The valley trembled.The seven stars above dimmed as the enormous hand of living shadow descended from the heavens.Its fingers stretched across the sky like mountains.Every flower in the valley withered beneath its presence.Every river turned black.Kael instinctively reached for the Blood Sovereign Blade.But before he could attack—Lysara raised her hand."Do not draw your sword."Kael stopped."What?"The Fifth Sovereign's voice remained calm."If you fight this trial with anger...""You have already failed."The shadow laughed.Its voice echoed from every direction."Then let us see whether the last heir deserves your legacy."The giant hand struck the valley.BOOOOOOM!The ground split apart.Kael leapt forward, shielding Selene from falling rocks.Caelan pulled Elara away from a collapsing cliff.Aurel planted his staff into the earth, creating a barrier.When the dust settled...The valley was gone.Instead...They stood in the ruins of an ancient city.Smoke filled the air.

Dark clouds gathered over the Skybreak Cliffs.Lightning danced between towering peaks that pierced the heavens.No birds flew here.No beasts roamed the jagged rocks.Only the constant roar of thunder filled the endless sky.Kael and his companions stood at the edge of the cliffs.Below them stretched a bottomless abyss.Across the chasm, barely visible through the storm, stood a colossal temple suspended in the air.The Sixth Shrine.Its white pillars shimmered with blue lightning.Around it floated enormous fragments of ancient mountains.Selene looked across the abyss.“There’s no bridge.”Aurel nodded.“There never was.”Caelan frowned.“So how did anyone reach the shrine?”“The worthy were invited.”“And the unworthy...”Aurel pointed into the darkness below.“...fell forever.”Caelan immediately stepped back.“I suddenly miss the desert.”Without warning, the storm intensified.A bolt of blue lightning struck the ground before them.When the light faded...A knight stood where

The Tower of Thunder rose into the heavens.It pierced the black clouds like a spear forged by the gods.Lightning struck its sides every few seconds, yet the ancient structure remained untouched.At its summit floated the corrupted Heart of the Tempest.Each beat of the crystal sent waves of black lightning across the continent.Kael looked upward.“I’ll climb alone.”Selene immediately stepped forward.“No.”Kael smiled faintly.“This is the Sixth Trial.”“If we all go...”“The shrine may reject us.”Tharos nodded.“He speaks the truth.”“The Storm Sovereign chooses only one challenger.”Selene reluctantly lowered her sword.“Then come back.”Kael looked into her eyes.“I will.”The first step onto the tower sent a surge of electricity through Kael’s body.His muscles tightened.Pain raced through every nerve.Yet he continued climbing.Step after step.Higher and higher.The storm seemed determined to throw him back into the abyss.Suddenly...A bolt of lightning struck directly in

The moment the Sixth Inheritance merged with Kael’s soul...The world went silent.No wind.No thunder.Even time itself seemed to pause.The six rings surrounding the Blood Sovereign Mark shone together, creating an ancient symbol that had not appeared in thousands of years.The First Sovereign, still beneath the Black Citadel, suddenly looked toward the heavens.His normally calm face filled with disbelief.“It has appeared...”Malachar looked at him.“What has?”“The Crest of the True Sovereign.”Far away at the Shrine of Storms, Kael stared at the glowing mark on his hand.Blue lightning circled around him without causing harm.The winds obeyed his every thought.He could feel every storm across the continent.Every raindrop.Every gust of wind.Every flash of lightning.The Sixth Inheritance had connected him to the skies themselves.Aurel watched in amazement.“I have studied the Seven Sovereigns all my life.”“I have never seen anything like this.”Tharos smiled.“Because it ha

The golden light descended from the heavens.It was brighter than the sun.Brighter than the stars.Even the World Tree bowed beneath its radiance.Kael instinctively shielded his eyes.The Hollow King, however, remained standing.His expression was calm.Almost... resigned.“You came sooner than I expected.”The light gathered into seven towering figures.Each was cloaked in robes woven from living starlight.Their faces were hidden behind golden masks.Their presence alone made the First Realm tremble.Kael felt his soul grow heavy.These beings were unlike anything he had ever encountered.Not even the Seven Sovereigns possessed such overwhelming authority.One of the figures stepped forward.Its voice echoed through every branch of the World Tree.“Hollow King.”“Your exile has ended.”The Hollow King smiled faintly.“No.”“It has only begun.”Kael looked from the Watchers to the Hollow King.“You know each other.”One of the Watchers turned toward him.“We created him.”Silence.