CHAPTER 144: I AM SORRY

"I need to do it now... before anyone can stop me," he whispered.

He shut everything out. He reached inward, past flesh, past blood, diving into something deeper.

Hsssshhhhh

A sharp hiss filled the air, like steam venting from a furnace.

And then it began.

A glow surged out from Razeal’s body deep, royal purple, dark and eerie, pulsing with a rhythm that was not natural. The air around him warped as the glow flared brighter, until it seemed like his very skin was burning, not with fire, but with a flame of something rawer.

It crawled up his arms, across his chest, until it seemed as if his body itself was lit from within.

His veins bulged, hardening beneath his flesh. They twisted, writhed, moved, until they no longer looked like veins at all but living serpents of molten metal slithering under his skin.

The sight was horrifying.

Nova felt it instantly. Her head snapped around, eyes locking on him. The moment her gaze registered what he was doing, her composure broke.

Her blood ran cold.

"No..." she whispered, horror flashing across her face. Then louder, panicked, her voice cutting across the battlefield:

"You fucking idiot what are you doing!?"

For the first time that day, Nova’s voice wasn’t cruel, or mocking, or calm. It was frightened.

She even moved one step forward, half a lunge, as if to run and stop him.

But then she froze.

Because she knew.

Her heart dropped like a stone as she recognized it.

Bloodline extraction.

Her lips parted, her throat dry, the words falling from her tongue like venom. "No... no, no, no..."

Her mind spun in a frenzy, every instinct screaming that this couldn’t be happening.

But it was.

And once started, the process could never be undone.

Every scholar, every warrior, every record across the history of the known worlds told the same story: those who attempted it were doomed. Not one soul had survived.

Because bloodline wasn’t just flesh. It wasn’t muscle or bone. It was deeper than that.

Bloodline was everything consciousness, spirit, soul, essence. To extract it was to tear out the very foundation of one’s being.

To forcefully tear it free was to rip apart the core of life itself.

The pain alone was unspeakable. It wasn’t like being burned. It wasn’t like being stabbed. It wasn’t like being torn limb from limb. It was all of those things multiplied infinitely applied to every part of a person’s being.

Body. Mind. Spirit. Soul. Essence.

There was a name for it.

The True Pain.

A torment so absolute that no one in all the recorded history of the worlds had ever survived it. Gods. Kings. Bloodlines of every level. All of them had broken.

Because it was pain beyond endurance. Beyond sanity. Beyond existence itself.

And now...

Razeal had chosen it.

Which meant only one thing.

He would die. Surely. Inevitably.

A storm of emotions twisted across Nova’s face.

For someone who had worn her cold mask like a second skin since childhood, the sudden flood of feelings was unbearable. One after another, expressions she had never allowed herself to show flickered confusion, despair, fury, panic, disbelief, desperation. It was as if her entire identity had cracked open, leaving her vulnerable and human in a way she had sworn she’d never be.

It was the first time in her life she felt so many things at once.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to rush toward him. She wanted to shake him, to demand why, to stop him even if it meant tearing him apart herself. But her body stayed rooted. Because what could she do? The process had already started. No matter how much power she threw at him, no matter what miracle she tried to force, bloodline extraction was unstoppable.

She clenched her fists, trembling, nails digging into her palms until the skin broke. Her mind spiraled.

Why would he do this?

He was strong so strong now. Strength was all he had ever wanted, and he had finally achieved it. He had carved his own path, discovered ways no one else in the world had ever imagined, just to make himself stronger.

And now when he had achieved it all, when he had gained what others would call impossible he chose this?

Throwing it away.

Throwing himself away.

He had even gained the Holy Promise, and tonight he could have erased the stain from his past forever. And yet here he was, ending it, choosing to die in the most excruciating way imaginable.

Her lips parted, trembling, but no words escaped.

Why? Did losing such a meaningless duel break him this badly? Was that why he was trying to die in the most painful way possible? Or was it that he wanted to die, but not as a Virelan so he chose a death that stripped the Virelan blood from his body first?

Her thoughts spiraled endlessly, clashing and tearing each other apart, until nothing was left but confusion. Her cold, composed mask so much a part of who Nova Virelan was shattered. She looked lost, like someone who had forgotten everything, a stranger wearing her face.

The shift in her aura didn’t go unnoticed.

The three eighth-ranked spirits ignored Razeal’s transformation completely, glanced at Nova instead. Her confusion, her helplessness it was so unlike the merciless monster they just saw .. even to that it unsettled even them.

They exchanged no words. As if by silent agreement, they ignored both Razeal and Nova. Instead, they turned and drifted floating past her without striking, their focus entirely fixed on Sylva.

"Blossom, heal her fast," Silly urged, her eyes full of worry.

But when she looked down, she realized most of Sylva’s wounds had already begun to mend. The girl’s passive contracts with her legion of healing spirits were working ceaselessly, stitching flesh and knitting bone. Still, the pain twisting Sylva’s face was unbearable to watch.

"Let me do more," Blossom said softly. The small spirit’s delicate vine-like hands glowed with verdant light as she pressed them gently against Sylva’s forehead. Warm waves of life essence poured through, slowly soothing her spasms, easing her pain.

Terex, his small form looming besides them His earth-colored head bore a deep gash, a reminder of Nova’s merciless attack. His voice was low and bitter. "I told you we should’ve made mental protections for her. But no you all insisted on focusing only on spirit arts, on elemental techniques. ’We’re always with her, we can help anything.’ Look at her now."

Silly’s face twisted with guilt, though her voice came sharp, defensive. "Nope. We were just too weak. That woman she’s a monster! If not i would’ve protected"

Her teeth ground together as she glared at Nova’s distant figure. But she didn’t move. Instead, she knelt, laying her glowing hands against Sylva’s chest where Nova’s blade had pierced through. Flesh healed, but the girl’s clothes remained torn, pale skin bared. With a snap of her power, Silly conjured fabric of shimmering pink essence, wrapping it gently over her mistress to restore her dignity.

Meanwhile, Razeal stood utterly still.

His body glowed with that eerie purple fire, veins writhing beneath his skin like metallic snakes, but his face showed no pain. No grimace, no scream. If anything, he looked almost casual, as though he could’ve whistled if not for the crushing concentration the ritual demanded.

[Host, you know your mental stats will collapse after this, right? Even if you’ve never gained advantage from this bloodline, it’s still a part of you.]

Razeal didn’t flinch. His eyes stayed closed, voice steady. "What kind of meaningless question is that? You know why I’m doing this. The ability of the Imperials you remember. If I keep this bloodline, I’ll never be free."

[I knowwwww that...]the system’s voice stretched out before softening into a gentler tone. [I just thought... it mattered a lot to you. I mean... this was your bloodline. It was your identity...] The voice faltered, dropping lower at the end, unfinished. Guilt lingered in its tone, because deep down, it knew it had played its own part in leading Razeal into this situation.

Razeal fell silent. Then, with an unsettling calmness, he spoke.

"Don’t worry. I really don’t care. Yes, I had memories with those people... but love, trust, feelings they can’t be forced. If they had truly believed in me, I would never have let this bond go, not even for Imperis’ abilities. But now? It’s meaningless. The bond was destroyed the day they refused to trust me. They are dead to me."

His voice was steady, unshaken, carrying a finality sharper than any blade. "What disgusts me most isn’t them it’s just where i see this i feel like I still haven’t moved on. That I still cling to something already dead. But now... let me sever it completely. At least then, I’ll be able to look into the mirror without shame."

The System hummed low, its tone small, guilty, almost ashamed. [Mmm...] It couldn’t find the words. Its presence dimmed, unable to comfort him.

And then

CRUNCH.

The sound tore through the air like thunder.

Razeal’s veins erupted. Tiny ruptures burst across his skin, spraying blood in dark crimson rivulets. His pores wept red. His ears, his nose, even his eyes spilled streams of blood, streaking down his face in horrifying rivers.

The metallic veins beneath his skin bulged grotesquely, splitting flesh as they writhed. One after another, they popped, bursting under the strain.

He looked like a man who had stepped into a rainstorm of blood except the storm was his own body tearing itself apart from the inside.

Blood drenched him, slicking his skin, dripping from his chin, pooling at his feet. His figure, wrapped in that royal purple glow, looked like a statue carved from gore and flame.

"Raze.." Sylva stood frozen, his gaze locked on her as faint words slipped past her lips soft, fragile, almost trembling in the air.

Nova, the woman everyone in the empire called ruthless, infamous, and untouchable, walked toward him with unsteady steps. The sword she had been clutching slipped from her hands, striking the stone floor with a sharp, scraping clang. The sound echoed across the areana, a chilling reminder of how much weight she had just let go of.

What does she want now...? Razeal frowned as he watched the woman approach. But in his deep concentration, his body refused to move.

He was still trying to read her intent when suddenly

Nova’s arms suddenly opened and wrapped tightly around him.

"Why are you leaving us, idiot?" Her voice cracked, trembling with suppressed emotion. "You didn’t even give me a chance to apologize..."

Razeal froze. His concentration wavered for just a moment as disbelief shot through him.

Nova... hugging him?

"...I ..I’m sorry..." her voice cracked, desperate and raw.

Without a care for pride, image, or the hundreds of eyes watching from the stands, she held him carefully, as though his body were made of the most fragile porcelain. Her arms trembled, tightening, but gentle all the same like she feared he might shatter if she gripped too hard.

Her forehead pressed against his shoulder. He could feel the hot streaks of tears falling against him, dripping one after another like endless rainfall.

For the first time since he had known her, Nova the infamous cold-blooded woman, feared throughout the empire for her ruthless decisiveness crumbled. She wasn’t the untouchable, merciless warrior in this moment. She wasn’t the monster who once stood above others with a blade in her hand. She was simply... a woman, desperate, afraid, and breaking apart.

Her body quivered violently as the reality set in. He would die. Right here. Right now front of her eyes. And there was nothing absolutely nothing she could do to stop it.

"I’m sorry... I really am sorry... I’ll never forgive myself for what I did. I.. I just.." Her words fractured, tumbling over each other as she choked on sobs. The sentences were incomplete, incoherent, but the emotion behind them was undeniable.

Gasps rippled through the stands. The citizens, the nobles, the high-ranking elders all watched with wide eyes. For the woman who built her reputation on merciless cruelty, the woman who never bowed, never faltered, never let emotion slip now to be crying openly, cradling someone in her arms... it shattered everything they thought they knew.

Razeal’s breath nearly stopped.

What the actual fuck...?

Not even in a million years had he imagined this sight. Him.. of all people being hugged by her.

But he couldn’t say anything. Couldn’t move. His body was bound to his concentrated work.

So he did the only thing he could.

He closed his eyes... and focused.

A deep, eerie purple glow began to seep from his body, wisps escaping like smoke rising from a dying flame. Slowly, the glow concentrated, forming at the center of his forehead. At first, it was no larger than a grain of sand shimmering faintly, trembling as though alive.

And then it grew.

The grain became a bead. The bead swelled into a pearl. Inch by inch, the glow condensed until a two-inch orb pulsed at his forehead, vibrating with an ominous, royal brilliance.

The air around it warped, bending unnaturally, as though the very fabric of space trembled at its presence. A suffocating pressure spread across the arena, forcing weaker people to feel weird feelings.

The Royal Bloodline Essence.

One of the rarest existences in the world an object so rare it could not be measured by value. To form it, one had to die. And not just die, but endure a death so agonizing it was said to strip flesh, spirit, and soul apart simultaneously. The pain was beyond comprehension, far surpassing the limits of any mortal or immortal body.

And Razeal was doing it willingly.

Even normal bloodline essences were near impossible to obtain. For a royal bloodline, the act was nothing short of insanity. No one would do it. Not to say person who have royal bloodline to give up everything like this.

Nova’s tears didn’t stop. The moment the pearl appeared, her trembling worsened. She could feel it his time was almost gone.

Her lips opened, but the words lodged in her throat. There was so much she wanted to say. Years of words left unsaid. Questions unanswered. Promises broken. Memories unspoken. All of it threatened to pour out now, but the time was slipping away too fast.

Razeal’s thoughts, meanwhile, were far less poetic.

Of all the fucked-up things in this world, why the hell do I have to be in her arms?

Every nerve in his body screamed in repulsion, his veins burning as they hardened into metallic strands that slithered under his skin like living snakes. The pain was meaningless to him but still it was a weirdly uncomfortable feeling. Yet somehow, it was still less intolerable than the suffocating awkwardness of this hug.

Damn it, I swear I’d rather hug a rock made of obsidian agony than this woman.

Still, he gritted his teeth and kept his focus.

Just a little more... almost done...

Nova’s trembling lips pressed closer to his ear. Her voice, broken and hoarse, whispered with desperation.

"I’m sorry... I can’t do anything for you... But don’t worry, I’ll find a way to bring you back. These past years, while you were gone, I’ve found many things... just you wait. You’ll be back, and when you are I won’t let you leave me again."

Her grip tightened, her body pressing closer, heedless of the blood that seeped from his bursting veins onto her own flesh.

"It won’t be forever. Till then... just know, I loved you. I always did. And if I could go back in time... I’d stop myself from doing what I did. Please... just don’t hate me."

Her voice cracked, the plea breaking something deep within her. "Those words you said that day.. ’I hate you’ and the look in your eyes... those hate-filled eyes... please, don’t look me like that. Never ..Not like this after i got you back from death ohk. Please..."

Her words never stopped, pouring endlessly, desperate to bridge the impossible gap before the inevitable end.

Razeal’s jaw clenched.

Fucking hell... this is unbearable.

Finally, at last, he felt the last wisp of his essence tear free. His entire body screamed in uncomfortable feeling as the final fragment left him.

"It’s done..." His voice was ragged, dripping with frustration. "...Finally..."

The royal bloodline essence pulsed at his forehead, now fully formed.

But then

Click

The air distorted.

A ghostly figure materialized several meters away almost invisible, a bow in its hands, arrow notched and aimed directly at Razeal’s head.

But before it could

"How dare you!"

Nova’s scream tore through the air.

Her head snapped back, purple eyes blazing with a fury that shook even the strongest spirits. Tears flung into the air as her hair whipped with the force of her sudden movement.

Without hesitation, she launched herself at the ghost, her killing intent erupting like a tidal wave crashing through whole Imperial capital.

And then

Slice.

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5k words!

Thanks to you all for the support! I’ll try to get one or maybe even two more Chapters out today after a little nap.

Just so you know, I never promised a specific number of Chapters this time. Every Chapter takes a different amount of time and effort to write, so it’s hard to say exactly how long each one will take.

What I can promise is that I’ll always put my best effort into every single Chapter.

These last two Chapters took me 5 straight hours to write. So even if I wanted to, I really couldn’t upload 5–10 Chapters in a day. Technically, I could just split 5k words into 5 short Chapters but that would be letting you all down in terms of quality, and I don’t want that.

So please be patient 🤗😂 I promise I won’t disappoint you!

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