The flickering torchlight danced across the stone walls of Leon's war chamber, casting long shadows as silence pressed down like a weight.
Verrian stood with his hood lowered now, his silver eyes reflective pools of memory and sorrow.
"You're supposed to be dead," Leon said coldly. "My mother told me you died during the Western Rebellion."
"I did," Verrian replied. "But death is… negotiable when the Inquisition is involved."
Leon's fingers twitched. "Explain. Now."
Verrian stepped forward, placing an old, rune-marked pendant on the table.
> "That is the Seal of the Cradle. A place where the Inquisition breeds its monsters."
The Truth of Bloodlines
"You carry a royal lineage older than this empire," Verrian began. "The blood of Arcanum—the first Emperor who ruled with both steel and sorcery. The Inquisition fears what you might become... not because you're dangerous now, but because your bloodline can awaken something far worse."
Leon felt the system pulse violently in his core.
> [System Alert: Forbidden knowledge approaching threshold. Sanction pending… Overridden by host authority.]
"Why warn me?" Leon asked.
Verrian's face darkened. "Because I've seen what they made in the Cradle. If they awaken the Judge of Thorns… this world will burn."
Northbound Preparations
Three days later, Leon stood atop the Imperial Sky Fortress Dominus as it hovered over frostbitten cliffs, heading north.
Below, entire divisions of soldiers rode wyverns and steam-powered mechs. They were not marching to war they were storming myth.
The Cradle of Judgment was hidden within a ruined temple beneath the Icefang Mountains. The system marked it now as a High-Risk Zone.
> [Warning: Dimensional interference detected. Probability of enemy system users: 89.7%. Recommend deploying anti-system protocol units.]
"Deploy the Arbiters," Leon ordered. "And wake the Phoenix-class golems. I want fire ready to meet ice."
The Temple Awakens
As they breached the temple's outer sanctum, an unnatural silence fell.
The stone walls were carved in forgotten language, and within the central chamber… a massive crystal cocoon pulsed with a faint heartbeat.
And bound in front of it, unconscious but alive… was a girl.
Young. Shackled with chains of red crystal. And branded with the Inquisition's sigil across her back.
Verrian paled.
> "That's her… the Catalyst. She's the key to awakening the Judge."
The moment Leon stepped forward, the crystal pulsed.
> [SYSTEM ERROR: Unrecognized Source Detected. Counter-System Initializing…]
From the shadows, cloaked figures emerged.
Inquisition Judges.
System Users.
Each one with a twisted system signature black glyphs swirling around them like corrupted auras.
> "You were never meant to find this place, Leon Verrian," the lead Judge rasped. "But now that you have… die with the truth."
Judges of the Abyss
The air shattered.
Black glyphs spiraled from the Judges like ink in water, tainting the sacred chamber with corrupted magic. The ground cracked beneath their boots as they stepped forward inhuman, unfeeling, wielding systems not granted by the divine, but stolen from the void.
Leon's aura exploded outward in response gold and red, flaring like a sun caught in a storm.
> [System Sync: Apex Protocol engaged.]
[Current Threat Level: S-Class. Activating suppression field.]
"Elara, on me!" Leon roared, drawing his obsidian blade. "Protect the girl! Leave the Judges to me."
Elara nodded without hesitation and vanished into shadow.
System vs. System
The first Judge struck.
A black spear, formed of compressed hatred and pure void-code, shot toward Leon's heart.
> [Warning: Anomaly-class system detected: "Endless Spear of Nihil". Defensive matrix online.]
Leon spun, slicing the spear mid-air, but it exploded on contact sending shockwaves that tore open the chamber walls.
Another Judge, floating mid-air, began chanting in tongues older than civilization. Glyphs twisted around his hands, summoning Chains of Reality, aiming to bind Leon's system altogether.
Leon growled. "Not today."
> [Command Override: Codebreaker Skill – "Absolute Dissonance" activated.]
The chains froze. Then shattered.
Leon surged forward, his blade singing through the air. He slashed through the second Judge in one strike, sending corrupted blood splattering the temple walls.
But three more remained.
And one the tallest, bearing a mask of thorns merely watched. Waiting.
The Catalyst Awakens
At the chamber's heart, the girl bound to the crystal began to stir.
Her eyes fluttered open violet, glowing, filled with power and pain.
Elara tried to break the chains, but they resisted all effort. Then the girl spoke:
> "The Judge… isn't inside the crystal. It's inside me."
Elara froze.
Leon heard it too. And so did the masked Judge.
"You should not be awake," the Judge hissed, voice like a thousand whispers. "The Cradle is not ready. She is not stable."
"She's not a weapon," Leon snapped. "She's a person."
"No," the Judge replied, removing his mask to reveal an empty void where a face should be. "She is Judgment given form. And she will burn your empire to ash."
Final Clash Begins
Leon raised his hand.
> [System Command: Phase Shift Armor Overdrive.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Emperor's Wrath – Domain Class.]
A golden field enveloped him, blazing with command and defiance. His presence became law, his will absolute.
"Then let her choose," Leon said coldly. "But first, I'll send you back to the void you crawled from."
And he charged.
Steel met shadow. System clashed against system. The chamber became a storm of light and darkness, code and magic.
The Bound Arbiter
The masked Judge Nexaris stood tall amid the chaos, his cloak of shadows rippling with malevolent life. His body, if it could be called that, was formed of swirling black mist held together by ancient bindings. Runic chains wrapped around his limbs, glowing crimson with every movement.
Leon's blade, now wreathed in Emperor's Wrath, collided with Nexaris' cursed halberd, unleashing a wave of destructive force that cracked the chamber floor and shattered the remaining pillars.
> [Alert: Dimensional Integrity — 18%. Collapse imminent in 03:12 minutes.]
[System Lock-on: Target – Nexaris | Level 136 | Rank: Archsystem Wielder.]
Nexaris laughed a sound like tearing flesh and broken glass.
"You cannot win, Leon Verrian. Even your system is bound by rules. But I am judgment incarnate. My chains were forged from law itself."
Leon's eyes burned gold. "Then I'll rewrite the law."
The Catalyst's Dilemma
As Elara continued defending the Catalyst girl, the crystalline bindings began to melt under her rising aura. The girl clutched her head, trembling as voices whispered in a language only her blood could understand.
> "End them.
Burn them all.
You are the Flame of Erasure…"
"No," she muttered, tears trailing down her cheeks. "I… I don't want to destroy…"
Suddenly, her name surfaced in Leon's system interface.
> [Catalyst Identified: Seraphina Liora | Vessel of the Judge.]
[System Compatibility: Unknown.]
[Stability Index: 34% – Danger Level Critical.]
Leon turned to her even as Nexaris lunged again.
"Seraphina! You are not a weapon. You choose who you become!"
Dual System Clash
Nexaris raised his halberd and unleashed Judgment Storm a skill that turned guilt and memory into tangible spears.
Leon's mind was assaulted by visions his mother's cold face, the fallen cities, the screams of those he failed to save.
> [System Skill Resisted: Mental Fortitude – Emperor's Will Activated.]
With a roar, Leon broke through the illusion and cleaved Nexaris across the chest, severing one of the binding chains. Black ichor sprayed across the room.
"You're unraveling," Leon growled. "How poetic."
Nexaris hissed, retreating a step for the first time. "She must awaken! This world is rotting only the Judge can cleanse it!"
Leon stood between Seraphina and Nexaris, sword raised. "You're right. The world is broken. But we'll fix it. Together."
The Cradle Collapses
Suddenly, the ceiling buckled as the temple began to quake violently.
> [System Alert: Dimensional Collapse in 00:57]
Cracks spread through the walls as a blinding light erupted from Seraphina's core. Her body lifted into the air, arms outstretched, as flame and frost swirled around her like divine winds.
Nexaris screamed, rushing forward.
"NO! You are MINE!"
Leon leapt to intercept.
> [Skill: Temporal Slash – Echo Severance!]
Time slowed.
With a single strike, Leon severed Nexaris' arm and his connection to the corrupted system.
Nexaris collapsed, howling as his form destabilized.
"You fool… you've doomed us all…"
And then the Cradle exploded.