Chapter 137 - Chapter 137 · Blazing Rift

The night was as dark as ink. At the spot where the blazing red meteor fell, the Gate of the Rift split open into an abyssal crevice. Dim starlight poured forth from it, cascading like blood onto the Crimson Flame Altar, dyeing the surrounding stone walls into an apocalyptic red.​Lucian and Ilea stood merely a step apart. Her entire body was naked, her back covered with blazing flames and falling star imprints. His chest, too, was with burning patterns, and every breath trembled with flickering firelight.​Karanos, the Apostle of the Cracked Moon, appeared beneath the crevice. The star staff in his palm howled as it condensed dark energy, and the wind echoing all around sounded like the wail of the abyss: "The Rift shall open, and the falling star shall lead the dance of destruction!"​Lucian's voice was deep: "You are too late. The rift flames have long eroded the entire kingdom, and no single incantation of yours can end it."​Ilea took a slow step forward. Fire patterns and cursed seals crisscrossed her body, as if two incompatible forces were pulsing within her. She fixed her gaze on Karanos, her voice hoarse yet firm: "I do not wish to destroy everything, but I am willing to destroy myself."​Lucian did not stop her. He gently brushed the black-silver patterned veins on her waist, his voice low: "Then let me bear the blazing flames of your destruction until you are reborn."​She closed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. At the center of the storm, thunder suddenly cracked. Lucian pulled her into his arms, their breaths and heartbeats resonating in the night.​He bent down to kiss her collarbone, then her shoulder, and finally whispered in her ear: "Would you let me kiss every inch of the blazing flames on your body?"​She did not answer, only opened her arms as if embracing the arrival of fate. He pressed her against him, controlling her breath and blood to his own rhythm. Flames coiled around their bodies, each collision a rend of the world.​She moaned and trembled, yet made no resistance. When he pushed deep inside, she closed her eyes gently, letting her world dissolve into blazing flames—either to vanish or be reborn.​As climax approached, they were almost fused into one. Ilea gasped and called out his name, as if offering her entire soul. In that moment, he slowly released his grip, holding her close and letting her rest against his chest, where the throbbing flame patterns were like a sun.​"I will not let you fall," his voice trembled slightly, like a vow.​Just as their bodies and desires reached their peak, the Rift shook violently. Starlight collapsed, and the cursed array shattered. A streak of black light erupted from beneath the altar, swallowing Karanos whole before sweeping both of them into the crevice together.​When they woke again, they found themselves in another world—the core of the Rift, where flames and ashes rose.​Life and death were unknown, with only the residual cascade of shattered stars flowing beneath their feet.​shattered stars flowing beneath their feet.