CHAPTER 35: Reflection

The name still lingered in the depths of her past. A ghost that refused to be forgotten. The name alone didn’t sit right with her, and her chest pulsed with an aching, growing pressure. Hanz’s gaze remained locked onto her, sharp and unwavering. Helion's expression hardened as realization dawned on him—Hanz was using Sakura’s past against her, trying to awaken something buried deep within her trauma.

Hanz continued, his voice laced with cruel amusement. "How was meeting our old lost comrade? Was it fun crushing his bones together?"

Sakura’s breath hitched, her pupils dilating as the memory surfaced—how she had crushed the Warden’s bones with just her levitation. The sensation, the sound, the sheer terror of her own power. It had been dark. It had been horrifying. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs, her hands trembling as she clutched her chest. A deep, twisting fear took hold of her. Guilt. Horror. A waking nightmare.

Helion turned sharply toward her, his voice firm, cutting through the chaos, "Don’t let it get to you. I told you about this—!"

Before he could finish, the ground beneath them quaked violently. A tremor, unlike anything before, spread throughout the entire foundry. The very air grew thick, pulsating with raw energy.

Rin’s eyes widened in fear. She took a step back, instinctively recoiling from the shift in presence. Valcrid and the factory owner cowered where they stood.

"Wh-what... is happening?!" Valcrid stammered, his voice cracking.

Helion’s jaw clenched. "This is bad…"

A smirk played on Hanz’s lips. He had done it. He had awoken something within her. His ability, Malevolence, had whispered directly into her subconscious, prying open the door she had fought so hard to keep closed.

"This place has been horrible to you," Hanz continued, his voice smooth, taunting. "And what it did to your friends…"

Helion’s eyes darkened. He’s trying to push her over the edge.

But it was too late.

The ground cracked beneath them as the factory’s steel beams groaned in agony. A deafening sound erupted through the air as sections of the building began to collapse, forcing them all apart.

"We’re done here." Hanz turned on his heel, his coat swaying with the motion. "Let’s go, Rin."

Rin, still shaken by the display of power, hesitated. Then, without another word, she summoned a portal, disappearing alongside him, leaving the chaos behind.

Helion, however, had no time to focus on their escape. The factory was crumbling around them, massive chunks of debris crashing down like the heavens themselves were splitting apart.

With a flick of his wrist, Helion summoned his golden threads, weaving them into a protective barrier. He moved swiftly, shielding Valcrid and the factory owner from the falling wreckage. The factory owner, shaking, barely managed to let out a terrified whimper. "M-my factory!"

Helion ignored him. His focus was on her.

Sakura’s levitation had taken full control now, her form standing tall in the midst of the destruction. Pieces of metal and debris floated around her, twisting and bending at her mere will. Her eyes—unreadable—glowed faintly beneath the flickering lights of the crumbling foundry.

Helion exhaled sharply, stepping forward. "Sakura…! Enough!"

She didn’t respond.

Desperate, he snapped the thread binding her, but it was useless—nothing reached her. Steeling himself, he moved past the protective shield, the weight of her presence crashing against him like an unseen force, suffocating and immense.

Still, he reached out. His fingers closed around her shoulder.

She turned.

Their eyes met.

And Helion froze.

There was no hesitation. No fear. No doubt. Only an abyss of power, coiled and waiting—barely restrained. For the first time, true fear gripped him. In her gaze, he saw something worse than he ever imagined. A fate unraveling, a future lost to uncertainty and ruin.

His breath hitched. He stumbled back, eyes wide with terror.

Sakura stepped past him without a word, onto the wreckage of the foundry. She raised her hand—

And the ruins collapsed into nothing.

Meanwhile, the battle between Miki and Kaziel had yet to conclude, but the earthquake forced them both to pause. The ground trembled beneath them, and Anna's eyes darted around as the corrupted Sapphire Hearts vibrated violently. Furniture rattled, the walls groaned under the strain—this building wouldn’t last much longer.

"We need to get out—" Anna started, but before she could finish, Kaziel knocked Miki’s dagger from her grip. The weapon clattered to the ground, and Miki staggered back.

Seizing the moment, Kaziel leaped back, shielding Anna with his body. "Let’s go."

But Miki’s gaze lingered—not on the dagger, but on how close Kaziel stood to Anna. Her jaw clenched. Her breath grew sharp.

"GO AWAY…!!"

Fueled by fury, she lunged for the dagger, ignoring the shaking earth beneath her. But before she could reach it, a massive piece of furniture—toppled by the quake—came crashing down.

She didn’t react in time.

"Miki…!!" Anna’s voice rang out as she dashed forward, barely steady on her feet.

Kaziel dropped to his knees, struggling to maintain balance. "Anna! It’s too dangerous!"

Miki, however, didn’t fall so easily. Debris crumbled around her as she emerged, eyes blazing with rage. She was shaking—not from pain, but from sheer fury.

"YOU—! ITS BECAUSE OF YOU..!!"

Before she could finish, before she could strike—Anna caught her.

She wrapped her arms around Miki in a tight embrace. "Enough!" Anna’s voice broke, her body trembling.

Miki froze.

For the first time, silence settled between them. A silence unlike any before—not of war, not of hesitation, but of something deeper.

Anna sobbed against her, gripping her tightly. "Please… just stop."

Miki's body tensed, but only for a moment. Slowly, her anger melted away. Her guard lowered.

Kaziel watched in stunned silence but did not interfere.

Then, just as suddenly, Miki pushed Anna away, stepping back.

Anna blinked in shock at the sudden shift. Miki looked… flustered. Her face was flushed, her expression unreadable. She turned her gaze aside, avoiding Anna’s eyes.

Then—a portal flickered to life beside her.

"Miki!" Anna reached out, but Miki quickly covered her own reddened face.

"T-Till we meet again…" Miki stammered, refusing to make eye contact before darting toward the portal and disappearing.

Anna remained frozen, staring at the empty space where Miki had stood. Disappointment weighed in her chest—she hadn’t wanted her to leave like this.

"Anna!" Kaziel’s voice snapped her out of it as he grabbed her shoulder. "We need to go! The building’s about to collapse!"

Suddenly, a raven—its form wreathed in swirling shadows—swooped in through the shattered window.

Kaziel turned sharply. Without hesitation, he seized Anna’s shoulder and pulled her toward their escape.

Anna’s gaze lingered for a heartbeat longer on the space where Miki had vanished. But then, she ran.
The moment they reached the window, the raven extended its talons, swirling with shadowy mist. With a deep breath, Anna leaped, grasping onto its feet as it carried her through the air. Below, the ruins crumbled, swallowed by dust and chaos.

Kaziel vanished in a streak of lightning, reappearing in bursts as he moved between collapsing debris, his form flickering like a phantom. Together, they soared through the stormy night, the echoes of destruction behind them, searching desperately for safe ground.

As Anna glided down, the full scale of the destruction unfolded beneath her. Explosions burst through the foundry, sending metal debris crashing into the molten depths below. The ground buckled and split apart, swallowing Greeds that shrieked as they plummeted into the lava. Some were crushed under the collapsing structures, while others desperately fled, only to be caught in the chaos. Guards, both corrupted and innocent, met their end—some perishing in the wreckage, others barely escaping with their lives.

Amid the devastation, Anna realized—this was all Sakura’s doing.

Kaziel, however, had his focus locked ahead. His sharp gaze darkened with resolve as he accelerated, his form blinking through the air at impossible speed. The moment his feet touched the ground, a violent gust erupted beneath him, lightning crackling along his body.

In a blink, he was there—standing before Sakura.

Her eyes were empty, void of recognition or emotion. Nothingness.

The storm around him surged. Lightning danced across the ruins, its patterns expanding, growing more volatile. Kaziel exhaled sharply, then, in a single decisive motion, he drew his second blade. The steel hummed with energy as he drove it forward—straight through Sakura’s chest.

Anna and Helion barely had time to react.

The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the battlefield. Sparks erupted in arcs of silver and blue, lighting up the darkened ruins. The very air trembled under the surge of energy.

Sakura’s body jolted—blood spilling from her lips as her eyes darted up to meet his. There was anger in them. Anger… and something else.

Recognition.

For the first time, something flickered within the abyss of her gaze. Her emerald, void-like irises quivered, then softened. Kaziel’s left eye gleamed—an unnatural, silver-blue light radiating from within, reflecting in her own as realization struck her.

Kaziel.

Her lips parted slightly, her expression shifting—not in fury, but in something eerily childlike. Her once-empty eyes turned glassy, almost… bubbly.

Kaziel pulled his blade free, the energy dissipating as Sakura staggered backward. Her body wavered—then, as if all the strength had been drained from her, she collapsed.

And just like that—the world fell silent.

The chaos, the destruction, the screams—all of it ceased.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, everything stood still. The air remained heavy, but the storm had settled.

For a moment—peace had returned. But the world around them was in ruins.

The once-mighty foundry lay in shambles, its towering structures reduced to twisted metal and crumbling stone. Smoke curled into the sky, mixing with the lingering scent of burnt steel and scorched earth. Pools of molten lava bubbled in the cracks, their eerie glow illuminating the devastation.

Bodies—both human and Greed—lay scattered amidst the wreckage, some buried beneath the fallen debris, others left behind in the wake of destruction. The air was thick with the remnants of battle, yet everything felt eerily quiet, as if the land itself was holding its breath.

Anna’s eyes swept across the ruined battlefield, her chest tightening at the sight.

At that moment, she felt the weight of terror sink into her bones—the sheer devastation of the Farmlands that Sakura had destroyed.

Her lips parted, but no words came. Only regret.

She turned to Helion, and for the first time, she saw his hands tremble. He, who had always been composed, was shaken beyond words.

And there, lying in a pool of her own blood—Sakura.

Anna knew. Knew that she was the vessel. The immortal who wouldn’t simply die from Kaziel’s blade. Yet… she had stopped. Not because of the wound, but because it was Kaziel.

Even Kaziel himself remained motionless, his gaze fixed downward.

And His shoulders heavy… with dismay.

“You even broke the promise… didn’t you?” Kaziel muttered to himself, his voice barely above a whisper.

And the weight of it settled deep in his chest.