Central Sector: Skyward Bastion – HQ of the Global Hero Association**
A room full of hardened elites — military officers, awakened captains, cybernetic tacticians — stood silent as a replay played on the main holographic display.
In the footage: A lone figure standing in the wreckage of the Fallen Spire. Demonic constructs littered the ground like crushed insects. Gravity warped around his form. Blood never stuck to him.
At the end of the recording, the figure raised his hand.
A vortex bloomed. Space **folded**. The camera feed ended with static and screaming.
Silence.
Then:
"...We've never seen this level of raw gravitational dominance before," one officer whispered. "Even A-rank Psychokinetics can't collapse matter like that."
The Director of Global Threat Response, General Huo Ran, slammed a metal fist on the table.
"He's unregistered. No origin. No affiliation. And he's in control of *Black Hole-level spatial compression* without a limiter chip."
He turned to his assistant. "Send an Immediate Response Unit. Bring him in. Voluntarily or not."
---
**Northern Edge of Ashen District – 36 hours later**
Qin Yu stood atop a broken watchtower, watching the cracked skyline. The city groaned beneath the weight of decay and silence.
He heard them long before he saw them.
Thrusters. Boots. A faint shimmer in the sky. Then—
**Twelve** high-tier Association operatives dropped from stealth fields, encircling him in a combat formation.
They bore gleaming exosuits, plasma halberds, magnetic grenades, and rank badges that marked them all above S-Class.
At the front, a woman with a silver eyepatch and a badge marked **\[Prime Field Commander]** stepped forward.
"Qin Yu," she said, voice clipped and practiced. "You are in violation of Article 9: Unauthorized Possession of World-Level Authority. You are hereby ordered to submit for classification, system audit, and forced synchronization under Hero Association law."
---
Qin Yu didn't move.
Didn't blink.
His voice, when it came, was *quiet* — but it carried like thunder.
"You came to kneel, or to die?"
Her eye narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"You're standing on ground I saved. You breathe in a city I kept from collapse. And you think I'll bow to a badge and a suit?"
A *pulse* radiated from him — not visible, not measurable, but **felt**.
A single step forward — and **half the team flinched**. Weapons wavered. One man staggered backward, skin drenched in cold sweat.
> **\[Passive Effect: Monarch's Domain – Killing Intent Amplified]**
> • All enemies within 50 meters suffer psychological suppression.
> • Courage-based traits degrade.
> • Resistance requires Monarch-class willpower.
> • Current Result: 9/12 Units Experiencing Induced Fear.
---
The commander held her stance, but her breath hitched.
"You threaten official forces of the Hero Association?" she asked.
"I don't threaten," Qin Yu said. "I *warn*. You're in my path. Walk away."
She raised her hand.
"Enga—"
**Void Step.**
He vanished.
Then reappeared **behind her**.
His hand rested gently on her shoulder — not in aggression, but as if to say *I could have removed your spine before you blinked*.
"Don't ever raise your voice to a monarch," he whispered.
The sky **darkened**.
Air bent around him. A faint ring of gravity formed at his feet. Rubble started to float.
**Singularity Vortex** activated — but just at **1%** output.
Enough to scare. Not enough to kill.
It worked.
The squad dropped weapons, backing away with wild eyes. The commander fell to one knee — **not in submission**, but from gravity pressure.
"Fall back!" she shouted hoarsely. "Fall back—now!"
They vanished in streaks of panic and shame.
Qin Yu turned toward the ruined horizon.
---
**\[System Notification]**
**You have unlocked Title: "Sovereign Without Chains."**
> *Your name now echoes in Hero Association records as a Monarch-class anomaly.*
> *Fear Level Tag: BLACK.*
> *Interference Level: Lethal Engagement Only (Top Brass Clearance Required).*
---
He smirked.
"They'll come again. With better weapons. Maybe gods in armor."
He stepped off the tower, landing lightly among the bones of a forgotten battlefield.
"Let them."
---
End of Chapter 7