Blackout Ascension: Return of Primordial Heir-Chapter 70: Thin Air

It had been seven days since the Great Dam cracked, and the world had changed. The beautiful, sprawling capital of Solaris looked different. For hundreds of years, the royal palace had been illuminated by lingering, smokeless magical lanterns that shone with a warm, endless light. Those lanterns were all dead now. They hung from the high ceilings like useless glass ornaments.

Instead, the palace corridors were lined with crude iron brackets holding normal wooden torches. The torches smoked heavily, filling the pristine marble hallways with the harsh smell of burning pitch and actual soot. The air itself felt wrong. It was thin, cold, and empty. Breathing felt like trying to pull oxygen from the top of a freezing, high altitude mountain.

The Great Reservoir was leaking. Half the continent’s mana was gone, and the Dawn Era of easy, free magic was officially dead.

Kairos walked slowly down the smoky corridor. He wore a simple dark tunic and boots. His muscles still ached with a deep, hollow fatigue from the rigid strain of using Temporal Acceleration, but he ignored the pain. He pushed open the wooden doors to the Royal Infirmary.

The bright, cheerful healing magic that usually filled the room was absent. The elderly High Healers were using traditional bandages, foul smelling herbal pastes, and needle and thread to stitch wounds. Without thick mana in the air, casting advanced healing spells cost too much internal energy.

Kairos walked quietly to the back of the long room, stepping into a private, curtained alcove.

Luna Zephyros was lying on the soft mattress, still. The Night Emperor looked fragile. His pale skin was almost translucent. The terrifying silver fire that had burned in his eyes was gone, leaving him in a deep coma. His chest rose and fell in a slow, shallow rhythm. He was alive, but just barely. He had cracked the First Cosmic Lock to save them, and the infinite pressure had shattered his nervous system.

Sitting in a hard wooden chair right beside the bed was Soltheia. The young Princess of Sylphyros was fast asleep. Her head rested awkwardly on the edge of Luna’s mattress, her fingers still loosely wrapped around his pale hand. Dark bags hung under her ocean blue eyes. She had refused to leave the room for an entire week, constantly pushing tiny drops of her own water magic into his heart to keep it beating.

Kairos picked up a wool blanket from a nearby chair and gently draped it over Soltheia’s shoulders. He didn’t wake her. She desperately needed the rest. He looked down at Luna.

"You promised her you wouldn’t be a tragic hero, idiot," Kairos whispered softly, a tight knot forming in his throat. "Wake up soon. The world is getting too quiet without you complaining."

Luna didn’t move. Kairos turned and quietly left the infirmary. He needed to clear his head. He walked out of the palace and headed straight for the royal training grounds in the outer courtyard.

The training yard was usually filled with arrogant young nobles showing off their flashy magical spells. Today, it was empty. The few royal guards who were practicing looked exhausted, panting after just a few minutes of basic sword drills.

In the center of the yard, Ignis and Terravarous were sparring. It was a pathetic sight. Ignis let out a loud, frustrated yell. He swung his iron sword, trying to ignite the brilliant, compressed blue fire he had perfected in the underground basement. But the blue flame refused to spark. A pathetic, sputtering orange flame flickered along the metal edge for just a second before dying out in the thin air.

"Come on!" Ignis cursed, kicking the ground. "Ignite, you useless piece of iron!"

Terravarous stood a few feet away, breathing vehemently. The giant was covered in sweat. He raised his arm, trying to change a small patch of his Diamond Skin to block a strike. The dark skin slowly turned into gray stone, then crystallized into diamond, but the process took three full seconds instead of a second.

If a Void Herald had swung a halberd at him just now, Terravarous would have been cut in half before the armor even formed.

"It is not the sword, cousin," Terravarous rumbled, dropping his arm and letting the diamond crumble away. He grabbed a leather water skin and dumped half of it over his head to cool down. "The air is starving. We are used to drawing magic from the atmosphere to supplement our internal cores. Now, every single spell we cast has to come from our own bodies. We are draining ourselves dry."

Ignis collapsed onto a wooden bench, dropping his sword into the dirt. He rubbed his face with his bruised hands. "I feel blind, Terra. I feel like a normal, weak human. It is disgusting."

Kairos walked over to them, picking up Ignis’ discarded sword and resting it against the bench.

"We just have to adapt," Kairos said. "We spent three months swinging swords without magic to build our base strength. Now we just have to learn how to fight without relying on elemental bursts. We use the sword first, and the magic only when it is necessary."

"Easy for you to say," Ignis grumbled, looking up at Kairos. "You don’t throw fireballs. You just swing a shining sword and move impossibly fast. The mana drop didn’t nerf your muscles."

Ignis wasn’t entirely wrong. Kairos’ base physical attributes were tied to his mortal body, not the magical atmosphere. His Strength and Agility hadn’t dropped at all.

But Kairos knew the truth. He opened his mind, calling up the system interface.

The screen flickered. The bright golden letters were muted, buzzing with a strange, static interference. Because the mana in the world had dropped so drastically, the system itself was struggling to connect to the physical realm. The divine buffer he had created with Asteria’s light was empty. If he tried to stop time right now, the S

system would have to pull the energy from his heart again.

He was just as crippled as they were. He just hid it better.

"General Kairos."

A seasoned Solaris captain marched up to the bench and offered a sharp salute. He wasn’t a palace guard; he was a hardened veteran from the border wars.

"Yes, Captain?" Kairos asked, turning around.

"Princess Seyana requires your immediate presence in the War Room," the captain reported. "The scouts have returned from the jagged mountains."

Kairos nodded. He looked at Ignis and Terravarous. "Keep practicing your breathing. Figure out the new casting limits. I will find out what the shadows are doing."

Kairos followed the captain back inside the smoky palace. They walked past the grand, empty throne room and headed into the fortified military wing.

The War Room was different from the old Council of Lords. There were no fat merchants here. There were no wealthy aristocrats arguing over gold coins and trade routes.

Seyana had purged them. When Seyana took command of the Solaris military seven days ago, she hadn’t hesitated. She fired every single cowardly noble who suggested surrender. She replaced them with ruthless, battle hardened military captains and veteran commanders who actually knew how to hold a shield wall.

Kairos walked into the room. A massive, detailed map of the continent was spread across an oak table.

Seyana stood at the head of the table. She wore her sleek, iron armor, her amber eyes burning with unbreakable authority. She looked up as Kairos entered, offering him a serious nod.

"Report, Captain Vance," Seyana commanded, looking at a scarred scout standing near the map.

"The Void is expanding, Your Highness," Captain Vance said grimly. He placed several black wooden markers on the map, covering the jagged mountains at the edge of the continent. "The black mist is no longer just leaking from temporary rifts. It has settled permanently over the peaks. The entire mountain range is dead. Our hawks drop out of the sky the second they fly too close to the dark."

"Are the Black Mist Knights marching?" Seyana asked.

"Not yet," Vance shook his head. "They are gathering. We saw corrupted camps forming in the valleys. Thousands of Aberrations. Hundreds of Knights. They are organizing a structured army. They are preparing for a massive siege."

The seasoned commanders around the table muttered. An army of teleporting shadows was a nightmare scenario.

"And the other kingdoms?" Seyana asked.

"General Velanor has locked down the Whispering Pass," another officer reported. "He collapsed the lower bridges. The Zephyros mountains are physically isolated. Princess Catherine has purged the Sylphyros court of traitors, but their forest wards are failing without the mana from the dam. We are entirely cut off from our allies."

Seyana placed both hands flat on the oak table. She looked fiercely determined.

"Solaris stands alone for now," Seyana stated. "We double the defensive walls. We ration the remaining magical crystals for the heavy siege ballistas. We are preparing for a ground war."

A tall commander with a gray beard cleared his throat nervously. He didn’t look at Seyana. He looked at Kairos.

"With respect, Your Highness," the gray bearded commander said. "Building higher walls will not change the primary target of the shadow army. We all heard the whisper."

The War Room went dead silent. Kairos felt a cold shiver crawl slowly down his spine.

Seven days ago, right after the Void Herald died, an ancient, demonic voice had echoed across the entire continent. It hadn’t been a magical spell. It was a projection of god-like authority. It was a voice that rattled the bones of every single living creature.

Kairos.

The Fallen Monarch had woken up from his ancient sleep, and the very first thing the dark god had done was say the name of a sixteen year old boy from a dusty farming village.

"The Fallen Monarch named him," the gray bearded commander continued, pointing a finger at Kairos. "He knows the boy holds the silver splinter. If we harbor General Kairos inside the capital walls, the shadow army will not just attack us. They will completely level the entire city to reach him. Millions of innocent civilians will burn just to catch one boy."

"Watch your tone, Commander," Seyana warned, her voice dropping into a freezing whisper.

"It is a tactical reality, Princess!" the man argued. "The boy is a walking beacon for the dark god! If we banish him from the capital, if we send him into the eastern wastelands, the shadow army will follow him. Solaris will be spared the brunt of the slaughter!"

Kairos stood still. He didn’t argue. He didn’t yell at the man. Because the commander was right. Kairos was the target. The Fallen Monarch wanted Kairos now, and he wanted revenge for the death of his Herald. But he also wants Seyana’s power. If Kairos stayed in the city, the black mist would tear down every single house and kill every single child just to drag him out of the rubble.

"General Kairos saved your life," Seyana said, stepping around the table and walking up to the gray bearded commander. Her amber eyes were merciless. "He bled on the Great Dam to keep you breathing. If you ever suggest abandoning him to the shadows again, I will personally strip you of your rank and throw you off the city walls. Do I make myself clear?"

The commander gulped, taking a step back from the young Princess. "Yes, Your Highness. Forgive me."

"The meeting adjourned," Seyana ordered. "Get to the walls. Prepare the defenses."

The veteran captains rushed out of the War Room, leaving Kairos and Seyana alone.

Seyana let out a long sigh. Her strict, authoritative posture melted away. She leaned back against the oak table, rubbing her temples. The iron crown was clearly weighing on her.

Kairos walked over to her. He didn’t say anything. He just reached out and gently took her hand, threading his bruised fingers through hers.

"They are terrified of you," Seyana whispered, squeezing his hand. "The lords, the captains, the citizens. They heard the dark god say your name, and now they look at you like you are cursed."

"I am cursed," Kairos admitted, looking down at the dark grain of the wooden table. "Finally the scrambled name is Fallen Monarch. The Fallen Monarch is awake, Seyana. He knows exactly where I am, and the commander was right. If I stay here, the city will burn because of me."

"You are not leaving," Seyana stated fiercely, looking up. "I am not sending you into the wastelands to die alone. We promised. A quiet house near the trees. We will fight them together, and he was also coming for me!"

"I am not running away," Kairos promised, his eyes serious. "But I cannot fight a god right now. I drained Asteria’s holy light to fuel my accelerated speed at the dam. My system is buzzing with static. The atmosphere mana is gone. If the Monarch marches on the capital tomorrow, he will crush me like an insect."

Seyana frowned, her heart aching at the honesty in his voice. "Then what do we do?"

"I need to find the immortal watcher," Kairos said.

"Librarian Jovian?" Seyana asked in surprise. "He vanished from the Restricted Archives the night the dam cracked. The palace guards searched the entire library. He is gone."

"He is not hiding from us," Kairos said, remembering the crushing gravity the old man had exerted in the dusty aisle. "He is preparing. He told me that my System is a fragment of the ancient Primordial Laws. He told me I have to learn how to harmonize my mortal body with divine energy, or it will eventually consume my soul. I barely survived using Level 2. I have to master it."

Kairos gently let go of her hand. He took a step back, his posture straightening with sheer resolve.

"I am the main target," Kairos stated, accepting the massive burden without a single complaint. "The dark god wants me first. So I am going to become a weapon sharp enough to kill him. Keep the city walls strong, Seyana. Keep Ignis and Terravarous focused. I am going to find the old ghost, and I am going to learn how to break the void."

Seyana knew it was the only way they could possibly win the Great War.

"Do not take too long, Kairos," Seyana whispered, a desperate light burning in her eyes. "The sky is getting awfully dark."

Kairos offered her a confident nod. He turned and walked out of the smoky War Room, heading straight into the thin air of the changing world. He was no longer just a Vanguard General defending a border. He was one of the chosen rivals of an ancient god, and his training was only just beginning.