The moment Reed pressed Y, the world shuddered.
The Council chamber dimmed—not from lack of light, but from presence. Shadows thickened. Temperature dropped. Reed exhaled smoke though there was no fire.
The veins on his neck pulsed—black and crimson, bulging like worms beneath his skin. His irises split, the whites of his eyes flooded with red. Bone protrusions twitched at the edges of his knuckles.
The Lords flinched.
Even Halveth stepped back.
[Bloodcode 3/7 Unlocked]Trait Gained: Presence of the Devourer
All beings of lower Willpower within 20 meters suffer Fear (Rank C)
Passive aura disrupts Lesser Enchantments
Warning: Corruption Threshold increased. Further Bloodcode use will erode humanity.
Reed stood tall at the center of the chamber, haloed in unseen pressure. Goblin. Lord. Monster.
"I told you," he growled. "The old world burns."
"Blasphemy!" Lord Kheldrin of the Ivory Flame stood, veins throbbing in his temple. "You defile this chamber with corruption!"
He turned to Halveth. "He's an abomination—look at him! This is what happens when you let trash rise!"
A few nodded. More hesitated.
Reed took one slow step toward Kheldrin.
"No," he said. "This is what happens when trash learns to sharpen teeth."
The Fear aura rippled. Kheldrin's guards backed away. One vomited.
Reed turned his gaze across the circle. "Any others feel brave enough to bleed?"
Council silence was broken by a soft laugh.
"Impressive," said a woman in ash-grey robes and a crescent-shaped eyepiece. She sat cross-legged, watching Reed like a scientist before a wild animal. "I'm Lady Vara. Of Blackmoor. You've made a lot of enemies tonight, Reed."
"I expected nothing less."
"You've also made some very… interested observers."
Vara's Hero—a skeletal man in rust-colored armor—never blinked. Neither did Vara.
Others in the chamber leaned in now. Not just watching. Calculating.
Reed felt it in the air: politics like blades.
Halveth raised his voice again. "Enough."
The shadows recoiled at his tone. "Reed Varn, Lord of Goblin's Hollow. You stand here accused of unauthorized domain expansion, unsanctioned violence, and alignment with forbidden powers."
"And?"
"And," Halveth said slowly, "you are not the first to step beyond the System. But most who do… lose control. Their blood turns. Their domain collapses."
Reed smiled. "Mine doesn't."
A murmur.
Halveth stepped down from the dais, voice dropping.
"This Council was formed to prevent what you represent. A disruption. A threat to the order we've maintained for centuries."
"And that order," Reed said, "is made of rot."
Shia, standing at the chamber's edge, locked eyes with one of the guards. Her voice cut into Reed's mind through their shared Hero-Lord link.
"The Spire's layered. There's something under this floor. Sealed. Old. The System's hiding it."
"What?"
"I don't know yet. But it hates you."
Reed's fingers twitched. Thornblade wasn't in his hand—but he didn't need it anymore.
Reed stepped back into the center ring, his voice now calm—too calm.
"You call me monster," he said. "Yet I build while you leech. I train the broken. I feed the dying. You trade favors for crowns and feast on your peasants."
He raised his arms.
"I will tear down every stone of your sanctuaries and replace them with bones of your forgotten. I will make a kingdom out of what you discard."
He locked eyes with Halveth.
"And when it stands, I won't ask for your seat at this table. I'll burn the table and salt the earth beneath it."
Gasps.
Swords half-drawn.
System Alert: Alignment Shift – UNKNOWN → CHAOTIC ASCENTEffects:
Reputation system disabled
Diplomacy penalties against Highborn Lords
Fear-based passives increased by 25%
Special Trait Gained: "Crownless"You cannot inherit. You take.
Halveth's voice rang sharp. "Enough!"
His finger pointed at Reed. "You will return to your Hollow. You will be watched. If you step out of line again—"
Reed cut him off.
"No," he said. "You'll see me coming. And you'll pray it's only me."
He turned his back on the Council. Walked.
Shia followed.
As they reached the chamber doors, one final System alert struck:
[Bloodmarked Conflict Detected – New Domain War Scheduled]Involved Lords: Reed Varn vs. Hadren Thorne
Date: Seven days hence
Victory Condition: Death or Surrender of Opposing Lord
Shia blinked. "He called the war."
Reed smiled.
"Good. Then I'll bury him first."