The arena stood beneath a sky where dawn seemed very close, yet out of reach. The horizon glowed gently with the promise of daylight, but something unseen held it back, refusing to let the night surrender.
A colossal cross loomed beside the shattered gates, The grotesque silhouette tied to it dominating the battlefield like a monument to despair. Everything around it had been reduced to ruin.
Far beyond, burning castles painted the horizon in crimson flames, each inferno bearing silent witness to the kingdom's inevitable fall.
Below, the kingdom's black knights and remaining others stood utterly mortified. Their expressions no longer reflected fear of death, but the terror of having witnessed something far beyond human comprehension. It seemed they could not move.
The man with his broken stick, Sebastian stood calmly atop the enormous cross.
With perfect elegance, he lowered his head and tipped his hat toward everyone, as though welcoming everyone for an event.
The hundreds of headless knights that had been strangling the remaining soldiers throughout the battlefield suddenly froze. Their bodies softened before dissolving into thick, crimson liquid that spread across the ground, staining the shattered stone beneath them.
A smile slowly crept across Sebastian's face.
"Please... everyone, welcome...The grand finale ...."
He continued speaking, but whatever words followed were swallowed whole.
A sound drowned out everything.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Marvis stared at Sebastian as the devastated battlefield trembled beneath his feet.
Gentle earthquakes rippled across the land, growing stronger with every passing heartbeat.
His twin blades remained raised in their familiar stance, yet his face had twisted into something ugly.
"What... the hell...?" he could barely whisper.
Not far away, a figure slowly forced himself upright from the sea of blood.
It was John. He was now free from the clutches of those headless knights which died down.
A strange crimson-gold mist coiled around his body like living flames, distorting the air wherever it touched.
The hundreds of headless knights surrounding Rio disappeared instantly.
One after another, they melted away before collapsing into pools of blood.
John dropped to one knee.
His gaze slowly lifted toward Sebastian.
His teeth ground together so hard they nearly cracked.
Nearby, the Princess of Breavan suddenly collapsed onto one knee beneath the overwhelming pressure.
"...Emerald... Extreme..."
The words escaped her lips as little more than a broken whisper.
In the next instant, blood burst from her mouth, nose, and ears.
Her body trembled violently before all strength left her.
She collapsed unconscious.
The matriarch who had been battling Sebastian staggered backward, barely managing to support herself with her sword.
Her body shook uncontrollably.
Yet even then, she forced herself to glare at him with unrestrained hatred.
Amidst the endless thumping, everyone heard her voice.
"All... of you..."
She struggled to breathe.
"...Monsters..."
Another cough sent blood spilling from her lips.
"...This... was your goal..."
Her fingers finally slipped from the hilt of her sword.
She collapsed onto the ruined battlefield and lost consciousness.
Sebastian simply smiled.
His expression remained as gentle and composed as ever, completely untouched by the chaos surrounding him.
"Oh, my dear Matriarch..."
"You actually passed out."
He adjusted his hat with a small chuckle.
"It seems you truly aren't well."
Marvis ignored Sebastian's mocking voice.
Instead, his eyes settled upon the woman in white lying motionless on the ground.
She seemed unconscious.
Then—
One of her fingers twitched.
Just slightly.
...
Meanwhile Eleana slowly raised her head toward the heavens, her face frozen in utter disbelief.
The horrifying pressure rippled across the world like invisible waves, distorting the very air.
Kerin's knees buckled beneath it.
Beside him, Caria coughed violently before letting out a faint, broken laugh.
"Ah... hah... ha..."
It could hardly even be called laughter.
Kerin's eyes suddenly lost their luster as every other thought vanished from his mind.
"Veer..." he muttered faintly. "...it seems... there is only one way."
His gaze drifted toward the distant battlefield.
The endless darkness was no longer absolute.
One after another, seven brilliant rays of emerald light pierced through it, illuminating the heavens.
The relentless thumping continued.
...
Something began to emerge high above the sky.
The moment its presence appeared, the presence increased. As though something unknown was pressing onto the whole area.
Even the gigantic figure embedded within it, the giant cross with its grotesque and horrifying form, appeared to bow before that existence.
Sebastian, standing atop the cross, slowly dropped to one knee.
Then...
A sound echoed.
It spread across the entirety of Drudar.
No one was spared.
It was an impossibly shrill sound, so piercing that it seemed to tear directly into the soul.
The ears of ordinary humans—those without even a trace of Essence Energy—ruptured instantly.
They screamed only once before collapsing where they stood.
Far away from the battlefield, countless people had no idea what was unfolding.
They had come outside due to earthquakes only to get their ears ruptured.
Regardless of where they were...
They all heard it.
The same unbearable resonance swept across the entire land.
...
At the foothills of the castle, a colossal emerald gem suddenly materialized.
It floated silently above the earth, radiating an ancient brilliance that illuminated the mountainside.
Then another appeared.
And another.
Three emerged to its left.
Three more appeared to its right.
Seven emerald relics now hovered in perfect alignment.
Everyone below stared in speechless disbelief.
Ancient symbols were engraved upon each emerald surface, glowing with an unfathomable radiance.
The gem at the center shone the brightest.
Etched upon it was a mysterious symbol unlike any other.
It resembled a fallen crown...
A crown that had been tilted, as though its ruler had long since fallen from grace.
The emerald at the far left bore the engraving of a blooming lotus flower.
The one at the far right carried the very same symbol.
The two penultimate emeralds each displayed an intricate circular diagram, divided into countless segments by delicate contours, resembling an impossibly complex formation.
Another emerald carried the image of a simple polygon.
The final one bore the engraving of three vertical rods, arranged in such a way that they resembled a lone warrior standing between two swords.
No one recognized their meaning.
No one understood what they represented.
....
Without warning, Kerin was thrown backward, tumbling down the stone steps.
The overwhelming pressure crushed him against the ground.
Eleana remained where she stood.
She wanted to move.
She wanted to run towards him but Caria was also there. And the pressure that bore above her was also pretty hevay.
Slowly, Kerin forced his head upward.
His eyes found the heavens.
Even from here, he could clearly see the seven emerald lights suspended above the kingdom.
His gaze instinctively settled upon the one at the center.
The moment he recognized its symbol, his pupils shrank violently.
"...Commander..."
His voice trembled.
For the first time since this nightmare had begun, genuine disbelief appeared on Kerin's face.
He was one of the few people alive who possessed enough knowledge to recognize such things.
That symbol...
The tilted, fallen crown...
It was not merely an emblem.
It was the true bestowed name of the Commander.
There was no possibility of mistake.
The symbol engraved upon the emerald was unmistakably hers.
His breathing became uneven.
"No..."
"How... could that be...?"
His thoughts spiraled into madness.
If that emerald represented the Commander...
Then the others...
His entire body went cold.
"Don't tell me..."
His lips trembled.
"These emerald relics..."
"...are gathered..."
"...by killing someone?"
Silence answered him.
Above, the seven emerald relics only shone more brilliantly, as though silently confirming his worst fear.
Kerin continued studying each symbol desperately.
Most of them meant nothing to him.
They belonged to names and legacies he had never encountered.
Then...
His eyes froze.
Two of the emeralds bore identical lotus engravings.
Exactly the same.
His breathing stopped.
"...Lotus meaning spirits ?"
He stared at them.
"...related to Eryssa ?"
His mind immediately raced toward the princess.
He felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"...then..."
"...who do the others belong to?"
The more he thought...
The uglier his expression became.
...
Time slowly passed.
Every second beneath that terrifying pressure felt like an eternity.
Gritting his teeth, Kerin forced himself upward.
One step.
Then another.
Every movement felt as though mountains were pressing upon his shoulders.
His bones groaned.
His muscles screamed.
Even breathing had become painfully difficult.
Yet he continued climbing.
Then—
A colossal shockwave erupted across the kingdom.
BOOM.
The entire land seemed to contract inward before violently expanding outward once more.
Mountains trembled.
Ruins cracked.
The air itself distorted.
Kerin nearly lost his footing.
Still...
He climbed.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached Eleana.
Eleana unconsciously released the breath she had been holding. "Well done."
She took his hand as Kerin got up.
Kerin, however, then walked straight toward Caria.
His face had become frighteningly pale.
He stopped directly before her.
"Caria..."
His voice was hoarse.
"Tell me."
"One of those emerald lights..."
"...the one that's just a square symbol ..."
"That's my Rune Bag..."
"...isn't it?"
For the first time since they had met...
Caria's expression changed.
Her eyes dimmed.
Kerin continued before she could answer.
"And..."
"the lotus symbol .. is this about Eryssa ?"
Caria's eyes widened in complete astonishment.
"You..."
"How do you...?"
"CARIA!"
Kerin roared as he pulled out a weapon- a short sword.
The realization had already reached him.
He simply wanted someone else to deny it.
Instead...
Caria remained silent. Kerin's heart sank. He suddenly turned toward Eleana.
"Eleana..."
His voice shook violently.
"We need to kill her."
Eleana froze.
Kerin's eyes were bloodshot.
"These relics..."
"I..."
"I'm afraid..."
"The princesses..."
"...and everyone else..."
"...are already dead."
Eleana's face turned deathly pale.
For a brief moment she hesitated.
Then she moved.
With every ounce of strength she possessed, she raised her sword.
Its blade burst into radiant light.
Every step forward became a battle.
The invisible pressure clawed at her mind. Yet she moved. Kerin also moved.
The sword slowly descended toward Caria.
Caria gently closed her eyes.
A faint smile appeared upon her lips.
"...I'm sorry."
Her voice remained strangely calm.
The instant the blade was about to reach her—
A vast circle woven from countless layers of writhing shadows unfolded beneath Caria's feet.
Ancient symbols emerged one after another, rotating in impossible patterns.
The darkness condensed.
A shadow stepped out from within the shadows as though the darkness itself had taken form.
Everything happened within a single heartbeat.
Eleana's sword suddenly stopped.
She pushed harder.
Nothing.
It refused to move even a single inch.
A cold terror gripped her heart.
This shadow...
It was identical to the one they had encountered within the Nameless Ruins.
An existence that was out of their understanding .Yest Eryssa had said they were shadow spirits. SO what was one doing here.
The shadow turned toward Caria.
Its voice was deep...
Ancient...
Almost gentle.
"Child."
"...Let's go."
The shadows swallowed them both.
They vanished without leaving behind the slightest trace.
Silence filled the mountains.
Kerin stood frozen with his weapon.
His voice barely escaped his lips.
"...Realm Teleportation..."
He swallowed hard.
"...A technique that exists only in legends...?"
....
Near the knights ruined accomodations, Sythris was barely able to move under that strong pressure. She was still reminscing about the contents of Veer's diary when the unimaginable pressure arrived. She held Veer closer as she looked around . The two knights Revel and Temur had fainted already.
Suddenly her gaze trembled.
"Veer..he doesn't have an ounce of essence energy in him ?"
"How how is that possible ?"
"What happened to him"
"Veer wake up?"She gently called out amidst the shockwaves that were gently spreading around. It seemed they were in a boat and the water was tumbling.
She held him tightly.
As she called gradually she heard a faint voice,"Where am I ?"
.....
Then...
The unimaginable pressure vanished.
The world inhaled.
Countless people collapsed to the ground, desperately gasping for breath, their bodies trembling uncontrollably after enduring the impossible weight.
At the arena beneath the castle hills, Sebastian suddenly threw his head back and laughed.
"Hahaha!"
His voice echoed across the ruined battlefield.
With both hands, he drove the broken stick deep into the colossal cross.
The instant it pierced the ancient wood, he smiled with genuine satisfaction.
"Thank you... Matriarch."
Far below, the Matriarch's unconscious body suddenly convulsed.
Her eyes snapped open so violently they seemed ready to burst from their sockets.
She coughed out a mouthful of dark blood before collapsing once again.
Her aura rapidly withered.
It was as though her very existence was being consumed.
As though...
She herself was being used to destroy that strange broken stick.
The moment the stick disappeared into the cross—
A brilliant magic circle erupted beneath it.
Ancient runes ignited one after another.
Then another circle appeared above the first.
Then another.
And another.
Within moments, countless layers of unimaginably complex magic formations stacked upon one another, climbing endlessly toward the heavens.
Every rune pulsed with emerald radiance.
The entire kingdom of Drudar began to tremble.
Mountains shook.
The lakes churned.
The huge sea in the north started producing waves.
The skies quivered.
Then...
Everyone saw it.
An emerald light exploded into existence.
It was so brilliant that countless people instinctively shut their eyes.
Even with their eyelids closed, the emerald radiance burned through the darkness.
High above the kingdom, the seven emerald relics slowly drifted toward one another.
One...
After another...
They merged.
The moment the final relic fused with the others—
An immeasurable brilliance erupted.
It lasted for only a single heartbeat.
Yet that single moment was enough for everyone to witness it.
Every person in Drudar stared upward in absolute silence.
What they saw stole even the ability to breathe.
Suspended above the heavens...
Was a sword.
An emerald sword of impossible proportions.
Its blade stretched beyond the clouds.
Its tip pierced the heavens themselves.
Its hilt alone rivaled the castle.
It looked less like a weapon...
And more like the pillar upon which the world had been built.
...
Kerin and Eleana slowly lifted their heads. They looked at the astonishnly beautiful sword as Eleana muttered,"Am I dreaming...?"
They forgot about Caria. It was just so majestic.
Suddenly, their bodies froze.
Someone...
Was walking through the sky.
Not flying.
Not falling.
Walking.
Each step rippled through the heavens as though the air itself had become solid beneath his feet.
The sight belonged only to myths.
To legends.
Kerin's throat went dry.
"...The King."It was Eryssa's father.
The King advanced without haste.
No one dared move.
No one dared breathe.
Even the wind had fallen silent.
Far away, the eastern horizon slowly brightened.
Dawn was finally arriving.
Yet...
It did not feel as though the dawn was illuminating the King.
Rather...
The King himself had become the dawn.
Sebastian remained kneeling atop the colossal cross.
His head stayed lowered in absolute reverence.
The King stopped beneath the enormous emerald sword.
Compared to it, his body appeared no larger than an ant.
Yet the moment his hand reached toward its hilt—
The impossible weapon trembled.
A deep vibration echoed throughout heaven and earth.
The surrounding air distorted.
Space rippled violently.
Even the fabric of space around began to fracture under the mere act of him touching it.
Then—
Emerald flames engulfed the King's face.
His flesh blackened.
Cracked.
Burned away.
His hair grew long and burned.
Yet beneath the destruction, a more ancient brilliance emerged.
His body began to grow.
Slowly.
Steadily.
His stature doubled.
Every movement radiated overwhelming divinity.
The colossal sword descended into his grasp as though recognizing its rightful master.
It's size became small enough for the king to wield.
It settled effortlessly upon his shoulder.
Its blade stretched so far into the distance that it seemed to cross the very borders of Drudar.
Behind him...
The first rays of sunlight finally crested the horizon.
Golden dawn spread across the heavens.
For a single breathtaking moment...
The King stood between the rising sun and the world below.
He looked less like a ruler...
And more like the incarnation of an age itself.
...
The instant the sword rested upon his shoulder—
The sky changed color.
The blue heavens darkened into an endless emerald twilight.
The wind ceased.
The clouds stopped moving.
Everything became utterly still.
An oppression unlike anything before descended upon existence itself.
The King bent his knees.
Then—
He leapt.
In one fluid motion, he swung the emerald blade.
Once.
Twice.
Each slash was silent.
No explosion.
No roar.
Only a single impossible sensation.
It felt...
As though space itself had been cut apart.
Then everyone realized—
It had.
The heavens split open.
A massive wound stretched across reality itself.
Beyond it...
There was no light.
No darkness.
Only an endless void.
Below, John slowly staggered back onto his feet.
His crimson-gold aura trembled violently.
His pupils shook.
"Spatial..."
His voice cracked.
"No..."
"This..."
"This isn't ordinary spatial manipulation..."
His breathing became frantic.
"This... isn't from the same time..."
At the same time, Kerin's entire body trembled.
His face had turned deathly pale.
"...Spatial Time Severance..."
His voice was barely audible.
"No..."
"...This..."
"...This shouldn't even exist."
No one spoke another word.
Every gaze remained fixed upon the impossible tear.
Then...
Something moved .
A delicate hand slowly emerged from within the endless void.
It was unmistakably the hand of a woman.
Elegant.
Pale.
Beautiful.