Chapter 100: Shadows of the Heart

"Humans, your emotions easily control you. To throw away the potential to become a Gold Knight—this one is confused," Trayton muttered, his shadow condensing tightly around his body.

Marcus stood unwavering within the pillar of golden flames, his rapier held steady, eyes tracing the blade's edge. "It wasn't thrown away," he replied, his voice steady and cold, "it's being used to kill you."

Trayton's shadow violently tunneled into his mouth and nose, vanishing almost instantly within his body. His white skin cracked, emitting black smoke as his form expanded.

With deliberate precision, Marcus stabbed forward. The motion seemed almost slow, but the impact was immediate. Trayton's body erupted in a thunderous barrage of flames, his scream tearing through the city as he was hurled backward, his claws gouging deep into the ground, struggling to stop his momentum.

The Lion head of flames hovering above Marcus roared fiercely, the heat intensifying before funneling into Marcus’s aura. His manaforged armor began to glow, with his sabatons taking dominance as manaforged greaves formed above them, followed by a chestpiece that blazed with the image of a roaring lion.

Trayton, now fully transformed, roared in defiance and charged. His elongated fingers and claws tore the ground apart as he exploded forward, instantly closing the gap.

Marcus stood calm, his rapier poised before him, and spoke softly, "Opera Nova-Third Parry."

Trayton’s claws shot toward Marcus’s torso with blinding speed. In one fluid motion, Marcus angled his rapier, catching the strike mid-air. The overwhelming force obliterated Trayton’s arm in a flash of heat and light. Golden flames burst from the point of contact, scorching the air as the ground beneath Marcus splintered. The sheer power sent a burning flash tunneling through the city, debris vaporizing as Trayton’s disintegrating limb scattered into ash.

"Stoccata."

In that brief moment, Trayton smiled, "This one—"

The rapier pierced his chest, a golden beam erupting from Marcus's weapon. It ripped through Trayton and the city beyond, melting everything in its path. The heat vaporized Trayton's flesh and bone, the city’s structures disintegrating under the intense heat, as the golden light blazed a molten path through the heart of the city.

Watching the remnants of Trayton's body turn to ash, Marcus sighed, his gaze drawing slowly to the sky. "Now you can rest, son." Dropping his blade, he suddenly collapsed to one knee, his manaforged armor flickering and fading.

As the last wisps of the vampyre's essence scattered in the wind, Marcus's strength gave out, losing consciousness as he fell, surrounded by the remains of the devastated city.

Floeur d'Alene lay in ruins, silent except for the gentle crackling of fire and the distant collapse of stone—a haunting stillness settled over the city.

----

Lady Clarke's frown deepened as she watched the golden beam from Marcus's attack. "Old man, you held back all this time," she muttered, her jaw set tight.

She stood on a hill, a group gathered around her. Sealia clung to Atleman, both fixed on the distant battle. Nearby, Crelos, Haku and Neko sat next to two still forms.

"He's not injured; we just need to wait for him to wake." Crelos's glowing eyes, now returning to normal, shifted toward the devastated city.

Haku sighed, following Crelos's gaze. "He'll blame himself for all of this."

"No one expected Crowley to send a Vampyre," Crelos replied, standing to retrieve a vial and cloth from his pouch. Kneeling beside Percy, he began gently wiping his face. "Our immediate concern is what comes next. Crowley likely already knows what's happened."

Neko, darting onto Darius's chest, curled up and settled in. After a series of soft chirps directed at Haku, he laid his head down.

"You can stay with him. There's no need to return to the Codex," Haku murmured, nodding gently.

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Suddenly, Lady Clarke's aura solidified as she shot into the air. Atleman watched her ascend, then turned to the group. "You all should come with me. I have a hunting lodge where we can stay; Clarke is aware of it and will meet us there."

Transforming into his beast form amidst a swirl of blue flames, Haku laid down beside Darius and Percy. "I’ll carry Darius in my mouth, put Percy on my back. Someone needs to secure him or ride with—"

"I'll carry him." Atleman stepped forward, carefully lifting Percy's body. "Whenever you’re ready."

Haku hesitated, glancing at the exhausted Crelos, "Get on." He gently picked up Darius, allowing the mage to climb on. "Thank you," Crelos murmured appreciatively.

"Siubhail Domhain," Sealia commanded, surprising the group. Beneath her, the ground responded to her spell, her earth aura gathering to form a rippling wave that almost seemed to move with her.

Atleman’s water aura surged, forming a rolling wave beneath him. The wave lifted him off the ground, moving swiftly towards the forest. Beside him, Sealia rode her own, the earth shifting and rising to match his pace.

Haku, with Darius held carefully in his jaws, darted ahead. Neko perched on his head, his small form alert and watchful. Crelos sat safely within the blue flames on Haku’s back, his expression tense as he held on tightly. Haku's paws barely touched the ground as he slipped into the shadows of the trees. The blue flames around his feet flickered, leaving only a faint glow as the group vanished into the woods.

----

Floating in the darkness, the voices continued to assault Darius, his small arms clutching his knees tightly. Time lost meaning as he wrestled with their words and his own thoughts, each one more broken and bitter than the last.

"You chose this!"

"Selfish!"

The voices grew louder, their weight pressing down on him with every word as Darius's nails dug into his skin. 'It's all my fault.'

"You're a curse! Everything you touch dies!"

"Glutton! Slave to your greed!"

'I didn't want this... I'm sorry.'

"Pathetic Cultivator, full of lies and deceit."

"You don't care who falls on your path! It was your greed that destroyed your sect!"

'Sect?' Darius’s nails withdrew from his skin. 'Destroyed it?'

The voices suddenly intensified, their words tearing through the void.

"Your parents and Percy died because of you!"

"They're all dead! Evil!"

"They trusted you, and you lied to them!"

"Deceiver!"

"My sect... Penglai..." Darius’s eyes slowly opened, glowing a deep azure in the darkness. He floated, staring at his hands as the voices reached a screaming fury. A calm expression spread across his face. "Almost everything you've said is true, but why wouldn't it? It's no surprise it took me so long..."

Silence. Every voice halted the moment Darius spoke. He clenched his hands repeatedly, frowning slightly. "My actions led to my parents' deaths, and there's nothing I can do to change that." Standing straight, he began to scan the void around him. "But Percy was a man who chose his own path. I will not shame him, nor my parents, any longer. Show yourself. No more tricks, no more hiding."

Seconds crawled by as Darius floated, his expression calm, waiting. After what felt like an eternity, a single voice finally spoke—a voice he had heard many times before. "Shame is all you bear, Xue Feng, yet you claim to discard it?"

Darius turned, his young eyes widening for a moment. "This is shameful indeed, to think I developed a heart-demon. Were you born here, or did you come with me from Penglai?"

Sneering, an exact replica of Darius—only with black eyes and white hair, matching his twelve-year-old appearance—tilted his head and laughed. "Heart-demon? I suppose you could call me that." Hesitating for a moment, he said flatly, "Thousand-Hands Mountain."

His brow furrowing, Darius sighed, "when I accepted my death... seems I was only fooling myself. That was only a few days before I died, I had always felt some shame that it took me until the very end."

"You’ve always been fooling yourself and those around you. I know you, Xue Feng. Your nature is to deceive, and you can’t hide the truth from me."

"The truth..." Darius smiled, stepping forward, his feet finding purchase in the void. "The truth is, you were there, and I think a part of me always knew it."

Black flames burst from the heart-demon, its face contorting with rage. "How could you?! You only know what I want you to know! When we were reborn—"

'We?'

"This space became mine! I'm in control here," the heart-demon snarled as its body began to grow, matching Darius's teenage appearance. In an instant, a full set of black armor manifested around it, its long white hair billowing wildly.

Darius halted, his brows furrowed. "You watched everything from in here? Then, did you see how Mother died?"

"Shut up!" The heart-demon closed the distance in an instant, grabbing Darius by the throat and lifting him off the ground. "Do not speak of her!"

Darius struggled against the grip around his throat. 'This isn’t a heart-demon... something must have changed when we crossed over.' His face twisted in pain as the demon flung him through the air, slamming him into an invisible barrier.

The heart-demon stood tall, clad in it's black armor that seemed to absorb the surrounding darkness. Its eyes, cold and unforgiving, locked onto Darius. Without hesitation, it lunged forward, its gauntleted fist crashing into his ribs.

"Fool!" The demon's word spat out with venom as Darius gasped, the impact forcing the air from his lungs. Before he could recover, another blow slammed into his chest, sending a shockwave of pain through his body.

"Pathetic!" The heart-demon's voice dripped with contempt as Darius staggered, barely able to stay on his feet. The third strike came swift and brutal, a crushing fist to his stomach that doubled him over.

"Weak!" The insult echoed as he coughed up blood, his vision blurring. With a vicious sneer, the heart-demon grabbed him by the neck and threw him against the invisible wall once more. He hit the barrier with a sickening thud, blood trailing down his face.

'I can't access my mana. If this continues...' pushing against the wall, he staggered to his feet. Blood dripped from his mouth as he tried to speak, "You—"

A black gauntlet suddenly slammed into his face, driving his head back into the wall. "You don't need to speak. Your time is over. I will absorb you and leave this place."

Hanging limp, Darius slowly lifted his hand, trembling and battered. The heart-demon watched, mockery in its eyes—until sudden, searing pain blinded it. While its focus was on the raised hand, Darius used the other to gouge both its eyes, forcing the heart-demon to release him.

As soon as Darius hit the ground, he bolted to the far side of the space. Stumbling and bleeding, he fell and skidded against the distant wall. The heart-demon, regaining its sight, rubbed its eyes before locking onto him. "Never seen you do that," it growled.

Laughing painfully, Darius clutched his broken ribs, each breath a struggle. "You haven’t always been with me." He pushed himself to his knees. "You really hate me, don’t you?"

"You only deserve my hate!"

"Because I’m weak."

"Yes!"

"And foolish."

"Yes!"

The heart-demon's aura flared wildly, its white hair billowing among black flames as it advanced, a giant sword manifesting in its hand. "You should've died!"

Sitting back on his feet, Darius lowered his hands and coughed up blood. Pressing his forehead to the floor, he whispered, "I'm sorry, Darius. Our parents shouldn’t have died."

The heart-demon froze, the blade stopping just a hair before it struck Darius's head. For a moment, it hesitated, eyes wide with a flicker of something unreadable. Then, with a snarl, it pulled the blade back, the black flames around it intensifying.

"Lies!"

Darius remained motionless, his voice calm. "I have accepted my guilt. You need to accept yours."

The heart-demon's face contorted in rage, tears building in its black eyes. With a scream that echoed through the void, it slammed the blade down with a thunderous crash.