames, shattered the remaining mirrors into blinding dust, and hit the two Hunters with the force of a monorail. Their armor held for a millisecond before they too were violently derezzed.
"This is insane," Sai Ji muttered to himself, staring at his own claws as the red tint faded from his vision. "I can't even control—"
A new sound overpowered him—not a weapon, but a tremor of heavy, deliberate footsteps. Through the smoke and ruin of the main entrance stomped a new figure. It was a juggernaut, a walking fortress of matte-black admin-grade armor twice the size of the others, its surface crawling with severe anti-boss runes that glowed a sickly green.
"ENTITY: WEREWOLF KING," its voice boomed, a recording of some long-dead administrator. "BY SYSTEM AUTHORITY MANDATE 7.3, YOU ARE DESIGNATED FOR IMMEDIATE DECOMPILATION AND ANALYSIS."
Sai Ji blinked, the absurdity cutting through the adrenaline. "...Analysis? Bro, I'm not a spreadsheet."
The Juggernaut didn't respond. It charged, each step a localized earthquake that threatened to bring the crumbling ceiling down.
Sai Ji inhaled. Not a gasp for air, but a deep, grounding draught that pulled at the very atmosphere of the room. Something ancient in his chest stirred—heavy, cold, and vast. The club trembled as a tangible aura erupted from him, a swirling maelstrom of black and blood-red energy that bled the color from the world around it.
Vera dropped to one knee, her voice a tremor of awe. "Your… Royal Howl…"
Sai Ji didn't know the name. But his blood did. His legacy did.
He threw his head back and roared.
It was not an animal's cry. It was a decree. A Sovereign's Command.
ROOOOAAAAAAR—!!
The sound was a physical thing. The remaining music died instantly. Deep cracks spiderwebbed up the walls.
Every Hunter still standing collapsed, forced to their knees as if an immense, invisible weight had settled upon them. The Juggernaut skidded, its armored boots screeching against the floor, grinding to a halt as it too was pressed down, shuddering under the onslaught of pure, undiluted authority.
Global notifications detonated across the server:
"SOVEREIGN FEAR — ACTIVE"
"ALL NON-ALLIED ENTITIES WITHIN 500m: MORALE BROKEN."
"COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS REDUCED BY 80%."
"YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF A KING."
Sai Ji's eyes blazed with molten gold light. He took a step toward the kneeling Juggernaut, his claws flexing with lethal intent. The entire ruined club held its breath.
Vera's whisper was the only sound. "My king… finish it. Establish your dominance."
Sai Ji lifted his hand, the killing blow hovering—
And then the world lurched.
A deeper, more profound rumble shook the foundations of the district. This wasn't inside the club. This was below it. Something massive was moving underground, answering the call of the Sovereign's unleashed power.
The system blared a new, higher-priority alert:
"WARNING: DISASTER-CLASS ENTITY SIGNATURE DETECTED."
"PROXIMITY: IMMINENT."
"ORIGIN: SUBSOLEMN PROTOCOL."
The floor buckled while dust rained from the ceiling in thick sheets. Outside, the neon-lit night sky rippled with distant, silent shockwaves of distorted magic.
Sai Ji's ears flattened against his skull. Every primal instinct he now possessed screamed a single, clear warning: DANGER. RUN.
"This… isn't more Hunters," he growled.
Vera's eyes flashed with urgent silver light. "It is the system's second response. A cleaner. We must go. Now."
Before he could demand answers, the far wall of the club—the one leading to the sealed storage vaults—imploded.
BOOOOM—!
Not from an explosion, but from a massive, dark-red, scaled fist punching through reinforced concrete. Then a second. A third.
The remaining players who had been hiding screamed, their courage shattering entirely.
Sai Ji felt his hackles rise. "That is NOT a player!"
Vera moved to place herself between him and the breach. "Back, my king!"
He reacted faster, his hand snapping out to grab her wrist and yank her behind him. "Are you insane? Your job is 'dancer,' not 'expendable shield!'"
She stumbled against him, looking up with an expression of stunned, profound surprise. "My king… you remember how to protect. Even now." A faint, genuine smile touched her lips. "Good."
"Stop calling me that! I'm practically LEVEL ONE!" Sai Ji roared, the absurdity of the situation reaching a breaking point.
Right then, the monster fully shouldered its way through the ruin.
It was a Draconic War-Champion, a hulting obsidian-armored behemoth that filled the broken wall. Molten orange eyes burned with mindless system-directed hatred. Its breath, when it exhaled, made the air waver with heat and melted the floor tiles into bubbling slag.
"DISASTER-CLASS ENTITY DEPLOYED: DRAKARYN WAR-CHAMPION"
"DIRECTIVE: TERMINATE SOVEREIGN-CLASS ANOMALY."
Sai Ji's jaw went slack. "LEVEL ONE! I AM LEVEL ONE! WHAT IS THIS PROPORTIONAL RESPONSE?!"
Two familiar shadows dropped from the fractured ceiling, landing in crouches on either side of him.
Fern and Lura. Their weapons were drawn, their faces set in grim masks.
"Your Majesty," Fern intoned, his voice tight. "We must retreat. Immediately. This is a Disaster-Class entity. Only a fully realized Sovereign can face one in battle."
"I AM NOT A SOVEREIGN! WILL EVERYONE PLEASE STOP SAYING I AM—"
The War-Champion unleashed a roar that was pure data-driven fury. ROOOOHHHHHH—!!
The concussive blastwave hurled the last remnants of furniture, sending NPCs and debris flying. Sai Ji braced, the impact feeling like being struck by a truck made of solid sound.
"MOVE!" Lura barked, the command slicing through his stupor.
As one, they moved. Fern and Lura didn't ask; each grabbed one of his arms and hauled. They sprinted for a service corridor behind the shattered bar, Vera flowing behind them with preternatural grace, her silver hair a banner in the turbulent air.
The War-Champion turned with surprising speed and smashed after them, each step a localized earthquake that brought more of the ceiling down in their wake.
Sai Ji yelled as they fled down the narrow, shaking hallway, "WHY IS A KAIJU-LIZARD CHASING ME THROUGH A STRIP CLUB?! I JUST WANTED A DRINK!"
Vera's voice floated to him, calm and maddeningly serene amidst the chaos. "My king, this is the natural consequence. You awoke the Sovereign Class. The system seeks to test you. Or delete you."
"WHAT—WHY—HOW IS THAT NATURAL?!"
"Because you were born to it," she said, as if explaining that water was wet.
He stumbled, almost pulling his guards down with him. "WHAT?"
Vera glided past him in the confined space, her hand snapping out to grasp his. Her touch was different now—not the seductive brush from the booth, but a grip of binding energy, of recognition. His vision flickered, a memory-not-his-own assaulting his senses:
Silver chains. A throne carved from a single moonstone. A girl with mercury eyes kneeling, whispering words that were both a welcome and a seal:
"Welcome back… my wolf."
Sai Ji gasped, the phantom sensation fading as quickly as it came.
Vera glanced over her shoulder as they ran, her eyes glowing with a soft, lunar white light. "Yes. That memory was mine. A gift from your last life."
The War-Champion tore through the corridor junction behind them, molten breath licking at their heels.
"FASTER!" Fern roared.
"WE ARE!" Sai Ji roared back. "AND YOUR COMBAT ADVICE IS TERRIBLE!"
"The fault is not ours, Majesty," Lura shot back, not even breathless. "We are built for protection and killing. Not… sustained cardio."
Vera spoke again, her lecture continuing unabated by the apocalyptic pursuit. "The moment your soul stamped into this world, my own long sleep ended. I am bound to the Wolf King's dynasty. His advisor. His keeper. It has been one hundred and twenty-three cycles since the last king fell."
Sai Ji blinked through dust and falling plaster. "THAT EXPLAINS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!"
"I was your companion," she continued, as if he hadn't spoken. "When you perished, I entered stasis. When you awakened, so did I. We are linked."
"AND YOU WAITED UNTIL NOW—MID-FLAMING-LIZARD-CHASE—TO GIVE ME THE LORE DUMP?!"
Vera tilted her head, a curiously elegant gesture even at a full sprint. "I awaited the proper briefing from your sworn. But your instincts… they pulled you to me prematurely. Your soul recognized its anchor before your mind could catch up."
The concept was so staggering Sai Ji almost forgot to run. "My… instincts dragged me into a strip club?!"
"You came because you were searching," Vera said, her voice dropping, suddenly devoid of all playfulness. It was stark, honest, and final. "For me."
He had no retort. The truth of it resonated in the core of the borrowed power thrumming within him.
The War-Champion's roar shook the very foundations of the building. Ahead, a reinforced door glowed with weak, faltering emergency runes—the back exit.
One powerful kick from Fern blasted it off its hinges. "OUT! NOW!"
They spilled into a cold, garbage-strewn alley, the sudden quiet of the city night a shocking contrast to the hell they'd left behind. Inside, the War-Champion's frustrated bellows shook the walls, but it did not follow. It was bound to the structure, a dungeon boss in a place that was never meant to be a dungeon.
Vera sealed the broken door with a wave of her hand, a shimmering silver barrier flaring to life across the frame. Then she turned, delicately brushing plaster dust from her sequined dress.
"Now," she said, her sweet, dangerous smile returning. "Shall I explain your power system before the next inevitable thing attempts to kill you?"
Sai Ji held up a single, trembling claw. "No. No, no, no. I need a minute. I was having a panic attack about talking to a pretty NPC thirty minutes ago. I am not psychologically equipped for lore dumps during active trauma."
Vera stepped close, ignoring his protest. Her hand came up, cool fingers cupping the line of his jaw. Her touch was different—not testing, but connecting. "You are the Sovereign Class," she whispered, and the words carried weight, sinking into him. "The highest classification in Aetheria. Above Legendary. Above Mythic. Beyond what players call 'God-tier.'"
Sai Ji blinked. "So… I'm overpowered? I win?"
"No." She shook her head, her mercury eyes serious. "You are potential. Raw, untamed, and wild. You are Level One, with the soul of a King. You are feared not for what you are, but for what you will become if you survive."
Sai Ji looked back at the shuddering, silver-sealed door, then down at his own powerful, alien hands. The adrenaline was fading, leaving a hollow, trembling exhaustion—and beneath it, a slow-burning, terrifying certainty.
"Yeah," he breathed, the word a puff of steam in the cold air. "I'm starting to get that."
Vera's smile was soft, ancient, and held the warmth of a forgotten sun. "Welcome back, my king. Truly."
Sai Ji opened his mouth, the automatic denial on his lips—Stop saying that!—but it died before it was born.
He was too tired to fight it. And a part of him, the part that had roared and made the world kneel, knew she was right.
The denial was over. The war had begun.
TO BE CONTINUED...