Astra Nox was not silent that day.
Six figures crossed its outer boundary like shadows slipping through a dying flame. Their armor gleamed with strange sigils—relics of Heaven, ancient and blasphemous in a world born of mana and will.
They had come for two things.
An ancient weapon.
And gold.
But above all—
They had come to kill Reeve.
"…This place feels empty," one of them muttered, scanning the vast black spires of Astra Nox.
"No Reeve. No resistance," another sneered.
Then—
A small presence.
A little girl, standing alone near the inner halls.
One of the six smiled coldly and drew his sword.
"Looks like the gods favor us."
Steel sang.
A blade flash tore through the air—fast, lethal, merciless.
"Too weak," a voice said calmly.
The flash shattered.
Kaelith stood between the sword and the child, eyes sharp, aura flaring.
"…And far too slow."
Before the attackers could react—
The sky cracked.
A vast barrier descended over Astra Nox like a divine cage. Runes burned across the heavens, and the land itself screamed.
Kaelith staggered.
His knees trembled.
"…Tch—my strength…?"
The six laughed.
"Heaven-forged equipment," their leader said. "This barrier weakens all who lack divine alignment."
Kaelith raised his blade anyway.
Too late.
A sword pierced through his guard.
A single, massive cut tore across his body—deep, brutal, final.
Blood spilled onto the black stone.
Kaelith fell.
"Kaelith—!!"
The little girl screamed.
Something inside her broke.
Her breath hitched.
Her heart thundered.
"No… no no no—"
Her veins burned.
Her eyes snapped open—
Crimson.
A dark-red aura exploded outward, warping space, drowning Astra Nox in suffocating pressure.
"NOOO—!!" Seraphyne's voice echoed as she arrived, horror in her eyes.
The child was no longer just a child.
She was Vampire.
Lunareth appeared moments later—too late.
Kaelith lay motionless.
Around them, Astra Nox burned.
Its people fell one by one.
The little girl turned slowly toward the man who struck Kaelith.
Her gaze held nothing human.
He barely had time to scream.
What followed was not a fight.
It was execution.
Claws.
Blood.
Bones crushed under unrestrained rage.
She stood over his remains, trembling.
Then she collapsed beside Kaelith's body, clutching his clothes.
"I… I'm sorry… please wake up…"
Tears soaked the ground.
"Elaryn…?" Lunareth whispered.
Elaryn had arrived.
She took in the scene—Kaelith dead, the child crying, Astra Nox drenched in blood.
Her eyes narrowed.
The barrier didn't touch her.
"Four of them are mine," she said coldly.
In an instant, she vanished—dragging four of the invaders with her into hell itself.
Elsewhere, Lunareth clashed with the remaining girl—steel and mana colliding in violent bursts.
And then—
Far away.
In the depths beyond worlds—
Reeve found a path back.
The moment he crossed into Astra Nox, his heart clenched.
"…Kaelith?"
No response.
No mana.
No Ithryne.
No familiar flames.
His eyes rose to the sky.
"…A barrier."
Then—
Crying.
A small figure, trembling amid ruin.
"Reeve—!!"
She ran.
Straight into his arms.
And the world broke.