"It is accomplished at last. The link has been severed." Mrizem’s words echoed through my mind as I regained my senses. In an instant, a deafening rumble reverberated within the chamber, causing chunks of stone to plummet from the ceiling and an earthquake-like tremor to shake the surroundings.

The area began to crumble slowly, revealing the impending destruction that awaited us.

"Wallace, with the link severed, we are now separate individuals. You are free from me. However, this also means that I can easily kill you without consequence." Mrizem spoke, his voice low and filled with a sinister tone.

Upon hearing his intentions, I instinctively reached out for the power of sol-weaving, but despair washed over me as nothing responded. It seemed as though I had lost access to this ability entirely.

Yet I refused to surrender to despair. I summoned my willpower to create a spatial distortion, and for a brief moment, I glimpsed a small and unstable disturbance in space. It vanished as quickly as it appeared, returning everything to normal. Sweat trickled down my brow as I realised that, despite my efforts, I could no longer tap into my powers.

"It is futile. Through our connection, you once drew power from me, stealing it. But now that the link is severed, you can no longer access your spatial abilities—or rather, my spatial abilities." A malicious grin etched itself onto Mrizem’s face.

Suddenly, he swiftly moved backward to intercept a strike from Kei, who had seized the opportunity of our conversation to launch a surprise attack. With lightning reflexes, Mrizem grabbed hold of Kei’s hand mid-air, twisting it forcefully. Kei crashed heavily to the ground, collapsing unconscious.

"Yet, this also means I can no longer monitor you as I used to through our connection. Though you have lost everything now, there remains a small possibility that you could pose a future threat to me. Thus, I must exercise caution and eliminate you. I apologise," Mrizem uttered, drawing his weapon—a dark, identical counterpart to mine.

I did not engage in further conversation, instead unsheathing my own weapon. Although I had lost my sol-weaving powers, I still possessed mastery over my weapon and the Zen state I had attained through my own efforts.

"To be frank, I detest you. Wallace, you are the antithesis of who I am. You willingly abandoned everything to embark on a journey of self-discovery, while I was forcibly brought here against my will. I had a loving family, friends, and a stable life that I cherished back home. I simply want it all back. I yearn to return. I am sorry, but I must kill you. It is a necessary sacrifice for me to regain what I have lost. Please forgive me," Mrizem concluded his words.

Meanwhile, the surroundings quaked violently, causing the walls to crumble and the ground to splinter into countless pieces. In a matter of minutes, this place would return to nothingness, swallowed by the chaos of its impending demise.

Without hesitation, I lunged at him, my weapon slashing through the air with deadly intent. However, just as I closed in on him, he swiftly hurled his weapon to intercept mine, resulting in a clash of our identical blades. Seizing the opportunity, he swiftly drew a hidden dagger with his other hand and launched it into the air, causing it to warp and materialise in front of me.

I was caught off guard and found myself defenceless as my weapon remained entangled with his. In that moment, the dagger found its mark, piercing through my torso. I staggered and lost my balance, collapsing to the ground.

My weapon slipped from my grasp, leaving me vulnerable to his oncoming strike. I managed to evade the full force of the blow by rolling along the ground, but it still left a deep gash across my back.

A shrill cry escaped my lips as agony enveloped me, the wounds bleeding profusely. My vision blurred, and I felt utterly helpless, as if my body had been rendered useless. Despair consumed me as I realised there was no salvation in sight. Through my blurry vision, I saw my own blood staining my body, and Mrizem’s figure grew faintly radiant as he approached me.

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Lying on the ground, I struggled to take heavy breaths while he retrieved his dagger from my wound, eliciting another searing shriek of pain. The intensity of the agony jolted me back into clear vision, as if I had been shocked by electricity.

"Do not fret. I shall grant you a painless death," he declared, raising his black dagger, poised to strike my heart.

Closing my eyes, I braced myself for the inevitable, accepting that my life would soon come to an end. Moments later, I heard a piercing sound, signalling my imminent demise. However, something felt amiss—I felt no pain. Opening my eyes in disbelief, my gaze widened in horror.

"No! Elsie!" I cried out, witnessing the dagger impaled in Elsie’s chest before me.

Elsie had stood between me and Mrizem, awakening from her unconscious state to shield me from the fatal blow. Blood gushed from her mouth as she struggled to breathe.

Slowly, she began to slump towards me, and I instinctively caught her in my arms, holding her tightly from behind. Examining her grievous wound, I realised the dagger had struck a vital spot, draining the colour from her skin.

"Why?" I sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down my face, as I stared at Elsie’s nearly lifeless body. The weight of despair and grief pressed heavily upon me, making it difficult to speak.

Mrizem, indifferent to our suffering, offered his callous response. "This turn of events was unexpected. Well, I will grant you the opportunity to spend your final moments together. After all, both of you will soon be engulfed by the crumbling debris surrounding us," he stated coldly.

With a wave of his hand, he created a spatial distortion, and with one last glance in our direction, he stepped into the distortion and vanished.

Despite the impending danger, a faint smile appeared on Elsie’s lips as she struggled to draw breath. "I have finally repaid the debt I owe you," she managed to say, her voice distorted and weak.

My heart ached with sorrow, and I longed to interrupt her, to deny the reality of our predicament. But I knew deep down that I had no choice but to listen. The determined expression on Elsie’s face conveyed her readiness for what was to come.

Tears continued to stream down her face as she summoned her last reserves of strength to utter her final words. With a profound sense of resignation, she turned her face towards me and spoke with a voice filled with love and longing.

"I do not wish to burden you with more responsibilities, Wallace. You are free to choose your path. However, I implore you to remember me and hold onto our memories."

As she finished speaking, a sombre silence enveloped us. The impending catastrophe drew nearer, and the rumbling of the crumbling chamber grew louder. I held Elsie in my arms, embracing her with all the tenderness I could muster. Time seemed to stand still, with each passing moment etched deeply into my memory.

In that fleeting eternity, I made a silent promise to Elsie. I would carry her memory within me, cherishing the bond we shared.

Her lifeless body crumpled to the ground, her presence fading away with those haunting words.

"Please!" I pleaded, straining to reach out for her, but my body refused to respond. The weight of my fatal wounds immobilised me, rendering me helpless as despair engulfed my being.

The realm around us intensified its collapse, with rocks crumbling and scattering in a chaotic symphony. It was as if the very foundations of this place were unraveling. Dust billowed in the air, obscuring my vision, while the ground beneath me trembled and cracked.

In the midst of the chaos, Kei emerged, having regained consciousness. He rushed towards Elsie’s lifeless form, his voice weighing down with sorrow as he delivered the heartbreaking news.

"She is gone." His words struck me with the force of a venomous serpent, shattering my already fragile state of mind. My vision blurred, tears mixing with the dust that filled the air.

"Kei, there’s no time left. Leave me behind," I urged, pointing towards the exit behind the pedestal. The urgency in my voice was fueled by the growing instability of the crumbling realm.

"But…" Kei’s voice trailed off, his gaze falling to the ground. The earth beneath us quaked violently, cracks spreading like fractures in a fragile mirror.

"I can no longer move. Take this with you and escape. I want you to survive," I whispered, summoning my last reserves of strength to reach for the glowing spherical artefact Nelchael’s projection had bestowed upon me.

With a final burst of energy, I hurled it towards Kei, his outstretched hands catching it with a mixture of determination and grief.

He locked eyes with me with a myriad of emotions flickering across his face. Finally, he spoke, his voice heavy with regret.

"I’m sorry." The words hung in the air, a final acknowledgment of the dire circumstances.

As the ground beneath me crumbled further, I began descending into the abyss below, my descent into darkness inevitable. In those fleeting moments, I caught a final glimpse of Kei, his silhouette leaping towards the exit, narrowly evading the cascading debris.

With a heavy heart, I closed my eyes, surrendering to the inevitable.