Chapter 8: The White-Out Battle
The world didn't just explode; it inverted.
When Cian gave the command to proceed, the Triple Link acted like a lightning rod for the raw, unfiltered mana of the Abyss. The sensation wasn't a "flow" of energy—it was an assault. He felt like a thin glass bridge carrying the weight of two opposing oceans. On one side, Elara's radiance was a scorching, purifying fire; on the other, Nyx's shadow was a biting, absolute zero.
[Warning: Resonance Overdrive at 150% Capacity!]
[Hero's Vitality: 88%... 72%... 55%...]
[System Note: Soul-Strain detected. Your physical form is beginning to fracture.]
Cian's vision blurred. He could see the cracks forming on his own skin, glowing with a strange, pearlescent light. But he couldn't let go. If he did, the two women would be vaporized by the backlash.
"Don't... let go..." Cian gasped, his voice sounding like it was coming from miles away.
The Echo of the Void let out a soundless scream, its vertical eye widening as it sensed the sudden surge of power. It lashed out with tentacles of pure nothingness—tendrils that didn't just hit; they erased the matter they touched. The stone floor of the cavern vanished where the tentacles struck, leaving behind perfect, spherical holes in reality.
"Cian, you're burning up!" Elara's voice was filled with a panic he had never heard from the stoic Commander. She tried to pull her hand away to save him, but the Link held her fast.
"Shut up and use it, Princess!" Nyx roared, though her own face was pale, sweat dripping from her chin. "He's giving us a window! If we don't kill this thing now, his sacrifice is just a waste of good Dross!"
The System interface turned into a blinding gold-and-violet wheel in the center of Cian's vision.
[Synchro-Skill Unlocked: Trinitarian Strike — 'Heaven's Eclipse'.]
[Target: Echo of the Void.]
[Execution: 3... 2... 1...]
Suddenly, the physics of the room changed. Cian felt his spirit leave his body, hovering just above the battle. He saw himself standing there, his arms extended, acting as a conduit between the Knight and the Assassin.
Elara's sword, normally silver, turned into a pillar of solid, white sun-fire. Nyx's daggers, normally black, became tears in the fabric of the world—darker than the Void itself.
They moved as one.
There was no "travel time." They were simply there, at the heart of the Wraith. Elara struck from above, a vertical cleave that split the monster's form with the weight of a falling mountain. Simultaneously, Nyx appeared within the monster's core, her daggers spinning in a horizontal vortex that shredded the Wraith's metaphysical heart.
The collision of Light and Dark inside the Void-creature caused a reaction known in the ancient scrolls as Annihilation.
A wave of pure white energy—the "White-Out"—rippled outward. It didn't destroy the cave; it "reset" it. The jagged rocks smoothed over, the mercury lake turned into clear, crystalline water, and the oppressive miasma vanished, replaced by the scent of ozone and ancient parchment.
[BOSS DEFEATED.]
[Experience Gained: 250,000.]
[Level Up: 12 \rightarrow 28.]
[New Title Earned: The Unifier.]
As the light faded, the Triple Link snapped. The rebound hit Cian like a physical blow. He collapsed backward, his heart hammering against his ribs so hard it felt like it might burst.
"Cian!"
Two voices, one high and melodic, the other low and frantic.
He felt himself being lifted. Elara cradled his head in her lap, her cool, metal-clad fingers trembling as she brushed the hair from his forehead. Nyx was at his side, her hand pressed against his chest, her violet mana flickering as she tried to stabilize his erratic pulse.
"His core is cracked," Nyx whispered, her usual bravado completely gone. "He took the entire feedback. Why did he take the feedback? The idiot should have passed it to us."
"Because he's a Hero," Elara said softly, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "He'd rather break himself than let a single scratch touch his Valkyries."
Cian opened his eyes, though the world was spinning. "Did... did we get it?"
"We got it, you moron," Nyx said, though there was no heat in the insult. She leaned down, her forehead resting against his. "But if you ever do that again, I'll find a way to kill you myself."
[System Notification: Affinity Breakthrough!]
[Elara Affinity: 72 \rightarrow 85 (Deep Devotion)]
[Nyx Affinity: 38 \rightarrow 65 (Soul-Bound Interest)]
Cian looked past them. In the center of the now-peaceful chamber, where the Wraith had stood, a pedestal had risen from the floor. Atop it sat a single, weathered book bound in white dragon-scale, and a small, glowing shard that hummed with the same frequency as Cian's System.
"The Archive," Elara breathed, looking at the pedestal with awe.
But as they moved toward it, the entrance to the chamber exploded.
A battalion of soldiers in heavy, black-and-gold armor marched in, led by a man whose presence felt like a crushing weight. He wore a cape of crimson fur and carried a mace that pulsed with a dark, authoritarian light.
Overseer Hargon.
"Well, well," Hargon's voice boomed, echoing off the newly smoothed walls. "The Dross, the Traitorous Commander, and the Wanted Rat. All in one place, and they've even done the hard work of clearing the Guardian for me."
He stepped forward, his eyes landing on the dragon-scale book. A greedy, twisted smile spread across his face.
"Commander Elara," Hargon said, his voice dropping to a dangerous purr. "Step away from the boy and the artifact. You are under arrest for high treason. As for the Hero... he belongs to the State now."
Elara stood up, her sword sparking with the last remnants of the White-Out energy. She stepped in front of Cian, her cape fluttering. "He belongs to no one, Hargon. And if you want him, you'll have to go through the Silver Wing first."
Nyx stood up as well, her daggers dripping with shadows. "And the Shadow-Stalker. I've been wanting to see what color your blood is, Overseer."
Cian struggled to find his feet, leaning on the pedestal for support. His hand brushed the glowing shard.
[Artifact Detected: The First Hero's Memory Core.]
[Direct Interface Available. Would you like to 'Upload' the First Hero's combat data?]
[Warning: This will permanently change your class from 'Dross' to 'The Sovereign'.]
Cian looked at Hargon, then at the two women ready to die for him. He didn't hesitate. He grabbed the shard.
"Upload," he whispered.