The final gate opened in Uldrak's deepest chamber, revealing a colossal hall split in two half a frozen wasteland of jagged glaciers, half a smoldering inferno of molten stone.
At its center stood a throne forged from both fire and ice.
Leon stepped forward, his breath misting as the temperature wildly fluctuated.
[Trial Five Initiated – Throne of Flame and Ice]
Conquer the throne. Master both extremes. Balance is the path to dominion.
Suddenly, the spirits of two ancient kings materialized on either side of the throne. One cloaked in frost and despair, the other burning with eternal fury. Their voices overlapped like a chaotic storm.
"Will you freeze your heart… or let it burn?"
Leon tightened his grip on his blade, Ignis Fang. "Neither. I will temper it."
The spirits attacked. One launched icy javelins that froze time in slivers, while the other unleashed a tidal wave of hellfire. Leon was caught between annihilation and oblivion.
[Warning: Elemental Overload Detected.]
Leon closed his eyes and instead of fighting the extremes, he embraced them. He allowed the fire to surge through his left side, and the frost to engulf his right, channeling both into balance.
His system responded.
[New Skill Awakened: Elemental Sovereignty]
Grants dominion over opposing elements when synchronized in perfect harmony.
Leon roared, striking the frozen king first, shattering his essence with searing flame. Then, pivoting, he turned the fire king's own inferno into spears of ice and struck him down.
The throne pulsed.
Leon approached, and as he sat, the chamber trembled.
[Trial Five Complete]
[Inheritance Unlocked: Sovereign's Mark of Balance]
Command over elemental duality unlocked. System evolution triggered.
[World Conquest System – Level Up: 3 → 4]
Power surged through him. His eyes glowed gold and silver, a symbol of the harmony he had achieved. The ground beneath Uldrak trembled as the ancient magic recognized its new heir.
Scene Shift – Emberhold Skies
The city of Vornak now loomed directly above Emberhold. Its fall would annihilate half the continent.
Citizens were evacuated. Warships hovered in formation. Mages chanted ancient defensive spells.
Elara stood on the highest battlement, gripping the hilt of her sword.
And then… the sky tore open.
A flaming streak descended Leon, cloaked in dual-elemental energy, trailing golden flames and shimmering frost behind him.
He landed with a thunderous crash, kneeling before the council.
"I've returned."
Seraphina stepped forward, hope in her eyes. "Can you stop the city?"
Leon stood. "I'll do more than that. I'll claim it."
Scene Shift – Cain's Tower
Cain's system glitched.
[Alert: Sovereign Protocol Detected. System Convergence Imminent.]
He frowned.
"So… he's finally awakened."
Cain's grin returned.
"Then let the real war begin."
Skyfall Confrontation
The air trembled with tension as Leon stood atop Emberhold's highest spire, the heat of molten stone and the chill of elemental ice swirling around him in perfect equilibrium. His cloak billowed behind him, split down the middle half blazing with flame, half shimmering with frost.
Vornak hovered like a tomb in the sky, descending slowly but relentlessly. The chains of corrupted magic that suspended it creaked and groaned with each passing minute. Below, Emberhold's defenses prepared for the worst.
Elara stepped beside Leon, her armor glinting in the amber light of the dying sun. "You're really going up there?"
Leon didn't look at her. His eyes were locked on the falling city. "I'm not just going up there… I'm going to take it."
Mordek, the grizzled general, grunted. "How the hell do you plan to board a floating fortress wrapped in death magic?"
Leon raised his hand, and twin sigils blazed into life one of fire, one of frost. He smiled grimly. "By walking through the storm."
[Quest Initiated – Seize the Sky Citadel]
Board and conquer the corrupted city of Vornak before it crashes into Emberhold.
Time Limit: 6 Hours.
Reward: Unknown.
Scene Transition – The Assault Begins
With a roar that shook the heavens, Leon launched himself skyward. The force of his takeoff cracked the stone beneath his feet, sending shockwaves across the battlements. Emberhold's soldiers and citizens alike paused to watch the flaming streak that soared into the sky like a comet.
He burst through the swirling storm clouds surrounding Vornak, his elemental aura cutting a blazing path through the corrupted mana field. Specters emerged from the mist twisted remnants of Vornak's original inhabitants. Their eyes glowed red with Cain's influence.
[Enemies Detected – Spectral Wraiths Lv. 135–140]
Leon didn't flinch.
With a sweep of his hand, flames ignited in a wide arc, incinerating the first wave of wraiths. The next wave charged with chilling howls, icy claws extended.
Leon snapped his fingers, and a ring of frost exploded outward, freezing the incoming spirits in midair. He shattered them with a swift spin and a flaming kick.
But the true danger hadn't yet arrived.
As he neared the city's corrupted gates, an enormous shadow loomed over him a wyvern-like beast made entirely of black crystal and void magic. Its wings flapped once, and the sky fractured.
[Boss Encounter – Corrupted Sky Drake – Lv. 155]
Leon narrowed his eyes.
"Finally."
The beast roared and dove at him, teeth bared. Leon flipped backward mid-air, summoning a spear of flame and hurling it straight into the creature's chest. It pierced the scales, but the beast barely flinched.
They clashed mid-air, blows shaking the skies. The wyvern's tail cracked against Leon's side, sending him spiraling downward. He righted himself just in time, summoning an ice barrier to halt his fall. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
"Alright," he muttered. "Time to stop holding back."
His system pulsed.
[Sovereign State: Partial Activation]
His aura surged flames and ice forming twin dragons that coiled around him. He soared back into battle, striking the beast's neck with a fusion blade. The wyvern shrieked as its wing was torn free.
[Critical Hit – Weak Point Exposed]
Leon dashed upward, flipped, and drove his blade into the exposed spot with both hands. With a final roar, the beast detonated in a shockwave of shadow and flame.
[Boss Defeated – EXP +39,700]
[New Title Unlocked: Sky Reaver]
Scene Transition – Vornak's Walls
Leon landed at the gates of Vornak, panting. The floating city was a ruin of dark obsidian stone, etched with pulsating red veins of corruption. The air smelled of ash and rot.
He stepped forward and was immediately confronted by a figure wrapped in tattered robes, his face hidden behind a mask of bone.
[Mini-Boss – Soulbinder Khareth – Lv. 150]
Khareth raised a staff of blackwood and snarled, "You should have stayed in your pitiful kingdom, boy."
Leon's blade responded to his fury. "And you should have stayed dead."
The battle was brutal. Khareth summoned undead legions from the city's shadowed alleys, but Leon's flame burned through them. Frost lances shot across the field, impaling specters and shattering shields.
The two clashed magic for magic, spell for spell until Leon, now running low on energy, tapped deeper into his core.
[Elemental Sovereignty – Overload Mode Activated (1 min)]
In one blinding flash, he unleashed a storm of fire and ice so intense it collapsed nearby buildings. Khareth screamed as the dual elements consumed him.
[Mini-Boss Defeated – EXP +18,200]
[City Gates Breached]
Leon fell to his knees, gasping. His clothes were scorched, his body bruised but he was inside.
He stood slowly, glaring ahead at the towering central spire of Vornak.
Cain was waiting there.
And Leon was coming.
Scene Shift – Emberhold Command Tower
Elara watched the skies. A whisper came through the communication crystal.
"He's in."
Cheers erupted among the war council, but Seraphina remained stern. "Now comes the hard part."
Scene Shift – Cain's Throne Room
Cain gazed through a crystal window as the city began to tremble.
"So, you made it, little Sovereign," he whispered. "Let's see how long you last."