Cahpter 138 : Born of the Massacre

Astra stiffened beside Seiya. He didn't move—only stared ahead, tension rippling through his shoulders, something dangerous flickering behind his eyes.

The wraith tilted his head, voice turning mocking.

"Tell me… didn't he try to slaughter you too?" A low chuckle slid from his throat. "Just like your father did the rest."

Blood surged through Seiya's veins, pulsing visibly up his neck. His grip on Astra's arm tightened. She winced.

"Sei—" she began, but his jaw clenched too tightly for words.

In a flash of steel and instinct, Mo Lian appeared behind the wraith, swinging her sword in a blazing arc—but the wraith caught it mid-strike.

Effortless.

He twisted her wrist, pulling her close and locking her in place—her own blade now pressed to her throat as he guided her hand with mocking gentleness.

"Mo Lian!" Wei Zhenyu shouted, stepping forward.

But she raised her free hand, eyes sharp—Don't come closer.

The wraith laughed darkly, tilting his head toward Seiya. "Tell me… did he really let you live?" His voice slithered like smoke. "Answer me, Seiya Aida…"

Astra's eyes widened. "How… how does he know your name?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Seiya snapped, voice shaking with barely restrained fury. "I'm not the one you think I am!"

The wraith only smiled deeper. "You can't lie to me." His tone turned cold, almost reverent. "I was born from the blood and memories of that massacre. Every cry… every betrayal… every last heartbeat carved into the land."

The mist around him thickened, curling like tendrils of grief. "I remember their pain, because their pain is what made me. And your emotions…" His eyes bored into Seiya's. "They reek of the same agony. The same helpless terror. The same silence of those who watched everyone they loved be slaughtered."

Seiya stood frozen. Astra looked up at him and for the first time, truly saw the storm in his eyes.

The wraith's smile faded into something colder—more ancient. The mist coiling around his form pulsed with each word, heavy with memory.

"You carry it like a curse etched into your bones."His voice throbbed with something that wasn't anger—but recognition. "The scream that never left your throat. The blood you couldn't stop. The truth you were never told."

Seiya's hands trembled at his sides. His gaze was locked on the wraith, but his vision seemed distant dragged backward, inward.

"Did you forget?" the wraith hissed. "Or did you bury it so deep, you thought it died?"

Astra took a step forward instinctively, her fingers brushing his arm. "Seiya…" she said softly. He blinked, the name grounding him—but only slightly. His breath was uneven. His lips parted, but no words came.

The wraith tilted his head, curious now. "You don't even realize it, do you?" A slow grin returned to his lips. "You're the son of the one who damned me. And yet… you feel more like one of us than them."

He took a step forward. The mist followed like a shadow.

"Maybe I should thank you. Your bloodline gave me this existence. But then again…" The grin turned jagged. "Maybe I should drag you into the curse with the rest."

With a flick of his hand, the mist surged forward in a wave of choking despair—rushing toward Seiya.

Just then, Wei Zhenyu's voice rang like a whip through the air.

"Step back!"

He lunged forward, the glowing spiritual cord in his hand slicing through the mist, severing its advance. Mo Lian, still trapped, grit her teeth and elbowed the wraith in the ribs, managing to twist her blade just enough to cut across his shoulder.

The wraith hissed and recoiled, smoke curling from the wound. His gaze snapped back to Seiya, furious—yet almost… intrigued.

The wraith hissed and recoiled, smoke curling from the wound.

His burning gaze snapped back to Seiya—furious… yet intrigued.

"Maybe… you really don't know, do you?"

He chuckled low, the sound like dry leaves cracking underfoot.

"Then let me be the one to remind you… what your father truly did."

He took a step forward.

"He—"

"Stop!"

Seiya's voice cut through the air like a blade. His breath ragged, he moved before anyone could react snatching Mo Lian's sword clean from her hands in a blur of motion.

In a single movement, he swung it toward the wraith's throat, but the blade halted mid-swing. His arms trembled. His breath caught.

He couldn't do it.

Mo Lian's eyes widened in shock. "How are you wielding that?! My sword doesn't obey anyone but me."

Wei Zhenyu stepped forward, stunned. "His core energy… it's in sync with the blade."

Seiya's grip only tightened. The flame swirling around the blade grew brighter, licking at the air with growing fury—but still, he couldn't strike.

The wraith's grin widened. "Why did you stop?" he taunted. "Is it this body… or is it you?"

He leaned in, whispering like a curse.

"You're afraid. You don't want to become what your father was… A butcher with divine blood."

And before Seiya could answer—the wraith lashed out with a blast of force. Seiya was hurled backward, slamming into the boulder behind him. The stone cracked down the middle, splitting apart as he hit the ground hard. He coughed blood.

"Seiya!" Astra cried, eyes wide.

She rushed to his side as he slumped, his vision darkening. A flicker… no, several—of memories he didn't recognize flashed before him, A sword drenched in blood. A child crying beneath a burning sky. A voice calling his name… not with love, but sorrow.

Then darkness.

Astra cradled him, her body shielding his unconscious form. Slowly, she turned her gaze back toward the wraith. Her expression had shifted. Her eyes… no longer wide with fear or uncertainty.

They were still. Dark. Dangerous.

She rose, stepping forward.

The wraith blinked, tilting his head with interest. But Wei Zhenyu, watching her closely, felt something twist in his chest. An odd sensation—like standing in the eye of a storm.

He tightened his grip on the glowing cord.