Darkness.
That was the first thing I felt as I left the Sanctum.
Then came the chains.
Cold. Endless. Binding.
They dragged me through the sky, through something that wasn't space, until color returned. Red. Black. Flickers of silver like broken glass.
I landed on solid ground—if it could be called that.
Beneath me stretched a floating arena made of cracked obsidian. Around me, the sky churned like a storm trapped in glass. No wind. No sound. Just silence thick enough to crush your chest.
System Notice
Trial Domain: Arena of Chains
Stage: Sovereign Convergence (Round 1)
Objective: Survive.
Eliminate all contenders.
Victory grants: Title Upgrade + Unique Authority
Participants Remaining: 4
Four?
So I wasn't alone.
"Welcome, Sovereign Spawn."
The voice echoed everywhere at once—cold, metallic, and female. A glowing eye formed in the sky.
"Today, you will prove your worth. Or you will die nameless."
A pulse of power swept the arena, and three other figures appeared across the field—each standing on a platform of chained stone floating slightly apart from mine.
System Scan Active...
Contender 1: [Alecto of the Gilded Choir]
Race: Fallen Seraph
Power: Sound & Light Authority
Status: Stable
Contender 2: [Dreg of the Maw]
Race: Abomination
Power: Fleshcraft + Adaptive Mutation
Status: Feral – Warning
Contender 3: [??]
Data Unavailable
Reading Blocked
I narrowed my eyes at the last one. A figure wrapped in smoke and ragged feathers. Human in shape—but wrong. Like something pretending to be human.
The smoke turned toward me.
And it smiled.
"Let the Convergence… begin."
---
Timer: 00:59:59
The arena split apart with a thunderous crack, forming dozens of floating platforms suspended in the void. Chains connected some of them—thin, shifting, unstable.
New Objective: Reach the Sovereign Core at the center. Last one there dies.
So this wasn't just combat. It was a race.
I launched forward, leaping to the nearest platform. The stone shifted under my feet but held. I sprinted to the next—ducked a spinning saw trap—and rolled just as one of the chains snapped behind me.
Who designed this place?!
Behind me, the Abomination howled.
Dreg flung itself across the gap, landing like a boulder. Its body twisted mid-air, growing extra limbs for balance. Flesh bent. Bones cracked. Eyes blinked where no eyes should be.
It was fast.
"Not today," I muttered.
Skill Activated: Wrath Dash (Tier I)
I vanished in a burst of flame and reappeared ten feet ahead.
The chain I'd landed on trembled—then snapped.
I jumped, flinging myself toward a rising platform. Just made it.
Ahead, Alecto danced across her path like a ghost, using golden rings of sound to fly from one stone to another. She was graceful—too graceful. Her wings shimmered as she moved.
"She's going to reach it first," I muttered.
Then the third figure moved.
The smoky one.
But he didn't jump.
He walked into the air. Literally walked—every step forming a shadow bridge beneath him.
And he wasn't heading for the Core.
He was heading… toward me.
---
Timer: 00:37:00
I kept moving, eyes locked on the Core in the distance—a floating black sphere wrapped in chains and glowing runes. But the smoky figure—let's call him Shade—kept pace effortlessly, stepping on shadows like stairs.
"You're not like the others," he said, finally catching up. His voice was soft. Wrong. Echoing with too many tones.
"Neither are you," I replied.
"Do you remember your name?"
"I do."
"Then you're lucky. Most don't."
He didn't attack.
He just walked beside me.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"An echo," he said. "Of something worse."
Then he struck.
Fast.
A tendril of black mist snapped toward my chest.
I blocked with my armguard—only for the tendril to pass through me.
Pain exploded in my ribs.
My body staggered as something inside me twisted.
System Alert: Corruption Attempted – Ward Failed
"Wrathflame!" I shouted, swinging upward.
The burst of fire collided with him—only to be absorbed into the shadow.
"Not bad," he said. "But fire doesn't burn the dark."
He drove his palm toward my face.
Skill Activated: Sin Infuse – Wrath + Pride
I caught his wrist mid-air.
My arm burned red and gold.
I twisted.
His smile cracked as the energy surged into him.
For a moment, the shadows recoiled.
He vanished.
Not teleported—just faded.
"Cheater," I muttered.
Timer: 00:24:00
I had to move faster.
Alecto was already nearing the Core. Dreg was behind me now, tearing apart chains with brute force. The shade—wherever he went—was still hunting.
I reached a dead end. No more platforms in front.
But I saw a suspended chain overhead.
It was thin.
Weak.
But reachable.
I jumped.
Caught it.
It screamed as it bent under my weight.
System Notice: Chain Stability – 5 Seconds Remaining
I climbed like my life depended on it.
Because it did.
At the top, I reached a final platform. The Core floated just ahead—still locked, still pulsing.
Alecto landed at the same moment I did.
We stared at each other.
Her eyes were silver. Wings half-torn. A soft golden hum surrounded her.
"You won't win, demon," she said.
"I'm only half."
She raised her hand.
A spear of light formed.
I raised my fist.
Flame surged.
---
We clashed.
Light against fire.
Her weapon shattered mine.
My second blow scorched her wing.
She screamed and released a soundburst that cracked the ground. My ears bled.
I activated Sin Shield – Pride just in time to survive the second blast.
She flew upward.
I leaped after her—grabbed her ankle mid-air—and pulled her down.
We crashed together onto the final platform. Rolled.
Her blade to my neck.
My dagger to her heart.
Both paused.
Then the Core pulsed.
Timer: 00:04:00
We were out of time.
"Only one can claim it," she said.
"Then step aside."
"I can't."
"Then die."
But before either of us moved—
The platform shook.
Dreg landed beside us, roaring, limbs flailing.
The three of us faced each other.
Then a fourth shadow fell across the platform.
He was back.
The Shade.
All four contenders.
One Core.
Less than 4 minutes.