CHAPTER 21 – "LAST LESSON"
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Kael couldn't breathe.
His ribs were broken. His vision was blurred. Blood dripped from his mouth, pooling on the dock beneath him.
He tried to stand. His legs buckled.
Across from him, Alkeos was on his knees, clutching his side, his father's sword lying beside him. Rynn was unconscious, her arm bent at an unnatural angle. Liora was gasping for air.
Lysandra stood in the center of them all, untouched, unbothered.
She looked down at Kael. "You should have stayed hidden."
Kael gritted his teeth and reached for his sword.
Lysandra tilted her head. "Still trying?"
She raised her hand.
"Stop."
Theron's voice cut through the chaos.
Everyone turned.
Theron stood near the edge of the docks, his hand resting on a control panel embedded in the stone. His glasses were cracked. His face was pale. But his expression was calm.
"Theron, don't—" Alkeos started.
Theron didn't look at him. He looked at Lysandra. "You care about order, don't you?"
Lysandra's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing?"
"Preventing it."
He pressed the panel.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
The suppression field flickered.
The Eidric stabilizers embedded in the docks began to destabilize, their hum turning into a high-pitched whine. The cranes groaned, their joints snapping under the sudden shift in energy. One of them collapsed, crashing into a ship and sending debris flying.
Alarms screamed to life.
The crowd—what was left of it—began to panic. People scrambled in every direction, shouting, pushing, running for the exits.
Guards lost formation. Officers shouted conflicting orders. The entire dock descended into chaos.
Lysandra's expression didn't change. But her gaze shifted—calculating, assessing.
Theron smiled faintly. "You have a choice. Chase us... or stop this."
Lysandra stared at him. "You're willing to destroy the harbor?"
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes."
Silence.
Then Lysandra turned toward the collapsing infrastructure.
Theron exhaled slowly. "Kael. Alkeos. Get them out of here."
Kael's breath caught. "What?"
"Now."
Alkeos pushed himself to his feet, his eyes wide. "Theron—"
"If we all run, she follows." Theron's voice was steady, cold. "If I stay, she stops."
"No." Kael tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond. "No, we're not leaving you—"
"You don't have a choice." Theron looked at him then, and for the first time, Kael saw something in his eyes—not fear, not regret. Just acceptance. "Go."
"Theron—"
Theron turned and ran—not toward the exit, but deeper into the chaos. Toward the collapsing cranes. Toward the screaming civilians. Toward the system he'd just broken.
Kael reached out. "THERON!"
Alkeos grabbed him. "We have to go."
"No—"
"Now, Kael!"
Alkeos dragged him backward. Rynn groaned, half-conscious. Liora stumbled to her feet, her face pale.
And they ran.
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*"Why do you help people?"*
*Kael had asked that once, last night, sitting in a small tavern in Lumeria. Theron had been reading books of Royal Investigators, his glasses perched on his nose, a cup of tea cooling beside him.*
*Theron had looked up, surprised. "What kind of question is that?"*
*"A real one."*
*Theron had set the book down and thought for a moment. Then he'd smiled faintly. "Because someone has to. And if not me, then who?"*
*"That's not an answer."*
*"Yes, it is." Theron had taken a sip of tea. "You help people because it's the only thing that makes sense. Because if you don't, the world just gets darker. And I've seen enough darkness."*
*Kael had nodded slowly. "Me too."*
*Theron had smiled again—small, tired, but genuine. "Then we're the same."*
---
Theron didn't look back.
He ran toward the collapsing crane, toward the civilians trapped beneath it. He could hear them screaming—mothers, children, people who had nothing to do with this fight.
*Someone has to.*
He grabbed a man by the arm and pulled him out from under falling debris. Then a woman. Then a child.
*If not me, then who?*
Behind him, Lysandra was moving. He could feel her presence—cold, inevitable, closing in.
He turned and saw her.
She was walking toward him, her expression unchanged, her robes still spotless.
Theron smiled faintly. "Figured you'd choose this."
Lysandra stopped in front of him. "You're the one who triggered it."
"I know."
"You knew I'd have to stop it."
"I did."
"And you stayed anyway."
Theron adjusted his cracked glasses. "Someone had to."
Lysandra studied him for a long moment. Then she raised her hand. "You're smarter than the others."
"Not smart enough."
"No." Her voice was quiet. "Not quite."
---
*"You're going to get yourself killed, you know."*
*Alkeos had said that once, sitting on the roof of an old library, watching the stars.*
*Theron had laughed. "Probably."*
*"Then why do it?"*
*"Because you need someone who will." Theron had looked at him. "You're too reckless. You'll charge in without thinking. Someone has to slow you down."*
*"And that's you?"*
*"That's me."*
*Alkeos had smiled—small, sad. "You're an idiot."*
*"So are you."*
*They'd sat in silence for a while. Then Alkeos had spoken again, quieter this time. "If something happens—"*
*"It won't."*
*"But if it does—"*
*"Then I'll make sure it's worth it."*
*Alkeos had looked at him for a long moment. Then he'd nodded. "Okay."*
---
Theron's breath was steady.
His heart wasn't racing. His hands weren't shaking.
He thought of Alkeos. Of Kael. Of the truth they were chasing.
*It's worth it.*
Lysandra's hand moved.
Theron closed his eyes.
*"Thank you."*
And then—
Nothing.
---
Kael collapsed at the edge of the city, his chest heaving, his vision blurred with tears.
Alkeos was beside him, his face pale, his jaw clenched.
Rynn was conscious now, silent, her eyes red.
Liora was crying—quiet, broken sobs that she couldn't stop.
Kael stared at the ground, his fists clenched, his body shaking.
*Again.*
*Again, I couldn't protect them.*
*Again, someone died because of me.*
He thought of Father Aldric. Of his village. Of everyone he'd lost.
And now Theron.
Kael's hands trembled. His chest burned.
*Never again.*
He looked up, his eyes red, his jaw set.
*I'll never lose from this point.*
*I promise I'll definitely defeat her.*
*If I lose again—*
*I'll never be able to face him.*
The horizon was dark.
And behind them, the docks burned.
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**END OF CHAPTER 21**
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**END OF VOLUME 3**