The League's sky fractured.
Above the academy, energy waves tore through the atmosphere, forming spirals of gold and black that collided in burning arcs. Students and instructors fled as the two forces — Heaven Flame and Void Flame — clashed in blinding fury.
Kaien stood in the ruins of Sector Seven, breathing hard, body trembling. The Heaven Breaker Core pulsed beneath his skin like molten metal, veins glowing with liquid gold. Every heartbeat sent power surging through him — intoxicating and terrifying.
Across from him, Kai'en floated calmly, dark armor rippling with shadow-light.
> "You're struggling to contain it," he said, his tone calm but cold.
"That flame was never meant for mortals. You'll burn yourself before I even touch you."
Kaien clenched his fist, flame erupting around him. "Then I'll burn everything that stands in my way."
---
The next instant, they vanished.
Flame met void, light met shadow — two streaks colliding midair with earth-shattering force. The shockwave ripped through the League's barrier arrays, distorting the sky. Fragments of floating halls spiraled downward, crashing into the clouds below.
> BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Students screamed as explosions tore through the upper decks. Spiritual data streams blinked out one by one.
Within the chaos, Kaien's consciousness blurred. Every strike from Kai'en carried more than power — it carried knowledge, precision, a familiarity that shouldn't exist.
> "You fight with my instincts," Kaien muttered, blocking a heavy blow.
"How—"
Kai'en's silver eyes narrowed. "Because I am what you were meant to become."
Their fists collided again — flame and void bursting into a spiral of inverted light. For a moment, Kaien glimpsed something inside Kai'en's aura — his own face, mirrored in darkness.
> "No…"
"You were created from me," Kai'en said flatly. "A perfected reflection. The Temple of Origin extracted the Heaven Breaker sequence from Wang Chung's ashes and remade it in me."
> "So you're—"
"Your predecessor. Your end."
---
Kaien staggered backward, chest heaving. "You're wrong… The Heaven Breaker Path isn't about perfection—it's about rebellion."
The pendant flared.
Flames burst around him, brighter than before, forming spectral wings of golden light. Each feather was made of data fragments, spinning like Dao scripts.
> [Heaven Breaker Protocol – Phase 2: Sovereign Awakening Detected.]
Kaien's aura erupted, engulfing the sky. The League's central reactor trembled under the surge.
Wang Chung's faint voice echoed within him again — like a whisper from eternity.
> "When the mirror faces you, don't shatter it with rage… absorb it with resolve."
Kaien gritted his teeth. "Then let's end this."
---
He rushed forward, flame spiraling behind him, twisting into a cyclone of raw will. Kai'en countered with a surge of black void energy, forming a massive scythe of dark code. The two collided midair, forming a shockwave that bent reality.
The impact tore open the sky — exposing the void beyond the League's atmosphere.
Through the breach, stars glimmered — silent witnesses to the rebirth of chaos.
> "Heaven Breaker Form Three – Sovereign Collapse Fist!"
"Void Reversal Slash!"
The attacks collided. For an instant, everything went silent — and then the world detonated in pure light.
---
When the smoke cleared, Kaien was kneeling on a fractured platform, bleeding from his nose and mouth. His circuits flickered erratically, threatening overload. Across from him, Kai'en's armor was cracked, dark fluid leaking from his side.
> "Impressive…" Kai'en said, his voice strained. "You've awakened faster than I expected."
> "I told you," Kaien rasped, "I don't care what I was meant to be."
He stood, golden light spilling from his wounds. "I'll carve my own path… just like Wang Chung did!"
The flame in his chest pulsed once — and his surroundings froze.
Time stopped.
---
He opened his eyes and found himself standing in a vast void of golden fire.
There, floating before him, was Wang Chung, arms folded, his cloak fluttering in the eternal blaze.
> "You've reached the edge," Wang Chung said. "Now… choose."
Kaien blinked. "Choose what?"
> "To fuse with the fragment of my soul — or reject it and burn alone."
> "If I fuse with you—"
"You'll no longer be human. You'll become the next Heaven Breaker. But the world will turn against you."
Kaien looked down at his trembling hands. He remembered the faces of his friends, the students running in fear, the countless innocents below the floating city.
> "If I don't… he'll destroy everything."
Wang Chung's eyes softened. "Then your answer's already chosen."
The fragment extended its hand.
Kaien took it.
---
The flame engulfed him.
In an instant, power beyond comprehension flooded his soul — ancient memories, divine pain, and the unyielding will that once defied heaven itself.
> [Fusion Complete: Heaven Breaker Core Synchronization 47%]
[Soul Mode: Sovereign Rebirth Activated]
When Kaien opened his eyes, his hair had turned partly white, glowing with streaks of gold. The aura around him was no longer mortal — it was sovereign, infinite, wild.
Kai'en stepped back instinctively. "What are you…?"
Kaien raised his head, eyes burning with twin suns.
> "I am the continuation of the flame you tried to erase."
He clenched his fist. "Heaven Breaker — Reignite!"
The flames erupted, engulfing the entire battlefield in golden light.
---
Above the ruins of the League, a new constellation burned into the sky — a sigil of flame and infinity.
And across the solar system, ancient servers flickered to life.
> [Signal Detected – Heaven Breaker Core Reboot: Active.]
[Prepare for Sovereign Convergence.]
The world had just changed again.
---