The magus alliance deserter group consisted of ten n, but Ery only requested two.
Varrek did not fully understand his captain’s intent. He prepared one of the dim, shadow-filled chambers within the Azure Kraken, assuming Ery planned to intimidate—or perhaps even torture—the deserters.
The two were escorted in. The first was a man who appeared to be in his early thirties; his youthful features suggested noble heritage. He wore the tattered remnants of a military uniform, bare of the markings of a captain, his cultivation was formidable—a full moon magus—yet his eyes were clouded with fear. The second was an older woman, seemingly in her forties. Despite the years, she retained a striking charm. Stern and disciplined, her half-moon magus aura tightly controlled around her fra. In contrast to the trembling man at her side, her composure remained steady.
Ery sat in shadow at the head of the chamber, half his face hidden, his presence suffocating. Varrek stood at his side like a silent sentinel.
Before Ery could even open his mouth, the young man dropped to his knees with a heavy thud, his entire body trembling.
"Please... release ... or—take ho," he stamred desperately. "My family is wealthy, they will pay you—check my na, I am of the Cross family... Shatter Cross!"
But before Ery could respond, the young man’s expression twisted. His eyes flickered with wild confusion, and he began to mutter incoherently.
"No... I am an officer... I need to return... my mission, to honor my family... family... wait... what family... who am I?"
His words unraveled into a frantic stream, panic replacing reason, his voice breaking into disjointed fragnts.
Ery’s brows furrowed, unease tightening his chest.
Shatter Cross—once his rival at the academy, arrogant and proud, a thorn at first, but later a reluctant ally. To see him now, reduced to this broken state, was staggering. The prodigy of old was gone, replaced by a man shattered in body and mind.
Turning to the woman, Ery asked in a low voice, "What happened to him?"
The woman braced herself. Her eyes never dared et his; such was the natural pressure of facing a Grand Magus. But her voice remained steady.
"Senior, we suffered a calamity during our last mission. Most of our company was slaughtered. Among the dead was his closest friend. Since then... he has been like this."
At her words, Shatter shook violently, clutching his head. "My friend.... Anzi... no... no!" His grief spilled raw, his sobs echoing against the steel walls.
It took Ery a mont to piece it together. Anzi—the inhuman—had always been at Shatter’s side. The two were inseparable. If Shatter was broken, it could only an one thing: Anzi had fallen on their last mission.
Ery let out a deep sigh. The last ti he had seen both Shatter and Anzi was during the Celestial Expedition, when they had stood by his side against the overwhelming pressure of the dark elves. They might never have been true friends, but allies he respected.
Rising from his seat, Ery stepped toward the pair. At once, the woman dropped to her knees, head bowed low, her voice trembling as she pleaded, "Please, senior... we will cause no trouble. We only want to survive."
She dared not look up, quivering in the shadow of his overwhelming aura.
But then Ery spoke, his voice soft with familiarity. "You will be in trouble indeed... for not rembering , Instructor."
The woman froze. The voice had been gentle, even warm, yet achingly familiar. Slowly, hesitantly, she lifted her gaze. When her eyes t his face, the fear that had weighed on her lted away.
"You... you are... Ery... How... how can this be?" she whispered in disbelief.
The woman was Minerva—the first magus who had ever guided him, the stern yet kind instructor of Class 77 at the Magus Academy.
"Good to see you too, Instructor," Ery said, a rare smile breaking across his face.
Minerva stared, stunned into silence. She had acquired information that the fierce Grand Magus raider leader had been defeated by this man. Yet, standing before her was none other than Ery—the young acolyte she had once taught.
"How..."
Leaving his stunned forr teacher in silence, Ery stepped toward Shatter.
Unlike Minerva, the Cross noble was still lost in his frenzy, mind fractured and trembling on the edge of collapse. Ery reached out, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. Spirit energy surged from his palm, wrapping around Shatter’s broken soul as Ery cast his spell.
[Tidal Heart Healing].
Cosmic energy intertwined with the spell, soothing the fractured soul. Within monts, Shatter’s trembling eased, his eyes clearing. When his gaze finally locked onto Ery’s face, his lips quivered. Tears welled and spilled down his cheeks.
"Ery..." Shatter’s voice cracked as he whispered the na, his body trembling. Then, with no restraint, he threw his arms around Ery and clung to him, weeping openly like a child.
Varrek stood rooted in shock at the display, while Minerva, still overwheld, managed only a small smile.
Ery sighed, awkward but unwilling to push the poor man away. He gave Shatter a steady, grounding embrace until the sobs slowed. Yet the man showed no sign of stopping. His sobs dragged on, his grip unyielding.
"...."
Ery’s mind raced for a solution.
Then he spoke softly, "Show his remains."
Shatter blinked in shock, his grief montarily pierced by confusion.
When Ery had healed fragnts of Shatter’s soul earlier, he had glimpsed the scars, the source of the pain—a mory tied to Anzi. What he was asking was, the remains of the deceased Anzi.
Anzi the inhuman was no ordinary Magus. He had been the result of the Cross Faction’s experints, turning humans into indestructible bionic beings, a creature filled with elental laws of earth and plants. What was left of him resembled not a body, but a monster core—a crystal shaped like a human heart.
Shatter hesitated, then, with trembling hands, produced the crystalline heart from his satchel. Its faint glow flickered, unstable.
Ery took it with reverence.
"Its glow lasted for three days... but it has already been a week. He is truly gone now..." Shatter wept again, his voice trembling with despair
But Ery ignored the sobs. His divine sense probed deep into the heart-shaped crystal. It was true—there were no traces of soul remains. By all asures, Anzi was gone.
Yet, as Ery studied it, a faint glimr passed through his eyes. Slowly, a small smile ford on his face.
"I can’t promise anything... but there might still be a chance for him."
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