Velka Nocturne crumpled to her knees on the dark stone stairs, the secret door above slamming shut with a final thunderous crash. Tarek's final scream still echoed in her ears, a sound she would never forget. She was alone, trapped in darkness, burdened by the horror of Tarek's sacrifice and the truth about her family.

Driven by pure adrenaline, she rose. She could not die here. Tarek's sacrifice would not be in vain.

She descended the stairs, leading her to an abandoned wine cellar. She was still within the family grounds. Above, she could hear the panicked voices and alarm bells—the laboratory fire had triggered a response from the mansion guards.

This was both an opportunity and a danger. The guards were busy, but they were also alert.

With caution, she slipped out of the wine cellar. She now stood in the vast backyard garden, a place where she used to play as a child. But now, the garden felt like an enemy's battlefield. She could see patrols led by her brother, Alban, sweeping the grounds.

"Search every corner!" Alban barked, his face etched with frustration. "The fire was no accident! Find the intruder!"

Velka pressed herself against the shadow of a rose bush, holding her breath. Using her knowledge of the garden—every shortcut, every blind spot—she moved silently toward the border wall at the far end of the property.

From her hiding place behind a statue, she witnessed a sight that froze her blood. Her father, Valerius Nocturne, stood under the moonlight, conversing with a porcelain-masked figure—The Silencer.

"...the evidence?" Valerius's voice cut through the night, cold and sharp.

The Silencer's reply was nearly inaudible, like the rustle of leaves. "...consumed by fire. The girl escaped. The hunter..."

"A regrettable loss," Valerius interjected. "Ensure the hunter can never speak again. And find the girl. Duke Alaric must not get his hands on her."

Velka bit back a scream. Her father had just ordered her capture, or perhaps her death.

She wasted no more time. She ran, heedless of the risks, toward the weakest point in the border wall—a section overgrown with thick ivy.

She finally reached the emergency rendezvous point arranged by Alaric: an forgotten crypt in the family cemetery, just outside the main wall. She pushed open the heavy crypt door and stepped inside, finally feeling a modicum of safety.

She was not alone.

A figure lay slumped against a tombstone on the cold stone floor. Tarek Mornhall.

"Tarek!" Velka whispered, rushing to his side.

He was still alive, barely. The black shard of the Existence Devourer remained lodged in his shoulder. But this was no ordinary wound. Disgusting black veins spread from the shard, creeping across his skin like a spider's web. And his eyes... once filled with rage and obsession, now stared empty and hollow.

"Noble girl..." he rasped, his voice like a dead man's whisper. "You made it out."

"What about you? What has that thing done to you?" Velka's voice trembled.

Tarek tried to laugh, but no sound came. "It feels... cold. I can't feel my arm. I can't feel... my anger. I try to recall your father's face to hate... but the image keeps fading."

He gazed at Velka with hollow eyes. "This thing... it didn't kill me. It... it's erasing me."

The horror of his fate was worse than death. Tarek Mornhall, a man driven by vengeance, was having his soul consumed, his emotions stripped layer by layer, leaving him a hollow shell.

Suddenly, the crypt door opened. Two hooded figures from Duke Alaric's "Vipers" unit entered.

"Miss Velka, we're here to take you in," one of them said, before their eyes fell on Tarek. "By the Gods... what happened to him?"

Velka stared at Tarek, who now trembled faintly, the soul-erasure process ongoing. He had sacrificed himself to save her.

A new, cold resolve formed within Velka. Her investigation was no longer just about uncovering the truth or saving her brother.

"Take him with us," she commanded the Vipers, her voice no longer that of a frightened princess, but of a woman issuing orders. "We will find a way to heal him."

She knew there was only one person in this world who might understand the power of annihilation. Only one person who might be able to counter this soul poison. Her own brother. To save Tarek, she must reach Nihil. By any means necessary.

While Velka fought in the outside world, Nihil fought within his prison. A week had passed since the Grand Inquisitor's visit, and the psychological warfare continued.

But something had changed.

Nihil now wielded a weapon. Every day, he spent hours in painful meditation, practicing Sync Control. The battle against the Void within him was brutal. Each time he succeeded in stabilizing one crack in his "seal," another would appear.

But he was making progress. Slowly but surely.

[Sync Control Skill has advanced to Rank E]

[Void Sync: 9.6% -> 9.2%]

The whispers in his mind began to fade into a murmur. The constant pressure on his soul lessened. For the first time, Heze felt that he was no longer merely a passenger in this body; he was the pilot, beginning to learn to control its dangerous machinery.

With a clearer mind, he began to plan. He couldn't stay here forever. He had to get out. He had to take the initiative.

Celia, allowed to visit him occasionally for "medical evaluations," became his sole link to the outside world.

"Any news?" Nihil asked one evening.

"Everyone is preparing for the Tournament," Celia reported. "Princess Selene is personally overseeing the committee designing your challenges. Professor Theron keeps trying to interfere, but the princess always rebuffs him. It seems... she's genuinely protecting you."

Nihil knew Selene's protection came at a price. He also received a secret message from Finn via Celia—a small scroll filled with complex diagrams.

"This is the blueprint for the second version of the 'Nullifier Resonance'," Finn had written. "Far more stable. I've also added some theories on how the Inquisition's divine logic gates work to seal their archives. Might be useful. Consider this payback for letting me study your condenser."

A mad and extremely dangerous plan began to take shape in Nihil's mind. He wouldn't wait to be executed in the tournament arena. He would launch a preemptive strike. His target: the most heavily guarded place in the entire academy, a place even the Headmistress couldn't access without permission. Grand Inquisitor Richter Von Braum's private archives.

He needed a diversion. Something big enough to draw everyone's attention, including the Imperial Guards outside his door.

He contacted Silas through Celia again. This time, he wasn't buying information. He was selling it.

"I want you to spread a rumor," Nihil said to Celia for Silas to pass on. "A very detailed and very credible rumor. Say that you overheard from a noble source that Duke Alaric has uncovered strong evidence linking House Theron to the Cult of Nullity."

It was a lie wrapped in truth. A maneuver designed to spark a political firestorm.

The rumor spread like wildfire. Within hours, the entire academy was in an uproar. Theron, whose name was already tarnished, was now accused of conspiring with doomsday worshippers. Grand Inquisitor Richter, who hated the Cult more than anything, was forced to launch an official investigation into one of his own professors, creating bureaucratic chaos and summoning most of the Holy Knights for interrogations.

In the midst of the chaos, Nihil's window of opportunity opened. For the first time in weeks, the guards outside his door were reduced, called away to assist with the investigation.

That night, Nihil stood before his cell door. He had spent his last day forging a new device based on Finn's blueprints, using Atom Manipulation on components smuggled in by Celia.

In his hand, he held a small humming metal cylinder. The key to unlocking his cage.

He affixed the device to the magical seal on his door. The holy runes flickered, then died. The door opened with a soft click.

He stepped out into the quiet, dark corridor.

He had stabilized the war within himself. Now, it was time to bring that war back to the outside world. He was no longer a prisoner. He was a hunter who had just escaped his cage.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.