CHAPTER 468: CH 468: SMELLS LIKE TROUBLE - PART 2

Lucia’s fingers trembled as she held the pale-blue crystal between her palms, infusing it with threads of her divine essence.

The recording glyphs spun slowly at first, then faster, absorbing her voice and thoughts into its core. Each word she spoke felt heavier than the last.

"Kyle... by the time you receive this, I may already be...beyond saving. The ceremony Arkenas is preparing is not merely for balance—it is for dominion. If it succeeds, the mortal realm will never breathe freely again."

She hesitated, her breath catching.

She pressed her lips together, holding back the tide of emotions threatening to spill over.

Turning toward the corner of her chambers, she beckoned with a soft hum. A small, porcelain-faced doll shuffled forward, its glassy eyes reflecting the dim light.

This one had been with her for centuries, the oldest and most loyal of her creations.

"I am sorry. Sorry for abandoning you like this. I know you cannot understand why... but I hope, one day, you will forgive me."

Lucia whispered, kneeling so her gaze met the doll’s blank one.

She placed the crystal gently in the doll’s hands, then produced a folded letter sealed with her personal crest.

"This is for him. Find Kyle Armstrong. Give him both the letter and the crystal. That way, he will know what to expect... and perhaps, how to save me. And if he cannot..."

She murmured, her voice faltered.

"...then he will at least be able to end my suffering."

The doll tilted its head slightly, expression unchanged, yet its grip on the crystal tightened as if sensing the weight of its task.

Lucia exhaled deeply, her fingers brushing along the doll’s porcelain cheek.

"This will be your only goal now."

With a final whisper of power, she severed the doll’s link to the divine system. The sudden emptiness made her chest ache—she had just cut away a piece of her own soul.

The doll’s eyes dimmed for a moment, then blinked once.

Without another sound, it vanished from her chambers, falling through the shimmering folds of space toward the mortal plane.

Lucia remained kneeling, her palm resting against the cold marble floor. The silence in the room was deafening.

—

Far below, in the human realm, the desert wind howled against the dunes. Kyle’s pace slowed abruptly, his instincts pricking at the sudden shift in mana.

It was sharp, deliberate, and entirely foreign—like a thread pulled taut between worlds.

He narrowed his eyes toward the horizon.

’What are they plotting now...?’

But his thoughts were cut short as the sand before them erupted, a cluster of hulking, horned beasts leaping into view.

Their snarls echoed across the barren expanse, but before they could advance, Kyle’s aura burst outward like a tidal wave.

The sheer pressure drove the creatures to halt, their eyes widening in primal fear. One by one, they turned tail and bolted back into the dunes.

Silvy, brushing sand from her hair, looked around cautiously.

"Well... that was quick."

Melissa scanned the horizon.

"They weren’t here to fight—they were testing us."

"Doesn’t matter. They won’t be coming back anytime soon."

Kyle replied flatly, though his eyes lingered in the direction of the mana disturbance.

Silvy adjusted the strap of her satchel, glancing toward the distant outline of stone walls just visible in the heat shimmer.

"There’s a settlement up ahead. We can restock supplies and maybe find a guide for the next leg."

Kyle gave a brief nod, though his mind was still half elsewhere.

The mana shift had faded now, but something about it gnawed at him—it wasn’t random, and it wasn’t just any god’s work.

Something, or someone, had just reached for him.

The sun blazed mercilessly above as Silvy led the way over the shifting dunes, her confident stride cutting through the oppressive heat.

The faint glimmer of rooftops shimmered in the distance, distorted by the waves of heat rising from the sand.

"We’re almost there. Another thirty minutes."

Silvy said, her voice steady despite the sweat trickling down her neck.

Melissa squinted at the horizon, shielding her eyes with one hand.

"Looks... quiet. Too quiet."

Kyle didn’t reply immediately. His gaze swept across the horizon, searching for movement, his senses stretched thin.

The faint shift of mana earlier still lingered in the back of his mind like an itch he couldn’t scratch.

Something had entered this world—he was certain of it—but without direction, he couldn’t hunt it down yet.

"We’ll check the place before resting. No assumptions. Everyone keeps their guard up."

Kyle finally said.

The settlement emerged from the haze—low sandstone walls, flat-roofed houses, and a single market square that looked half-abandoned.

As they passed through the gate, two guards lazily leaned on their spears, barely glancing at the group before waving them in.

"Friendly lot."

The Grand Duchess muttered dryly.

Kyle ignored the comment. His eyes caught the faint, dried stains of something dark near the walls. Blood. Old, but not too old.

The place had seen trouble recently.

They made their way to the market. A handful of merchants were peddling dried dates, salted meat, and clay jars of water.

Silvy immediately began haggling for fresh supplies while Melissa and the Grand Duchess examined the food for quality.

Kyle, however, moved to the edge of the square. His eyes drifted to a shadowed alley where a child—no older than ten—watched him with wide, cautious eyes.

The boy didn’t move when their gazes met. Instead, he turned and vanished deeper into the alley.

"Kyle? We can get enough for a week here. Prices aren’t too bad."

Silvy called, holding up a waterskin.

"Good."

Kyle said, but his tone was distracted. That strange ripple in mana... was it here?

Before he could follow the boy, a faint tremor ran through the ground. People in the market froze, eyes darting nervously toward the southern gate.

Then came the sound—low, guttural, and growing louder.

"Monster raid."

One of the merchants whispered before hurriedly shuttering his stall.

Kyle turned to his group.

"Load the supplies fast. If anything comes through that gate, we end it quickly."

The first shapes appeared—hulking, sand-coated beasts with jagged horns, their movements kicking up clouds of dust.

They weren’t large in number, but their claws looked sharp enough to tear through stone.

Before anyone else could react, Kyle stepped forward. His aura burst outward in a crushing wave, the air shimmering with power.

The monsters froze mid-charge, their instincts screaming at them to flee. One by one, they turned and bolted back into the dunes, leaving only the sound of the wind behind.

The townsfolk stared in stunned silence.

Silvy gave him a small smirk.

"Well, that’s one way to make an entrance."

Kyle didn’t respond. His gaze had already shifted past the retreating monsters, toward the endless dunes beyond. That shift in mana... it was still out there.

And now, he was certain it was moving closer.

The market slowly resumed its bustle, though wary glances kept drifting toward Kyle.

Melissa stepped closer, her voice low.

"That wasn’t a normal raid. They were... too organized."

Kyle’s eyes narrowed.

"I know. Something drove them here."

A faint gust carried with it the smell of burnt metal—unnatural in the desert air. His hand rested lightly on his sword hilt as he scanned the horizon.

"We won’t stay long. Rest, resupply, then move."

He decided.

Silvy hesitated but nodded.

Somewhere beyond the dunes, the ripple in mana pulsed again—stronger this time, like a distant heartbeat calling his name.