While Lia was trapped in Fang Yuan's presence, Kaelen reached the pedestal in the Sacred Crypt. The High Priests watched with bated breath.
"For the glory of Aethelgard!" Kaelen shouted, his hand closing around the golden hilt of the Blade of Dawn.
The moment his skin touched the metal, a blinding golden light filled the room. The priests cheered—but the cheer died in their throats. The gold was quickly being consumed by veins of deep, abyssal indigo.
Kaelen's eyes flew wide. He expected a surge of holy power. Instead, he felt a vacuum. The sword wasn't giving him strength; it was anchored to his soul, pumping his "Heroic Luck" into a hidden spatial fold.
"Something is... wrong!" Kaelen gasped, his youthful face aging ten years in a matter of seconds.
Back in the forest, Lia felt the shockwave of Kaelen's ruined destiny. She looked at Fang Yuan, horror and a strange, dark realization dawning on her face.
"You didn't just change the sword," she whispered. "You've turned the Hero into a leak."
Fang Yuan looked toward the Silver City, his expression unreadable. "I've turned him into a Black Hole. And soon, the 'Farmer' will notice that his prize fruit is rotting. That is when the real game begins."