Chapter 136: Haywire (Last - Of Mass Release)

Chapter 136: Haywire (Last Chapter Of Mass Release)

?The Nether World received every soul, but only certain souls possessed the anchor needed to remain there long enough for a summoner to call upon them.

?Fascinating.

?Cassian turned toward Nyxara, his curiosity piqued. "But how do you know all this?"

?The question had barely left his lips when Nyxara froze.

?Her violet eyes widened in sheer shock.

?For a terrifying second, she stood completely still, as though an invisible hand had reached directly into her mind and violently seized something buried deep within her subconscious.

?Then, she clutched her head.

?"Ah—!"

?A piercing, agony-filled scream tore from her throat.

?Cassian’s expression snapped into high alert. "Nyxara?"

?The elf staggered violently, her fingers digging deeply into her scalp as her body doubled over.

Her long violet hair spilled across her face, concealing her features as a harsh tremor racked her entire frame.

?Then, her Authority went completely haywire.

?BOOOOM!

?A violent, explosive wave of pure darkness erupted from her body.

?The shadows surrounding her twisted frantically, expanding outward in all directions as if reacting to a primal instinct beyond her control.

The metallic floor beneath her cracked, and the severed remnants of silver silk scattered across the room were instantly pulverized by the sudden, crushing surge.

?Cassian’s eyes narrowed into sharp slits.

?He hadn’t sensed any external attack. There was no hostile mana signature, no approaching enemy, and zero indication that another threat had entered the chamber.

?Yet Nyxara’s Authority was behaving as though a foreign force had violently shattered her mental control.

?Another wave of unstable shadow exploded outward.

?It swept toward Cassian with enough force to shred reinforced steel and obliterate anything in its trajectory.

?He reacted instantaneously.

?[Gate]

?Space distorted around him, and he vanished a microsecond before the dark wave swept through his previous position.

?He reappeared several dozen meters away, his sharp gaze locking onto her trembling form. "Nyxara! What’s wrong?"

?She didn’t answer.

?The elf remained hunched over, one hand frantically clutching her temple while the other pressed against her chest.

Volatile dark mana poured from her body in ragged surges, and the shadows beneath her boots writhed like frantic serpents struggling to break free.

?Her breathing was rapid and shallow.

?Then, abruptly, the dark surges died down.

?Nyxara slowly raised her head, her violet eyes finding Cassian across the ruined chamber.

?For a brief, fleeting moment, she seemed to regain a sliver of her composure. The surrounding shadows settled, and the chaotic fluctuations in her Authority subsided into a quiet hum.

?Cassian watched her warily, taking a cautious step forward. "Nyxara?"

?The Undead Elf stared at him.

?Something about her expression made his chest tighten with instinctual dread. She looked deeply confused, almost terrified, like a person who had just stared into a fathomless void she couldn’t comprehend.

?Her lips parted softly.

?"I’m sorry, my lord."

?Cassian frowned. "What are you—"

?Before he could finish, Nyxara suddenly raised her hand. A dense construct of condensed shadow materialized beside her head.

?Without a second’s hesitation, she struck herself, knocking her own consciousness out cold.

?"Nyxara!"

?Cassian vanished, using [Gate] to appear beside her in an instant and catching her limp body before she could hit the floor.

?For several long seconds, he remained completely frozen, cradling his unconscious Champion in his arms.

?Silence reclaimed the destroyed chamber.

?The Worldbreaker Core stood dormant behind them, and the Arachnid’s headless corpse remained motionless against the shattered wall. Nothing in the environment had changed.

?Yet Nyxara had gone from calmly articulating the deepest fundamental laws of the cosmos to screaming in agony and forcing herself into unconsciousness within seconds.

?Cassian’s expression grew dangerously dark.

?He carefully lowered her onto the floor, supporting her head as he examined her condition. Her breathing was stable, but her mana was severely depleted from the brief outburst.

?"Nyxara?" he whispered softly.

?There was no response.

?Cassian stared down at her pale, peaceful face, his blue eyes narrowing with deep concern and unresolved questions.

?’What on earth just happened?’

....

Darkness.

?That was all Nyxara could see.

?An endless void stretched in every direction, devoid of light, warmth, or any discernible boundary.

There was no sky above her, no ground beneath her feet, and no horizon to distinguish one direction from another.

She simply existed within the boundless emptiness, suspended in a place where the concept of distance was meaningless.

?The Nether World.

?Nyxara possessed no memories of how she had arrived here. In fact, her mind was strangely vacant, as though someone had systematically erased everything except her baseline consciousness.

?Yet she remained aware.

?She could think. She could perceive her surroundings. She could even feel the faint, sluggish currents of energy drifting through the void.

?All around her floated countless souls.

?Some appeared as faintly glowing spheres, while others retained vague humanoid shapes. They stretched beyond the limits of her vision, an endless, silent congregation of the dead gathered within the cold expanse.

?Most of them were bound by heavy chains.

?The links emerged directly from the dark void, wrapping tightly around the souls before extending into the distant abyss.

Their surfaces glimmered faintly with an unfamiliar, ethereal energy, pinning each soul firmly in place.

?These were the souls of those who had reached the third rank of Mana Circuit cultivation or beyond. Their cultivated circuits had become spiritual anchors, binding them to the Nether World and preventing them from immediately entering the reincarnation cycle.

?They remained here, suspended in an eternal slumber, waiting for the day their Lords would summon them back into the world of the living.

?But Nyxara was different.

?She floated freely through the void, completely unbound.

?For a long time, she simply drifted, unable to remember anything about herself or comprehend why she was here.

?Then—

?"Nyxara."

?A voice echoed through the darkness.

?She froze mid-drift.

?That voice... She knew it.

?Even without her memories, even without any understanding of how she had arrived in this place, she recognized it instantly.

It was a voice she had grown accustomed to hearing, one that brought warmth to her chest whenever it called her name.

A voice that made her feel safe, valued, and, at times, embarrassingly flustered.

?Her Lord.

?Cassian Voss.

?"Nyxara."

?The voice called out again, carrying a faint, urgent edge.

....

A/N: And that wraps up the mass release! Hope you guys enjoyed the Chapters... Now go enjoy that cliffhanger ^_^