Chapter 112 — The Three Soul Flames

Three blue-white flames surrounded Kael.

One hovered above him.

One remained to his left.

One remained to his right.

The Bone Sovereign itself stood in the center of the formation.

Kael's Soul Sight revealed something strange.

The three flames were not independent.

Thin lines of energy connected them.

Almost invisible.

But they were there.

Kael tightened his grip around the Darven Origin Blade.

“So they're still one.”

The Bone Sovereign smiled.

“Obviously.”

“Then why split?”

“To remove the weaknesses of a single mind.”

Kael narrowed his eyes.

The three flames moved simultaneously.

The first attacked from above.

The second from the left.

The third remained still.

Kael jumped.

The first flame became a blade.

Kael blocked.

CLANG!

The second flame transformed into a spear.

It thrust toward his side.

Kael twisted.

The spear passed beneath his arm.

Then the third flame moved.

A wave of Soul energy struck from behind.

Kael barely turned.

The Origin Blade blocked.

BOOM!

He was pushed several meters backward.

Kael landed.

His eyes sharpened.

Three attacks.

Three separate angles.

But one strategy.

The three flames moved again.

Kael didn't attack.

He watched.

One attacked.

Another followed.

The third waited.

Then—

the first retreated.

The second advanced.

The third attacked from the blind spot.

Kael moved through the gap.

A blade passed beside his face.

A spear followed.

Kael ducked.

The third flame tried to intercept.

Kael stepped over the attack.

He had found something.

The flames didn't merely coordinate.

They rotated roles.

Attacker.

Support.

Punisher.

Then repeat.

Kael smiled.

“Interesting.”

The Bone Sovereign's voice echoed through all three flames.

“You've already noticed.”

“I've noticed the pattern.”

“Then break it.”

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

“With pleasure.”

The First Counter

Kael rushed toward the left flame.

The three immediately reacted.

The left flame attacked.

The upper flame repositioned.

The right flame prepared to intercept.

Exactly as Kael expected.

He suddenly stopped.

The left flame's attack passed him.

The right flame moved into position.

Kael pivoted.

The Origin Blade swung toward the space between them.

SLASH!

The blade didn't strike either flame.

It struck the invisible connection between them.

The Soul link vibrated.

All three flames flickered simultaneously.

Kael's eyes widened.

“Found it.”

The Bone Sovereign's expression changed.

“You see the links.”

“With Soul Sight.”

Kael pointed his sword.

“The three flames aren't truly separate.”

“No.”

“They're connected through synchronization points.”

“Yes.”

“And every time one moves too far from the others…”

Kael smiled.

“The network stretches.”

The Sovereign's blue eyes burned brighter.

“Correct.”

Kael charged.

He didn't target the flames.

He targeted their connections.

The Origin Blade cut.

SLASH!

A silver wave traveled through one link.

The three flames staggered.

Kael followed.

Another.

SLASH!

Another link flickered.

The Bone Sovereign immediately changed formation.

The flames pulled closer together.

Kael stopped.

“That was fast.”

“I learn.”

Kael smiled.

“So do I.”

One Mind, Three Bodies

The Sovereign attacked.

Kael blocked the first strike.

The second attacked immediately.

Kael moved.

The third arrived.

Kael countered.

The fight accelerated.

Kael's Soul Sight showed everything.

The three flames didn't simply coordinate through signals.

They shared information.

One saw an attack.

The other two already knew.

One defended.

The others automatically adjusted.

Every movement was synchronized.

Kael realized why ordinary attacks were failing.

He couldn't defeat one flame.

Every injury was instantly compensated by the others.

If one was weakened—

another took its place.

If one was cornered—

the other two created an escape.

Three bodies.

One consciousness.

Kael stepped backward.

He needed to break the shared consciousness.

Not the flames.

The connection.

The Origin Blade hummed.

[Soul structure detected.]

[Shared consciousness network detected.]

[Analysis: 13%]

Kael's eyes widened.

The System was helping him understand it.

But there was a problem.

The three flames were adapting too.

The first flame suddenly stopped attacking.

The second moved forward.

The third disappeared.

Kael's expression changed.

They changed the formation.

The missing flame reappeared behind him.

Kael spun.

Too slow.

BOOM!

A Soul strike hit his back.

He flew forward.

The second flame attacked.

Kael blocked.

The first attacked.

He moved.

Then the hidden third flame struck again.

Kael's defense broke.

He died.

Five seconds later—

Kael reformed.

The three flames remained.

Kael didn't move.

He simply stared.

The attack pattern had changed.

He replayed it mentally.

The first stopped.

The second advanced.

The third vanished.

Then—

the third attacked from behind.

Kael's expression slowly changed.

“They're not rotating anymore.”

The Bone Sovereign answered.

“No.”

“You're using predictive formation.”

“Yes.”

The three flames moved again.

Kael didn't wait.

He charged the center.

The flames immediately shifted.

Kael smiled.

“Then I'll make prediction useless.”

Chaos

Kael deliberately changed his rhythm.

No repeated attack sequence.

No fixed movement.

No predictable retreat.

He attacked left.

Then suddenly stopped.

He moved right.

Then forward.

Then backward.

The Origin Blade changed angles constantly.

Metal Control moved the sword independently of his body.

The Bone Sovereign's three flames struggled to maintain prediction.

One blocked.

Another countered.

The third arrived late.

Kael attacked the delayed flame.

SLASH!

A crack appeared.

For the first time—

one of the flames visibly weakened.

The Sovereign reacted immediately.

The other two flames merged toward it.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“That's it.”

They had a weakness.

When one flame was damaged—

the other two automatically protected it.

Which meant—

all three were dependent.

Kael attacked again.

The flame retreated.

The others moved.

Kael followed.

The network tightened.

Kael suddenly switched targets.

He attacked the connecting line.

SLASH!

The shared network flickered.

The damaged flame was forced to remain separate.

The other two couldn't reinforce it.

The Bone Sovereign's expression darkened.

“You're trying to isolate one.”

“Yes.”

“You won't succeed.”

“We'll see.”

Kael attacked the same point.

The Origin Blade resonated.

SLASH!

The connection weakened.

The flame flickered.

[Soul Flame Synchronization: 100% → 83%]

Kael's eyes widened.

The Sovereign immediately attacked.

Kael blocked.

CLANG!

Another.

He moved.

Another.

Kael countered.

The isolated flame tried to reconnect.

Kael prevented it.

The battle changed again.

Now—

Kael was fighting one flame while the other two tried to restore the network.

It was a battle of precision.

Kael's Soul Sight tracked the invisible connections.

His body adapted to the pressure.

His Origin Blade cut the links.

The Sovereign repeatedly changed the network.

Kael repeatedly analyzed it.

Neither side could gain a decisive advantage.

Evolution Progress

Minutes passed.

Kael's body continued adapting.

[Soul Resistance: 54% → 57%]

[Soul Sight refinement: Increasing]

[Evolution Progress: 2.0% → 2.3%]

The changes were small.

But Kael felt them.

His perception had become sharper.

The blue flames no longer seemed like simple masses of energy.

He could now see structure.

Density.

Flow.

Weak points.

Synchronization.

He could even see moments where the Sovereign's Soul energy briefly became unstable.

The Bone Sovereign noticed.

“You are seeing more.”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

Kael smiled.

“Enough.”

The Sovereign's three flames suddenly merged.

Kael's expression changed.

The flames disappeared into one another.

The Bone Sovereign returned to a single Soul form.

Kael immediately became cautious.

“Why merge?”

The Sovereign answered:

“To remind you of something.”

“What?”

“That separation was never my weakness.”

The Soul Flame compressed.

The pressure became overwhelming.

“The weakness…”

The flame became smaller.

Denser.

More concentrated.

“…was that you thought it was.”

The compressed Soul Flame vanished.

Kael's Soul Sight lost track of it.

His eyes widened.

Too dense.

The Bone Sovereign appeared directly in front of him.

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

BOOM!

He was thrown backward.

The creature moved again.

Kael barely blocked.

A second impact.

A third.

The Sovereign was faster than before.

Not because of greater raw power.

Because the divided processing had been recombined.

Every movement was perfectly synchronized.

Kael struggled to keep up.

The Sovereign attacked from multiple angles with one body.

No delayed transitions.

No coordination gap.

No wasted movement.

Kael blocked.

The attack changed.

He dodged.

Another.

He moved.

Another.

The Sovereign struck.

Kael died.

Five seconds later—

Kael reformed.

He stood still.

The Sovereign waited.

“You cannot overpower me.”

Kael nodded.

“Correct.”

“You cannot outpace me.”

“Correct.”

“You cannot rely on your weapons.”

Kael looked at the Origin Blade.

“Mostly correct.”

The Sovereign's blue eyes narrowed.

Kael smiled.

“But you forgot one thing.”

“What?”

Kael pointed toward the creature's chest.

“You can't hide from Soul Sight anymore.”

The Core Beneath the Core

Kael closed his eyes.

Soul Sight activated.

This time—

he didn't look at the outer Soul Flame.

He looked deeper.

Through the armor.

Through the compressed Soul.

Beyond the visible energy.

He searched.

One layer.

Two.

Three.

Then—

something tiny.

A point of light.

Deep inside the Soul Flame.

Kael froze.

There.

The true Soul Core.

The Sovereign had compressed everything around it.

The outer Soul could be changed.

The weapons could change.

The armor could change.

But the central core remained.

Kael opened his eyes.

“I found it.”

The Sovereign became silent.

“You found what?”

“The real you.”

For the first time—

the Bone Sovereign didn't answer.

Kael charged.

The Sovereign attacked.

Kael dodged.

The Origin Blade moved.

The Soul weapon blocked.

Kael didn't strike the weapon.

He struck the energy behind it.

The blade passed through the outer Soul layer.

The Sovereign reacted.

Too late.

Kael's sword reached the core.

CLANG!

A massive shockwave erupted.

Kael flew backward.

The Sovereign staggered.

The entire Soul Realm flickered.

The System flashed.

[True Soul Core detected.]

[Core Integrity: 100%]

[Contact achieved.]

Kael's eyes widened.

A new message appeared.

[Direct Soul Core interaction available.]

The Sovereign stared at him.

“You should not be able to do that.”

Kael wiped the dust from his shoulder.

“Apparently I can.”

The Bone Sovereign looked at the Origin Blade.

Then at Kael.

“Your sword…”

Kael stared at it too.

The blade's silver edge was now faintly blue.

[Origin Resonance: 24% → 29%]

Kael smiled.

“It recognized your core.”

The Sovereign's Soul Flame flickered.

“That sword is becoming something else.”

Kael's expression became serious.

“It already has.”

The Sovereign's True Weakness

The fight resumed.

Kael no longer targeted the outer Soul Flame.

He aimed for the core.

The Sovereign defended it relentlessly.

Every attack became sharper.

Every movement more dangerous.

But Kael had an objective now.

The battle was no longer about damage.

It was about access.

He needed to touch the core.

Just once.

Twice.

Three times.

Every successful contact disrupted the Sovereign's Soul structure.

[Core Integrity: 100% → 96%]

The Sovereign attacked.

Kael died.

Reformation.

Another attempt.

96% → 92%

The Sovereign adapted.

Kael changed his approach.

Another death.

92% → 89%

The Sovereign changed again.

Kael learned.

The process repeated.

Death.

Reformation.

Analysis.

Attack.

The timer continued.

[Legendary Immortality Remaining: 18:42:17]

The Sovereign's Core Integrity:

89%.

84%.

81%.

Kael's Evolution Progress:

2.3%.

2.6%.

2.9%.

The longer they fought—

the more Kael's body changed.

His Soul Resistance increased.

His perception sharpened.

His understanding of the Sovereign deepened.

But the Sovereign was also learning.

Its attack patterns became increasingly unpredictable.

It began hiding the core at different positions.

Moving it.

Creating false cores.

Kael's Soul Sight had to distinguish the real one.

One mistake—

and he died.

Again.

And again.

And again.

The False Core

The Sovereign created five Soul cores.

Kael stared.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

All looked identical.

The System couldn't distinguish them.

[Multiple Soul Cores detected.]

[Analysis failed.]

Kael frowned.

“Five…”

The Sovereign smiled.

“Which one is real?”

Kael looked carefully.

All five pulsed.

All five had the same energy.

All five responded to movement.

Kael closed his eyes.

He stopped looking.

Soul Sight changed.

He focused on connection instead of appearance.

The fake cores were connected to the outer Soul network.

The real core—

was connected directly to the Sovereign's consciousness.

Kael smiled.

“There.”

One of the five connections was different.

The Sovereign realized.

“No.”

Kael attacked.

The Origin Blade pierced the illusion.

The four false cores shattered.

The fifth remained.

CLANG!

Kael's blade reached the real Soul Core.

The Sovereign recoiled.

[Core Integrity: 81% → 72%]

Kael's eyes widened.

A massive drop.

He had finally found the true weakness.

But—

the Bone Sovereign smiled.

Kael froze.

“You found it.”

The Sovereign raised one hand.

The Soul Realm darkened.

“And now…”

The ground beneath Kael disappeared.

He fell.

Not downward.

Somewhere deeper.

His Soul Sight showed layers of blue darkness.

A second realm beneath the first.

Kael's expression changed.

“What is this?”

The Sovereign's voice echoed.

“My Soul Core.”

Kael's eyes widened.

“You brought me inside it?”

“Yes.”

The darkness became enormous.

Kael found himself standing in a vast blue chamber.

At its center—

a massive Soul Core.

Far larger than he had expected.

But there was something else.

Behind the Core—

the black thread.

Not severed.

Not gone.

It was still there.

But now Kael could see its true form.

It wasn't a thread.

It was a chain.

A black chain wrapped around the Soul Core.

And one end of it extended into the distance.

Toward the central tower.

Kael stared.

The Bone Sovereign appeared beside him.

“This…”

Kael's voice became quiet.

“This is the real prison.”

The Sovereign nodded.

“Now you understand.”

Kael looked at the black chain.

The System flashed.

[Ancient Soul Chain detected.]

[Function: Unknown.]

[Origin: Unknown.]

[Connection: Central Prison.]

Then another message appeared.

[Warning.]

[Direct interaction prohibited.]

Kael stared at it.

The Sovereign looked toward the chain.

“If that chain breaks…”

Kael finished the sentence.

“The central prison opens.”

“Yes.”

Kael lowered the Origin Blade.

“So I can't destroy your Core.”

“No.”

“And I can't destroy the chain.”

“No.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

The Sovereign looked directly at him.

“Defeat me…”

“…without breaking either.”

Kael stared.

The task had become clear.

He wasn't fighting to destroy the Bone Sovereign.

He had to suppress it.

Without destroying its Soul Core.

Without breaking the Ancient Soul Chain.

Just like the Shadow Lion.

Just like the Verdant Serpent.

Another prison rule.

Another impossible balance.

Kael smiled.

“Fine.”

He raised the Origin Blade.

“I've done impossible before.”

The Bone Sovereign's Soul Flame burned brighter.

“Then prove it.”

The Soul Chamber trembled.

The timer continued.

[Legendary Immortality Remaining: 17:58:03]

Kael stepped forward.

The true final battle had finally begun.

Not against the Bone Sovereign's body.

Not against its Soul Flame.

But against the ancient Soul structure that had imprisoned it for thousands of years.