The Sovereign Chronicles novel Chapter 18

Deep into the night, ten days later. Kaelen sat cross-legged atop a towering boulder twice the height of a grown man. Arcs of volatile electricity surged wildly across his body. Blinding, jagged bolts of lightning illuminated the ancient, shadowed woods. His brow was furrowed in intense concentration, his aura swelling exponentially. His hands moved in a fluid, complex sequence of arcane signs, channeling the raw aether within his core and transmuting it into volatile lightning, layering the kinetic charge over his muscles again and again.

The terrifying electrical arcs grew increasingly violent, threatening to completely consume him in a storm of raw plasma.

"The Violet Serpent's Fury! Seventh Phase: Thundercoil Roar!" Kaelen suddenly roared. The boiling ambient lightning instantly detonated outward. What initially seemed like a chaotic discharge suddenly synchronized, coiling around his physique to manifest into a massive, blinding serpent of solid thunder. The massive serpent reared its head high above him—a terrifying, hyper-realistic construct of pure, devastating voltage. Bound to his flesh as if it were a living familiar, the serpent unleashed an ear-shattering, high-pitched screech that rattled the very air.

The Violet Serpent's Fury—solidified and contained!

The Seventh Phase, mastered!

Kaelen’s eyes snapped fully open, a lethal glint flashing within. The Thunder Serpent shrieked and detached from his body, spiraling violently forward. It tore through the clearing like an oversized artillery shell of lightning, unleashing a blinding flash and apocalyptic destructive force as it slammed into the ancient timber ahead.

The serpent danced wildly, exuding a tyrannical dominance. BOOM! It obliterated the first massive trunk instantly, yet its momentum remained utterly unbroken. It carved a path of pure devastation, pulverizing five massive trees in the blink of an eye, snapping their trunks in half. Wood splinters and crackling plasma sprayed everywhere as the warhead of lightning finally collided with a boulder behind the fifth tree, reducing the stone to a shower of gravel.

CREAAAAK... CRASH!

The massive canopies of the five ancient trees came crashing down to earth, sending snapped branches flying and raining debris over the forest floor.

Silence slowly reclaimed the woods. The blinding flash faded, leaving behind an oppressive, heavy darkness.

Kaelen sat cross-legged atop his rock, his breathing slightly ragged. A wave of exhaustion washed over him from the massive drain on his Aether Core. He sat in silence for a few moments before a slow, satisfied smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. He had finally mastered it. From channeling the aether to unleashing the strike, it had only taken him five seconds—cutting the casting time in half compared to his first successful attempt. The sheer concussive force had magnified dramatically as well.

The first six phases were meant for accumulation; the seventh phase brought a total qualitative evolution.

And the devastating firepower born from this evolution was absolutely phenomenal. This was the true, terrifying brilliance of the Violet Serpent's Fury.

Over these ten days, Kaelen hadn't just achieved mastery over the Violet Serpent's Fury; he had also seamlessly integrated and fully comprehended the Daevan Sword Tome's opening stance: Sword of the Sundered Mountain.

Aside from his mandatory morning delivery shifts as a Servitor, he had trained relentlessly, forgoing sleep and rest.

Thanks to the passive restorative properties of the Genesis Mantra, his Vitality remained constantly replenished. He was effectively condensing two days’ worth of grueling training into a single twenty-four-hour cycle.

The Violet Serpent's Fury and the Sword of the Sundered Mountain—mastering these two martial arts had not only granted him a massive spike in combat power, but the combined stress and enlightenment had forcefully pushed his Aether Core into a breakthrough. He was now at the Spirit Warrior, Fifth Phase!

This wasn't a reckless, forced advancement. It was the natural, inevitable evolution of his magical prowess.

The following afternoon, Kaelen arrived at the hidden cliffs bordering Mount Veridia. Strapped to his back was the Daevan Blade, and sheathed at his waist were twenty freshly sharpened Throwing Daggers. Finding a concealed vantage point, he let out a sharp whistle and tossed a handful of pebbles into the dense emerald canopy.

Massive constrictors and venomous vipers were roused from their slumber, slithering lazily beneath the thick layers of vines.

Deep within his Aether Core, the Netherward Blade reacted once again.

Sure enough, the Gilded Viper slithered out moments later. It glared at Kaelen, flicking its tongue in overt annoyance. You again?!

"Come down here! I dare you," Kaelen taunted the gilded beast.

The Viper merely wrapped itself tighter around the Serpent's Heart Fruit, glaring at him with cold, reptilian disdain.

"I said, come down." Kaelen whipped his wrist, sending a Throwing Dagger slicing through the air.

Hiss! The Viper spat a beam of golden magic, instantly blasting the steel to dust.

"Come down." Kaelen hurled two more Throwing Daggers. They carved brutal, sweeping arcs from the left and right, howling as they sliced through the wind.

Clinging to its prize, the Viper fired rapid bursts of golden light, vaporizing the blades with terrifying accuracy.

The destroyed daggers exploded into clouds of shrapnel, ricocheting uselessly off the cliff face.

"Come down here. Let's see if you have the spine for it," Kaelen goaded softly, his hands moving in a relentless blur as he unleashed a constant barrage of steel.

The Gilded Viper was incensed. This insufferable human! Does he have a death wish? What kind of joke does he think this is?!

"Come on." Within moments, Kaelen had emptied fifteen Throwing Daggers. A few Veridian Acolytes happened to patrol past the nearby trail, forcing him to pause and remain dead silent. The viper, too, went still. But the instant the footsteps faded, Kaelen resumed his barrage, ruthlessly provoking the beast.

The Gilded Viper’s patience finally snapped. This was an intolerable insult to its draconic pride. Watching Kaelen literally hoist a boulder weighing several hundred pounds over his head, the Viper let out a deafening, ear-piercing shriek. Responding to the call, the writhing mass of constrictors and vipers erupted from the vines. They cascaded down the sheer cliff face in a nightmarish, slithering swarm, flooding the forest floor as they lunged for Kaelen.

Kaelen drew his blade in a blinding arc, carving through the swarm. In a matter of heartbeats, he had reduced the tide of serpents to a carpet of mangled gore. These lesser beasts posed zero threat to him. The very instant the last snake was cleaved in twain, his left hand whipped out, launching a volley of five more Throwing Daggers straight for the gilded monarch on the cliff.

The Gilded Viper had officially had enough. If it possessed human speech, it would have been hurling venomous curses. Dragging the Serpent's Heart Fruit into a secure, hidden crevice, the beast coiled its muscles and launched itself directly off the fifty-meter precipice. It descended like a bolt of golden lightning, its jaws unhinging in mid-air to unleash a furious barrage of magical beams at Kaelen.

Kaelen dodged in rapid succession, flipping backward to evade the bombardment. The moment his boots hit the earth, he coiled his legs and launched himself upward like a compressed spring, swinging his blade with murderous intent to meet the falling Viper.

The Gilded Viper had burned through a significant portion of its mana blasting Kaelen’s daggers, yet its ferocity was undiminished. It struck with blinding speed, a lethal blur of fangs and golden scales.

Kaelen strategically retreated, drawing the beast further and further away from the borders of Mount Veridia. Luring it into a secluded ravine, his aura suddenly detonated with overwhelming pressure as he brought his sword down.

Sword of the Sundered Mountain!

A tyrannical, earth-shattering pressure exploded from his blade, projecting an oppressive field of kinetic sword aura that crashed down upon the ravine like a collapsing mountain.

Caught completely off guard by the sheer gravity of the strike, the Gilded Viper’s aerial momentum was crushed, forcing it to plummet toward the earth.

Kaelen stepped in, slashing upward in a merciless arc, cleanly severing the beast in half.

With the Gilded Viper dead, the cliff face was effectively secured. The few remaining venomous stragglers weren't even worth his attention.

Kaelen stood outside the wooden palisade of a Verdant Conservatory, utterly speechless. The bright moonlight illuminated the thick mist, rendering the area a sea of glowing white. He could vaguely make out the layout within. The conservatory wasn't massive, but it was exquisitely manicured. Divided into intricate, geometric plots, it housed an astonishing variety of glowing, vibrant flora. There had to be at least a hundred stalks of high-tier aether-flora in there, each one meticulously cultivated.

A sturdy stone cabin sat at the center of the plots, serving as the quarters for the groundskeeper.

Earning the right to single-handedly guard and cultivate a Verdant Conservatory meant this acolyte's status and strength were far from ordinary.

Kaelen didn't risk infiltrating the palisade. Every single stalk in there was undoubtedly cataloged in the Sanctum's ledgers. Stealing from here would bring down the wrath of the Elders.

The stone cabin remained perfectly silent. The initiate inside clearly never entertained the thought that a trespasser would dare sneak in just to 'admire' their garden.

Kaelen continued to navigate the winding paths of Mount Veridia, losing track of how high he had climbed or where exactly he was on the peak, as the black blade offered no further guidance. Just as he was preparing to cut his losses and descend, he stumbled upon something entirely out of place.

What in the world is that?

Kaelen found himself standing before a highly bizarre conservatory. There was no aether-flora inside, nor was there a stone cabin. It was utterly barren. Furthermore, the enclosing walls weren't made of wood, but constructed from massive, pitch-black blocks of obsidian-like stone. In the center of this desolate courtyard stood a jagged, ten-meter-tall megalith. Thick, glowing golden chains wrapped around the stone tightly, anchoring it securely to the black walls.

Amidst the ethereal, fog-draped paradise of Mount Veridia, this sight was chillingly incongruous.

Over thirty golden chains pulsed with magical radiance, actively repelling the shadows and the encroaching mist.

The silhouette of the megalith was highly irregular. At a glance, it resembled a twisted, dead tree, but looking closer, it looked exactly like a man throwing his head back to roar at the heavens.

What exactly is this monstrosity?

Kaelen frowned deeply. Cautiously, he reached out, letting his fingertips graze one of the glowing golden chains.

Thrum!! The black blade in his core violently convulsed, churning a torrential storm of ebon mist across his Aether Core.

Suddenly, the megalith moved. It actually moved. The stone ground against itself in a grotesque, horrific motion—as if whatever was trapped inside was violently struggling against its bonds.

Deep beneath the earth, buried in absolute, suffocating darkness, a pair of eyes abruptly snapped open—like an ancient wraith violently roused from a centuries-long slumber.

GRIND... RUMBLE... The megalith's struggles became increasingly aggressive, thrashing wildly to tear free from the glowing chains.

CLANG! CLANG!

The golden chains flared with blinding intensity, snapping taut as they dug mercilessly into the stone. The four obsidian walls of the courtyard violently trembled, unleashing a colossal surge of suppression magic that traveled straight down the chains, blasting into the megalith.

Gradually, the megalith was forced into submission. It returned to its deathly stillness, looming silently within the fog once more.

Kaelen stared at the horrific monument, his mind racing with questions. He raised his hand, intent on touching the chains one more time. But just as his fingers neared the gold, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the mist. Several patrol initiates had heard the commotion and were rushing toward the courtyard. Swallowing his curiosity, Kaelen melted instantly back into the shadows and vanished into the night.