"Huh…?" 

"I saw what you did. You brought back a dead monster and then gave birth to it. Which means that it is a part of you." Reyn started to speak, cracking his neck. "All I want is to get out of this wretched world." 

Lucian seemed confused so Reyn started to talk once again. "You see, this world was plagued by a God. And the only way we could escape this plague was to restore the people's faith. However, the people of this world were too far gone." 

"And then, the inevitable happened. But as the saying goes, the Gods never close all doors on you." He looked up and then at the altar room. "The Unlit flame was the last door for us. We can leave through the doors of dimensions, but people can." 

'Is he referring to the divine gates?'

"Outsiders were supposed to come here—to save us. One did. And he slaughtered half of us before stealing a piece of the Unlit Flame. He left us to rot. However, this time, when it was our last chance, we were prepared. We laid traps, made them slaves, and broke them mentally by starving and sexually abusing them." 

Reyn looked Lucian dead in the eye, his look sharpening. "Look, I know you are a strong one, all I want from you is to give me that creature." 

A sly smile appeared on Reyn's lips as Bane hid behind Lucian's leg. "I will make it painless and will eat him up at once. You don't need it, right? It's not right, that thing doesn't belong in this world, or any world. Give him to me…." He took a small step towards Lucian, extending his hand forward. 

Lucian couched down and held Bane by the scruff of his fur. 

'This is right…Bane…he isn't supposed to be a thing. I am a guy…I gave birth, that alone should invalidate its existence. I do not care about what invariability chaos brings, it's just not right.' 

"Yeah, good, good…you will be able to go home too." He slowly approached, trying to grab Bane. 

Bane looked back, his abyss-like eyes wrinkling around the edges. 

"Kyarrrnnnhhh." It let out a low voice, layered with a distant echo, as if two versions of itself were crying at the same time—like a broken radio caught between frequencies.

Lucian looked at it and sighed. "I really do hate all of this. I take it back, I HATE Ashes of Eternity." 

Withdrawing Bane, Lucian balled his hand into a fist as he drove right into Reyn's face. Caught off-guard, the punch connected as blood sputtered out of his mouth and he was thrown back. 

The back of Reyn's head collided with the debris beneath as he was thrown a yard away. 

Woah—nah, that actually packed a punch…holy shit!

I have a chance—!?

Before he could fully form his thoughts, a small cluster of rocks hit him right beneath his ribs, followed by a kick to the side of his head. 

Planting his feet firmly in the ground and using his hands to avoid the fall, Reyn raised his foot in an axe kick, ready to crush his head in one fell swoop. 

************************************************
NOTIFICATION: 

Bane is using the skill: Static Pulse
************************************************

A small crack of lightning whipped in the air and Reyn froze, but only for a single fleeting second. However, that time was enough for Lucian's perception to sense the incoming kick as he kicked the ground and dodged away using all four of his limbs. 

Quickly straightening his back, he looked back at Reyn who was checking his body. 

"I see. So your pup can use skills from its previous self." He lowered down and grinned as he gripped his sword, "But this much is pathetic. Not even a single vestige of its former glory!" 

Pushing the ground, Reyn bolted towards Bane, holding his sword in a stabbing position. 

************************************************
NOTIFICATION: 

Bane is using the skill: Flickering Shadows
************************************************

Bane phased out just in time, appearing 10 metres away from Reyn. At the same time, Lucian closed the distance between them and used a giant chunk of rock to hit his head. However, Reyn grinned and twisted his body midway, swinging his sword like a tornado. 

The metal bit into the rock in Lucian's hand and right before it could sever his fingers, Lucian let go of the rock. 

Reyn didn't stop. The moment Lucian let go of the rock, his sword was already slashing toward his throat.

Lucian barely ducked in time. The cold edge skimmed his scalp, leaving a thin, burning line as a few strands of hair fluttered to the ground. But before he could counter, Reyn twisted like a wraith.

His knee slammed into Lucian's stomach.

Pain erupted through his torso as the impact folded him in half. 

His breath hitched, wheezing out in a strangled gasp. 

Before he could stumble back, a palm struck the side of his face—open-handed, almost lazy, but carrying the force of a sledgehammer.

Then the real onslaught began.

A fist drove into his ribs, cracking something.

Another struck his jaw. His teeth clashed together, sending a sharp jolt through his skull.

A final blow smashed into his temple. His vision exploded into white static before tilting into darkness.

Lucian collapsed onto his knees, arms trembling as he struggled to push himself up. His body refused to obey.

Then he heard it—

A low, crackling growl.

His head jerked up.

Bane stood a few feet away, barking at reyn. Sparks of lightning flickered across his fur, but something else clung to him—a wispy, reddish-black mist that curled and twisted in the air like smoke rising from a dying fire. 

The space around him rippled.

Lucian's stomach twisted.

Something was wrong.

His vision swam, doubling, shifting—

Reyn turned toward the cub, a grin creeping across his bloodstained face.

"Time to feast. You should've let me eat it anyway. No way in hell that you would have beaten me, unless you miraculously got 5 times stronger."

Lucian's body lurched—but he didn't move.

Lucian could see it.The impending doom for Bane. 

His mind wanted to be happy, because all he wanted was to get rid of the abomination. However…he still envisioned it with a heavy heart.

Reyn's sword plunging down.

Bane's yelp—cut short.

Blood pooling, thick and dark, soaking into the dirt.

Reyn kneeling, peeling away the pup's flesh, carving into his ribs. Steam rising from the open wounds. The rich, acrid scent of burning fur filling the air.

Bane's small body, skewered and turning over an open flame, sizzling, flesh curling inward.

Lucian's breath came in short, ragged bursts.

No—No, no, no—

Something inside him ruptured.

A wave of pure, unfiltered emotions crashed into him, surging like a tidal wave—grief, fury, desperation, and something far deeperl. It tore through his veins, searing his very bones. The weight of it pressed against his skull, clawing at his mind, suffocating him, crushing him.

The hallucination snapped.

Lucian sucked in a sharp breath, his chest heaving as reality slammed back into place.

Bane was still there.

Still breathing.

Lucian's pulse pounded in his ears. His fingers dug into the dirt.

************************************************

NOTIFICATION:
Negative emotions have completely taken over:
i. Rage has taken over
ii. Contempt has taken over

All stats will now receive a 500% boost

************************************************