Chapter 403: Shivering with Fear
The boundary of the Time-Space Domain began to vibrate violently.
It wasn't caused by the direct combat within. Rather, the domain itself was
struggling to contain the energy shockwaves that exceeded its structural limits.
While Sophia's Authority could isolate the flow of time, it was not an absolute
void. When the collision of internal variables reached a terminal threshold,
fractures manifested in the barrier.
The moment those fissures opened, the fallout of the Divine War leaked into the
physical world.
On the third floor of the Evernight Castle's East Wing, an entire wall was
liquidated by an invisible force, blasted outward in a spray of masonry.
Stone, timber, and glass shards cascaded from a height of thirty meters.
In the plaza below, citizens who were processing their daily routines heard the
thunderous roar and looked up to see a rain of debris descending upon them.
"RUN!!"
Screams saturated the plaza. The crowd fragmented in a chaotic evacuation
protocol.
A human woman, clutching her child, was knocked to the ground by the surging
crowd. She instinctively curled her body to act as a biological shield for her
offspring and closed her eyes, awaiting the impact of the falling stone.
The impact never manifested.
A semi-transparent Mana Shield expanded above her head. Debris slammed into the
barrier, bouncing off and rolling harmlessly to the side.
The Evernight Church had arrived.
Dozens of clerics in black robes manifested from various coordinates. Mana
shields were initialized one after another, layering over the plaza to establish
a "Safe Zone."
"EVACUATE TO THE CENTRAL PLAZA! DO NOT INTERRUPT THE SEQUENCE!" a Deacon shouted
from an elevated position.
The residents scrambled toward the center. In the heart of the plaza stood the
statue of Kaito—a skeleton in robes, hand raised in a gesture of guardianship.
The base was etched with four words: [EVERNIGHT IS IMMORTAL].
The citizens gathered around the monument. It wasn't that the stone itself could
protect them; it was that his image provided a "Composure" buff. The mere
silhouette of the Sovereign suggested that safety was still the primary
protocol.
A Dwarf blacksmith, clutching his tool-crate, crouched at the base of the statue
and stared at the castle. At the site of the breached East Wing, a cluster of
warped light flickered incessantly. Energy pulses leaked out periodically,
causing the ground beneath his feet to shiver.
"Who… who is fighting?" a human vendor asked, his voice trembling at a high
frequency.
"I detected the silver blade-glow of Uncle Pride," a sharp-eyed Elven youth
noted, pointing upward.
"And the crimson flames of Uncle Wrath!"
"The Seven Sins are in combat?!"
"No… they are engaging a single target… a woman!"
A "Logic Error" rippled through the crowd. Who possessed the power-rating
required to simultaneously engage five of the Sin-Generals?
Another roar echoed from the heights. A corner of the fourth floor collapsed.
Massive blocks of stone plunged into the castle's moat, geysering water ten
meters into the air.
The Church's defensive barriers buckled under the kinetic stress. "MAINTAIN
INTEGRITY!" the Deacon shouted, his voice cracking with strain.
At that moment, the rhythmic, heavy march of boots approached from the North.
The Imperial Legions.
The Punishment Legion, the Fearless Vanguard, the Arcane Legion… every unit
stationed within Evernight City had mobilized. Skeleton soldiers moved in
perfect phalanxes, converging on the plaza from every thoroughfare. Their armor
reflected the cold glow of the Mana-lamps; their weapons remained perfectly
level.
A Punishment Legion Adjutant—a Tier-4 Skeleton Knight—rode his mount to the
center of the plaza, auditing the shivering civilians.
"ALL NON-COMBATANTS REMAIN ON STANDBY. DO NOT BREACH THE PERIMETER OF THE
SHIELDS."
His voice was a flat, clinical rattle, but it provided an immediate "Stability"
variable. He then looked up at the light warping in the East Wing.
The wall of the Time-Space Domain was disintegrating. The battle within had
reached a Terminal State.
Inside the Domain
Sophia's attire was shredded beyond repair.
The laceration on her left shoulder continued to weep biological fluid, and her
abdomen was heavily bruised from Wrath's "Heavy Impact" strike. She gripped the
Hourglass of Ages with fingers that manifested a distinct tremor.
But her opposition was in no better state.
Skele-Wrath's left arm was severed. It had been liquidated by an Accelerated
Punch; the bone was reduced to fine dust, making immediate regeneration
impossible.
Skele-Avarice's spine was fractured. He stood with a pronounced hunch, the sound
of bone grinding against bone audible with every movement.
Skele-Lust had been forced into her true Lich form. Her human avatar had reached
its "Durability Zero" during the skirmish, revealing the bleached skeleton and
the swirling soul-fire beneath. She appeared profoundly displeased—an
"Annoyance" parameter Sophia could clearly detect.
Skele-Greed remained the most viable. His Vampire regeneration allowed him to
maintain combat efficiency, but his robes were tattered and his hair was
disheveled—the "Elegance" variable he so prized was finally broken.
Skele-Pride was the most damaged.
The blue energy arm had dissipated. His left shoulder was a void of bone, just
as it had been when he was first architected. The runes on his greatsword had
dimmed by 50%, and the blade was a web of structural cracks.
Yet, he remained standing.
None of the five Generals had retreated a single step.
Sophia audited them, and a strange sensation manifested in her processors. She
had existed for eons. She had witnessed countless wars, terminal betrayals, and
grand displays of loyalty.
But she had never encountered this specific "Loyalty Variable."
These five units were statistically outmatched. Her Temporal Web had dismantled
their synergy; her Accelerated Strikes were hammering them with the force of
falling stars. In this domain, she held an absolute "Home-Field Advantage."
Yet they refused to go offline. It wasn't because they could win. It was because
they refused to lose.
"Your King has been sealed," Sophia stated.
She wanted to see if that data-dump would trigger a morale-collapse.
The reactions varied: Wrath's soul-fire burned hotter, and microscopic bone-buds
began to sprout from his stump. Avarice's spatial rifts reopened—more numerous
and dense than before. Lust's mana surged, three colors of elemental energy
intertwining in her palms. Greed's fangs fully extended, his pupils
transitioning from dark red to a predatory scarlet.
Pride slowly lifted his fractured greatsword. His soul-fire, which had been
dimming, suddenly ignited.
It wasn't white. It was Gold.
Sophia's pupils contracted to needle-points. Logic Audit: Critical failure.
"What is this variable...?"
Across Pride's silver bone-structure, golden circuits began to manifest. They
traced the path of his spine, his ribs, and his limbs—as if an archaic,
high-tier script was being initialized within his very marrow.
His power-rating began an exponential climb. Tier 6 Peak... Tier 7 Threshold
reached.
"The Sovereign architected my frame," Pride said.
His voice had changed again. It wasn't subordinate, nor was it angry. It was
Calm. A calm that radiated a terminal threat.
"He refers to me as his child." "He desired for me to be 'Complete'." "And so… I
manifested this limb."
Pride hoisted the sword. At his vacant left shoulder, golden energy began to
coalesce. Not blue. Pure Gold. A brand-new limb of condensed Od formed within
the light.
"Now you inform me that you have sealed him?"
Pride's golden gaze locked onto Sophia.
"Then I shall manually tear him out of your void."
Sophia gripped her hourglass. Is this skeleton… undergoing a 'Mid-Combat
Ascension'? In a state of total structural failure?
She had zero time to process the absurdity. Because Pride wasn't the only one
undergoing a "Parameter Update."
Greed's aura shifted. A dark red mist erupted from his pores, condensing into a
suit of blood-soaked armor. Wrath's arm fully regenerated—thicker than before,
the bone-surface coated in a layer of crimson crystals. Avarice's spatial rifts
were no longer stochastic. They aligned into a precise tactical formation—a
mobile, inter-dimensional fortress. Lust's Lich form vibrated as complex magical
arrays etched themselves into her bones. The three elements were no longer
separate; they fused into a multi-colored composite energy she had never
manifested before.
Five Sin-Generals. Collective Limit-Break.
Sophia's composure was finally liquidated.
"You absolute lunatics..." she hissed, her voice carrying a trace of genuine
fear.
The Hourglass of Ages flared with its terminal light. She prepared to release
every micro-joule of Od remaining in her core.
Logistics: Compromised. Conflict Status: Ragnarok-Rank.