The Final Deception
The morning of the Sealing Ritual arrived, heavy with unspoken dread. King Hayate and Neshuda walked side-by-side to the Core Chamber, presenting a flawless front of unified Resolve. The entire Citadel staff, believing this was a routine transfer of kinetic power, had been cleared from the sub-levels.
Hayate felt confident. His secret kinetic lock was in place, keyed only to his unique signature. The spiritual haze Neshuda had induced the night before was still subtly slowing Hayate's cognitive speed, but Hayate dismissed it as necessary exhaustion from their intense Vow.
Neshuda, inwardly focused on the spiritual shunt he had prepared, moved with absolute, heartbreaking purpose. He wore the expression of total Submission, ready to yield to Hayate's kinetic power, ensuring his King would never suspect the trap until it was sprung.
They reached the Core Chamber. The immense, ancient room pulsed with the gentle hum of the GKSA, its main focus being the glowing, central Sealing Plinth where the transfer of the Cosmic Curse would take place.
"The time is absolute, Neshuda," Hayate stated, moving toward the Plinth. "We anchor the kinetic flow together, and then I execute the final sequence."
"Of course, my King," Neshuda agreed softly, positioning himself exactly where he needed to be.
The Trap is Sprung
Hayate placed his hands on the main energy conduit, flooding the system with his powerful kinetic signature. The Core acknowledged his authority, preparing to receive the curse into his body.
Neshuda, positioned beside the Plinth, acted instantly. He slammed his spiritual shunt—the concentrated power of his absolute devotion and Resolve—into a secondary relic array.
The effect was instantaneous and shocking. The spiritual energy of the shunt momentarily overwhelmed Hayate's senses, amplifying the remaining subtle haze in his mind. Hayate froze, his kinetic flow disrupted.
"Neshuda! What are you doing?" Hayate cried out, his movements suddenly leaden and slow. He realized the kiss the night before had been a strategic spiritual attack.
Neshuda didn't answer. With Hayate momentarily locked in place, Neshuda swiftly stepped onto the Sealing Plinth. He focused his entire, magnificent life force onto the main kinetic lock.
Hayate's kinetic signature was locked to the Plinth, but Neshuda's pure, absolute Resolve, amplified by his shunt and his selfless intent, bypassed the kinetic lock entirely. The Plinth recognized the superior, sacrificial spiritual authority.
The system screamed a warning, but Neshuda's will was absolute. The Sealing mechanism engaged instantly, targeting Neshuda as the singular vessel.
The Transfer of Agony
The Cosmic Curse reacted with brutal speed. The agonizing, icy spiritual parasite—which had fed on their shared love—slammed into Neshuda's single vessel.
Neshuda cried out, a sound of profound agony and profound triumph. The curse, unable to divide a singular, focused soul, began to consume him instantly, sealing itself off from the Core. The world stabilized. The Core's humming grew stronger and purer.
Hayate was paralyzed, watching the horror unfold. He was trapped by Neshuda's strategic spiritual lock, unable to move to push Neshuda aside.
"Neshuda! Stop! Reverse the sequence! I command you! My dominance is absolute!" Hayate screamed, throwing every ounce of his spiritual power at the lock, but Neshuda's focused, sacrificial intent was unbreakable.
Neshuda turned, his body shaking violently as the icy spiritual poison consumed his life energy. He offered Hayate one final, heartbreaking look—a look filled with absolute, pure love and final victory.
"Your life is the Eternal Rule, my King," Neshuda choked out, blood tracing his lips. "I command you... to live for both of us."
Hayate finally broke the lock, tearing himself free, but it was too late.
The Final Embrace
Hayate lunged forward, grabbing Neshuda's body as the curse finished its transfer and the Plinth began to seal the poisoned energy deep into the Core structure.
He pulled Neshuda off the Plinth, supporting his collapsing body on the cold floor. The curse was sealed, but Neshuda's life force was gone, burned away by the chaotic parasite.
Hayate held Neshuda close, rocking his body, his world shattering around him. He poured his immense kinetic and spiritual energy into Neshuda, trying to force the ultimate cleansing Vow, trying to make the Submission work one last time.
He initiated the fierce, absolute physical act of devotion, a desperate, profound effort to restart Neshuda's heart and soul, to bring him back through the sheer force of his commanding love.
It was a final, shattering, heart-wrenching attempt at the total Submission that had always defined their life. Hayate achieved the desolate, consuming physical ecstasy of total despair and love, flooding Neshuda with every ounce of his being, but the life energy would not return.
Neshuda, utterly broken but peacefully serene, managed a final, weak smile.
"Hayate... my pain... is gone," Neshuda whispered, his hand lifting to touch Hayate's tear-stained face. "Your pain... was always... too much..."
With those final, loving words, Consort Neshuda died in his King's arms. The world was saved. The Eternal Rule was secured by the ultimate sacrifice of love.
Hayate held him, his cries echoing in the silent, now-perfect Core Chamber.