Silence continued to howl over the group like the dusty wind of the Void. Shinju marched forward, shattering the obstacles in his path; he had no intention of wasting a single second. Swen pulled the sphere from her bag and extended her palm, channeling her energy into it. A map flickered into existence before them. After studying the region where Michael's Spear glowed on the map, she lifted her head and looked at Shinju, who moved as silently as a shadow at the front of the line.
"Shinju," Swen said. Her voice was stripped of its usual mockery, replaced by a tentative respect. "You've shortened the way incredibly. If we hadn't bypassed those obstacles so effortlessly, this journey would have taken days. But at this pace... Michael's Spear will be within our sight in a few hours."
Swen hesitated for a moment, gripping the sphere tightly. "If you wish... we can take one last rest before we reach the foot of the spear. You might need to gather your strength."
Shinju did not stop. His steps maintained a rhythm that seemed to defy the very fabric of the Void. The fingers of his right hand twitched slightly beneath his cloak—the traces of that night still ached in his bones—but he had no intention of showing it. Without pausing, he spoke in a voice low enough for only the wind to hear, yet resonant enough to shake their souls:
"No rest."
He turned his head slightly, just enough for his profile to be seen. His Dragon Eye cut through the horizon's darkness like a blade. "The sooner we disperse this air of the Void, the better. There is no need to wait to face the falsity of the Light. March."
No one objected. Aurelia nodded in approval, while Koharu could only swallow hard against the sight of Shinju's relentless resolve. He was like the silence before a storm: destructive, magnificent, and utterly alone.
After a few hours of grueling travel, the leaden grayness of the Void was suddenly torn asunder. On the horizon rose a sight that defied all the rules of the Void. A massive, majestic golden dome sparkled like a giant jewel in the heart of the darkness. From its center, a beam of golden light erupted toward the sky, piercing the clouds and stretching into infinity. Michael's Second Spear—the colossal pillar stealing the life energy of the planet—stood before them in all its terrifying glory.
"There it is..." Koharu whispered. Her eyes welled with tears. She knew this light; it was the light of the sacred yet cruel order that had exiled her and branded her "unloved." "There it is again... the fake sun that swallows the Void."
Aurelia's dragon blood began to boil in her veins. "A pity," she murmured. "For a thousand years they have worshipped this radiance, never seeing what lies beneath it."
Shinju stopped the moment the light reflecting from the golden dome illuminated half of his face. The golden spark in his left eye flared in synchronization with the spear's light, while the silver sphere in his right eye darkened in defiance of this "holy" radiance.
"It's good that it's dazzling," Shinju said. "I won't need to see what I'm destroying."
The group's footsteps halted just a few meters from the trembling, semi-transparent edge of the massive dome. This was the boundary where light and darkness viciously gnawed at one another.
"I'm certain we can pass through this Yang wall thanks to the Elysium pills," Swen said, her voice sounding more serious than ever. "Koharu, Aurelia, and I... our bodies can slip inside due to the Yang balance. But I cannot say the same for you, Shinju."
Koharu looked at Shinju's expressionless, marble-hard face. She asked in a hopeful whisper, "Shinju... Can't you destroy the dome now? You've done it before."
As Shinju looked at the golden wall, his Dragon Eye narrowed. His gaze was so deep and distant it was as if he were already reading the energy flows within the spear. "My Yin energy is still too weak compared to back then," Shinju said. His voice was crisp and cold. "I do not think I can do it right now."
Swen stepped in, turning to Koharu. "The situation was different then, Koharu. Because your father had torn the spear from its place, the dome was already shaken from within; its power was greatly diminished. But this dome is at full strength. We must stick to the original plan."
Swen adopted a stern tone as if to remind them of the plan's gravity one more time. "With Aurelia's help, taking control of the spear will be easier. The moment the Yang energy line is cut, we will seize the teleportation scroll from the officer who arrives to inspect the system. All we need to do is lie in ambush before the altar. Then, we'll bring the scroll to Shinju and teleport him to the Yang Pill Production Facility."
"That place will be a massive source of Yin energy for Shinju," she continued. "Once he absorbs the energy there, he can return here using one of the other scrolls in the facility. That is when we will destroy this dome and begin our true war with Michael."
Shinju remained silent for a while, his eyes never leaving the golden wall. Then, as if he didn't trust Swen's analysis and wanted to feel the truth with his own flesh, he slowly extended his right hand toward the vibrating surface of the dome.
FSSSS...
The moment his fingertips touched the golden wall, the dark energy of the Void clashed with the holy fire of the Yang with terrifying violence. Shinju did not pull his hand away. He pushed his palm an inch further, into the searing barrier.
In that moment, not a single muscle moved on Shinju's face; yet the deep, ragged breath that escaped his throat proved that the pain he felt was of superhuman proportions. The skin of his hand turned to charcoal in seconds. The smell of burnt flesh wafted through the air as the whiteness of the bones in his fingertips began to show.
After a few seconds, he slowly withdrew his hand. He looked at his charred, smoking right hand for a moment with an expressionless gaze. Then, the unique cycle of his body kicked in. The burnt skin began to glow and flake away in a dance of silver and golden lights, replaced by fresh but pale tissue. Shinju's shoulders shook slightly; his jaw muscles tightened as he clenched his teeth.
Aurelia's gaze softened as she watched Shinju's relentless stubbornness. "I understand your drive, Shinju," she said in her noble, resonant voice. "But for this once, it would be best if you waited for us here, outside the boundary. Trust us."
Shinju looked at his newly healed and still faintly smoking hand. The fresh radiance of his skin was the only proof of the devastating agony he had just endured. He slowly shifted his gaze from his hand to the arrogant spear rising behind the dome.
"Go," Shinju said.
His voice was low as always, but this time it held a different tone. There was a brief silence. He closed his eyes for a second; in his mind, his mother's faint whisper clashed with the loud brilliance of the spear. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze moved from Koharu's anxious eyes to Swen's tense waiting, and finally to Aurelia's unshakable stance. For the first time, he seemed to accept that fate did not rest on his shoulders alone.
"I am the darkness that watches your back," Shinju stated. "Therefore, failure is not an option. You said I would not walk this path alone... So, I trust you. Go and tear that spear from its roots. I will be here, waiting to destroy this dome."
For someone like Shinju to say "I trust you" was more than just a statement to them; it was a vow.
Swen swallowed hard and gripped her scroll tightly. Koharu nodded with determination. Aurelia simply offered a faint smile—a dignified, appreciative smile befitting a dragon.
As the three shadows took their first steps into the golden barrier and vanished into the light, Shinju began an unshakable vigil at the searing edge of the dome, his back to the darkness and his face toward that false heaven.