Ria finished absorbing the last fragment.
The red glow faded from her staff—
But the heat didn't.
It lingered.
Inside her.
Burning.
Unstable.
Her fingers trembled.
"…This isn't normal…"
Mana crystals were supposed to amplify.
Not change.
Not distort.
But this—
Her vines stirred beneath the ground.
Not summoned.
Listening.
"…Infernal magic…?"
Her breath caught.
"No… that shouldn't be possible…"
A step echoed.
Slow.
Measured.
"Impressive."
Ria turned.
Darius stood there—calm as ever.
Watching.
Smiling.
And beside him—
Ava.
But something was wrong.
Her presence felt…
Hollow.
Ria's gaze dropped.
Three bodies.
Collapsed.
Empty.
"…You sacrificed them…"
Ava tilted her head.
Expressionless.
"For the sake of humanity."
Ria's grip tightened around her staff.
"…That's not humanity."
Darius chuckled softly.
"Efficiency rarely is."
Ava moved.
No warning.
No sound.
Ria reacted on instinct—
Something snapped shut where her neck had been.
Air distorted.
"…Soul binding…"
Ava didn't respond.
She attacked again.
Faster.
Invisible pressure closed in from all sides.
Ria moved with it.
Adjusted.
Her roots spread outward—
Not blindly.
Searching.
"…I can feel it…"
She swung—
VINES ERUPTED.
Massive roots tore through the ground, surging toward Ava in a violent wave.
Ava dodged—but barely.
Ria froze.
No chant.
No delay.
"…I can cast freely?"
Power surged again.
Too much.
Her chest tightened.
This isn't amplification…
This is overflow.
Another pulse.
Hot.
Violent.
If I lose control… I'll break.
Ava raised her hand.
Behind her—
Three figures appeared.
Distorted.
Twisting.
Silent screams frozen in place.
The souls.
They compressed—
Condensing into a single point.
Then—
A beam of pale, suffocating energy shot forward.
Ria's eyes sharpened.
"…Then I'll match you."
Her staff slammed into the ground.
"Infernal Root."
A single root emerged.
Small.
Condensed.
Glowing deep red.
The heat—
Was unbearable.
It launched forward.
The two attacks collided—
Held—
Strained—
Then—
BOOM.
The root pierced through.
Ava's eyes widened—
Her arm vanished in an instant.
Not cut.
Not burned.
Gone.
Ash scattered where it had been.
She collapsed.
Still.
Silent.
Ria staggered back.
Breathing hard.
"…Too much…"
Her vision blurred—
But she stayed standing.
Slow clapping echoed.
Darius.
"…Now that… was worth seeing."
Ria lifted her staff again, barely steady.
"…You're next."
Lightning flickered.
Soft.
Controlled.
Deadly.
"Don't overestimate yourself."
He moved.
Gone in an instant.
Impact—
Ria blocked—
Barely.
The force sent her sliding across the ground.
Pain shot through her arms.
She coughed—
Blood.
Too fast.
Too clean.
He wasn't trying.
She attacked anyway.
Roots.
Flames.
Pressure.
Everything she had—
He avoided it all.
Effortlessly.
"…Disappointing."
Darius raised his hand.
Lightning gathered—
Dense.
Precise.
Final.
"Let's end this."
Ria's body trembled.
She couldn't move.
Not fast enough.
Then—
⚡ CRACK. ⚡
The sound didn't echo.
It cut.
Darius froze.
His lightning—
Gone.
Not deflected.
Not destroyed.
Gone.
"…What?"
Cid stood behind Ria.
Silent.
Still.
His eyes—
Empty.
Not emotionless.
Not cold.
Just—
quiet.
Black lightning crawled across his body.
Not bright.
Not wild.
It didn't illuminate.
It consumed.
"…You talk too much."
Darius stepped back.
For the first time—
There was hesitation.
His eyes locked onto the lightning.
Watching.
Analyzing.
"…That isn't power…"
A pause.
"…That's absence."
Cid tilted his head slightly.
"…Move."
They clashed.
Fast.
Violent.
Sharp.
Darius struck—
Cid answered.
But something was wrong.
Every time their attacks met—
Sound disappeared.
For just a moment.
Darius' lightning didn't collide—
It ceased.
The ground where Cid stepped—
Didn't crack.
Didn't break.
It felt…
missing.
Ria watched—
Breath unsteady.
"…What… is that…?"
Darius stepped back suddenly.
Eyes sharp now.
Focused.
Certain.
"…So it's true…"
"…you're one of them."
Cid didn't respond.
The lightning around him flickered—
Unstable.
For a moment—
It surged too far.
Ria felt it.
Too close.
Cid's arm twitched—
The energy snapped—
Then stabilized.
A crack formed in the ground beside her.
Not broken.
Not burned.
Just—
wrong.
Darius saw it.
And understood.
"…You don't control it."
A breath.
"…Not yet."
A circle formed beneath his feet.
Light spiraled upward.
Ria tensed.
"Running?"
Darius didn't look at her.
His eyes stayed on Cid.
"Strategizing."
The light intensified.
"If I fight you now—"
A pause.
"…I learn nothing."
Another.
"…And I gain nothing."
His gaze sharpened.
"But next time…"
A faint smile.
"I'll take everything from you."
The light flared—
And he vanished.
Silence.
The chamber stilled.
Cid stood there.
Breathing slow.
Uneven.
The lightning flickered—
Once.
Twice—
Then disappeared.
His body swayed.
And he collapsed.
🌌 Elsewhere — The Shattered Realm
Darius dropped to one knee.
Breathing controlled.
But heavier than before.
A throne loomed above him.
Massive.
Cracked.
Watching.
A presence filled the space.
Ancient.
False.
"You failed."
Darius lowered his head.
"…I misjudged him."
Silence.
Heavy.
Pressing.
"You were given a chance to succeed."
A pause.
"Why did you let the Bearer escape?"
Darius' eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Bearer…"
"…of what?"
The air shifted.
"Do not pretend ignorance."
A beat.
"The one who carries the end of all things."
Silence.
Darius exhaled slowly.
"…So that's what he is…"
The presence deepened.
Colder now.
"You chose to retreat."
A pause.
"A pawn does not choose."
Another.
Longer.
Sharper.
"And yet…"
"…you did."
Something moved in the shadows.
"Follow him."
A figure stepped forward.
One of three.
Silent.
Waiting.
"The one who unravels fate…"
A final pause.
"…must not be lost again."
Silence fell.
Darius remained still.
Head lowered.
Eyes unreadable.
"…Yes…"
A breath.
"…my king."