Chương 266: Light that burns Chaos

Tharion reached into the inner pocket of his dark uniform and retrieved a black tie. For a moment, he simply stood there beside the medical table, staring down at Barbatos' unconscious body in silence. The room smelled faintly of antiseptic and burned metal. Monitors flickered around them, casting pale blue light across Barbatos' battered frame. His breathing remained ragged and uneven, each inhale sounding as though his lungs were fighting against invisible chains.

Without a word, Tharion gathered his long black hair and tied it back carefully, almost gently, despite the grim tension surrounding them. The act felt strangely intimate, like a soldier preparing another for burial rather than treatment. Then he looked back over his shoulder one final time.

"Mother… if I fail…" His voice was calm, but everyone knew his intentions with it.

"You know what to do." Rose's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. For a brief instant, the cheerful mask she so often wore cracked, revealing exhaustion buried beneath centuries of composure. She let out a quiet sigh so faint it was nearly inaudible. Alexandria immediately straightened from where she had been leaning against a nearby counter. Confusion flickered across her sharp features.

"Miss Rose… what does he mean by that?" As she spoke, Tharion stepped closer to Barbatos and tore away part of the armored fabric covering his chest. The damaged material split apart beneath his fingers. He placed his hand directly against Barbatos' skin and closed his eyes, preparing himself. Rose folded her arms slowly, her gaze fixed entirely on Tharion.

"When Tharion enters someone else's Plane," she began carefully, "his signature follows him inside." She paused, biting the inside of her lip for a moment before continuing.

"If Barbatos is truly in the process of corruption… and Tharion becomes infected within the Plane as well…" Her expression darkened.

"Then he must die." Alexandria's eyes flickered.

"What?!" she snapped, stepping forward.

"Wait, wait, shouldn't we rethink this first? We're risking a Paragon and a Archon at once and we're just accepting that?!" Her voice echoed sharply through the room. Tharion glanced sideways at her, his pale eyes steady and cold. A faint glow began spreading across his palm where it touched Barbatos' chest.

"If I don't do it," he said quietly, "who will?" The light intensified. Then suddenly, his pupils vanished entirely, swallowed by a pale radiance as his consciousness descended inward. Alexandria's jaw tightened violently.

"Don't you dare," She lunged toward him, reaching for his shoulder, but before she could touch him, Rose caught her wrist effortlessly. Alexandria froze as their skin touched. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she tried to pull away. She was an Archon, a being capable of leveling continents with raw force alone, yet Rose's grip held her completely still. It was not strained. It was not difficult. Rose restrained her as casually as one might stop a child from walking into danger.

"How…" Alexandria muttered, genuine bewilderment entering her voice. She realized something deeply unsettling. No one had ever told her Rose's Stage. Rose released her wrist gently and sighed.

"I understand how you feel," she said softly.

"But Tharion has already entered Barbatos' Plane. If we forcibly sever the connection now, his soul will remain trapped inside forever." This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Alexandria gritted her teeth and yanked her arm back, retreating several steps before leaning heavily against the counter once more. Frustration and helplessness twisted across her face. Rose calmly walked over and sat beside her. For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then Alexandria finally broke the silence.

"So, Aunt Rose…" she muttered bitterly, staring at the floor.

"Are you ever going to explain where that strength of yours comes from?" Rose blinked once before letting out a soft, almost childlike laugh.

"And ruin all the mystery?" she asked with a bright smile. Alexandria frowned deeper.

"Aren't you tired of wearing that mask?" Rose's smile faltered just slightly. Not enough for most people to notice, but enough.

"I'll wear it," she said quietly, "for as long as I must." Her eyes drifted toward Barbatos.

"Until my purpose is fulfilled." (Tharion POV) Tharion slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he felt was pressure. An unbearable, crushing weight pressed against every inch of his body, so dense it felt as though reality itself was trying to force him into the ground. His knees nearly buckled immediately. He caught himself barely in time, breathing heavily as he looked around. Pure white. That was all he saw at first.

He stood atop a massive platform devoid of color or texture, endless and smooth like untouched marble. There was no sky. No horizon, no sound. Only ivory.

"That's… odd," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. Even gravity itself felt distorted here. Every movement required effort. Simply raising his arm felt like lifting a mountain. Slowly, Tharion forced himself upright. His gaze swept across the endless expanse around him, and then his expression changed. Lights could be seen. Countless lights. They floated in every direction imaginable, each one glowing with a different color and frequency. Crimson. Azure. Gold. Violet. Emerald.

Thousands upon thousands of radiant streams stretched endlessly through the void like rivers of stars. Tharion's eyes grew wider.

"This isn't one Plane…" His voice echoed faintly across the emptiness.

"It's all of them." The realization settled heavily in his chest. Barbatos was not connected to a multiple Planes. He was connected to every Plane. Slowly, Tharion turned in place, staring at the endless cosmic lattice surrounding him with growing disbelief. Then, among the infinite colors, he noticed one strange light, a translucent stream nearly invisible against the white.

"So it's true…" he whispered. His expression hardened.

"You really are connected to every Plane, Barbatos." He searched for him desperately, but the massive warrior was nowhere to be seen.

"Then where the hell are you…?" As he stepped forward, something below caught his attention, he froze as he laid eyes upon it. His eyes shook in horror. Beneath the platform stretched an endless ocean of glowing veins, each one pulsing with harmonic Atum. But something black crawled across them. Corruption. Dark masses spread through the glowing pathways like living cancer, devouring the veins inch by inch. Wherever the blackness touched, the light dimmed and died.

"Goddammit…" The Atum had spread far further than he feared. The ocean below churned endlessly, its depths writhing with chaotic Atum dense enough to distort the very structure of the Plane itself. But Tharion knew one thing with certainty. If Barbatos existed anywhere inside this realm… He would be down there. Somewhere beneath the corruption.

"You better appreciate this, you bastard," Tharion muttered under his breath.

"Because this is far beyond what I'd do for anyone else." Then he dove. The moment he entered the ocean of harmonic Atum, the pressure multiplied instantly. Every movement became pure and utter agony. It felt less like swimming through water and more like forcing himself through solid steel. The deeper he descended, the denser the Atum became. His limbs slowed. His breathing grew ragged. Still, he pushed forward. Stroke after stroke. Then suddenly, Pain exploded within his body.

A pain sting erupted through his foot. Tharion's eyes widened in alarm as he looked down. A black mass had attached itself to his ankle.

"No!" He grabbed it immediately and tore it away, but the instant he touched it, the corruption spread to his hands as well. Grey fractures crawled across his skin like cracks spreading through stone. His feet darkened first. Then his legs, then his arms. The corruption spread mercilessly, consuming him piece by piece no matter how fiercely he resisted. Tharion stared at his own body as it slowly turned grey.

"So this is how it ends…" he muttered bitterly. Despite everything, he laughed once under his breath.

"At least they'll kill me before I fully turn." His body continued sinking. The corruption reached his chest. His neck, jaw until it was mere moments away from full curroption. Azure light erupted. Far below him, something shone brilliantly through the darkness. Tharion's eyes widened. There. That had to be him. Hope surged through him violently.

"Come on…" he growled through clenched teeth. His corrupted body screamed in protest as he forced himself downward once more. The blackness spread further, swallowing his face. His vision darkened. Even his eyes slowly turned pitch black.

"No…!" His arm stretched desperately toward the light below. But he was too slow. Too weak. The corruption had nearly consumed him completely. And yet, The light moved. It surged upward through the ocean toward him. A calm voice echoed through the depths.

"My, my… what do we have here?" The azure radiance expanded gently through the darkness before slowly taking shape before him.

"Such a brave child."