DEMON SOVEREIGN'S REIGN

The throne beneath Liu Shen wasn't crafted from any known material—it pulsed with a weight that bent laws. Black crystal bones intertwined with dying stars, and the seat itself trembled with dormant authority. The moment he sat, something ancient stirred—recognizing his essence, his bloodline, his rebellion.

A gust of void wind swept across the floating cliff, stirring Meixing's hair and forcing Lei Qing to brace himself. Even Zhao Ying drew back a step, her eyes narrowed in awe.

"Is that… an Abyssal Throne?" she muttered.

"No," Liu Shen replied calmly. "It's the Abyssal Throne. The first."

The Abyss responded.

A low hum echoed across the land, waking the sleeping fragments of an empire long buried. Below them, the continent shifted—towers of obsidian flame sparked to life, runes on mountains pulsed like heartbeats, and rivers of dark essence surged through gravity-defying channels.

Then, lights appeared—twelve in total—on the horizon, scattered across the impossible landscape.

Beacons.

"Those are Abyssal Beacons," Meixing murmured, voice trembling. "Each one represents a sealed domain of authority."

Liu Shen nodded. "They were created to counterbalance the divine thrones. Long ago, before the heavens erased the memory of this place."

Lei Qing squinted. "What happens if we claim one?"

"The world shifts," Zhao Ying answered, expression grim. "And the heavens tremble."

Liu Shen rose from the throne. "Then we begin with the closest one."

The others followed without hesitation. With a flick of his sleeve, Liu Shen summoned the Abyssal current—a flow of corrupted space that moved faster than teleportation. They were whisked away, soaring above a sky littered with dead constellations and shattered divine corpses.

As they neared the first beacon, a fortress rose from the horizon—a massive spiral tower resting upon the back of a petrified beast. The beacon pulsed at its peak, enclosed within layers of spatial prisons.

They descended in silence.

"I feel something watching us," Lei Qing muttered.

"Guardians," Meixing replied. "Each beacon has one."

"Not just any guardians," Zhao Ying added, her voice dark. "These are remnants of Sovereigns who failed. Their wills are twisted… but their strength is real."

As if summoned by her words, a roar split the sky.

From the heart of the spiral tower leapt a colossal figure—half-dragon, half-void, cloaked in armor etched with dying tongues. Its eyes were empty sockets filled with abyssal fire.

The Guardian landed with enough force to crack the surrounding space.

"Challenger," it growled, "You are not worthy."

Liu Shen didn't reply with words.

He stepped forward.

His aura erupted—demonic qi infused with Abyssal law, the mark of dusk glowing like a second sun on his forehead. The very ground beneath the Guardian twisted, reacting violently to his presence.

"You who were forgotten," Liu Shen said coldly, "I'll give you one chance to kneel."

The Guardian howled in defiance.

It charged.

The battle began.

The Guardian swung its obsidian blade, carving through the air like a storm of spatial rifts. Liu Shen moved like a shadow, dodging effortlessly before countering with a palm that released a wave of ruinous qi.

Explosions tore through the battlefield.

Lei Qing and Meixing formed a protective circle while Zhao Ying reinforced the boundary with formation chains, isolating the conflict from the surrounding dimension.

"Don't interfere," Liu Shen's voice echoed from within the storm. "This fight is mine."

The Guardian roared and unleashed a breath of voidfire, incinerating everything in a thousand-meter radius. Liu Shen appeared behind it in an instant, placing a hand on its spine.

The mark of dusk flared.

With a snap, the Guardian froze. Runes etched into its form began to unravel—stripped by a law it couldn't resist.

"Your rage is justified," Liu Shen said softly, almost respectfully. "But your purpose is over."

The Guardian screamed one last time, its body disintegrating into embers of forgotten memory.

The beacon flared.

A pillar of black light surged into the skies, connecting earth and stars. The fortress groaned as laws realigned. The prison shattered. And the first Abyssal Beacon pulsed with new life—its core reshaped by Liu Shen's will.

The tower bowed to him.

The skies changed.

Far above, in the divine realms, a golden city trembled. Within it, a heavenly oracle collapsed to her knees, blood spilling from her mouth.

"The Abyss… has awakened…"

Back in the Abyss, Liu Shen extended a hand toward the beacon. It floated down to him like a loyal servant, embedding itself into his chest. A new power coursed through his veins—raw, ancient, sovereign.

The others watched in stunned silence.

"What now?" Meixing asked.

Liu Shen looked toward the horizon.

"Eleven remain."

And the war had only begun.