Kairos stood on the rocky outcrop, the sea wind whipping against his face. All around him, the greatest Crystos in Aetheria were still fighting the juvenile leviathan. Lightning, storms, spatial warps, and shadow blades rained down on the massive beast, but it barely seemed to notice. Its six glowing eyes scanned the battlefield with cold intelligence, and every lazy movement of its tail sent shockwaves that forced even S-rank elites to retreat.
The system's golden window floated in front of Kairos's vision, pulsing with quiet intensity.
[Special Option Unlocked]
[Accept 0.10% Great Lord Authority? Y/N]
Kairos didn't hesitate. His finger tapped the glowing "Accept" button.
A blood-red warning screen instantly replaced the golden one.
[WARNING: This power belongs to the Great Lord — the origin from which all crystals were born. Your current soul lattice is not ready. Accepting will cause irreversible damage. Do you still wish to proceed?]
Kairos's jaw tightened. The leviathan roared again, and another group of S-rank Crystos was thrown back into the water.
"Yes," he whispered.
The warning screen lingered for three long seconds… then shattered like glass and vanished.
The system's voice returned, calm but carrying an ancient weight.
[Acknowledged.]
[Granting 0.10% Great Lord Authority for limited duration.]
[Your soul cannot contain this power alone. Applying System Overwrite Protection to preserve your existence.]
A white-hot surge exploded inside Kairos's chest.
It started as a single spark behind his ribs, then detonated outward like a supernova. Every nerve, every cell, every fragment of his being was flooded with power so vast it felt like the universe itself was pouring into him. His body arched violently. A silent scream tore from his throat as white light erupted from his skin.
His dark hair began to bleach from the roots, turning pure, glowing white strand by strand until it flowed down to his shoulders like fresh snow under moonlight.
The power was too much. His mind fractured between two states — one part fully conscious, aware of every detail around him, the other drifting in a vast, endless void where galaxies were born and died in the blink of an eye.
He was both here and somewhere far beyond.
The S-rank Crystos fighting the leviathan suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure.
A single pulse of white energy exploded outward from Kairos's body.
Every elite within a hundred meters was blasted backward as if hit by a tidal wave. Some were thrown into the sea, others slammed against rocks, their barriers shattering like cheap glass. Even the strongest among them could only stare in shock as they were pushed away like leaves in a storm.
Aria, standing closest to him, was the only one who remained on her feet — protected by the system's subtle shielding.
Kairos's eyes opened.
They glowed pure white, no pupils visible.
Without a word, he stepped off the rock and walked across the water. Each step left a ring of white light that spread outward. The sea parted beneath his feet as if bowing to a king.
The juvenile leviathan turned its massive head toward him. Six glowing eyes narrowed. For the first time, the beast looked… cautious.
Kairos raised his hand.
The fight began.
The leviathan lunged, jaws wide enough to swallow a ship. Its crystal spikes flared blood-red as it unleashed a crushing pressure wave.
Kairos didn't dodge.
He simply thrust his palm forward.
A white spear of light shot from his hand, piercing the pressure wave and striking the leviathan's snout dead center. The impact created a crater in the beast's armored hide. The leviathan roared in pain and thrashed, its tail whipping around with enough force to level a city block.
Kairos leaped.
He moved faster than thought, appearing on the creature's back in an instant. His white hair flowed behind him like a banner as he drove both fists downward. The blow landed like a falling star. The leviathan's spine cracked audibly. Crystal shards exploded outward, raining into the sea.
The beast bucked wildly, trying to throw him off. It summoned a vortex beneath them, attempting to drag Kairos into the crushing depths.
Kairos simply planted his feet and pushed.
The vortex reversed.
The leviathan was lifted halfway out of the water by its own attack before Kairos slammed it back down with a single open-palmed strike. The resulting explosion sent a column of water hundreds of meters into the air.
Every S-rank Crystos watching from a distance could only stare in stunned silence.
This was not a fight.
This was domination.
The leviathan, desperate now, opened its jaws and fired a concentrated beam of red crystal energy — a concentrated blast of absorbed power that could erase an entire fleet.
Kairos met it with his own palm.
White met red.
The collision created a dome of light so bright that the entire battlefield was momentarily blinded. When the light faded, the leviathan's beam had been completely erased.
Kairos floated above the beast's head, white hair glowing, eyes burning with cosmic power.
He raised one hand to the sky.
The clouds parted.
A colossal spear of pure white energy began to form above him — hundreds of meters long, its tip sharper than any blade, its shaft humming with the authority of creation itself.
The juvenile leviathan sensed its end.
It thrashed desperately, trying to dive back into the depths.
Kairos brought his hand down.
The giant spear fell like judgment from the heavens.
It struck the leviathan's central crystal fragment — the small, glowing core embedded in its forehead that served as its heart.
The impact was silent at first.
Then the entire creature convulsed violently. Its massive body spasmed, crystal spikes shattering one by one. Cracks of white light spread across its obsidian skin. A final, earth-shaking roar tore from its throat — not of rage, but of defeat.
The leviathan began to disintegrate.
Its body broke apart into particles of pure energy, dissolving into golden and red light that sank back into the ocean like falling stars. Within seconds, nothing remained except a few fading ripples on the surface.
The guardian was gone.
Kairos hovered above the water for a moment longer, white hair slowly settling, eyes gradually returning to their normal gray.
Then the borrowed power began to fade.
He dropped gently onto the rock beside Aria, breathing hard, hair still streaked with white at the temples.
The system's voice spoke softly in his mind.
[0.10% Authority exhausted. Protection layer removed. Soul stable.]
Kairos looked at Aria.
She stared back at him, eyes wide with awe, fear, and something deeper.
To be continued...