The weight of the battle dissipated along with the fog, but the air still felt thick—not from magic, but from the presence of everyone who remained there.

The floor of the destroyed ship still trembled slightly, as if the place itself were trying to recover from what had happened.

Golden ashes—the same ones that had glowed like suspended embers minutes ago—now piled up in small mounds, slowly descending to the cracked floor.

Kael stood motionless, sword in hand, watching Var'khan's arched body.

The shaman breathed as if he had been running for days—each inhalation seemed like a painful scratch on his lungs, and each exhalation, a dry sob.

His runes, once alive and pulsating, now looked like faded scars, reminders of a power that no longer belonged to him.

Asuka approached with measured steps, her gaze never leaving Kael.

"You finished him off." It was not a question. It was a cold, stark observation.

Kael did not respond immediately. He turned the sword, wiping away the last of the black blood that still dripped from it, and finally sheathed it.

"Finishing him off would be mercy." His voice sounded like distant thunder. "He still breathes, and that is more than he deserves."

Klee, who remained near the entrance, clutched her backpack to her chest. Her eyes were fixed on Var'khan, as if she expected the shaman to rise at any moment. But the only thing he could do was cough, spitting out a dark clot that stained the broken stones.

Asuka glanced at the now-vanished mist and then at Kael. "Was the ritual really destroyed?"

Kael nodded slowly, but he didn't look satisfied. "The bond that kept this curse active has been broken. I no longer feel its presence... but that doesn't mean it can't be remade."

Var'khan let out a weak, hoarse laugh, but it was still full of venom. "You think... you've defeated me..." He spat blood before continuing, "...the void does not bind itself to me. It spreads. It waits. And when you sleep... it will breathe again."

Kael crouched in front of him, holding him by the chin.

"The void can wait a thousand years, but when it returns..." his tone grew even lower, threatening "...I will be there to rip it from the throat of whoever brings it."

Var'khan tried to spit in his face, but he didn't have the strength.

Kael simply let go of him, letting him fall to the stone floor with a thud.

Asuka, who still held her katana aloft, approached and sheathed it.

"What do we do with him?" she asked, her voice harsher than usual.

Kael looked at her as if pondering for a moment.

"He no longer has enough power to be a threat on his own... but if he survives, he could become a guide for others." His gaze returned to the shaman. "I'd rather leave him here, where he'll just rot away with the rest of this place."

Klee finally spoke up, her voice barely audible. "What if... someone finds him?"

Kael did not take his eyes off Var'khan. "Then they will find a broken man. And if they are smart... they will finish the job."

Silence once again dominated the room, interrupted only by the distant sound of stones collapsing somewhere in the structure. The church, or what remained of it, did not seem safe.

"We need to get out." Asuka was the first to move. "We don't know how long it will be before this whole thing collapses."

Kael took one last look at Var'khan, and for a moment, it seemed as if he was going to finish him off right there.

But instead, he turned his back and walked toward the exit. Asuka followed close behind, and Klee ran to catch up with them, still looking back from time to time.

The light outside hit them like a reminder that the world still existed beyond that suffocating darkness. Fresh air filled their lungs, washing away the heavy, metallic taste the fog had left behind.

Kael stopped at the top of the destroyed steps and looked at the horizon. The sky was clear, but something about it seemed... different. As if the world had held its breath during the ritual and now, little by little, was breathing again.

Kael took two steps toward the exit—and stopped.

A chill ran up his spine. It wasn't the cold wind from the ruins, nor the smell of stone and blood. It was that voice: silent, impersonal... and impossible to ignore.

[Kill Var'khan and steal his soul.]

[Reward: Determined after extraction.]

The tone carried no emotion, only icy certainty. It didn't sound like a request. It was a verdict. A sealed promise.

Kael remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the horizon. Everything around him seemed muffled, as if the world had held its breath. His fingers closed around the hilt of his sword, feeling the metal pulse as if responding to the call.

"Look for survivors," he said, without looking at Asuka or Klee. His voice sounded firm, but carried a weight that had not been there before. "Now."

The two looked at each other, confused.

"Kael, what—" Asuka began, but he was already descending the broken steps.

"Do as I said." The rhythmic echo of his boots filled the destroyed hall, each step sinking into the silence.

Var'khan still lay where he had been left, breathing as if each breath stole more life from him. Hearing the footsteps, he raised his head with effort. A crooked, weakened smile marked his cracked lips.

"Changed your mind?" he coughed, spitting blood. "Come to hear me beg?"

Kael stood before him, his eyes like cold blades. The System pulsed again in his mind, each word sounding like a hammer striking steel:

[Kill Var'khan and steal his soul.]

"No," Kael said, low, and the threat was all in the tone. "I've changed my mind. I'm going to exterminate you..."

Var'khan's smile faltered. He read something in Kael's gaze—something that hadn't been there before. It wasn't rage, nor satisfaction. It was... emptiness.

"W-wait..." the shaman's voice sounded weaker than his own body. "We can... negotiate. I... can offer knowledge, power..."

Kael did not respond. He merely drew his sword from its sheath, the metallic sound cutting through the air like a whispered sentence. The dim light reflected off the blade, and for a moment, it seemed to drink in the shadows of the place.

"Listen..." Var'khan tried to stand, his arms trembling. "I... I served the void, yes, but... but it doesn't have to end like this. You don't understand what you're killing! I can—"

Kael took a step forward. Just one. It was enough to silence the shaman.

"I understand perfectly," he said, with a calmness that burned more than any scream. "That's why I'm going to erase you from here."

Var'khan took a deep breath, panic beginning to break through his mask of pride.

"No... no, you don't... you don't have to..." he coughed, spitting more blood. "I can be useful! Let me live and I... I..."

Kael tilted his head, as if considering. His eyes, however, were as cold as the steel he held.

"I don't need you alive."

The shaman trembled. The faded runes on his body seemed even more dead now. He backed away as far as his weakened body would allow, trying to create space—to no avail.

"Kael... please..." The word 'please' came out choked, as if torn from a place where he never imagined he would need to use it. "I... beg you..."

Kael crouched slowly, coming up to eye level with him. There was no pity in that gaze. Only the inevitability of a fate already sealed.

"Begging won't save you." His voice was a thread of steel. "Do you know why?"

Var'khan swallowed hard but did not answer.

"Because I'm not doing this out of anger," Kael continued, straightening up. "I'm doing it because it's right."

He raised his sword, and the blade glinted in the dim light. Var'khan raised his trembling hands, as if that would stop the blow.

"No... please... please...!" Despair finally took hold. "I—"

The sound of steel cutting through the air silenced everything. The blow was quick, clean, almost effortless. The blade pierced the shaman's heart before he could finish his sentence.

Var'khan's eyes widened. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. For a moment, he stood there, caught between life and death, until his body gave way and fell to the side.

Kael did not withdraw his sword immediately. He remained staring down, feeling the last remnants of life drain away.

It was then that the System spoke.

[Target eliminated.]

[Initiating soul extraction.]

The blade began to vibrate slightly, and a black smoke—dense and alive—began to escape from the body. It was as if something was being forcibly torn from within Var'khan. The shadow swirled around the sword before being absorbed by the blade, which glowed with a deep, dark hue.

Var'khan, even in death, had his face contorted in a final remnant of pain. When the process was over, the body fell limp, completely empty. Not even that strange spark that the living carry remained.

[Extraction complete.]

[Reward: +2 levels. Skill obtained: "Extraction from the Void."]

Kael wiped his sword on the shaman's torn cloak, each movement slow, almost ritualistic. He sheathed the blade and looked at the body.

"Now, yes, it's over."

There was no triumph in his voice. Just the cold realization of a job done.

He turned and began to walk back, the sound of his boots echoing through the destroyed hall. The air seemed lighter, but not because the battle was over—rather, because of Var'khan's complete absence.

When he reached the exit, Asuka and Klee appeared in the distance, running toward him.

"Did you find any survivors?" he asked, his voice returning to its usual tone, as if nothing had happened.

"Two... seriously injured," replied Asuka, still panting. "And... Var'khan?"

Kael looked back for a moment at the lifeless, soulless body in the center of the ship.

"He won't be guiding anyone else." And he kept walking.