BROKEN CHAINS, BROKEN HEART

While war raged outside, the Void castle was a maze of fateful duels. Ikel and Mitsu had been transported to a dungeon that reeked of rust and despair, a replica of a maximum security prison. In the center of the main room, Kaelus, the Jailer, awaited them.

— Damn you, WHERE IS LYRA? — Ikel roared, his fists already engulfed in flames.

Kaelus smiled, a gesture that stretched the scars on his face. With a snap of his fingers, one of the cells high on the wall lit up, revealing Lyra inside, appearing to be unconscious and trapped by chains of dark energy. — You mean my new mana battery? It's quite efficient — mocked the General. — But don't worry, I'll take good care of it. —

— He doesn't seem to realize that in reality he's always been expressionless — Mitsu said coolly, a little comic relief to mask his own anger. — You can hardly tell the difference. —

Kaelus, annoyed that he was being ignored, unleashed a dozen chains from the ground. The battle began. It was a struggle of power versus tactics. Ikel was a force of nature, breaking the chains with sheer brute strength, while Mitsu moved like a ghost, looking for the opening to get to Kaelus.

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle...

Asimil and Luce appeared in an impossible recreation of the Whispering Forest. The twisted trees seemed to weep, their branches dripping with dark sap. And waiting for them by a dead lake was she. Noelia Corrupted-

Asimil's heart stopped for a second. Despite the black hair and crimson eyes, it was her. The girl he had known, the one he had hugged, the one he had seen cry. He hesitated.

— Look at you — said the Corrupted Noelia, her voice a mocking echo. — The great hero, the Survivor of the Pit... and you're still the same scared little boy hiding behind the others. Weak. You will always be weak. —

The words, laden with the venom of his own insecurities, were about to break him. But then, he felt a warm hand take his. It was Luce. — Don't listen to her — she said with a warm smile that was a beacon in the darkness. — Everything will be all right. I'm with you to take care of you. —

That simple gesture, that unwavering confidence, was enough. Asimil straightened his back, and the doubt in his eyes was replaced by steely determination.

The Corrupted Noelia, upon seeing this scene, hissed with a disgust that seemed to come from something deeper than simple malice. Whether out of courage or inner pain, she unleashed her fury. She launched corrupted elemental attacks: pillars of black fire, thorns of grim ice. But Luce and Asimil's synchronicity was impeccable. She created openings with her speed, and he covered them, a perfect dance that enraged Noelia even more.

She momentarily calmed down and removed her jacket, revealing a thin blouse. — Asimil, I see you have found a good substitute. How sweet. —
 

The words angered Asimil, but he said nothing. A dark fire erupted from Noelia's hands and then spread throughout her body. She adopted a melee stance he had never seen before and, with incredible speed, appeared in front of Luce, ready to strike her.

Asimil reacted on instinct, pushing Luce out of the way and taking the blow himself. — I wasn't just improving my magic — Noelia explained, her smile sadistic. — The Generals taught me some tricks. There is an enormous satisfaction in beating the helpless and weak with your bare hands. —

It was obvious. She wanted to kill Luce. And Asimil had to avoid it at all costs. Noelia's blows were brutal, each one stole his breath, he felt his consciousness slipping away. But he would not give up.

They were being overcome. Every time they managed to cut Noelia, the dark energy healed her almost instantly. Her power, fed by the castle, was infinite. Theirs was not.

He saw her laugh, an empty, cruel laugh, after throwing Luce against a wall. And at that moment, he knew. They couldn't win. They couldn't save her. They could only... free her.

Taking advantage of an opening Luce had created, he lunged forward. Noelia turned to intercept him, a black ice sword forming in her hand. But this time, he didn't try to block it. He dodged her blow, slipped under her guard and, with all the pain in his soul, channeled the power of the Broken Echo Dagger into a single, devastating attack.

The emerald blade traced a diagonal cut from her abdomen to her chest. She let out a gasp, more in surprise than pain. He stood there, his arm trembling, the dagger buried deep in her chest.

As Noelia slowly fell backwards, the world around them faded away.

Time stood still. The roar of the battle, the screams, the ruined castle... everything was replaced by an absolute white. They were in an infinite white place, and at their feet, thousands of yellow flowers were growing and swaying in a breeze he couldn't feel.

There she was. No longer corrupted. Her hair was red again, her eyes the emerald green he had missed so much. She was looking at him, and in her face there was no hatred, but a deep, melancholy peace.

There was no deep conversation. No words were needed for all that they had experienced. She simply smiled. A genuine, sad, beautiful smile. — Thank you — said her soul, her voice echoing in his mind. — For setting me free. —

She reached over and, with a tenderness she had never shown him in her life, touched his cheek. — In the end... you were the hero I always dreamed of. —
 

And with that, the vision was shattered.

He returned to the present in the blink of an eye. Noelia was falling, her body already beginning to dissolve into particles of light. The last thing he heard from her lips was a whisper carried away by the wind.

— ...Thank you... —

She vanished completely. And where she had been, a ring with a heart-shaped ruby fell to the ground, tinkling softly just once before disappearing as well, a last echo of a life that never was.

Luce reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. He stayed on his knees, staring at the empty place, the echoing dagger now in his hand, feeling an emptiness inside him far deeper than any wound the battle might have left him with.