CHAPTER 200: CHAPTER 200 - BAIT

That morning, Aurion’s grand gates opened under Dawnbinder’s radiance.

The air shimmered with light as two mighty processions entered. The Nephralis sect members clad in crimson-gold armor that pulsed with inner flame and the Varkhaal sect members cloaked in rolling umbral mist that swallowed light itself.

Their pride marched before them. Even though they were stripped of heavy armaments, arrogance clung to their steps like a second aura.

Behind them, Dawnbinder’s sentinels followed in silence. Their eyes gleamed faintly in vigilance.

No citizen dared approach. Even ten meters away, the crowd held its breath. The two sects felt less like guests and more like an advancing plague.

High above, Lucien and Marie stood on a balcony overlooking the spectacle.

"Look at them strut," Marie muttered. "You’d think they owned the place."

Lucien’s gaze was cold and unreadable. "Let them. The prouder they walk, the harder they’ll fall."

Marie smirked. "You say that like you’ve already planned something."

Lucien’s faint smile was all the answer she needed. "You’re a big part of that plan."

Below, the two peak Ascendants they once fought strode side by side. Ten elites from each sect followed behind. Their pressure was heavy enough to make weaker people tremble.

But within Aurion, their power was dulled. Dawnbinder’s dominion suppressed their arrogance, forcing their flames and shadows to bow.

The Varkhaal leader clicked his tongue. "This city reeks of radiance. It’s suffocating."

His Nephralis peer smirked faintly. "Endure. For now. The flame waits for its moment."

With a subtle motion, the leaders gestured for their people to scatter. The sect members roamed the streets with feigned purpose, pretending to "hunt criminals."

Dawnbinder’s sentinels shadowed their every move.

Meanwhile, the two leaders made their way toward Dawnbinder’s residence. The highest tower in Aurion.

•••

Elsewhere, Lucien and Marie finally moved.

They donned Cloaks of the Abysswalker, melting into the dim corridors of the city. The air bent around them as they slipped unseen toward Aurion’s gates.

"Where are we going, Luc?" Marie whispered.

"Of course," Lucien said quietly, "to fix this mess. We’re half the reason it started."

Marie snorted. "Wrong. Those arrogant bastards started it. We just happen to be the prize."

Lucien allowed himself a small laugh. "Fair point. But let’s proceed anyway. We’ll end this cleanly."

While walking through the quiet outskirts, Lucien explained the second part of the plan.

...

By the time he was done, Marie’s eyes gleamed with mischief.

"Oh... that’s clever hihihi..."

Soon after, they stepped beyond Aurion’s barrier.

Using the Spatial Compass, they located a safe area near the city.

"Check if this spot’s clear," Lucien said.

Marie crouched, pressing her hand against the ground. "Oh, it’s clear all right. You never pick bad terrain. We can go deeper from here."

Lucien nodded once. "Understood."

Marie activated her Law of Earth... and the soil rippled like water. The ground swallowed them both.

They sank into the underground veins. Marie’s body moved with fluid precision. Her connection to the earth was seamless. They were not walking but flowing through it, pulling Lucien along.

Moments later, they surfaced miles ahead, near the two sects’ joint encampment.

Marie raised a small ridge of stone, shaping it into a hill to conceal them.

The two exchanged a silent nod.

Lucien extended his hand. The Law of Creation stirred.

Divine energy gathered between his fingers. Then... It shifted. Threads of runes spiraled outward like constellations being woven.

He shaped them carefully. Form first, essence next, then motion.

Each line of light carried a trace of divine energy, converging into the shape of two humanoid silhouettes.

Then came the Law of Reflection. His will bent reality’s image itself.

The luminous figures warped, refracted, and folded upon themselves as if space was learned to mirror him.

Their features sharpened. Flesh replaced the light. Shadows and details filled in until two human figures stood before them. They are breathing, blinking... And looks alive.

Marie gawked. "Holy shit... they look real."

She touched her clone, only for her hand to pass through. "I see... intangible?"

Lucien nodded. "Reflections given shape. If they want humans... we’ll give them humans — ones they’ll never catch."

He adjusted the threads of existence, embedding faint heartbeats, breath patterns, and even spiritual signatures.

The illusions now emanated the exact aura of two Transcendent humans.

Marie grinned. "Damn. I’m so pretty."

Lucien exhaled through his nose. "Focus. They’ll appear near the camps, then flee west. Witnesses will see everything."

Marie stood, hands on her hips. "And when the sects chase them..."

"They’ll prove the humans were never in Aurion," Lucien finished, smirking. "Simple. Clean."

"Simple, he says." Marie shook her head, chuckling. "For someone who looks calm all the time, you’re a scheming bastard."

Lucien chuckled quietly. "Calm’s just the surface. Beneath it... you plan."

"Operation: Mirror Bait starts!" Marie declared proudly.

Lucien sighed. "Still not sold on that name."

The bait... is set.

•••

Miles beyond Aurion, two silhouettes appeared. A man and a woman in worn cloaks, walking with anxious steps. Their conversation was low and tense.

To any observer, they were merely travelers... until they neared the city walls.

When the wind lifted their hoods, faces of unmistakable humans were revealed.

A shout erupted from the encampments.

"The humans! They’re here!"

Panic exploded. Nephralis and Varkhaal scouts surged to life. Their auras flared as tents ripped open and sentries scrambled.

Even the travelers on the road fled in terror.

The two "humans" turned in alarm and ran... straight westward.

The bait was perfect.

•••

Within Aurion’s highest spire, Dawnbinder sat across from the visiting leaders.

"Why hide the humans?" the Nephralis sneered. "Or has the infamous Dawnbinder stooped to shielding thieves?"

"I didn’t know the radiant Dawnbinder indulged traitors," the Varkhaal added.

They talked over him, dripping arrogance in every word.

Dawnbinder’s eyes turned cold.

"Enough."

A wave of Celestial Realm pressure swept the chamber, warping the air.

"You dare accuse me of deceit? Do you mock the path I took?"

The two leaders smiled mockingly.

"So quick to anger," said the Varkhaal. "Is that guilt speaking?"

"Ha! Attack us if you dare, Dawnbinder," the Nephralis goaded. "Let all see your true colors."

But before the air could ignite again, a calm voice echoed through the hall. It was melodic, resonant and impossibly clear.

"Two proud races, trembling over shadows.

You mistake pressure for threat, pride for proof.

If your ancestors saw you now... they’d weep."

A ripple of faint light spread through the chamber.

The temperature fell. Sound itself softened.

A woman stepped from the light. She was tall and pale-skinned. Her hair flowed like silver mist. Her eyes gleamed with layered moons. The sigil of a crescent moon glowed between her brows.

Dawnbinder smiled slightly.

"Lythrae of the Lunareth Sect," Dawnbinder greeted. "This one honours your presence in Aurion today."

The room fell silent. Even the Nephralis’ fire dimmed and the Varkhaal’s shadow thinned.

Lythrae smiled faintly towards Dawnbinder and turned her head towards the two leaders.

"Ignathar and Varun. Tell me... When did your flames and shadows lose dignity enough to accuse light itself?"

The two leaders stiffened. "You—! Why are you here?"

Lythrae’s calm gaze pierced through them. "Because truth still dreams here. And you’ve begun to trample it."

The two exchanged wary looks, whispering under breath.

"Crap... Dawnbinder planned this. He’s allied with the Lunareth Sect now?"

"We can’t proceed. Not with this bitch watching."

Then... knocking.

Dawnbinder gestured and the door opened.

A Nephralis scout stumbled in hurriedly.

"Leaders! The humans have appeared! They’re outside the city — fleeing west!"

The room froze. Ignathar’s expression cracked and Varun’s shadows shuddered.

"Are you certain?" Ignathar growled.

"Yes, Lord! Our men confirmed it. Transcendent humans. A pair! They’re being pursued now!"

The two leaders’ faces darkened. They couldn’t refute a report made in front of Dawnbinder... and a Lunareth witness.

"Excuse us," Varun said stiffly. "It seems... a misunderstanding."

"I told you as much," Dawnbinder replied coolly. "But arrogance blinds even the mighty."

The two said nothing more. They turned and left in haste.

Lythrae’s calm eyes followed them to the door.

When it closed, a quiet smile curved her lips.

"Nicely handled, Dawnbinder. Next time, try not to trouble us over such petty squabbles. Remember, we Lunareth prefer silence more than you do."

The Lunareth Sect. One of the three great powers of the region. They stood unmatched in neutrality.

The reason the Nephralis and Varkhaals feared them was simple. Neither fire nor shadow could overcome the Lunareth race’s tranquil nature. Both burned and faded before serenity.

Dawnbinder’s gaze flickered faintly as amusement glinted in his eyes.

"It can’t be helped," he replied evenly. "Light always draws darkness... I suppose I owe you one now."

•••

Outside the walls, chaos unfolded.

"Don’t let them escape!" roared a Varkhaal Ascendant.

Nephralis elites unleashed beams of searing flames.

The mirrored "humans" dodged gracefully, their movements were flawless. They were breathing, panicking, even shouting in desperation.

The sects chased them out into the dunes. Onto the great desert of the West Continent.

And then... both clones leapt... and dissolved under the dunes.

"What—!?" The Ascendants froze. "They vanished again?!"

The desert winds howled mockingly.

In frustration, the sects unleashed detection arrays and sealing formations once more, locking the entire area under layers of restrictive wards to prevent the "humans" from escaping.

...

Miles away, Lucien sat cross-legged on a stone outcrop. His eyes were closed and his fingers were flickering with faint light. With Parallel Thought, he controlled the mirrored constructs seamlessly... even their voices, their fear, their false heartbeats.

When the clones jumped under the dunes, he whispered, "End."

His creations shattered like ripples in glass.

And their chase would continue endlessly... Looking for something nonexistent.

•••

That evening, Eirene found Lucien and Marie on the northern terrace of Luminous Rest.

Moonlight shimmered over them. Below, Aurion glowed serene once more.

"Brother Wolf," Eirene said softly with knowing smile. "Everything went... remarkably well. Almost as if it was planned."

Lucien turned slightly with a calm expression. "Planned? I only hoped the balance would return."

"Fufufu," Eirene chuckled. "Of course. You needn’t tell me how you did it."

After brief talk, she departed, leaving only the wind behind.

Marie leaned against the railing, grinning. "Why not tell her? We could’ve earned more money."

Lucien gave her a light chop on the head. "Sometimes the best way to fight deceit... is with a better deceit. If they knew, it might backfire."

Marie pouted, rubbing her head. "Fine. But I expect a cut when we do make money."

Lucien allowed himself a rare smile. "You’ll get your share. Eventually."

She smirked. "You think Dawnbinder suspects us?"

Lucien sipped his tea, the moon reflecting faintly in his eyes. "If he does, he hasn’t said anything. Maybe... he’s just letting the wolves stay quiet."

Marie chuckled softly. "Then let’s keep it that way."

And beneath Aurion’s moonlit towers, peace returned once again.