The secret stairway spiraled upward in eerie silence.
No wind.
No echo.
Only the pulse of magic running along the walls—veins of white and blue light that faded the closer they came to the surface, like the palace itself was trying to hide the truth buried beneath it.
Auron walked first, the Crown of the Hollow King sealed to his face. Every step he took felt heavier than the last—not from fear, but from *certainty*. He didn't feel like an intruder.
He felt like he was *coming home*.
Behind him, Mira tightened her grip on her sword. "Once we reach the top, we'll be surrounded. The Citadel Guard alone numbers in the hundreds."
"They won't matter," Auron replied.
Jace exhaled hard. "And what if he's ready? The False King?"
"He is," Auron said. "But not for *me*."
---
They reached the door.
Unlike the rest of the tunnel, this door was polished obsidian etched with gold. At its center was a symbol: the sun coiled by a serpent — the sigil of the reigning king.
Auron raised his hand.
The system responded instantly.
**\[Royal Barrier Detected]**
**\[Dominion Key Override Active]**
**\[Authorization: Sovereign of the Abyss – Access Granted]**
The door melted into smoke.
And they stepped into the palace.
---
The royal throne hall was empty.
Not of guards.
But of *life*.
The walls gleamed with gold and ivory, polished so smooth they reflected every shadow. The banners overhead were too clean. The windows too still. Even the torches didn't flicker.
"Where is everyone?" Jace whispered.
Mira looked around, eyes narrowed. "I don't like this."
Auron stopped at the center of the hall.
"I do."
Because sitting at the top of the silver stair, lounging across the throne with a wine glass in hand… was him.
Or at least, the man who *pretended* to be.
King Aeron Valemere.
The False Monarch.
He smiled, slow and easy.
"You came," he said, rising from the throne.
He looked younger than expected—charming, smooth-skinned, and dressed in robes of gold-threaded black. But his eyes… they were old. Far too old for the face.
"I wasn't sure if the Abyss would spare enough of you to crawl this far," he continued. "But I'm glad. Now we can settle this without pretending."
Auron stepped forward. "Remove it."
Aeron's brow lifted. "Remove what?"
"The charm masking your real form. I want to see who you *really* are."
The False King chuckled.
Then raised his hand.
And the illusion peeled away.
---
The room *darkened*.
The golden skin dissolved into ash.
The youthful face cracked, revealing pale gray flesh beneath—etched with veins of black fire.
And the eyes—
No longer human.
They shimmered with layered irises, each rotating like a lock.
"I was hoping we'd talk first," the creature said. "But I suppose kings don't talk. They conquer."
Auron summoned his weapon from the mask—a jagged blade of shadow and steel.
"I didn't come to talk."
---
The system triggered.
**\[Boss Battle Initiated – Thronebreaker Class]**
**\[Target: Crown-Eater – False Monarch]**
**\[Difficulty: EXTREME]**
**\[Warning: Adaptive Reality Field Detected – Skill Use May Be Suppressed]**
The False King raised one hand—
And the entire hall *shifted*.
Floor twisted to sky.
Chandeliers turned into chains.
The throne crumbled and rebuilt itself into a tower of screaming masks.
Auron braced himself.
"Domain magic," Mira hissed. "He's reshaping the room!"
"No," Auron muttered. "He's reshaping *memory*."
The Crown-Eater struck.
---
They clashed in mid-air.
Auron's blade met claws of liquid fire. Every blow rang like a bell through a storm. The enemy moved like a serpent of shadow, striking from angles that didn't exist, bending the very walls to trap and twist.
Jace tried to interfere—only to be flung backward by a barrier.
Mira attacked from the flank, carving deep into the king's side—but the wound healed instantly.
"You're still dreaming you can bleed me," the Crown-Eater snarled.
But Auron was silent.
He focused.
Let the mask speak.
**\[Shadow Throne: Activated]**
**\[Domain Clash Initiated]**
**\[Enemy Territory: Consuming Dream] vs. \[Your Territory: Hollow Memory]**
The battlefield *fractured*.
Half the room shifted again—cracks spreading like glass, revealing Auron's domain: a cathedral of stone and ash, echoing with chants in a forgotten tongue.
And in *his* half of the room, the Crown-Eater weakened.
The advantage had changed.
---
Their blades clashed again.
And this time, Auron struck deep.
The Crown-Eater screamed—not from pain, but from *recognition*.
"You are not just a shadow," he rasped. "You are the last mirror of the truth."
Auron drove his fist into the king's chest, pushing him back into his own throne.
"Exactly."
The Crown-Eater coughed black smoke.
"You're not ready… for what comes next."
Auron pulled his blade free.
"Then I'll be ready *when it arrives*."
He raised the mask—
And released the Hollow Mantle.
The hall vanished in a storm of shadows.
---
When the dust settled, Auron stood alone at the top of the throne stairs.
The false crown lay shattered beside him.
Jace and Mira ran to his side.
"Is it over?" Jace asked.
"No," Auron said, looking out over the horizon through the broken palace wall.
"It's just begun."
Because now the world knew:
The Hollow King had returned.
And this time—
He had claimed the throne.