The rain turned to needles of light, slicing the courtyard with invisible edges.
Lucien val Solaris stood in the center as though the storm had waited for his command.
Each droplet that struck his white armor evaporated into golden steam.
The holy runes pulsed with his heartbeat—steady, proud, unbearably bright.
Caelan Ashka vi Nocturne had watched that heartbeat die once.
On the 999th floor of the Spire, when Lucien knelt before him, halo shattered, armor broken, begging for a mercy Caelan no longer possessed.
Tonight, Lucien was still whole.
Tonight, he still believed the world was worth saving.
Fool.
SFX: CRSSSHHH—KSSHHH—
System manifesting like banners of black fire across the sky.
[Trial within Trial – Modified]
Name: The Lullaby of Three Heartbeats
Participants: 8 Chosen
Survivors permitted: 3
Time limit: Until eight nooses are filled
Killing a Chosen grants one "Echo Fragment."
Collect three to forcibly leave.
Current fragments: 0
Begin.
Lucien read aloud, voice ringing like cathedral bells, announced:
"Three may live. How generous. My team only needs three ropes anyway."
The crimson-eyed gunner twirled her bone revolvers. Click-clack.
The giant cracked his neck, each vertebra a thunderclap.
The blindfolded woman's chains slithered across the tiles, tasting the air.
Kaelith stepped forward, swords half-drawn, red scarf snapping like a war banner.
Rhea remained still, but the blood‑rain around her began to rotate in slow, hungry spirals.
Caelan stayed on his knees in the mud—exactly where a terrified prince belonged.
Lucien's gaze lingered on him, added:
"Caelan Ashka vi Nocturne. The Church's discarded offering. I was there the day they bled you. I held the chalice after the Saint grew bored."
He glanced at Rhea with lazy mockery, added:
"I still have a drop of your blood at home. Royal Null‑Blood is rare."
Rhea's eyes narrowed to molten slits.
Lucien returned his attention to Caelan, spear of light balanced across his shoulder, murmured:
"I prayed for you that night. Imagined your soul at peace… imagine my surprise when the Spire dragged you back as Chosen 873. Gods have humor."
His team laughed.
The child with the lollipop crunched it between teeth, red-stained lips smiling.
Fresh tears slid down Caelan's cheeks as he whispered:
"I—I don't want to fight. Please… I'll stay out of the way. Close my eyes. Just… don't make it hurt."
Lucien's smile widened, added:
"Don't worry, little prince. I'll make it quick. You won't feel a thing."
He raised two fingers.
His team moved.
The giant charged Kaelith like a collapsing fortress.
The gunner's revolvers spat white fire at Rhea.
The chains whipped toward Caelan, hungry.
He didn't move.
Cold iron links etched with prophetic script wrapped around his throat and chest.
The blindfolded woman murmured:
"Your death will taste like regret."
Caelan smiled with trembling lips, added:
"Thank you."
The second Aspect detonated inside him.
Pain carved itself into marrow.
[Aspect Woven: "Regret of the Hanged"]
Ability: For 7 seconds, exchange your fate with one who wishes you dead.
Flaw: Each use permanently erases one loved memory.
Uses available: 1
Seven seconds.
Lucien's spear descended toward Caelan's heart, tip ablaze with a thousand dying suns.
Caelan met his eyes, added:
"Saint Prince… remember the 999th floor?"
Lucien's smile faltered.
Caelan triggered the Aspect.
Reality inverted.
One heartbeat: The spear pierced flesh—Lucien's, not Caelan's.
Two: Armor shattered like glass. Golden blood poured.
Three: Lucien looked up, eyes wide, realization blooming too late.
Four: Caelan stood. The chains fell from him, wrapping around Lucien instead.
Five: Caelan walked forward, shadow stretching like a funeral cloak.
Six: Their foreheads almost touched. He whispered:
"I prayed for you too. I prayed you'd suffer longer this time."
Seven: Aspect ended. Reality snapped back.
Lucien dropped to his knees.
The spear clattered.
Golden blood pooled beneath him.
His team froze—horror etched into every single breath.
System voice, gleeful:
[Echo Fragment ×1 acquired by Chosen 873.
2 more required for exemption.]
Caelan looked at the remaining four of Lucien's party, then at Kaelith and Rhea.
The terrified prince slid back over him like a second skin.
He collapsed to his knees in Lucien's blood, shoulders shaking, cried:
"Please… don't let it end like this…"
The nooses creaked overhead, hungry.
Seven heartbeats left to silence.
And the courtyard had only just begun to sing.