Lyra's voice trembled, and her Soul Body began to fade slowly, its edges turning faint and unstable. Even after all that anger and pain, Lucian remained completely still, like a statue—silent, unmoving, with no sign of life left in his eyes.
Then—
in that empty, silent mental world, a deep, powerful voice echoed.
"Lyra! Come back! Your soul is becoming too weak. If you don't return now, your existence will disappear. Return to your body!"
It was the Dragon Sprite.
Lyra looked up toward the empty sky, her expression filled with anger and desperation as she shouted back, "No! My brother is still not free! Until I save him… I'm not going back!"
The Dragon Sprite's voice turned firm, almost commanding. "If this continues, you will die too, Little Princess! We need you to stop this Evil Spirit. We cannot lose you… come back now!"
Lyra clenched her teeth tightly, refusing to accept it. Without hesitation, she moved again toward the last place where that final chain had been, as if she was ready to fight even further—
but this time, the Dragon didn't wait.
A powerful force suddenly pulled at her Soul Consciousness, dragging it outward. Lyra's body began to break apart in midair, like fragile glass shattering into countless pieces. Her form scattered into tiny glowing particles, spreading across that dark world like faint stars, before slowly being pulled back toward her real body.
Behind her—
in the middle of that black pond—
Lucian still sat there, silent and unmoving.
And yet…
something had changed.
Every word Lyra had spoken echoed inside his mind like lightning, striking again and again, refusing to fade. The deep darkness in his eyes tried to drag him further down, to bury him completely, but those harsh, painful truths held him back from falling entirely.
For the first time—
his lifeless hand moved.
Just slightly.
As if he was trying to reach out…
to catch those fading particles of light before they disappeared completely.
As Lyra's consciousness returned to her real body, her eyelids felt unbearably heavy, as if they were made of stone. Faint, scattered fragments of memories slowly began filling the emptiness inside her, one by one, bringing her awareness back. But along with those memories came something else—
a deep, aching pain.
The moment she realized what had happened… her chest tightened. She had reached him… she had broken the chains… and yet—
she couldn't save him completely.
A quiet guilt settled inside her, heavier than anything she had felt before.
When she finally forced her eyes open, the sight in front of her left her stunned.
Lucian's body was convulsing violently, jerking like an old, rusted machine that was breaking apart from within. The Evil Spirit inside him was losing control, its grip slipping away as if it was being forcefully torn out. It couldn't move properly anymore—its own existence was struggling to separate from Lucian's soul, as if the two were no longer able to stay connected.
To maintain itself, the Evil Spirit was pouring all of its mental strength into holding on, leaving it unable to launch any proper attack.
Suddenly, Lucian's body let out a horrifying groan as his stiff arms twisted unnaturally, the sound of his bones cracking echoing clearly through the air. The Evil Spirit roared in fury, its voice filled with rage and disbelief. "Damn dragon! What have you done? I'll turn all of you into ashes!"
It tried to unleash its black chains toward the dragon, but they froze midair, unable to move any further. Its eyes widened in shock as it realized—
it was stuck.
Lyra, still weak, held her head as she tried to steady herself, her voice unsteady as she spoke, "What… what is happening? Why is the Evil Spirit acting like this?"
The Dragon Sprite's deep voice echoed inside her mind, calm yet serious. "Lyra, when you broke the chains binding Lucian's soul, the Evil Spirit's hold weakened. Now Lucian's Divine Energy is protecting him from within. For a short time, it won't be able to control him."
There was a brief pause.
"We must separate it from his body—now."
Lyra clenched her fists, frustration and pain rising together inside her. "No… I should have broken that last chain too! If you hadn't pulled me out, this fight would have already been over!"
The dragon responded patiently, its tone firm but understanding. "You are still a child. If you had broken that final chain, both souls would have collided and been destroyed. Without a stable connection, Lucian's body wouldn't have been able to hold either of you… and you both would have died."
Lyra froze for a moment, absorbing those words, her anger slowly mixing with the fear of what could have happened.
Then she looked up slightly, confusion still visible in her expression.
"But… how did you know I broke the chains?" she asked. "Can you… see inside?"
"No," the dragon replied calmly, its voice slightly heavier than before. "I cannot see inside. But while fighting, I suddenly felt the Evil Spirit losing its balance. That was enough for me to understand—you had succeeded. I used whatever strength I had left to pull your consciousness out… but now, I have very little energy remaining."
Lyra's expression tightened with concern, her earlier frustration fading into worry. "Then use my energy!" she said quickly. "And… that wound on your chest—it's getting worse. It's too deep… we need to heal it first."
The dragon responded softly, almost dismissing it. "I have noticed it… but it is not important right now." There was a brief pause before its tone turned more serious. "This is the moment for our final move."
At that instant, streaks of multicolored light began to spread across the dark sky, forming intricate patterns as they moved. Within seconds, those lights converged and created a powerful barrier around Lucian, enclosing him completely.
Lucian tried to move, to break free, but something stopped him from within. His own true soul resisted, holding him back, refusing to let him escape. The Evil Spirit, trapped inside, began to curse in frustration, its voice filled with helpless rage.
Lyra looked at the glowing structure around him, confusion and urgency mixing in her voice. "What is this?"
The dragon took a deep breath before answering, its voice echoing with weight. "This is a Time-Space Barrier. It will not allow him to escape… no matter what he tries." Its tone grew sharper. "Now, we only need to force him out of the body."
Lyra's eyes widened slightly, fear surfacing again. "But if he comes out… he could take over someone else… or cause even more destruction!"
"It won't happen," the dragon reassured her steadily. "I've already prepared everything. From here on… we just need to trust Elder Vyom."
"Elder Vyom…?" Lyra murmured, surprised for a moment, but she quickly steadied herself. Her expression hardened, determination replacing her doubt. "Alright… then I'll give everything I have. I won't let him escape."
The dragon began gathering a massive amount of Divine Energy inside its mouth, the energy condensing into a radiant, blazing core. Lyra stepped closer without hesitation and placed both her hands gently on the dragon's head, closing her eyes as she poured all of her remaining strength into it.
The flow of her energy merged with the dragon's.
And in the next moment—
the dragon's mouth shone like a rising sun, its light cutting through the darkness with overwhelming intensity.
The Evil Spirit felt the terrifying attack building up, and its body trembled slightly as it shouted in anger, "What are you trying to do, you damn dragon!" It tried to raise its hand, but the intense light was already blinding it, making it hard for it to even move properly.
Then Lyra's sharp voice echoed, filled with anger and authority—
"Evil Spirit! Leave my brother's body… or you will die today! Even if my brother dies with you, as a Ravencrest, it will be his sacrifice for this world!"
Inside, Lyra's heart was breaking, but there was no hesitation left in her eyes. She had already made her decision, even if it meant losing everything.
The Evil Spirit laughed loudly, but there was fear hidden inside that laughter. "A child like you… and a half-dead dragon can never kill me!" it said mockingly. "You will never take your brother's life, Little Princess!"
Deep inside, it believed it could survive this attack. It thought that once this was over, it would slowly torture and destroy all of them.
But then—
Lyra stepped forward and stood firmly on the dragon's head. She raised her hands forward and shouted with a hardened heart—
"Dragon Sprite! Finish it! Take revenge for my brother… kill it!"
Her eyes were filled with determination, but deep inside, her soul was crying in pain.
The Evil Spirit's eyes widened.
A cold wave of panic ran through its existence. It couldn't understand what had gone wrong. This girl, who was trembling in fear just moments ago—how had she suddenly become so fearless? And how had its control over Lucian weakened so quickly?
Still, the Evil Spirit refused to give up.
It gathered all of its demonic power and forced it into Lucian's body again, trying to regain control. The pressure became unbearable—Lucian's muscles began to tear, and blood started flowing from his skin, but the Evil Spirit didn't stop.
With all its strength, it forced Lucian's arm to move again and slowly raised it toward the dragon, trying to stop the attack at any cost.
Then, without any hesitation, Lyra joined the dragon and released that endless Divine Energy together toward the Evil Spirit. The energy didn't explode—instead, it moved like the first ray of sunlight, cutting through the darkness as it struck Lucian's body directly. That golden light surrounded him completely, wrapping around him as if it was reclaiming what was lost.
The light didn't destroy—it flowed.
It spread through Lucian's veins like blood, moving deeper and deeper inside him, and his eyes began to shine like molten gold. It was as if something buried within him was being awakened, pushing back against everything that didn't belong there.
The Evil Spirit felt it instantly.
Its dark energy began to burn, turning into ash under that light. "No… this light… it's erasing me!" it screamed, panic finally breaking through its voice. It understood now—if it stayed inside this body any longer, its existence would be completely wiped out.
It tried to escape, but as it looked around, there was nothing—only endless empty space surrounding it from all directions. There was no path, no opening, no way out. The dragon had trapped it completely, leaving it with nowhere to go.
Then—
far in the distance, it saw something.
Its original sealed body.
Rage burst out of it as it shouted, "This was your plan, you old dragon!"
As every part of its being continued to burn away, it had no choice left. In desperation, it abandoned Lucian's body and rushed toward its original form at full speed. Even if it lost this host, it believed it could still survive within its true body.
At the same time—
Elder Vyom stood inside the underground chamber, his entire body drenched in sweat. His breathing had become uneven, his hands trembling as he worked on the incomplete symbols in front of him.
Then suddenly—
the dragon's voice echoed inside his mind.
"Hurry, Elder! It's coming! Complete the seal!"
Elder Vyom's eyes widened as he felt it approaching. Time was slipping away like sand through his fingers, and there was no room left for hesitation. Without waiting any longer, he activated the incomplete symbols as they were, forcing the seal to respond before it was fully prepared.
His breath almost stopped.
Even a single moment of delay could end everything.
And then—
as the Evil Spirit entered its original body—
Elder Vyom locked the seal.
A heavy impact echoed—
'BOOM!'
A blinding light filled the entire chamber as the seal activated, and instantly, all the dark energy spread across the sky, the ground, and even the trees began to get pulled inward like a violent storm collapsing into a single point. The energy twisted, spiraled, and was dragged forcefully into the seal, as if the world itself was being emptied of darkness.
The air trembled.
The pressure shifted.
And in that overwhelming stillness that followed, something began to change within the sealed space…
As the darkness finally broke apart, the first golden rays of morning began to spread across the sky. That horrifying night had come to an end, and the world slowly started to breathe again. Elder Vyom dropped down onto the ground, his old body finally giving in as his heavy breaths began to stabilize. He looked up at the sky, silently thanking this new dawn that had arrived after such destruction.
High above, Lyra watched through her fading, exhausted vision as the Divine Energy slowly began to calm down. The overwhelming light that had filled the sky was now settling… and through that fading glow, she suddenly saw something that made her heart stop.
Lucian's body—
falling.
"Brother!" she screamed, her voice breaking as panic rushed through her.
Without wasting a second, the Dragon Sprite dived down at full speed, cutting through the air as it moved beneath Lucian's falling body. In that brief moment, Lyra leapt forward and caught him midair, pulling him close before he could hit the ground.
She carefully laid him down on the dragon's back, her hands trembling as she leaned forward and placed her head against his chest. For a moment, everything felt still… her breath stopped… her heart refused to beat.
Then—
a heartbeat.
Weak…
but alive.
The moment she felt it, something inside her broke completely. The eyes that had stayed strong and unshaken until now finally gave in, and tears poured out uncontrollably. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, holding him as if she would never let go, crying without holding anything back.
The dragon watched silently.
"This boy…" it thought quietly, observing him. "He endured all of that… and still survived. I believed today, another Ravencrest would be lost to sacrifice…"
Its gaze softened slightly, though it didn't show it openly.
Slowly, the Dragon Sprite began descending toward the ground. Below, the village was returning to life. The fear had faded, replaced by quiet relief. Birds began to chirp again, their soft voices filling the air, and the spirits of the village slowly returned, their presence no longer trembling with fear.
Sunlight spread across the land, touching everything it reached, as if purifying the scars left behind by the battle.
The dragon glanced back at Lyra, who was still holding Lucian tightly, her shoulders trembling as she cried.
In a calm, steady voice, it spoke—
"All of this… was possible because of you, Lyra Ravencrest."