The Darkness System: Rise of the Broken Sovereign

Kael pointed at the twins. ”Take care of those two clowns for me.”

The dark wyvern’s violet-black eyes locked onto Zolis and Molis. Its wings flapped—whoosh—and with a single dash, it closed the distance. CRACK. The ground cracked beneath its launch. The twins scattered—step, step—barely dodging the wyvern’s claws as they raked through the stone ground where they’d been standing.

Zolis fired a flame blast—FWOOOSH—into the wyvern’s face. The flames washed over its dark scales—sizzle—and did nothing. The wyvern lunged again. Molis discharged an energy beam—BZZZT—hitting the wyvern’s flank. The beast flinched but didn’t stop.

The twins were engaged.

Kael turned toward the high elf as he smirked. ”Well, don’t think I forgot about you. You sneaky bastard.”

He patted the dark wolf’s head. Pat. ”Go.”

The wolf lunged—WHOOSH—its ember eyes blazing. The high elf raised his hands—lightning gathering—but the wolf was too fast. It dodged his lightning strike—ZIP—and closed the distance. Jaws snapped downward. The high elf dove sideways—roll—and barely escaped.

Darian Scott frowned. His eyes tracked his allies—each one pinned down by Kael’s summons. His mind calculated rapidly.

This has gotten dangerous. But no matter. All I have to do is kill—

Kael appeared in front of him.

ZIP.

Darian’s eyes widened—flicker—as Kael’s palm thrust forward.

”Quasar.”

WHUUUM.

A deep purple-black orb with swirling rings fired from Kael’s palm. The compressed gravity sphere distorted the air around it—crackle—bending light and erasing sound.

Darian twisted his body—whoosh—dodging the orb by centimeters. It passed him leaving a dent of his armor and detonated against the canyon wall behind—BOOM—the shockwave rippling outward. Darian’s Tier 1 armor cracked—crack—from the residual pressure alone.

Hhhh—!

Kael was already there. Both Shadow Slayer blades drawn—shing-shing—swinging in a cross-cut aimed at Darian’s neck and waist.

Lightning sparked around Darian. CRACKLE. He discharged a blast of lightning—infused with his lightning rule power and Spirit Soul mana.

The blast hit Kael in the chest. SLAM. He was pushed back, his feet carving trenches in the ground. His Tier 5 body absorbed the impact—creak—but the force was enough to create distance between him and Darian.

Darian rushed immediately. His spear thrust forward—whoosh—three rapid strikes aimed at Kael’s throat, chest, and stomach. Each strike carried condensed lightning mana.

Kael activated Lightning Body. CRACKLE. His form shimmered—dodging the first thrust—whoosh—the second—whoosh—and using Shadow Step to appear at Darian’s side.

ZIP.

But Darian was a Spirit Soul cultivator. His soul sense—3-5 meters of perception—caught Kael’s movement. He reacted instantly—pivoting—his spear sweeping horizontally.

FWOOOOM!

A lightning beam blast fired from the spear tip—crackle—hitting Kael in the chest at close range. The impact launched him—WHOOSH—backward. He crashed into the mountainside—CRASH—stone exploding around him. Rumble.

Hhhh... hhhh...

Kael stood up from the rubble. Stone dust fell from his shoulders. Pat. He wiped blood from his forehead—wipe—and the wound closed up. His Tier 5 regeneration handled it in seconds.

CRACK-BOOM!

A lightning strike descended from above—WHOOSH—dropping directly onto his position. Darian had called it down using his rule power.

Kael dropped his blades. Clatter. He clapped his hands together—CLAP—and multiple runes blazed in the air around him. Fzzzt-fzzzt. Rune formations and arrays materialized—layered barriers of runic light—Vvvvm—stacking above him.

BOOM!

The lightning strike hit the rune barriers. CRACK-CRACK-CRACK. Three layers shattered—pop-pop-pop—but the fourth held. The residual energy dissipated—fzzzt—harmlessly.

Darian’s eyes widened.

A Mana Heart Rank 8 cultivator with runic mastery, soul attacks, gravity, lightning rule power, and Tier 5 body cultivation? What kind of monster—

Kael raised his right palm. Golden aura gathered—hummm—condensing above Darian. A massive golden palm print materialized in the sky—twenty meters across—radiating compressed Aura so dense it distorted the air around it.

”Sky Destroyer Palm.”

WHUUUUM.

The palm descended with crushing weight and force. The air beneath it was erased—fwooo—creating a vacuum that made the surrounding atmosphere collapse inward.

Darian’s eyes widened further. He threw both hands upward—hummm—creating a lightning barrier reinforced with his Spirit Soul mana. Simultaneously, he pulled a talisman from his storage ring—crack—a Rank 5 defensive talisman.

The palm hit the barrier.

CRACK—BOOOM!

The lightning barrier buckled—creak—cracks spreading across its surface. The talisman blazed—fzzzt—feeding energy into the barrier. The Sky Destroyer Palm pressed down—groan—compressing everything beneath it.

CRACK.

The talisman shattered. The barrier collapsed. The palm’s residual force slammed into Darian—SLAM—driving him into the ground. CRACK. Stone cratered beneath him.

The dust cleared.

Darian was on one knee—huff—breathing hard. His left hand hung limp—drip—blood streaming from a deep gash where the barrier’s fragmentation had cut him. His armor was shattered across the chest. His face was pale.

He looked up at Kael.

Kael stood thirty meters away. Dark spears of condensed darkness formed around him, hovering, aimed at Darian.

WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH!

The spears fired. Darian dodged—roll—three spears impaling the ground where he’d been. CRACK. He rushed forward—spear raised—closing the distance.

Kael made eye contact.

Soul Spike Barrage.

PZT-PZT-PZT-PZT!

Darian sensed the danger—his soul perception screaming. He formed a soul barrier with his meager soul power—vvvm—a thin, fragile shield.

CRACK-CRACK-SHATTER!

The barrier broke. The soul spikes hit Darian’s consciousness—AGH—pain lancing through his soul. His vision blurred. His movements stuttered—stumble.

Kael appeared beside him. ZIP. Shadow Slayer blade descended—shing—aimed at Darian’s neck.

Darian barely reacted—raising his spear in a desperate block. CLANG. Metal met metal. But Kael’s foot was already moving.

SLAM.

Kael’s kick connected with Darian’s stomach. The Spirit Soul cultivator flew—WHOOSH—crashing through the canyon wall. CRASH. He tumbled out the other side—roll—coughing blood. Cough. Cough.

Meanwhile.

The dark wyvern opened its jaws. Dark fire gathered—crackle—condensed, and erupted.

FWOOOOM!

Black flames washed over Zolis. His scream—AAAH—was cut short as the fire consumed his body. His flesh charred—sizzle—his flames useless against the wyvern’s dark fire. He collapsed—thud—barely alive. Smoke rising from his body.

Molis stared at his twin’s burned form. His face went white.

No—

He tapped his token. BZZZT. The extraction activated—whoosh—and Molis vanished. Everything he’d obtained in the Void Realm dropped to the ground where he’d been standing. Clatter. Weapons, herbs, resources—scattered across the stone.

The high elf saw Molis escape. He reached for his own token—grab—activating it.

BZZZT—

The dark wolf’s jaws closed around his arm.

CRUNCH.

”AAAAAAH!”

The token fell. Clatter. The high elf’s arm—severed below the elbow—dropped to the ground. Thud. Blood sprayed—splurt—from the stump. The high elf collapsed—thud—screaming, clutching the bleeding wound.