Chapter 82
(The One Who Returned)
The chamber disappeared beneath a storm of steel.
Ashveil moved like silver lightning, each strike flowing into the next before the last had fully ended. The ruined floor broke apart beneath Dark Pryan's feet as he advanced without pause, forcing Kaien steadily backward through the collapsing ritual hall.
Stone burst apart around them.
Entire pillars split in two.
Fragments of the ceiling crashed between them, only to be reduced to dust by another swing before they could touch the ground.
Kaien no longer defended with effortless precision.
Dark Pryan had adapted.
Every exchange narrowed the gap.
Every missed strike taught him something new.
The next attack always came sharper than the last.
Ashveil swept toward Kaien's side.
Kaien twisted.
The blade passed harmlessly...
Only to reverse direction halfway through its motion.
A shallow cut opened across his shoulder.
Dark Pryan didn't stop.
His body continued moving.
The sword spun naturally into another strike.
Kaien finally raised his arm.
Their attacks collided.
The explosion of mana that followed tore apart everything within several meters.
The altar behind them shattered.
Ancient stone that had survived centuries collapsed into rubble.
Dark Pryan pressed harder.
His expression never changed.
Victory.
That was all that remained.
Kaien's movements gradually became smaller.
More efficient.
He stopped giving ground.
The next strike met his palm.
Ashveil trembled.
Dark Pryan immediately shifted his footing.
His knee drove toward Kaien's ribs.
Kaien blocked.
Dark Pryan rotated.
The sword came again.
Neither of them spoke.
There was nothing left to say.
The chamber itself had become their conversation.
Outside...
The emergency signal had spread throughout the underground ruins.
Seris led the others through passage after passage without slowing.
The collapsing tunnels no longer mattered.
The waves of mana shaking the ruins gave them direction.
Every tremor answered the same question.
They were close.
Very close.
Far ahead...
Another explosion shook the underground.
Dust rushed through the tunnel like a violent wind.
Caelum raised an arm to shield his face.
"...They're still fighting."
Seris didn't answer.
She ran faster.
Back inside the chamber—
Dark Pryan's sword descended.
Kaien stepped inside the attack instead of retreating.
His shoulder struck Dark Pryan's chest.
For the first time...
Dark Pryan lost his balance.
Only for an instant.
He recovered before his feet had fully touched the ground.
Ashveil flashed upward.
Kaien caught the flat of the blade between both hands.
The sword stopped.
Neither yielded.
The stone beneath them cracked.
The pressure of their struggle spread through the chamber until the ancient walls themselves groaned beneath it.
Dark Pryan pushed forward.
"So this..."
The words escaped almost unconsciously.
"...is your limit."
Kaien answered with action.
His right foot shifted.
Dark Pryan immediately understood.
Too late.
The force holding Ashveil disappeared.
Kaien redirected the sword downward.
Its edge buried itself deep within the fractured floor.
Kaien's open palm struck Dark Pryan's chest.
The impact echoed through the chamber.
Dark Pryan was thrown backward.
He slid across broken stone before stopping several meters away.
He rose immediately.
Without hesitation.
Without injury.
Ashveil slowly emerged from the stone.
Dark Pryan looked at Kaien.
Then...
A voice echoed through the tunnel behind them.
"PRYAN!"
The chamber froze.
Dark Pryan's eyes shifted instinctively toward the entrance.
At the mouth of the ruined hall stood Seris.
Behind her, Elyra, Caelum, Neris, Rhea, Isen, Liora, Brann and Kerrin rushed into the chamber, only to stop the instant they saw the destruction before them.
Neither group spoke.
The sight before them stole every word.
The ritual chamber had become little more than ruins.
At its center...
Professor Kaien stood facing Pryan.
Both covered in blood.
Both surrounded by broken stone.
Mireya's group returned, stopping behind Seris as they reached the chamber.
Mireya's eyes immediately found Pryan.
"Pryan..."
She took a step.
Kaien's voice stopped everyone.
"Don't move."
No one did.
Dark Pryan remained motionless.
His eyes had never left Seris.
Seris looked back at him.
Not with fear.
Not with confusion.
Only certainty.
She slowly stepped past everyone.
Caelum reached toward her.
"Seris—"
She gently pushed his hand aside.
"It's alright."
Her footsteps echoed softly across the broken chamber.
Dark Pryan watched her approach.
Ashveil remained lowered.
Neither Kaien nor anyone else interrupted.
Seris stopped only a few meters away.
She looked directly into the eyes that were not quite Pryan's.
Then she smiled.
A small, tired smile.
"...You've done enough."
"I may not know anything about you or Pryan, but I have seen it not once but many times,Pryan Thank you for saving all those lives."
"You have also assisted Pryan right? I know But"
Silence.
"...He doesn't need you anymore."
"Give him one more chances..."
For the first time since his birth...
Dark Pryan's expression changed.
Not anger.
Not surprise.
Something quieter.
Seris took one more step.
"You can rest now."
The chamber became perfectly still.
Dark Pryan slowly closed his eyes.
Within the darkness...
He saw Pryan standing before him once again.
This time...
Neither of them spoke.
They simply looked at one another.
After a long silence...
Dark Pryyan smiled.
A genuine one.
"...Don't fail again."
Pryan nodded.
"I won't stop trying."
The darkness dissolved.
Outside...
Black mana slowly drifted away from Pryan's body like smoke carried by the wind.
Ashveil slipped from his hand.
Before it struck the ground...
It vanished.
Pryan staggered forward.
His eyes slowly opened.
Confused.
Exhausted.
He barely remained standing before his legs finally gave way.
Kaien caught him before he hit the floor.
The overwhelming pressure that had filled the underground chamber disappeared completely.
Only silence remained.