Chương 437: Chapter 424 - Sovereigns

The room fell silent as all eyes turned to Pablo. He gathered his thoughts for a moment.

"Not much, or well, any of this gets discussed, at least not where we started, but The Scholars' library in Aldermere had extensive records. I got pretty deep into them, particularly around one question that kept nagging at me. What level are the strongest existences in this world actually at, and how do we compare?" He glanced around.

"And I found some answers." Leonie leaned forward slightly. The others didn't move much, but the quality of the silence changed.

"To make sense of it, a few points worth having clear first," Pablo continued.

"Progression for the natives is divided by both States and Marks. The States we all know, but what you may not be aware of is that natives go all the way from the First to the Fifth State, across all three paths."

"The Marks are tied to what they call Internal Conditioning, which is just our Stage Progress under a different name. After some cross-referencing I got a rough estimate of what each Mark translates to. First Mark sits at around 21%, then increments of roughly 7% from there, all the way to the Seventh Mark at 63%. That's apparently the ceiling of what this world allows."

"So the top dogs are at the Fifth State with 63% SP?" Lukas said, more as a confirmation than a question.

"Yes, but it's much more than just that," Pablo said.

"The same way two of us at identical SP and State can be on completely different levels, the same applies to natives. Gear, sets, Skills, Will control, all of it factors in. But at the highest level there's something else, something that splits Seventh Mark entities into two very different groups. Some are simply very powerful. Others are…" he searched for the word, "untouchable, to anyone outside their kind." He looked around the room.

"The divider is something the natives call Domain." Alonso's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Domain?" Leonie tilted her head.

"As in territory? A scope of influence?"

"If my admittedly extensive nerd knowledge serves me well, sis," Lukas cut in from the side, "I believe he means something closer to a space of authority that either manifests around the individual, or simply exists as an extension of what they are."

"That tracks with what the records suggest," Pablo added.

"They aren't very detailed on the mechanics of it, but the word that keeps appearing alongside Domain is authority. Control over a space, over the flow of things within it, in a way that goes beyond raw strength or technique."

"So let me guess," Lukas went on, leaning back slightly.

"The natives have a special name for entities that have achieved a Domain." He paused, a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Sovereigns, right?" Pablo held his gaze for a moment.

"Yes," he replied.

"That's correct."

"Then Alonso's Title," Leonie began, working through it aloud.

"It means he achieved a Domain, something currently exclusive to a handful of peak Fifth State existences… while still at the Third State." Even as the words left her mouth, the weight of it settled over the room. A heavy silence followed. Gazes drifted toward Alonso.

"Interesting," he said, rubbing his chin, feeling the pieces finally click into place.

"Interesting?" Chiara stared at him, eyes wide.

"That's all you have?"

"What do you want me to say?" he shrugged, an easy grin on his face.

"For starters… do you actually have one? A Domain?"

"I'd say so, yeah."

"So… what's it like?" Ayu leaned forward. Alonso paused, turning it over.

"Hard to put into words, but I'll try." He looked around at them.

"In a fight, you measure variables. Distance, timing, intent, and so on. You use those to overcome your opponent, predict moves, maybe entire sequences, and answer accordingly. Take that to its absolute extreme and the perfect fighter is simply the one who is always one step ahead, because they have mastered every variable there is. By human standards, that's the ceiling of combat understanding." They were all quiet, following every word.

"So what happens when you go beyond that?" Leonie frowned.

"Beyond perfection?"

"Yes."

"You become god?" Lukas offered, with a chuckle. Alonso laughed despite himself.

"Maybe not that word, but… yes, in a sense. You discover that the perfection you reached was always just a limitation of how we humans perceive combat. A ceiling built from the tools we had. Going beyond it means stepping into something that our language wasn't built to describe." He paused.

"But if I had to sum it up in one word, I'd say you gain authority."

"Authority of what?" Chiara asked, her three minds already pulling at every word he had said, searching and failing to find a framework to hold it.

"Of combat," Alonso replied simply. Chiara's frown deepened. Lukas leaned back slowly, turning something over.

"Let me try something," Lukas said, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

"And correct me if I'm off." He glanced at Alonso.

"Given what you described… if we strip authority down to its plainest meaning, what you're saying is you stepped out of the fight as a participant. Like a character in a D&D campaign—" he caught the blank looks around the room, waved a hand, and sighed.

"Like a character in a story, ok, who somehow reaches through the page, grabs the pen from the author's hand…" a faint smile crossed his face, "and starts writing the story himself." He paused, letting it land.

"You no longer just fight. You decide how the fight goes." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"That's actually a great analogy," Alonso admitted. Leonie blinked, her gaze moving between Lukas and Alonso. Her mind had stalled somewhere in the middle of it. Was that it then? After everything, after all the struggle and discipline and grinding every single day without exception… was the gap simply never meant to be closed?

Was Alonso now some kind of transcendent existence sitting on a completely different plane while the rest of them—"I'm not as strong as you're all thinking right now," Alonso said, catching the looks around the room.

"I know what that face is and I want to be clear. Yes, what Lukas described is roughly right, but I haven't become some omnipotent author-level existence. Not even close."

"Think of it more like I've touched the edge of it. That puts me in a different qualitative tier, sure, but only when compared to opponents within a certain range. My base stats are still what they are. My State is still the Third." He glanced at Pablo.

"Any Fifth State Sovereign you just described could put me down without any effort. So this Domain, this authority, yes it makes me effectively untouchable within a certain bracket of power. But that bracket has a ceiling, and right now that ceiling is well below the strongest things in this world." He looked around at them.

"And honestly? I'm not even sure I'm the strongest among us right now. And if I am, the gap is much smaller than you think." Leonie exhaled slowly. The frozen feeling in her chest loosened as she filed the rest away and straightened.

"But then… why did the Holy Knight back off?" she asked.

"According to what you just said, he would be stronger than you." Alonso stayed quiet and looked at Pablo, who took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.

"My guess is the Holy Knight perceived Alonso's Domain and mistook him for an actual Sovereign," Pablo explained.

"And just to give some context on what that means in practice." He glanced around the room.

"In a world thousands of times the size of Earth, there are only a handful of Sovereigns in existence. Each one is an absolute powerhouse. Every record I found emphasized the same thing, that a Sovereign simply cannot be defeated by anyone or anything except another Sovereign. Entire kingdoms mean nothing to them. Armies mean nothing. If a Sovereign aligned himself with an organization, that organization immediately became one of the most powerful forces in the world on that basis alone." He paused.

"So if the Holy Knight genuinely believed Alonso was one of them, a true peak Fifth State Sovereign…" Pablo let it sit.

"The guy probably pissed his pants and we didn't notice," Lukas added with a grin. Alonso nodded. After his last conversation with Houston, he had already suspected something along these lines, but having it laid out properly helped the full picture settle. And that picture raised something very problematic.

"Given what you said," he continued, "I'd assume that information is already moving through the Church's highest ranks. Possibly beyond Brithelm."

"Almost certainly," Leonie reasoned.

"This stage, or world, operates with enough internal logic that we can reasonably predict how it reacts. A new Sovereign appearing out of nowhere would send ripples through every major power that has the means to receive them. Given what Pablo just said, I think it's fair to assume the geopolitical balance of this world is built around the existence and alignment of Sovereigns. A new one, unaffiliated, unknown, appearing in the middle of Brithelm..." she paused.

"That's going to cause huge waves, without a doubt."

"It's like a random country showing up on Earth with a full arsenal of state-of-the-art nuclear warheads out of nowhere," Lukas remarked.

"And no clear allegiance," Leonie added.

"Which makes it worse. A Sovereign aligned with a known power is predictable. One that answers to nobody..." she glanced at Alonso.

"That is the kind of thing that would keep rulers awake at night." Alonso couldn't help but smile as he let some air out.

"Funny when they find out this new 'Sovereign' is just a Third State guy with not even a single Grade 5 gear on him."

"Which is honestly several times more scary, in my opinion," Leonie added, her tone serious, catching the others' attention, though Lukas seemed like he knew exactly what she was about to say.

"If Alonso has already attained, at the Third State, what only a handful of peak Fifth State existences attain—a Domain—then… what would his realm be when he does reach their level and stats?" There was a heavy silence for a moment as the realization dawned on them. Lukas leaned back, arms crossed.

"Well," he began.

"Good thing he's on our side. Let's just try to keep the information hidden, yeah. Not to point out the obvious, but if I were any major power, I would do my best to secure a new Sovereign, but a normal one at that. If I were to find out something like Alonso exists, someone who is a Sovereign at the Third State…" his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I would do my best to eliminate him as fast as I can."

"Why?" Chiara frowned.

"Wouldn't they want him even more?"

"A normal Sovereign is a trump card," Lukas explained.

"A powerful one, yes, but still one piece on a board that has other pieces. You can work around it, negotiate with it, maybe even counter it given enough resources." He paused.

"But whatever Alonso has the potential to become… that's something else entirely. An absolute hegemon. Something that would make every organization, every kingdom, every power structure in this world effectively pointless, because one person holds all the power." He glanced around.

"And nobody wants an all-powerful tyrant, do they?"

"So you are saying, right now, everyone would want to rope me in, but if they do find out what I truly am, they will want me dead," Alonso said, more to himself.

"Well, The Tower does have a smooth way to do things, doesn't it?" Lukas said with a grin.

"Future challenges have been adjusted for you…," he quoted.

"There you have it."

"Damn," Alonso raised his eyebrows, more amused than anything else.

"I should probably get to that Fourth State sooner rather than later then."

"Fourth State… right," Chiara said.

"You said now you have to design one yourself. How does that work?"

"That's a question I am trying to answer myself," Alonso replied.

"But I don't understand, like, if Alonso does achieve a new State, would that then not be Fusion anymore? Would it give him different benefits?" Ayu commented.

"Would that mean we already messed up or something?"

"I… cannot say," Alonso admitted.

"All I know is what I told you. If you want a personal guess, I would say it would in fact be different, and… I don't think you guys messed up. So far The Tower never truly closes a door. I'm sure you all can, and hopefully will, become Contenders one day, and maybe then the same would apply for your Fifth, or maybe Sixth State."

"Which raises another point," Pablo said.

"Can we, without being Contenders, aim to develop our own States beyond the conventional paths?" Lukas glanced at him, then at Alonso.

"I suppose we will find out when our great pioneer actually builds his."

"We all just reached the Fourth State," Leonie said, bringing it back to ground.

"The Fifth is a long way off. Let Alonso develop his, and from whatever comes out of it, we decide whether following that line makes sense for the rest of us."

"Lot of interesting stuff," Lukas said, pushing himself up and cracking his neck.

"Feels like Alonso's carrying the team on his back, though hopefully we can start pulling our own weight soon. More SP, Grade 5 gear, build our champion up properly." He stretched his arms.

"But that's for another day. Had enough world-altering revelations for one evening. Got plenty to think about as it is." The rest nodded slowly, and after a while they drifted toward their separate rooms.

"When you have a few minutes," Leonie said quietly before leaving, "I'd like to talk through the candidate selections for the next Ascent, if that's alright." Alonso held her gaze for a moment, then nodded.

"Sure," he said.

"Just give me a bit." Leonie nodded once and turned toward the corridor, her footsteps quiet against the floor as the hum of the ship's core filled the empty room behind her.