The city was quiet—not the kind that brings peace, but the kind that warns you something has already begun.
Broken streets stretched into darkness, the faint glow of scattered mana-lamps barely holding back the night. Ruins stood like silent witnesses, listening.
Luka stood atop a jagged ridge, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the horizon.
The wind brushed past him, carrying whispers he didn't recognize.
No one else could sense it.
Not Kael. Not Eren. Not Arelia.
Only Luka felt the pull—an overwhelming presence so vast that even the air seemed to bend around it.
Why did I even come here? he thought. I came to witness destruction… to measure my own strength.
And then he realized.
He's already here.
Vicky.
Luka didn't speak. He didn't warn anyone. Below him, Kael laughed at something Eren said, while Arelia rolled her eyes, their voices light, almost warm.
No one can know, Luka decided. Not yet.
The Burden of the Past
His thoughts drifted to a world far from this city.
A world where he had once been a boy—powerless, nameless, expendable.
"I wasn't born here," Luka whispered. "Not in this city. Not in any place that offered safety."
His home had been a land ruled by fear, respect, and violence. Children trained as soldiers before they could even read. Mercy was weakness. Survival demanded cruelty.
"My family…" His voice faltered. "Taken. Erased."
He could still remember the blood on the stones—not fresh anymore, but never gone.
"I learned early that strength alone wasn't enough," Luka continued quietly. "But without it… you were nothing."
He exhaled slowly.
"I survived. I adapted. And I promised myself—never again would I be powerless. Never again would I let the world decide my worth."
Nearby, Kael murmured to Eren, his voice low. "He's been through more than any of us realize."
Luka didn't respond.
No one could truly understand.
Not yet.
Silent Observation
The horizon trembled.
A ripple of energy spread across the land—distant, subtle, yet incomprehensibly immense.
That's him.
Vicky was already moving through the lands Luka had intended to test. To conquer. To challenge.
But Luka had arrived too late.
His stomach twisted.
I didn't come to see him destroy, Luka thought. But I did come to see the truth.
Three moves, he realized.
Three moves I can barely comprehend… and each one will rewrite everything.
Even from this distance, Luka could feel it—power bending reality itself.
The Three Moves
The first came without warning.
Shatter Pulse.
Irreversible.
The earth convulsed. Mountains folded inward. Rivers twisted from their paths as if the land itself were paper being crushed. The screams were distant, carried away by the wind before anyone nearby could truly hear them.
They don't know yet, Luka thought.
The second followed.
Crimson Verge.
Condemnation.
The horizon burned red. The air twisted violently, raw energy tearing through the ruins. Those who glimpsed it felt regret sink into their bones.
We should have obeyed…
We shouldn't have doubted…
The third was slower.
More terrifying.
Silent Eclipse.
Final.
Shadows stretched unnaturally. Entire sections of land collapsed inward. Distant cities bent—not breaking, but yielding, as though reality itself had accepted judgment.
Luka's chest tightened.
He felt it all—the fear, the regret, the final thoughts of those who understood too late.
We never should have ignored them.
We should have obeyed.
Now, there was no one left to listen.
Luka's Reflection
Luka closed his eyes.
I came to witness destruction… but this is beyond anything I've faced.
No matter how he calculated it, no matter how he tried to reason—Vicky's power was absolute.
Raw. Calm. Terrifying.
I am not ready, Luka admitted. Not even close.
He thought of his past again—the kingdom that rejected him, the family he lost, the streets that taught him survival through cruelty.
Even all of that hadn't prepared him for this.
He inhaled sharply.
If I act… will it even matter?
The Silent Witness
Vicky remained far away, yet unmistakable.
Calm. Detached.
Moving through destruction as if the world were nothing more than a chessboard.
The air bent around him. The ruins, the mountains, even the wind seemed to bow—subtle, instinctive, obedient.
Luka's thoughts spiraled.
I am supposed to be strong.
I am supposed to be the storm.
And yet, the truth stood undeniable:
He is the storm before which all storms must kneel.
Luka exhaled slowly.
Not yet.
He couldn't interfere.
The Whispers of the World
From lands Vicky had already touched, whispers bled into the void.
"We shouldn't have defied them…"
"They are unstoppable…"
No one else could hear.
Only Luka.
"This…" he murmured, eyes hardening. "This is what power looks like."
Below him, Kael laughed nervously, breaking the silence. "You always stare like that. Dinner won't wait forever."
Arelia nudged Luka playfully. "See? Even your serious face can't ruin my mood."
Luka didn't answer.
His mind remained fixed on the horizon.
On Vicky.
On what was coming.
And for the first time, Luka admitted the truth—quietly, painfully:
I am not ready.
But his jaw tightened.
I will survive.
The night leaned closer, as if the world itself were listening.
Far away, someone waited.
Not for the city to fall—
but for Luka to make his choice.