CHAPTER 80 — THE CLONE AND THE COMPASS
The battlefield had already gone quiet.
Broken stone, scattered ash, and the faint smell of burned earth hung in the air. In the center of it all, Leylin knelt.
His breathing was shallow, his body torn by the earlier clash. Yet his eyes were clear—too clear for someone on the verge of death.
Crimson Six stepped closer, crimson energy coiling faintly around her fingers.
"Where is the cause?" she asked.
Her voice carried no anger. Only calculation.
Leylin did not answer.
He simply looked at her.
The silence stretched longer than it should have.
Crimson Six frowned slightly.
Something about the moment felt… wrong.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You're smiling."
Leylin's lips curved faintly, though the motion looked almost tired.
Still he said nothing.
Crimson Six studied him carefully now. The air around them felt strange, as if the battlefield itself had gone still to listen.
Then her pupils constricted.
A realization.
"You…" she murmured.
Leylin finally spoke.
"At first," he said quietly, "when I arrived in this world, I was… confused."
His voice was calm, reflective, as though he were remembering something distant rather than facing death.
"The body I awakened in was unusual. Weak in certain aspects. Strangely adaptable in others. I assumed it was simply the nature of this planet."
His gaze drifted briefly across the wasteland around them.
"But curiosity is difficult to suppress."
Crimson Six did not interrupt.
Leylin tilted his head slightly.
"So I began observing the inhabitants."
A pause.
"And that was when the first problem appeared."
He lifted his eyes back to hers.
"This planet should contain billions."
The wind shifted softly across the ruins.
"But I found… thousands."
Crimson Six's expression remained composed, though the tightening of her pupils betrayed a flicker of attention.
Leylin continued.
"Cities existed only as shells. Beasts refused to leave their territories. Even the air carried a peculiar silence."
His gaze sharpened faintly.
"It was almost as if the entire world feared something."
He let the words linger before continuing.
"So I kept looking."
His tone was almost casual now.
"Patterns reveal themselves to those patient enough to notice them."
His eyes drifted upward as if searching his memory.
"That girl… what was her name again…"
He paused thoughtfully.
"Elira."
A faint nod followed.
"Yes. Elira."
His gaze returned to Crimson Six.
"She reminded me of someone."
A brief smile flickered across his face.
"For a moment I assumed it was coincidence."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"But coincidences become… suspicious when they repeat."
Crimson Six remained silent.
Leylin continued speaking as though unraveling a puzzle piece by piece.
"Then the Pope died."
His voice remained soft.
"And something strange happened."
He studied her carefully.
"The soul signature was identical."
Another pause.
"Exactly identical."
His head tilted slightly.
"And not just his."
"Elira's."
"And others."
A faint chuckle escaped him.
"As if every individual on this planet carried the same template."
Crimson Six's fingers tightened slightly at her side.
Leylin noticed.
He always noticed.
"Of course," he continued lightly, "I wondered if my senses were mistaken."
"So I ran a small experiment."
Only now did his gaze sharpen.
"I used the Envy core."
The battlefield seemed to grow quieter.
"And when I touched their souls…"
His voice dropped almost to a whisper.
"They were the same."
"Every single one."
A slow breath escaped him.
"Artificial."
He leaned back slightly despite kneeling.
"Not born."
"Cultivated."
His eyes met hers directly.
"Like livestock."
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Leylin tapped lightly against the side of his temple.
"The system embedded within this body eventually confirmed it."
A faint hint of amusement appeared in his expression.
"An interesting device. Designed to monitor and control."
He looked down at his body briefly.
"But it proved… useful."
His gaze lifted again.
"And that was when I realized something far more disturbing."
His voice became quiet.
"Whoever designed this system… and whoever constructed this world… possesses extraordinary intelligence."
Another pause followed.
Then he asked the question.
"Which leads to the obvious conclusion."
His eyes sharpened.
"Who are you?"
The wind stirred again.
"And why are you in this world?"
His gaze locked onto hers.
"Because you are certainly not one of its inhabitants."
Crimson Six stared at him.
The silence stretched several seconds longer this time.
Then she nodded once.
"Very clever."
Her voice was calm.
Cold.
"I did not expect that much."
She reached into her armor and withdrew a small metallic device.
A compass.
Leylin's eyes flicked briefly toward it.
Crimson Six crouched in front of him.
"You will not live long enough for that answer to matter," she said.
Her blade flashed.
Blood spilled across the metal surface.
The compass pulsed faintly as it absorbed the trace.
"I will find the original."
Her voice carried absolute certainty.
"And when I do…"
She rose slowly.
"I will end him."
Leylin chuckled softly.
"Good."
His eyes glinted faintly.
"That confirms it."
For the first time, Crimson Six frowned.
But it was already too late.
Crimson energy erupted from her hand.
Leylin's body disintegrated instantly.
Ash scattered across the wind where he had knelt moments before.
The battlefield fell silent once more.
Crimson Six looked down at the glowing compass in her hand.
Somewhere out there…
The real one was waiting.
She closed her fist around the device.
Then she vanished into the ruined horizon.