Chapter 80: The Originals Wrath

The moment Lucian stepped beyond the fortress threshold, the night itself recoiled.

Shadows twisted like living things, slithering up his legs, coiling around his arms—an extension of his will. The crown above his brow pulsed with dark energy, and the air hummed with the weight of something ancient waking.

Kael moved to follow, but Aurelia's hand clamped around his wrist. "Wait."

Outside, the battlefield had frozen. The Original's creatures—twisted amalgamations of flesh and shadow—paused mid-lunge, their hollow eyes fixed on Lucian. Even the wind stilled.

Then the earth split.

A jagged fissure raced across the ground, swallowing three of the creatures whole before they could scream. Lucian didn't flinch. He simply lifted his sword, and the darkness answered.

Tendrils of pure night lashed out, impaling the nearest monsters, their bodies dissolving into smoke before they hit the ground.

"Gods," Kael breathed.

The hooded figure chuckled behind them. "Not quite."

Aurelia's grip tightened. "He's not in control."

Kael didn't need to ask what she meant. The Lucian they knew fought with precision—calculated, ruthless, but never wasteful. This was something else. This was vengeance.

A deafening shriek tore through the night.

The remaining creatures scattered as a new presence descended—a swirling mass of darkness, formless yet unmistakable. The air thickened with the scent of ozone and decay.

The Original.

Her voice was a chorus of whispers, layered over screams. "You dare take up the crown again, little traitor?"

Lucian's sword didn't waver. "I dare more than that."

The shadows around him surged, forming a dozen jagged blades in midair. He swung—

—and the world ripped.

Space itself fractured where the blades struck, fissures of void spreading like cracks in glass. The Original's form shuddered, pieces of her essence unraveling into the abyss.

Kael's vision blurred. The shard in his chest burned, whispering, Now, now, NOW—

Aurelia shoved him back as a shockwave of energy blasted outward, hurling debris in all directions. The fortress groaned, its walls buckling under the force.

The hooded figure sighed. "Ah. That's going to be a problem."

Kael barely heard him. His gaze locked onto Lucian—or what was left of him. The crown's corruption had spread, the black veins now covering half his face. His movements were sharper, more predatory, his strikes leaving trails of dissipating darkness in their wake.

The Original recoiled, her form flickering. "You cannot win. The crown will consume you before you finish the job."

Lucian bared his teeth. "Then I'll make it count."

Another swing. Another tear in reality.

This time, the Original screamed—a sound that shook the earth.

Kael's knees buckled. The shard's whispers crescendoed, drowning out thought. Power flooded his veins, his corrupted arm burning as the black veins pulsed. He could see the threads of time around them, fraying at the edges.

Aurelia grabbed his face, forcing his gaze to hers. "Fight it."

He tried. Gods, he tried.

But the shard was louder.

His vision whited out.

When it cleared, he was standing. Moving. Running.

Straight toward Lucian.

Aurelia shouted after him, but her voice was distant. The shard's will overrode everything, its purpose clear—stop the crown's wielder before it's too late.

Kael didn't resist.

He couldn't.

Lucian turned just as Kael reached him, those silver-ringed eyes widening in recognition—

—and Kael stabbed him.

Not with a blade.

With the shard.

His corrupted hand plunged into Lucian's chest, the shard's energy flaring as it sought to sever the crown's connection.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then Lucian screamed.

The crown's power lashed out, tendrils of darkness wrapping around Kael's arm, his throat, his chest—

—and the world exploded.