Episode 65: The Shattering of Eternity

The clash of Dominions shattered the void.

One half of reality burned in eternal flame, with rivers of molten light searing across mountains of obsidian. The other half drowned in infinite shadow, a sea of writhing tendrils stretching into endless horizons. The collision point, where Kuro stood against the unchained First Monarch, was chaos incarnate, a storm that tore apart existence itself.

The Monarch's true form loomed large, a giant of fire and chains, wings blocking out the void and emberlight eyes burning like newborn stars. His roar created fissures through the Dominion, each note declaring his absolute reign.

Kuro, small before him yet unyielding, clenched his emberblade. Shadows coiled around his body, spreading from his feet into the abyss like roots. His chest heaved, blood dripping from his lip, but his emberlight gaze burned with defiance.

Behind him, anchored by his Abyssal Dominion, Elira, Akira, and Reina floated unharmed amid the storm. They weren't just shielded; they were connected to Kuro's soul. Their breaths matched his. Their hearts beat in unison with his.

Elira's voice trembled as she pressed her hand against her chest. "Kuro… you're carrying us inside you."

His grip tightened on the blade. "If he wants to erase everything you are, then he'll have to go through me first."

---

The Monarch raised his colossal hand, chains dripping from it like rivers of molten steel.

"Child of ash, your arrogance disgusts me. I was the first. I forged the throne from eternity's marrow. You are nothing but a reflection, a shadow of my shadow."

His hand came crashing down, a mountain of flame and void descending to crush Kuro.

Kuro's shadows surged upward, forming a massive serpent that coiled around the Monarch's arm. The impact split the battlefield, sending obsidian shards flying and rivers of fire exploding into steam.

Kuro's body trembled with the strain, his arms cracking under the pressure. The Monarch's strength was immeasurable. But his voice thundered back, breaking through the storm:

"I'm not your shadow. I'm the flame that burns you out!"

His blade erupted, fire and shadow fusing, the emberlight core blazing brighter than ever before. He swung.

The serpent detonated, black flame consuming the Monarch's arm.

For the first time, the giant staggered back.

---

Akira's eyes widened, sweat dripping down his temple. "He's actually… holding his ground."

Reina's lips curved into a fierce grin, daggers shimmering with shadowlight. "Not holding—pushing back."

Elira's violet gaze burned, frostfire surging around her. She whispered, almost to herself, "He's… rewriting the Dominion, piece by piece."

The Monarch's roar echoed, shaking the void. His emberlight core pulsed, and suddenly, images flashed across the battlefield—visions not their own.

Chains binding planets. Thrones carved from dying stars. Cities burning beneath skies of endless fire.

Elira gasped, clutching her temples. "These… these are his memories."

The Monarch's voice thundered through them.

"I conquered worlds before your kind drew breath. I devoured kings and gods alike. And when I gazed into the abyss between realms, I found a door to a pale blue world."

Kuro froze. His emberlight eyes narrowed. "…Earth."

The Monarch's emberlight gaze seared him.

"Yes. I touched it. A fragile world, yet its resonance with the abyss was perfect. I marked it, scarred it, so that one day, when my chains weakened, its resonance would summon my successor."

Elira's eyes widened. "You… you pulled him from Earth?!"

The Monarch's laugh rolled like thunder.

"I did not pull. The world itself offered him to me. He was born with my shadow imprinted on his soul. He was destined to replace me or to die by my hand."

Kuro's grip trembled. The blade's light flickered. The truth cut deeper than the Monarch's chains ever could.

He wasn't just some random victim of isekai. He was part of the curse.

Elira's hand touched his shoulder, frostfire calming against his burning veins. Her voice was quiet, but firm. "No. You're not his shadow. You're not his replacement. You're you. Kuro Jin. The man who saved me. The man I—"

Her words faltered, her lips trembling. But her eyes never left his. "…The man I refuse to lose."

For a moment, the abyss stilled. Kuro's heart clenched, heat flooding his chest.

Her confession wasn't fully spoken, but it didn't need to be. It was clear in every word, every flame.

The shadows roared inside him, responding not to rage, but to that bond.

[System Alert: Abyssal Dominion – Stage II Unlocked]

[New Skill Acquired: Crown of the Void]

Black flame erupted around his head, not as fire but as a crown—five jagged points of shadowlight, burning with eternal flame. His blade elongated, warping into a double-handed greatsword forged of both ember and void.

The Dominion trembled. The Monarch's eyes narrowed. "…No. Impossible. You've manifested a Crown."

Kuro's emberlight gaze locked on him, steady now. His voice thundered with newfound power.

"No more chains. No more thrones. Only a choice. My choice."

He stepped forward. The void itself bent beneath his stride. The Monarch staggered back, not physically, but as though reality itself was rejecting his reign.

---

The battle erupted again.

The Monarch swung his colossal blade, a strike that could carve a world in two. Kuro's greatsword met it, sparks exploding into galaxies. The shockwave blasted Akira and Reina backward, but Kuro stood firm, shadows rooting him like an unbreakable pillar.

Elira raised her hands, frostfire wings expanding wide. She unleashed a torrent of flame and ice, binding the Monarch's chains mid-swing. Akira surged forward, katana blazing, slicing through the immobilized links. Reina shadowstepped across the colossus' body, her daggers carving through emberlight veins and weakening his frame.

And Kuro—he drove his greatsword into the Monarch's chest.

The void screamed.

The Monarch roared, thrashing violently, wings tearing mountains apart, rivers of fire consuming themselves. But Kuro held fast, the Crown blazing brighter.

The emberlight core cracked.

---

For an instant, silence.

The Monarch froze, his emberlight gaze dimming. He looked down at Kuro, his voice a whisper of disbelief.

"…I see. You were never my shadow. You are… my end."

And with a final roar, his body shattered—exploding into rivers of shadow and flame, consumed by Kuro's Dominion.

The battlefield went still. The void quieted. The storm ceased.

Kuro fell to one knee, gasping for breath, his greatsword dissolving back into emberlight. His crown flickered but remained faintly burning.

Elira rushed to him, frostfire hands pressing against his chest. "Kuro! Stay with me!"

He forced a smile, his emberlight eyes softening. "I'm not going anywhere."

Her tears shimmered, her lips trembling with relief.

Akira and Reina approached, bloodied but alive. Akira smirked faintly. "Guess we're serving a crowned emperor now."

Reina twirled her daggers, her grin fierce. "Took him long enough."

Kuro chuckled weakly. "Don't call me emperor yet. Not until…"

But his words cut off as the void trembled again.

The shattered emberlight core—the heart of the Monarch—still pulsed, faintly. And from within, a whisper echoed.

Not the Monarch's. Something older. Something deeper.

"At last… the vessel is complete."

The Dominion convulsed. The broken core began to reform—into something vast, something beyond even the Monarch.

Kuro's crown flickered. His emberlight eyes widened.

"…This isn't over."

The abyss roared again.

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[To Be Continue...]

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