Chapter 6: The Governor's Table
The vault was no longer a room; it was a meat grinder. The cyclone of blades—thin, solidified strips of wind—tore through the diamond desk and shredded the gold bars as if they were wet cardboard.
The Governor loomed in the center of the storm, his translucent skin glowing a violent, neon blue. "You think you are 'Candidates'?" he bellowed, his voice vibrating David's teeth. "You are merely high-calorie snacks for the system! You are the grease that keeps the Cradle turning!"
[Warning: Integrity of the 'Nursery' simulation at 88%]
[Boss Skill: Market Crash – The Governor is draining the room's oxygen to fuel his gale.]
David felt his lungs tightening. The air was being sucked toward the Governor's open maw. Beside him, Emily was struggling to breathe, her face pale. She gripped her jade coin so hard her knuckles turned white.
"Now, Emily!" David roared over the howling wind. "Five seconds!"
Emily didn't hesitate. She threw the jade coin into the air. "Spatial Fold: Null Horizon!"
The coin didn't fall. It expanded, turning into a shimmering green ring that wrapped around the pressurized glass sphere containing the silver feather. For a heartbeat, the hurricane inside the room slowed. The space around the Blessing was frozen, disconnected from the Governor's control.
[4 Seconds remaining...]
David didn't run; he exploded.
Badum-tap! [Beat Sync: Overclock]
In David's vision, the world turned into a series of static frames. He saw the individual wind-blades hanging in the air like glass shards. He saw the Governor's slow-motion realization, the monster's mouth opening to emit a counter-wave.
David leaped. He used a floating gold bar as a stepping stone, his boots cracking the metal.
[3 Seconds...]
The Governor swung a massive, flabby arm. To David, it moved like a falling tree. He twisted mid-air, his heart giving a sharp skip that told him exactly where the pressure was thinnest. He felt the wind shave off a layer of skin from his shoulder, but he didn't stop.
[2 Seconds...]
He reached the green ring. His hand plunged into the "folded" space. It felt like reaching into a freezer. His fingers closed around the silver feather—the Breath of the Wind.
[1 Second...]
CRACK.
The jade coin shattered into a thousand useless sparks. The "Null Horizon" collapsed.
The Governor's roar hit David like a physical wall. "THIEF!"
David was blown backward, the silver feather clutched to his chest. He hit the vault wall with enough force to shatter the safety deposit boxes, burying him in a rain of fake currency and soul-essence shards.
[0 Seconds. Spatial Fold Ended.]
"David!" Emily screamed. She tried to raise her rifle, but the Governor turned his gaze toward her.
"You first, little bird," the Governor hissed. He raised both hands, condensing the entire room's wind into a single, pointed lance aimed at Emily's heart.
From the pile of debris, a hand shot out. It wasn't a normal hand anymore. It was wreathed in silver light and black smoke, the two Ancestral energies fighting for dominance.
BOOM-BOOM.
The sound was so loud the Governor's wind lance flickered. David climbed out of the rubble. The silver feather was gone—absorbed directly into his lungs.
[Second Ancestral Blessing: The Breath of the Wind – Integration: 40%]
[New Skill: Storm-Step (Active) – Your movements are now weightless.]
"My turn," David said.
Before the Governor could react, David vanished. He didn't run; he flowed. He appeared in front of the Governor as a blur of silver-black mist.
Badum-tap! David delivered a punch fueled by the weight of the Primal Heart and the speed of the Wind. It connected with the Governor's massive gut. The impact didn't just push the Boss back; it sent a shockwave through his translucent body, disrupting the "tax-essence" flow.
"You... you are supposed to be Rank 19..." the Governor wheezed, his blue glow fading as his code began to unravel.
"Update the records," David said, his voice overlapping with a ghostly, howling wind. "I'm moving up."
David delivered a final, vibrating strike to the Governor's chest. The Boss didn't bleed; he shattered into millions of data-points.
[World Boss: The Governor – DEFEATED]
[Loot: 5,000 Soul Shards, 1x Key to the Under-City]
The system screen in David's vision began to spin rapidly. The numbers flickered, climbing higher and higher.
[Rank Update...]
[19... 17... 15... 13...]
[Final Position: Rank 11]
Emily collapsed against the wall, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She looked at her own screen. [Rank: 9].
"We survived," she whispered, looking at David with a mixture of awe and genuine fear. "But look..."
She pointed toward the vault's monitors, which were now displaying a global leaderboard. The top names were glowing in gold.
[Rank 1: The Saint – Blessings: 3]
[Rank 2: The Sword-King – Blessings: 2]
[Rank 3: The Iron Monk – Blessings: 2]
Suddenly, the screen turned red. A message broadcasted to all 20 Candidates:
[The Heavens Alliance has declared a 'Great Harvest'.]
[All Candidates outside the Top 5 are marked for termination.]
[Location of Rank 9 and Rank 11 revealed to all participants.]
David looked at his hand, which was still trembling from the power of the two blessings. His Thump of Dread began to beat like a drum.
"They're coming for us," David said, grabbing Emily's hand. "We can't stay in the upper simulation. It's time to use that key."
He looked at the floor, where a trapdoor labeled [Under-City Access] was now glowing.
"Let's see how the 'Heavens' handle the basement."