The staircase rose like a spine carved through the bones of the world.
Each step was forged from black crystal—
Each shimmered with script older than the dungeon—
Each trembled as Hayate's foot touched it.
Lumeria and Flare followed behind him, but cautiously…
As if walking behind a storm wrapped in human shape.
Flare whispered, barely audible:
"…He isn't even radiating killing intent. It's just—
—pressure."
Lumeria nodded slowly.
"That's what a Sovereign is… A natural disaster. A law. A truth."
Hayate didn't turn.
Didn't pause.
Didn't look back.
He simply ascended.
And the dungeon changed around him.
---
THE FIRST SHIFT — THE CORRIDOR OF BROKEN KINGS
As they reached the landing, the world opened into a colossal corridor…
Not carved stone—
But a graveyard of thrones.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Lining both sides.
Shattered.
Burnt.
Splintered by ancient war.
Every throne belonged to a cosmic monarch that no longer existed.
Flare gulped.
"…I feel like we just walked into a museum where everything died violently."
Lumeria tightened her grip on her staff.
"These were the other star-sovereigns. The rulers of neighboring galaxies, devouring sects, void empires…"
She swallowed.
"All defeated by the Sovereign of Devouring Stars."
Flare:
"So… Hayate?"
Lumeria:
"You're walking beside someone who once erased dynasties for breathing wrong."
Flare:
"…Cool."
Hayate stopped walking.
Not because of the thrones.
But because a voice echoed down the corridor—
A voice that froze Flare and made Lumeria pale.
A voice that felt like a blade scraping across the spine of time.
"You've finally returned, successor."
---
THE FIRST OF THREE ENEMIES APPEARS
From atop a cracked obsidian throne ahead, a figure rose.
Tall.
Wrapped in tattered imperial robes.
A crown melted to his skull.
Eyes hollow—literally.
Two pits of black flame burning where life once lived.
Lumeria gasped sharply.
"Impossible… that's—"
The figure's voice drowned her out:
"I am the Wraith of the Fallen Emperor…
…first guardian of the throne you abandoned."
Flare hid behind Hayate again.
"Oh, good. Perfect. We killed a cosmic monster, so now we're fighting undead kings. How is this our life?"
Hayate's expression didn't change.
"You're one of the three."
The Wraith bowed slightly—
mockingly.
"One of the three who despises your return the most."
His voice sharpened like a dagger.
"You took the core."
"You slew the Hollow Star."
"You seek the throne."
His skeletal smile widened.
"Then you must pass the Trial of Lost Crowns."
At his gesture, the corridor screamed.
Thrones cracked.
Dust imploded.
Spectral monarchs rose from every shattered seat—
over a thousand ghostly rulers re-forming from the dead.
Flare fell to her knees.
"Oh, NOW it's a full raid dungeon!? Really!?"
Lumeria steadied her staff.
"Hayate… this is—"
Hayate "raised his hand."
Everything stopped.
The ghosts.
The emperor's wraith.
Even the cracks in the air seemed to freeze.
Hayate's "aura quieted…"
Then deepened.
A cold murmur escaped him:
"These are echoes.
Fragments.
Leftovers."
The Wraith snarled.
"Arrogant child of stars—
You lost everything. Your empire fell. Your creations turned against you. And now you dare—"
Hayate's eyes glowed.
"Silence."
The corridor collapsed inward from the pressure of a single word.
Even the Wraith staggered back.
---
SOVEREIGN REINTEGRATION SURGES
A black system window materialized above Hayate.
"[SYNCHRONIZATION: 72% → 76% → 79%]"
Neural Reconstruction Stable.
Sovereign Memory Pathways Expanding.
Lumeria's breath hitched.
"The closer he gets to the throne… the faster he awakens."
Flare whimpered.
"What happens at one hundred percent?"
Lumeria didn't answer.
Because she didn't know.
Because nobody knew.
---
THE TRIAL OF LOST CROWNS Begins
The Wraith regained his composure, though cracks now spread across his form.
"…Fine then.
If you will not bow—
You will bleed."
He raised his hand—
And the entire corridor exploded into spectral war.
A thousand ghost kings charged.
Swords of frozen starlight.
Spears of shattered laws.
Crowns turned into bladed halos.
Hayate inhaled once—
—and exhaled.
Dark galaxies "unfurled behind him like wings."
"Devouring Star Art—"
His voice was calm.
"Fifth Form."
Both Flare and Lumeria flinched.
"He has a FIFTH form!?"
Hayate stepped forward—
"Galaxy-Sunder Sweep."
—and "swept his arm."
The world folded.
A single arc of black light carved across the corridor…
And the spectral army disintegrated instantly.
No shattering.
No bursting.
Just gone.
Silence returned.
Only the Fallen Emperor remained.
The Wraith trembled.
"You… you shouldn't be this strong yet…!"
Hayate approached him slowly.
"You were one of the rebels."
The Wraith froze.
Hayate's expression turned cold.
"You helped seal me.
You fed the Hollow Star lies.
You betrayed the Devouring Throne."
The Fallen Emperor's hollow eyes widened as memories he thought long buried resurfaced.
"…How… how can you remember…?"
Hayate stopped walking.
The crown "above his head sharpened from flickering starlight
into a half-formed constellation of blades."
"Seventy-nine percent."
The Wraith activated every defense he had.
Shields.
Barriers.
Subspace folds.
Dimensional escapes.
Hayate "walked through them."
Like walking through fog.
The Wraith screamed:
"STAY BACK—!!!"
Hayate "placed a hand on his forehead."
A simple gesture.
Then whispered:
"Fifth Form—Annulment."
A quiet pulse of black light—
Pƒtt.
The Wraith vanished.
Not exploded.
Not destroyed.
Erased from memory, soul, timeline, and existence.
The corridor fell still.
A system chime echoed:
[ENEMY 1 OF 3 — ELIMINATED]
Synchronization: 79% → 82%
Pathway Unlocked: The Nebula Gate
Flare crawled out from behind a throne.
"D-Did he just… delete a king?"
Lumeria shook.
"Yes."
"And it was effortless."
Hayate "turned toward the next door."
His voice was barely above a whisper—
but carried enough force to shake the corridor.
"Two enemies remain."
He "began walking again."
---
THE NEBULA GATE
At the end of the corridor stood a massive double-door made of swirling nebula clouds frozen in crystalline amber.
Three symbols glowed across it:
A shattered star.
A bleeding crown.
A chained universe.
Lumeria's voice tightened.
"…That gate leads to the last two guardians."
Flare squeaked.
"So… the final bosses before the throne room."
Hayate placed his hand on the Nebula Gate.
It pulsed.
It shuddered.
It recognized him.
The entire dungeon floor shook.
The door slowly opened—
Revealing a spiraling descent lit by cosmic fire.
Hayate whispered:
"Let's finish this."
And the three stepped inside.
The gate sealed behind them—
locking the final arc in place.
And somewhere deep below…
Something laughed.