The world was dying.
The mountain trembled at ever-shortening intervals.
The ceiling was collapsing.
Ancient pillars crumbled beneath the weight of a force that seemed to consume not only stone, but existence itself.
Arthur slowly drifted through that final fragment of memory.
He was no longer being carried by the current.
Now he simply floated.
Like a spectator arriving too late.
The air was heavy.
Saturated with black mana.
Everywhere...
Zaraqnil lay scattered across the floor.
Some were still breathing.
Others had been completely consumed.
Their bodies remained motionless while dark energy slowly crawled over them, transforming flesh, mana, and consciousness into something unrecognizable.
In the distance...
Shadows rushed through corridors.
Screams echoed.
Hatchlings cried.
Everything was collapsing.
Then Arthur saw her.
The Zaraqnil Queen.
She remained standing.
But she was no longer the same.
Her entire body trembled.
Black veins slowly spread across her legs and climbed up her humanoid torso.
Her crimson eyes still fought to remain lucid.
But behind them...
There was another presence.
She breathed with difficulty.
Before her stood a woman.
Arthur could not see her face.
He could only see her back.
Long pale hair.
Robes covered in magical inscriptions.
An enormous amount of mana surrounded her body.
It was a powerful presence.
Silent.
Controlled.
The Queen smiled bitterly.
— You arrived... sooner than I imagined...
The woman remained silent.
— The Shadows...
The Queen slowly closed one eye.
— Succeeded.
She brought one hand to her own chest.
The black energy pulsed violently.
For an instant...
Arthur swore he heard dozens of different voices echoing from inside her.
The Queen clenched her teeth.
— I was... infected.
The ground trembled again.
Part of the ceiling collapsed behind them.
The woman instantly destroyed the debris with a single magic circle.
The stones vanished before they could even touch the floor.
— There is still time — she said.
The Queen slowly shook her head.
— No.
She drew a deep breath.
— The corruption has already reached my essence.
Her gaze became distant.
— It is trying to transform my body...
Her voice failed.
— ...into a General of the Shadows.
Silence weighed heavily.
Arthur remained motionless.
The woman slowly clenched her fists.
— Then come with me.
— We still can—
— No.
The answer came firm.
For the first time.
The Queen fully raised her head.
There was still majesty.
There was still dignity.
— If I leave this place...
She looked at the countless dead Zaraqnil scattered across the hall.
— I will carry this curse with me.
She turned her eyes back to the woman.
— I will not allow that.
The black energy coursed through her body again.
This time stronger.
Her arm trembled.
One of her legs struck the ground involuntarily, opening enormous cracks.
She breathed deeply until she regained control.
— I can still resist.
— But not for long.
She closed her eyes.
Several magic circles appeared beneath her feet.
Illusions.
Seals.
Barriers.
Ancient spells slowly began to wrap around her body.
— I will use everything I still have left...
— My illusion magic.
— My mana.
— My own essence.
— To imprison myself.
The woman slowly lowered her head.
She understood.
The Queen then looked to the side.
A small figure remained hidden among broken stones.
A little girl.
Her hair was long and white.
Her skin was extremely pale.
Small horns were beginning to emerge above her forehead.
Her crimson eyes were completely filled with fear.
She cried in silence.
Without understanding.
Arthur felt his chest tighten.
The little girl ran to the Queen.
— Mommy...
The Queen slowly knelt.
Even while feeling intense pain.
Even while fighting against the corruption.
She smiled.
A true smile.
Perhaps the last.
She gently ran her hand through her daughter's hair.
— You need to be strong.
The girl shook her head desperately.
— No...
— I don't want to go...
Tears flowed without stopping.
The Queen pressed her forehead against hers.
— Listen.
She breathed slowly.
As if every word cost part of her life.
— Live.
— Keep living.
— Do not let our race disappear.
She turned her gaze to the woman.
— Take my daughter.
— Do not let her suffer the same fate as me.
The woman remained still for a few seconds.
Then answered.
— I promise.
At that instant...
Several Shadows broke through one of the hall's walls.
Black energy exploded.
The woman raised only one hand.
Hundreds of magic circles appeared around her.
Spears of light instantly pierced through the Shadows.
Others disappeared into portals.
The rest were completely disintegrated.
She opened a path.
She held the little girl.
The child desperately reached her hand toward the Queen.
— MOM!
The Queen simply smiled.
The tears finally ran down her face.
— Go.
Light enveloped the two of them.
And they disappeared.
At that same instant...
The seals finished wrapping around the Queen's body.
The black energy roared.
She slowly closed her eyes.
The memory began to collapse.
The hall disappeared.
The walls came apart.
Everything became fragments of light.
Arthur was thrown back into the ocean of memories.
But there was only one memory left.
A single Dimensional Mirror.
It floated before him.
And showed...
Mia.
[Arthur]'s fingers were still tightening around her neck.
She could barely breathe.
Alexius moved first.
The Primordial Sword ignited completely.
— LET HER GO!
The strike cut through the air.
But [Arthur] did not even look away.
With his free hand...
He threw a single punch.
BOOOOOOM!
Dark energy exploded.
The Primordial Sword let out a desperate scream.
Alexius was launched dozens of meters backward.
Before the impact had even ended...
The Zaraqnil charged.
Even wounded.
Even exhausted.
She threw the entire weight of her body against [Arthur].
He merely turned his torso slightly.
His elbow met her abdomen.
Dark energy pierced through her body.
The Zaraqnil coughed blood.
She felt her mana being violently drained.
She was hurled into another wall.
Everything happened in a single instant.
[Arthur] returned to using both hands.
His fingers tightened even more around Mia's neck.
She tried to conjure magic.
Nothing answered.
Her body no longer obeyed.
He slowly brought his face closer to hers.
— I could end your life in an instant.
His voice sounded almost serene.
— But that would be a waste.
His fingers tightened even more.
— I want to savor...
He smiled.
— Every second of your agony.
Arthur roared.
From the other side of the mirror.
He struck the surface.
Once.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Again.
No cracks appeared.
He continued.
His fists bled.
Even so...
He continued.
— MIA!
His voice disappeared inside that world.
He struck.
Struck.
Struck.
Until he drove the fingers of his left hand into the mirror.
Then the right.
All ten nails slowly pierced that impossible surface.
He pulled.
Nothing.
He pulled again.
His arms trembled.
His muscles felt as if they were tearing apart.
But the mirror remained whole.
Arthur clenched his teeth.
Then slammed his own head into it.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Four.
Each impact made the blue energy grow.
The memories around him began to tremble.
The entire ocean vibrated.
On the fifth headbutt...
CRAAAAACK.
A single crack appeared.
Right in the center.
Arthur screamed.
He grabbed both edges.
Forced them apart.
Every muscle in his body felt as if it were exploding.
Blue veins shone like lightning.
The mirror resisted.
But Arthur did not.
He refused to give up.
— I...
He forced harder.
— WILL...
His hands sank even deeper.
— SAVE...
The cracks multiplied.
The entire ocean of memories began to implode.
The memories became thousands of stars.
Then millions of fragments.
Everything began to be swallowed by blue light.
Arthur gathered everything he still had left.
And pulled.
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
The mirror split apart.
Not just the mirror.
The boundary between dimensions itself.
The ocean exploded.
The memories vanished.
Blue became white.
White became black.
Black became reality.
Arthur took a single step.
He crossed.
Without portals.
Without magic.
Without transition.
Like someone who simply refused to obey the laws of the universe.
The sole of his foot touched the chamber floor again.
The impact scattered dust.
No one noticed.
No one could follow it.
In the next instant...
A hand gripped [Arthur]'s shoulder firmly.
The fingers sank into his clothing.
The pressure made even the black smoke waver.
[Arthur] froze.
His eyes slowly moved to the side.
For the first time...
Surprise.
Arthur was there.
Covered in blue energy.
Breathing heavily.
His eyes burning with determina
tion.
Without saying a single word.
His fist clenched.
And moved forward.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The impact made the entire chamber tremble.
The air exploded.
The black smoke was torn apart.
[Arthur]'s fingers immediately released Mia's neck.
She fell to her knees, desperately pulling in air.
Meanwhile...
[Arthur] was violently launched across the hall.
His body tore through pillars.
Destroyed stone.
Opened an enormous crater in the opposite wall.
And disappeared beneath a colossal cloud of dust.
For the first time since the beginning of that nightmare...
Arthur had returned.