A single heartbeat.One held breath across a hundred thousand lungs.Even the skies seemed to pause.
Z'RHAKUL towered over the Sanctum valley, the fractured mountain terrain breaking beneath its impossible weight. Its form was both humanoid and utterly alien—a colossal being stitched together from the husks of gods long since annihilated, its body crackling with corrupted starfire and abyssal runes.
And yet—it paused too.
Because the Crown Engine had awoken.
From the peak of Sanctum's Core Tower, Iden stood against the roaring storm. Gold threads of divine interface circled him. His right hand pointed skyward.
He spoke three words—calm, without grandeur.
"Bring the silence."
And the world obeyed.
CROWNLAUNCH – FULL ACTIVATION
[CROWN ENGINE RESPONSE: ACKNOWLEDGED][CROWN SPEAR ARRAY: FIRING SEQUENCE COMMENCED][FALLOUT CONSTRUCT NETWORK: OVERDRIVE MODE ENABLED][SYNC RATE: 99.7% – ERROR TOLERANCE ACCEPTED]
"Judgment Requiem "
200 Fallout constructs—orbital weapons the size of buildings—tilted in unison, channeling all remaining regional mana into their cores. Internal fusion-mana engines breached critical mass.
Down below, four Crownfall Spears in perfect tetrahedral alignment gathered beamform mana along crystalline rails. Each of them ignited—blue, gold, crimson, and white—converging into a central nexus directly above Z'RHAKUL.
Light wasn't the right word.
It wasn't just brilliance—it was finality. A spiraling column of condensed Crown energy lanced downward, tearing through the upper stratosphere and piercing Z'RHAKUL's chest. At the same time, Fallout constructs began raining their enhanced payloads—each a nuclear-grade mana detonation shaped into obliterating lances.
Each impact hit with the force of an extinction-level event. Dozens. Hundreds. All focused on the titan.
Z'RHAKUL screamed—and the scream shattered clouds and mountains alike.
But it was no longer in control.
The beam did not explode—it carved. Through dimension, through time, through protection.
It tunneled through Z'RHAKUL's chest, arms, and head—each segment being peeled apart into strings of corrupted divinity that disintegrated into nothingness. Its legs tried to move, but they too were shredded by coordinated missile arcs from below.
The entity collapsed, slowly at first—then with momentum. The shockwave from its fall triggered avalanches across the valley's border and cracked the earth beneath Sanctum's outer wall. The very mana field over the region turned unstable, temporarily nullified.
And yet—Sanctum stood.Because Iden had timed it perfectly.
[Z'RHAKUL STATUS: TERMINATED][SOUL CORRUPTION REMNANT: TRACE LEVELS – COLLAPSING][REGIONAL MANA: 11% REMAINING | STABILIZATION INITIATED]
[WARNING: GLOBAL OBSERVATION SYSTEM DETECTED BEAMFALL][RESPONSE PROBABILITY: 100%]
For a moment, no one spoke. Not even Rael. Not even Arlen.
Iden stood, blood trailing from one nostril, his skin pale, soul slightly torn—but alive.
Kael's voice crackled over the line. "It worked."
Nyra: "We killed it."
Rael, softly: "No. We survived it."
The Oracle dropped her scepter in open awe. "That… wasn't magic. That was law rewritten."
High Strategist Meros stood from his command chair, eyes narrowed. "That wasn't a defense. That was a message."
Deep beneath the ocean, the remnants of Valtross's failed lieutenants stirred—and then fell silent again. For the weapon in the sky had spoken. None of them dared answer.
From the fading remains of Z'RHAKUL, a single rune formed in the air, its language long forgotten—but readable only by Rael.
She whispered its meaning aloud:
"One more will come."
The citizens of Sanctum rose from their bunkers, blinking into a world dimmed, but not broken. Soldiers saluted their commanders. Children hugged their parents. Arlen's upgraded defensive towers began recalibrating. Skeleton units returned to formation, collecting fallen armor and reforging shattered bone.
Iden stood on the platform, eyes closed, his voice barely a whisper.
"We're not done. But now they know."
Behind him, the Crown Engine pulsed again.
A new countdown began.