Tick.
Tick.
The sound wasn't mechanical.
It was existential.
Reality itself was ticking down.
Yuto looked up—what was once the ceiling of the Vault had been torn wide open by the first impact.
Above hovered the third Reclaimer.
No swirling code. No blade-arms. No form of intimidation.
Just chains, wrapped around a child-like body, hovering midair with an executioner's calm.
Its eyes were two empty sockets from which verdicts poured.
[Warden-Class Reclaimer: Codename - Dælos]
[Authority: 7th Tier Judicial Logic]
[Current Task: Final Judgment of Anomaly Yuto – Class: Voidbound Corebearer]
Yuto staggered. "That one… knows my name?"
Nyx's voice trembled, for the first time.
[Warning: This entity has root access. It bypasses most cause-and-effect permissions.]
[You are within its defined scope.]
■ Dælos Descends
Without fanfare, the Warden landed.
The air grew dense, threads collapsing mid-spin. Webs turned to ash.
Even the Sovereign Core dimmed—like a candle threatened by a hurricane.
Dælos extended a single hand.
A gavel, floating midair, formed from pure administrative code.
"Yuto. Former Identity: Civilian-Class Mortal. Reincarnated through Unauthorized Spiral Linkage. Now bearer of Seraphiel's Contaminated Core."
"Your existence is in violation."
The gavel dropped.
Yuto didn't dodge. Couldn't.
The force behind the gavel wasn't kinetic—it was structural.
A blow meant to collapse what he was.
Pain screamed through every thread in his body.
His knees buckled. The Core shrieked inside his chest.
■ Inside the Sovereign Core
He dropped into the inner world—a storm of fractured glass and holy sigils.
Seraphiel was there.
But she wasn't calm anymore.
Her form was warping, blurring between a woman of wings and a swarm of spiraling truths.
"He came. Dælos… my jailer."
"Why is he so strong?" Yuto asked.
"Because he is Law. And I was the exception. I broke their rules—and now you wear my scar."
She stepped forward.
"You need more than my fragments. You need what I gave up."
[Do you accept: Forbidden Core Integration – Tier 2?]
[WARNING: This will awaken latent Seraphiel persona traces.]
[Loss of self: Risk Elevated (9%)]
Yuto's thoughts were chaos. Death was certain. His people were dying. The Vault would fall.
But this—
This was a chance to fight back.
"Do it."
■ Back in Reality
The Core screamed.
Light exploded from Yuto's chest, forcing Dælos to pause.
Chains rattled.
"Unauthorized Evolution? This is a second crime."
"Then write me a death sentence," Yuto growled.
[Forbidden Core Integration Complete]
→ New Skill: Thronebreaker's Aegis
→ Temporarily nullifies one system-based action or rule targeting you.
→ Cooldown: Variable. Risk of Divine Feedback: High.
Dælos moved again. The gavel shattered the ground around Yuto.
But this time, he activated Thronebreaker's Aegis—
—and the law bounced off.
Dælos tilted its head.
"Unacceptable."
It unleashed its true form—
—a towering amalgam of laws, verdicts, divine decrees, and forbidden scrolls.
"You are now classified as a Category Alpha Spiral Deviation."
"Finally," Yuto spat blood, rising to his full height. "I'm not just a bug anymore."
He activated Rewrite Pulse, layered with Seraphiel's divine imprint.
The Vault became a warzone of collapsing logic and reborn will.
Chains shattered.
Dælos took its first step backward.
The Hollow Kin rose again, emboldened.
This wasn't survival anymore.
It was resistance.
And Yuto, for the first time, looked less like a bug—
—and more like a god in the making.