Reborn with the Devil's system-Chapter 46: Ascension protocol : Devil’s final form

The mirror world collapsed.

Its jagged fragments did not fall — they dissolved into Elias’s skin like stardust, absorbed into the very fibers of his soul. Time, memory, and law bent around him. Every breath he took now resonated through the network of the System.

He stood alone.

Before him, three glowing symbols floated in the void. Choices. Absolute.

End. Rebuild. Transform.

Elias remembered his first awakening. The betrayal. The blood. The chains. Every single death he’d caused. Every soul he’d absorbed. Every question left unanswered.

He wasn’t a saint.

But he was no longer a pawn.

"I won’t repeat the mistakes of the past," he said to the void. "I won’t destroy the world... but I won’t keep it chained, either."

His fingers moved toward the third symbol—Transform the System.

The moment he touched it, the void pulsed.

> [System Rewrite Confirmed]

You have chosen: System Repurposing

New Core Directive: Balance of Power. Truth Before Power. Justice Without Cost.

All existing Binders and Sovereigns must undergo recalibration.

Souls trapped in limbo will be judged and released based on merit and memory.

The System shall now serve the will of its wielder—not control it.

Elias’s body rose, suspended in a field of crimson and silver light.

> [SYSTEM RESETTING...]

1%...

12%...

38%...

As he floated between realms, Elias’s mind expanded. For a brief moment, he saw everything.

Myra standing before the Vale King’s tomb, finally free.

Kael helping rebuild the ruins of the Puppet City.

Nerion returning to his temple, memories restored, weeping over a forgotten child.

And Steve...

Steve was still out there.

A shadow rising beyond the known world, untouched by the Mirror Sovereign’s collapse.

A storm yet to come.

---

Back in Whitmoor

The skies screamed.

A crimson lightning bolt tore across the heavens above Whitmoor, sending civilians into a panic. People dropped to their knees. Phones failed. Clocks reversed. Everything trembled as if the world had just skipped a beat.

In the underground ruins of Mr. Sabastin’s old lab, books burst into flames. Chemical symbols glowed in alien tongues. One vault — long locked — began to open.

Inside was a throne.

Empty.

Until he sat down.

Steve.

His face was cut, bruised, mutated from his last encounter with Elias. His arm was wrapped in obsidian flesh. His veins pulsed with something inhuman — the result of the venom Elias had injected into his soul.

But Steve didn’t fall. He evolved.

He was no longer a vampire.

He was something... worse.

"Finally," he whispered. "The System is weak. He rewrote the rules... but he forgot me."

He lifted a single clawed finger.

And tore the throat out of the first worshiper who bowed before him.

> [Error: Unauthorized Binder Detected]

Entity: STEVE – Signature Mutation

Class: Unknown

Status: Paradox Core

> Alert: Elias Black must respond.

---

Within the System’s Core

Elias opened his eyes.

He was kneeling inside a crystal sphere now called the Sanctum of Origin, the new heart of the System. Its walls pulsed with living code and ancient soul flame. A new robe of dark red and silver coiled around his shoulders. His mark — the sigil of the Devil’s System — now burned like a crown on his back.

Kael’s voice rang in his ears through a new communication thread.

> "Elias! Are you there? Something’s wrong in Whitmoor. Steve’s back. And he’s... not the same."

> [New Quest Initiated: The Paradox War Begins]

> Objective: Confront Steve before he destabilizes the fabric of rewritten reality.

> Reward: Access to Final Devil Form

Sub-quest: Unlock new skills through real-world confrontation.

Elias rose slowly.

"Prepare a channel to Earth," he said aloud.

The System pulsed.

> [Opening Portal – Earth Realm: Whitmoor Anchor]

Status: Stable

Energy Signature Detected: Paradox-Class Threat

Elias clenched his fists.

A fresh determination lit his crimson eyes.

"No more running."

---

Whitmoor – Blood Moon District

Steve was already at war.

His followers — mutated remnants of forgotten Binders — marched through the district, tearing through buildings with inhuman strength. Red smoke covered the sky, blotting out the sun. Screams echoed through the streets.

Then the air cracked open.

A scarlet vortex erupted in the center of town square.

And Elias stepped out.

He wasn’t the same boy who had died months ago.

He was Sovereign now — in soul, strength, and purpose.

Steve turned.

"Well, well. Look who finally crawled back from his throne."

"You’ve corrupted the System," Elias said calmly.

Steve chuckled, blood dripping from his lips. "No. I freed it from your cowardice."

With a roar, he lunged.

The two collided.

Buildings exploded around them. Cars flipped. Time shivered.

Their fists met with a sound like stars collapsing.

Elias activated Threadwalker Sovereign Form.

Chains of crimson light erupted from his back, binding Steve’s arms.

Steve laughed. "You think you can stop me with the old tricks?"

He snapped the chains like paper.

Elias smirked.

"I wasn’t trying to stop you..."

A glyph on the ground erupted.

Steve looked down—too late.

> [Trap Glyph Activated: Paradox Seal]

Status: Locked for 10 seconds

Elias struck.

Blow after blow.

Each one laced with burning system essence.

The earth cracked.

Steve screamed, finally bleeding black ichor.

But the seal broke.

Steve retaliated with a scream so loud, the air tore apart.

And then he lunged again — this time faster than before.

His claws raked across Elias’s chest.

Blood sprayed.

Elias dropped to one knee.

> [Damage: 42%]

Defensive Core: Critical

Steve grinned, kneeling beside him.

"You really think you’re a god? You’re still just the Devil’s little pet."

Elias coughed, wiping blood from his mouth.

"I’m no one’s pet."

Then he vanished — teleporting behind Steve and grabbing the back of his head.

"I’m the system now."

He smashed Steve’s face into the earth — so hard, the street caved in.

But Steve wasn’t done.

He began to change again, pulsing with a dark energy Elias couldn’t fully identify.

Something... was wrong.

> [New Entity Detected: Steve – Transcendent Paradox Form]

Risk Level: Catastrophic

Suggestion: Evolve the System or Retreat

Elias stood tall despite the blood and damage.

He looked to the sky, to the fractured sun, to the System now pulsing inside his very bones.

"No more limits."

> [SYSTEM ACCESSING FINAL FORM OPTIONS...]

Steve’s roar echoed through the shattered remnants of Whitmoor. Blood-soaked concrete split apart beneath his evolving form as black wings burst from his back, bone and shadow interlaced. His face contorted, no longer human. His jaw unhinged, fangs elongating unnaturally, and his eyes—

They weren’t just red anymore.

They burned blue fire.

A Paradox. A nightmare.

"Do you see now?" Steve growled, his voice like thunder scraping across iron. "You thought becoming Sovereign made you special? I am what your System was afraid of becoming."

Elias stood, heart hammering.

> [System Alert]

Threat Level: Catastrophic Paradox

Success Rate: <18%

Suggestion: Evolve System Authority. Unlock Final Devil Form

Cost: Full Core Merge

Warning: Once triggered, no reversal.

Elias exhaled slowly, blood running down his side. His limbs shook from the last exchange. He’d fought monsters before — tyrants, gods, and echoes of himself.

But never something broken and reborn outside the System’s rule.

"Activate Ascension Protocol," he whispered.

> [Command Accepted]

Final Devil Form Unlocked: Sovereign of Ruin

---

[SYSTEM EVOLUTION: SOVEREIGN OF RUIN]

> Form Effect: The System’s true demonic authority is now fused with the user’s soul. All thread-based limits removed. All divine cores overridden.

Abilities Unlocked:

– Infernal Rewrite (Reprogram matter/reality for 5 seconds)

– Void Chains of Damnation

– Blood Crown Directive (Command one defeated enemy)

– Dominion Pulse

WARNING: Soul Overload Imminent if form exceeds 5 minutes.

The transformation was instant.

Elias’s veins lit up like lava veins. His skin cracked, glowing from within, and dark armor formed along his shoulders and spine — ancient, jagged, forged from lost realms. Behind him, a wheel of red glyphs burned into the sky.

His voice deepened, layered with the System’s resonance.

"I am no longer bound by the game."

Steve smirked. "You always did talk too much."

He charged.

The impact was cataclysmic.

Wherever Steve swung, buildings evaporated. But Elias was faster now — not just fast, but preemptive. He saw through Steve’s rage and struck first, driving a flaming elbow into his ribs and sending him crashing into the remains of the Whitmoor chapel.

> [Skill Used: Dominion Pulse]

Result: Shockwave Released

Everything within a three-block radius turned to ash.

Steve staggered, his body repairing rapidly.

"You don’t get it," he hissed. "You can’t kill what was never part of the System."

Elias floated midair, eyes glowing.

"Then I’ll rewrite you."

He spread both hands wide.

> [Skill Used: Infernal Rewrite]

Target: Steve’s Regeneration Sequence

Result: Code Corrupted

Steve screamed.

His flesh twisted, healing now delayed, broken.

"You—!" he howled.

And vanished.

Elias spun—too late.

Steve appeared behind him and slashed downward with both hands. Elias blocked, but the force split the ground beneath them. They dropped into the sublayers of Whitmoor, landing in the buried ruins of Sabastin’s first failed lab.

Old bones. Broken vials. Sigils glowing on the walls.

Steve staggered, still snarling. "You’re not a god. Just a corrupted boy trying to wear his sins like a crown."

Elias landed softly, glowing blood dripping.

"I didn’t ask for the crown. But I’ll burn this world clean before I let you twist it again."

They clashed.

A storm of flame and shadow erupted between them.

---

Elsewhere...

Kael and Myra watched the red sky ripple from miles away.

"He did it," Kael whispered. "He activated the final form."

Myra gritted her teeth, sensing the immense pressure choking the air. "Can he control it?"

Nerion, standing barefoot in the broken temple, whispered:

"He doesn’t need to control it. He just needs to endure long enough to rewrite fate itself."

---

Back in the Ruins

> [Timer: Devil Form Usage – 03:44 Remaining]

[Warning: Soul strain at 71%]

Elias dropped to a knee, coughing black mist.

Steve, battered but smirking, slowly approached. "Running out of time."

Elias didn’t speak.

He was focusing.

> [Skill Unlocked: Blood Crown Directive]

Target: Paradox Thrall #4

Command: Self-destruct in 5 seconds

Steve’s minion — lurking above — suddenly shrieked and exploded in a flash of cursed fire.

Steve turned.

"What did you do?"

Elias rose.

"You created these things outside the System, right? But once I touched your code, I became the new architect. You’re not the outlier anymore, Steve. You’re just the next anomaly I’m going to erase."

> [Final Strike Prepared]

Skill: Void Chains of Damnation

The ground split as black chains erupted — not metal, but woven from condemned soul threads. They wrapped Steve, dragging him toward a portal Elias conjured from his chest.

A portal to Oblivion — the one place even the System couldn’t trace.

Steve fought, roaring, biting, slicing.

He cut through five of the seven chains.

But Elias stepped forward and grabbed the sixth.

With glowing hands, he whispered:

"I sentence you to the forgotten."

And yanked.

Steve screamed as the last chain locked.

The portal roared.

And Steve was gone.

---

Silence

> [Victory Confirmed]

Paradox Entity Erased

Soul Signature: Null

Final Devil Form Deactivating...

3... 2... 1...

Elias collapsed.

Not from defeat — from exhaustion.

---

Hours Later – System Sanctum

Elias lay in his Sanctum, body covered in glowing thread bandages. Kael and Myra watched over him. Nerion stood silently at the edge of the crystalline platform.

> [System Status: Stable]

Remaining Anomalies: 0

All Binder Realms Now Synced

Elias Black: Current Title – System Monarch

Access Level: All

Elias stirred, groaning.

Kael smiled. "You win?"

"I don’t know," Elias muttered, sitting up. "Is it still raining blood?"

"No."

"Then I guess I did."

He stood, wobbling slightly, and looked into the floating screen before him.

His reflection smiled back — older now. Wiser. Still cracked, still flawed... but whole.

"For once," Elias whispered, "maybe I get to choose what comes next."

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