Everything blurred after the scream.
Kael couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't hold his soul together.
Something inside him shattered—then screamed to life.
BOOM.
A pulse exploded outward from Kael's body, shattering the remnants of the wall behind him. Wind surged with impossible force, walls cracked and collapsed. The floor beneath him trembled.
Then came the howl.
A sound that wasn't a scream or roar, but something deeper. Elemental. Primeval. It came from Kael's mouth, but it didn't sound like any voice the world had ever known.
His eyes flared open—not glowing with Flame, Lightning, Storm, or even Kinetic energy.
But raw, dense, unbound Essence. Cracked with golden light. Lines of pressure spread across his skin like veins of power too great for a body to hold.
The room detonated.
The entire building crumbled in a deafening cascade of stone and steel, blown outward by violent gales and oppressive force. Arlan's unconscious body was flung out of harm's way by some instinctive ripple of Kael's will, and Leiya's collapsed form vanished in a flicker of protection.
Outside, the sky darkened. Winds tore across the district. Trees bent sideways, windows shattered. Guild alarms screamed through the city as Guildmasters and guards began shouting for immediate evacuations.
"Evacuate Sector Seven! NOW!"
"It's Kael—his Essence is surging out of control!"
"He's going to level the entire block!"
But Kael didn't know.
Didn't care.
He didn't even realize the world was breaking around him.
All he saw… was The Sovereign.
His figure.
His smile.
His hand, still stained from Leiya's blood.
Kael's body blurred.
Then vanished.
And the Sovereign reeled as Kael struck him in the face with a blow that cracked space.
BOOM.
He flew backward through multiple layers of crumbling stone.
Kael appeared behind him before the Sovereign even stopped flying, slamming both fists into his back and driving him straight into the street below. Pavement exploded outward. A crater formed beneath their feet.
No technique. No name. No form.
Just raw destruction.
The Sovereign staggered to his feet—only to receive a knee to the ribs, followed by an elbow crashing down onto his spine. His body jolted, and for the first time…
He looked disoriented.
Kael moved again. A blur of fists, knees, and Essence detonations. Each impact struck with cataclysmic force. The Sovereign was fast—but not fast enough. Strong—but not strong enough.
Not against this.
"RAAAAAH!!" Kael screamed, his voice barely human.
He drove his fist straight into the Sovereign's chest, blasting him through a market district, then through three more structures beyond.
Every move sent shockwaves across the city.
Civilians scrambled to escape collapsing buildings as the ground rippled.
Storm clouds gathered above without warning.
It wasn't Lightning.
It wasn't Storm.
It was Kael.
And then—
Thud.
Kael collapsed.
Mid-step.
Mid-attack.
He dropped to his knees, eyes wide, blood pouring from every pore. His entire body trembled, then began to convulse. Veins burst. Muscles cracked.
He fell forward, barely catching himself with one trembling arm.
The Sovereign stood amidst the wreckage, his armor shattered and half of his body charred from Essence impact. He coughed, wiped blood from his mouth, and stared at Kael—this monster that had, for a few brief moments, utterly overwhelmed him.
He didn't speak for a moment.
When he did, his voice was hoarse, but filled with cold awe.
"…If you weren't already dying…"
He stepped closer.
"…you would've broken me."
A flicker of something foreign passed through his eyes. Was it fear? Reverence?
"Your power… it's beyond what this world should allow. That intensity, that density… You're not even fused with your elements anymore. You're wielding raw Essence as if it obeys you."
He crouched beside Kael's broken form.
"But… no need to reset the cycle again. No need to risk you getting any stronger. It's done now. The chapter of Kael Fael ends here."
The Sovereign stood and raised his hand—
Then everything froze.
The winds stopped mid-whirl. Debris halted mid-air. Flames stilled mid-flicker.
Even the Sovereign's breath paused in his chest.
And then—
A voice.
No direction. No origin.
It came from everywhere. From within Kael's heart. From beyond time.
A voice that could not be described as male or female, old or young.
Only that it was Truth.
"No… not yet."
The world remained frozen.
Even the Sovereign couldn't move.
The voice came again, quieter now, but echoing across space itself.
"You've taken him to the brink. And now… I answer."