When the Sovereign Blinks
The attack came at dawn.
Not with numbers.
With silence.
Every monster across three battlefronts halted simultaneously.
Weapons lowered.
Movements ceased.
Even birds stopped flying.
Theo's eyes widened,"Full network synchronization."
Sam stood slowly.
"Yes."
The air thickened.
The sky darkened unnaturally.
A single vertical tear opened above the valley. From it descended a projection.
Vast.
Humanoid.
Armored in shifting violet plates.
Its face obscured by shadow.
The Sovereign.
Even as a projection, its presence bent the air while soldiers collapsed under pressure.
Mira dropped to one knee.
Darius struggled to breathe.
Lyra grit her teeth.
Borin's lion whimpered.
Theo whispered, "That's… beyond documented realms…"
The projection's gaze locked onto Sam.
"You disrupt inevitability."
Sam looked back calmly.
"You coordinate monsters poorly."
A ripple passed through the projection.
"I have observed your anomaly."
"Unfortunate."
"You are not within the design."
"Good."
The Sovereign raised one hand and space fractured, while mountains cracked. The sky split with violet lightning.
Sam stepped forward.
The fractures sealed instantly.
The lightning dimmed.
The pressure lifted.
The Sovereign paused.
"For the first time since awakening… I cannot calculate outcome."
Sam tilted his head slightly.
"That sounds like growth."
The projection's aura flared violently.
"You will be integrated."
"No."
Violet energy condensed into a spear the size of a fortress and it hurled downward.
Every soldier screamed.
Theo whispered, "That will erase the valley…"
Sam sighed.
He reached up and caught it.
Not the energy.
But the intent.
The concept of attack.
He held it between two fingers then he let it dissolve like mist.
Silence.
The Sovereign stared.
"You stand at culmination."
"Yes."
"You have always stood there."
"Yes."
The projection flickered.
"Then this world is already lost."
Sam frowned slightly, "That seems dramatic."
The projection shattered into light.
***
Across the continent, every monster resumed motion.
But differently.
More cautiously.
Retreating.
Observing.
Theo exhaled shakily, "You didn't increase your realm."
"No."
"You revealed it."
"Yes."
Darius looked at him carefully.
"How high does it go?"
Sam stared at his hand.
"…I don't know."
Lyra sheathed her blades slowly, "You just made a world-ending entity hesitate."
Borin grinned, "That was awesome."
Mira rose to her feet.
"The Kingdom will never ignore you again."
Sam closed his eyes briefly.
"That is precisely the problem."
***
Far beyond mortal sight, the true Sovereign opened its eyes fully.
For the first time—it was uncertain.
And Sam?
Sam just wanted soup.