The chains lashed toward Azel like hungry vipers
He didn't dodge
He stepped into them
His blade glowed white and blue pulsing with sovereign light
Each chain that touched him burned and split like glass
The Null King's mirror mask cracked slightly
One step
Then two
Azel's aura rose like a storm
Flames wrapped in ancient symbols circled him
Behind him Echo raised his hand
The tomb he'd touched earlier began to pulse again
But this time not with darkness
With echo
Layers of voices overlapped inside him
Some screaming
Some laughing
All were him
Azel shouted over the roar
Echo this is your upgrade
The Sovereign Core unlocked it for you
No chants no scrolls
Just choose
Echo gritted his teeth
His veins shimmered like starlight
The system inside him screamed
New path detected
Rewriting class
Class evolved
From Shadow Dualist to Sovereign Trickster
His stats flickered
Then exploded upward
Shadow forms broke into dozens
All of them moved differently
Kyren backed away trembling
No way
He wasn't compatible with the Sovereign matrix
He wasn't chosen
Echo's eyes locked onto Kyren
And all the shadows laughed at once
You're done copying others
Let me show you something original
The clones surrounded Kyren and moved
No patterns
No form
Just chaos sculpted into perfection
Every attack forced Kyren to defend against something he couldn't predict
Sera stood beside the Sovereign tombs
She whispered a quick prayer to balance the energies
Azel didn't stop
He pushed toward the Null King
Each strike brought a memory
Each clash burned another illusion away
The Sovereigns around them glowed brighter
One of them spoke
This is it
The moment that determines whether the old world stays buried or burns again
Echo raised both hands
Shadows spiraled into a vortex
Then funneled into Azel's blade
Just for one strike
He grinned
Boosting you one time captain
Azel moved
The blade sliced clean through space itself
The Null King blocked with a thousand chains
But the Sovereign Core behind Azel ignited
Reality fractured
And for just one heartbeat
The Null King bled
Dark ichor hit the floor and hissed
He recoiled
Chains flailing
You evolved too early
You'll break yourself
Azel stood panting
Then smirked
We'll break everything before it breaks us
The Sovereign Core hummed louder
Now half-awake
And the real war was about to begin