"Still not giving up?" Izek taunted, his voice dripping with disdain as he countered Ronovan's desperate assault.
Meanwhile, Clementine's feral form was breaking down. The energy sustaining her Phase Two bled away, leaving her limp and unconscious within Izek's binding shadows.
Ronovan's eyes flicked toward her.
Is it over? Looks like Fenrir can't sustain Phase Two longer than Clementine's body can endure.
Woosh—BLARR!
A heavy blow slammed into Ronovan. The blow sent his body sprawling face-first onto the cracked floor. He groaned, struggling to push himself up, but his arms shook violently, betraying his exhaustion.
"How bold of you to look away from me during battle, Ronovan," Izek sneered, shadows rippling across his body. "Bold… or just foolish."
He advanced slowly toward the unconscious Clementine.
But Ronovan forced himself up on unsteady legs. His blood boiled—literally. Scarlet strands erupted, weaving into a net that snapped around Izek's arm.
"Blood Manipulation!" Ronovan shouted, his voice ragged.
The crimson net blasted Izek backward, the impact cracking the stone floor beneath him.
Ronovan staggered upright, brushing his sweat-damp bangs back with trembling fingers. His chest heaved as smoke filled the air.
Izek reformed from the haze, and his body rippled back into shape as if it were made of liquid shadow. "From the beginning, I've had no physical body," he growled. "Attacks like that will never hurt me."
Ronovan's jaw tightened. He already knew that Lady Seraphine's four subordinates were immortal constructs. And yet, facing it firsthand made victory feel impossibly distant.
"I've decided," Izek's voice reverberated as he advanced again, shadows writhing hungrily. "I'll kill you and Clementine here and now."
Ronovan's expression hardened. Sweat trickled down his temple as he sank into a fighting stance. His breathing was shallow, each inhale strained.
Then—
CRACK.
The roof they used as a foothold cracked,
followed by a thunderous explosion from below. The entire mansion shuddered violently.
"What—?" For the first time, surprise flickered across Izek's face.
Ronovan seized the moment. His body blurred as he dashed forward, snatching Clementine from her binds. Without hesitation, he leapt away into the collapsing shadows.
By the time Izek steadied himself, they were gone.
"Tch. Richo's handiwork?" he muttered, irritation lacing his words. He glanced down, realizing the disruption had come from the lower floors.
"Better to check below."
His body melted into shadow and descended.
-----
The basement was in ruins. Dust and smoke hung thick in the air.
And there—Richo lay defeated, his body nothing but ash scattered across the broken stone.
Standing amidst the carnage was Lumino—alive. Breathing. His sapphire eyes burned icy fire as he hovered above the wreckage.
At Richo's remains, a blood-red gem pulsed faintly. Izek's hand shot forward, scooping it up before the ashes dispersed entirely.
"That man…" Izek muttered, his crimson eyes narrowing. "To think he could erase one of the Four. Was it his raw power… or the Orb's influence?"
He stepped closer, but froze.
For the first time, Izek shivered.
The moment his gaze met Lumino's, a cold dread pierced his core. Unbidden, an image of his own death flickered across his mind.
"…Monster," Izek hissed through a grin.
Lumino's voice was low, sharp as a blade. "Do you not see yourself?"
Those sapphire eyes cut deeper than any weapon. There was no mistaking it—Lumino wanted him gone, erased, just like Richo.
Izek's muscles locked, but he pushed through the dread, his pride ignited.
'This man killed Richo. An immortal. And yet… I want to test him. I want to clash with this monster myself.'
He straightened, shadows writhing wildly. "Then allow me to introduce myself properly," Izek said, his tone heavy with menace. "My name is Izek. Burn it into your soul—for it is the name of the one who will end you."
Without warning, Izek lunged. His shadowy arm clamped around Lumino's throat with inhuman speed.
"Ghkk—!" Lumino choked, thrashing against the grip. But his hands passed straight through Izek's form, like smoke.
"As I suspected," Izek said darkly, squeezing tighter. "You've reached your limit."
Lumino's vision swam. His eyes rolled back, lungs burning, breath gone.
"How disappointing. You've failed Lady Seraphine. She had such high hopes for you…"
But then—
A pulse.
Something shifted.
Izek's grin flickered, the joy in his eyes dimming as a blinding light pulsed from Lumino, a warmth that turned cold. The air cracked, a spiderweb of glowing fissures spreading outwards. Each tear in reality vibrated with a low, guttural hum, promising to swallow the room whole.
"What—what is this?!" Izek said.
Lumino's eyes blazed, his mouth aglow as light erupted from every pore. Panic, for the first time, laced Izek's voice. He struggled to release Lumino, but his hands remained unresponsive. A shrieking resonance, a skull-splitting vibration, filled the air.
Then, understanding dawned: he was being swallowed.
======
Darkness vanished.
Izek found himself standing in a place of blinding white. Everywhere he looked, the horizon was nothing but endless light.
And then… he saw them.
Thousands of wings. Thousands of eyes. All staring, all fixed on him.
His body locked. His limbs refused to move. Terror consumed him whole.
Then the scene shifted.
In a ruined world—a wasteland of flame and destruction with cities reduced to rubble and skies torn apart by red fire, the very land fractured—faint screams echoed through the burning air.
Staggering through the devastation, Lumino moved forward, step by step, apparently oblivious to Izek's presence.
"Lumino…"
The young man stopped. Slowly, he turned his head toward the voice. His face was pale, drawn with exhaustion, but his eyes widened in recognition.
"…Grandfather?"
Izek blinked.
Lumino's lips trembled. His whole body shook. "Was this… was all this you? Did you do this? Capital… has it truly fallen to ruin like this?"
Lumino dropped his gaze. His voice was raw, cracked with grief. "I don't understand. Why did everyone lie to me? My mother… even you, grandfather. Why? What did I do to deserve this?!"
His voice broke into a scream.
"Why do I have to face this alone?!"
"Calm yourself, Lumino," his grandfather said softly, his face etched with sorrow. "I don't understand either. What did Resvika do to you? I already told you before, I begged you to listen—"
"Listen? To what?!" Lumino's voice cracked, tears spilling down his face. "I'm tired of explanations. I'm sick of being used. Was I nothing but a tool? My mother's tool—to secure the throne?!"
"Lumino…" His grandfather's eyes glistened.
"Are you happy now?!" Lumino screamed, his voice shattering. "Seeing me—your grandson—so lost, so deceived, so broken?! Oh, I remember, you're not even my real grandfather!!"
His words collapsed into sobs. He sank, shoulders quaking, tears streaming.
"…I'm sorry," his grandfather whispered. "I understand now. Please stop this. Don't do this. You can't, Look around you, Lumino… can't you see what you're doing?"
Izek, forced to watch, struggled to grasp their words. The devastation: crumbling buildings, fiery rain scorching his skin—overwhelmed his senses the earth torn asunder, and screams that clawed at his ears.
This world... will face annihilation.
For the first time in his existence, Izek felt something he didn't expect. Pity. Pity for the mortals who would be swallowed in this apocalypse, at the hands of the white-haired man before him.
Lady Seraphine word echoing in Izek's mind: "It was Lumino who killed his grandfather. Lumino, who would bring ruin to his own world."
And here it was. The proof.
Yet still… something felt wrong.
'Why does he look so lost? So broken? like all of this wasn't his doing,' Izek thought, unease gnawing at him.
This wasn't the face of someone in control. No, this was a boy unraveling, screaming at ghosts—while power beyond comprehension tore the world apart.
"Lumino…" his grandfather's voice cracked, gentle and trembling. "Come back to Ernela with me. Stay by my side. You don't have to bear this anymore. I'll tell you everything you've wanted to know… slowly… patiently. Please let's just go home."
"Stop, Grandfather." Lumino's voice was hollow, drained. His saphire-blue eyes, usually radiant with life, were now dull like dying embers. "I can't go back. I can't even stop anymore. I just… want to die." His tone broke with resignation, his body trembling under the weight of despair.
He drew in a sharp breath and confessed, "I killed my mother. I turned my power against her… and I didn't regret it. That woman deserved it. I refused her existence. I'll never acknowledge her as my mother."
His grandfather froze, as though struck by lightning. "…What did you say?" He stumbled closer, his wrinkled hands gripping Lumino's shoulders. "You killed her? Lumino, you… why? Why, my boy? The guilt will crush you! No one could bear such a burden!" His voice faltered, thick with grief. "It's my fault… all of it. If I had told you sooner—the prophecy, your strength, everything—maybe… maybe this never would have happened."
His knees buckled. The old man sank to the scorched earth, clutching Lumino's arms as tears streamed down his weathered face. "Forgive me… forgive your foolish grandfather…"
For Izek, the sight was sickening. He clenched his teeth, his fists trembling. Even if his presence wasn't entirely corporeal here, the heat, the stench of charred flesh, the suffocating air—it all pressed against him.
If I keep dwelling on this memory, I will be consumed along with this world...
But before Izek could retreat, the scene twisted into horror. Lumino summoned a great sword of light, the radiant edge aimed toward his own chest. He wanted to end it all. But before it could strike him, his grandfather hurled himself forward, intercepting the blade.
The sound was sickening—like steel tearing through wet wood. The luminous sword pierced straight through the old man's body.
"Lumino…" he rasped, blood gushing from his mouth, spattering across Lumino's pale face. He murmured weakly, "Forgive... me... Use your strength... ohhk... not to destroy... but to protect... To protect... is to grow..."
His body sagged, breath fading. His eyes closed with a fragile peace, dying in Lumino's trembling arms.
"G-grandpa… no… no, wake up! Don't leave me! Please!" Lumino's cries cracked into violent sobs, his entire body shaking. His screams echoed across the burning land, and with each one the earth itself split further, the ground shattering, tremors tearing the ruined capital apart.
Izek stumbled, nearly falling as the soil crumbled beneath his feet. Damn it… this boy's power… it's monstrous. This raw, unchecked force…
He steadied himself, sweat rolling down his face. It's pathetic, really. Such terrifying strength wasted on someone with emotions this fragile. If this is what his power looks like unrefined, then what happens… when he merges completely with the Red Orb Eternum?
The thought sent a chill crawling down Izek's spine. He needed to escape this storm of memory before he was swallowed.
Lumino crumpled, his knees hitting the gritty earth with a thud, a sound swallowed by his own raw wails. The world spun as his fists pounded the dirt, the metallic tang of blood mingling with the scent of damp soil, his hot tears blurring the crimson stain.
Then, a suffocating silence descended.
His body, heavy and limp, sagged. Hollow-eyed, he stood, the eternity broken. He wiped his face, the mixture of blood and sweat irritating his skin, and started walking with a slow, directionless gait.
What now…? Izek thought, struggling to comprehend the boy's madness. The suffocating air clawed at his lungs, stealing his breath, yet he followed.
As they left the capital behind, the ruined city collapsed further, exploding as if struck by a falling star. The shockwave rushed across the plains, a searing gale that battered against Izek. He shielded his eyes, his hair whipping violently. When the smoke parted, Lumino still walked forward, calm, smiling faintly.
"It's time to go back to Ernela," Lumino whispered to himself, voice almost cheerful. "Grandfather is waiting… Kali and Theo too…"
That smile—so innocent, so disturbingly happy—made Izek's blood run cold.
What the f*ck? You just killed your grandfather, boy. Did you erase the memory from your own mind? Or… have you gone completely mad?
Fear prickled in Izek's chest. I need to get out of here. I don't want this lunatic's mind bleeding into mine.
Yet still he followed as Lumino returned to Ernela village, walking beside him in order to escape this place.