The storm above New Dawn's upper orbit bled with red lightning. Fractured fragments of space shimmered like broken glass as Kaien stood alone on the sky bridge, his coat whipping violently in the hurricane winds.
Below him — the city trembled.
> "You've gone too far, Kaien,"
the voice echoed through his neural link, metallic yet hauntingly familiar.
"You weren't meant to reawaken that code."
Kaien's silver eyes narrowed. Across from him, the holographic form of Kai'en flickered into view — the reflection of his own face twisted in black flame. Every inch of that apparition burned with corrupted qi-data, threads of dark code crawling like serpents.
> "You talk like you weren't born from me," Kaien said coldly.
"But you're just the Temple's leash."
Kai'en smirked, his eyes gleaming crimson.
> "And you're just Wang Chung's ghost, wearing a new body."
That name pierced the storm.
Wang Chung — the Heaven Breaker, the Flame Sovereign, the one whose power defied the will of Heavens themselves. His legend was the root of Kaien's curse… and his destiny.
Kaien clenched his fists as lines of molten circuitry spread across his arms.
> "I don't need to be him," Kaien said, voice shaking the bridge.
"I'll forge my own path. My own Heaven."
The Sovereign Flame roared awake within his core — no longer bound to the pendant or to Wang Chung's remnants, but responding to Kaien's will. The air warped, and for a brief instant, the universe seemed to bend around him.
> [🔥 Sovereign Integration: 67%]
[⚠️ Neural Overload Imminent]
[💀 Host Soul-Stability: Critical]
Kai'en raised his hand, dark qi swirling like liquid shadow.
> "Then show me, Heaven Breaker reborn."
The two flames — one gold, one black — collided.
The impact split the sky.
Clouds disintegrated. Energy spiraled in vast rings as the League's barrier fields tried to stabilize the orbit. Instructors and Technocultivators across the system watched in horror as the Heaven Breaker Protocol reactivated on a planetary scale.
Kaien gritted his teeth, his body cracking with searing light. He could feel Wang Chung's memories bleeding through — battles against the Void Lords, the fall of the Celestial War, Yu Meilan's final tear, the weight of everything he once carried.
> "So this is the legacy I inherited…"
He thrust his palms forward, merging soul, machine, and flame.
> "Then let it burn once more!"
A pillar of crimson-gold energy erupted from his body, piercing through the orbital storm. In that moment — Kaien wasn't just fighting Kai'en. He was rewriting his existence, rewriting Heaven itself.
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