The road leading to the Domain of Pride was far too clean, and that emptiness tied a knot in the stomach. Marcus and the group moved forward cautiously, but there was nothing to face. No monster growls, no sign of ambushes, not even that bluish glow that appears when an enemy respawns in the game.
What lay there instead was the trail of flawless destruction.
The ground was carved with deep cuts, trenches so long and straight they looked like they'd been drawn with a giant ruler. Circular craters dotted the path, and the ruins around them had slashes so precise they seemed sliced by enormous blades.
Marcus crouched, running his fingers over the broken soil.
— There was a heavy fight here.
Jay studied the marks.
— And it wasn't quick.
Sienna crossed her arms.
— The Heron passed through here.
Ethan kept his eyes on the castle ahead. The gate was wide open. The path to the center looked forced open.
— Someone cleared this whole trail — Elenya murmured.
— Or kept pushing until it cleared — Ethan corrected.
Jay exhaled.
— Either way… we're late.
The white marble castle reflected the group like a cold mirror. Each step echoed too loudly in that artificial silence.
When they crossed the portal into the Hall of Pride, the silence died.
The hall was wrecked.
Shattered stained glass. Fallen pillars. Cracked marble. The smell of fresh blood soaked the air.
Boros was down, his colossal shield split clean in two.
Riven lay thrown against the wall.
And at the center of the destruction…
Kaelyn.
She remained standing through sheer stubbornness. Raw flesh, blood-soaked bandages, fists trembling. Her breathing came uneven and heavy.
Lucian stood before her.
His black obsidian armor swallowed the hall's light like an abyss. His red cape hung heavy over the untouched steps behind him.
The sword stayed strapped to his back.
Untouched.
Lucian wasn't injured.
He didn't look tired.
As Kaelyn pressed forward, he only moved as much as he had to.
A minimal sidestep.
A shoulder turn.
A slight twist of his torso.
Kaelyn threw a straight punch.
Her fist struck the armor's chest.
The impact cracked through the air.
It was her arm that trembled.
Lucian didn't even glance at the point of contact.
She attacked again.
He slipped aside.
She tried a kick.
He shifted a few centimeters.
Then, with a simple motion, Lucian lifted his arm and struck with the back of his hand.
The impact was brutal.
The floor beneath Kaelyn's feet fractured. She was launched into a pillar, which snapped under the collision.
She fell.
Tried to rise.
Came forward again.
— Still trying? he asked.
His voice was clean.
Effortless.
She attacked once more.
Lucian dodged with the same economy of movement.
— How long have you been here?
Silence.
Kaelyn surged.
He shoved her with a short blow to the stomach.
She dropped to her knees.
— One day?
She tried to push up.
— Two?
The word hung in the hall.
Marcus felt his stomach turn to ice.
The marks on the road.
The craters.
The cuts.
She had fought alone.
Two days.
Kaelyn collapsed. The sound of her knees striking the marble echoed loudly. She tried to brace herself with her hands, but her arms failed. Blood began to stain the perfect white floor.
Lucian walked to her.
Slow.
Unhurried.
He stopped in front of her exhausted body.
— Two days, he repeated, as if confirming a calculation.
Kaelyn gathered what little strength she had left and threw one last strike.
Lucian moved his arm.
One single motion.
Dry.
The blow sent Kaelyn flying back again. The floor gave under the impact.
She fell.
This time, she took longer before trying to rise.
The hall fell silent.
Lucian watched.
Up to that moment, he hadn't touched the sword.
He had fought for two days using nothing but control.
Dodges.
Measured strikes.
Calculated strength.
He watched Kaelyn try to crawl.
Then he reached behind his back.
Metal rang as the sword was drawn.
The crimson blade vibrated as it met the air.
The atmosphere changed.
This was no longer testing.
It was ending.
— Enough.
That was the moment Ethan understood.
— He's going to kill her! JAY! MARCUS!
Marcus ran to Boros and Riven, hoisting the tank onto his shoulder and grabbing the assassin by the vest.
Jay shot forward.
Lucian raised the sword.
No hurry.
The blade came down.
Jay stepped in front at the exact moment.
The impact was devastating.
Different from everything before.
The shield screamed under the pressure. Sparks burst out. The floor beneath Jay's boots split into deep cracks.
— JAY! Sienna shouted.
— I'VE GOT IT!
Marcus was already dragging Boros and Riven back.
Jay grabbed Kaelyn.
She tried to resist.
— No!
— It's over!
— SIENNA, NOW!
The wolves appeared and detonated into thick smoke.
The group vanished into the corridors.
The smoke began to dissipate.
Lucian remained still at the center of the hall.
He didn't chase.
He only lowered the sword.
And stared at the emptiness ahead of him.
— Persistence isn't power.
He rested the blade against the cracked marble.
And waited.
He knew they'd return.
The group disappeared through the smoke and corridors, carrying Boros and Riven — and Kaelyn, trembling not from pain… but from a frustration that burned hotter than her wounds. The cave of bluish crystals received them with a cold, welcoming silence. Marcus set Boros down carefully, while Riven was propped against a crystal wall, still sunk in unconsciousness. Emanueru was already on his knees, his hands wrapped in pure white light, closing cuts, aligning bones, and stabilizing the wounded's breathing.
Kaelyn didn't come closer. She sat on a distant rock, hands still smeared with blood and shoulders heavy with the exhaustion of two days of slaughter. She stared at the ground as if she could rip answers out of the stone itself. Sienna walked up to her and stopped. Kaelyn didn't lift her face.
— Come to laugh, Shorty? her voice came out rough, almost a whisper. — It was pathetic, I know. Go ahead. Make fun all you want.
Silence held for a moment before Sienna sat down beside her, stretching her legs out casually.
— Two days, Sienna repeated, staring into the cave's darkness.
Kaelyn clenched her fists.
— They went down early. I thought I could finish it alone. — Her breath hitched for a second. — He didn't even look like he was fighting for real.
Sienna turned her face slowly toward her.
— Do you realize what that means? You fought someone at that level for two days and you're still alive. And your group is still alive. That's not failure, Kaelyn. That's absurd.
The word hung in the air.
— I'll tell you something: I passed out against Wrath in ten minutes, Sienna went on. — Ten. I burned all my mana trying to look useful, and Jay had to carry me like luggage. You stayed on your feet for two days, alone, against a monster. That's not weakness.
She nudged Kaelyn's arm with her shoulder.
— That's too much stubbornness.
Kaelyn let out a small, tired laugh.
— Too much pride.
— That too, Sienna agreed, and the silence that followed wasn't heavy anymore.
On the other side of the cave, Jay approached Boros. The veteran tank stared at the remains of his shield, which now looked small and insignificant on the ground.
— Without that, I'm not going in there, Boros murmured. — I'm just a big target.
Jay stopped in front of him. The Aegis's glow pulsed softly on his arm.
— A tank isn't the shield he carries, Boros. It's what he endures while holding the line.
Jay opened his inventory. A golden light lit the cave like a second sunrise, and the Vanguard Shield took shape. Heavy, imposing, gleaming. Boros's eyes went wide.
— That's Arcane Gold… Rank S gear. You spent money before getting into the game, huh? You pay-to-win bastard.
Jay laughed and held out the relic.
— I spent a little more than I should've, but it was worth it. Take it.
Boros hesitated, but the metal fitted perfectly to his arm. The veteran's posture changed instantly. He stood, tested the balance, and slammed his fist into the golden surface. The sound boomed through the cave like thunder.
— Nothing gets past me now.
Jay nodded, while the two tanks shared a silent respect. Emanueru finished healing Riven.
— Lux Sana.
The assassin jolted awake, reaching for his dagger.
— Did I die?
— Almost, Sienna answered from a corner. — But we decided not to let you.
That was when Kaelyn saw the golden shield on her tank's arm. She froze, stepping closer with narrowed eyes.
— That… isn't yours, Boros.
— It is now, the giant replied, showing the green gem pulsing at the center.
Kaelyn looked at Jay, then at the shield, then back at Jay.
— You handed a legendary to a tank from another group?
— He's going to need it more than I will tomorrow, Jay said, holding her gaze.
Kaelyn let out a low whistle, and her expression finally softened.
— You're all insane. But… thanks for saving my people.
Boros adjusted the equipment, proud. His posture was no longer that of someone broken.
Kaelyn cracked her neck, and the half-smile returned.
— He thinks he's already won.
Silence took the cave.
She drew a deep breath. Her eyes weren't the same as before.
— Tomorrow he's going to draw that sword in the very first second.
She looked at each of them.
— And this time… we'll be ready.