Lucere didn't simply stand in front of them.

He occupied the world

as if space itself had decided he was the only thing it cared to hold.

Master Vince, still kneeling, stared up at him

and felt fear.

True fear.

The kind that seeped into the bone.

(This man…

He's dangerous.

More dangerous than any Voidborn…

More dangerous than any opponent I've met…)

His surviving heart pounded unevenly, warning him with every slowing beat.

Behind him, Juno's voice cracked

"Master!!"

Vince didn't look back.

His teeth clenched as he barked

"STAY THERE, JUNO! You move and you die!"

Juno froze, shaking.

Lucere chuckled softly, eyes drifting over the kneeling Taishin master.

"You are strong," Lucere said, voice smooth as liquid shadow.

"Truly strong, Vince the Wandering Fist."

Vince forced himself up an inch, muscles screaming.

"I'm flattered," he rasped.

"You know me… Leader of the Hollow Nine."

Lucere placed one hand over his heart and bowed mockingly.

"Lucere. At your service."

But the bow was not for Vince.

Because Lucere's eyes

those layered colors of mania and devotion

slid past him…

…and locked onto Khael.

The Dragon Knight's breath hitched.

His claws trembled.

His wings curled inward instinctively.

Lucere smiled like a man reunited with a long-lost lover.

"I believe," he said softly,

"you have the Shard, Khael Corzedar."

Khael's throat locked.

His knees felt weak.

He couldn't speak.

Couldn't breathe.

Couldn't lie.

Terror wasn't the word.

It was hopelessness.

Lucere tilted his head.

"Ah," he whispered.

"Seems like you've seen a ghost."

Khael didn't answer.

He couldn't.

The memories from Earth, the manga, the doom this man represented—

were crushing his chest like iron.

Ceyla, seeing his expression, winced and reached for him.

"Khael…"

Her voice shook as she forced herself upright.

Her legs buckled, but she moved anyway.

Lucere's smile widened.

"How admirable."

He didn't walk toward Khael.

He didn't flash-step.

He simply blinked

and reality placed him directly before Khael's face.

Ceyla's eyes widened in horror.

"WAIT!"

But she couldn't take another step.

Because Lucere exhaled

and a wave of Shinrei blasted outward, immeasurable and crushing.

Air turned to stone.

Spirits screamed.

Bones rang with pain.

Everyone

Juno, Ceyla, Andromeda, Ryn, Mari, Captain Robi, even Vince fell or dropped to one knee, gasping as the invisible weight crushed their lungs.

Khael felt his Dragonion form flicker

the violet aura sputtering in submission.

Lucere looked down at him like a disappointed parent.

"I'll take it now," he said.

"The Shard, Khael Corzedar."

Khael's heart pounded so violently it hurt.

Ceyla screamed "NO….KHAEL!!"

Her whole body trembled as she crawled forward on broken limbs,

tears streaking down her bloodied face.

Andromeda, pinned by the pressure, snarled

"Shit—SHIT!!

We can't…move…!!"

Matthew lay unconscious, Harmonae's faint glow flickering like a candle drowning in wind.

. Ceyla managed a hoarse cry. "No, Khael!!"

Khael tried to move, to speak, to resist but his muscles refused to obey.

I can't…

I can't protect them…

I can't even stand…

Is this where I die?

He tried to lift a claw.

He tried to summon a spark of violet Shinrei

Nothing responded.

His own body betrayed him.

Lucere reached toward Khael's chest, two fingers extended,

as if plucking something delicate

the exact spot where the Shard pulsed.

And with a soft, unhurried breath

Lucere whispered:

"Awaken for me, Fifth Fragment.

Your master has come."

Khael's eyes widened in terror

and the Shard inside him

began to throb.

Lucere's fingers hovered over Khael's chest calm, precise, inevitable.

The pulsing beneath Khael's ribs thrashed like a trapped creature, but his body would not move. His limbs were stone. His breath shallow. His vision blurred at the edges.

Ceyla's scream tore through the air.

"NO—KHAEL!!!"

Her voice cracked from pain and terror, but she forced herself forward on trembling legs. It didn't matter that her wounds were still bleeding. It didn't matter that her bones felt like they were grinding together. She moved anyway.

Because the boy she loved was about to be carved open.

Juno cursed, slamming his fists against the invisible weight crushing him.

"D-Damn it…! I can't move—!"

Vince, kneeling, blood dripping from his lip, forced his head up.

His vision swam, but he glared at the silver-haired man standing before them.

(This pressure… This is beyond a Shinrei Master. This man, he's a calamity wearing human skin.)

Lucere tilted Khael's chin upward, his touch gentle in the most horrifying way.

"Don't struggle, little Shardbearer. You've already lost consciousness once. You'll lose more than that by the end."

His hand pressed lightly against Khael's sternum.

Instantly, Khael felt it.

Something cold.

Something ancient.

Something that slithered into the place where the Shard resided like fingers made of shadow and silk.

His heart convulsed.

His breath hitched.

And a white-hot pain speared down his spine.

Khael wanted to scream, but even his voice was stolen.

Ceyla reached out a shaking hand.

Lucere turned his head slightly, amused by her desperation.

"How adorable. Such loyalty. Such fear."

His eyes softened mockingly.

"Such uselessness."

He flicked his finger.

A wave of Shinrei, sharp as invisible blades, blasted outward.

Ceyla hit the ground.

Juno gasped as blood spattered from his lips.

Vince's elbows buckled, barely keeping himself from collapsing entirely.

Lucere returned his gaze to Khael.

"It's time."

He pressed his palm fully against Khael's chest.

Khael's back arched violently as a surge of energy ripped through him like his soul was being dragged across burning glass.

The world turned white.

His ears rang.

His thoughts fractured.

He wasn't even sure if his heart was beating anymore.

He felt something tear.

Something important.

Something that wasn't supposed to ever be touched.

Lucere exhaled with delight.

"There you are…"

A faint glow seeped through Khael's skin crimson, fractured, trembling like a dying star.

The Shard.

Ceyla screamed again, clawing at the ground, dragging herself inch by inch toward them even as tears streamed down her face.

"KHAAAAAAEL!!!"

Khael's consciousness flickered.

(No… Don't… Don't cry… Ceyla… I'm here… I'm here—)

But his body wouldn't move.

His hands wouldn't rise.

His voice wouldn't reach her.

Lucere's fingers curled.

And the Shard began to pull away.

Khael's breath stopped.

His eyes rolled back.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Vince felt the shift instantly, his stomach dropping.

(He's ripping out the Shard—while Khael is still alive. This… this will kill him.)

He tried to push up, to stand, to gather even a fraction of his strength—but Lucere's Shinrei weighed on him like an entire collapsing mountain range.

Juno's eyes widened in horror as he saw life drain from Khael's face.

"STOP—STOP IT, YOU MONSTER!"

Lucere didn't even turn.

He simply tightened his grip.

A sound like cracking crystal echoed—

then the world shook.

Khael's body convulsed.

The energy flared bright enough to blind.

Ceyla's breath stopped entirely.

And then

With a slow, precise pull…

Lucere removed the Shard.

A glowing, jagged fragment of ancient power pulsing weakly, like a dying heartbeat rested in his palm.

Khael's eyes went empty.

His body fell forward, limp, collapsing into the dirt like a marionette with its strings cut.

Ceyla's scream tore her voice to shreds.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Andromeda, shaking under the crushing weight, muttered through gritted teeth, "S-shit… shit shit… Khael—!"

Juno's vision blurred with fury and helplessness.

He slammed his fist onto the ground hard enough to crack stone beneath his knuckles.

"HOW CAN WE JUST WATCH THIS?!"

Vince finally managed a breath, his chest heaving.

His eyes locked onto Lucere, who now admired the Shard like a rare jewel.

(This man… He's not just strong. He's built to slaughter.)

Lucere turned the Shard over in his fingers, watching the faint red glow pulse like embers.

"This is the Shard… Another piece."

He glanced at Khael's still body.

"Though your survival impressed me. Such tenacity. Truly wasted on someone like you."

Ceyla dragged herself forward, blood smearing behind her as she crawled.

"Kha… Khael… get up… get up please… PLEASE…"

She grabbed his limp shoulder, shaking him desperately.

His head fell sideways, lifeless.

Her tears dripped onto his cheek.

Lucere watched her with a tilt of amusement.

"You all look so broken. Even though I've only taken one."

His eyes sharpened.

Vince finally forced himself onto one foot, his entire frame trembling.

"Lucere…"

His voice shook but burned with rage.

"…I'll kill you."

Lucere smiled gently.

"I look forward to seeing you try, Wandering Fist."

He raised two fingers.

The air screamed.

A ripple of Shinrei, compressed into a piercing wave, exploded outward—

and Vince took the full force of it.

His body skidded backward, crashing through a boulder, stone shards flying like shrapnel. Blood splattered across the ground where he landed.

"MASTER VINCE!!" Juno cried.

Ceyla shielded Khael's body with her own as dust and pressure washed over them.

Lucere lowered his hand.

Then

as if bored

he simply turned away.

"I have what I came for."

His silhouette blurred, folding into the air itself.

In a blink

Lucere vanished.

The Shinrei pressure lifted.

The world fell silent.

Only the sound of Ceyla's sobs remained.

She clutched Khael to her chest, her fingers tangled in his hair, her forehead pressed against his.

"Khael… wake up… please… open your eyes… don't leave me… don't leave me…"

Andromeda slowly crawled closer, voice shaking.

"Ceyla… let me check him"

Ceyla screamed at her.

"HE'S ALIVE….HE HAS TO BE!"

Juno punched the ground again, tears streaming down his face.

"Damn it… DAMN IT….WE WERE RIGHT HERE….WE COULDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

Vince stumbled forward from the rubble, coughing blood, barely standing.

His eyes fell on Khael's motionless body cradled in Ceyla's arms.

(Damn it… if only I had been stronger… even injured, even weakened… I should have protected them…)

He clenched his jaw so hard his teeth creaked.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

The air was heavy with despair.

Khael's chest did not rise.

The place where the Shard had rested was hollow.

Empty.

Silent.

Ceyla lowered her head, her voice cracking into a whisper so fragile it barely existed.

"Khael…

…please don't die."

To be continue

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.