Lucian dragged himself to a rock. Sat hard.
"Ash had three backup portals. I destroyed two." Blood dripped from his mouth. "The third... he was through before I could reach it."
"We go after him." Jayden stepped forward.
"No." Lucian's eyes were ice. "You'd die. All of you."
"We killed demons "
"Low ranks. Cannon fodder." Lucian spat blood. "Kaelos has Elders. Demon Lords. Things that make Ash look weak."
Marcus crossed his arms. "Then what do we do?"
"You train. Six months minimum."
"We don't have six months." Elena's voice cut. "Theron's still hunting us. The kingdoms "
"Will wait." Lucian stood. Swayed. "Ash needs time to rebuild. The portal damaged him. We use that time."
Jayden's eye pulsed. Scanned Lucian.
[LUCIAN VALEHEART: ESSENCE 8%. CRITICAL CONDITION. INJURIES: SEVERE.]
"You're dying."
"Observant." Lucian smiled. Wrong. Too many teeth missing. "Three days. Maybe four."
"Cinna can "
"No." He waved her off. "This corruption is old. Twenty years festering. Your magic won't touch it."
Silence.
"Then we find "
"Nothing to find, kid. I've looked." Lucian met his eyes. "But I've got three days left. That's enough to teach you the basics."
"Basics of what?"
"Survival. Apex rank techniques. How to not die immediately on Kaelos." Lucian started walking. "Follow."
They followed.
The training ground was a crater. Half mile wide. Glass floor from old battles.
"Everyone. Attack me."
Marcus hesitated. "You're dying "
"Which means I've got nothing to lose. Come."
They attacked.
Marcus led. Durability maxed. Fist like a meteor.
Lucian sidestepped. Flicked his wrist. Marcus flew backward.
"Too slow. Next."
Elena's ice covered the ground. Jayden Shadow Stepped behind.
Lucian moved. Between them. Grabbed both throats. Slammed them together.
"Predictable. Next."
Zain and Cinna tried together. Stone and healing barriers.
Lucian walked through. Touched Zain's chest. He collapsed. Not hurt. Just... stopped.
"Your essence control is pathetic."
He released Cinna. She stumbled.
"All of you. Sit."
They sat.
Lucian paced. Each step looked painful.
"You've got power. Speed. Techniques. Good foundation." He stopped. "But you fight like children. Wasting motion. Telegraphing attacks. Predictable patterns."
"Then teach us." Jayden's jaw was tight.
"I am. Lesson one: You're weak."
"We killed "
"LOW RANKS." Lucian's voice cracked the air. "A Mid rank demon almost killed you, Jayden. The Elder would've slaughtered everyone if you hadn't Enraged."
He was right.
"Lesson two: Your teamwork is your only advantage. Use it."
"We do "
"No. You fight near each other. That's not teamwork." Lucian drew a line in glass. "Marcus. Where's your optimal position?"
"Front. Tanking."
"Wrong. You're mobile now. Your armor lets you reposition. Elena, where's your optimal range?"
"Mid. Ice needs space to form."
"Wrong. You can freeze instantly now. Get in close. Surprise them." Lucian pointed at Jayden. "You. What's your role?"
"Damage. Assassination."
"Wrong. You're the strategist. Your eye sees everything. You should be calling shots, not soloing."
The words hit hard.
"You're fighting like five individuals. Not a unit." Lucian sat again. "Fix that or die."
They trained.
Lucian called out mistakes. Brutally.
"Marcus, left! Your left, idiot!"
"Elena, freeze the ground THEN strike!"
"Zain, you're spacing wrong! Closer!"
"Cinna, barriers only when necessary! Don't waste essence!"
"Jayden, USE YOUR VOICE! Call the play!"
Hours blurred.
[TEAM SYNERGY: 94% → 96%]
Small improvement. But Lucian noticed.
"Better. Still terrible, but better."
He collapsed. Coughing blood.
"That's day one."
Cinna rushed forward. "Let me "
"Save it. I'm beyond help." Lucian waved her away. "Two days left. Tomorrow we do solo training."
They made camp. Silent.
Jayden sat apart. His eye replaying the fights.
We're not ready. Not close.
"Thinking too loud."
Lucian sat beside him. Moving like everything hurt.
"You're dying and you spent the day teaching us."
"Best use of time."
"Why?"
Lucian was quiet. Long moment.
"Twenty years ago, Theron and the Academy tried to control me. Chain me. Make me their weapon." His voice was distant. "I broke free. Killed seventeen people. Became the monster they feared."
Jayden waited.
"I've been running since. Hiding. Hunting Ash to give my life meaning." Lucian looked at him. "You're walking the same path. Hunted. Feared. Growing too fast."
"I'm not you."
"No. You've got friends. I didn't." He smiled. Sad. "That's why you'll succeed where I failed."
"We can still find a way "
"Kid. I'm done. Made peace with it." Lucian stood. "Just promise me something."
"What?"
"When you face Seraphine. The goddess who reincarnated you." His eyes were hard. "Kill her."
Jayden's blood went cold. "You know about "
"She did the same to me. Forty years ago. Different world. Same lie." Lucian started walking. "She's using you. Like she used me. Like she'll use the next one."
"How do you "
"Because I met her. After I 'died.' She offered me a second chance. Another world. More power." He laughed. Broken. "I refused. Came here instead. Been hunting her pawns ever since."
"Ash is "
"Her creation. Yes. A failed experiment. Like me." Lucian disappeared into shadow. "Sleep. Tomorrow I push you harder."
Day two. Solo training.
Lucian took Jayden first.
"Your Omni eye. You rely on it too much."
"It's my greatest "
"It's a crutch." Lucian formed essence around Jayden's eye. Blinded it. "Fight me without it."
"I can't "
Lucian struck. Jayden blocked blind. Barely.
"Your body knows what to do. Trust it."
They fought. Jayden got destroyed.
No Omni. No predictions. Just reaction.
He learned.
An hour later, Lucian released the seal.
"Better. Your instincts are sharp. Stop overthinking."
Marcus trained second. Durability exercises. Taking hits that would kill anyone else.
Elena third. Ice manipulation at molecular level.
Zain fourth. Essence refinement. Stone that could cut space.
Cinna last. Healing while under attack. Pressure training.
By evening, everyone was broken.
Lucian sat. Barely breathing.
"One day left."
"Use it to rest " Cinna tried.
"No. Tomorrow is combat trials." He met each of their eyes. "You'll fight me. All together. Full power."
"You're dying "
"Which means I'll fight like it." Lucian's smile was vicious. "Kill me or get killed."
Day three. Dawn.
Lucian stood in the crater's center.
The team surrounded him. Five points. Perfect positioning.
"Last lesson. An Apex rank enemy won't hold back. Neither will I." His essence exploded. "BEGIN."
They attacked.
Marcus first. Durability tanking. Drawing attention.
Elena froze his feet. Zain shattered the ice. Creating openings.
Cinna's barriers blocked counters.
Jayden called plays. "ELENA LEFT! ZAIN FOLLOWUP! MARCUS COVER!"
They moved like water.
[TEAM SYNERGY: 96% → 99%]
Lucian fought back. Space warped. Time slowed. Reality bent.
He was dying. But still Apex.
Ten minutes. They couldn't touch him.
"COME ON!" Lucian roared. "I'M HALF DEAD AND YOU STILL CAN'T HIT ME!"
Jayden's eye blazed. Omni calculating.
There. Three seconds from now. Opening.
"MARCUS BAIT! ELENA DELAY! ZAIN STRIKE!"
They executed.
Marcus charged. Lucian dodged.
Elena's ice forced him left.
Zain's stone fist connected. Clean hit.
Lucian stumbled.
"JAYDEN NOW!"
Shadow Step. Blade at throat.
"Stop."
Lucian smiled. Real. Proud.
"You win."
The fight ended.
Lucian collapsed. Final collapse.
"Three days. Not bad." Blood poured. "You're ready. Not for Ash. But ready to survive Kaelos long enough to get ready for Ash."
"Don't " Cinna's healing hit him.
"Save it." He pushed her away. "Listen. Kaelos. The portal will reopen in four months. Ash needs that long to rebuild."
"Then we "
"You train here. Two months. Then find Kane. He'll open a stable portal." Lucian's breathing slowed. "On Kaelos. Find the resistance. Tell them Lucian sent you. They'll help."
"What's their name?"
"The Purifiers. Led by a woman named Sera. She's... an old friend."
His eyes closed.
Opened. Barely.
"Kid. Your white hair. It's not just trauma."
"What?"
"It's a mark. Seraphine marks her champions. So she can track them." Lucian's hand grabbed Jayden's. "Cut it off. All of it. Regrow it. She can't track new growth."
His hand fell.
"Beat her. For all of us."
Lucian Valeheart died.
The legendary Apex. The failed champion. The broken hero.
Gone.
Jayden stood. Silent.
The team gathered.
They'd known him three days.
Felt like years.
"We bury him." Marcus said.
"No." Jayden's voice was flat. "We burn him. Like he would've wanted."
They built a pyre. Glass and wood.
Lucian's body on top.
Jayden's black lightning lit it.
They watched him burn.
"Two months." Elena spoke first. "Then Kaelos."
"Two months." Jayden's eye tracked the smoke. "And we get strong enough to kill a god."