The air was thick — almost liquid — as Hayate descended deeper into the shattered temple. The stone pillars leaned like broken teeth, and the ceiling dripped with a crimson mist that pulsed in time with his heartbeat. His every step echoed through the hollow ruins, swallowed by an otherworldly silence.
At the heart of the hall stood a massive obsidian throne, cracked and ancient. Behind it, faint light leaked through stained glass depicting a woman draped in black and gold — her crown fractured, her eyes empty.
The Revenant Queen.
[System Notice: You have entered — Trial Domain: The Revenant Queen's Sanctum.][Warning: All previous buffs are nullified.][Only the soul may decide the outcome.]
Hayate tightened his grip on his blade. The weapon thrummed with eerie warmth — the same power that had once saved him from death.
"I've fought monsters, gods, and even my own reflection…" he muttered. "But this… feels different."
A voice, gentle yet cold, slithered through the air.
"So, you've come to claim the power that devoured me."
A figure emerged from the shadows — tall, regal, and draped in flowing tatters of shadow. Her long hair moved like smoke, and her eyes burned with ancient sorrow.
"Revenant Queen…?" Hayate whispered.
"Once, I was," she replied. "Now, I am only a curse — waiting to test those foolish enough to seek my crown."
The temple trembled as spectral chains burst from the ground, binding Hayate's limbs. His blade clattered against the floor, shattering into fragments of red light.
[System Notice: Weapon Disabled. Soul Resonance Trial Initiated.]
"Damn it!" He strained against the chains, but they cut into his skin like molten wire. Pain shot through his nerves — but beneath it, something stirred.
"Pain is the proof of existence," the Queen whispered. "Show me yours."
Images flashed — his classmates laughing as he was cast into the dungeon, the Evil Goddess smiling as she sealed the portal, and the endless nights of screaming silence.
Each memory carved into him like a blade.
Yet instead of breaking, he laughed.
A low, feral sound that echoed like thunder.
"Is that all?" Hayate growled, crimson light bleeding from his wounds. "You think my pain defines me? I became pain."
The chains shattered.
[System Update: Soul Limit Broken.]
[New Trait Unlocked: Revenant Resonance (Stage 1)]
The Queen blinked — for the first time, uncertainty flickered across her ghostly face."Impossible… No mortal should bear my essence…"
Hayate raised his hand, black and red flames swirling around his palm. "Then maybe I'm no longer mortal."
They clashed.
The temple erupted in a maelstrom of dark energy. Each strike of Hayate's blade tore through illusions of forgotten worlds. The Queen's laughter echoed as she split into a thousand shadows, each bearing her sorrow, her rage, her curse.
Hayate's eyes gleamed with the madness of one who had seen too much death to fear it.
He moved faster — his blade cleaving through specters, the system's voice a constant rhythm in his head.
[Enemy Core: Severed.]
[Soul Integrity: 42% Remaining.]
[Warning: Overexertion Detected.]
But he didn't stop.
As her final form rose — a colossal wraith crowned in obsidian flame — Hayate's body was breaking, his spirit fraying. And still… he smiled.
"You wanted proof of my existence, right?" he said through bloodied lips. "Then watch — as I burn the world that betrayed me."
With a final roar, he plunged his sword into his own chest — channeling every ounce of rage, sorrow, and defiance into one blinding surge.
[System Fusion Activated: Revenant Core Assimilation — 97%...]
[99%...]
[100% — SUCCESS.]
The explosion of red-gold energy vaporized the chamber. When the dust settled, Hayate stood alone — his armor cracked, his blade now pulsing with a heartbeat of its own.
The Queen's voice lingered — softer, almost peaceful.
"You have inherited my curse… and my throne. May you wield despair as your crown."
Then she was gone.
Hayate sank to one knee, his vision flickering as the System chimed again.
[New Title Acquired: Heir of the Revenant Queen.]
[Quest Updated: The Goddess' Chains – One Broken, Four Remain.]
A faint whisper drifted through the void — the Evil Goddess's voice, low and venomous.
"You amuse me, little mortal. Let's see how far you can crawl before I crush you again."
Hayate's lips curved into a cold smirk. "You can try."
The light faded. The throne behind him gleamed once more — and upon it rested a single petal of black flame.
He reached out. The moment his fingers brushed it—
[Warning: Power Surge Detected].
[Next Trial Unlocked — Memory of the Fallen Star.]
The temple dissolved into darkness.