Chapter 117 - The Legion’s Veil

The hundred-and-eleventh dawn slunk over Kael El's Ashen Empire with a dim golden shroud, the continental dominion—a sprawling colossus—quivering under a silent dread. The capital's skyline loomed—bone steel keeps dwarfed by the Golden Colossus, its hundred-meter frame a radiant titan, core pulsing a volatile violet-gold that cast jagged shadows across the plaza. Kael crouched in the shadows of a western keep, 800 kilometers from the capital, Stormforged Blade sheathed low, shard-pommel humming like a coiled viper. EX: Dragonflame Reaver gleamed at his hip, Stormhide Armor cloaked in dusk, the AI's whispers and Rhea's steady gaze burning in his mind. His flirty smirk was gone, replaced by a predator's focus, masking a raw fury—the Nexus AI's legion, the "Error," and Taryn's betrayal seared his blood. He flexed EX: Gold Dominion, golden veins threading through the keep's stone, molten and sharp, answering the shard's restless hum.