"DIE!"

A final, muffled explosion echoed inside the King’s head.

The golden eyes shattered simultaneously.

The creature’s massive body went limp, its life force extinguished in a single, cold burst of power.

As Soren lost his grip and began to tumble backward from the peak of the pillar, the world slowed down once more. In that suspended moment of falling, he caught a glimpse of Ryan.

The boy was collapsing toward the gray dust, his lips and eyes bleeding from the massive mana strain, yet a faint, shaky smile was etched onto his face. He looked at peace, even as he broke.

Then, the ground rushed up to meet Soren.

THUD.

He hit the dirt with a heavy, sickening impact. He lay flat on his back, staring straight up at the dark, vast sky.

"..."

The artificial strength was gone.

Every muscle in his body felt like it was being shredded by hot needles, and his lungs burned as if he were breathing in broken glass. He remained still, his breathing becoming shallow and distant as the silence reclaimed the clearing.

The darkness of the sky started to bleed into the edges of his vision, pulling him down into a heavy, dreamless weight.

In that gathering gloom, a face he had fought so hard to protect surfaced with crystal clarity.

"Ethea..."

Soren’s voice was a mere ghost of a sound, a broken rasp that barely left his lips.

"Ha... ha..."

They say the mind clings to its most precious anchor right before your eyes close forever, and for him, it seemed she was that anchor.

His blood-stained lips curled up into a faint, weary smile.

For a second, the agony in his chest was replaced by the warmth of her presence. However, alongside this tender feeling, a crushing guilt washed over his heart.

It was a cold, bitter tide that followed the warmth.

He... He had promised to be her hands. He had promised to be the one who would finally find a way to make her stand again. He had promised to protect her till the end...

’I’m... sorry...’

The thought was heavy, pulling at the last of his strength.

’It seems like I... won’t be able to fulfill my promise...’

He felt the darkness tugging harder now, urging him to let go. He closed his eyes, his mind drifting back to the image of her face and that faint yet dazzling smile he had witnessed, a sight so bright it seemed to pierce through the encroaching shadows of the gate.

’But I hope...’

His breathing grew shallow, his pulse slowing to a rhythmic thrum that matched the dying light of the monolith.

’You will... live on...’

The wish lingered even as his grip on the world loosened. He stopped fighting the crushing weight in his chest and allowed his heavy eyelids to fall, letting the image of her dazzling smile be the last thing he held onto. He surrendered to the pull of the void, his mind finally going quiet as he drifted away from the pain.

A faint, soft golden light flickered at the very edge of his sight. It was a gentle and dying glow that pulsed one last time, a final heartbeat of warmth before the world dissolved into nothingness.

’Good...

’...bye.’

’Et...’

’...a.’

_____ __

________ ____ __

_____ __

[Back before the fall. Back to the moment the gamble began.]

"Don’t hold back."

"I won’t," Ryan muttered. He forced his fingers to stay locked around the hilt of his sword, fighting the tremors in his hands. He knew what was coming. The gravity of the situation pressed down on him harder than the heavy atmosphere of the gate. Along with that weight, he felt the sharp burden of Soren’s trust.

"Good..."

Ryan watched Soren’s back as he began to walk. The sound of boots crunching on obsidian scales echoed through the silence like a countdown. Each step made Ryan’s heart beat faster, and his lungs felt tight with an agonizing anticipation. He kept his eyes locked on the vertical gold slits of the King. He was terrified the monster would break free from its shell before Soren could reach it.

As the air became warped with a sudden surge of killing intent, Ryan focused everything on the invisible connection between them and felt the thin thread of his mana begin to vibrate.

Ten meters. Five. Four.

"Now!"

At Soren’s roar, Ryan ignited his ability. He sensed the violent surge of Adrenaline Rush from Soren and slammed his Amplification forward. A hot and searing pain tore through his mana circuits, but he did not pull back. He channeled almost all the mana he had just recovered from the potions to feed the fire in Soren’s veins.

Soren launched, becoming a blur of blue and silver light.

Ryan tracked the movement with wide eyes, his own consciousness straining to keep pace with the sheer speed of the assault. The world seemed to stretch and thin around the flying figure of his companion. As the intensity of the link reached its zenith, Ryan’s vision began to haze. He felt a warm and metallic wetness leak from his eyes and mouth, yet his focus remained entirely on the spear.

Just as the tip reached the monster’s crown, Ryan gave one final and desperate shove. He poured every last bit of his remaining mana into that single point of impact. His spirit recoiled from the sudden drain of his energy, and something inside him snapped like a dry branch.

"BOOM!"

The shockwave hit him even from the ground. He watched through a red-tinted blur as the King’s skull buckled and the golden eyes shattered. A terrifying explosion of frost erupted from the monolith, signaling the end.

Ryan felt his legs turn to water. He collapsed backward toward the gray dust. As he fell, his gaze drifted toward the tumbling figure of his companion. For a heartbeat, as they both fell toward the earth, their eyes met.

The fear that had gripped him for hours finally vanished.

A faint and shaky smile pulled at his blood-stained lips.

’We... did it...’

The thought was a quiet victory. He hit the ground, but he did not feel the impact. The world was already fading into a blur. The dark sky and the bone-white monolith merged into a single shadow. Just before the darkness claimed him completely, his eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar yet unfamiliar soft golden light pulsing in the distance.

Then, everything went black.

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[Volume 1: End]