Two Months Later
Blight Dimension
Red mist rippled across the ruined hills like waves of blood. Arthur adjusted his goggles, scanning the broken skyline with narrow eyes.
"I got something," he muttered.
He lowered the lenses. The fog crept back in, thick and fast, curling around his boots like it wanted to pull him under.
Ren stepped up beside him, coat flapping in the bitter wind. "Weather's been cursed ever since the wormhole opened."
Arthur nodded once. "That's the place. It has to be."
He tucked the binoculars into his satchel and descended the slope. Below, a jagged flat rock served as their planning table, a rough sketch of Morvain's terrain stretched over it.
Lyra tapped a pencil against her temple, brow furrowed. "Here." She marked a location with a sharp dot. "This should be the next lead."
Isabelle raised an eyebrow. "You seriously mapping this hellhole?"
"Someone has to." Lyra rolled the map, slipping it into her pack. "May as well be me."
"Well look at that. Eager all of a sudden," Ren said, smirking. "Once we find Reid, I'm ready to start cutting these things down."
Lyra didn't answer. She just turned and started walking.
Arthur raised a hand, mist swirling around his fingers. "Careful. Could be anything in here."
Lyra's reply came quiet. "I know."
They moved in silence after that. Footsteps light. Eyes sharp.
Eventually, Isabelle spoke up. "What if we run into Julius?"
Arthur didn't stop walking. "We won't. That's the only reason we dared come this deep. Julius has his eyes on something else."
⸻
Westoria – Royal Palace
Crimson light spilled through shattered stained glass. Screams echoed down marble halls. Julius walked calmly, guards flying like ragdolls with every twitch of his fingers.
The palace was lavish—vaulted ceilings, oil paintings, velvet drapes half-burned by firelight. Golden chandeliers trembled as another body hit the floor.
He passed through grand archways, trailing scorched footprints until he reached the royal bedchamber. The king, pale and wide-eyed, cowered beside the bed.
"Hello, King of Westoria." Julius smiled. "Mind if I take this?"
He lifted the ornate crown from a bedside table. Rubbed his thumb across the central gem. "You sat on power you never earned. You're not strong. You're not even interesting."
The king hurled a bottle of wine at him. Julius caught it midair. Uncorked it with a flick. Took a long drink.
"Hmm. Good vintage."
He hurled it back. Glass exploded across the king's face.
The scream hadn't finished echoing when Julius stepped forward, hoisting the man by the throat.
"A new regime begins."
He turned, then drove the king backward—through the window. The man vanished into the void below.
⸻
Moments later, Julius entered the throne room.
His four generals and lieutenants were already kneeling. A dozen heads bowed low beneath the crimson banners.
He strode forward, boots thudding against the marble, and eased into the gold-lined throne. The cushion hissed beneath his weight.
He placed the crown on his head and leaned back.
"This is… a nice change from Morvain."
"I agree, my lord," said Silas.
Julius's grin widened. "New orders. Spread them through the ranks. I want Gabriel Aurelius brought to me."
Silas didn't move. "That would require weakening our generals. If we're attacked by others—"
"There won't be an 'if,'" Julius said. "Gabriel's power is only 'unmatched' because I wasn't here."
"Although…" Julius's voice trailed off as he raised a hand.
He flicked his fingers toward the chamber's doors.
"Clear the room."
The lieutenants obeyed without hesitation. Metal boots scraped against the polished marble as one by one, they bowed and exited.
Only Vesper remained.
He stepped forward, head slightly lowered, and knelt before the throne, his black coat trailing across the crimson rug. "What is it, my lord?"
Julius didn't answer immediately. He lifted a letter from the armrest—creased, stained, the edges curled like it had traveled through fire.
"I have a lead," he said softly. "The Starborn. Survivors. Hiding. Moving."
He leaned forward, eyes glinting with something unreadable.
"I want them erased. Before they become a problem. Before they interfere with my battery."
Julius let the letter drift from his hand like ash.
"No mercy. Sacrifice your life if you must."
Vesper blinked. His composure cracked for the first time.
"My life?" He tilted his head. "Surely they aren't—" He stopped himself. "They couldn't possibly be stronger than me. But still… there's no reason to—"
A sharp laugh cut through the air like a blade.
Julius stood slowly. The weight of his presence seemed to bend the room.
"Do you think you were given the privilege to think?" His voice, cold and steady, settled like frost in Vesper's chest.
He descended the steps of the throne one by one, boots echoing across stone.
"You are not here to evaluate risk. You are here to execute my will."
Vesper lowered his eyes. His lips parted as if to speak—then sealed shut. His knuckles tightened where his hand touched the floor.
"…Yes, my lord."
Julius waved a hand dismissively. "Go. I have other matters to attend to."
Vesper rose in silence. The tension in his shoulders betrayed the storm in his chest—but he said nothing, turning swiftly toward the grand doors.
As they closed behind him, Julius stood alone beneath the stained glass window, red light slicing across his face.
He glanced back at the crown on the throne behind him.
And smiled.
——
Arthur cut through the last of the Blights with a sharp flash of steel, their twisted forms dissolving into mist behind him. Smoke from their corpses curled into the thick crimson haze. The flickering hum of arcane circuitry pulsed in the background—an unnatural rhythm beating from the colossal mana-draining machine anchored to the cracked earth. The wormhole loomed above like a bleeding wound in the sky, swirling violently.
And below it, chained to the heart of the machine, was Sosuke.
He hung limp, threads of lightning twitching along his arms as mana was siphoned straight from his core. His eyes were barely open—dull, unfocused. Pale skin. Cracks of raw energy webbed along his body, like veins filled with lightning instead of blood.
"Sosuke!" Rin's voice pierced the tension. She sprinted across the scorched field, stumbling through the sparks and steam hissing from the pipes around him. Her hands cupped his face, thumbs brushing the grime from his cheek. "Please… wake up." Her voice dropped to a whisper, only for him.
Arthur approached slowly, wiping his blade clean on his coat. "At least he's still breathing."
"Then let's get moving," Ren said, scanning the mist.
Lyra stepped forward, eyes darting. Her grip on her satchel tightened. "Where's Reid…?"
No one answered.
Her voice rose. "Where is Reid?!"
And that's when the air split.
A jagged tear opened in the sky, lightless and writhing. The mist recoiled. Space itself folded into a shriek as a portal formed just beyond the drained machine. From its depths, a man stepped through.
Vesper.
He moved like a noble at court, deliberate and disdainful. Long crimson robes trailed the ground, dusted in mana ash. The mark of Julius gleamed on his collar.
"Do you speak of the other boy?" Vesper tilted his head, lips curled into a smug grin. "I'd hate to ruin your moment of reunion… but I'm afraid he's dead."
Lyra froze.
"No…" Her voice cracked.
Ren turned sharply and reached out to her. "Lyra, wait—don't do anything stu—"
She slapped his hand away, stepping forward.
The color of her mana darkened, burning through the pink glow that usually followed her. A deep red surged around her body, pulsing with something bitter and ancient. Her scythe bloomed from the smoke—its curved blade forged in silence, dripping heat and grief.
"I want my brother back."
Vesper laughed, though it rang too hollow. "Touching. Really. But I wouldn't know anything about him. I'm simply here to clean up Julius's messes."
He extended his arms as mana gathered above his head, forming a crown of glimmering, blood-tinged light—a twisted mimicry of royalty.
Still smiling, he added, "Though I am curious… How strong are you really?"
They stood at the edge of war, under a storm of red sky and a machine that tore through worlds.