78 Chapter 78
He was fast — too fast for a human. His blade hummed through the mist, humming like a choir of dying angels.
I felt the pressure on my ribs, the cut across my arm, blood sliding down to my palm.
And that's when something in me clicked.
The pain steadied me. Reminded me what I was.
I shifted my stance — exhaled — and went in.
He swung. I caught his wrist with my forearm, feeling the metal grind against bone, then slammed my knee into his chest. The sound it made wasn't human — a hollow, armored gasp.
He staggered. I followed. A backhand to the side of his helm, then another. My blood, already slick on my fingers, crawled up my wrist, coating it — alive, shifting.
He recovered faster than I expected, blade darting toward my throat.
I twisted, letting the edge skim my jaw, and drove my fist into his helmet so hard the steel buckled.
He crashed against the wall, white cracks spidering across the stone. I didn't give him a chance to breathe. My hand went around his throat — metal screeching as I tightened my grip.
"Who sent you?"
He didn't answer, just glared — eyes a faint, dying gold under the shattered helm.
I squeezed harder. The plates around his neck split. The air hissed between my teeth.
"Talk."
His voice came low, strained. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
He smiled — blood leaking between his teeth. "We are Solarii. Ten knights born from divine light. Bound to one king."
The name hit like a spark in a dry forest.
"Caelith," he rasped.
Liraya froze a few feet away, sword still drawn but forgotten.
I stared at him. "Why?"
"To restore order." His breath shook. "To purge the remnants of what ruined the realms. You, your kind… the shadow left behind by the Veil's line."
I felt my jaw clench. "You mean my family."
He gave a broken chuckle. "You wear the blood of the traitor. The one he's hunted for eons."
I tightened my hand, lifting him off the ground. His boots scraped against the wall. "Keep talking."
Eight coughed, the sound wet, armor splitting under my grip. "Caelith's body may have turned to dust—but his will remains. His light cannot die. We—"
He gagged as I squeezed again. "We will find you. Every version. Every thread of you. Until none remain."
My vision burned red.
"Then he can try," I said, my voice low, almost trembling from how much I wanted to break him.
Blood pooled under my boots, dripping from my arm like rain. The mist turned crimson.
He smiled again — a cracked, broken thing. "You think killing me changes anything?"
I leaned closer, eyes level with his. "No."
"Then why—"
I snapped his neck with one hand.
The body went limp, armor clattering against the stone as it hit the ground.
The air went still again. The sound of the city far below faded, replaced only by my breathing and the faint drip of blood.
Liraya's voice broke through after a long silence. "Aruno…"
I didn't answer. I just stood there, looking at what was left of him.
A knight of light. A servant of the thing that wanted me erased.
Caelith.
I finally spoke. "Let's move."
"Aruno, you need to—"
"Now."
She looked at me like she wanted to argue — then saw something in my face that made her stop.
I turned away, cloak torn and gone, blood drying against my skin. Somewhere, in the distance, thunder rolled through the fog.
For the first time in a long time… I felt hunted.
I need- Ko.. he better protect her.
The bond we forged back then — through mana, through trust — it burned faintly whenever I reached for him. It wasn't a simple link. It was a promise.
And right now, I needed him to remember it.
I let the blood on my palm stir, forming faint symbols across the surface. They glowed for only a second before seeping into my skin, running up through the veins and disappearing beneath the surface.
"Aruno?" Liraya asked softly.
I didn't look at her. "Just… sending a message."
The light under my skin dimmed, then vanished. The connection went silent — carried through the ether, through what was left of the merged realms.
Far from Plaga, Ko would see it.
The message wouldn't be words — not fully. It would burn into his forearm, letters forming in the shape of my mana signature:
"Protect her. From C."
That was all he needed to know.
No explanations. No hesitation.
My heart hit once, hard, like it was trying to remind me what was at stake.
Serenia…
The thought of her name in Caelith's mouth made my stomach twist. He wouldn't just go after me. He'd use her — or worse, he'd try to break her through me.
I clenched my fist, the mark still faintly pulsing in my skin. "Ko will get it," I muttered. "He'll keep her safe."
Liraya glanced at me. "Ko? The one you left behind?"
"Yeah."
She studied me. "You don't sound sure."
"I'm not," I said. "But he'll die trying. That's what counts."
The air between us went quiet again. Only the rain filled it.
A flash of light cracked across the sky, white and violent. For a second, the alley and the corpse of Eight lit up like the world itself was watching.
Liraya flinched slightly. I didn't.
Something deep inside me had gone cold.
Whatever came next… Caelith wouldn't stay a name for long.
He was already moving.
And somewhere, Ko's skin was burning with my warning.
The smell of grilled meat and oil clung to the air.
I sat across from Yoru, half-eaten food in front of me, pretending like the world wasn't collapsing in on itself.
She talked about something — a mission, maybe, or how quiet the merged cities had gotten — but I wasn't really listening.
Then it hit.
A flash of pain — hot, electric — tore through my right arm.
I flinched, clenching my teeth. The fork in my hand slipped, clattering against the table.
"Ko?" Yoru looked up. "You good?"
I forced a half-smile. "Yeah… just burned myself."
She raised a brow. "On what, the air?"
I ignored her, already pushing back my chair. "Need a minute."
Before she could argue, I was out — down the narrow hall, past the corner, where the light barely reached.
The pain pulsed again, spreading from my wrist to my shoulder. I pulled back my sleeve.
And there it was — faint, but burning into my skin like molten ink.
Protect her. From C.
The letters glowed blood-red, then sank into the skin and disappeared.
Aruno.
He wouldn't use the pact unless something serious was happening.
That meant one thing — Caelith had made a move.
I exhaled slowly, pressing my thumb into the mark as if that'd make it stop burning.
"…You really found him, huh?" I muttered. "And you didn't even tell me, bastard."
I heard footsteps behind me.
Yoru.
I didn't turn. "Thought I said I needed a minute."
She leaned against the doorway. "And I thought you said you weren't hiding anything from me."
"I'm not."
"Right," she said flatly. "So your arm just happens to light up like a cursed lantern every time Aruno sneezes across the continent?"
I looked over my shoulder, frowning. "Yoru—"
She crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. "You think I didn't notice? The way you flinch when someone says his name. The way you always look east, like you're waiting for a signal. You're not subtle, Ko."
The corner of my mouth twitched. "Didn't know you were paying that much attention."
"I pay attention to the people I love," she said quietly. "Even when they're idiots."
The words hit harder than I expected.
I turned away, running a hand through my hair. "He sent me a message."
"I figured."
"It's bad," I said. "Worse than before. He wouldn't reach out unless…"
"Unless it's about Serenia," she finished for me.
Silence.
She stepped closer. "So what are you gonna do?"
I clenched my fist, staring at the faint mark still ghosting across my arm. "What I promised."
Her voice softened. "Ko…"
I looked at her — really looked. Her eyes had that same mix of fear and strength I'd seen before a hundred battles.
She knew. She always did.
Still, I forced a grin that didn't reach my eyes. "Guess dinner's over."
Yoru didn't smile back. She just nodded. "Then let's make sure we're ready for whatever comes next."