Behind Edmond Dantes, smoke thinned just enough to reveal two fallen figures on the fractured ground.
Henry lay on his back, chest rising unevenly. His body trembled as if every nerve had been scraped raw. A few steps away, Blyke's form was motionless against the scorched floor.
Roland's burned gaze snapped toward them. Confusion rippled through his mind like a crack spreading through glass.
"…Blyke?" Roland muttered hoarsely. "How is he—?"
Moments ago, he had watched Blyke swallowed by flames. He had seen flesh blacken, seen hands dissolve into ash. That image had been absolute in his sight.
Henry coughed weakly, forcing his voice through shattered breath. "I… have no strength left." he admitted, every word heavy with exhaustion. "What little remained… I used it… to summon you."
His eyes drifted toward the man in black.
Edmond Dantes adjusted the brim of his top hat with effortless composure, as if the chaos around him were merely background noise.
He turned slightly toward Roland, golden eyes calm and mercilessly aware.
"The burning you witnessed was nothing more than an illusion. Crafted to mislead your perception at the most decisive moment." Edmond said smoothly.
Roland's pupils shrank. Edmond lifted one hand casually. In his grasp rested a glowing cube... Pandora's Box.
"And as you may observe." he added calmly, "the artifact has been secured. However, such victories are rarely free."
He tilted his head toward Blyke's body.
Roland followed his gaze. Blyke lay completely still on the floor.
Henry's lips trembled slightly as he forced the truth into the open.
"…Blyke is dead."
The words struck harder than any poisen could.
"Because of him," Henry whispered painfully, "we were able to retain Pandora's Box… but he gave everything to make it possible."
Edmond Dantes stepped forward, the brim of his top hat casting a perfect shadow over his golden eyes.
"Ah, yes." he began, spreading one hand as though displaying a performance on a stage, "our dear Blyke faced a choice that would break lesser men. The Pandora's Box thrummed with unstable energy, ready to consume anything within ten meters. Its pulses were fatal, impossible to resist. Yet Blyke…"
He paused, letting the tension thicken. "…he did not hesitate. He became the MVP of all."
Edmond twirled a finger and the air shimmered as if replaying memory.
"He synchronized his body with the Box's chaotic Runic Flow, letting its energy flow into him but not as a conduit of destruction. No. He redirected its unstable pulses through a network of illusions I had cast moments prior. Each step was carefully guided so absolute, that the Box's force could not disperse. Its potential for annihilation was folded, sealed… within his own life force."
He spread both arms theatrically. "And thus, Blyke gave everything without hesitation, so that the Pandora's Box could be retained. A life willingly surrendered to preserve all else. A masterpiece of sacrifice."
A long pause. Edmond's eyes glinted. "The stage, my dear Roland, is always cruel to its most courageous actors."
Roland stood and let out a dry, exasperated laugh that carried across the chamber.
"Annoying." he muttered.
"Truly annoying. Now I have to restart the Pandora's Box, replace it, stabilize it… all over again."
Henry said nothing, chest heaving, the exhaustion of overextended Runic Flow still weighing him down.
Roland's gaze swept coldly across him. "Do you know why I could access it in the first place?" His tone sharpened, each word deliberate.
"Because I held the partial authority of 'The World'... the Primordial Astra. The very force that governs the cycle of existence, the balance between creation and closure.
One of the twenty-two Primordial Astras. All derived from the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Each one of them is a relic of cosmic law."
He paused, eyes narrowing as he recalled distant memories.
"I was chosen for it once. Held it… for days within the Atlantis Organization. I knew and was granted the force to hold it and its consequences. I know the burden it places on those who try to wield it without comprehension."
Roland's voice hardened, almost scornful.
"Blyke." he said, gesturing toward the fallen body, "a fool but admirably a noble heart, yes, but utterly unprepared. Did he even consider the force he tried to face? He knew could not handle it and yet he charged forward with the arrogance of hope."
He let out a low, bitter chuckle, shaking his head. "You see, Henry, this isn't about bravery. This isn't about morality. This is raw law... existence itself.
The Box doesn't yield. It doesn't care for sentiment. Only those who understand the flow, who have the authority, can bend it without being crushed. Blyke… he gave his life for it. But that force, even guided by illusions, even with careful manipulation… it would have devoured him."
Roland stepped closer to the inert cube, flames reflecting in his burning eyes.
"And now, I do what must be done. I hold the Pandora's Box again. Because unlike him, I can access Pandora's Box… and because I still have the influence of partial authority of The World."
Edmond Dantes stepped closer to Henry.
"Bro," he said quietly, "wake up. You don't need to struggle. You don't need to pour yourself dry against him. I will assist you in this battle."
Henry's chest heaved, exhaustion weighing down every limb, eyes flickering toward the man in the black suit.
"You see." Dantes continued, tone softening into something almost confessional, "I have walked paths similar to yours. Once, I had friends... people I trusted. The best day of my life was meant to come with them by my side, celebrating, laughing… but betrayal came first. They turned against me for what sin I just... don't know. I learned early that loyalty is fragile and that preparation is only as strong as the hearts around you."
He straightened, voice regaining its usual crisp elegance. "So now, Henry, you have something I never had. Allies willing to stand beside you, even when the world burns around them. Let me lend you my hand and together we will turn this table. You do not have to bear it all alone."
Dantes' eyes glimmered like a calculated storm. "Rise, and let us finish what has begun."
Henry rose slowly leaving behind the corpse.
Edmond Dantes glided beside him.
They advanced toward Roland, whose blazing katana caught the dying light.
"Join me," Roland called, pleading through the inferno. "It's still not too late."
Henry's grip tightened around his blade. "I don't work for anyone." he said firmly, as always.
Dantes moved with feather-light dashes, leaping midair, striking with daggers so fast that even the air seemed to split.
Henry met Roland's attacks head-on, moving in tandem. Their strikes synchronized very well.
Roland attempted a trick, piercing Henry's hand with his katana but the blade struck only illusion.
Henry retaliated with a backward kick but Roland had anticipated it. Together, Henry and Dantes began outmaneuvering him, forcing him on the defensive mode.
Yet Henry's movements were slower than usual. Channeling Runic Flow into Dantes drained him where he was already very fatigued.
From the hallway, Cagaro appeared, having thrashed the remaining guards. "Those guys were… way too easy." he muttered.
Then he noticed Blyke lying still, his body unnervingly motionless. He crouched beside him, shaking him gently.
"Blyke? Wake up!"
Cagaro's eyes widened in disbelief. He checked again, heart sinked as he realized the truth.
Blyke was gone...
Cagaro's hands shook slightly as he stared at Blyke's unmoving body.
Memories flooded in unbidden, sharp and warm against the cold horror of the present. When was the first time I met him? he thought, blinking against the rising heat in his chest.
Oh, right… the day I first joined the Organization... Wasn't it today...?
He could see it as clearly as if it were happening now. Blyke had been standing sitting there in the Cafe, smiling in that rare, genuine way.
That serious smile of duty or protocol but a real one. Almost like he was trying to make someone feel welcome, like he had seen through the rough edges of the world and still found a reason to be kind.
That smile had anchored Cagaro in those early days, made him feel seen in a place that demanded obedience before understanding.
Old... or new... whatever it was... memories flashed in his mind...
— Partnership is a strong word. Temporary liability sounds closer.
Three years. Give or take a few disasters. I'm a four-star. Not exactly shining material.
Your file crash landed on my desk this morning. Didn't even finish my drink before they decided we are partners.
Welcome to the job. —
The warmth of that memory clashed violently with the charred, lifeless figure before him.
Cagaro's chest tightened, his vision blurred, and tears filled his eyes... for the burden of a life given entirely to others without hesitation.
He had not deserved this.
And then his mind sharpened. A thought pierced through the haze...
WHO DID THIS?
An unseen rage began to simmer slowly, a dark fire beneath the grief.
Cagaro's fists clenched. The air around him seemed to stiffen.
The world could burn, the sky could fall but someone had taken Blyke's life... and that someone would pay.