NOVEL WEB Chapter 53 – Vernara Village (19)
Raiquen's breath came in ragged, venomous bursts. His body was cloaked in whirling black Shinrei, flickering like dying starlight. His once-pristine gate veins had cracked and bled with each pulse of rage. The ground beneath him split from the pressure — dark tendrils swirling like a storm anchored in his soul.
"Because of you… she's dead!!!" he screamed, pointing a trembling hand toward Elder Lao and the others.
Elder Mia stepped forward, her voice breaking. "We did what we had to—"
"No!" Raiquen's roar cracked the air like thunder.
Behind the elders, Lo and Ki the two shadow guards took defensive stances. Their weapons hummed with Shinrei, trained on Raiquen, though their eyes betrayed hesitation.
Juno, gritted his teeth. "(If he keeps going—he'll become a Voidborn...)"
The rebels stood frozen:
Sil Vorrun's hands twitched, his illusions faltering for the first time.
Kirell Shadepetal's water whip lowered, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Braggen Mossvale clenched his bark-clad fists, stepping forward instinctively before halting.
Therys Nolemire whispered, "(The Black Bloom… no... Raiquen can't fall like this…)"
Ceyla held Lin tightly — the mute girl trembling in her arms. Lin reached out toward Raiquen, but her voice could not reach.
And amidst it all, Khael stepped forward.
His veins pulsed not with Shinrei, but sheer will.
He couldn't control his dragon blood yet.
But he could stand.
"Stop this!!!!!" Khael bellowed.
Raiquen's eyes, storming with hatred and despair, snapped to him.
"What did you say…?"
Khael's voice cracked but did not falter. "She sacrificed herself. For this village. For you. For everyone. And you… you're destroying what she died to protect."
Raiquen's Shinrei howled louder — black streams lashing out into the sky.
"She wouldn't have had to do any of that—if not for THEM!" he snarled, gesturing at the elders.
Khael's fists trembled. "Is that what you truly believe? That she blamed the village? That she'd want you to fall like this?"
Raiquen faltered.
The black Shinrei swirled erratically.
"You think this is what Eliryn wanted? For you to lose yourself? For you to throw away your purpose?!" Khael took a step closer, despite the surging pressure. "She chose to seal the rift because she believed in you. She believed in the village… even with all its scars."
The petals of Eliryn's final bloom the one Raiquen still held fluttered faintly in his palm.
Raiquen's lip quivered.
Silently, a petal blackened.
And then—
A voice echoed in the wind. Not words. Not sound.
But a feeling.
Her presence.
Her bloom.
Raiquen fell to his knees.
His corrupted Shinrei flickered… sputtered… then shattered like obsidian glass—
Cracks splitting across his body, the corruption retreating.
The petals glowed one last time… and dissolved.
Juno exhaled in relief. "He's back…"
Kirell turned her face away, hiding the tears that spilled.
Ceyla knelt beside Lin, gently brushing her hair.
Sil Vorrun whispered, "...She saved us again. Even now."
Khael lowered his shoulders, chest heaving.
Behind them all—
Elder Lao closed his eyes.
Mia clutched her robes.
Loe said nothing.
And above… the sky finally cleared.
But beneath the relief—tension remained.
Because forgiveness had not yet bloomed.
And justice…
Justice was still to come.
Raiquen turned his gaze back to the elders.
His tone dropped to a whisper, but it cut sharper than any blade.
"I still didn't forgive you all."
The weight of the words rippled across the battlefield like a slow quake.
Then, Raiquen looked down.
His hand gently pressed against his chest, where his Shinrei Core pulsed violently. Where Eliryn's memory still lived.
"I don't have anything left in this life."
"We'll meet again soon… my love, Eliryn."
And before anyone could move
Before even the gods could react
Raiquen drew his last breath…
And self-destructed.
His Shinrei cracked. A blinding flare burst from his core.
"NO!!" Khael screamed, reaching out too late.
"NOOOO!!!" the rebels cried Sil, Braggen, Kirell, Therys, even Juno.
"AARRGH!!" Raiquen roared
Then closed his eyes.
And was gone.
The black petals of his corrupted Shinrei scattered into the wind.
And where he knelt…
Only a scorch mark remained.
Yet beside it
Just beside it
One small bloomlight flower broke through the cracked earth.
And somewhere…
In the stillness…
A promise lingered.
Flashback
Two children sat beneath the glowing lantern trees of Vernara.
The girl Eliryn eyes like storm clouds just before the rain.
The boy Raiquen smiling like the world had not yet broken him.
"When you become the head of the village…" Raiquen said, eyes shy but steady.
"I'll be your Shadow Guard."
Eliryn looked at him, surprised.
Then, she smiled, soft and true.
"You promise?"
Raiquen didn't even blink.
"I promise."
…
Back to the Present
Raiquen died…
Peacefully.
Not with anger in his eyes.
But with the memory of a promise.
A promise that even death could not silence.
And as the sky wept soft gray mist,
As silence cloaked Vernara once more—
The flower bloomed again.
In the heart of those left behind.
And somewhere…
Eliryn waited.
Khael stood, his fists clenched, the silence screaming louder than any cry. He turned, slowly, his voice hoarse, but clear.
"If we always fight with hate… it won't change anything…"
His words didn't echo. They sank deep.
Juno looked at him, quietly wiping tears from her cheek.
Ceyla gripped Lin closer, her knuckles white, her eyes burning not from sorrow, but realization.
Khael turned his gaze toward the elders.
They stood as remnants of old power, Elder Lao, Elder Mia, Elder Loe, and Elder Twi, their robes dirtied by ash and blood. Their presence, once towering and absolute, now felt small… fragile.
Khael stepped forward. The pain in his chest still throbbed, but his voice cut clean.
"Now you see the consequences of your actions."
"The traditions, the rituals… everything you tried to uphold without question—without heart—are now broken."
He gestured at the battlefield, at Raiquen's still body, at the closed rift still humming faintly behind them.
"It's time for you to change that tradition."
There was no anger in his voice now only sorrow.
Elder Lao's legs gave out.
He fell to his knees.
He looked at his hands shaking, bloodstained, old. Useless.
His lips trembled.
His eyes widened.
"I killed Eliryn…"
A whisper. Then again, louder.
"I killed Eliryn… I killed my granddaughter…"
Tears poured down his weathered face.
"All I wanted… all I ever wanted was for her to live a good life… to be safe… to lead…"
His shoulders shuddered.
"But in the end… I just…"
He couldn't finish.
Elder Mia turned away, covering her mouth. Elder Loe removed his ceremonial circlet and let it fall to the dirt. Elder Twi simply lowered her head, eyes closed, murmuring something only the winds could hear.
And as they all grieved together yet alone, the petals of Eliryn's final bloom danced once more through the wind.
Soft.
Gentle.
A reminder.
That even in death…
There can be rebirth.
To be continue