Chapter 69: His Shattered Gambit

Raziel processed the word in milliseconds.

Regressor.

But something didn’t add up.

If she was also a regressor, she would never have needed Aerion’s blood.

She would know the future and she would know where the real power was, how to avoid every obstacle.

Seraphina was something else, a pawn of something bigger surely.

Lucian tensed his muscles at his side, fingers brushing the hilt of his ceremonial sword.

“Raziel,” Lucian hissed between his teeth. “Give me the signal.”

Raziel raised a hand, almost invisible, keeping him still.

Not yet.

Seraphina tilted her head, studying Raziel.

The ritual crystals pulsed around her, each beat synchronized with Aerion’s weakened heart.

The prince hung from the runic collar, skin pale, eyes barely open.

“Fascinating,” murmured Seraphina. “How many times have you died, Raziel Celeste? How many times have you seen this moment and failed?”

Raziel didn’t answer.

His mind was already racing at full speed, calculating.

The System blinked warnings in his peripheral vision:

[WARNING: Extreme Hostility Detected]

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Aerion Kaelen Solaris of Phaedra – CRITICAL STATE]

[TIME REMAINING FOR RITUAL: 4 MINUTES 12 SECONDS]

“You aren’t going to kill him,” said Raziel finally, his voice calm.

Seraphina arched an eyebrow.

“Oh, no?”

“No.”

Raziel took a step forward. Lucian grunted a warning, but Raziel ignored him.

“Because if you do, you lose the only card you have.”

Seraphina’s eyes narrowed.

“Explain yourself.”

Raziel pointed at Aerion with a casual gesture.

“You think you can drain the Source as if it was a normal Gift. You think you can open me up, rip out what you need and that’s it.”

Seraphina didn’t deny anything.

Raziel smiled.

“But the Source doesn’t work like that.”

He activated [Poisonous Truth].

The deceit slid between his words like poison in honey.

Half-truths intertwined with perfectly designed lies.

“The Source,” continued Raziel, “is not something you can drain from a dead body because it is tied to the will, to the consciousness. If you kill me, it closes. Forever.”

Seraphina frowned. “Lie.”

“Try it.” Raziel shrugged.

“Kill the prince. Complete the ritual and when you try to rip the Source from my guts, you will discover that the only thing left is an empty corpse.”

The crystals pulsed.

The ritual continued its countdown.

Seraphina studied him while her eyes ran over every inch of Raziel’s face looking for the trick.

Raziel held her gaze without blinking.

then was when Seraphina hesitated.

It was just a fraction of a second.

But it was enough.

Raziel inhaled deep and activated [Trauma Acoustics] at max power.

[COST ACCEPTED: -15% MENTAL STABILITY]

[WARNING: CRITICAL THRESHOLD REACHED]

Pain exploded in his skull but Raziel opened his mouth and sang.

It was a howl of impossible frequencies that tore the air, that made bones vibrate, that broke sanity.

The ritual crystals burst.

CRASH!

The acolytes screamed, covering their ears.

Two fell to their knees, bleeding from the nose.

Seraphina stepped back, surprised.

Lucian didn’t waste the moment.

He threw himself forward, dodging the crystal fragments, and cut Aerion’s runic collar with a brutal blow of his sword.

The prince fell to the floor like a sack of bones.

Lucian dragged him back, out of the ritual circle.

Raziel stopped singing.

Hot blood ran down his ears.

The world was spinning.

The price of the skill hit him like a wave of nausea.

But he smiled as Seraphina turned toward him, furious.

She crossed the distance in a second and grabbed Raziel’s face with fingers like claws.

“You are a broken relic,” she spat. “You think I care about your bard trick?”

Raziel looked her directly in the eyes.

The smile didn’t fade.

Blood ran down his ears, staining his neck, soaking his tunic.

“No,” admitted Raziel. “But while you were looking at me, your pet got loose.”

Seraphina froze.

But Aerion was standing.

Free from the collar and Free from the ritual.

But very furious.

The light of Zhalyr burned in his hands.

“Necromancer,” said Aerion. His voice was ice. “You are going to burn for this.”

Seraphina let go of Raziel and spun on her heels, raising a hurried barrier of shadows.

Aerion raised his hand.

The paladin energy roared, condensing into a spear of pure light.

“DIE!”

The prince launched the attack.

The spear of light crossed the room illuminating the shadows, destined to pierce the heretic’s heart.

And then, a wall of solid darkness emerged from nowhere.

BOOM!

The impact shook the foundations of the basement.

Light and darkness collided, canceling each other out in an explosion of gray smoke.

The back door of the chamber was wide open.

Slow steps resonated in the sudden silence.

Raziel felt the change in the air.

[CRITICAL ALERT!]

[KEY CHARACTER DETECTED: AYRES SOLARIS][STATUS: CORRUPTED – LEVEL UNKNOWN]

From the smoke, a figure came out.

Ayres Solaris had his hand raised, having dissipated his brother’s attack as if it were a gentle breeze.

His skin was grayish, crossed by black veins that pulsed with a life of their own.

His eyes, before the mirror of Aerion’s, now were pits of blackness.

Aerion’s face contorted in a grimace of pain.

“Stand aside, Ayres,” said Aerion, with a broken voice. “Stand aside! don’t defend her.”

Ayres smiled.

“She gave me what you never could, brother,” said Ayres. “Purpose.”

Ayres moved his fingers.

Dark energy flowed from them, thick like tar, fast like vipers.

It coiled around Aerion before the prince could react.

Aerion’s light flickered and went out, suffocated by his own brother’s corruption.

“NO!” shouted Lucian, trying to advance, but the pressure of Ayres’ aura nailed him to the floor.

“We aren’t done yet,” murmured Ayres, clenching his fist in the air.

Aerion fell to his knees, gasping while the shadows stole his breath.

Raziel, lying on the floor and with blood dripping from his nose, felt his stomach drop to his feet.

The Prince was being executed by his own brother, just as he feared.

’This wasn’t in the plan.’

’This wasn’t supposed to happen so soon’

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