Chapter 1056: Meow~

Chapter 1056 – Miaw~

Adrian shielded Naomi as fragments battered the outside of the barrier.

Naomi did not look away from Lux.

Even through dust, even through collapsing stone, she saw him standing with one hand on the tower, body bent slightly forward, wings half-manifested behind him without fully opening. His horns flickered into existence and vanished again. His suit tore at the shoulder. Gold lines crawled over his neck and cheek.

He looked less like a businessman now.

More like what Adrian had feared.

A demon.

A sovereign.

A beautiful disaster holding a tower together only long enough to destroy it properly.

The ground buckled.

The tower’s upper half cracked open.

A vertical seam split from top to base, and for one impossible second, the entire structure glowed from inside.

Not gold.

White.

Cold, old white.

Then the tower collapsed inward.

Not outward.

Lux controlled it.

He absorbed the curse as the stone fell, pulling the destructive force toward himself and down into the earth instead of letting it explode across the field. Stone chunks shattered into dust before hitting the barrier. The foundation cracked in a ring. Silver grass was torn flat.

The sound was enormous.

Then... Silence.

Dust rolled across the field in thick gray waves.

For a few seconds, no one saw anything.

Naomi pressed both hands against the barrier, breathing hard. "Lux?"

No answer.

"Lux!"

The dust thinned.

A shape stood where the tower had been.

Lux.

Still upright.

One hand lowered at his side.

His torn sleeve smoked faintly. Stone flakes broke away from his fingers and fell to the ground. His face was partly streaked with gray dust, but his eyes were clear.

The barrier dissolved.

Naomi ran to him before Adrian could stop her.

Lux turned just in time for her to reach him.

She grabbed his arm, then his face, checking him with frantic hands. "You idiot."

"I prefer bold."

"You idiot!"

He nodded. "Consistent feedback."

Adrian followed more slowly, staring past them.

Because something remained where the tower had stood.

Not a tower.

Not ruins.

At the center of the broken foundation stood a statue of a woman.

She was tall. Proud. Her head lifted despite being made entirely of stone. Long stone hair flowed over her shoulders like carved smoke. Her robes were strange, layered and elegant, marked with symbols Adrian did not know. Not noble dress. Not modern. Not armor.

Sorcerer.

That was the only word that fit.

A powerful woman frozen mid-fury.

Her expression was mad.

Very mad.

But not ugly. ℴℴ𝘮

There was no monstrous distortion to her face. No twisted hatred ruining her features. She looked furious in a way that was almost beautiful. Like someone had betrayed her so deeply that rage had become dignity.

Lux stared at her.

The system flared.

[Physical Vessel Exposed]

[Body State: Irreversible Damage]

[Organic Matter: 0%]

[Stone Conversion: 100%]

[Soul Anchor: Active]

[Remaining Binding: Power-Core Knot]

[Restoration Probability: 0.8%]

[Warning: Body Cannot Be Returned]

Naomi read the panel and went still.

Adrian’s breath caught.

Lux’s face lost all amusement.

For a moment, no one spoke.

The statue cracked.

A thin line appeared across her cheek.

Then another across her throat.

Then her chest.

Naomi whispered, "Lux..."

He did not answer.

The cracks spread fast, spiderwebbing across the statue’s body. Dust leaked from the seams like old breath escaping. The proud sorcerer’s expression remained furious until the end.

Then she collapsed.

Not dramatically.

Softly.

The statue broke into gray dust at their feet.

But from inside that dust... Light.

A small white-gold light rose.

No bigger than a flame at first, then stretching thin and bright like a soul remembering movement after being trapped too long.

It hovered.

For one breath, it seemed to face Lux.

Naomi felt it.

Adrian felt it too, though he would never know how to describe it.

Then the light darted away. Fast.

It flew past them, not upward, not downward into the ground, but toward the edge of the field. It slipped through the silver grass, crossed the broken foundation, and disappeared into the bushes near the tree line.

Lux stood silent.

Naomi turned toward him. "She..."

Adrian looked from the dust to the bushes. "What happened?"

Lux stared at where the light vanished. Then said slowly, "She went down?"

Naomi frowned. "Down?"

The barrier fully faded behind them.

The field settled.

Dust drifted on the wind.

Naomi’s voice was quiet. "Does that mean she... went to the underworld? Hell?"

Lux’s brows drew together. "I’m not sure."

Adrian looked at him sharply. "You don’t know?"

Lux did not snap back this time. His gaze remained on the bushes. "That soul didn’t look like something Hell could claim." His eyes narrowed. "Neither upwards."

That answer chilled the air more than the tower had. "So..." Naomi whispered.

Lux did not finish.

Because he did not know.

And Lux hated not knowing.

The soul had not moved like a normal soul. Not mortal. Not demonic. Not celestial. Not broken. Not claimed. It had escaped like something with its own route, its own stubborn destination, its own refusal to be processed by anyone’s afterlife bureaucracy.

Which, frankly, Lux respected.

But also hated.

Because now he had questions.

Many questions.

Too many questions.

Adrian looked shaken. The tower was gone. In its place was dust, broken grass, a cracked foundation, and the memory of a woman made of stone.

He should have felt loss.

Instead, he felt shame.

Because Lux had been right.

It had never been theirs.

Then...

-Rustle!

All three froze.

The bushes moved.

Naomi turned her head.

Lux’s gaze snapped toward the sound.

Another rustle.

Then a small voice cut through the silence. "Meow~"

Lux blinked.

Naomi blinked too.

They looked at the bushes at the same time.

The leaves parted.

Something small shifted in the shadows.

Then a cat came out.

An orange cat.

Small, thin, and trembling, with dusty fur sticking up in uneven tufts. Its steps were weak, almost drunk, but its eyes...

Lux went still.

Those eyes were not ordinary.

The cat stared at him like it had survived centuries of imprisonment and already decided he was suspicious.

"Meow" it said again.

Then it walked straight toward Lux.

Naomi whispered, "Lux..."

The cat reached his shoes, lifted one shaking paw, and collapsed against him.

Lux looked down. "Oh no."