SOULBOUND: THE ABYSS WITHIN

Chapter 89: Spirit Tribunal's Gaze

—Balance Must Be Kept—

The aftermath of the collision was chaos.

The battle between Muna Ikemba and Michelle Hawthorne had scorched the earth and fractured the skies. Black lightning still lingered in the clouds above, groaning with suppressed rage, while the winds of Michelle's domain howled low like a wounded beast.

Craters pockmarked the terrain. Residual soul energy shimmered in unstable pulses, distorting light itself. Entire wards in Lafrosa had gone silent, overwhelmed by the weight of two High Soulborne Soul Domains clashing at full force.

And then—

He appeared.

The pressure was instant.

Like a stillness that crushed the air from your lungs.

Like silence loud enough to drown thought.

From amidst the sky, space itself folded back, unveiling a thin, frail old man dressed in layered gray robes embroidered with the sigils of the Spirit Tribunal—the highest autonomous authority among the Elder Soulbornes.

His skin looked like old bark, his eyes milky gold, his presence unmoving yet unbearable.

He didn't float.

He existed.

And all else bent in acknowledgment.

Joshua, from afar, took a sharp breath. "That's…"

Cassandra stiffened. "Elder Daizo Ennin."

One of the oldest Soulbornes alive. Known for his neutrality, feared for his resolve.

He raised a single finger.

The raging black lightning around Muna vanished in an instant—sealed mid-air like paused time. Michelle's gale halted as if caught in a stasis field. Both women, still brimming with fury, were frozen in soul command.

He spoke without volume, but his words boomed through the minds of every powerful soul nearby:

> "You disgraceful children are shaking the pillars of Soul Island itself."

His voice was not loud—but it was truth.

> "One more strike—one more breath of battle—and I will personally cross into the Ethereal Plane and summon Jane Ikemba back to this realm. Then we'll all learn what she does to those who wage civil war beneath her watch."

Even Michelle's proud gaze flickered. Muna's smirk faltered.

He pointed at Mira's unconscious body, still twitching from the lightning backlash.

> "Look at what your pride has wrought. Both of you."

Silence.

Then—slowly, he lowered his hand.

The domains lifted. The pressure retreated.

Michelle remained standing, composed but tight-jawed.

Muna scoffed and turned away.

"I'm done here," she spat, her voice laced with warning. "But I'm not finished."

She pointed a black-gloved finger at Michelle. "The Hawthornes are on notice. I'm declaring war."

Michelle didn't respond.

Daizo only blinked once.

And then Muna vanished into the lightning that curled back into the sky.

The clouds remained black. The earth still smoked.

Behind the ruins, Marcus Ikemba, cloaked in ice blue aura, watched from atop a shattered building. He had remained silent through it all.

A thin wisp of frost curled from his lip as he muttered to himself,

"… finally an Elder intervened."

He turned and vanished.

The great clash had ended, but its echo now traveled faster than light.

The Spirit Tribunal had moved. The Progenitor had been threatened with summons.

And in the city, every hall, corridor, and soul training chamber of the Academy and beyond—

People whispered a single word:

War...?