Chapter 54 : clash at the amethyst obelisk

The crystal maze beneath their feet pulsed like a beating heart, the air ringing with an eerie resonance. A cold violet glow rippled through the jagged walls, as though the cavern itself were alive and listening. The Amethyst Obelisk—no, the Amethyst Orb disguised as one—towered in the center of the vast chamber, its spiraling spires humming with power, feeding the throne of the man who stood before it.
The Fallen King.
His cloak drifted like smoke behind him, made of shadows instead of fabric. His crown—formed of black spires rather than gold—gleamed with shifting reflections, as if reality itself bent to him. He stood motionless, but his mere presence pressed against their lungs like weight.
When he spoke, his voice wasn’t merely heard—it vibrated through bone.
“You dare approach me? Pathetic.”

The words echoed from every direction, as though the chamber itself spoke on his behalf.
Ryo’s beast stirred. A deep growl reverberated from his chest before he even opened his mouth. His eyes blazed blue, pupils slitting like a predator. Mana radiated off him in waves, heat and pressure rolling like a wildfire.
At that moment, his mind drifted back to his past. Once, he had been nothing but a robber — hunting couriers for coin just to survive. He had it all at one point: intelligence, strength, women, money. The world bent to his will. Until the day his closest friend betrayed him, selling him to the Fallen King like livestock. They threw him into a mana tank, sealed in darkness. By the time he opened his eyes again, he was no longer a man. He had become a wandering beast, cursed to roam endlessly, seeking humans only to infect and corrupt, his will no longer his own.
He didn’t wait.
He charged, claws tearing trenches in the crystal floor.
Roaring, he struck at the walls themselves, shredding through the illusions the Fallen King had conjured, unveiling narrow walkways and hidden slopes beneath. The labyrinth shifted under their feet as if recoiling from Ryo’s wrath.
Kael was right behind him.
His sword flashed in his right hand, but his left fist crackled with mana, knuckles glowing silver. He leapt after Ryo—not as a mere swordsman, but as a fighter honed through pain. Shards of crystal shot toward him like bullets from the walls, but Kael deflected one with a parried slash, twisted midair, and crushed another with a barehanded strike that sent a shockwave through the corridor.
 “Stay together!” Kael barked, voice sharp. His breath came fast, but his eyes remained steady, always tracking their surroundings.
A wall of jagged spires erupted in front of them like a wave of spears.
Aldah met it head-on.
Her fists ignited—not mere flames, but roaring fusion of fire and lightning. Every punch detonated with concussive force, vaporizing the crystal spikes before they could impale her. Sparks danced across her arms like wild serpents, vision ablaze with fury.
 “You won’t touch my friends—OR ME!” she snarled as she shattered another rising barricade.

Behind them, Vix’s hands were already raised.
His barriers did not look like walls—they shimmered like liquid glass, translucent domes bending reality around them. Every pulse of violet energy sent by the Obelisk struck his wards and dispersed into harmless glitter, raining like dying embers.
“Eryndor, Gordon!” Vix commanded, his voice hard. “Stay close. Keep moving.”
They advanced through the shifting maze, but the Fallen King did not move. He merely watched.
Amused.
“Impressive. Coordinated.” His crown hummed.
Then he slammed a hand upon the Obelisk.
The world buckled.
The ground beneath them cracked open—not from impact, but as though the laws of nature themselves bent at his command. Shards surged from below like blooming thorns, jagged and lethal.
Ryo snarled and leapt, twisting midair as three spires shot past him. One scraped his side, spilling blood. He landed in a roll on all fours, eyes blazing more beast than man.
Kael slid under a rising crystal pillar and vaulted off it, using it as leverage. He brought his knee and fist down in tandem, shattering the spike before it could stab into Aldah’s back.
Aldah spun, flames trailing like comet tails. “Thanks.”
Kael cracked his knuckles. “Don’t mention it.”
The Fallen King tilted his head, unreadable.
“Fools. You think defiance is strength.”“But strength without inevitability… is noise.”

Lara stepped forward at last.
She raised her hands and cast spells.
Zombies appeared this time they were the four servants who helped her years ago.
 “Focus on the Obelisk! It’s the source!” she murmured.
They vanished, only to reappear beside the king moments later. He froze for an instant before shards of glass pierced through them.
It was a decoy.
Kael lunged first, sliding across crystal dust. His sword blazed with mana, edge shimmering with silver light as he slashed at the Obelisk’s base. Every strike rang like a bell, sparks of violet and white scattering.
Aldah followed with a bellow, flames spiraling up her arms. She spun into a full-force punch, lightning converging at her fist. When it hit, the impact cracked the Obelisk’s base, sending a tremor across the platform.
The Fallen King’s cloak rippled—not in wind, but in irritation.
 “Annoying.”

He snapped his fingers.
The ground exploded beneath them.
Black mana burst outward in a violent wave, slamming into them like a collapsing ocean. Ryo and Kael were thrown backward, skidding across crystal dust. Aldah caught herself with a burning backhand sprint, sparks blazing at her heels.
Vix immediately reshaped his barrier into a dome, catching the backlash. The shield flickered under strain—but held.
“MOVE!” Vix shouted. “Don’t let him cast a second surge!”

Eryndor coughed behind them, leaning on Gordon for support. His breaths were labored—but his eyes were locked ahead.
“…Where is he?”
Norton glanced back. “What—”
“The prince,” Eryndor rasped. “I can’t see him. He’s not here. He must be—below, why are you not helping them”

Gordon's eyes widened.
Norton didn’t hesitate.
 “No. Helping them fight isn't a part of our mission. “Finding the prince his”
Gordon nodded without question, hoisting Eryndor with both arms. Eryndor gritted his teeth, summoning strength where there was none.
“I will bring him back,” he growled.
“And I,” Gordon added, eyes blazing, “will make sure no one stops you.”
---
They sprinted toward a lower floor as crystals shifted aside like doors, manipulated by Ryo’s beastly roar shaking the maze.
The main four remained.
The Fallen King extended his hand.
 “Defying fate is futile.”
Kael spat blood.
 “Good thing we’re not defying fate.”

He charged again.
But this time—not with his sword first.
He holstered it mid-run, gripping the sheath with one hand.
He jumped—spinning into a high roundhouse kick that smashed into a crystal spear the Fallen King conjured in midair. The impact burst the projectile into glittering dust.
Kael landed in a low stance, fists up, knuckles glowing with white mana.
His eyes hardened.
“Sometimes,” he said, rolling his shoulders, “you’ve just got to beat the king with your own hands.”
Aldah grinned savagely.
“NOW WE’RE TALKING!”

She surged beside him, flames roaring.
Ryo was already gone from sight—vanished in blue streaks across the platform, beast instinct pushing him into predatory motion.
Even Vix moved, shifting his barriers not as shields—but as blades, reshaping the glass-like mana into piercing constructs.
The Fallen King raised both hands, conjuring a storm of violet razors.
The battlefield erupted.