Chapter 5: The Color of Fear
Azure Dragon City Stadium.
08:05 AM.
Silence was heavy. But this silence was heavy enough to crush bones.
The dust from the shattered Awakening Monolith drifted through the air like glittering snow. In the center of the debris stood Ye Han, brushing the diamond dust off his sleeve as if it were dandruff.
Around him, 100,000 people were frozen in a state of biological paralysis.
The Primal Fear that had descended wasn't just an emotion; it was a high-tier status effect. It bypassed logic and attacked the lizard brain. It told the S-Rank Hunters, the Generals, and the civilians the same thing: Do not move. If you move, the Predator will see you.
The Headmaster, a Peak A-Rank Mage, was on his knees. He was staring at the pile of rubble that used to be a relic from a Red Dungeon.
"Defective..." the Headmaster wheezed, his voice trembling. "You called the Star-Grade Monolith... defective?"
Ye Han looked down at him. The vertical slits in his eyes had rounded out slightly, but the golden hue remained, burning with a cold indifference.
"It couldn't handle the input," Ye Han said calmly. "It's like trying to download the internet onto a floppy disk. It broke."
Buzz.
The paralysis effect began to lift as Ye Han reeled in his aura.
Immediately, chaos erupted.
"SECURITY! WE HAVE A BREACH!"
"The Monolith exploded! Is it a terrorist attack?"
"No! Look at the screens! It said 'Sovereign'! What the hell is a Sovereign Class?"
The livestream chat, which was being broadcast to millions of viewers across the Human Alliance, was scrolling so fast it was a blur of unreadable text.
[User69: DID YOU SEE THE SKY TURN BLACK?]
[HunterFan: That wasn't black. That was Void. That was the color of a Black Dungeon!]
[YeHater: Glitch! It has to be a glitch! No human has Black Mana!]
[Admin: System Error. Rebooting stream...]
On the stage, the examiners were panicking. They rushed toward Ye Han, wands and weapons drawn, unsure if he was a student or a monster in human skin.
"Stand back!" the Lead Examiner shouted, pointing a staff at Ye Han. "Identify yourself! What dark art did you use to sabotage the Awakening?"
Ye Han tilted his head. "Sabotage? I just placed my hand on it."
"Liar!" Ye Long, who had recovered from his seizure, staggered to his feet at the edge of the stage. He looked like a madman. His face was pale, his A-Rank pride shattered. "He destroyed it to hide his failure! He has no mana! He used a bomb! Arrest him!"
Ye Han didn't even look at Ye Long. He looked at the Lead Examiner.
"Are you going to grade me?" Ye Han asked. "Or do I need to find a stronger machine?"
The Lead Examiner was sweating. "Grade you? The machine is dust! We have no reading! We—"
"Step aside."
A voice boom across the stadium, amplified by mana.
A figure leaped from the VIP box, landing on the stage with a heavy impact that cracked the concrete.
It was Ye Tian. The S-Rank Berserker. The Patriarch.
He stood up, his massive frame towering over the examiners. He looked at the debris, then he looked at his son.
Ye Tian's face was a mask of complicated emotions. Shock. Terror. But mostly... a greedy, burning ambition.
He walked up to Ye Han.
The examiners held their breath. Ye Tian was known for his violent temper. Was he going to strike his son for causing a disaster?
Ye Tian stopped one meter away from Ye Han.
He didn't strike.
He trembled.
His S-Rank instincts—the instincts that had kept him alive in Red Dungeons—were screaming at him to kneel. Standing this close to Ye Han felt like standing next to the open maw of a T-Rex. The cold radiating from Ye Han wasn't just temperature; it was authority.
"Han," Ye Tian said, his voice unusually soft. "The text... before the explosion. It said Sovereign."
"It did," Ye Han replied.
"And the color... it was Black."
"It was."
Ye Tian swallowed hard. He turned to the crowd, raising his hand to silence the panic.
"The Awakening is not void!" Ye Tian roared. "My son did not sabotage the machine. The machine simply... failed to measure him."
He turned to the Headmaster. "Bring the Mana Density Orb. The manual one."
"But Lord Ye," the Headmaster stammered, "that orb only measures capacity, not class or affinity."
"Just bring it!"
A frantic assistant ran out with a crystal sphere—the same type of device that Ye Han had touched when he was five years old. The device that had declared him "Empty."
Ye Tian took the orb. He held it out to his son. His hands were shaking slightly.
"Touch it, Han. Show them."
Ye Han looked at the orb.
'Careful,' Tiamat's voice lazily echoed in his mind. 'Don't pour the ocean. Just... a drop. A teaspoon.'
Ye Han sighed. "Fine."
He tapped the glass orb with his index finger.
Ping.
He injected a microscopic amount of mana.
FLASH.
A beam of blue light shot straight up into the sky, piercing the clouds. The light was so intense it blinded the cameras. The orb in Ye Tian's hand didn't break, but it vibrated violently, emitting a high-pitched hum.
The measurement needle on the side of the orb spun.
1,000...
10,000...
100,000...
500,000...
The numbers kept climbing.
For context, an average C-Rank Hunter had a mana capacity of 2,000. An A-Rank had 20,000. An S-Rank like Ye Tian had roughly 150,000.
The counter hit 999,999.
[MAXIMUM LIMIT REACHED]
The orb glowed with a steady, terrifying blue light. It was pegged at the absolute limit of what the device could comprehend.
Ye Tian stared at the number.
"One... million?" he whispered. "And that was just a tap?"
Ye Han pulled his finger away. The light died down.
"Is that sufficient?" Ye Han asked.
The stadium was dead silent again. The numbers were projected on the giant screens.
999,999+
Ye Long, standing at the side, felt his legs give out. He sat down hard on the concrete. His "A-Rank" awakening, his pride, his fire... it all felt like a joke. He was a candle. Ye Han was a supernova.
The Lead Examiner looked at the Headmaster. The Headmaster looked at the officials from the Hunter Association.
They huddled together, whispering frantically.
"We can't classify this."
"It's beyond S-Rank."
"Is it SS? SSS?"
"The Black Light... the fear... and now this capacity."
"If we don't give him a rank, the public will riot. We need a label."
Finally, the Headmaster stepped forward. He adjusted his glasses, sweat dripping down his nose.
"Citizens of Azure Dragon City!"
His voice wavered, then gained strength.
"Today... history has been made."
He pointed at the silver-haired young man standing amidst the ruin.
"The Awakening Monolith failed because the subject's potential exceeded the parameters of the Global System. Based on the Mana Density reading and the destructive phenomenon observed..."
The Headmaster took a deep breath.
"We hereby grant Student Ye Han the provisional rank of SSS-Rank."
SSS-Rank.
The crowd didn't cheer immediately. They gasped.
There were currently no known SSS-Rank Hunters in the Human Alliance. There were rumors of a few hidden ancestors, or perhaps one in the American Federation, but publicly? Ye Han was the first.
"Furthermore," the Headmaster continued, looking at the tablet in his hand, "Due to the unknown nature of his Class 'Sovereign' and the extreme Ice phenomena... his official title shall be..."
He looked at Ye Han's silver hair and the frost spreading on the stage.
"The Sovereign of Ice."
The silence broke.
The roar of the crowd was deafening. It wasn't just applause; it was hysteria. People were screaming his name.
"YE HAN! YE HAN!"
"SSS-RANK!"
"LONG LIVE THE YE FAMILY!"
Ye Tian basked in the sound. He looked at his son, his eyes gleaming. "You did it. You... you hid it well, son. Thirteen years of dormancy to build a foundation? Genius. Absolute genius."
Ye Tian had completely rewritten the narrative in his head. Ye Han wasn't trash; he was a sleeper agent.
Ye Han looked at his father's jubilant face. He felt nothing but a cold amusement.
"I'm going home," Ye Han said, turning his back on the cheering crowd. "It's too loud here."
"Yes! Yes, go!" Ye Tian ushered him. "Rest! Uncle Fu is waiting! We will hold a banquet tonight! The whole world will come!"
Ye Han walked down the ramp.
As he passed Ye Long, the cousin cowered, covering his head with his remaining good arm, expecting to be mocked or attacked.
Ye Han didn't even slow down. He didn't look at him.
To a Sovereign, why would he acknowledge the existence of a bug?
Inside the Limousine.
08:30 AM.
The door closed, shutting out the noise of the screaming fans.
Uncle Fu, the driver, was gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. He looked in the rearview mirror at the young man with silver-diamond hair.
"Young Master..." Fu said, his voice filled with awe. "Congratulations."
"Drive," Ye Han said, closing his eyes.
"Yes, sir."
The car lifted off and sped toward the estate.
Ye Han leaned back into the leather seats. Finally alone.
'Show-off,' Tiamat's voice purred in his mind.
Ye Han mentally shrugged. 'I just touched the rock. You were the one who projected the giant eyeballs in the sky.'
'I had to mark my territory,' Tiamat replied smugly. 'Those humans needed to know who walked among them. But Ye Han... do you realize what you've done?'
'I broke a rock.'
'You exposed yourself to the System,' Tiamat's tone became serious. 'Earth is a Low-Tier World. But the System that governs the Dungeons connects to the higher realms. When that machine flashed Black, it sent a ping.'
Ye Han opened his eyes. 'A ping to where?'
'To everyone,' Tiamat said. 'The Middle Worlds. The High Worlds. Maybe even a Celestial. You just lit a flare in a dark forest. They now know that a "Sovereign" seed has appeared on this backwater planet.'
Ye Han looked out the window at the passing city. Skyscrapers, neon lights, mana shields. It all looked so fragile.
"Let them come," Ye Han spoke aloud.
His eyes flashed with that dangerous mix of blue and gold.
"If they want to test the cold, they are welcome to try."
Somewhere Deep in the Pacific Ocean.
The World Hunter Association Headquarters (The Citadel).
"Report!"
The situation room was in chaos. Red lights were flashing.
"Sir! We have a massive energy spike in Sector 8 (China)!"
"Is it a Dungeon Break?"
"No, sir! It's an Awakening Event. Subject: Ye Han. The energy reading momentarily surpassed the scale of our sensors. The local branch classified him as SSS-Rank."
The Commander, a scarred veteran named General Vance, stared at the screen. He was looking at the satellite footage of the Azure Dragon Stadium. He zoomed in on the moment the sky turned black.
"That wasn't mana," Vance whispered. "That was Authority."
He turned to his analyst. "Send a priority message to the Council of Ten. And get me a direct line to General Ye Tian. We need to secure this boy before the other factions—or the Cults—get to him."
"Sir, we are receiving another signal!"
"From where?"
"From... Space?"
The Moon.
Dark Side.
On the barren surface of the moon, there was a structure not built by humans. It was a listening post, an ancient spire made of obsidian.
Inside the spire, a being opened its eyes. It had three eyes, and its skin was grey.
It looked at a holographic map of Earth. A red dot was pulsing in the Eastern Hemisphere.
[Anomaly Detected.]
[Signature matches: Eternal Frost.]
[Target Location: Sector 8.]
The being tapped a communication rune.
"My Lord," the being spoke into the void. "We have found it. The lost legacy of Tiamat. It has reappeared on the Seed Planet."
A voice returned from the static, cold and distant.
"Retrieve it. If the vessel resists... kill it."
The Ye Family Estate.
Evening.
The banquet was in full swing.
Ye Tian had spared no expense. The Great Hall was filled with the who's who of the city. Generals, politicians, business tycoons. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the "SSS-Rank Sovereign."
Ye Han sat at the high table. He was wearing a white suit that matched his new aesthetic. He looked like a painting.
He didn't eat. He held a glass of wine, swirling the liquid. The wine was slowly freezing into slush in his hand.
"Young Master Ye!" A fat man in a tuxedo approached, sweating profusely. "I am the CEO of Star Mana Corp. We would like to offer you a sponsorship! 500 million credits a year!"
"Young Master!" A woman pushed him aside. "I am from the Imperial University. We offer you a full scholarship and a personal villa!"
They swarmed him like flies. Yesterday, they would have stepped on him. Today, they wanted to lick his boots.
Ye Han found it boring.
'Can I freeze them?' Tiamat asked. 'Just a little bit? Frostbite on the toes?'
'Not yet,' Ye Han replied.
Suddenly, the doors to the banquet hall slammed open.
The music stopped. The chatter died.
A group of people walked in. They were wearing white robes embroidered with golden suns. They radiated a holy, arrogant aura.
The Temple of Light.
It was one of the most powerful organizations on Earth, backed by a "High-Tier World" entity known as the Sun God.
The leader, a Bishop holding a golden staff, walked straight toward the high table.
"Ye Tian," the Bishop announced, his voice echoing.
Ye Tian stood up, frowning. "Bishop Crow. I did not invite the Temple."
"The Temple goes where the Light guides," Bishop Crow said smoothly. He turned his gaze to Ye Han.
His eyes narrowed.
"We are here to investigate an anomaly. The energy signature detected this morning... it was dark. It was cold. It reeks of... Heresy."
The Bishop pointed his staff at Ye Han.
"Boy. The Temple suspects you have awakened a Demonic Talent. An agent of the Abyss. You must come with us for... purification."
The room gasped. Accusing the new SSS-Rank of being a Demon? This was a power play. The Temple wanted to suppress the Ye Family before Ye Han could grow.
Ye Tian slammed his hand on the table. "You dare! He is the Sovereign of Ice! SSS-Rank!"
"Ice can be dark," the Bishop sneered. "Surrender him, Ye Tian. Or the Temple will declare your family enemies of the Light."
Ye Han slowly stood up.
He placed his wine glass on the table. Clink.
He looked at the Bishop.
"Purification?" Ye Han asked.
"Yes," the Bishop smiled cruelly. "We will scrub your soul until it is clean."
Ye Han stepped off the platform. He walked toward the Bishop.
The air began to scream. The temperature in the banquet hall dropped from 20°C to -10°C in three seconds. The breath of the guests turned into clouds. The wine in the glasses shattered the crystal.
Ye Han stopped in front of the Bishop. He looked down at the short man.
"You worship the Sun?" Ye Han asked.
"The Sun is the supreme source of—"
"The Sun is just a ball of gas," Ye Han interrupted.
He raised his hand.
"Let me show you what happens when the Sun dies."
Ye Han snapped his fingers.
[Domain Expansion: Glacial Purgatory (Incomplete)]
Whoosh.
For a split second, the banquet hall vanished.
The guests, the Bishop, Ye Tian—they all saw it.
They were standing in space. It was dark. And in front of them, three massive, frozen suns were hanging in the void, dead and cold.
It lasted for a microsecond. Then, reality snapped back.
But the Bishop was on the floor.
He was curled up in a fetal position, shivering violently. His golden staff was frozen solid and had shattered into pieces. His eyebrows and beard were encased in rime.
"C-Cold..." The Bishop gibbered, his mind broken by the brief glimpse of the Sovereign's reality. "So... cold..."
Ye Han stepped over the shivering Bishop.
He looked at
the stunned Temple priests.
"Take your trash," Ye Han said, his voice echoing with absolute command. "And tell your 'Sun God'... if he wants to shine in my city, he better ask for permission first."
Chapter 5 End.