The Shardspire loomed like a god's broken tooth—sharp, jagged, and humming with old wrath.
As Kai stepped into its shadow, the temperature dropped. Not cold—weighty. Like the sky itself pressed down here, trying to crush anything bold enough to reach up.
The field at its base had become a gathering of chaos.
Cultivators circled like predators. Sects that had once warred now stood side by side—bound not by loyalty, but ambition.
At the center of them all stood a throne of stone and ash.
And on it sat the Twin-Faced Sovereign.
One half of his face was smooth, youthful—barely older than Kai. The other side? Wrinkled, cracked, with veins of glowing black. As if age and time had warred over his body… and decided to share.
"So," the Sovereign said, voice echoing like two people speaking at once, "the boy who broke the Hollow comes."
Kai didn't flinch. "I'm not here to bow. Or beg."
The Sovereign smiled.
"Oh, child. You're not here to win, either. You're here to learn what it means when the world fears a seed that grows beyond its design."
In one motion, a dozen masked fighters dropped from the surrounding cliffs—blades drawn, eyes empty.
Ayaka and Ren moved instantly—blocking, countering, creating space.
Kai stood tall.
"Enough running. Let them come."
The orb spun into his hand. Roots of golden flame exploded beneath his feet, curling up his arms like armor.
The ground screamed as the first clash began.
A new war had arrived.
And this time—it would burn until only truth or ruin remained.