The world went dark.
The air itself turned a deep, oppressive purple. Shadows flickered and shifted in unnatural ways the world had never seen. Sounds cut out for split seconds, leaving eerie pockets of silence before crashing back in. The planet didn't shake — it hesitated, as though a foreign presence had set foot upon it and the world itself was holding its breath.
The woman took one slow step forward.
The sky fractured like glass. Dark purple cracks rippled across the heavens. Lightning struck the ground violently, splitting rock and earth. Loose stones began to float in the area. The air pressure fluctuated wildly, pressing down, then releasing in erratic waves.
Below the descending empire, Drune and Syphon were struggling.
Syphon's arms trembled as she poured every drop of her magic into the construct, beams of radiant energy straining against the falling landmass. "It's too heavy… I can't—!" she gasped, voice cracking with exhaustion.
Drune's six verdant rings spun at maximum speed, spatial magic warping and folding to create resistance, but the empire continued its slow, crushing descent. Sweat poured down his face. "The momentum is too great… but it's slowing down. Just hold out—"
Syphon shouted, pushing with everything she had left. "I'm almost out..."
Down below, the woman watched all of this with a quiet, cold gaze. Her expression remained still as she looked upon the falling empire, as if it were nothing more than an interesting rock.
She spoke, voice soft yet carrying across the ruined land like a whisper that pierced the soul.
"I can hear the shouts and cries of insects… I can feel their desperation. As if it were music to my ears."
She raised her hand, expression still and cold.
"Despite that… they should remain beneath my feet."
As if she were grabbing space itself, she asked, "How dare you stand above me?"
The air around the empire suddenly grew crushing. An invisible weight pulled downward. The empire accelerated its descent. Syphon and Drune lost control, their constructs flickering and bending as they desperately tried to slow it.
The woman smiled, cold and amused, as she brought the empire down.
Then her hand cracked.
She noticed it with mild curiosity. Multiple cracks formed all over her body at once, chunks breaking away and weathering into dust. She smiled wider. "How interesting… I must be in the lower realm."
Suddenly, gravity pressed down on her. Her feet sank a few inches into the ground as jolts of electrical energy rippled through her form.
She looked at her broken hand again, still carrying that calm, curious expression.
"This world is rejecting me," she said softly. "How fragile."
Asterdolf, floating among the broken rocks, could only watch with blurry vision.
Inside the falling empire, citizens collapsed in shock. Julius crashed into a building while trying to save his people, weakened by the dark aura. Blood poured from his mouth, eyes, and nose. What is going on…? I have to save them… I can't fail now…
Drune and Syphon spat out blood, more flowing from their eyes and noses as their mana ran dangerously low.
Something… has emerged onto our world, Syphon thought, pushing with everything she had left.
Down below, the woman was still being pressed down by gravity. Her body continued to break apart in chunks.
How disappointing, she thought calmly. I can't stay long here.
She turned her gaze to Indura, who was still levitating behind her, unconscious. She examined his body with a slight tilt of her head, then smiled.
"This one is interesting… it would fit as a good vessel. But it's dead… or is it?"
Asterdolf glanced at her. What great power this woman has. It's too sharp that my insides are being split apart. She isn't attacking… but her mere existence is disrupting the system.
His eyes met the woman's.
She smiled, cold and still. "You are not meant to glance at my presence."
She commanded softly, "Crawl to me as the insect you are and beg for mercy."
Asterdolf's body suddenly felt alive — moving on its own. It fell to the ground and began crawling toward her, as his bones were grinding, fingers tearing, breath being forced, every motion agonizing as he felt his body wasn't his.
Why is my body moving on its own? It hurts… I feel like I'm dying ten times over… let it stop…
Asterdolf's body crawled in pain as the woman watched in amusement.
Until she glanced at the great sword.
Her eyes widened slightly. "Well, this is interesting… the divine sword Drake was here all along."
Suddenly, her body cracked even more. Her left hand broke off and weathered into dust.
The empire, now almost reaching the ground, continued its descent. Asterdolf could only peek at it as he crawled, seeing it come down, thinking desperately for someone to help.
The woman looked at Asterdolf's broken body at her feet, her cold and sharp gaze cutting across his wounded face like thrusting blades.
"Before you beg," She asked softly, "What world is this? And how come I hadn't known of it?"
Before Asterdolf could speak, Drake moved forward on its own, sweeping his body away from her.
The woman didn't seem to care. -sigh- She looked back at Indura's body, feeling curious about the slow regeneration of flesh.
She tried to place her hand on his chest.
Then Asterdolf forced a shout, voice raw and broken. "Stop."
The woman looked back and saw Asterdolf barely standing, looking like a mess of a human — one arm gone, blood everywhere, body trembling.
Asterdolf forced the words out. "I know what you are -cough- I won't let anyone take away...that body."
The woman smiled, cold and still. She raised her hand to deliver an attack.
But suddenly, her right hand also broke apart and weathered away.
Asterdolf stood desperately. I will use all I have to break that vessel apart. It would all end once she's broken. It isn't the original being… It's only using Juriel's body as a medium. But her presence is still too great.
"Drake...be my aid."
The sword rose.
Asterdolf gripped the hilt with his remaining hand. "I have come this far. I have seen so much. At this moment, I may feel regret… but if it means preventing a catastrophe upon Varta, I would end its call here."
The woman smiled, amused by his strength. "You look familiar… with the way you hold that sword."
Asterdolf thought of Julius. My son...Julius. I know that you will become the strength our people need. For that...I'm sorry to leave it all on you.
He smiled, stepping forward with all the strength he had left, each step agonizing.
He thought of his wife, Maria. I will see you soon.
And of Indura…
Asterdolf came before the woman. Her aura cut through his body like invisible blades.
With all his strength, he swung down.
She whispered softly, "Kill yourself."
-stab-
"...dear...dear...dear?"
Asterdolf opened his eyes to warmth.
He was lying on a large bed, big enough to fit five people. Soft sunlight filtered through familiar curtains. The scent of fresh linen and faint lavender filled the air.
He sat up slowly, looking at his hands. The arm he thought had been blown off was still attached. He touched his face, then his chest. Everything felt completely fine.
A gentle voice came from beside him.
"Dear… did you have another nightmare?"
Asterdolf turned.
Maria lay beside him, covered in sheets. She was in her thirties, with short brown hair and warm brown eyes, aged finely with the perfect blend of youth and maturity. She looked at him with concern and love.
"Maria…?" he whispered, voice cracking.
Maria sat up and gently wiped the tears that had fallen from his eyes. "Is everything alright?"
Asterdolf stared at her, unable to tell if this was an illusion or reality. Tears streamed down his face at the sight of his wife.
What is this? An illusion?...no...it feels too real to be an illusion.
Maria smiled softly and held his hand. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Just then, the door burst open.
Julius — only eight years old, full of energy — ran in wearing Asterdolf's royal gown, the fabric dragging on the floor as he cosplayed as the emperor.
"Stand proud, my kind citizens...I, the king, will fulfill all your needs, hahaha-"
Maria laughed. "Don't run around wearing your father's gown!"
"But mother..." Julius pouted, then he looked at Asterdolf, "Father, look, don't I look like a mighty king?"
For a moment, Asterdolf chuckled, then laughed fully. He held Maria's hand tightly and pulled Julius into his arms.
"Maybe I missed you both more than I realized," he said, voice thick with emotion.
I wish for everything to feel like this. Maybe...I did have a bad dream. I'm...home.
KRAAAASH—!!
The dream ended.
Asterdolf knelt on the ground, head low, blood flowing steadily from his stomach. Drake was stabbed into him by his own hand.
He had no breath of life left in his weary body. Only silence.
The woman looked down at him with cold, sharp eyes.
She then turned to the falling empire, watching it almost touch the ground. Something caught her senses. She smiled with curiosity.
With her authority, she commanded, "Cease your descent."
The words carried impossible weight.
The air itself became still.
Drune and Syphon felt the sudden shift. The empire slowed down and came to a complete stop in mid-air. They hovered away from it, confused and exhausted.
"How… it stopped," Syphon whispered.
Inside the empire, the citizens had already collapsed. Only Julius remained barely standing, weakened by the thick aura.
Father… you did it, he thought, coughing blood.
The woman continued, voice soft. "I could feel the desperation and despair from the insects… but one of them was strange."
She paused.
"One of them felt even more fear… as if they were aware of who I was."
She asked quietly, "Just who could it be? Who dares hide from me?"
Jin was no longer on the wall. He had hidden below, holding his breath as the aura stretched across his skin like icy fingers. He remained perfectly still, heart beating like a drum.
It's her...it's definitely her...
Syphon and Drune hovered below the empire, panting hard.
Their bodies were drenched in sweat. Their breathing came in ragged gasps. The strain of holding the massive floating kingdom had pushed them to their absolute limits.
Drune turned his head toward the distant battlefield, feeling the immense, suffocating aura that had spread across the land like a living shadow. His voice was hoarse.
"We should get away from here… quickly. Before whatever that is tries anything else."
Syphon narrowed her eyes, scanning the ground below. Her breath caught.
A figure sat there.
Her eyes widened. A tremble ran through her entire body as she tried to deny what she was seeing.
"No…" she whispered.
Drune felt it at the same moment — Asterdolf's life force slipping away.
He pressed a hand to his mouth in shock, eyes wide with disbelief.
No… I don't believe it. There's no way. Asterdolf can't be…
Syphon's face crumpled. Dread flooded through her like ice water. She vomited blood, the crimson liquid spraying from her mouth as her body lost balance and plummeted toward the ground.
Drune reacted instantly, catching her mid-fall. He landed safely, holding her close as she gasped for air.
"Don't look at her," he whispered urgently, voice shaking. "There's nothing we can do against a being like that."
Syphon only cried, silent tears streaming down her face as she denied Asterdolf's death in her mind.
He can't be gone… not him… not like this…
The woman looked toward them.
She smiled — a cold, distant smile that carried no warmth.
She took one slow step forward.
Gravity pressed down on her with merciless force, but she kept walking. With each step, tremendous weight radiated outward. Her body continued to break apart piece by piece — small chunks of dark aura crumbling and dissolving into the wind.
She walked toward the empire, looking up at the floating kingdom with quiet curiosity, searching for a certain someone who seemed to be hiding from her presence.
Drune and Syphon knew better than to move. They remained frozen, barely breathing, as the aura of death wrapped around them like a shroud.
Asterdolf remained on the ground where he had fallen.
Drake, his great sword, trembled violently. Slowly, it pulled itself out of its master's body with a wet, sickening sound. Blood splattered across the damaged rock.
The sword hovered gently, tapping against Asterdolf's lifeless form — once, twice, three times — as if trying to wake him.
Then it planted itself firmly in the ground before him.
Its humming ceased.
Silence.
The woman continued her slow walk, each step heavier than the last, her body fracturing further with every movement.
She looked up at the empire again, then back toward the fallen dragon.
Her cold, sharp gaze lingered on Indura's floating body.
She smiled faintly, as she turned away.
Gusts of wind swept across the shattered battlefield, as Indura's body remained levitating.
Suddenly, his body twitched.