[A/N: Next 10-20 chapters are all fights, hope my writing is to your liking. Thanks for reading.]

...

The sphere above convulsed again.

Its surface rippled like a storm-wracked sea, waves of dark energy rolling outward and warping the very air.

Reynold's eyes flicked upward. He didn't need sight to know what was happening.

He could feel it, another surge of power, another clash inside

I can't waste any more time.

Without hesitation, he slid his sword back into its sheath. The soft click echoed like the toll of a bell.

At the same moment, black flames erupted up his right arm.

The fire was strange, void-like, silent, hungry. It devoured the golden light of the hall, twisting space around it until the air itself shudder under the pressure.

Reynold took a single step forward and disappeared.

A streak of black light shot across the hall. He closed the distance to Vearos in a breath, arm drawn back, black flames roaring.

But a sudden violet flash slashed across his vision.

!!

Reynold twisted mid-air, raising his burning arm like a shield.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact detonated like thunder erupting inside the hall.

A shockwave blasted outward, cracking the golden tiles and flinging soldiers off their feet.

Reynold's body was hurled backward as though struck by a mountain. He smashed into a stone pillar with crushing force, the entire structure collapsing over him in a cloud of dust.

The hall fell briefly silent.

Then, Reynold pushed himself up from the rubble, cloak torn, dust cascading down his shoulders.

Standing beside prince Vearos was the violet-haired attendant.

The ruin lord's shadow.

He stood as if sculpted from moonlit jade, elegant, still, emotionless. Yet his presence was domineering.

Reynold's face darkened.

His eyes drifted to the stairway.

The two academy guards, who were supposed to hold this attendant back, now lay broken on the steps. Their bodies were mangled, nearly split apart.

Upon seeing the state of the two, he frowned. He knew it was impossible for them to perish as long as their controlling was still alive.

He raised his head.

Above the stairs, the swirling sphere of miasma churned wildly. Layers of darkness folded and collided like a star collapsing under its own weight. The air vibrated with a low, sickening hum, something terrible was unfolding inside.

"What's happening in there… Elder?"

The black flame on Reynold's arm flickered, shrinking until it sputtered out. His skin was charred black, cracked like burnt clay. Faint molten light shone from the wounds, glowing through the fractures.

Then, slowly, the cracks sealed.The burns faded.Fresh skin replaced the scorched flesh.

"Still not perfect…" he muttered, flexing his hand.

I have to end this. Now.

Before his next heartbeat, he vanished.

A black blur burst up the stairway, so fast the air warped around it.

Above, the violet-haired attendant tilted his head, his cold eyes following the blur's rise.

"He's coming," he said, voice steady as ice.

Vearos's pupils glowed faint purple. A smug grin stretched across his face.

"Be careful of that flame," the attendant warned.

"Why?" Vearos puffed out his chest, pride swelling. "With my lord's blessing, I cannot die."

The violet attendant shot him a chilling sideways glance.

"You won't die," he replied. "But you won't be alive either."

In a blink, Reynold arrived.

SLASH!!

A deafening crack followed. Blood erupted like a fountain as Reynold's fist tore straight through Vearos's torso, punching a gaping hole through flesh and bone as though the man were made of soaked mud.

Reynold didn't even look at him.

He charged towards the violet figure without breaking stride.

The attendant didn't flinch.

Despite Reynold's earlier attack, one strong enough to crush both men, the violet-haired attendant stood untouched. Not a bruise.

Reynold narrowed his eyes.

Invisible blades kept shrieking through the air. Each time one hit the attendant, it struck something unseen, an invisible layer of force that rang like steel.

Sparks flashed in midair where Reynold's strikes collided with nothing but hardened void.

So he really is hiding behind a shell of invisible walls…

Fighting him felt like striking a tortoise wrapped in layer after layer of dense intent.

But far from invincible.

Reynold stepped forward, drawing his sword. If he couldn't cut the man, then he would tear apart every barrier until nothing remained.

He swung, but just then something crimson sliced across the air from the right.

Instinctively, he twisted aside, but the edge of the mist grazed his arm.

Hssss-

His armor melted instantly. Dark metal turned to sludge and slid off his skin. His flesh sizzled next, melting like wax held near a flame, before it rapidly regrew, layer by layer.

Reynold turned his gaze toward the source.

Vearos stood there. His posture straight. His torso still mangled and half-open. Blood poured from the wound in steady sheets, rising into the air and turning into that deadly mist that devoured everything it touched.

Vearos eyes shone with crazed devotion.

Then a soft voice brushed Reynold's ear, clear even through the chaos.

"Senior… l-let me help you."

Reynold's head turned slightly.

Lina floated, arriving at his side.

"What about the situation below?" Reynold said, eyes locked on the violet-haired attendant.

Lina shook her head. "The two princesses are handling it."

Reynold flicked his gaze downward for a heartbeat.

Below the stairway, Ling Yan and Elize commanded the battlefield like twin stars. Their forces tightened formation, pushing the tide of ruin creatures back toward the fractured space crack.

Silver-armored soldiers moved with sharp precision, matching Ling Yan's movements as if sharing a single will.

A gentle glow radiated from Elize, soft and sacred, washing over the troops and binding their rhythm together.

For now, the defense held. Barely. But it held.

"I-i will restrain Prince Vearos," Lina said. "Senior should focus on the other person."

Reynold nodded once. He trusted her without question.

Then he burst forward, disappearing from her side as he charged straight toward the violet-haired man again.

Seeing this, Vearos let out a wild, furious snarl.

"Where do you think you're going, Marquis?!"

His voice cracked as a storm of red mist erupted from his mangled torso, chasing after Reynold like hungry spirits.

But before the blood fog could reach him, something crawled up from the stairs.

Snap!

Dark veins shot out of the stone, coiling around Vearos's legs. They wrapped his limbs with crushing force, writhing like serpents claiming their prey.

The red mist washed over them harmlessly, the veins ignored its corrosive power as if it were nothing more than warm air.

"What?!" Vearos stared down, eyes widening in disbelief.

Then, a radiant flash swallowed his world.

A blinding white light exploded before his eyes, washing over him like a tidal wave.

When he blinked again, the golden hall was gone.

He now stood in a vast green field stretching farther than sight. The grass brushed against his ankles, soft and cool. A gentle breeze curled around him, carrying the scent of fresh leaves.

In the distance, an impossibly colossal tree rose into the heavens. Its trunk dwarfed mountains, its crown lost beyond the clouds. The light filtering through its branches felt warm… comforting.

"Is this the mystical World Tree?" he muttered.

And then he saw familiar figures. Men and women he had once trusted, his soldiers, his loyal attendants, standing together with smiles that ached with warmth.

"Prince Vearos!"

"Your Highness, come with us!"

"Let's climb the World Tree together!"

Their voices drifted toward him like echoes from a dream he had long forgotten. Soft and Inviting. Too gentle to resist.

Hands reached out. Drawing him in.