Eldran's POV

The corridor reeked of death.

Moonlight filtered through the ancient temple's broken windows, casting eerie shadows across the bodies that littered the stone floor. My footsteps echoed softly, the only sound besides the occasional drip of blood from my corrupted hand. Kala's followers had fought well – their corpses still twitched with residual mana – but not well enough.

Pain shot through my arm as the corruption pulsed, spreading another inch toward my elbow. Gritting my teeth, I pressed my back against a cold pillar and began tracing Sutra patterns in the air. The characters materialized like burning shadows, each stroke leaving trails of dark flames rimmed with violet light. They hung before me like malevolent constellations, pulsing with an otherworldly power that made the shadows around us writhe.

"Seal of the Thousand Nights," I muttered, forcing the characters into my flesh. The dark flames sank into my skin, their purple edges flickering like dying stars. The corruption retreated slightly, hissing and bubbling beneath my flesh. The relief was temporary. It always was.

A familiar laugh echoed through the temple halls, making my blood run cold. "Sutra what an amazing mysterious power"

Kala materialized from the shadows, his traditional Mehmouran robes stained with age blood and madness. The sight of him made the corruption in my arm throb, the sickly greenish-black darkness under my skin writhing like a living thing, responding to his presence.

"I've been expecting you, dear Eldran," Kala's voice dripped with false warmth, his smile stretching unnaturally wide across his face. "We have so much to discuss."

My jaw clenched, hatred burning in my chest. "There's nothing to discuss with a traitor."

His smile widened, revealing teeth stained black with corruption. "Such hostility. Aren't we old friends?"

"You're no friend of mine."

"Come now, Eldran. We're more than friends – we're brothers in curse, remember?" His eyes gleamed with malicious delight. "Both marked by the same darkness, both fighting the inevitable..."

I remained silent, the weight of ancient memories threatening to surface.

"Oh? Did I hit a nerve?" Kala's laughter echoed off the temple walls. "The righteous Eldran, pretending he's above it all. How many did you kill tonight? I can smell their blood on you."

Black flames erupted from my good hand, casting dancing shadows across the corpse-strewn floor. But before I could strike, Kala raised a finger.

"Careful now. Kill me, and you lose any chance of stopping the disaster that awaits the city,"

"I've found someone who can handle it," I replied, thinking of the kid.

"Oh, that kid?" Kala's smile turned cruel. "Don't tell me you're fool enough to think someone like him could stop Kilian. You've seen his power, felt it yourself. Quite the specimen isn't he, the fruit of my years of research" His eyes flickered to my corrupted arm.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He let out a dark chuckle, his voice dropping to a whisper. "But then again... you act so righteous, Eldran, but we both know you'd kill the boy yourself if—"

My corrupted hand, wreathed in black flames, burst through his chest before he could finish. His body dissolved into shadow – a mere clone – but his laughter lingered.

I stared at my corrupted hand, watching the darkness pulse beneath my skin. The sutra's glow was already fading, its power weakening. Soon, it would spread again.

In the distance, I could feel the clash of powers – the kid and Kilian's battle had begun. I turned toward the arena, the night air heavy with the weight of destiny.

"Brat..." I whispered, my eyes fixed on the distant lights of combat. The black flames in my corrupted hand flickered, casting shadows that danced with ancient secrets.

"My King, i shall keep my promise.. For the kingdom."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence as I vanished into the darkness.

"Always for the Kingdom."

Su's POV

My fist connected with Kilian's jaw again, the impact sending shockwaves through the arena. The ground beneath us cracked as he skidded backward, his usual smirk replaced by a thin line of concentration.

"Not bad," he spat blood to the side, his eyes narrowing. "But playtime is over."

The air grew thick, heavy with an oppressive force that made breathing difficult. Kilian reached for his chest plate, his fingers digging into the metal like it was paper. The screech of tearing steel filled the arena as he ripped away his armor, revealing what lay beneath.

My blood ran cold.

There, embedded in the center of his chest, was something that could only be what Eldran had described – a mana core. Sickly green veins spread outward from it like corrupt roots, burrowing into his flesh, pulsating with an otherworldly rhythm. The core itself was a nightmare made manifest – a swirling vortex of emerald and black that seemed to devour the very light around it.

This... this was beyond twisted.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kilian's voice had changed, carrying an echo that wasn't human. "This is true power offered to me by lord Kala. The power to change this corrupted world."

The veins beneath his skin writhed, spreading further across his body. Each pulse of his mana core sent waves of nauseous energy through the arena, making the air itself seem to rot. I could hear gasps and retching from the audience, but I couldn't look away from the horrific transformation before me.

"From this moment on," Kilian's face split into an inhuman grin, his teeth elongating into fangs, "only death awaits you."

My body screamed at me to run. Every instinct, every fiber of my being recognized what stood before me – a predator beyond comprehension. The mana core pulsed again, and Kilian's form began to change. His muscles twisted and bulged, the green veins now covering most of his body. The corruption had turned his eyes into pools of swirling darkness, with only pinpricks of sickly green light where his pupils should be.

I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. The pressure of his power was absolute, like being crushed in the depths of an ocean of pure malevolence.

One blink. That's all it took.

The sound of my own heartbeat thundered in my ears, then... silence. Complete and absolute silence, as if the world itself had stopped breathing.

He was gone.

"Too slow."

The whisper came from beside my ear, and in that frozen moment, I felt it – killing intent so pure it made my previous battles feel like child's play. I tried to turn, to block, to do anything.

But I was too slow. Far too slow.

Pain exploded across my chest as his blade carved through me, and in the same fluid motion, I felt a searing agony as my right hand separated from my arm. The world spun as I was launched across the arena, blood painting an arc through the air – both from my chest and where my hand used to be. The silence shattered, and sound came rushing back all at once.

"SUUUUUU!" Mervan's anguished scream cut through the chaos.

My vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges. I could taste blood in my mouth, feel it soaking through my clothes. Mervan's cries grew more distant, more desperate.

As my consciousness faded, I saw Kilian advancing slowly, that terrible green light pulsing with each step. His voice followed me into the darkness:

"Weak."

Then nothing.