[SYSTEM MODIFICATION: TEMPORARY RULE BEND GRANTED BY CROWN AUTHORITY][EXP GAIN: x2 GLOBAL MODIFIER — APPLIED TO DESIGNATED TRAINING ZONES ONLY][LIMITATION: Soul-pressure balancing enforced. Surge rate capped at +2 levels/day max per soul to prevent fracture.]
Beneath the Vault, in the final layers of the Resonance Furnace, Iden stood before a silver command terminal. As his hand hovered above the relay node, every sanctified circle ignited—hundreds of them—one for each combat-class skeleton, elite unit, and core ally.
The countdown had begun.
And now came the grind that would define the end.
[Current Level: 58][Summon Capacity: 22,020,096]
Iden inhaled.
"Activate."
Across multiple layered dream-simulations formed by Crown Engine shards, entire battlefields were crafted within seconds:
An inferno sector of endlessly spawning Abyss-forged beasts with high-resistance adaptations.
A high-altitude simulation for ranged combat, forcing bone archers and snipers to adapt with wind, fog, and zero-visibility tactics.
A war zone with scaled titans using legacy patterns of known Omega-tier threats, reconstructed with simulation core mana.
Each battle fed back into the soul-circuitry, converting effort into compressed soul-safe EXP.
Skeletons cycled through 18-hour sessions before mandatory cooldown.
Over six days, Iden fought at the center of every zone, executing high-pressure battle loops with General-class skeletons and Vanguard elites.
And then it began:
[Level Up!][Level: 59][No doubling this level][Bonus: +1,024 INT | +10,000 Summon Cap Reserve | Crown Sync: 2.2% → 2.7%]
[Level Up!][Level: 60][DOUBLING TRIGGERED][Summon Capacity x2 → 44,040,192][Bonus: +1,200 INT | +12,000 STR | +Skill Modifier Unlock: Crownfall Fusion Node I]
[Level Up!][Level: 61][Bonus: +2,000 Mana Pool | +5% Command Efficiency | +Greater Skeleton Synthesis Recipes unlocked]
[Level Up!][Level: 62][DOUBLING TRIGGERED][Summon Capacity x2 → 88,080,384][Bonus: +Crown Gate Key Fragment II | Auto-Soul Repair Rate increased]
[Level Up!][Level: 63][Bonus: +1 Epic-Grade Summon Token | New Summon Tree unlocked: Phantasmal Juggernauts]
[Level Up!][Level: 64][DOUBLING TRIGGERED][Summon Capacity x2 → 176,160,768][Bonus: +3,000 STR | +Crown Signature: "Bastion of the First Grave"]
[Level Up!][Level: 65][Bonus: +2 Greater Blueprint Tokens | Enhanced Command Stamina Threshold]
[Level Up!][Level: 66][DOUBLING TRIGGERED][Summon Capacity x2 → 352,321,536][Bonus: Passive unlocked – "Gravekind Supremacy: Tier 1"]
[Level Up!][Level: 67][Bonus: +4,000 AGI | Elite Unit Deployment Time -25% | Sync Point with Rael +2%]
[Level Up!][Level: 68][DOUBLING TRIGGERED][Summon Capacity x2 → 704,643,072][Bonus: Unique Skill Upgrade: "Bone Nova → Nova Singularity"]
[Level Up!][Level: 69][Bonus: Trait Revealed – "He Who Walks With Ends"]
[Level Up!][Level: 70][DOUBLING TRIGGERED][Summon Capacity x2 → 1,409,286,144][CROWN ENGINE THRESHOLD REACHED – Sovereign Integration Stage I Active][Mythical Title Fragment Acquired: Heir of Cataclysm][Unlocked: Tier V Constructs]
Iden collapsed to one knee as the final surge swept through him. His very soul engine strained, stabilized only by the bond with Rael and the Echo's shielding presence. White-hot light rippled through his veins. Behind his eyes, a thousand worlds of undeath obeyed.
The battlefield trembled as the system's voice echoed one final time:
[YOU STAND AT THE THRESHOLD. PREPARE.]
While Iden tore through thresholds, his trusted allies ascended as well:
Kael [Level: 57]
Gained Title: Ironborn Marshal
Trait Unlocked: "Regiment of the Unyielding – Every command improves the minions' next attack by +6%."
Unique Weapon: Spine-Shard Repeater, Phase II.
Rael [Level: 56]
Crown Sync reached 9.5%
Echo Integration Complete – New Skill: "Soulchain Reverberation – Amplify a single soulbound weapon's output by 400% for 10 seconds."
Passive Awakened: Divine Conduit – Halves Crownfall's recharge timer when Rael is present in battlefield core zone.
Arlen [Level: 55]
CrownTech Trait Awakened: "Tinker's Dominion – Every invention over 3 minutes of sustained combat upgrades itself once."
Device Gained: Arbitus Grid Shell, capable of autonomous battlefield command node activation.
Nyra [Level: 55]
Skill Upgraded: "Shifting Murder" → "Shroud of Thousand Cuts"
Passive Gained: "Queen of Knives – Each critical hit opens a bleed window for summoned units to deal bonus damage."
All of them now stood within the final threshold tier—ready to face the storm to come.
As the sixth day ended, Iden stood atop the Sanctum peak, watching the artificial horizon pulse with the firelight of training fields and shimmering shield domes.
Below, 1.4 billion summonable skeletal forces stirred quietly.
Sanctum's bunkers had been reinforced again. Shielding towers hummed. Artillery was polished to perfection. New relay gates stood silent but hungry.
In two days… the final entity would arrive.
[YOU HAVE 48 HOURS REMAINING][THE END SEEKS YOU]