The Convergence shattered—
not like glass,
but like reality itself had been a thin layer stretched too tightly
and the Monarchs' power tore straight through it.
Kael didn't fall this time.
He was thrown.
A blast of molten air from Ignivar hurled him across the mirrored ground.
The reflections underneath warped under the heat, melting into red-gold rivers.
Kael rolled, shards flashing instinctively around him to soften the impact.
He stopped near the edge of the plane, coughing, vision blurred.
Riven shouted his name—
but her voice came from far, far away, drowned beneath thunder and fire.
She couldn't get to him.
She was trapped behind a barrier the Monarchs raised around them.
Theru's laughter spread like rotting vines across the sky.
Branches cracked.
Faces screamed silently from his bark.
"Rise, little Monarch.
The Trial begins."
Kael forced himself to his feet.
The shards drifting around him shivered and reformed—
ten
twenty
thirty
more than he had ever summoned.
His new Trait pulsed through his veins, fueling them.
Ignivar raised a finger.
The air combusted.
Riven slammed her fist against the barrier.
"Kael! MOVE!"
Kael dove left—
a pillar of flame erupted where he stood, vaporizing the ground.
The scorched crater glowed white.
Ignivar's molten mask tilted.
"Hm.
You dodged.
Progress."
A blast of wind screamed across the plane—
Veyra's wings cut downward.
Her voice echoed like a storm given form.
"Hunt him."
Her winds split into blades.
Invisible edges.
Deadly.
Kael braced—
but the air itself sliced open his shoulder.
Blood sprayed, vanishing instantly in the heat.
Kael gritted his teeth, summoning more shards—
they formed a circular orbit, deflecting the next gust.
Ping—ping—ping—
the invisible attacks struck the shards and shattered harmlessly.
Veyra's voice trembled with amusement.
"A child Monarch already forming automated defenses?
Oh, you are going to be entertaining."
Theru approached slowly.
Roots crawled out from beneath him, slithering across the ground.
The faces on his trunk mouthed silent words—
pleas for mercy
begging
warning
"Do not mind them," Theru whispered.
"They are echoes of lesser beings.
Failed Monarchs.
Those who chose wrong."
Roots shot toward Kael like spears.
Kael reacted instinctively—
a pulse of blue light exploded from his chest.
Pulse of Shards — Triggered
The ground cracked beneath him.
Shards erupted outward in a shockwave.
A dome of fractured energy burst around Kael—
splitting roots
shattering wind-blades
pushing back Ignivar's heat.
Theru's branches recoiled violently.
The tree's many faces screamed in agony.
Ignivar's molten eyes brightened.
"That technique…
No Shard-born should already wield it at will."
Kael's voice came out rough, but steady:
"You wanted me to rise."
More shards appeared around him.
He raised his hand.
They aligned like a forming constellation.
"I'm rising."
Veyra's laugh cracked the sky.
"Oh, this will be fun."
She flicked her wings.
A tornado formed instantly, swirling with screaming air.
It rushed toward Kael.
Ignivar added heat.
Theru added roots.
Three Monarchs—
three powers—
all aimed directly at him.
Riven screamed from the barrier, "KAEL, YOU CAN'T TAKE ALL THREE!"
Kael's vision blurred.
His pulse thundered like war drums.
The Echo in his mind whispered—
not gently
not guiding
but commanding.
Show them.
What it means
to inherit Shards.
Kael's eyes snapped open—
glowing bright blue like shattered stars.
He stepped forward.
The shards orbiting him spiraled upward.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
A storm of knives made of pure Dominion.
The Monarchs' combined attack hit him—
wind
fire
roots—
clashing into a single catastrophic force.
The impact should have erased him.
Should have disintegrated him.
Should have burned his soul out of existence.
Kael braced—
and unleashed everything.
Shardstorm — Incomplete Activation
The world erupted.
Shards fired in every direction, meeting Monarch-level attacks head-on.
The sky shattered above them.
The mirrored plane cracked like thin ice.
The force threw Ignivar backward several steps—
Veyra's cloak ripped—
Theru's roots were torn apart by raw fracturing energy.
The explosion was so bright Riven had to shield her eyes.
Mr. Han couldn't even scream—
the barrier muted everything.
When the dust settled…
Kael was kneeling.
Bleeding.
Barely conscious.
But alive.
The Monarchs stood in stunned silence.
Ignivar was the first to speak.
"…Impossible."
His molten glow dimmed.
"You withstood us.
Incomplete or not… you manifested a Shardstorm."
Veyra drifted lower, studying Kael like a rare creature.
"That technique was forbidden.
Lost with the Fractured King."
Theru's roots trembled.
"Delicious.
The Echo stirs strongly.
The Labyrinth trembles."
Kael tried to rise—
his limbs shook.
The shards flickered weakly.
Ignivar approached, voice booming.
"Shard-born Monarch.
You have passed the Trial of Kings."
Riven gasped.
"That means—"
Ignivar raised his hand.
The mirrored sky lit with blazing gold.
"From this point on, your path is recognized.
Your rise is acknowledged."
The Monarchs spoke in unison—
their combined voices like a divine decree:
"A new Monarch ascends the Convergence.
Rise, Kael Mercer—
Monarch of the Shard Dominion."
The plane shattered.
Light consumed everything.
And Kael felt the Labyrinth itself change around him.