VIP System

She raised her hand, and with a slow, deliberate motion, a scroll appeared in the air, unfurling as it shimmered with faint power. The thick air around them shifted, as if stirred by an invisible force. A soft breeze began to circle her feet, growing stronger with each passing second. It was subtle at first, but soon the wind lifted her effortlessly from the ground, carrying her upward, toward the Titan’s head.

As she ascended, her appearance began to change. Her cloak, dark and tattered at the edges, seemed to come alive, billowing around her as though it were caught in a rising storm. Her hair, once still, now floated around her, streaks of silver and storm-gray weaving through it. Her eyes, calm yet intense, flickered with a faint, electric emerald glow, like the first crackle of lightning in a distant storm.

The Titan, frozen by the same force that held the room in stillness, stood immobile, his towering form unable to act, despite the raw power he commanded.

"This," she intoned, her voice a low rumble that vibrated through the stone beneath their feet, "is the eye of your storm." Her gaze fell to the scroll, its glow casting eerie shadows across her face. "The prize that drives your tempest of destruction." Her presence was becoming more undeniable with each moment, the power she wielded apparent in the way the air itself seemed to bend around her.

Without hesitation, she reached out and pressed the scroll into the gap between the Titan’s chest plates, directly above the core of his immense strength. Her fingers lingered for a moment on the cold metal of his armor, then she tapped his shoulder gently, almost dismissively, before pulling her hand back.

"This will stop you from pushing things further," she said, her eyes now piercing as they locked onto the Titan’s frozen gaze. There was no hint of threat in her tone, just the certainty of someone who held absolute control over the situation.

Though frozen, the Titan’s eyes flickered with recognition. His expression, once hardened with arrogance, now carried a quiet understanding, his lips curling into a thin, strained line.

His once furious expression softened, his arrogance and defiance fading, replaced by a strange calm. It was as if the power he once wielded with such pride was being tucked away, sealed by the presence of this overwhelming force standing before him.

She began her slow descent, the winds that had carried her down calming as her feet touched the ground once more.

For a moment, she seemed ready to let the silence settle, but something shifted in her gaze, a reminder of unfinished business. Yet, before the room could return to its frozen silence, she paused mid-step. Something had crossed her mind.

Turning her head slightly, she looked back at the Titan, her eyes narrowing as a faint, stormy energy crackled in the air around her. “One last thing,” she said, her voice firmer now, edged with the quiet promise of power. “Let this be the last time you act without consequence. Next time, even your guild will not save you.”

A chill crept across Kael's skin, raising goosebumps along his arms. The air thickened, pressing against his chest like an invisible weight, making each breath a conscious effort. Her gaze remained fixed on the Titan, whose frozen form seemed to absorb the weight of her warning.

“Am I understood?”

The Titan, bound by the frozen time, could not move, but in the stillness of the room, his expression betrayed a flicker of something—perhaps recognition, or even fear. His eyes, once filled with fire, now dimmed. His face, locked in the same expression, softened as his lips curled into a strained, thin line. For a moment, the room was silent, as if even the air itself awaited the final word.

"I may be furious, but I'm not foolish enough to test the Stormbringer's patience."

The title echoed through the chamber, hanging in the air like a final stroke of thunder. At last, her name had been spoken, and with it, the storm she carried within seemed to subside. With one last glance at the Titan, she turned away, her form fading as the winds around her stilled.

Before she completely vanished, her figure still faintly visible in the air, she glanced back at Kael. Her voice was soft, yet it carried the undeniable force of a coming storm.

"The same goes for you, Kael," she said, her gaze piercing through the tension in the room. She reminded him of his purpose, her voice calm but cutting.

"Remember why you sit upon that throne, Kael. You are a king—but do not mistake your crown for invulnerability." Her words struck deeper than any sword, and for a moment, Kael felt the weight of his throne crushing him.

The winds around her stirred slightly, a faint crackle of energy lingering in the air.

"The other Heralds will not sit idle once they learn of my intervention. They are watching, and if provoked, their wrath could reshape this kingdom far beyond what even you can imagine."

With that, she faded, the lingering trace of her presence leaving the air heavy and charged. As her form faded, the stillness began to break.

Slowly, the groan of the castle walls returned, a low rumble like the awakening of a giant. Dust that had hung suspended in the air now drifted down in lazy spirals, and the soft murmur of voices filled the chamber once more. The weight of frozen time lifted, and the world breathed again.

Kael blinked, his fingers still gripping his swords, but his stance had softened. His breath was slow, deliberate, as he lowered his blades with the weight of realization settling over him. Beside him, the Aurora Paladin exhaled deeply, her shield lowering, the tension in her body easing as her connection to her system magic stabilized once more. The room was no longer suspended in an eerie silence; murmurs of confusion and anxiety spread among the remaining council members, their expressions reflecting their disorientation.

The Titan sneered, his massive fingers reaching for the scroll lodged in his chest plates. But just before he could grasp it, a creeping sense of wrongness washed over him. His sneer faltered, muscles tensing as he froze mid-motion, eyes narrowing as though sensing an invisible force building.

Then, he felt it—

A faint pressure, almost imperceptible at first, bloomed on his shoulder. His sneer faded as the sensation grew heavier, sinking deep into his bones. A creeping sense of wrongness slithered up his spine, his muscles tightening with the growing awareness of something unseen. It was subtle—just a touch, a presence—but it carried with it an enormous force. Before he could react, the pressure surged, and an invisible blow sent him hurtling through the air.

The force was overwhelming, as if a giant hand had swatted him from the ground. The Titan’s massive form struck the wall with an earth-shattering impact, sending a shockwave that cracked the stone, smashing it into fragments that flew across the chamber like shrapnel.

The sound was like a thunderclap, shaking the room, causing dust to rain down from the cracked ceiling. With an earth-shaking thud, his body was thrown through the breach in the castle wall and into the open sky.

Outside, the Titan’s frame tumbled like a ragdoll, his massive armor clattering as he struck the ground far below. He rolled, limbs flailing, before finally coming to a stop in a cloud of dust. His form was still, unconscious, his once-commanding presence reduced to nothing as he lay crumpled in the dirt.

Back inside the chamber, the echoes of the crash slowly faded, replaced by the hushed voices of the council members. They exchanged confused, anxious looks, trying to piece together what had just happened. The room felt lighter now, the overwhelming pressure gone, but a tense unease remained.

Elois, standing near the back, furrowed her brow, her hand gripping the edge of the table as if steadying herself. Her gaze flickered between Kael, Lady Kiara, and the gap in the wall where the Titan had been only moments ago.

Kael, his heart still racing, stared at the open breach in the wall where the Titan had been launched, his grip on his swords loosening as the gravity of what had just occurred settled in.

As the echoes of destruction faded, the wind returned, whistling through the shattered stone as if carrying with it the remnants of her power—subtle, yet ever-present.