CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 41 : EQUILEN: THE INSTINCT OF BALANCE

“Lend you help?”

“Hmmm... I think you’re right. Letting him complete his transformation would only cause me trouble.”

Swoooof!!

A tall, slender young man appeared out of nowhere. His long, thick black hair fell in loose waves, tied into a messy topknot, with stray strands framing his pale, sharp-featured face.

His eyes burned with a pure turquoise glow, vivid against the darkness around him. Beneath them stretched faint turquoise streaks—markings that lent his gaze a sorrowful yet utterly hollow depth.

He wore a simple olive-green robe, layered like that of an ancient warrior. Despite its plainness, a cold and emotionless aura coiled around him.

At his side rested a black katana. It wasn’t an ordinary blade, but a cursed relic, its edge shimmering with a malignant turquoise glow. Waves of mysterious power leaked from it, saturating the air with dread. The weapon’s presence alone felt alive—hungry.

He stood composed, his turquoise eyes calm and unreadable.

Master had said to interfere only once he entered Phase Three.

“My master expected that once you formed a body, Nullen, your first move would be to seek out Lin and fight him in order to take control of it.”

“You expect me to be a puppet for him?” Nullen spat, his eyes flashing with defiance.

Equilen didn’t answer. He simply stepped forward, his robe shifting behind him with deadly calm.

In one smooth motion, he drew his blade. The long, curved steel caught the dim light, gleaming with a sinister metallic sheen. Veins of turquoise ran along its edge like living energy, while faint streaks of emerald lightning crackled across its surface, hissing as if the weapon itself wanted to be unleashed.

“Equalinios... lend me your strength.”

The blade in Equilen’s hand trembled, erupting with a dark turquoise glow veined with streaks of black, like living arteries of night. The air around him cracked like fractured ice, everything now bound to a single law: balance that would not yield.

“I call this blade Equinox.”

He unleashed two swift strikes, halting Lin’s energy absorption and freezing his movements.

Then, with calm precision, he returned the blade to its hilt.

“I call this move The Balance.”

Then he wavered his right hand to lin and began chanting.:

Equilibria: Binding Art No. 1 — Chains of Balance

Twin spirals of turquoise and black energy bind the wrists and ankles, rewriting the body’s motion into enforced stillness.

Equilibria: Binding Art No. 2 — Gravity Leashes

A crushing force anchors the target to the ground, multiplying their weight until escape becomes impossible.

A monstrous scream erupted from Lin, as if he were trying to escape being dragged into a cavern by Equilen.

Equilibria: Binding Art No. 3 — Rings of Silence

Dark turquoise circles devour resonance, swallowing voice, sound, and any attempt at spell invocation.

Equilibria: Binding Art No. 4 — Final Verdict

The chains tightened, the weight deepened, and the rings pulsed one last time before merging into a single seal of turquoise and black. It hovered over Lin’s chest like a spectral balance, weighing him down with law itself. His body was bound, his voice silenced, his energy sealed. For the first time, it wasn’t restraint—it was judgment.

Equilibria: Killing Art No. 10 — Turquoise Black Coffin

"Whisper. Silence. Fracture.

The scales of balance descend upon your soul.

Chains of twilight coil, circles of stillness tighten.

Flesh resists, yet spirit bends.

Fall—fall into the abyss of equilibrium.

Veins of turquoise and shadow etch your fate.

Within this coffin of stillness,

You shall neither move, nor burn, nor awaken."

A dark Turquoise Black Coffin surrounded Lin. Then—

Dooom!

Black turquoise spikes pierced him, making Lin fall to the ground.

Equilen caught him, then turned his gaze to Nullen.

“You are really a monster, Equilen. But you only defeated him before his Phase Three was complete. Once it had been completed, you wouldn’t win.”

Equilen ignored Nullen’s yapping. He appeared before him at high speed and, with a swift strike, sent Nullen into unconsciousness.

Then he caught both of them and went to the Forgotten One, who was standing with red eyes glowing and his body surrounded with dark black energy, making himself unseen.

Equilen bowed deeply.

“Master, I finished the assigned task.”

Equilen had been awakened.

Lin had opened Phase Two and Three.

The Forgotten One said, “Everything is moving according to plan. Ok, Equilen, you did great work. So, how do you feel now?”

“Sorry, I don’t fully understand, sir.”

“How do you feel?”

“I don’t feel anything.”

“So you don’t have any emotion?”

“Ok. You will take control of this body. All I need you to do is escape and run from here. Don’t fight anyone.”

The Forgotten One waved his hand, carrying Lin, Nullen, and Azareen into the air.

Then he opened a gate and entered it. It closed.

He waved his hand again. A throne and a table formed.

He sat at his throne, leaning on his hands.

Then he placed Nullen, Lin, and Azareen on the table.

A dark black flame started burning them.

Outside Lin’s body—

Equilen took control, making Lin’s eyes turn turquoise.

He opened his eyes to see a black orb surrounding him.

Equilibria: Defense Art No. 1 — Absorption.

He absorbed the black orb.

Then he stood, evaluating the environment.

He detected a dagger.

He went and took it.

Then he saw Isphyriela fighting a monster.

Equilen concealed his energy and started running without making a sound.

After he left them within unseen space, he unleashed a white turquoise-flamed wing and flew from there at high speed.

In another place in Nivara—

Orillana and Elenius were in a cave.

Orillana was screaming from pain.

“Hey, sis, give me your blessing and I will leave you. I consumed my blessing and it will disappear after a little period and I will die. I need your blessing so my blessing will be saved.

You are pregnant, and you don’t want all your hard work and suffering to turn into ashes in my hands. Let me have your blessing and I won’t harm you.”

“Aaaaaah, you betrayal!”

“Is that how you treat your sister, the one who didn’t kill you?

I have been scheming for a long time, sis. I also manipulated these stupid princesses to betray you, so I let your guards fall.

It was all according to my plan. Don’t act as if you expected me to be loyal. I hated being under your command. I want power and possession.

And that husband you brought was the perfect piece that made my plan succeed. I didn’t expect him to be so strong that he even killed the Serpent of our Ancestors. It was the biggest obstacle to my plan.

Now you are weak.

So either you cooperate or you and I die here at the same time.”

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Reader’s archive :

Equilen and His Techniques:

Equilibria:

Equilibria is a unique attack that works without mana, making it independent of any magical energy.

Equilen invented it himself, being a prodigy of his own design, as he had no blessing or divine gift.

He has used this technique from the start to compensate for the absence of a blessing, with every strike calculated perfectly, reflecting his philosophy of absolute balance and control.

His Blade – Equinox

Equilen’s blade is not just a weapon—it is forged from his own body, representing him entirely.

The blade is cursed with mysterious power and secret abilities, granting him a deadly edge in combat.

Every strike is more than an attack—it is a manifestation of the balance he commands.

Origin and Nature:

Equilen was created by The Forgotten One, designed to be a perfect instrument of control and balance, completely devoid of emotion.

He belongs to the Noctarine Clan, having been formed from the Instinct of Balance and the Turquoise Crescent of Night, with loyalty that lies entirely with his master.

This makes him a merciless, flawless weapon, capable of executing any plan without hesitation.

In short for the reader:

Equilen is a perfectly crafted killing machine, a counter for Lin and Nullen, with high intelligence and no emotions. A master of balance, he invented his own techniques—Equilibria being one of them—which requires no mana. He wields a cursed blade forged from himself with secret powers, and exists entirely under the command of his mysterious master, The Forgotten One.