The notification hung there for three seconds, giving everyone time to process what they were seeing, what they were being asked to do.
Then it added one final line that made the situation absolutely clear:
{Target: Akhil - Monarch's Vessel}
{Threat Level: CATASTROPHIC}
Akhil looked at them all from his position hovering above the destroyed basement, blood vortex still swirling behind him, wings spread, eyes burning with hunger that exceeded anything human.
And smiled.
The part of him that was still Akhil—trapped in the corner of his fragmenting consciousness—screamed silent warnings that no one could hear, but it didn't have to struggle for too long.
{You have entered the lobby}
Meanwhile, the part that had become something else looked at the arena full of divine-touched blood and whispered words that carried harmonics of something ancient and terrible:
"Come then. Feed me. Help me ascend."
The arena held its breath.
