The gates of the Thorne Clan estate had always stood as a symbol of unshakable authority. Carved from ancient cedar and reinforced with iron, they were guarded by men who wore their pride as thick as their armor. But tonight, a silence had fallen over the outer perimeter—a heavy, unnatural quiet that made the torches flicker and the guard dogs whine in their kennels.
Then, the silence broke.
It didn't break with a shout or a war cry. It broke with the sound of a single pair of boots clicking against the cobblestones.
Cain walked down the main path, his silhouette framed by the silver moonlight. Beside him, Elena followed in a trance-like state, her eyes fixed on the ground. She no longer recognized the world she lived in. Behind them, hidden in the ripples of Cain's shadow, the Frost-Void Weaver skittered silently, its violet eyes scanning for any sign of life.
[Current Level: 23]
[Status: Primordial Pressure Active]
"Halt!" a guard shouted, stepping into the light. He was a Level 12 veteran who had often mocked Cain for his lack of a bloodline. "The estate is on lockdown by order of the Second Elder. Turn back now, or—"
The guard stopped mid-sentence. His hand, which had been reaching for his spear, began to tremble uncontrollably. As Cain stepped into the torchlight, the guard felt a weight settle on his chest that made his lungs feel like they were filled with lead.
"I am home," Cain said.
He didn't stop walking. As he passed the guard, the man collapsed to his knees, his eyes rolling back in his head as the [Sovereign's Gaze] washed over him. Cain didn't even look at him; the guard wasn't worth the mana it would take to consume him.
[Skill Triggered: Sovereign's Gaze (Passive Aura)]
[Effect: Low-level enemies are 'Awestruck'. Physical stats reduced by 40%.]
By the time Cain reached the Inner Courtyard, the alarm had finally been raised. Bells tolled throughout the mountain, and hundreds of disciples poured out of the barracks, swords drawn. At the center of the square, the remaining Clan Elders—the First, Fourth, and Fifth—stood in a defensive semi-circle.
"Cain!" the First Elder roared, his voice trembling with a mix of fury and disbelief. "You dare return after murdering the Second and Third Elders? Do you think your demonic tricks will save you from the full might of the Thorne Clan?"
The First Elder, Thorne Garek, was a Level 38 master. He was the strongest man Cain had ever known in his youth.
Cain stopped ten paces from the Elders. He looked around at the familiar courtyard—the same stones where he had been beaten, the same pillars where he had been tied and shamed.
"I didn't come here to be saved, Garek," Cain said, his voice cold and resonant. "I came here to settle the debt. Ten years of 'hospitality' is a lot of interest to pay back."
"Enough of this madness!" the Fourth Elder yelled, lunging forward with a flaming saber. "Die for your sins!"
Cain didn't draw a weapon. He didn't even raise his arms.
"Seven Steps of the Sovereign: Step 1 — Flash-Void."
The flaming saber passed through Cain's image. Before the Fourth Elder could register the miss, Cain appeared behind him. His hand was a blur of violet light as he gripped the Elder's neck.
[Gluttony's Touch: Focused Extraction.]
"Agh—!"
The Fourth Elder didn't even have time to scream. In less than three seconds, the man's fiery mana was sucked dry. His body withered into a grey husk, and Cain tossed it aside like a piece of used parchment.
[EXP Gained: +8,000]
[Temporary Buff: Fire Resistance increased by 30%.]
The courtyard fell into a deathly silence. The disciples, who had been ready to charge, took a collective step back. They had seen death before, but they had never seen a master-level Elder erased as if he were a common insect.
"Who's next?" Cain asked, his slitted eyes scanning the remaining Elders.
"Form the Great Thorne Array!" Garek screamed, his face turning a sickly shade of white. "Disciples! Channel your mana into the pillars! We will crush him with the mountain's weight!"
Three hundred disciples hit the ground, their palms pressing against the stones. The four massive pillars surrounding the courtyard began to glow with a brilliant green light. The air above Cain began to solidify, forming a giant, translucent hammer of earth and wind—the Thorne Clan's ultimate defensive technique.
[Warning: Great Thorne Array (Rank A) activated.]
[Massive Mana Build-up detected. Estimated Damage: 2,500.]
"Cain! Run!" Elena screamed, but her voice was drowned out by the roar of the descending hammer.
Cain looked up at the massive green construct. It was beautiful, in a way—the concentrated effort of an entire clan trying to erase one mistake.
"Synthesis," Cain whispered.
[Merging: 'Glacial Aegis' + 'Sovereign's Stillness' + 'Fire Essence'.]
[Success Rate: 25%... 50%... 85%!]
[New Skill Created: 'Void-Calamity Shield' (Rank A).]
Cain raised his hand toward the sky. A dome of dark violet energy, wreathed in black flames and frosted edges, erupted around him. When the Great Thorne Hammer struck the shield, the impact didn't create a shockwave.
It created a vacuum.
The green mana of the array began to be sucked into Cain's shield. The pillars cracked, and the three hundred disciples screamed in unison as their life force was forcibly pulled from their bodies through the very array they were fueling.
"You're feeding me," Cain laughed, the sound sending shivers down Elena's spine. "Don't stop now. I'm still hungry."
CRACK-BOOM!
The pillars shattered. The Great Thorne Hammer dissolved into nothingness. Three hundred disciples lay unconscious or dead on the ground, their mana pools completely drained.
Cain stood in the center of the ruin, his aura now so powerful that the stones beneath his feet were turning to dust. He looked at the First Elder, who was the only one left standing.
"The Throne of Bones is almost complete, Garek," Cain said, walking forward. "But a throne needs a foundation. And you... you were always the heaviest stone."
[Target Identified: First Elder Garek (Level 38).]
[Mission Status: 95% Complete.]
Cain's hand glowed with a terrifying, absolute blackness. This was the final move—the culmination of the Primordial Monarch class.
"Now," Cain whispered. "Become my shadow."