The world burned in silence.
There were no screams. No thunderous roars. No clashing steel or divine proclamations. Just silence… as if the universe had held its breath, refusing to speak of what transpired that day.
Through the fractured lens of time, Null stood—not as himself—but as someone else. A vessel, observing a Sovereign memory buried in the grave of the world's forgotten truths.
The colosseum was no longer ruins. It stood pristine, its architecture impossibly vast. Spiraling towers forged from raw law and mana stretched skyward. Each stone brick carried the weight of nations—inscribed with runes that pulsed like beating hearts.
Thousands of figures stood in the arena—some clad in armor of starlight, others shrouded in elemental storms. They were Sovereigns. Each one a concept, a dominion, a god in their own right.
And at the center of it all stood him.
Or rather, what he once was.
A figure draped in a mantle of shadowlight, with wings that dripped cosmic ichor. His face was concealed behind a cracked white mask that bled threads of gold, and his very presence distorted reality. He didn't walk—he willed himself through space. He didn't speak—he declared existence.
That was the Hollow Sovereign.
And he was being betrayed.
[MEMORY SYNCHRONIZATION 78% COMPLETE][WARNING: ANCESTRAL ECHOES MAY CAUSE IDENTITY FLUCTUATION]
A voice echoed in Null's mind—not his own, not the system's, but the Sovereign's. Calm. Controlled. Angry.
"They feared my silence more than their screams."
He—no, it—looked at the gathered Sovereigns.
Each one had turned against him.
Sovereigns of Time, Flame, Blood, Law, Dreams, Death, and more… each had once called him brother, rival, comrade.
Now, they encircled him like predators.
"You brought decay," the Sovereign of Flame shouted, his voice like burning suns. "You devoured the boundaries we fought to preserve."
"You erased meaning," whispered the Sovereign of Dreams. "Even nightmares need a foundation. You... hollowed them."
"You sought to become the Epoch itself," spat the Sovereign of Time. "We cannot let that stand."
The Hollow Sovereign said nothing.
Instead, he raised his hand—and the world responded.
The sky inverted. Day collapsed into night. Stars fell like raindrops of despair. The ground twisted into a vortex of entropy, swallowing meaning and law alike.
[HOLLOW SOVEREIGN ABILITY: NULLITY DOMAIN – ACTIVATED][Effect: Suppresses All Concepts, Skills, and Time-Based Actions Within Radius][System Interference Detected – LOGIC REJECTION PROTOCOL ONLINE]
One by one, the other Sovereigns unleashed their full might.
The Sovereign of Flame cast Eternal Starbirth, creating a sun that collapsed into a black hole.The Sovereign of Time unleashed Chrono-Lock, freezing moments into crystalline weapons.The Sovereign of Dreams invoked Lucid Collapse, warping thoughts into reality.The Sovereign of Law summoned Final Judgement, a blade of all rules past and present.
The Hollow Sovereign received it all—barely moving.
And then, he retaliated.
He whispered one word: "Unmake."
The concept of 'structure' died.
Mountains fell flat. Castles crumbled. Reality shattered like a broken mirror. Even the idea of combat faltered as time lost meaning and direction.
[SYSTEM ERROR: BASE CODE VIOLATION DETECTED][SYSTEM ERROR: Concept "Reality" Temporarily Nullified][Emergency Reboot Engaged…]
But even he could not hold that power forever.
As the Sovereigns bled and screamed, a hidden figure appeared above the arena—one cloaked in the colors of twilight and bound by ten chains of contradiction. A being neither alive nor dead, known in whispers as the Paradox Architect.
"I'm sorry, Null," it said with genuine pain. "You weren't meant to wake up. Not yet."
The Hollow Sovereign turned to face it—but too late.
The chains tightened, glowing with the rules of existence: You cannot kill what isn't born.You cannot rule what cannot be named.You cannot be where you never were.
And then—he fell.
Not slain. Not banished.
Erased.
The memory collapsed into a void of static.
Null awoke in the ruins of the colosseum, gasping.
Sweat clung to his skin like oil. His heartbeat was erratic, and for the first time in years, he felt something unfamiliar.
Fear.
Not of death. But of himself.
"I was that," he whispered, voice trembling. "I…"
He didn't know what to say. There was no one to answer.
Only the system.
[MEMORY SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE – 100%][SOVEREIGN MEMORY ABSORBED: "Epoch Collapse – Day of Betrayal"][New Passive Unlocked: Sovereign Echo]— While within Hollow Domain, gain +300% resistance to conceptual attacks and negate one absolute law per minute.[New Title Gained: Epoch Remnant]
He stood slowly, his legs unsteady. The power from the memory coursed through his veins like wildfire, but it didn't calm him. It agitated the Hollow Core inside his chest. It wanted more. It demanded completion.
"Why was I betrayed?"
[SYSTEM RESPONSE: Due to Incomplete Sovereign Status, Access to Full Historical Archives is Denied]
Of course.
But it was clear now. He hadn't always been a monster.
He had been a ruler. Feared, yes. But respected.
And then… betrayed by those he trusted.
Just like the mortal world.
He clenched his fists. Around him, the air warped once more. The ruins of the colosseum withered further as his Hollow Domain leaked unintentionally.
He didn't have the full picture yet. But he had a direction.
The other Sovereigns… their legacies must still exist, buried in the forbidden zones. Their memories, relics, even echoes might remain.
He would devour them all.
And with each, reclaim a piece of who he once was.
"I will become more than Sovereign," he whispered, voice low, determined. "I will become the Epoch itself."
The sky cracked again—this time, in acknowledgment.
Far away, across distant lands, ancient relics pulsed in forgotten tombs. Temples that had not seen footsteps in eons vibrated with fear. And the Tribunal of Bound Concepts paused.
They would have to act soon.
The Hollow had begun to walk again.