Hero Association – Central Command**
Inside a circular chamber of steel and light, sealed by a thousand failsafes, sat **the High Directive Council**. Twelve seats. One hollow.
The chair belonged to the man they were about to summon.
**Codename: STARBREAKER**
**Rank: Monarch-Level Hero – Absolute Class**
**Titles: The Final Blade. Destroyer of the Fifth Rift. Executioner of Demon King Jaru.**
A voice cut through the tense air:
"He's our best. If Starbreaker can't control Qin Yu, no one can."
Another added, "He survived the fall of Nova Station with one arm. We've seen what he does to tyrants."
But even Starbreaker — when called from the abyss — wore a deep frown as he watched the footage of Qin Yu turning the northern unit into shivering wrecks.
"His presence," Starbreaker said slowly, "is wrong. Too dense. Like gravity itself obeys him."
He stood. His eyes flared silver, and his cape billowed even in the still air.
"I'll go."
---
**Wastes of Sol Drift – 300 kilometers from last battle zone**
Qin Yu stood at the edge of a crater large enough to hold a mountain. The rift energy here boiled the air. Strange blue lightning danced across shattered buildings.
He was absorbing the spatial echoes of the fallen Rift Core — its gravity making his veins hum.
Then he felt it.
A presence tearing through the sky like a burning comet.
He turned slowly.
**Starbreaker landed.**
The ground cracked under his boots. His armor was forged from Riftsteel and Myth Dust, layered with anti-void runes. A six-meter blade floated behind him, wrapped in radiant chains.
"I am the blade of mankind," Starbreaker said. "And I don't kneel to monsters."
Qin Yu met his gaze. Calm. Cold.
"You'll kneel anyway."
---
**\[Boss Encounter: Hero Class – Monarch Rank: Starbreaker]**
**Level: 97**
**Threat Rating: Celestial+**
**Abilities: Cosmic Cleave, Light-Eater Form, Astral Severance**
---
Starbreaker didn't wait.
He surged forward, blade singing.
**BOOM!**
The world lit up — light curved unnaturally around Qin Yu's frame. Starbreaker struck **ten times** in a single second.
Qin Yu didn't dodge.
Each blow landed — but the gravitational layers around his body bent reality, dispersing the force harmlessly into the air.
Then Qin Yu raised a single finger.
And **everything stopped**.
---
**\[New System Authority Accessed: Pre-Singularity Core Awakening…]**
> **Trait Unlocked: Sovereign of Collapse**
> *You are no longer bound by the hierarchy of evolution.*
> *You exist above Monarchs. Above Systems. You are the error the Creators feared.*
---
Qin Yu stepped forward once — just once.
The impact of that step shattered gravity in a **5-kilometer radius**. Starbreaker's footing gave way. His blade warped.
The Hero gasped.
"…What… are you?"
Qin Yu's eyes burned black with flickers of white stars.
"I am the black hole that thoughts orbit. I am the point past which meaning fails. You think you're a Monarch?"
He raised his hand.
"I stand above thrones."
---
**\[Ability Activated: Event Collapse (Unranked)]**
> *Erase a concept within a local reality zone for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 24 hours.*
**Target Chosen: "Hero Rank."**
---
The badge on Starbreaker's chest cracked. His rank. His aura. His connection to the Hero Association's nexus — **gone**.
He fell to one knee.
Not by choice.
But by force.
Not even his will, forged in demon fire, could resist the weight.
It wasn't gravity.
It was **Qin Yu**.
---
Then… Qin Yu stopped.
The world returned.
Starbreaker gasped in air, eyes wide with fear, awe, confusion.
"You could've killed me."
"I could've ended the concept of you."
"…Then why didn't you?"
Qin Yu turned his back, cloak billowing with weightless silence.
"Because even kings deserve to witness what's coming."
---
**\[System Update]**
**Title Acquired: Apex Sovereign – He Who Unseats Thrones**
> *You are now recognized by all high-order systems as an Unclassified Entity.*
> *You no longer follow the path of mortals. Even the Creators will now observe your movements with caution.*
---
Far above, in a void beyond stars, **something stirred**.
Not a demon. Not a god.
But the **Architect of Systems**.
And it whispered to itself, watching Qin Yu walk away from the fallen Monarch:
> *"He's early… he wasn't meant to awaken this soon."*
---
End of Chapter 8