Chapter 108 — The Soul Flame

The Bone Domain had become silent.

No army.

No formation.

No great magical furnace.

No countless blue flames filling the sky.

Only one figure remained.

The Bone Sovereign.

Its enormous skeletal body stood beneath the dead sky, glowing blue runes covering its bones.

At the center of its ribcage—

a massive Soul Flame burned.

It wasn't ordinary fire.

It didn't flicker with the wind.

It pulsed like a living heart.

Kael stood several dozen meters away.

The Darven Origin Blade rested in his hand.

The V-01X floated beside him.

His armor was nearly destroyed.

His mana was dangerously low.

And the Legendary Immortality timer continued falling.

[Legendary Immortality Remaining: 27:40:51]

Kael stared at the Sovereign.

“So the Furnace wasn't your real source.”

“No.”

The Sovereign lifted one hand.

Blue light gathered between its fingers.

“The Furnace stored what was separated from me.”

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“Then what exactly is that?”

He pointed toward the Soul Flame inside the creature's chest.

The Sovereign looked down.

“My existence.”

Kael became silent.

The Bone Sovereign continued.

“Body can be damaged.”

“Magic can be disrupted.”

“Authority can be severed.”

“But the Soul Flame is what makes me a Sovereign.”

Kael tightened his grip.

“Then that's the thing I need to defeat.”

The Sovereign smiled.

“You may try.”

The First Exchange

Kael moved first.

He didn't hesitate.

V-01X — Configuration I: Penetration.

A specialized round fired.

The Sovereign raised one hand.

A thin blue barrier appeared.

BOOM!

The projectile struck.

The barrier cracked.

But it held.

Kael immediately closed the distance.

The Origin Blade flashed.

CLANG!

The sword struck the barrier again.

A spiderweb of blue cracks spread across it.

The Sovereign moved its hand.

The barrier compressed.

The cracks disappeared.

Kael stepped back.

It can repair its Soul Barrier without the Furnace.

The Sovereign attacked.

A blue blade formed in its hand.

Kael blocked.

CLANG!

The impact shook his arms.

The Sovereign swung again.

Kael moved aside.

A third strike.

Kael ducked.

The fourth came from the opposite direction.

Kael jumped backward.

The Sovereign wasn't using a staff anymore.

It had transformed part of its Soul Flame into a weapon.

A sword.

No—

A spear.

The weapon changed shape in the middle of the attack.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

Soul manipulation.

He fired the V-01X.

The Sovereign twisted.

The shot missed.

The spear became a blade.

It struck.

Kael blocked.

BOOM!

He was pushed backward.

The weapon returned to spear form.

The Sovereign thrust.

Kael stepped sideways.

The spear extended several meters.

Kael barely avoided it.

He immediately attacked the ribcage.

The Origin Blade struck.

CLANG!

The blade didn't touch bone.

A layer of Soul energy stopped it.

Kael's expression changed.

“Your Soul Flame protects your entire body.”

“Yes.”

“Then breaking the body is pointless.”

“Yes.”

Kael smiled.

“Good.”

The Sovereign paused.

Kael lowered the Origin Blade.

“Then I'll stop attacking your body.”

Soul Flame Analysis

Kael retreated.

The Sovereign didn't pursue.

Instead, it waited.

Kael closed his eyes.

Mana Control.

Very little mana.

He couldn't afford a large technique.

So he used only the smallest possible amount.

He extended his perception.

The Soul Flame became clearer.

It had layers.

Outer flame.

Inner flame.

A core.

Then—

something else.

Kael frowned.

There was a thin black thread running through the blue Soul Flame.

He opened his eyes.

“There's something inside.”

The Sovereign's expression changed.

“You can see it?”

Kael pointed.

“A black thread.”

Silence.

The Sovereign looked down.

“That should be impossible.”

Kael smiled faintly.

“I'm getting used to hearing that.”

The Sovereign's voice became serious.

“Do not touch it.”

Kael's smile disappeared.

“That important?”

“It is not mine.”

Kael froze.

“What?”

The Sovereign looked directly at him.

“Something was embedded in my Soul long before you arrived.”

Kael stared.

“The central prison?”

“No.”

“The entity?”

“I don't know.”

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“How long?”

The Sovereign paused.

“Before I remember.”

That answer made Kael even more cautious.

The same unknown force that had interacted with the other prisons could be connected to the Bone Sovereign.

Kael had seen the black energy around the Shadow prison.

He had seen the central tower.

Now—

a black thread existed inside the Sovereign's Soul.

Kael lowered his blade.

“The prison contaminated you.”

The Sovereign shook its head.

“Not contaminated.”

“Then what?”

“Connected.”

Kael's expression darkened.

“To the thing inside the tower?”

The Sovereign looked toward the distant horizon.

“Yes.”

The Black Thread

Kael's mind moved rapidly.

The Shadow Lion had been connected to the central prison.

The Verdant Serpent had been connected.

The Bone Sovereign was connected too.

Three locks.

Three beasts.

And now all three had some connection to the central entity.

Maybe that was why defeating them destabilized the prison.

Maybe their Souls weren't merely part of the lock.

Maybe they were also anchors.

Kael looked at the Sovereign.

“If I remove that thread…”

“You may destroy me.”

“And if I leave it?”

“You may release something far worse.”

Kael took a breath.

“Then we have a problem.”

The Sovereign smiled.

“Yes.”

The blue Soul Flame suddenly intensified.

The black thread pulsed.

Kael felt something.

A presence.

Not the Sovereign.

Something deeper.

Something far away.

And then—

a whisper entered his mind.

“Darven.”

Kael froze.

The Sovereign immediately turned.

“You heard it.”

Kael looked at the creature.

“Yes.”

The voice came again.

“You continue breaking the locks.”

Kael's eyes hardened.

The black thread inside the Soul Flame pulsed.

“Good.”

Then silence.

Kael stared.

The Sovereign's Soul Flame flickered.

“That should not have happened.”

Kael tightened his grip.

“Who was that?”

“I don't know.”

“You're lying.”

“I am not.”

The Bone Sovereign looked genuinely uncertain for the first time.

Kael immediately understood.

The voice was separate from the Sovereign.

Separate from the Soul Flame.

Separate from the prison.

Something else was using the connection.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“Then I definitely need to cut it.”

Soul Severing

Kael charged.

The Sovereign attacked.

A Soul spear formed.

Kael moved sideways.

The spear followed.

He rotated.

The weapon transformed into a blade.

Kael blocked.

CLANG!

The Sovereign's other hand formed a spell.

Kael noticed.

He immediately fired the V-01X.

Mana Disruption.

The shot struck.

The spell collapsed.

Kael stepped forward.

The Origin Blade struck the Soul Barrier.

BOOM!

The barrier broke.

For a fraction of a second—

the Soul Flame was exposed.

Kael saw the black thread.

There.

He moved his sword toward it.

The Sovereign reacted instantly.

The entire Soul Flame exploded outward.

Kael was thrown backward.

The attack didn't feel like ordinary force.

It felt like pressure against his existence.

Kael hit the ground.

The System flashed.

[Soul pressure detected.]

[Resistance insufficient.]

Kael's vision blurred.

The Sovereign approached.

“You cannot cut what you don't understand.”

Kael slowly stood.

“Then I'll understand it.”

The Sovereign raised its hand.

A massive blue blade formed.

Kael charged.

The blades collided.

BOOM!

Kael's arms shook.

He redirected the attack.

The Sovereign attacked again.

Kael blocked.

The weapon changed form.

Spear.

Blade.

Hammer.

Whip.

Every shape formed from Soul energy.

Kael adapted.

Sword.

Metal Control.

Spatial movement.

He avoided the longest-range attacks.

Closed distance whenever possible.

Then—

he saw another opening.

The Soul weapon wasn't independent.

Every transformation began from the Soul Flame.

And every time it changed shape—

the black thread moved.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

There.

He had found the connection.

Not the weakness of the Bone Sovereign.

The weakness of the parasite.

The Origin Blade

Kael stepped backward.

He looked at the Origin Blade.

The blade was reacting.

A faint silver line appeared along its edge.

[Origin Resonance.]

[Current Compatibility: 8%]

Kael remembered the Verdant Serpent.

The blade had adapted to its energy.

Now—

it was reacting to Soul energy.

Kael raised the sword.

The Sovereign stared.

“Your weapon can recognize Soul energy.”

Kael nodded.

“Then I'll let it.”

He pushed the blade toward the Soul Flame.

Not enough to attack.

Only enough to connect.

The Origin Blade vibrated.

The Soul Flame responded.

Blue energy flowed into the weapon.

Kael gritted his teeth.

His entire arm became numb.

The System flashed.

[Foreign Soul Energy entering weapon.]

[Analysis beginning.]

[Origin Resonance: 8% → 11%]

Kael's eyes widened.

He didn't understand the information completely.

But he didn't need to.

The blade was learning.

The black thread suddenly recoiled.

The Sovereign's Soul Flame flickered.

Kael saw it.

The thread was afraid.

He smiled.

“Got you.”

The Sovereign raised its hand.

“Wait.”

Kael charged.

The Soul spear appeared.

Kael cut through it.

SLASH!

The spear split apart.

The Sovereign swung again.

Kael ducked.

The Origin Blade touched its chest.

A silver pulse spread through the Soul energy.

The black thread shrank.

The Sovereign froze.

The System appeared.

[Foreign Soul Authority identified.]

[Classification: Unknown.]

[Purification possible: 4%.]

Kael's eyes widened.

“Only four percent?”

The Sovereign answered quietly.

“That is enough.”

The Second Soul

Kael immediately changed his strategy.

He didn't attack the Sovereign.

He attacked the black thread.

Every movement was precise.

The Origin Blade touched the Soul Flame.

Silver resonance spread.

The black thread recoiled.

The Sovereign counterattacked.

Kael dodged.

Another cut.

Another.

The thread became smaller.

4%.

6%.

9%.

The Sovereign's attacks became more aggressive.

Kael died.

Five seconds later—

he returned.

The black thread remained in the Sovereign.

But Kael knew the exact position.

He attacked.

The Sovereign predicted it.

It created a Soul Barrier.

Kael didn't attack the barrier.

He attacked the ground.

Metal fragments rose.

The barrier shifted.

Kael used the opening.

Origin Blade.

SLASH!

The silver resonance spread.

[Foreign Soul Authority: 9% → 15%]

The black thread shrank.

The Sovereign staggered.

The creature looked surprised.

“You are purifying it.”

Kael nodded.

“I think so.”

“But if you remove it completely…”

“You'll lose part of your Soul.”

The Sovereign remained silent.

That was the answer.

Kael stopped.

“So you've been carrying it for thousands of years.”

“Yes.”

“Then removing it could kill you.”

“Yes.”

Kael looked at the black thread.

The thing inside it was connected to the central prison.

Removing it might free the Sovereign.

Or destroy it.

There was no guaranteed result.

The Sovereign looked at Kael.

“Now you understand.”

Kael slowly lowered his sword.

“You don't want me to remove it.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because it may be the reason I can still remember the truth.”

Kael frowned.

“The truth about what?”

“The prison.”

The Sovereign looked toward the black tower.

“The first Darven did not build the prison.”

Kael froze.

The Sovereign continued.

“He discovered it.”

Kael's eyes widened.

“Then who built it?”

The Sovereign's Soul Flame flickered.

“I do not know.”

“And the black thread?”

“I believe it was placed there by whoever built the central prison.”

Kael stared.

“Why?”

The Sovereign didn't answer.

Instead—

the black thread suddenly moved.

It wrapped around the Soul Flame.

The Sovereign froze.

The System flashed.

[Foreign Soul Authority activity detected.]

[Warning.]

[Unknown entity attempting remote synchronization.]

Kael's expression changed.

The black thread wasn't passive.

Something was controlling it.

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

“Get ready.”

The Sovereign immediately understood.

“What are you going to do?”

“Cut the connection.”

“That could kill me.”

Kael looked directly at it.

“I know.”

The Sovereign remained still.

Then—

it nodded.

“Do it.”

The Severance

Kael charged.

The Sovereign didn't defend itself.

It opened its Soul Flame.

The black thread became fully visible.

Kael saw the connection.

A black line extending from the Sovereign's Soul toward somewhere beyond the domain.

Toward the central tower.

Kael's expression hardened.

“So that's the link.”

The Sovereign answered.

“Yes.”

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

The sword began glowing silver.

[Origin Resonance: 15%]

Kael didn't have enough power to destroy the thread.

But he didn't need to.

He only needed to sever one section.

He moved.

The black thread reacted.

A wave of pressure struck him.

Kael continued.

Another.

Another.

His body shook.

The pressure intensified.

He could feel the entity resisting.

Kael's eyes hardened.

“You're not stopping me.”

The pressure increased.

Kael's vision blurred.

He died.

Five seconds later.

He returned.

The pressure remained.

The connection remained.

But Kael now knew exactly where to strike.

He charged again.

The Sovereign remained still.

The black thread became visible.

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

SLASH!

The blade struck.

Nothing.

The thread resisted.

Kael's arms shook.

The System flashed.

[Origin Resonance insufficient.]

Kael gritted his teeth.

“Then I'll increase it.”

Metal Control activated.

The broken staff fragment rose from the ground.

The damaged Soul Furnace fragments.

Ancient metal.

Verdant metal residue from his equipment.

Every compatible material within reach.

They flew toward the Origin Blade.

The weapon absorbed them.

Its edge changed.

Silver.

Blue.

Green.

Three energies combined.

The blade became brighter.

[Adaptive Edge activated.]

[Multi-Attribute Resonance detected.]

[Origin Resonance: 15% → 19%]

Kael's eyes widened.

He stepped forward.

The black thread reacted violently.

The Sovereign's Soul Flame shook.

Kael swung.

SLASH!

The thread split.

A silent shockwave spread across the Bone Domain.

Everything stopped.

The blue Soul Flame froze.

The black thread separated.

One half remained inside the Sovereign.

The other disappeared toward the distant black tower.

Kael stood motionless.

The System flashed.

[Foreign Soul Connection Severed.]

[External Authority: Removed.]

[Bone Sovereign: Stabilized.]

The Sovereign's body trembled.

Then—

the blue Soul Flame became calm.

For the first time—

the Bone Sovereign looked peaceful.

Kael lowered the sword.

“Are you alive?”

The Sovereign looked at him.

“Yes.”

Kael exhaled.

“Good.”

Then the entire world shook.

BOOM!

Kael turned.

The black tower in the distance released a massive pulse.

The severed black thread had returned to it.

The central prison had reacted.

The Sovereign looked toward the tower.

“It knows.”

Kael's expression became serious.

“It knows what?”

“That you cut the connection.”

The ground cracked.

The System appeared.

[Central Containment Integrity: 61% → 48%]

Kael's eyes widened.

“Forty-eight percent?”

The Sovereign raised its head.

“The third lock is failing.”

Kael stared.

“You mean you?”

“Yes.”

The Bone Sovereign looked at itself.

Its Soul Flame remained stable.

Its connection to the tower was gone.

But the prison was losing its final stabilizer.

Kael tightened his grip.

“So defeating you…”

“Will continue the collapse.”

Kael looked toward the tower.

“And if I don't?”

The Sovereign answered:

“The entity remains hidden.”

Kael was silent.

Then another message appeared.

[Three Legendary Beast Locks: Shadow — Defeated.]

[Verdant — Defeated.]

[Bone — Pending.]

[Central Prison Stability: 48%.]

Kael's expression hardened.

The Beast had not been defeated yet.

But the battle had changed.

The Bone Sovereign looked at him.

“You severed the foreign connection.”

Kael nodded.

“You preserved my Soul.”

Kael lowered the blade.

“What happens now?”

The Sovereign looked toward the central black tower.

“Now we fight.”

Kael frowned.

“We've already been fighting.”

“No.”

The Bone Sovereign raised its hand.

The blue Soul Flame expanded.

Not outward.

Inward.

The entire wasteland seemed to disappear.

Kael's vision went dark.

Then—

he found himself standing somewhere else.

A vast blue space.

No ground.

No sky.

Only endless Soul Flame.

The Bone Sovereign stood before him.

Its voice echoed from every direction.

“This is my true domain.”

Kael stared.

The System appeared.

[Unique Domain detected.]

[Soul Realm.]

[Entry condition: Soul synchronization.]

[External equipment effectiveness: Reduced.]

Kael's eyes widened.

His weapons had disappeared.

The V-01X.

The Origin Blade.

Everything.

Only his body remained.

The Bone Sovereign looked at him.

“Your greatest strength is your weapons.”

Kael clenched his fists.

“Yes.”

“Your Metal Control.”

“Yes.”

“Your immortality.”

“Yes.”

The Sovereign raised one hand.

“All of them are weakened here.”

Kael stared.

“So you finally found a battlefield where I can't rely on my usual advantages.”

The Sovereign smiled.

“Yes.”

Kael slowly raised his fists.

“Then this should be interesting.”

The Soul Realm trembled.

The Bone Sovereign disappeared.

Kael heard its voice behind him.

“Survive.”

He turned.

A massive blue blade descended.

Kael jumped.

The attack passed beneath him.

He landed.

Another came from the side.

He moved.

Another from above.

He ducked.

The battle had begun.

But this time—

Kael had no weapons.

No Metal Control.

No battlefield to manipulate.

Only his body.

His instincts.

His experience.

And the knowledge gathered from every death.

The Bone Sovereign attacked again.

Kael stepped forward.

And for the first time in the entire Legendary Beast Hunt—

Kael fought completely alone.