Ash still clung to the wind.
Allen stood where the noble feast had once raged a banquet of chains and cruelty now reduced to scorched ruin. The blood had dried on his hands, but not in his soul.
He didn't know how long he'd been standing there.
The Iron Chain around his arm pulsed faintly quieter than usual. Not dead. But… silent. Watching.
Then
A shimmer.
No wind. No sound. Just the sudden, unnatural stillness before something divine enters the world.
From the drifting haze of white ash stepped a figure cloaked in radiant light.
He walked slowly. Calmly. Like a man approaching a wounded animal. His aura was soft, but the air bent around him. Power didn't follow him it obeyed him.
Allen's body tensed. But he didn't turn.
"I finally found you," said the voice low, steady, human.
Allen blinked slowly. His eyes were hollow. Cracked open but not alive.
"…Go away."
The man stepped closer. Allen felt it not footsteps, but weight. Like gravity shifting.
"I said go," Allen growled, his voice like broken glass. "I don't want to hurt you."
The Iron Chain stirred.
It didn't wait for Allen's command.
It lashed forward like a beast loosed from its leash wild, violent, hungry.
But just before it struck Light.
A white aura burst from the stranger's chest, not in force, but in presence. Everything stopped.
The Iron Chain disintegrated mid-air undone without resistance. Threads of divine metal crumbled like paper.
Allen staggered back.
His breath caught in his throat.
"What… the hell was that?"
But the man didn't answer.
He stepped forward and without warning, touched two fingers to Allen's chest.
Allen flinched.
A pulse cold and foreign shot through him.
No pain. Just… silence. Then a low thrum inside his body, like something sacred had been awakened… or sealed.
His knees buckled. He fell to one knee, gasping. Not from injury, but from disconnection.
"The Iron Chain…" he whispered. "I can barely feel it…"
The man looked down at him with quiet eyes.
"I sealed a part of it," he said.
Allen's head snapped up. "What did you do to me?!"
"The whole world wants you dead, Allen," the man replied. "But I don't. I'm here to help you."
Allen's hand clenched the dirt. "Help me?"
"Just like your brother helped me when I was lost," he said. "I owe him. And now… I'm here to repay that debt. To you."
The light around him dimmed, just enough for Allen to see his face clearly.
"…Ravik."
The name dropped like a stone in Allen's gut.
One of the Six Knights.
A legend, whispered in war stories and honored in forgotten statues.
Alive.
And standing before him.
"You want to rid yourself of the Iron Chain?" Ravik asked, voice gentle.
Allen hesitated.
"…Yes."
Ravik nodded. "I know a way. But I need you to follow me. And more importantly… I need your help."
Allen's eyes narrowed. "With what?"
"To catch someone," Ravik said. "Someone who betrayed everything we swore to protect."
Allen rose slowly. "Who?"
Ravik's gaze sharpened.
"…Barron."
The ground seemed to tilt beneath Allen's feet.
"What…?"
Ravik spoke clearly. "He's no longer on our side. He betrayed the Kingdom of Xarion. And he betrayed Ikki."
"No. No, no " Allen backed away, shaking his head. "You're wrong. Barron trained me. He was Ikki's right hand. He—he saved me!"
"He was also my king once," Ravik said, and for the first time, there was steel in his tone. "But not anymore."
Allen's voice cracked. "You're lying. Why would he do that?"
Ravik stepped forward. "Because he wants the throne back. And the other Eleven Kings promised him they'd support his claim if he helps them kill Ikki… and capture you."
Allen froze.
"That's not how it works," he whispered. "He doesn't need to kill Ikki. Ikki's already imprisoned, isn't he? The Brokers said"
"He's not just imprisoned," Ravik said. "He's being offered as a sacrifice."
Allen's stomach turned.
"In order for a former King to reclaim the throne," Ravik said, "he must kill the reigning one with his own hand. That's the law that binds the Thrones of Origin. Barron knows this. He agreed to it."
Allen staggered again, more from truth than pain. "No. Barron wouldn't. Not Ikki. Not me."
Ravik paused.
"…Has he come to save you?" he asked softly.
Allen didn't answer.
"Has he sent even a whisper your way in all this time?"
Allen bit his lip. He thought of the prison. The beatings. The execution.
"No."
"Exactly."
Allen sank to his knees again. His voice broke.
"…I'm nothing without the Iron Chain. You took it from me."
"No," Ravik said, crouching beside him. "I sealed part of it. Because it's not ready and neither are you."
Allen looked at him through pained eyes. "Then what am I?"
Ravik's voice was a whisper. "You are the vessel."
Allen's breath stopped.
"The Chain was never just a weapon," Ravik continued. "It's an anchor. A key. And you… are the only one who can open what comes next."
"…Why me?"
"Because Ikki chose you. Not just as a brother. But as his successor."
Allen's eyes widened.
"No. He didn't he never said"
"He didn't have to."
Ravik stood again, his white aura flickering like a dying star.
"The Eleven Kings fear you more than they ever feared him. And Barron? He fears you most of all. Because if you awaken the Chain fully… you might tear their world apart."
Allen looked down at his hand.
The Chain… was quiet.
But he could still feel it breathing. Waiting. Testing him.
"You said you could help me get rid of it," Allen whispered. "That was a lie."
Ravik nodded. "It was."
Allen looked up slowly. "So what now?"
"We move," Ravik said. "There's not much time. Barron will strike again. The Eleven Kings are already watching."
Allen didn't move.
He felt everything. And nothing.
The silence.
The betrayal.
The unbearable weight of being chosen for a destiny he never asked for.
He looked at Ravik's outstretched hand.
Somewhere deep in his soul, something whispered: If you take it, there's no turning back.
Allen exhaled slowly.
His voice was barely more than breath.
"…Okay."
But in the back of his mind, something darker stirred.
A feeling.
Like something terrible was coming.