Location: Starroot Academy — Sovereign Arena: Ring 4
The arena was thunderous with excitement as the top ten competitors from Round 1 were displayed across glowing sky screens.
[MATCH: Kazuki Ren (Rank #9) vs. Kael Drazan (Rank #4)]
Beast Clan: Crimson Fang Sect
Specialization: Fire Elemental Beast Binding
Record: 3x Flame Tamer Champion
Ren stepped into Ring 4, eyes narrowed.
Opposite him stood Kael Drazan: tall, armored in crimson leather, with a jagged beast crest burning on his shoulder. His beast, a twin-horned Flame Fang Tiger, snarled beside him, lava dripping from its maw.
Kael sneered.
"A rogue ranked ninth. Cute. I'll end this before your mongrels even blink."
Ren didn't respond.
He reached for his Codex. Nyx appeared behind him in shadow. Emberstar hovered above, a halo of heat rising from its wings.
[Beast Duel Rules Activated]
Format: 1v1 + 1 Beast
Victory Conditions: Opponent incapacitation OR Codex overload
Limitations:
– Only one beast may be summoned at a time
– No direct lethal attacks permitted
– Time limit: 10 minutes
Round Start – 00:00:01
[Ren has selected: Nyx – Shadow Sovereign Cub]
[Kael has selected: Flame Fang – Tier 3 Elite Beast]
The moment the countdown ended, Kael didn't waste time.
"Incinerate!"
The Flame Fang burst forward, claws glowing, jaws ablaze. Nyx slid under the charge, shadows bending like liquid.
[Skill Activated: Shadow Flicker]
Evasion Successful. Counter Window Open.
Ren didn't speak commands.
He thought them, Nyx reacted.
The bond was beyond words.
"Behind him," Ren whispered.
Nyx reappeared in a streak of black light, claws raking across the Flame Fang's flank. The beast snarled and twisted, breathing a cone of white-hot fire.
[Nyx HP: 84%]
[Flame Fang HP: 91%]
Kael's Codex – Manual Sync Mode
Kael growled.
"You're not bad for a fake. But let's see how your shadow mutt handles this"
He slammed a sigil into the air.
[Skill: Flame Fang Fusion – Dual Pulse Boost Activated]
Effect: Flame Fang's speed and power increased by 35% for 30 seconds.
The tiger became a blur of fire, tearing across the arena in a zigzag charge.
Nyx couldn't dodge it all.
He was fast.
But not invincible.
Ren felt a jolt in his head as the beast was clipped, sent tumbling.
[Nyx HP: 59%]
Warning: Sync Delay – Mental Strain Rising
Ren clenched his teeth.
He could switch to Emberstar. Or… risk everything.
[Codex Prompt: Eclipse Pulse Trigger?]
Fusion Sync: 42%
Risk: Moderate Burnout
"…Do it."
System Activation: Eclipse Pulse
Dark and light surged around Ren's body. The Codex screamed as dual sync flickered in the air.
Nyx's fur shimmered with streaks of ember.
The Flame Fang paused, sensing danger.
[New Trait Activated: Eclipse Surge – Shadowflame Phase Mode]
Duration: 20 seconds
Effect: Nyx's claws gain burn effect | Speed +20% | Immunity to fire-based lock-ons
Kael's eyes widened. "What the?!"
"Now, Nyx. End it."
Final Clash
Nyx moved like smoke and fire combined, impossible to track.
He dodged the final flame swipe, leapt from the beast's blind spot, and slammed both claws into the Flame Fang's spine.
[Skill: Eclipse Break Fang – Critical Hit!]
[Flame Fang HP: 0%]
Beast incapacitated
Kael staggered, his Codex flashing red.
[System: Duel Over – Winner: Kazuki Ren]
Ranking Advanced: #9 → #6
Bonus: +18 Sovereign Points | Codex Evolution Potential Increased
Aftermath – Arena Halls
Kael punched the wall as Ren walked past him.
"You got lucky, Rogue."
Ren stopped.
"No," he said calmly. "You got predictable."
Behind him, Emberstar flared. Nyx walked beside him, burnt, bruised, but still proud.
The crowd watched in stunned silence.
Not because he won.
But because he fought like a Sovereign.
Location: Starroot Academy – Sovereign Arena, Inner Wing Corridor
The battle had ended, but the pressure hadn't.
Ren walked silently through the stone corridor leading away from Ring 4. Sweat clung to his collar. Nyx, barely stabilized, paced behind him. Emberstar curled in the air above like a cautious ember waiting to explode.
The system hadn't stopped pulsing since the victory prompt.
[Codex Warning: Unstable Sync Detected]
Current Mode: Dual Beast Link – Eclipse Phase
Anomaly: Sovereign Codex Reacting to Foreign Protocols…
Ren winced. A static buzz ran through his skull.
"Not here… Not now."
[Codex Surge Containment Initiated… Failed]
Suggestion: Seek Core Stabilization Chamber Immediately
Before he could react, a cloaked figure stepped into his path. Elder-class aura.
The pressure forced Emberstar to flare and Nyx to hiss defensively.
"Relax, boy," the figure said. "I'm not here to fight."
Ren narrowed his eyes.
"Then what do you want?"
The elder pulled down his hood. A gaunt face with glowing golden pupils stared back.
Elder Zehn – Keeper of the Vaults
Codex Rank: High-Mystic Class
Affiliation: Neutral Watcher Circle
"You ranked in the top ten. That gives you access to… certain privileges."
He handed Ren a talisman. It pulsed with old magic, dripping with Sovereign bloodline scent.
[Item Acquired: Vault Sigil – Tier 1 Access]
Location: Forbidden Vault – Chamber of Echoes
Status: Unlocked for 3 Hours
"Use it wisely," Zehn said. "What you find inside may change the shape of your Codex forever."
Starroot's Forbidden Vault – First Time Entry
Ren stood before the sealed gates, breathing slowly.
The talisman burned in his palm, melting into golden lines across the stone.
The doors parted with a groan of ancient stone.
Inside was darkness, then stars.
The vault didn't look like a room. It looked like space itself.
Constellations swirled above floating platforms of relics, eggs, scrolls, and flickering system fragments. Beast spirits howled silently within crystal cages.
[System Alert: Vault Interface Detected]
Welcome, Cadet.
Access Level: Tier 1
Time Remaining: 2:59:51
Scan Initiated… Matching Codex Signature…
Light surged ahead.
One platform lit up with a crimson glow. A single beast egg, black as void and glowing with veins of blue flame, sat suspended in a glass core.
[Codex Resonance Triggered]
Object: ???
Name: ??? (Suppressed)
Status: Dormant
Risk: Unknown
Codex Warning: This relic is not meant for any known beast class.
Compatible Signature: Kazuki Ren – Sovereign Override Detected
Ren stepped closer.
Something called to him.
A voice, not in his ears, but in his blood.
"We are waiting… Sovereign. Choose us. Free us."
[Codex Prompt: Attempt to Bond with Sealed Beast Core?]
Risk: Codex Mutation
Cost: Beast Slot Override
Warning: May Alter Existing Sync Paths
Ren stared at the black flame egg.
Was this a trap? Or fate?
Nyx and Emberstar materialized beside him, silent, watching.
"I'm done playing safe."
He touched it.
Codex Surge: Override Protocol Activated
The vault erupted in white flame.
[Codex Mutation In Progress…]
Sync Path Expanding…
New Slot Unlocked: ???
Beast Type: Unknown – Suppressed Origin
Codex Tier: Ascendant (Evolving)
Codex Classification Update Pending…
Ren collapsed to one knee, eyes glowing with fire and shadow.
A third bond had formed but nothing like the first two.
Something ancient stirred.
Vault Exit – 2 Hours Later
Ren staggered out of the Forbidden Vault, cloak torn, eyes still flickering blue-black.
[System: Codex Capacity Expanded]
New Trait: Mythic Integration Seed (Unhatched)
Time to Activation: ???
Beast Compatibility: Unknown
Warning: You are now being monitored by the Central Codex Authority
Back in the Arena – Observation Tower
Above, in the academy's highest chamber, several elders watched the vault's data spike.
"Codex Override… again?"
"Three bonded beasts. One is Mythic-Class sealed?"
"That boy… isn't normal."
Another figure, wearing a mask of golden glass, turned away.
"It's beginning."
End of Chapter 12