Ash drifted in the wind. The air was heavy, still trembling from the Hollow’s destruction. Rebels stood frozen, their blades lowered, their eyes fixed on Oliver with fear and awe.He stood in the center of the plain, his sword still glowing faintly with silver and gold. His chest heaved with each breath. His body screamed with exhaustion, but the silence inside him was worth it. No whisper. No claws. The Hollow was gone.Mara clung to his arm, her face streaked with blood and dust. She was shaking, but her voice was steady. “You did it.”Oliver’s crimson eyes softened as he looked at her. “We did it.”But even as the words left his lips, something stirred in the distance. The air grew colder.At first, it was just a ripple, a tremor that ran through the cracked earth. Then the sky dimmed, clouds rolling like smoke. The rebels shifted uneasily, their whispers sharp in the silence. “What’s that? Is it not over? “Don’t tell me, another monster.”Oliver gripped his sword tighter, his e

The Lord’s blade fell like a mountain. Oliver couldn’t move. His arms shook uselessly, his body screaming in pain, but the strength was gone. His crimson eyes blazed with defiance, yet inside, he knew, he could not stop this one.The rebels cried out in terror. Mara screamed his name, dragging herself across the ground with bleeding hands. The black fire roared closer, and then chains snapped.A sound split the battlefield, sharp and metallic, like iron breaking after centuries. The Lord’s blade froze mid-swing, wrapped in glowing golden links that erupted from the air itself. The Wraithborn Lord’s mask tilted. His voice thundered. “What?”The chains pulled tighter, glowing brighter, forcing his weapon back. They clanged against his armor, binding his arms, burning into his flesh with a hiss.Oliver gasped, his eyes widening. He knew those threads. That light. “Elias?”From the sky above, golden sparks rained down. They gathered, swirling into a faint figure, small, fragile, almost tr

The Second Wraithborn Lord stood tall, his jagged armor glowing faintly red as the mist surged around him. From the cracks in the earth, more creatures crawled, masked, clawed, their bodies twisted with black fire. Dozens became hundreds, and hundreds became a tide.The rebels staggered back, their eyes wide with horror. “There’s no end…They just keep coming…This is a slaughter.” Their voices broke as the first wave lunged, shrieking.Oliver forced his broken body upright, his sword glowing faintly with Elias’s threads. His crimson eyes burned as he stepped in front of Mara. She tried to steady him, but he shook his head. “I’m still standing.”Mara clenched her knives, blood dripping from her hands. “Then we fight. Until we can’t.”Oliver’s voice was raw, but unyielding. “No. Until he’s dead.”Grelich’s staff blazed, flames roaring outward to push back the tide. His cloak whipped in the wind, his eyes sharp and calculating even as the fire scorched the battlefield.“Listen to me!” he

The crystal had shattered into ash, golden light still flickering through the mist. The chained soul lay trembling on the ground, free but frail, her breath shallow. Beside her, Oliver’s body sprawled, unmoving, his crimson eyes closed. Mara fell to her knees beside him, clutching his shoulders. “Oliver!” Her voice cracked, raw with fear. She shook him, but his head only rolled weakly, blood dripping down his face. His chest rose faintly, but he did not respond.Her hands trembled. “No… don’t you dare die on me, not now.”Grelich’s staff slammed into the ground, flames roaring upward to shield them from the encroaching mist. His voice rang sharp, his eyes blazing. “He’s alive, but barely. His essence is nearly gone. If the Lord strikes now, he will not survive.”The Wraithborn Lord staggered from the blast, cracks spidering across his jagged armor. His form flickered, shadow leaking from the wounds Oliver had carved. His red eyes burned with pure fury. “You dare… steal my core… bre

Oliver staggered, his sword glowing faintly in his trembling hand. His crimson aura flickered like a dying flame, each breath sharp and ragged. Blood ran down his arms, dripping into the dirt. The System pulsed before his dimming vision.[Essence 2%][Final Surge Available: Burn All Remaining Life to Strike][Accept? Y/N]The words burned into his mind like a brand. If he said yes, he could end it. One last blow. One chance to destroy the Wraithborn Lord completely, but if he did… There would be nothing left of him.The Lord towered above him, his form warping as shadows consumed his jagged armor. His second core pulsed in his chest, glowing with abyssal black fire. Dozens of red eyes opened across his body, each one glaring with malice. “You thought you had won,” he rumbled, his voice shaking the ground. “But I am beyond victory. Beyond death. I am eternal.”He raised his blade, now jagged and monstrous, a storm of shadow swirling around it. The rebels staggered back, their voices