"London Bridge is falling down,"

"Falling down,"

"Falling down…"

The haunting melody broke through the darkness of the cave. Each note echoing off the stone like the whisper of death itself. The air hung heavy with ash, damp rot and something older… something dark.

And in the cave laid Kael Throne, the once mighty Councilman. Kael coughed violently as he leaned against the jagged rocks. Blood streamed from his mouth. One arm gone. Skin burned beyond recognition. His left eye was gone, the right one barely holding focus. He had escaped death by sacrificing everything yet even now, fate refused to show mercy to him.

The voice continued to hum, growing clearer with each step forward.

Then,

Silence. Bootsteps echoed.

Kael's remaining eye widened in disbelief as the figure emerged from the shadow. He froze. The recognition struck him like a dagger.

"…You," he growled.

His voice was broken but it was laced with pure hatred. "You…"

The man before him offered a calm, easy smile. Ryker stood before Kael.

"I was hoping you would still be conscious," Ryker said, brushing imaginary dust off his coat. "It's always better when they can hear it. The final humiliation."

Kael's lip curled into a snarl. "Traitorous wretch"

Ryker chuckled hearing it, "Now, now.... Traitor is a strong word. You would need loyalty to betray someone. I never owed or did a thing for you"

Kael's breathing turned ragged. "You mock me….me, Kael Throne, Councilman of the First Seat, High Monarch of the White Flame…"

"Ex-councilman," Ryker interrupted him with a grin. "Ex-leader of a ruined cult. Ex-human, really. You have fallen so far I doubt you can even see the mountain you once stood on."

Kael gritted his teeth and raised his remaining arm with trembling fury, trying to conjure even a spark of mana to strike Ryker down.

Ryker didn't even flinch. Instead, he whispered softly, "Luxet Fulcrum."

A brilliant violet seal flared to life beneath Kael. Tendrils of light exploded upward, wrapping around his limbs like celestial chains. His arm stopped mid air. His jaw locked. His muscles turned to stone.

Kael was frozen. Powerless.

Ryker walked in a slow circle around him, hands clasped behind his back like a professor observing a failed experiment.

"I knew you would use that little teleportation trinket of yours to escape from Seraphina's domain. It's clever preset coordinates, safety failsafes… if someone isn't expecting it. It's the perfect getaway tool. But I have been expecting everything."

He crouched beside Kael, his voice was low and intimate. "I had help. The other locations? Gone. Quietly erased. This was the only place left for you to crawl back. A rat, cornered in a burning maze."

Kael's one good eye burned with rage.

Ryker leaned closer, smirking.

"And now you are here. Broken. Trapped. Powerless. How does it feel, Kael? To lose everything?"

Kael couldn't answer.

So Ryker stood and answered for him.

"Humiliating, I bet. Let's cut to the point now"

He lifted one hand, palm facing towards Kael.

"Devour."

Black chains burst from Ryker's palm. They came glowing with ghostly hunger, twisting and hissing like serpents. They coiled around Kael's immobilized form, piercing into flesh, into soul. There was no scream, no sound. He couldn't even twitch but his eye widened in unspeakable agony.

Ryker's expression turned unreadable as he watched. A familiar screen came front his eyes.

[Hade's Spirit-Eating Chains had been activated]

[You have devoured Kael Throne]

[WARNING: Target's Soul Grade exceeds the user's core capacity. Devour will take additional time to fully consume the target's soul.]

[Progress: 31%....]

Then, came a second screen.

[Target "Kael Throne" successfully eliminated]

[Demon of Wrath, Belaros has been eliminated]

[•Main Quest: "Prevent Lucas Lockhart's Corruption" has been completed!!]

[•Sub-Quest: "Scorch of the Abyss" has been completed!!]

[•Quest: "Demonic Nexus Activity" has been completed!!]

[•Sub-Quest: "Slay Abyssal Leviathan & Cult Leader" has been completed!!]

[User has saved 42% more students than it was originally calculated]

Ryker blinked as the data scrolled across his vision.

[Calculating reward… Contribution: EX-Rank.]

[Significant influence on narrative trajectory detected]

[Comprehensive reward under review. Please wait patiently]

"Nice!"

Ryker let out a quiet, satisfied breath and straightened.

"EX-Rank contribution," he muttered with a half smile. "Not bad for someone like me"

He turned to leave.

Then,

Behind him, Kael's head, once lifeless, began to glow.

The mangled mouth twisted upward into a ugly grin. The remaining eye glowed, not with pain now, but amusement.

A different voice spoke.

Smooth. Detached. Mocking.

"Did you enjoy the performance, Ryker?"

Ryker stopped in his tracks.

"….That voice.."

"I thought it was entertaining. You did well, manipulating Lucas and Arthur, steering the battle, sacrificing the right pawns. A fine little show."

Ryker turned slowly, his face darkening.

"…You must be…"

"The Extra," the voice confirmed, the head tilting unnaturally. "The one you were supposed to kill."

Ryker stared at Kael's head hard. "So you do know me."

"Better than you know yourself."

Ryker narrowed his eyes. "Then you know I don't respond well to puppeteers."

"And yet you play puppet to your own fear," the voice said in a calm and cruel tone. "You hide behind Arthur. Behind your healing facade. Behind your precious Light."

Ryker gave a low chuckle. "That's rich. Coming from something talking through a corpse. If I am hiding, what are you doing? Playing dress up with meat puppets?"

"I am everywhere. I am everything you have tried to bury," the voice hissed. "You are no savior, Ryker. You are just a parasite clinging to a narrative that doesn't want you."

Ryker stepped closer, his gaze cutting through the cave's gloom.

"Keep talking," he said. "The more you speak, the more I understand what you fear."

"Fear?" The head laughed. "I fear nothing. You, on the other hand, you fear failure. You fear being seen. You fear that no matter what you do, Lucas will still fall and she will still die."

Ryker flinched but only slightly.

"…You really think you can break me with a few recycled lines?" he muttered.

The voice grew quieter and became more intimate.

"Do you really think you can save them?"

"I don't think," Ryker said coldly. "I will."

"We will see about that

The voice continued whispering lies, threats, veiled truths. Hearing the nonsense Ryker stepped forward.

Crack!!!

He brought his boot down and shattered Kael's skull with a single, echoing stomp.

The glow vanished.

Silence returned.

Ryker stood there, unmoving.

Then, quietly, he spoke to the corpse,

"…Shut up."

He turned.

Didn't look back.

As he walked away from the corpse. His expression had hardened and became cool and calculating.

"This is a long chess game… and all I have done is remove a rook."

"The king is still out there….."

"I need to gather my pieces."

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