Dev walked away in silence, but the moment he turned his back on them, he released his blood and death energy to its absolute limit, letting the violent aura surge out of his body like a storm that had been suppressed for far too long.
Ruby, who had kept all her senses fully active the entire time because she already felt that Dev was in danger, immediately reacted to the sudden eruption of power. Without hesitation she shouted to the others.
"Climb on!"
The moment everyone climbed onto her back, Ruby shot forward through the air, her wings cutting through the wind as she flew toward Dev with terrifying speed, reaching him within only a few seconds.
She stopped directly in front of him.
Everyone jumped down from Ruby's back.
Kai stepped forward first, worry clearly visible in his eyes.
"My king… are you safe? Did something happen?" he asked anxiously.
Dev looked at all of them at once.
Kai.Chiru.Vaal.Rehx.Karn.Sethr.
His gaze passed through each of them one by one, cold and unreadable.
Then Dev suddenly took out a fragment and threw it toward Kai.
The fragment spun through the air before landing in Kai's hand.
"Pour your blood on it and use it," Dev said.
Ruby, who had been watching the fragment with curiosity ever since Dev threw it, felt something strangely familiar about it. She moved closer and took a careful look.
The moment she recognized it, her eyes widened.
It was Dev's grandfather's fragment.
Just as Kai was about to pour his blood onto the fragment, Ruby instantly kicked him away with her left leg, sending him flying several meters across the ground.
Kai crashed onto the ground but still held the fragment tightly in his hand.
Ruby turned toward Dev with fury burning in her eyes.
"Have you gone mad?" she shouted. "That fragment was brought by your grandfather after risking his life for you, and yet you casually throw it into your subordinate's hands like it is nothing more than a toy! What happened to you in just a few hours?!"
Dev was still furious.
"Do you know why I am doing this?" he said, his voice filled with suppressed rage.
"Because from the moment I entered the Heavenfall Empire Academy, everyone has been trying to control me… every single one of them."
Dev's voice was low, but the anger inside it was unmistakable.
"First, the Eternal Bloodline families. They used me like a weapon, pushing me forward just so I would kill that common bloodline boy for them
He let out a cold breath.
"Second… my grandfather."
"He wants me to fuse that fragment with my Blood Soul, as if my fate has already been decided for me."
Dev's eyes darkened.
"And then comes the most irritating thing of all…"
"The damn prophecy."
"I don't want to become some prophecy written by gods who have never even seen my life."
His voice grew colder.
"And then… the palace."
Dev laughed bitterly.
"I didn't even know a palace existed here. I entered it by accident. It was the first time I ever saw that place, and yet you were her the whole time did not see that palace for once . A black palace hidden in this hollow world."
His voice grew darker.
"It feels like someone is still controlling me from the shadows."
Dev's blood and death energy flared violently again.
"I never asked for this power… but it appeared anyway."
"No one in this world possesses this energy because it is forbidden."
"And yet I have it now."
He looked at Ruby coldly.
"Do you really think all of this is just a coincidence?"
"I don't."
"Someone is controlling my path."
"And if I go inside that palace and activate the Blood Soul… there will be no turning back."
"Even my grandfather is trying to control me… even after death."
Dev clenched his fist.
"If I want to remove these shackles, I have to break them one by one."
"That is why I threw the fragment to Kai."
Ruby's voice softened slightly, though worry still filled her eyes.
"Dev… I understand that the prophecy is irritating you, but that prophecy can get you killed."
"It can make the entire world hunt you."
"Even the people who love you right now… might try to kill you."
"Please understand, Dev."
"That is the worst possible thing that can happen to someone."
But Dev was not listening.
He simply turned and began walking away again.
The others slowly followed behind him.
Only Ruby remained standing there, unable to move.
"Please understand, Dev… this is only for your sake," she said quietly.
"Please…"
"Please… Dev…"
Dev continued walking forward without stopping.
Ruby suddenly shouted.
"YOU WILL DIE, DEV!"
"If you don't use that fragment… you will die a miserable death!"
Dev stopped walking.
Without turning around he asked coldly,
"Why would I die?"
Ruby's voice became heavy.
"Because the prophecy says…"
"The child born from two different eternal bloodlines, on the day of a lunar eclipse, when the ocean shines and the sky turns red, that boy will open the path for the gods."
"The child born on that day… is you, Dev."
Ruby's voice trembled as she spoke those words.
"And that moment will come again," she continued slowly. "The night when the lunar eclipse returns, when the ocean begins to shine, and when the sky turns red once more. When that day arrives again, it will announce your existence to the entire world."
Her expression darkened.
"And that announcement will not be made by mortals."
"It will be made by the gods themselves."
Ruby clenched her wings ,
"They do not want the Path of Godhood to open again, Dev. Most people in this world don't even understand what that path truly means, but the moment your existence is revealed, the entire world will begin to move against you."
Her voice grew heavier.
"And in the middle of all that chaos… you will be the one who suffers the most."
She looked at him with tears forming in her eyes.
"It won't just be the world standing against you."
"Even the gods themselves will stand against you."
Ruby could no longer hold back her emotions.
Tears slowly rolled down her face.
She understood suffering better than anyone else.
Loneliness.Pain.Abandonment.
She had experienced all of it.
Taking a deep breath, she continued.
"The fragment your grandfather brought… is not an ordinary fragment ."
"It is a fragment of the Fate Breaker Sword."
"A weapon created for only one purpose to break the chains of fate and prophecy that bind a person's destiny."
Ruby looked toward the fragment still in Kai's hand.
"That sword fragment possesses its own will and consciousness."
"When it merges with your Blood Soul, it will create a second awareness inside you."
"Whenever fate begins to move toward fulfilling the prophecy, the Blood Soul will sense the disturbance, and the fragment will guide you to the person, event, or object that is pushing the world toward opening the Path of Godhood."
"And when that moment comes… you will have the power to eliminate it."
Ruby lowered her head slightly.
"I told you before that I didn't know anything about this."
"That was a lie."
"I didn't tell you because I didn't think you were ready to carry such a burden."
Her voice shook.
"But seeing you like this now… I cannot keep hiding the truth anymore."
She slowly raised her head and looked at Dev again.
"Your grandfather risked his life to obtain that fragment."
"He entered the शान्तात्मा प्रविशतु। themselves just to bring it back for you."
Ruby's voice softened into a plea.
"So please… Dev."
"Fuse that fragment with your Blood Soul."
"I don't care what kind of ability your Blood Soul gains," Ruby said, her voice heavy with urgency. "As long as it helps you survive, that is enough for me, so please… fuse the fragment with your Blood Soul, so that we at least have hope that the day spoken of in the prophecy will never arrive… and that you will never have to stand alone against the world."
For a moment, Dev said nothing.
Then he suddenly began to laugh.
"Hah… hahaha…"
The laughter slowly grew louder.
"Hahahaha!"
He raised his head, his eyes burning with a dangerous light.
"So the whole world is against me…"
"Not only mortals… but even the immortals, the gods, and the entire world itself."
Dev laughed again, the sound echoing with madness and defiance.
"Hahahaha…"
"Then let's see…"
His voice turned cold and fearless.
"Which one will last longer in this world…"
"The entire world…"
"The gods…"
"Or me."
"Hahaha."