Raizen tore through the trees like a blade of vengeance, his footsteps turning the autumn-drenched ground into splinters and silence.
The forest had no wind that evening, yet the air hissed behind him. His silver hair, once soft under the twilight sun, now darkened, slowly consumed by shades of ashen black that crawled like ink into night.
Above, the clouds churned. The heavens dimmed, responding to the weight of his fury.
Back at the manor, chaos bloomed like wildfire.
---
Rossain knelt near the upper halls, shards of crystal in his palm twitching with unstable mana. A sharp chill snaked up his spine.
He looked toward the manor's roof. "Wh-what? Why does the air feel... wrong?"
A deep rumble echoed below.
Suddenly, the grand chandelier that had lit the upper atrium for over two centuries quivered—and then crashed. Screams erupted. Maids darted through corridors. Guards rushed toward the west wing, where tremors had cracked the stone.
From the basement, a violent crack split the earth.
The barrier ward, meant to keep the underground sealed, shattered into glinting fragments. A gust of unnatural wind swept upward.
A servant on the lower floor screamed as her lantern extinguished, leaving only the haunting glow of magic creeping through the floorboards.
Rossain stumbled back, his breath shallow.
From the widening fissure below, a figure emerged.
Raizen.
His eyes, bloodshot and glowing crimson, pierced through dust and silence. The jagged aura surrounding him bled into the walls, scorching them with each step.
Rossain shielded his face with a barrier formed from the shard's wild essence. The mana was unrefined, volatile, whispering madness.
"What is that?" he muttered, coughing.
Raizen didn't respond.
He raised his hand. A blade formed—not of steel, but raw intent. It hissed as it cut the air.
He lunged.
Rossain reacted instinctively. The shard's darkness coiled into a tendril, stopping Raizen's blade mid-swing. The manor trembled again. Tiles from the ceiling cracked, raining stone.
Servants screamed.
One sprinted into the hallway, only to be thrown back by an unseen force. Another attempted to shield a child behind a statue. The statue collapsed.
Raizen stepped forward. Another strike.
Clang!
Blocked.
Rossain's arms quivered under the impact. His eyes widened, terror leaking through his mask of composure. "Not again..."
He retaliated—launching a blast of dark material like a spear. It hissed toward Raizen.
But the boy disappeared.
The spear hit stone. A crater formed.
Raizen reappeared beside him, swinging down.
Rossain barely blocked, sliding back across the tiled floor.
---
Meanwhile, down a fractured corridor, Ryan clutched Sylvia tight to his chest. Her hair was soaked in blood—not hers, but he didn't stop to think. He had no time.
A chunk of ceiling crashed behind them.
He ducked into a servant passage. Another tremor. A torch fell from the wall, setting a curtain ablaze.
"Syl… just a bit more," he whispered, kicking open a door that led to the side wing.
The garden beyond was glowing red. Magic storms lit the sky.
Lightning fell without thunder, bolts of violet and silver tearing rifts in the very air.
He didn't dare look back.
---
Back at the heart of the manor, the main hall split in half.
Raizen and Rossain clashed again. Every blow rang with ferocity. Every parry left cracks in the ground.
Raizen's strikes were erratic, yet precise. Rossain countered with practiced technique, but each block cost him.
Sweat poured. Blood followed.
"You… You brought this upon us!" Rossain cried, hurling a wave of cursed mana.
Raizen's footwork was flawless. He dipped low, then rose, blade spinning upward.
Cling!
Sparks danced.
Rossain grunted. A cut bloomed across his side. He staggered.
Raizen advanced slowly.
"You dragged them into this," his voice echoed—not loud, but it reverberated like judgment.
"I... had to," Rossain gasped.
Raizen tilted his head. "Liar."
He vanished.
A flash.
Rossain flew back—his ribs screaming as he collided with a marble column. Dust clouded the air.
He barely stood again.
"Why won't you—"
Another strike.
Blocked—barely.
Rossain's arms felt numb. The shard was humming louder, stealing from him. Stealing his soul, bit by bit.
Raizen's arm was bleeding. A crystal shard embedded in his shoulder. He pulled it out with a wince.
"Your attacks are weakening," he said. "The shard's draining you."
Rossain stared at his hands. They were cracking—veins glowing with dark light.
He cursed. "That bastard tricked me."
He looked up.
Too late.
Raizen reappeared above, his foot colliding with Rossain's skull.
BOOM!
Rossain crumpled.
But Raizen didn't stop.
He walked toward the fallen noble, aura pulsing wildly.
Walls cracked. Tapestries caught fire. The manor's very foundation quaked.
---
Aether surged skyward. Beams of dark and light collided in the upper dome. Stones fell like hail. The manor crumbled piece by piece.
Through it all, Raizen stood unmoved.
Eyes glowing like dying stars.
He raised his blade one last time.
And with it, the symbol of Helios split.
A final roar.
A surge of red-black light.
Then—
Silence.
Nothing but burning rubble.
Smoke.
And memory.
Outside, the world watched in silence.
But no one understood.
All they would remember was the way the sky darkened, the way the earth cried, the way the once-proud Helios Manor sank into ruin.
Not even the Empire would speak of what truly happened that night.
They would call it a tragedy.
A mystery.
A warning.
But for Raizen—it was personal.
And it had only just begun.