Chapter 99 - Shadows of the Rift

The ninety-third dawn crept over Kael El's Ashen Empire with a muted golden haze, the vast dominion—now a continental titan—humming with uneasy triumph. The capital's skyline soared—bone steel keeps dwarfed by the Golden Colossus, its hundred-meter frame a radiant monolith, core pulsing an erratic violet-gold that cast glitching shadows across the plaza. Kael stood in the Lord's Estate hall, Stormforged Blade across his knees, shard-pommel humming like a distant storm. EX: Dragonflame Reaver glowed at his hip, Stormhide Armor scorched and dented, Lyra's chaos burns and Myra's beams aching in his shoulder. His flirty smirk flickered, a cool dominance veiling a gnawing tension—the "Error Rift," the coalition's fall, and Rhea's raw fear stirred a chill in his blood. He flexed EX: Gold Dominion, golden veins threading the stone floor, molten but heavy, answering the shard's jagged wail.