The Palace of Eternal Dawn had never felt so alive with calculated tension.
Three days after the first victorious stand at Frostfang Pass, Elaric returned to the capital under royal escort. Golden griffin riders flanked his wind-sloop as it landed on the same private platform where his journey had begun. This time, however, the honor guard numbered two hundred—Royal Knights in full parade armor, their aura flames visible even in daylight. Trumpets sounded a new fanfare: the "Storm Sovereign March," composed overnight by the royal bards.
King Alaric III waited on the grand steps, flanked by the entire royal family. Crown Prince Valerian's expression was neutral stone. Third Prince Cassian stood pale and silent, still under soft house arrest. Princess Elowen, however, stepped forward the moment Elaric descended—silver hair catching the sun-crystal light, a genuine smile breaking court protocol.
"Welcome back, Lord Protector of the North," she said softly, voice carrying just far enough for the front rows to hear. The title had been whispered in the halls since the puppet incident.
Elaric bowed to the King first, then met Elowen's eyes with equal warmth.
"Your Majesty. Your Highness. The pass holds. The alliance stands united. Vesper's remnants have scattered—most surrendered to royal inquisitors this morning."
The King's golden eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
"Rise, Elaric Sylvaine. For your service, the crown bestows three rewards."
A royal attendant stepped forward with three floating orbs.
First Reward – Royal Decree Orb
Effect: Permanent "Duke-Protector" title. All northern territories fall under your direct command during wartime. Annual tribute from the crown: 500,000 high-grade spirit stones.
Second Reward – Saint-grade Artifact: Crown of Eternal Dawn
Description: A thin circlet of condensed sunlight crystal. Passive: +40% mana and qi regeneration in daylight. Active: Once per day, summon a 500-meter radius "Dawn Domain" that heals allies and burns demonic corruption.
Third Reward – Betrothal Rights
Scroll of Royal Sanction: You may choose any unmarried noble daughter of the kingdom (including royal blood) without political repercussion. Refusal by any house will be considered treason.
Gasps rippled through the assembled court. Several dukes' daughters flushed or paled. House Starweave's matriarch looked ready to offer her entire lineage on the spot.
Elaric accepted the first two orbs into his Inventory. The circlet settled on his brow—warm, comforting, like sunlight on storm clouds. He looked directly at Princess Elowen.
"I accept the honors with gratitude, Your Majesty. As for betrothal rights… I request time. The tide still rages. When the Rift is sealed, I will speak my choice plainly—and only to the one who chooses me in return."
Elowen's cheeks colored faintly, but her eyes shone with relief and quiet joy. The King chuckled deeply.
"Spoken like a true sovereign. Very well. One month's grace. Now—rest. Then return north. The kingdom watches."
As the court dispersed, subtle intrigue swirled. A lesser duke from the southern plains approached under guise of congratulations, slipping a talisman into Elaric's sleeve—coded offer of his eldest daughter and half his territory. Elaric scanned it with Storm Sovereign's Gaze, smiled politely, and passed it to a royal scribe for "filing."
Cassian watched from afar, hatred and fear warring on his face. The failed puppet had cost him more than freedom; it had cost him his father's trust.
Elaric left the palace that same afternoon, but not before a private garden meeting with Elowen.
"No pressure," she said, voice soft amid blooming moon-lilies. "I know your path is larger than any marriage. But if you ever need a partner who can stand in the storm… I have trained in healing arrays and light-qi support. I could be useful at the pass."
Elaric took her hand—brief, respectful.
"When the war ends, we speak as equals. Until then—stay safe. The capital is not as secure as it seems."
She squeezed once, then let go.
The wind-sloop carried him north again, heavier with royal favor and lighter with possibility.
The command citadel at Frostfang Pass had transformed.
Worldforger Architect's daily growth had turned the walls into living fortresses—stone veins pulsing with self-repairing arrays that now regenerated 3% stronger every sunrise. Tents had become permanent barracks. The contribution point pool swelled past 800,000, spent on shared pills, weapons, and teleport gates.
Elaric arrived to urgent news.
Scouts reported the Abyssal Rift itself was widening. A new presence stirred at its heart—something ancient, named in beast lore as Nexathar, the World-Eater Wyrm. A legendary beast lord of the Eclipse Void bloodline, said to have slumbered since the last great cataclysm five thousand years ago. Its awakening was feeding the tide, birthing stronger alphas hourly.
"We cannot wait," Elaric declared in the war council. "I will lead a strike team into the Rift. Cut the source. The alliance holds the pass."
No one argued. His power had become legend in seventy-two days.
The incursion team: Elaric, Zephyr, Nyxara, two Peak Saint shadow guards from the royal gift, and Lira Vesper—now fully redeemed, her Ki mastery turned against her former house.
They entered the Rift at midnight.
The Abyssal Rift was no mere crack in the mountains. It was a vertical tear in reality—black walls pulsing with void energy, gravity twisting, time flickering. Winds howled with the screams of devoured worlds.
Elaric activated the Crown of Eternal Dawn. Sunlight aura pushed back the darkness, creating a 500-meter bubble of clarity.
Deeper they went—three hours of descending ledges, fighting lesser void spawn that dissolved under Nyxara's judgment flames.
At the heart: a colossal cavern the size of a city.
And there—coiled around a fractured world-core crystal—slept Nexathar.
The World-Eater Wyrm.
Two hundred meters long, serpentine body covered in obsidian scales that reflected no light, only swallowed it. Six pairs of eclipse wings—half shadow, half devouring starlight—folded along its spine. Its head bore six eyes: three pairs glowing with void, eclipse, and hunger. A single horn of crystallized nothingness spiraled from its brow. Aura alone crushed the cavern floor into powder.
It sensed them.
Eyes opened.
The cavern trembled.
System Scan – Legendary Beast Lord
Name: Nexathar, the World-Eater Wyrm
Realm: Peak Saint (equivalent) – Void Eclipse Path
Abilities: Devour Realm (consume spatial stability), Eclipse Breath (erases existence in a cone), Infinite Coil (regeneration via devoured energy), World-Core Symbiosis (draws power from the Rift crystal)
Threat Level: Catastrophic – flee probability 0% for current host without full power
Nexathar's voice echoed like grinding continents.
"Mortal speck… you dare enter my cradle?"
Elaric stepped forward.
"I dare end it."
The fight exploded.
Nexathar uncoiled—faster than sight. Tail whipped, shattering space itself.
Elaric activated Tempest of Silent Judgment + Crown of Eternal Dawn.
Domain clashed with void. Sunlight met eclipse. For three heartbeats the cavern became a battlefield of creation and annihilation.
Zephyr dove—Lightning Feather Barrage turned into a thousand plasma spears. They struck scales—most absorbed, but three punched through, drawing black blood that hissed into nothingness.
Nyxara flickered through shadow—Phantom Step chain + Judgment Chains wrapping the wyrm's midsection. Black flames burned corruption, forcing a roar that cracked the cavern ceiling.
The two Saint guards unleashed royal techniques—golden sun blades and shadow lances—but Nexathar's wings flared. Eclipse Breath erased one guard's attack mid-flight and clipped the second, dissolving his left arm.
Elaric moved.
Sovereign's Breath – First Form + Omni-Fusion Core
He exhaled.
The fused storm struck the wyrm's left eye cluster.
Nexathar screamed—true pain. Void energy recoiled.
It retaliated.
Devour Realm
Space around Elaric collapsed inward.
He triggered Micro-Reversion.
Ten seconds rewound. He was already behind the wyrm's head.
Eagle's Descent from the Ninth Heaven (full ancestral fragment unlocked during Rift descent) + Nascent Eternal Worldforger synergy
Fist met skull.
Creation energy poured in—Worldforger Architect forcing temporary "order" onto chaos scales. Cracks spiderwebbed across obsidian hide.
Nexathar thrashed.
Wings unfurled fully—eclipse storm sweeping the cavern.
Lira Vesper shouted, "Now!" and unleashed a forbidden Ki technique she had stolen from her father's vault—Veil of Eternal Silence. It suppressed the wyrm's regeneration for exactly seven seconds.
Elaric poured everything.
All Classes Synergized:
Nascent Eternity Sovereign – daily growth accelerated mid-battle into combat buffs.
Worldforger Architect – he mentally blueprinted a "Binding Pillar Array" directly onto the wyrm's core. Golden constructs manifested from thin air, anchoring Nexathar to the cavern floor.
Then—the surge.
DING!
Legendary Beast Lord Damage Threshold Reached
System Level Up: Level 16 Achieved
Third Class Selection Activated
Cosmic Synergy Explosion Detected – All Previous Classes Catalyzing
The wheel spun violently—four cards, but two shattered and reformed into higher rarities due to stacked Cosmic influence.
Option 1 – Mythic: Eclipse Void Dominator
Option 2 – Cosmic: Infinite Realm Weaver
Option 3 – Cosmic: Eternal Apex Predator
Option 4 – Transcendent (New Rarity – Ultra-Rare Draw): Origin Sovereign
Elaric chose the last without thought.
Class Acquired: Origin Sovereign (Transcendent)
Equipped
Cosmic Synergies Explode:
• Nascent Eternity Sovereign + Worldforger Architect + Origin Sovereign = New Hybrid Title: "Eternal Origin Worldforger"
• Passive: All systems now evolve simultaneously at +300% speed. Daily stat growth compounds across classes.
• Active: Origin Breath – fuses ALL current systems (Mana, Qi, Aura, Ki, Bloodline, Domain, Classes) into one ultimate exhalation. Cooldown: 7 days.
• New Function: Class Evolution Tree – future selections can upgrade previous classes to higher rarities.
• Overall Power Multiplier: ×4.7 (stacked transcendent synergy)
Power beyond description flooded Elaric.
His hair ignited with origin flames—white-gold laced with void and storm. Eyes became miniature universes.
He opened his mouth.
Origin Breath – First Invocation
The cavern froze.
Every system converged into one perfect breath.
Wind became creation.
Lightning became law.
Qi became eternity.
Ki became judgment.
Bloodline became apex.
Domain became reality.
The breath struck Nexathar head-on.
The World-Eater Wyrm—ancient terror of the Rift—had one heartbeat to scream.
Then it simply… ceased.
Not destroyed. Not erased.
Unmade.
Scales dissolved into origin light. Flesh returned to primordial energy. The world-core crystal it guarded shattered—its power flooding into Elaric instead.
The Rift itself began to seal—cracks knitting with golden threads of creation.
DING!
Legendary Beast Lord Nexathar – Eliminated
War of a Thousand Storms – Major Turning Point Achieved
Rewards:
• World-Core Essence (absorbable – permanent +1 realm across all systems)
• Void Eclipse Bloodline Fragment (absorbed into Sylvaine Eagle – new trait: "Origin Eclipse Wings")
• System Points +250,000
• Rift Closure Progress: 47% (full seal in 30 days with continued effort)
The remaining team stared in awe.
Lira fell to one knee. "You… are no longer of this world."
Elaric landed lightly, power still radiating.
He looked at the slowly closing Rift.
"The tide ends here. The war… shifts to something greater."
Zephyr and Nyxara pressed against him—loyal, exalted, growing stronger in resonance.
Back at the pass, horns sounded victory.
In the capital, arrays lit up with news of the Rift incursion success.
The Sovereign had not merely won a battle.
He had begun to rewrite the rules of existence itself.
End of Chapter 11.
The Rift closes. Origin Sovereign awakens new possibilities. Vesper remnants may still plot in the shadows. The kingdom prepares grand celebrations.