After the shield vanished...
For the first time, sunlight touched the Void.
A thousand years of darkness slowly receded.
The golden radiance of the barrier was gone—
the sky had finally remembered its true color.
That shield had been the symbol of the people's faith for millennia.
And now— it no longer existed.
The citizens of the Angelic Kingdom gathered in panic before the palace.
While the king and his soldiers returned in silence,
Koharu descended the cliffs with heavy steps.
And there, lying in a pool of blood with Mikail's Spear pierced through his chest,
was Shinju.
The first thing that caught Koharu's eye… was his face.
His long lashes trembled beneath closed lids,
and his features were too perfect—
as if he didn't belong to this world at all.
She couldn't help but whisper,
> "He's… this handsome?"
Kneeling down, she leaned closer.
From within his chest, a faint white aura still flickered.
> "He's alive…" she murmured.
Her lips moved on their own, chanting softly,
> "Lumen Vitae… let light be born within the heart."
She pressed her palms against his chest.
Circles of light began to swirl around Shinju's body,
but there was no sign of recovery.
Koharu's breath quickened, sweat dripping down her brow.
She pushed harder, forcing more energy through her hands,
but each time, the light sputtered out.
> "Why… why isn't it working?"
"You're right here… why can't I save you?"
The glow of her Aurora faded.
Her body trembled, her vision blurred.
For a moment, she almost collapsed—
but she didn't give up.
Slowly, she leaned forward,
resting her head on Shinju's chest.
Beneath her ear, she heard it—
a faint heartbeat, weak but steady,
like a fragile melody refusing to die.
> "I'm here…" she whispered.
"I'll stay… until you come back."
Her hands remained over his heart,
the circles of light dimming to a pale rose hue.
Her strength was fading,
but the spell would not stop.
The magic still lingered,
its soft rings of light wrapping around Shinju's body,
sinking deeper into his skin.
His eyelids twitched.
Inside his mind, he drifted through a dark ocean.
No ground, no sky— only silence.
> "So… I'm dead."
But then, a warmth rose from within his heart—
sweet, peaceful, and strangely gentle.
It felt like someone's hands were pressed softly against his chest.
> "This feeling… what is it?"
"I've never felt warmth like this before."
Suddenly, images flashed in his mind:
Mikail's Spear piercing through his chest,
and the moment he burned the essence of the Void stored in his right eye,
destroying the cursed golden barrier.
Just as he began to surrender to that serenity—
pain struck.
A searing flame tore through his chest.
> "Aah…!"
Mikail's Spear—
its power moved like molten fire inside him,
burning through his bones with every pulse.
> "This pain… it's not death…"
"I'm still alive…"
Through the ringing in his head, a memory surfaced:
the first time he had absorbed the Void's essence.
Back then, to survive the burn,
he had diverted the energy into his right eye.
> "Could this be… Mikail's lingering blessing?"
He took a deep breath.
A single thought crystallized in his mind.
If this power wouldn't kill him—
he would make it his own.
He opened his dantian nodes one by one,
merging the energy of the Void
and the light radiating from Mikail's Spear
into his inner flow.
Light and darkness fused within his veins.
The golden glow from his chest deepened,
drawing inward,
sinking into his body.
The spear began to dissolve—
its metallic shimmer seeping into Shinju's bloodstream.
A final spark burst from his heart—
and then, silence.
> "I did it…" he whispered within.
"Mikail's Spear… is now a part of me."
Outside, Koharu was still lying against his chest.
The rings of light around them slowly faded,
but their breaths moved in the same rhythm.