The night sky burned crimson.
Lightning twisted across the clouds like veins of a furious god, and below them — Lu Fan stood alone amid a field of ruins.
The world had fallen silent.
No heartbeat but his own. No sound but the low hum of the Universal Library deep within his mind.
> [Universal Library: Awakening Sequence — 100% Complete.]
A golden glyph spun before his eyes, splitting into countless fragments of light that sank into his soul. The pain was unbearable, but his expression didn't change. He had already endured more than any man should.
His robe was torn, blood painting his chest. Around him lay the corpses of the Temple's elite — the ones who had called him Sovereign Child before trying to erase his existence.
But they failed.
Even as his body crumbled, even as his heart was pierced — he refused to fall.
The Library's voice, once faint and mechanical, now sounded almost… human.
> "Lu Fan… you've reached the threshold of the Sovereign Path. To ascend, you must forsake your mortal shell."
A faint smile curved his lips. "Then take it."
With that whisper, his core shattered — not in failure, but in transcendence. A torrent of light burst from within him, illuminating the dead battlefield. The fragments of his core fused with the golden pages of the Library, binding knowledge and essence into one.
The next instant, everything burned. His flesh dissolved into light, and the world itself seemed to hold its breath.
In that blinding moment, a voice — not the Library's, not his own — echoed from the void.
> "Sovereign of the White Flame… your name shall echo through the eons."
Then came silence.
When the light faded, a figure stood where Lu Fan had fallen. His once-black hair now flowed like threads of silver-white fire. His eyes glowed faint gold, reflecting both wisdom and sorrow.
He raised his hand — the sky responded. The ruined clouds parted, and a single lotus of pure light blossomed above him. Every living creature in miles felt its warmth… and its terrifying authority.
> [White-Haired Sovereign Form: Awakened]
[Crimson Lotus Art — Final Phase Unlocked]
[Veil of Eclipse: Evolved to Sovereign Veil]
He closed his eyes for a long moment. Within his mind, the Universal Library pulsed — no longer a guide, but an equal.
> "From this day onward," it whispered, "you are no longer the reader… you are the author."
Lu Fan exhaled slowly. His power surged, but his gaze remained soft — distant. The Temple would soon come again, stronger than before. He knew that. Yet for the first time, he didn't feel fear… only calm resolve.
He looked at the distant horizon, where dawn's first light crept through.
"White-Haired Sovereign…" he murmured, brushing his fingers through his pale hair. "If this is the price of power… then I'll bear it."
The wind howled. The battlefield vanished in a flash of golden light — and Lu Fan was gone, leaving behind only a single line burned into the scorched earth:
> "Even if the heavens fall, I will write them anew."