The world froze.
Not metaphorically.
Not emotionally.
Literally.
The moment the entity smiled through the projection, every alarm throughout the Sovereign Citadel died.
Every barrier paused.
Every energy current halted.
For a single terrifying moment—
Reality hesitated.
Storm's face turned pale.
"…Nope."
A pause.
"…I absolutely hate that."
Frost remained silent.
Because he couldn't disagree.
The figure inside the projection wasn't releasing pressure.
Wasn't showing power.
Wasn't attacking.
It simply existed.
And somehow—
That was worse.
The entity's gaze remained fixed on Harold.
"Found you."
The words echoed through the world.
Not sound.
Recognition.
Inside—
The system reacted instantly.
Unity dimmed.
"External acknowledgement confirmed."
The Counter-Sovereign pulsed rapidly.
"Origin unknown."
The Devourer rumbled deeper than ever before.
"…Danger."
Even the Monkey King wasn't laughing anymore.
"…Why does it sound like it already knows us?"
Harold stared at the projection calmly.
But inwardly—
He understood something.
The creature wasn't searching anymore.
It had already found its target.
Lucien immediately moved.
"All Sovereigns to emergency assembly."
The floating city erupted into motion.
Ancient awakeners vanished.
Defensive formations activated.
Entire towers shifted positions.
Storm looked around.
"…That's not reassuring."
The Headmaster's expression remained grim.
"Because this has never happened before."
The projection suddenly distorted again.
The entity took another step through the Boundary.
The crack in reality expanded instantly.
Mountains beneath it disappeared.
Not destroyed.
Not broken.
Gone.
As if they had never existed.
Several Sovereigns watching remotely immediately severed their connections.
Lucien's jaw tightened.
"Reality erosion."
Frost's eyes narrowed.
"…It's deleting existence."
Silence followed.
Because nobody had a solution for that.
The entity tilted its head slightly.
Then spoke again.
"Interesting."
Its gaze never left Harold.
"You became complete."
Inside—
The Counter-Sovereign reacted immediately.
"Statement confirmed."
Unity pulsed softly.
"Recognition predates current timeline."
The Monkey King blinked.
"…Hold on."
"…What does THAT mean?"
Before anyone could answer—
A new voice filled the Citadel.
Ancient.
Powerful.
And angry.
"Enough."
The sky above the floating city split apart.
A massive golden spear descended from the heavens.
Not aimed at Harold.
At the projection.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The projection shattered instantly.
The image disappeared.
The crack vanished from sight.
Silence followed.
Then—
An old man appeared in the sky.
White robes.
Silver eyes.
Presence vast enough to make Sovereigns seem small.
Every powerful being in the Citadel immediately bowed.
Even Lucien.
Storm blinked.
"…Okay."
"…Who is THAT?"
Frost's expression tightened.
"The First Sovereign."
The old man slowly descended.
His gaze passed over everyone.
Until it landed on Harold.
Silence stretched.
Then—
The old man sighed.
"…This is worse than I feared."
Storm immediately pointed.
"I knew it!"
Nobody paid attention.
The First Sovereign continued staring at Harold.
Not hostile.
Not fearful.
Concerned.
"…Tell me."
A pause.
"When you completed your integration…"
His silver eyes narrowed.
"…What exactly did you become?"
The entire Citadel went silent.
Every Sovereign listened.
Every guard froze.
Because for perhaps the first time—
Even the strongest beings in the world didn't know the answer.
Harold thought about it.
The Titans.
The system.
The final trial.
The balance he had achieved.
Then he answered honestly.
"…I don't know."
The First Sovereign closed his eyes.
"…That's what I was afraid of."
Inside—
For the first time since the Boundary appeared—
The system issued a warning.
Not from the Counter-Sovereign.
Not from Unity.
Not from any Titan.
Something deeper.
Something older.
WARNING.
External Origin Entity Approaching.
Recognition Event Confirmed.
Dormant Records Unlocking.
Harold's eyes narrowed.
Because beneath the warning—
One final line appeared.
A line that had never existed before.
You were never the first.
Silence.
And somewhere beyond the broken Boundary—
Something laughed.