Chapter 47—Void Severance.
Chapter 47—Void Severance.
The silent humming of the Royal Treasury’s protective barrier resonated through the granite foundations of the subterranean chamber, vibrating gently beneath the soles of Kaelen’s boots.
Crimson runes pulsed along the surface of the thirty-foot adamantine gate, throwing blood-red reflections across the dark, stagnant waters of the surrounding moat.
The air deep beneath the palace was heavy, cold, and laden with the ancient magic of the royal bloodline—a stark contrast to the lively, music-filled atmosphere of the ballroom high above.
Ren stood three places behind Kaelen, his crimson holographic interface expanding into a complex geometric sphere.
Cascading lines of raw system diagnostic code reflected in his glowing eyes as his fingers moved in precise, rhythmic sequences.
"The structural integrity of that gate is tethered directly to the capital’s leyline core," Ren reported, his tone dropping to a low, calculated whisper.
"It isn’t just a physical barrier forged from star steel. It’s a living runic nexus. If you attempt a standard physical or magical breach, the feedback loop will detonate the entire sub-sector 2, collapsing the East Tower into a pile of rubble within seconds."
"Then it is fortunate I am not attempting a physical breach," Kaelen said calmly.
He took a single step forward, bringing him to the very edge of the stone platform overlooking the moat.
The moment his boot touched the edge, the ambient mana in the air froze instantly. The faint trickles of water dripping from the ceiling stopped mid-air, suspended by a sudden, overwhelming pressure that flooded the entire subterranean vault.
Kaelen raised his right hand. His dark coat billowed as dark violet spatial mana surged from his coat like a cosmic tempest, coiling around his arm in jagged streaks of spatial lightning.
The air pressure within the vault room plummeted, causing the four massive stone dragon-knight statues guarding the perimeter to crack and tremble on their granite pedestals.
The void blade in his hand didn’t just gleam beneath the pale runic light; it actively absorbed the faint illumination of the chamber, turning the steel into a pitch-black tear in reality itself.
"Ren. Prepare the system override," Kaelen commanded, his icy violet gaze locking onto the central nexus of the adamantine gate. "We do not destroy the lock. We erase the concept of the door."
CLANG!
---
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Skill Activated: Void Severance (Grade-S)
Mana Consumption: 15,000 Units
Target: Spatial Coordinates of Tier-8 Royal Vault Gate
---
Kaelen swung the blade downward in a simple, unadorned vertical arc. There was no deafening explosion. There was no metallic clash of heavy steel against adamantine plating.
Instead, a pitch-black crescent of compressed space tore through the air, completely silent as it traveled across the moat toward the thirty-foot gate.
Where the black rift touched the adamantine metal, the atomic structure simply ceased to exist. The thirty-foot star-steel doors, along with the glowing crimson runes and the divine barrier runes embedded deep within them, were cleanly bisected by a vacuum of absolute nothingness.
CRACK!
The structural equilibrium of the barrier broke violently. Deprived of its spatial anchor, the dark star-steel dissolved into fine grey ash that drifted down into the moat like powdered glass, vanishing into the dark waters below.
CLANG!
---
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Critical Infrastructure Destruction: Detected
Warning: Royal Vault Boundary Breached
System Status: Anomalous Override in Progress...
---
Before the automatic security network could broadcast the alarm bells up into the main ballroom, Ren’s fingers moved at blinding speed across his holographic console. He injected a massive wave of corrupted system scripts directly into the central security node, intercepting the signal mid-transmission.
"Code injected," Ren grinned cold-bloodedly, a sharp crimson glint flickering in his eyes. "I’ve rerouted the alert sequence to the Royal Executioners’ private network instead of the main palace guards. The Marquis won’t know the vault has been breached until his personal executioners investigate the subterranean drop."
"Good," Kaelen replied, stepping over the threshold of powdered adamantine into the illuminated vault beyond. "Let them come."
The interior of King Alden’s Royal Vault was vast, spanning a subterranean expanse illuminated by hovering crystals of raw, unrefined astral mana. Rows of ancient weapons, chestfuls of high-grade spirit stones, and sealed imperial scrolls lined the marble pedestals extending deep into the shadows.
Wealth accumulated over five centuries of royal rule sat untouched, a silent testament to the kingdom’s golden age.
However, Kaelen did not glance at the mountains of gold or the rare Grade-S armaments. His attention was fixed entirely on the very center of the vault.
Resting atop an elevated altar forged from black obsidian sat a hovering crystal sphere.
Inside the sphere, a golden piece of carved stone floated in absolute stasis—the Second Heavenly Seal. It radiated a warm, ancient aura that resonated directly with the spatial mana sleeping within Kaelen’s core.
Kaelen approached the altar, his violet eyes scanning the dense runic arrays encircling the base of the obsidian platform.
But as he drew within ten paces, Ren suddenly froze behind him, his holographic screen flashing bright, urgent amber.
"Kaelen, stop!" Ren called out, his expression suddenly darkening as he pulled up a hidden, deeply encrypted layer of system data.
"Look at the seal’s energy tether. It isn’t powered by the vault’s mana core... it’s connected directly to a living soul signature."
Kaelen paused, eyeing the thin, translucent thread of corrupted black-and-gold mana extending from the top of the crystal sphere up into the high ceiling of the vault, reaching toward the Throne Room directly above them.
"King Alden," Kaelen said smoothly.
"Worse," Ren replied, his crimson eyes scanning the deep system logs hidden beneath the kingdom’s official network.
"I just bypassed the royal encryption on King Alden’s system profile. Look at this."
Ren projected a floating display in front of Kaelen, highlighting a series of red system flags.
---
[SYSTEM PROFILE]
Subject Profile: Alden Von Dragen (King of the Central Realm)
Level: 142 (S-Rank)
Health Status: Critical / Mana Core Drained
Status Effect: Parasitic System Control — Level 4 (Puppet Core)
Primary Controller: Unknown Admin Access (Marquis Vance)
---
"King Alden isn’t acting out of greed or political ambition," Ren said softly, genuine coldness entering his tone as he analyzed the biological feedback streams.
"His soul core was infected with a parasitic system core three years ago. His body is alive, but his consciousness is trapped in a perpetual status lock. Marquis Vance has been pulling the strings of the entire kingdom through a corrupted system proxy."
Kaelen stared at the profile, his expression unreadable as his mind connected the larger pieces of the grand puzzle.
"A parasitic core of that caliber cannot be forged by a mere marquis of a regional kingdom. It requires higher-tier system authority from outside this continent."
"Exactly," Ren nodded grimly, adjusting the diagnostic metrics on his screen.
"This isn’t just a domestic coup. The Marquis is working with an external force... someone from one of the four outer empires across the Sea of Ash. They used the Marquis to turn King Alden into a living battery to siphon the power of the Second Heavenly Seal."
Before Kaelen could reach out to sever the energy tether and claim the Second Heavenly Seal, a sharp, cold wave of killing intent flooded the subterranean chamber from the broken doorway behind them.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Heavy armor boots echoed against the damp marble floor with chilling synchronization.
Three figures dressed in pitch-black executioner robes overlaid with silver dragon-scale armor stepped through the ruins of the adamantine gate.
Each of them wielded heavy serrated executioner blades that dripped with a dark, corrosive aura capable of melting solid stone upon contact.
---
[SYSTEM WARNING]
High-Risk Threat Detected
Targets: Royal Executioner Captain Thaxton & Elite Squad
Combat Rating: Three Tier-S Combatants
---
Captain Thaxton, a tall, broad-shouldered warrior whose face was entirely covered by a cold steel mask, raised his heavy blade. The tip pointed directly at Kaelen’s chest as his aura flared into a suffocating pressure that rattled the crystal lamps floating along the vault ceiling.
"Intruders in the Royal Treasury," Thaxton spoke, his voice hollow and distorted by the runic enchantments forged into his steel helm. "By order of Marquis Vance and the Royal Decree, your souls are forfeit. Drop your weapons and submit to immediate execution."
Kaelen didn’t turn around immediately. He reached his hand toward the obsidian altar, his fingers hovering an inch away from the crystal sphere housing the Second Heavenly Seal. He could feel the pulse of the ancient stone, calling out to his sovereign authority.
"Ren," Kaelen said coldly, his violet eyes flashing with cosmic authority as a dark smile touched his lips. "Begin overriding the Parasitic Core’s control network. I will handle the trash."
"On it," Ren replied, stepping back toward the shadow of a marble pillar as his fingers sped across his holographic interface, launching a high-speed data assault on the king’s tether.
Kaelen slowly turned to face the three S-Rank Executioners.
The void blade in his hand hummed with dark, spatial energy, cutting through the heavy pressure of their combined killing intent as if it were mere smoke.
"You speak of royal decrees," Kaelen said smoothly, his voice echoing through the silent depths of the vault with absolute dominance.
"Yet you stand in the presence of the true sovereign. Kneel, or be erased from this world."
Thaxton’s eyes burned a fierce, bloodthirsty red behind his steel visor. "Arrogant worm! Slice him to pieces!"
The two executioners flanking Thaxton instantly blurred forward, using S-rank speed steps to close the distance in a fraction of a second. Their serrated blades descended in a cross-pattern arc, trailing waves of corrosive black mana designed to rend both physical flesh and spirit cores.
Kaelen didn’t dodge. He simply lifted his left hand and flicked his wrist.
---
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Skill Activated: Spatial Fold
Effect: Redirects incoming attack vectors through localized spatial distortion.
Cost: 5,000 Units
---
The space in front of the two attacking executioners distorted violently. Their blades, which were inches from Kaelen’s neck, suddenly struck nothingness as their attack vectors were redirected backward.
The two executioners gasped as their own corrosive mana waves flipped back onto them, blasting them off their feet and slamming them heavily against the distant marble pillars.
BOOM.
Stone debris rained down into the vault as the two executioners struggled to stand, their dragon-scale armor cracked and smoking.
Captain Thaxton’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief behind his visor, his grip tightening on his executioner blade as he re-evaluated the shadowy figure standing before him.
"That mana... that isn’t standard magic. Who... what are you?"
Kaelen took a slow, deliberate step toward Thaxton, his void blade igniting with a terrifying aura of pure spatial annihilation that lit up the entire subterranean chamber in violet light.
"I am the nightmare your master tried to bury," Kaelen whispered cold-bloodedly.
"And your execution begins now."