The sky burned black.
Over the Radiant Continent, storm clouds churned like an ocean of fire and ash. A metallic tang filled the air, the taste of blood and ozone. From the lowest farmer to the most exalted emperor, all looked upward with trembling eyes.
It was not a tribulation.
It was judgment.
Lightning coiled into serpents, each one thick enough to coil around a mountain. Thunder boomed like war drums of the divine. Beneath the oppressive heavens stood one figure—his robes torn, his Scythe gleaming obsidian, eyes reflecting both demon fire and dragon's abyss.
Aezreal.
He stood at the center of a wasteland carved by his past battles. Mountains had already been flattened; rivers boiled into steam. Behind him, the air warped as Nyx, his companion, padded silently to his side.
A wolf-like beast, but not merely wolf—her fur shimmered black as void, yet threads of crimson light pulsed beneath like veins of molten blood. Two horns curved back, faintly draconic. Her tail split into three shadowy trails, flickering like smoke. Her eyes were starfire—cold, merciless, eternal.
The world trembled at her presence.
The First Bolt
From the heavens, a spear of silver-blue lightning tore downward. It split the atmosphere, ripping the air apart with such force that sound itself lagged behind. The bolt was thick as a fortress tower, hotter than the heart of the sun.
It struck Aezreal.
For an instant, his body convulsed, flesh searing. Blood sprayed from his mouth, steaming before it hit the ground. The Scythe in his hand groaned, its dark metal humming with hunger as it drank part of the impact.
But still, he stood.
Aezreal tilted his head back, lips curling. "This is what the heavens offer me? Pathetic."
The world itself growled in reply.
The Mortal Cage
From the black sky, not only lightning fell.
Chains.
Vast luminous chains of celestial steel snaked downward, each one inscribed with runes that blazed like suns. They coiled around Aezreal, one after another, until a prison of light encased him.
Every chain burned with power—not merely energy, but law.
The Law of the Lower World.
No mortal may surpass its limits. No soul may rise where it does not belong. The Mortal Cage had been sealed since the First Era, binding countless cultivators beneath its weight.
Now it bound Aezreal.
The chains sank into his flesh, tearing into skin and bone. His blood hissed like molten tar. Each time he strained against them, they dug deeper, carving runes into his very marrow.
The heavens whispered in cruel mockery: "Die here, anomaly. You do not belong."
The World Watches
Far away, within the golden halls of the Radiant Empire, the Emperor knelt before an ancient mirror of prophecy. His court was silent, nobles pale as corpses.
They saw it too.
"A cage," whispered the Grand Preceptor. "The Mortal Cage itself has descended…"
The Emperor's lips trembled. "If he breaks it—our world… will never be the same."
In the Verdant Empire, hidden sages gathered, murmuring.
"He may succeed."
"Then the heavens themselves will bleed."
In the Obsidian lands, masked cultists prayed with fevered voices.
"The one to shatter the Cage! The herald of slaughter! All hail the Abyssal Dragon!"
All across the continent, hope and despair tangled into a storm of mortal emotion. And at its center, one boy—no, one demon dragon cloaked in flesh—stood alone against the sky.
Nyx Awakens
As the second bolt fell, Nyx moved.
Her body stretched tall, fur bristling with silver arcs as she leapt into the storm. The lightning struck her directly, engulfing her in a sphere of blinding light.
When it cleared, Nyx still stood. Her jaws dripped with molten lightning as if she had eaten it.
The chains binding Aezreal trembled.
Aezreal smirked. "So that's why the system gave you to me. Not a companion… a key."
Nyx growled low, her three tails lashing. The patterns on her fur writhed, forming ancient sigils neither demonic nor draconic—something beyond either bloodline, something fused.
Aezreal's mind buzzed with a system whisper:
> [Pet Evolution Confirmed: Nyx – Hybrid Abyssal Sovereign]
Bloodline Traits: Demon Abyss + Primordial Dragon + Shadow Sovereign
Unique Ability: Soul Resonance — May merge with Master during Tribulation.
The revelation was brutal and simple.
Without Nyx, he could not break the Cage.
The Third Bolt
The sky screamed.
Lightning condensed into a blade of pure annihilation, descending with enough force to erase kingdoms. It cleaved straight toward Aezreal's skull.
Nyx howled. Shadows exploded from her body, wrapping around Aezreal in a cocoon. The lightning blade struck—
BOOM!
The shockwave shattered mountains hundreds of miles away. Forests turned to ash. Millions across the continent fell to their knees, ears bleeding.
When the smoke cleared, Aezreal stood within the ruin, one hand gripping his Scythe. Nyx crouched at his side, panting, her fur burned away in places, exposing raw glowing muscle.
Blood dripped from both.
Aezreal licked it from his lips, eyes burning red. "Good. The pain is real. That means I'm closer."
The Cage Tightens
The chains writhed violently, now glowing so bright they burned his shadow away. They pierced his chest, sank into his soul. He felt them clamp upon his heart, his dantian, his mind.
Every cultivator watching from afar screamed at the sight.
They weren't chains of metal. They were concepts.
The concept of mortality. The concept of limitation.
And they were trying to erase him.
Blood poured from his seven orifices, staining the earth black. His Scythe clattered to the ground, its blade shrieking as cracks spread across its cursed surface.
Aezreal fell to one knee.
The heavens laughed.
"Die."
The Union
Nyx staggered toward him. Her form flickered between solid and ethereal, her voice echoing directly into his mind.
"Together."
Her body dissolved into shadowy mist, wrapping around Aezreal's frame. His eyes widened as her essence seeped into his flesh, into his veins. His heartbeat synchronized with hers.
Master and pet, two existences, one soul.
The world convulsed.
Aezreal stood once more, but not as before. His body blazed with black fire, his veins glowing crimson. From his back unfurled shadowy wings laced with lightning. His Scythe rose into the air on its own, fusing to his hand.
This was Soul Resonance.
This was defiance incarnate.
Breaking the Cage
The final bolt descended.
It wasn't lightning.
It was a sword of heavenly will, billions of feet long, its edge sharper than causality. It descended to erase not just his body but his very name from existence.
Aezreal lifted his Scythe, eyes gleaming like suns of blood.
"Do you think I'll kneel?" he whispered.
His voice became thunder.
"I AM THE ONE WHO BREAKS."
He swung.
The Scythe howled, fused with Nyx's shadows, carving through the air. The blade met the heavenly sword.
The world shattered.
The Mortal Cage screamed as cracks split across the chains. One by one, they snapped, exploding into shards of divine fire. The sound echoed across every empire like the tolling of doomsday bells.
Then, with one final roar, Aezreal split the sword of heaven in two.
The sky opened.
The Rift
Above, a rift yawned wide—an endless sky of golden light, a world higher than this one. The Immortal World. Its aura poured downward, suffocating all mortals who felt it.
Every empire quaked.
"He broke the cage…" whispered the Radiant Emperor, collapsing onto his throne, eyes hollow.
"He defied the Dao…" gasped Verdant sages, weeping in both awe and terror.
"The Abyssal Dragon has come," chanted Obsidian cultists, prostrating in frenzy.
But Aezreal did not ascend.
His gaze turned downward, toward the Radiant Empire's golden capital. His lips curled into a grin, sharp and cruel.
"I'm not done here."
The heavens recoiled.
The earth wailed.
And in that silence, Aezreal's vow rang clear:
"Before I leave this cage behind, I'll grind it into dust."