In Byron's Castle....
Byron was able to successfully pull off the escape earlier by using the Ubiquitous Darkness to cover up what he intended to do.
In that moment, he ordered the Abyssal Lich to prioritize Yumi. He used the power he gathered from the darkness to corrode the solidified space that was imprisoning Yumi.
Then, he used Black Hole as a cover for his true move, which was to use another high-ranking Void Flicker Stone. He activated another scroll.
This scroll was called the Teleportation Marker Scroll. It further amplifies the effective distance by which the Void Flicker Stone is capable of transporting a certain individual or a group to large distances.
Once Byron activated the Void Flicker Stone, Yumi and Kaiden were wrapped in a globe of Spatial Energy. Then, he also activated the Teleportation Marker Scroll in the hands of the Abyssal Lich.
The characters in the scroll interacted and integrated with the runes of the Void Flicker Stone! They were actually melding together!
One simply needs to have a marker set to the desired location of the person who activated it, as well as an energy signature to connect itself to the other side. Once these two conditions were set, the teleportation is instant!
The spatial coordinates locked into place with a definitive, resounding hum that vibrated through the fabric of reality. For a split second, the laws of distance ceased to apply to Yumi and Kaiden as they were wrapped by a globe of Spatial Energy.
The sheer volume of energy required to puncture a hole straight through the world's established space was staggering, turning the surrounding atmosphere brief and suffocating.
But all of this was covered up by Byron when he used Ubiquitous Darkness and Black Hole together!
The exact same instant that he used Black Hole was also the instant he used the Teleportation Marker Scroll.
Considering its overwhelming effectiveness, its price is also astronomical, but it was only slightly expensive to someone like Byron who had been alive for several hundreds of years. But who would pay attention to the price of a product when faced with the choice of survival?
He was gambling with two assumptions that the white-haired young man can only initiate that one attack and that he will be the target of the attack.
Byron already had a Teleportation Marker formation in his Castle, so he only had to use this marker on Yumi.
He then supplied his Darkness power to the Teleportation Marker Scroll to connect with the energy signature set in the Teleportation Marker Formation in his castle. He did this by covering Yumi's suspended body and Kaiden with a large mass of darkness energy.
Byron was able to do this quickly and decisively, which is why he was able to save his disciple. Unfortunately, he could not do the same for himself.
The damage that was incurred to his incarnation had actually also been incurred to the main body! His stomach was disintegrating quickly as his entire body was breaking down visibly.
Flashes of faint, starlight-colored sparks sputtered around the edges of his wounds, eating away at his flesh like invisible fire. Every passing second felt as if his very existence was being erased from history.
Yet, as he has said, he won the gamble! He saved his disciple and to him that was all that mattered!
...
"Is this really how I will meet my demise...?" He thought as he sat on his throne. "How unlucky of me to have met such a godly figure.... But at least, I managed to save you, Yumi..."
In front of him, Yumi sat down on the floor, having also successfully brought along Kaiden. Yumi scanned around and saw that this was her master's castle.
She looked at the person who was under her as she rejoiced, "I have finally gotten my knight in shining armor."
The beautiful black-haired girl had a very soft yet tragic expression on her face. If Kaiden saw this expression of hers, he would have never thought that the twisted girl who slaughtered his group and brought upon so much suffering to him could look this pure and vulnerable.
"Master, you actually did it-" Yumi was rejoicing, but then she noticed the state that her master was in.
She saw that her master's true body was still seated on his skull throne. But she also noticed that her master's body, which usually would be covered by darkness, was clearly seen. Her master's torso was nowhere to be found. He only had his upper chest and arms left while his legs were still resting on the seat of the throne. But his body was also deteriorating as the cracks had already spread throughout what remained of his body.
"Master... what's happening... I thought that when you use your incarnation, the most that it will do to you would be to lower your cultivation..."
Byron replied with difficulty, "It seems... that I have severely underestimated the strength of the white-haired man's prowess... That so-called 'Cosmic Energy' certainly lives up to the grandeur of its name..."
He looked at his arms, which were already crumbling, and he could feel the life in his body slowly leaving him.
Knowing that Yumi will likely try to deny it, he stated it bluntly, "I am... dying, Yumi."
"No... No, no, no, no! NOOO!" Yumi shook her head with every word and every step. Yet, no matter how much she denied it, the truth crept in her mind. She could only go to her master's side as she sobbed.
She was shaking her head, trying to deny what was happening. "How about Restoration Pills?! We have plenty of high-ranking restoration pills!"
She quickly brought out a handful of True Restoration Pills from her storage ring. Each of these was worth a fortune, yet she did not hesitate to bring them out.
Her hands trembled violently, nearly spilling the glowing, aromatic pills across the cold stone floor. The familiar scent of high-grade medicinal herbs filled the air, a scent that usually promised absolute recovery from the brink of death.
"Hahaha, my dear disciple, a True Restoration Pill only completely restores the physical afflictions and cleanse any impurities or foreign energies within the body. It does not have the capacity to restore a crumbling soul from breaking down..." Byron only shook his head, knowing that it was futile.
"It's not just my body, my very soul was also damaged by the attack..."
A soul wound was a sentence of absolute erasure, a concept every cultivator dreaded above all else. It meant no reincarnation, no ghostly preservation, and no chance of recovery.
"..." Yumi was at a lost. She could only stare at the glowing medicinal, a sickening wave of realization washed over her; the brilliant light of the pills did absolutely nothing to held fading aura surrounding her master.
"Didn't you say that if anything were to happen to your main body, you could simply just recall your incarnations and they'll heal you since they are fragmented parts of your soul! Quickly do that!" Yumi tried to rack her head around what could save her master.
Byron smiled as he revealed, "I am already doing that, Yumi. I have used up my other four incarnations. It has only delayed the inevitable. By my estimation, I only have a few minutes more to live..."
"This cannot be..." Yumi could only break down and cry helplessly. Byron was Yumi's father figure, the one who raised her after the tragedy that happened to her.
"Is there really no other way?" Yumi seemed like she was begging for a miracle to happen.
"I am sorry, Yumi. But there is nothing more I can do, other than wait for my soul to crumble. At least you would not have to be forced to listen to my instructions and continuous pestering, right? One less person to bother you, haha," Byron joked as his feet broke down gradually.
Yumi became more emotional as she denied his words, "No, that's not true at all. You were the only one who was there for me... Despite me constantly pushing you away, you stayed... No matter how many hurtful words I threw at you, you would simply just laugh it off... You raised me and taught me everything I know..."
Byron's expression softened as he smiled, "I acted as such since I know how much suffering you have been through... You reminded me of myself when I was your age... born with heretic talents suited for the dark side of cultivation..."
Flashbacks of his life when he first activated his power of darkness. A power that is usually associated with Evil Cultivators and Demonic Beasts. His family tried to be understanding.
"Mom, Dad! I have powers now!"
Byron was like any innocent child who only yearned for affection. He only had excitement when he first awakened his power! It was especially powerful for someone his age.
He could not understand why his loving family's behavior would suddenly change.
"Do they not love me anymore?"
They tried to interact with him like they always did. But they grew more distant and cold without them realizing it.
Then, news of Byron's powers were reported by their neighbors who were hurt by Byron from some sparring.
Maybe it was brought upon jealousy for Byron's talent and greed for compensation regarding information about Evil Cultivators that pushed his neighbors to report Byron. Byron would never really know why.
"Sir, there is a demon spawn that appeared in our village! He is quickly gaining strength! We believe that he is being secretly trained by an Evil Cultivator!"
They of course exaggerated that he was a demon spawn who was trained by an Evil cultivator despite not having any evidences.
When in reality, Byron was just naturally gifted and talented.
Inquisitors came to Byron's hometown to investigate and verify the reports.
"Where is this demon spawn located?"
But they eventually broke down and forced him to leave the house, afraid of being associated with the dark side of cultivation.
"Leave! We don't want you here!"
Byron could only cry as he was forced to leave his own house at night. But as a child, he could not help but go back and plan to beg for his family to take him back again.
But he only saw his house being burned down and the sounds of his family's cries.
He later learned that the Inquisitors had eliminated his family under the pretense that they also had Darkness powers and they had contact with Evil Sects which led to an Evil Cultivator training Byron.
"Liars!! My parents only had Armament Spirits! I am the only one who's different! These liars! I will have my revenge!"
Byron grew vengeful and left so he could become stronger.
Now, a teenager, Byron had grown up and had also grown stronger. This time, he was with a group of tomb raiders that did not discriminate him and valued his talent of being able to navigate in the dark. He thought that he had at least found a new family!
But as soon as he unlocked his Lich Avatar, they all turned and betrayed him because anyone with a Lich Avatar is desired by Evil Sects. They all tried to kill him but Byron eventually unlocked his ability as a Malevolent Magnate in the midst of adversity.
He went berserk not knowing to control his powers and he killed them all!
Although he acted purely out of self-defense, he could not get over the guilt of killing what he thought was his newfound family.
Being afraid of betrayal and his own power, Byron grew more distant to others. He no longer joined any other groups.
For a while, he was a lone hunter but Tartarus Sect had managed to track him down and kidnapped him to become a member of its sect after learning of his powers.
Then, he took advantage of the perks of being its member and rose to the very top of the sect!
He continued, "We were both shunned for something we have no control over... Ostracized by the very people we thought were our families... Endured horrible tragedies and hardships for a power we did not wish for... I thought we were birds of a feather... Like family..."
The word hung in the quiet air of the throne room, heavy and laden with years of unsaid emotions.
Despite all their power, dark arts, and fearsome reputations within the Tartarus Sect, they were ultimately just two broken individuals who had found a fragile sanctuary in one another.
As the darkness around the throne began to flicker out, the harsh reality of their impending separation became terrifyingly absolute.