No... not like this.
Move, damn it—MOVE.
Alden thought as he tried to move his body.
Before he could do anything.
The woman kicked him again.
This ti, Alden's body didn't fly.
It just sank in the ground.
The force of the blow crushed him straight into the earth, forming a deep crater.
Every movent hurt.
Then–
It all stopped.
He couldn't even move anymore.
His body no longer responded to thought.
His nerves had shut down.
His pain receptors had long since gone silent, no longer capable of transmitting the pain.
He didn't feel anything anymore.
Only the cold stillness of a body that had reached its limit.
He couldn't speak.
He couldn't scream.
Even breathing had beco a half-conscious struggle.
Blood filled his throat.
Sothing sharp—maybe a broken rib—was stabbing his lung.
His gaze was unfocused and swimming in red.
Only one thought remained constant in his mind:
So this is it.
He had failed.
No. He was failing.
Not just for himself.
But for her.
His fingers twitched.
He didn't know if it was from desperation or instinct.
Kyun.
She had stayed hidden because he told her to.
Because he begged her to wait.
To trust him.
But now—
Now she was fighting him.
Inside the shadows, Kyun thrashed like a storm trapped in a cage.
Alden could feel her emotions pouring through the bond—rage, fear and helplessness.
No—stay… stay back—
He tried to whisper, but no words ca out.
His mana control faltered.
His grip on his shadows loosened.
And in that mont of weakness—
She escaped from his shadow.
Kyun burst out in a flash of dark violet light, her figure fully manifested.
A pitch black spectral fla covered her.
She scread—not a sound, but a pulse of spirit-mana that shook the air.
And she attacked.
With everything she had.
Her claws burned with wrathful mana as she lunged at the figure in black.
But the woman… simply turned.
And caught Kyun mid-flight.
With one hand.
Fingers wrapped around Kyun's small throat, halting her montum like she weighed nothing.
A hint of amusent appeared on the woman's face.
"You carry an interesting pet," she said, looking at Alden. "Fierce and loyal."
Kyun's body thrashed in her grip.
Flas exploded from her form, her small claws trying to slash at the armored hand holding her.
But nothing worked.
The woman didn't even flinch.
Alden saw it—everything—but his body wouldn't move.
No strength left.
But his heart—his soul—scread.
He couldn't let her die.
Not Kyun.
Not her.
"L…let… her… go…" he croaked. The words tasted like blood.
She looked at him.
There was no anger in her gaze.
Just quiet curiosity.
"You're still alive? Remarkable."
"Even now… you try to protect sothing."
She turned her attention back to Kyun, tilting her head slightly.
"Don't worry," she said softly. "I won't kill her."
"I'll take good care of her."
"A spirit like this—if refined properly—can be quite… useful."
Alden's body scread to move.
To do sothing.
Move…
I need to….move.
But it was broken.
Dead weight.
Even so—
He tried.
If I could sohow distract the woman creating a window for escape…
At least Kyun could survive..
A spark of determination lit up in his eyes.
His fingers twitched again.
More than before.
He clenched them.
Bit by bit.
He reached.
Please…
He didn't even know who he was begging anymore.
The world?
Himself?
The remnants of his power?
A shadow flickered near his hand.
His sword of chaos appeared in his hands.
It resonated—
Not with Alden's voice.
Not with his strength.
But with his sheer will.
"Give her back…" he whispered.
"I said… give her back."
His light mana spread throughout his whole body.
He still wasn't an expert in controlling it.
But it didn't matter.
Even if it could even let him move for a few minutes… that would be okay.
His core pulsed.
Faint.
Barely a spark.
[LIMIT BREAK IS ACTIVATED]
His body scread.
He didn't care.
A tremor passed through the ground.
The shadows around him coiled unnaturally.
His shadow supported him to get back on his feet.
His hair, once a deep raven-black, shimred—just slightly—at the roots.
A hint of silver-white began to appear through the strands.
His right eye—clouded and blood-soaked—flashed gold for just an instant as if a forgotten sun had risen behind his soul.
And for the first ti since the battle began—
Alden moved.
Only an inch.
Only a twitch.
But it was enough to draw the woman's attention.
Her eyes narrowed.
Kyun, still trapped in her grip, gasped as she felt it too.
That power.
That presence.
A dormant storm... awakening.
The woman didn't strike again.
Not imdiately.
She stared.
Expression unreadable.
Then—
"Ah…"
Her voice trembled.
Not from anger.
But from recognition.
Her armor began to shimr.
The plates fractured.
Piece by piece, the heavy obsidian armor fell away.
First the gauntlet.
Then the helm.
Long white hair spilled out like snow.
Her skin was pale as moonlight.
Her eyes—
Golden.
Not burning.
But alive.
She looked almost… human but divine at the sa ti.
Her eyes locked onto Alden—who was barely breathing, but with the sword still clutched weakly in his hand.
The glow in Alden's right eye faded. His hair, too, returned to black.
The spark was gone.
For now.
But the woman—
She stared.
Frozen.
As if seeing a ghost.
"How… do you have that power…?"
"That blood… that soul…"
She stepped forward.
Alden attacked.
But the woman dodged gracefully without any wasted movent..
Then, with a voice barely above a whisper, she spoke—
"Alden…?"
She said his na not like a stranger, but like soone rembering.
Alden's eyes widened.
How–?
How does she know my na?
And why does—she looks like her?
Alden's vision was dim.
His eyes unfocused.
But even in that haze, he could see the trembling in her gaze.
She looked at him for a long ti.
Silence.
Only the wind moved.
She reached out, hesitant.
But Alden didn't answer.
He couldn't.
And for a brief mont..
Her expression cracked.
Not rage.
No pity.
But grief.
___
Author's Note:
If this story gave you even one good mont, help out — drop a review and let future readers know what kind of chaos they're signing up for. 😉
Once we hit 100 reviews, I'll drop a 5-chapter mass release as thanks.
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