VOL. 1: CHAPTER 15 — "THE RITUAL BELOW, THE STRIKE ABOVE, THE RIFT, AND THE HAND I CANNOT LOSE"

The roots above us trembled.
Darkness pulsed along the stone like veins.

Aerin clung to my back.
Lythiriel stood beside me, sword drawn, eyes fierce and shining.
Elorin positioned himself defensively behind us.

And in the center—A cloaked figure twisted toward us, his face half-swallowed in shadow. “Welcome, anomaly,” he hissed. “The child. The princess. The tether.”

He extended a hand.
The ritual behind him glowed with corrupted moth-like runes.

Lythiriel stepped in front of me instantly. “You will not touch them.”

Her voice wasn’t loud —it was lethal.
The agent ignored her.
His gaze locked on Aerin.

Aerin whimpered softly. “…Why… is he looking at me…?”

I felt my chest tighten. I touched Aerin’s hand. “I’m here. I won’t let anything happen.”

The agent smiled. “Lies, anomaly. Your hands cannot hold fate together.”

Lightning flickered around my hands. “Oh yeah? Watch me.”

Lythiriel grit her teeth. “Don’t provoke—!!”

Too late.
The ground cracked.
The battle began.


— THE FIRST EXCHANGE —

The agent lunged —faster than I expected —a streak of shadow slicing across the cavern. I barely had time to shove Aerin behind Elorin before I met the strike head-on.

Lightning surged around my arm.
—CLASH—!!
Void met storm.
The force sent me skidding backward

.He was strong.
Stronger than the parasite.
Stronger than Sylen.
But not invincible.

Lythiriel dashed in at my side, her movements a blur of white and green spirit-light.
Moonveil Dance — Second Form!Her blade arced like a crescent moon.

The agent twisted unnaturally — bending joints that should NOT bend — dodging the attack by inches. “You children amuse me.”

“Shut up,” I snarled.

Lightning exploded from my palm —a small burst, controlled.

Lythiriel immediately adjusted her stance beside me. “…Kai. Rhythm!”

“What?” I shouted.

“Follow my beat!” She said.

“I don’t dance—!!” I retorted.

“KAI THIS IS NOT DANCING—!!” She yelled.

Elorin shouted: “Princess! Right flank—!!”

She pivoted.
I moved with her.
Without thinking.
Without hesitation.

Our attacks aligned —my lightning and her spirit-light —two different currents, weaving like instinct.
—BOOM!!—
The explosion shook the cavern.

The agent staggered back, cloak smoldering. He clicked his tongue.
“Annoying.” He extended his hand.

The ritual behind him pulsed.
 A wave of shadow rippled outward.

Aerin screamed. “KAI—!!”

I spun and grabbed him just before the shadow tendrils reached us.
Lythiriel slashed them apart, panting.

“We can’t let him reach the ritual center,” she gasped.“ If his mana completes the pattern, the rift opens.”

“Then we hit him HARD.” I said.

She glared. “Kai, don’t aim your attacks randomly—!!”

“I NEVER DO—!!” I replied.

“You blew up the forest!” She retorted.

“Elves don’t need that many trees!” I muttered.

“KAI—!!!” She yelled.

The agent laughed. “You argue like children. Fitting. You will die as children.”


— INTENSITY RISES (THE REAL FIGHT STARTS) —

He raised both hands.
The cavern dimmed.

One heartbeat—
Two—
Then—
BOOM—!!

Shadow exploded in every direction.
I grabbed Aerin and rolled.
Lythiriel leaped into the air, flipping mid-strike, her sword glowing intensely.
Elorin shielded us with layered wards that cracked like eggshells.

> 『Master. Enemy mana rising. This strike is meant to separate you.』

“Not happening,” I whispered.

Lightning coiled around my feet.
I dashed forward.Lythiriel dashed too —matching me stride for stride.

Her voice cut through the chaos:
“Kai! I’ll take left!”
“I’ll take right!”

I nodded. “We flank!”
“We destroy!”

She blinked at me. “…That was actually good coordination.”

“I’m improving.” I said.

“You’re still insufferable.” She said softly.

“Thanks.” I said.

She was red as tomato. “That wasn’t—!!” 

We slashed.
Lightning and moonlight collided with shadow.
The ground shook.
The cavern walls buckled.
Ritual symbols crackled violently.

The agent hissed. “You shouldn’t be able to synchronize—Humans and elves cannot fuse styles—!!”

“News flash,” I grinned, “I’m not normal.”

Lythiriel cut, her blade screaming with spirit pressure. “I’ve noticed!!”


— SWITCH TO LYTHIRIEL’S POV —

His lightning matched my steps.
My blade matched his rhythm.
We weren’t compatible.
We shouldn’t have been.
But somehow, in the middle of chaos—I understood him.

Every shift.
Every step.
Every reckless approach.

His mana pulsed like a storm begging for direction.
And I found myself—guiding it.
Even trusting it.

I slashed upward. “Kai! NOW!”

He didn’t argue.
He didn’t question.
He fired lightning exactly where I needed it.

The agent shrieked as his cloak burned away.
For a moment—just a moment—I let myself feel proud.

“…Good job,” I muttered.

Kai blinked.“…What?”

“I said good—!!” She said.

The ground trembled violently.
A shadow tendril whipped toward Aerin.
My heart stopped.

“Elorin!!” I called him out.

Elorin grabbed Aerin and rolled, shielding him with his body.
Kai’s lightning shot past my shoulder and vaporized the tendril.

Aerin sobbed. “P-Princess—!! Big brother—!!”

I gripped my sword tighter.
 “You won’t touch him,” I hissed. “Not while I live.”

The agent grinned. “Then you will die first.” 


— BACK TO KAI (THE CRITICAL MOMENT) —

The agent charged.
Fast.
Faster than before.
His arms elongated into shadow-laced blades.
He aimed for Aerin.

I didn’t think.
I just moved.
My body surged with lightning.

Lightning Burst Step — Improvised Form!
One flash.
One blur.

I reached Aerin.
I grabbed him.
And I spun—

The blade grazed my back.
Pain flared.
I grit my teeth.

 Lythiriel screamed— “KAI—!!!”

Aerin sobbed. “No—BIG BROTHER—!!”

I forced a grin. “It’s just a scratch.”

The agent tilted his head. “Still alive? Interesting.”

Lythiriel stepped beside me, eyes burning.
“You… touched him.”

She raised her sword.
Her aura changed.
Completely.
No more hesitation.
No more restraint.

She released her binding seal.
Spirit Art Release — Sylva Form III!! Wind spiraled around her.

Leaves fractured the air.
Her mana rose sharp as a blade.

The agent raised his hands. “Ah. The princess awakens.”

Lythiriel vanished—
FLASH—!!
Her blade cut the agent across the torso.
Blood — black and smoking — spilled.

He howled. “You brat—!!!”

I followed up instantly.
Lightning exploded from my fist.
Thunder Spiral Core — Controlled Release!

The lightning sphere rammed into his side.
The cavern shook violently.
A crack split the ritual pattern.
But—
Not enough.

The agent staggered.
Bleeding.
Burned.
But alive.

He snarled. “Too late.”

He raised his hands.
The ritual circle flared.
Shadow poured like water.

Aerin screamed— “KAI—PRINCESS—!! IT’S COMING—!!”

Lythiriel grabbed my hand instinctively.
Her fingers trembled. “Kai—we need to stop him—NOW!”

“Right.” I squeezed her hand.

She froze. “W-Wh—Kai—?! S-Stop—!! We’re in battle—!!”

“You’re shaking.” I said.

She bit her lip. “…I-I am NOT—!”

“You are.” I insisted. 

She slapped my arm. “I’m scared, idiot!”

“…Yeah.” I stepped closer. “So am I.”

Our eyes held for a moment.
Just a moment.
Enough.
We moved together.


— FINAL STRIKE AGAINST THE AGENT (BEFORE THE REAL THREAT) —

Lythiriel leapt.
I used her momentum.
Lightning burst from my hands and launched her forward like a shooting star.

She spun midair
—Moonveil Dance — Final Arc!!

Her blade cleaved downward.

Shadow blood splattered.

The agent’s body bent—
crumpled—
But before he fell—

He smiled. “Good.”

A chill ran down my spine. “OH NO—”

The ground ruptured.
BOOOOOOM—!!!
The ritual behind him—

Activated.

— A RIFT OPENS —

Darkness tore open.
A spiraling maw of shadow formed behind the agent’s collapsing body.

Aerin shrieked.

Elorin yelled: “IT’S A MINOR RIFT—!! IF IT EXPANDS, THE ENTIRE CAPITAL—!!”

Lythiriel froze midair. “K-Kai—!! WHAT DO WE—?!”

I stepped forward.

Lightning rising.

Storm swelling.

Amara’s voice echoed sharply:

> 『Master. Caution: closing a rift requires overwhelming force or an Authority-tier strike. Your current output insufficient.』

“I don’t care,” I said.

> 『Master—』

“I’m closing it anyway.”

Aerin cried out. “Big brother—!! DON’T—!!”

I turned, and smiled softly. “Don’t worry. I promised, didn’t I?”

The kid sobbed harder.

Lythiriel descended beside me, breath uneven. “You’re going to get killed.”

“Then stay close.” I said.

She flushed.
But stepped right beside me.
Our shoulders touched.

“You absolute idiot,” she whispered.

I nodded. “I know.”

“…I’m not leaving you, Kai" She said.

Lightning roared around us.
Spirit-light swirled around her.
We faced the rift together—

Aether crackling—

Shadow screaming—

And just as we prepared our combined strike—

A voice echoed behind us.
Cold.
Calm.
Sad.
“You cannot close it alone.”

We turned.
Arcthel stood on a broken root, gazing at the rift with unreadable eyes.

Lythiriel’s shock sharpened. “You—?! What are you doing here—?!”

Arcthel walked slowly forward. “This is only the first crack. The first tear.”

His eyes met mine. “You will need everything you have…”

Lightning flared around me instinctively.

He finished quietly: “…before the child is taken.”

Aerin gasped. “Kai…Princess…wh-what does he mean…?”

The cavern trembled.
The rift widened.

Shadow swelled.
Everything was moving too fast.

Too fast.

And fate tightened its grip.

The rift was growing.
A swirling wound of darkness—
a whirlpool of screaming mana—
a hole punched into reality.

The Abyssal agent’s body lay twitching beside it, dissolving into black dust. The ritual circle around him pulsed violently, like a heart beating too fast.

Lythiriel stepped beside me, sword trembling in her grip.
“Kai—this isn’t a normal tear. It’s—”

“A rift,” I finished. “Yeah. I know.”

Aerin hid behind my cloak, shaking.
Elorin drew defensive seals into the air, teeth grit.
Arcthel stared at the rift with those unreadable gray eyes.

“This tear isn’t meant to open fully,” he murmured. “It’s meant to weaken the boundaries. A precursor to a larger collapse.”

“Great,” I muttered. “Love that.”

Lythiriel elbowed me. “Not the time for sarcasm—!!”

“It’s ALWAYS the time.” I said.

“KA—!! ” Before she could finish—

WHOOOOSHH—!!!
The cavern wind rushed toward the rift, pulling debris—stones—mana fragments—

And almost—“AERIN—!!!” Lythiriel and I screamed at the same time.

The boy’s small body was yanked toward the rift.
I grabbed him.Barely.For a split second—
I felt the pull like invisible hands trying to drag him away from me.

My heart stopped. “No—no, no—HELL NO—!!”

I yanked him into my chest and held him with both arms, refusing to let go.

Aerin sobbed into my shirt. “B-Big brother… I don’t—want to go—!!”

“You’re not,” I said fiercely. “You’re not going ANYWHERE.”

Lythiriel ran up and wrapped her arms around both of us, anchoring us down with spirit arts.
Her voice cracked. “Kai—Aerin—just hold on!”

We clung to each other.Barely
steady.
Barely alive.


— THE RIFT SURGES —

Arcthel stepped forward. “The rift is still widening,” he warned.
“If it reaches ten meters, it will stabilize. And then—”

He didn’t finish.
I didn’t need him to.

Lythiriel looked at me, desperate. “Kai—PLEASE tell me you have an idea—!!”

I did.
A stupid one.
But an idea. “…Amara.”

Her voice pierced the storm inside my mind:
> 『Master. Request registered.』

“Can I use—” My heart thudded.
The words tasted like fear. “—Anyparxía?”

Lythiriel froze.
Elorin inhaled sharply.
Arcthel turned his head.Aerin whimpered.
Amara fell silent for a full two seconds.

Then:
> 『Authority: Dominator of Nothingness cannot be used.』

My stomach sank. “Why not?”

> 『Current rift magnitude: unstable. Attempting to override with Anyparxía will collapse your physical vessel. Survival probability: 0%.』

“…Zero?”

> 『Zero.』

I clenched my fist. “So you’re telling me—I can’t use the strongest thing I have—when I need it the most?”

>『Correct.』

A flare of helpless anger shot through me. “DAMMIT—!!”

Aerin clutched me tighter. “B-Big brother…”

Lythiriel grabbed my arm. “Don’t even THINK about using that Ability, Kai. I’m NOT letting you die!”

I stared at her.

She was shaking.
Terrified.Of losing me.
Of losing the boy behind me.
Of losing everything.

My chest tightened painfully. “…Yeah. I won’t.”

“Y-You PROMISE?” she demanded.

I touched her hand. “I’m not dying today.”

She exhaled shakily. “Good. Because if you did, I—I would—!!”

She shut her mouth.
Face crimson.Aerin stared between us.

“…Princess likes big brother.” Aerin said.

“AREN—!!!” She shouted.


— ARCTHEL SHOWS HIS POWER —

Arcthel stepped onto the cracked ritual circle.

“I will hold the rift open,” he said quietly,
“just enough for you to strike the core.”

Lythiriel stared at him. “You—can do that?”

Arcthel did not look back. “I can do many things. Most of which I do not wish to.”

He raised his hand.
And for the first time—
I saw something beneath the calm.

A change.A shift.
His eyes glowed faintly—like moonlight caught in water.
Then—
FWOOOOM—!!!

A barrier of shimmering silver erupted around the rift.

The entire cavern shook.

Lythiriel gasped. “Elven… Boundary Magic? No…That’s—That’s ABOVE Boundary Magic—!”

Elorin whispered: “That’s… something else.”

Aerin’s voice trembled. “Big brother… that boy is scary…”

I agreed.
Because Arcthel wasn’t using any spell I recognized.
He wasn’t even… channeling it.
It simply was.

Something ancient.
Something wrong.
Something right.
Something terrifying.

Arcthel’s voice echoed across the cavern— “Kai Rajput. Strike the core. Before the Abyss speaks.”

“Before it speaks? What does—” Before I could finish my words—

The rift pulsed.
And a voice seeped out.
Cold.
Deep.
Heavy enough to crush sound.---


— THE ABYSSAL DUKE SPEAKS —

“So… the anomaly lives.”

Lythiriel’s face drained of color.
Just hearing the voice made my skin crawl.
My blood felt like it froze.

Aerin covered his ears. “STOP—!! STOP—!!”

Elorin fell to one knee, choking.
Arcthel’s barrier trembled—barely holding.

“You are early,” Arcthel muttered through clenched teeth. “Too early.”

The voice laughed. “I came to see the creature that dares disturb fate.”

My jaw clenched. “Say that again.”

“You, anomaly.”
“You who should not exist.”
“You who twists prophecy merely by breathing.”

Lythiriel snarled, stepping in front of me. “DO NOT SPEAK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT—!!”

The Duke chuckled. “The princess defends the failure. How quaint.”

Lythiriel’s entire body shook with rage.
Aerin sobbed harder.
I felt something in my chest break.

“You bastard,” I whispered.

Lightning snapped along my arms.
My vision flared white-blue. “You dare threaten a kid?”

Silence.
Then:
“The small one? Oh yes. His thread is fragile.”
“So easy to snap.”

Aerin whimpered.

Lythiriel screamed—“DON’T YOU DARE—!!”

I stepped forward.
Lightning roared like a beast—

Arcthel shouted: “KAI—NOW—!!THE CORE—THE CORE—!!”---


— CLOSING THE RIFT (Combined Attack) —

I raised my hand.
Lightning spiraled into existence.
Lythiriel stepped beside me.
Her spirit blade glowed fiercely.

Elorin lifted his staff, adding wards to bolster our strikes.
Aerin clung to Lythiriel’s cloak, terrified but refusing to run.

Arcthel held the rift steady, mana flooding his spell. “Strike together!”

Lythiriel shouted. “Right!”

Elorin yelled: “For Lunaryn!”

Aerin cried: “Big brother—!!”

The Duke whispered: “Show me your weakness.”

I roared—
“THUNDER SPIRAL CORE—!!!”

Lythiriel cried out—
“MOONVEIL FINAL ARC—!!!”

Elorin cast—
“STELLAR BIND—!!!”

Arcthel whispered—
“Boundary Severance.”

Our attacks collided into a blazing vortex of light—
CRAAAAAASH—!!!!
The rift screamed.
Shadow evaporated.
The ritual circle burned away.

The Duke’s voice twisted—
“THIS IS NOT OVER—!!ANOMALY—!!THE CHILD—WILL—DIE—!!”

Lythiriel shouted through her tears:
“BE SILENT—!!!”

I pushed every ounce of mana I had—

Lightning surged—
Moonlight cut—
Stars bound—
Silver severed—
And the rift—

CLOSED.

Then—

Everything collapsed.

My vision swayed.

Lightning snapped uncontrollably along my skin.
My knees buckled.

“KAI—!!” Lythiriel screamed.

I fell forward—
Into her arms.

Aerin cried out: “BIG BROTHER—!!!”

Elorin rushed over.
Arcthel slowly lowered his hand, breathing heavily.

Lythiriel held me tightly, shaking violently. “Kai—Kai—Kai—Kai—!! Why aren’t you talking—?! Why aren’t you—?! Don’t—don’t you DARE—!!”

I tried to speak.
But my voice broke into static.

Aerin hugged my chest. “Big brother… wake up… wake up… please…”

Lythiriel’s tears fell onto my face.
Her voice cracked painfully. “You… you PROMISED…Kai, you promised you wouldn’t die—!!”

I blinked slowly.
Her face blurred.
I managed to lift a hand—barely.

It brushed Lythiriel’s cheek. “…Princess…”

She froze, her breath hitched. “Y-Yes—?!”

“…I’m okay.” I said softly.

 She burst into tears. “YOU ARE NOT—!!!”
Her arms locked around me. “I hate you—!!I hate how reckless you are—!!I hate how scared you make me—!!I HATE—!!”

I gently touched her back. “…You don’t hate me.”

She hid her face in my chest.

“No,” she whispered, voice breaking, fragile, raw. “No…I don’t.”

Aerin sobbed harder.
Elorin looked away respectfully.
Arcthel watched silently.

And beneath us—
hidden in the lingering darkness—
the last whisper of the Abyssal Duke curled into the air:
“The child dies very soon.”

But none of us heard it.
Not yet.
I collapsed into their arms.
And the world went dark.