The golden spires of Valoria pierced the horizon, glowing with a false sanctity under the setting sun. To the citizens inside, those walls represented safety. To Arlan, they represented a cage that had held the world captive for too long.
He stood at the head of his army. Behind him, three thousand Shadow Soldiers stood in perfect, terrifying silence. Beside him, Lyra the Frost-Walker channeled her mana, freezing the very moisture in the air to create a jagged path of ice through the muddy plains.
[Location: Valoria Outer Perimeter]
[Current Objective: Breach the Golden Barrier]
[System Warning: Divine Mana Shield detected. Strength: 1,000,000 HP]
"They've activated the Sun-God's Aegis," Lyra said, her breath visible in the cold air. "Even your Shadow Army will be vaporized if they touch that light."
"Then I won't use my army to break it," Arlan replied. He looked at his character sheet. The Essence of the Forest he had consumed earlier was vibrating, reacting to the high-density mana of the city.
[Hidden Ability Detected: Abyssal Synthesis]
[Would you like to combine 'Shadow Extraction' + 'Essence of the Forest'?]
[Cost: 50% of Current HP]
"Do it," Arlan commanded.
His body arched in pain as black vines erupted from his skin, weaving together with the purple shadow-fire of his core. The ground beneath him cracked as a massive shape began to rise from his own shadow. It wasn't a man, and it wasn't a wolf.
[Ultimate Summon: The Shadow-Blight Dragon (Rank: Calamity)]
[Duration: 10 Minutes]
A roar shook the very foundations of the city. A dragon made of living darkness and ancient, rotting wood materialized, its wingspan wide enough to blot out the sun. Its eyes were two glowing green suns of pure Void energy.
"What is that monster?!" a voice screamed from the city walls.
Standing on the battlements was Saint Elara, the Saint of Harmony. She raised her staff, trying to stabilize the Golden Barrier, but her hands were shaking.
"Arlan! Stop this madness!" she cried out. "You are bringing an end to everything!"
"No," Arlan said, leaping onto the back of the Shadow-Blight Dragon. "I am bringing an end to you."
The dragon opened its maw. Instead of fire, a beam of absolute nothingness—a Void Breath—struck the Golden Barrier. The sound was like a million glass mirrors shattering at once. The "unbreakable" shield of the Empire flickered, turned grey, and then dissolved into ash.
[Golden Barrier: DESTROYED]
[System Notification: 568 Witnesses are in Absolute Terror.]
[Fear Multiplier Updated: X3 Exp gained during the Siege!]
"The gates are down!" Sebastian roared, leading the charge.
Arlan flew his dragon over the walls, looking down at the palace where his father sat. The final battle had begun.
The golden gates didn't just break—they dissolved. As the Shadow-Blight Dragon let out a bone-chilling roar, the atmosphere inside Valoria shifted. The air grew heavy with the scent of ozone and rotting wood. For the first time in a thousand years, the capital of the Empire felt the cold touch of fear.
[System Alert: Territory Invasion Active]
[Aura Effect: 'Despair of the Fallen' - Reducing enemy morale by 60%]
Arlan stood atop the dragon's head, his black cloak whipping in the wind. Below him, the Shadow Army poured into the city like a tide of ink. Every Imperial soldier struck down by a shadow was instantly reanimated as a mindless thrall, turning the Empire's own numbers against them.
[Passive Skill Trigger: Soul Harvest]
[New Minions Created: 450 Shadow Guards]
Suddenly, a pillar of molten iron erupted from the palace square, nearly clipping the dragon's wing. Standing in the center of the square was Barak, the Saint of Iron. His skin was a dull metallic grey, and his massive war-hammer pulsed with divine heat.
"You dare bring this filth into our holy city, Arlan?" Barak's voice rumbled like grinding stones.
"Holy?" Arlan leaped from the dragon, descending like a meteor. "This city is built on the bones of the people you sacrificed to fuel your 'God-System'. I've just come to collect the debt."
Arlan hit the ground with a shockwave that shattered the marble tiles. He didn't use a shield; he didn't need one. He activated Void Erosion.
As Barak swung his hammer, Arlan simply caught the head of the weapon with his bare hand. The violet-black energy from Arlan's palm began to spread across the iron, turning the metal into brittle, grey dust.
[Skill: Void Erosion - Level 4]
[Effect: Bypassing 90% of Physical Armor / Siphoning Durability]
"How... how is your mana overriding the Divine Protection?!" Barak gasped, his hammer crumbling in his hands.
"Because your God is just a machine, Barak," Arlan hissed, drawing his Eclipse Blade. "And I am the virus that was designed to delete it."
With a single, blinding stroke, Arlan sliced through Barak's chest plate. The Saint of Iron didn't bleed red; he bled liquid mercury that evaporated before hitting the ground.
[Saint Defeated: Barak of the Iron Gate]
[Loot Acquired: Heart of the Mountain (Rank S)]
[Exp Gained: 15,000]
Before Arlan could deliver the final blow, a shimmering melody filled the air. Elara, the Saint of Harmony, descended from the sky, her golden staff emitting waves of calming light that tried to suppress Arlan's chaotic aura.
"Stop, Arlan!" she pleaded, her eyes filled with tears. "If you kill the Saints, the System will collapse, and the entire continent will lose its magic! Millions will die in the chaos!"
Arlan paused, his blade inches from Barak's throat. He looked at the 568 "witnesses" (the city's spectators) watching from the shadows.
"Then let it fall," Arlan said, his voice devoid of any warmth. "I'd rather they live in a world without magic than a world ruled by a monster like my father."
The air in the palace square had become a vacuum of sound. Elara's "Songs of Harmony" were being swallowed by the sheer density of Arlan's Abyssal Aura. Every time she struck her staff against the ground, the golden ripples of light were instantly stained black, turning into jagged shards of shadow.
[Warning: Divine Resonance failing...]
[System Analysis: Arlan's Chaos Core is mimicking the Saint's frequency to negate her attacks.]
"You don't understand, Arlan," Elara cried out, her golden robes tattered. "The Emperor... he isn't just a man anymore. He has linked his heartbeat to the World Core. If you kill the Saints, you weaken the seals holding back the Void Beyond. You aren't saving the world; you're opening the door for the End!"
Arlan stopped his advance. He stood over the shattered body of Barak, his boots treading on the silver mercury blood of the fallen Saint. He tilted his head, his crystalline green eyes reflecting the chaos of the burning city.
"Let the Void come," Arlan's voice was a low, terrifying hum. "I have lived in the void since the day my father poisoned my tea. I have made it my home. If the world must burn to ash so that no one else has to live under a Golden Lie, then I will be the one to strike the match."
[Skill Activated: Sovereign's Execution]
[Condition: Target is at <10% HP]
Arlan raised his Eclipse Blade. The sword didn't just glow; it seemed to pull the light out of the very sky. With a single, silent downward stroke, he didn't just cut Barak's body—he cut the System Link between the Saint and the Empire.
[Saint Extinguished: Barak, the Iron Shield]
[Loot: Divine Iron Shard (Rank S)]
[System Global Announcement: The First Seal is Broken.]
A massive shockwave erupted from the point of impact, knocking Elara backward. In the distance, one of the twelve great towers surrounding the capital—the Tower of Fortitude—crumbled into dust. The sky itself seemed to crack, revealing a glimpse of a dark, swirling nebula behind the clouds.
[Level Up! Level 28 -> Level 29]
[Views Milestone: 568 Witnesses recorded. Reward: 'Aura of the Tyrant' Unlocked.]
"One tower down," Arlan said, looking at his trembling hand. He could feel the Void Beyond whispering to him, offering him even more power. "Eleven to go."
Sebastian and Lyra arrived at his side, looking at the devastation. The Shadow Army had completely occupied the outer districts, and the remaining Imperial forces were retreating toward the Inner Sanctum.
"The people are calling you a monster, Arlan," Sebastian whispered, looking at the terrified faces of the civilians hiding in the alleys.
"A monster is just a hero that the history books haven't justified yet," Arlan replied. He pointed his blade toward the Inner Palace. "The night is still young. We have ten more Saints to find before the sun dares to rise."