The Genius Mage Was Reincarnated Into A Swordsman Family-Chapter 193: Fracture

"Fifth Circle Magic: Reality Severance."

The corridor shattered like glass.

Not the physical structure, but reality itself—space and time splintering around Klaus as the Fifth Eye's magic circle unleashed power beyond human comprehension. Light bent, fractured, then inverted completely as the laws of physics themselves were temporarily suspended.

The Duke's multi-layered voice distorted, rising in pitch until it became an inhuman scream that echoed across dimensions. His hybrid form contorted, crystal appendages snapping off as opalescent fluid boiled into vapor. The homunculi closest to Klaus simply... ceased to exist, their artificial bodies unmade at a fundamental level.

Blood erupted from every pore in Klaus's skin, his body failing as the spell drew power not just from mana or arcane energy, but from his very life force. He felt his consciousness fraying at the edges, awareness flickering in and out like a candle in a storm. Through it all, the dings continued, their tones now warped and alien, as if coming from somewhere beyond the boundaries of normal existence.

I'm dying, he realized with detached calm. A strange acceptance filled him as darkness encroached upon his vision. At least the others might escape. At least Alexandra...

In the elevator shaft, the survivors clung to the maintenance ladders as violent tremors shook the entire structure. Reality itself seemed to bend around them, distances stretching and compressing in nauseating waves.

"What's happening?" Finn shouted, his knuckles white as he gripped the metal rungs.

"Klaus," Alexandra whispered, her face pale as she stared back toward the corridor they'd left behind. Something in her expression shifted—a realization that she might never see him again. "We need to keep moving."

Far below, the corridor fractured further as Klaus poured the last of his strength into the forbidden spell. The magic circle within his Fifth Eye began to destabilize, ancient symbols blurring as his consciousness struggled to maintain the complex formulas. Reality Severance wasn't just severing the physical space around him—it was severing his connection to his own body.

The Duke, his form partially unmade by the spell's initial blast, began to adapt once more. Opalescent fluid flowed through the fractures in reality, forming new patterns that resisted the spell's effects. Even faced with Fifth Circle Magic, the hybrid entity was evolving countermeasures.

"Impossible," the Duke's reconstituting voice hissed, fascination evident despite the damage. "That spell... it's forbidden... no mage has ever survived casting it... the magical backlash alone should have..."

Klaus couldn't respond. His physical form was deteriorating rapidly, entire sections of muscle and tissue unraveling at a cellular level. Yet somehow, he maintained the spell, his will alone keeping the magic circle active as his body failed him.

Familiar patterns flickered at the edges of his awareness—memories from lifetimes ago, knowledge buried beneath layers of reincarnation. In the depths of his mind, something ancient stirred, reaching for the surface of his consciousness as barriers weakened.

You are more than this vessel.

The thought wasn't his own. Or perhaps it was—from a self he had long forgotten.

A sudden surge of power erupted from the rune on his palm. The obsidian light spread, flowing up his arm and across his chest in intricate patterns that resembled veins of black fire. Where it touched, his disintegrating flesh temporarily stabilized, the damage arrested if not repaired.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

The system notifications continued, but with a different quality now—less urgent, more... expectant.

"What... are you?" the Duke demanded, his reconstituted form hovering at the edge of the reality fracture, unwilling to approach further.

Klaus couldn't answer. Didn't know the answer himself. The black veins spread further, covering his entire body now, pulsing in rhythm with his fading heartbeat. The Fifth Eye's magic circle stabilized, its rotation slowing to a more controlled pace as the spell's effects grew more focused.

Instead of shattering reality indiscriminately, the fractures began to seal, reforming around the Duke and his homunculi in a pattern that resembled a cage—a prison of distorted spacetime that would hold them, at least temporarily.

Not enough, Klaus thought, sensing the Duke already probing for weaknesses in the construct. Need more time.

In the elevator shaft, the survivors had nearly reached the surface level. Leone pushed open an access hatch, verifying they had reached a maintenance corridor that led toward the barrier control station.

"We're clear," he called down to the others. "Move quickly!"

Alexandra was the last to reach the hatch, her gaze still fixed on the shaft below. "I can't leave him," she whispered, conflicted.

Juron placed a hand on her shoulder. "He made his choice," the big man said quietly. "Don't waste it."

She hesitated, then nodded, following the others into the corridor. The maintenance route wound through the upper levels of the containment zone, emergency lighting casting everything in a sickly green glow.

"The barrier control should be just ahead," Leone said, leading them forward with drawn blade. "We need to—"

He stopped abruptly, raising a hand in warning. Ahead, the corridor split into three branches, and from the central passage came a sound that chilled their blood—the rhythmic clicking of mechanical components, punctuated by the liquid flow of opalescent fluid.

"More of them," Darius hissed, readying his weapon.

"They're everywhere," Finn added, his voice tight with fear. "The entire city..."

Alexandra stepped forward, her cyan-infused blade glowing brighter as she channeled more energy through her core. "We fight through. Klaus bought us this chance—we don't waste it."

In the fractured corridor below, Klaus felt his consciousness slipping further. The black veins pulsing across his skin were the only thing holding him together now, but even they were beginning to fade as his life force dwindled.

The Duke's form had fully reconstituted, though it remained trapped within the spacetime distortion created by Reality Severance. The hybrid creature studied Klaus with clinical interest, its mechanical eyes recording every detail of his deterioration.

"Fascinating," the Duke mused. "Your physical form fails, yet the spell persists. Such will. Such determination. You would have made an exceptional vessel for the Ascension."

Klaus forced his eyes open, meeting the Duke's gaze despite the agony wracking his body. "You... won't... succeed..." he managed, each word sending fresh blood trickling from his lips.

The Duke's half-mechanical face formed what might have been a smile. "The Convergence is already in motion. Your friends cannot stop it. Even now, the final alignments are being established."

Through his fading consciousness, Klaus sensed a shift in the energy flowing throughout Northwatch. The barrier around the Eternal Rift was thinning, its containment functions inverting to become a conduit. The Duke was right—they were running out of time.

With the last of his strength, Klaus focused on the Fifth Eye's magic circle, altering its formula to create one final effect. If he couldn't stop the Convergence, he could at least buy the others more time to reach the barrier controls.

"Fifth Circle Magic," he whispered, blood bubbling between his teeth, "Reality... Anchor..."

The spell morphed, its effects narrowing to a single purpose—locking the Duke and his immediate surroundings in a pocket of frozen time. Not as extensive as his earlier Dimensional Lockdown, but far more absolute in its effect. The cost was the last of his life force, his body beginning to dissolve as the magic consumed him from within.

The dings returned, their tone almost melancholic now, as if the system itself recognized what was happening.

The Duke's form froze completely, caught in perfect stasis. Even his mechanical eyes ceased their movement, the opalescent fluid hardening into crystal. A perfect suspension, but one that Klaus knew would not—could not—last long.

As darkness claimed him, Klaus had one final thought: Be safe, Alexandra. Complete the mission.

Then everything went black.

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In the corridor above, Alexandra paused, a chill running down her spine. Something had changed—she could feel it. For a moment, she thought she heard Klaus's voice, a whispered farewell that cut through her core.

"Alexandra?" Leone called from ahead, where they had engaged the first of the homunculi blocking their path to the barrier control.

She steeled herself, pushing the feeling aside. There would be time to mourn later—if they survived. "Coming!"

With renewed determination, she charged forward, her blade cleaving through silver bodies as they fought their way toward what might be their only chance of stopping the Convergence.

Behind them, in the depths below, reality began to fracture once more as the anchored pocket of spacetime destabilized, the Duke's hybrid form already beginning to break free from its temporary prison.

And somewhere, beyond the boundaries of normal perception, something ancient watched with growing interest.