Two whips of flame slammed through Soo-min's heart and skull, triggering an eruption of hot blood from her main body. At the moment of impact, every single clone vanished.

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the cave, Tae-hyun stepped out of the shadow of a nearby tree.

"Aisssh!" He winced in pain as he rubbed his bleeding head. "Just what in the world was that?"

He turned toward the entrance of the cave. Though he was feeling a pang of guilt, he had no other choice than to escape alone, as his Shadow Step skill could only be used to teleport only him.

He sighed and looked away from the cave. Since it was evening, he needed to find another shelter as soon as possible before the sun completely disappeared.

Of course he was strong and could handle himself against all the Grade Two creatures that would wake up when the sun was gone, however, he was currently in no mood for another prolonged fight.

Not only was he low on mana, but he was a bit injured too because of that monster... or whatever the hell it was that was in that cave.

He began to walk briskly towards north. Having frequented this territory many times, he knew the area and every surrounding cave by heart.

He had barely taken five steps when, without warning, five whips of flame, tipped with burning swords, simultaneously lashed out from the trees, striking him on all sides. Impaled instantly, Tae-hyun died on the spot.

***

Inside the cavern, the air was filled with acrid smoke and thick dust. The only illumination came from the faint, reddish glow of the fireplace embers, casting long, shifting shadows across the debris. Rocks rained down, and the brief, chaotic echoes of the battle faded, replaced by the ominous quiet of a space structurally ruined.

In the corner where she stood, Celeste swayed. She was utterly drained of mana, and without the energy to sustain her bonded ability, her demonic form flickered and caught fire. In a few seconds, her form reverted back to her normal self.

Unlike the last time she was forcibly reverted, this time she didn't immediately collapse. However, a profound, crushing weakness seized her, demanding every bit of her energy just to keep herself upright.

Ignoring the exhaustion, she shook off the paralysis and slowly crawled toward the center of the cavern where her brother's body lay in shadow. She finally collapsed onto the cold stone beside his head.

After a few agonizing seconds, she reached out, gently cupped his head in her hands, and pulled it to her chest. Hugging him tightly, she broke down into a torrent of desolate tears.

For a moment, the only sound in the cavern was the soft, ragged sound of her weeping, muffled by the constant, low grind of settling rock and the gentle patter of debris falling from the ceiling.

In the far corner, Dion leaned back against the wall and ran a hand through his hair in pained disbelief. Though he had not known Cedric very long, seeing Celeste's figure through the dim light cradle his head, he couldn't help but feel a deep ache. It was a cruel irony that Cedric had saved them many times, yet was the only one who died from the horrible encounter.

A few quiet seconds later, he began to hear the gentle sobs of Ino in his head.

He sighed and closed his eyes. It really was a wrenching loss.

***

Hours later…

The cavern was now completely quiet and in absolute darkness. The embers of the fireplace had completely died out, leaving nothing but cold ash and heavy silence.

Celeste had not moved an inch from where she knelt and kept her face buried in her brother's hair, lost entirely to her grief.

Dion had at one point tried to move but was too tired and had given up, while Ino had materialized by his side and was now resting on his lap.

The somber atmosphere stretched… until a sudden echo of footsteps broke the darkness, causing all of them to flinch and tense instantly.

While Celeste was too exhausted to move, both Dion and Ino immediately stood up, expecting the worst. But after a few seconds, a spark flared from a matchstick in the darkness. In the next few moments, the fireplace was fully lit illuminating the entire cavern.

Suddenly, everyone's eyes widened in shock as they could finally see the figure standing by the fireplace.

It was Aika.

As always, she stood lazily, inhaling from the windpipe in her hand before exhaling a thick, gray plume of smoke. Her expression was like that of someone who was profoundly irritated by the surrounding somber atmosphere.

Dion was the first to break the silence.

"Ino, that… that's Cedric's bond, right?" He blinked multiple times in disbelief. "Isn't she supposed to be dead?" He looked to Ino who couldn't give an answer but just kept staring, paralyzed by shock.

Ignoring their reaction, Aika turned toward where Celeste was kneeling, her gaze settling on the girl's stunned, grief-stricken face. Then she began walking toward her.

When she stopped in front of Celeste, she reached out her hand and spoke nonchalantly, "Can I have my bearer's head back?"

Celeste didn't react immediately as she was completely paralyzed by the shock of seeing Aika, who should have been dead, standing there with such a chillingly casual demand.

She swallowed hard, then looked down at the head in her hands with confusion. After a moment, she slowly extended it toward Aika.

Aika grabbed the head by the hair and turned away, as if the exchange were something completely normal. But just as she was about to take a step, Celeste spoke:

"Wait… I don't understand any of this."

Aika halted. Then, after a brief pause, Celeste added frailly, "Brother is dead, right? …How… how are you still alive?"

For a few moments there was silence until Aika sighed, exhaling a long plume of gray smoke. Then she finally replied. "I am alive because a petty sword through the chest is not enough to kill us who control life and the absolute death."

At that reply, Celeste's confusion deepened.

Aika ignored her, walking around the girl and kneeling down beside the corpse. She then gently placed the head in the hollow where the neck had been severed, fitting it back onto the shoulders.

Then she turned to the side where a small screen displaying the time read:

[11:59 p.m.]

A few seconds passed, and then the time changed: [12:00 a.m.]

Aika then placed her hand over the corpse, and a new notification materialized solely for her:

[Would you like to use the bonded ability: Chrysalis to bestow new life upon the Gamer, in exchange for 500 karma points?]

'Bring my bearer back to life,' she commanded, and in the next second, the message changed.

[Activating the bonded ability: Chrysalis...]

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