30 seconds and I’m done here. Adyr checked the timer as he descended the massive black pillar once again onto Sszhar’s head.

As time passed, the space and chaos around him grew worse; even he began to lose his sense of direction as he flew after the Rank 4 Spark.

If he went further, it would become difficult to find the return path, which wasn’t a risk he could take at his current power.

RUMBLE!

The pillar descended, and the earthquake made the Serpent’s already messy, bloody head crumble beneath it.

But as soon as the force of the impact faded, Sszhar gathered itself and kept moving, though much slower this time.

The Spark’s endurance was insanely high. Even with its skull mostly shattered and its eyes already burst from their sockets, it was still moving with the will to live and instinct.

It did not have the body of a Nether - or Astra -Path Spark, but being Aether -aligned made its mind strong and stubborn, refusing to yield to its ruined body and focused only on escape.

The hardest part, however, was that while Sszhar ran and avoided the spatial cracks perfectly, as if moving by instinct like a fish underwater, Adyr kept flying behind it, having to trust his reflexes and speed to maneuver through them and find the perfect opening for each strike.

"This is the last one." Realizing his time was about to run out, Adyr found a good opportunity and activated his Spark skills for a final strike.

His biceps swelled another degree with the effect of Burst Hop ; his Malice intensified a notch, making the massive black Tower of Worth in his hand spill dense black smoke around it. The charge of the earthquake effect made the stone pillar tremble with charged seismic energy.

Then, with a spatial crack opening before him, he maneuvered past it, beat his wings, rolled his body into position over the massive head, and slammed down his peak attack for the last blow.

RUMBLE!

With the impact, the void seemed to answer in sync. New cracks webbed out around them, and the darkness peeled away like a shedding skin.

Adyr gave himself a second before deciding to escape the collapse and watched the Serpent’s writhing body.

His red eyes beneath the black helmet shone. His breath became steady. The patience of a hunter settled over his entire demeanor.

For that second, all movement in his vision blurred; only Sszhar’s twitching, contorting body remained in focus.

"Don’t disappoint me," he murmured, the Tower of Worth dwindling in his grip before vanishing into his Sanctuary .

He was ready to run the moment he saw the Rank 4 Spark recover itself and try to flee again.

Eventually, under the patience of his crimson gaze, the massive Serpent’s movements slowed and slowed until it became completely still.

Adyr didn’t waste another heartbeat. He hammered his wings and plunged toward the Rank 4 Spark’s body.

He extended his black, clawed hand and touched the cold surface of the Spark, then let his transparent energy spread.

[You have captured a rank 4 Spark. Begin subduing process?]

– Cost: 3000 Energy

Seeing the cost, he felt a coldness in his chest.

Subduing a Rank 3 Spark was only 200 energy, and now it had gone up by more than 10x—an absurd jump that made him question what logic this shitty, unbalanced system was following.

It didn’t delay him, though; he burned the energy immediately and started the process.

Watching his energy reserves drop below 1000 was heartbreaking, but at the same time, the feeling of a connection in his mind finding its way to Sszhar was enough to make him think it was worth it.

After the subduing process was done, the Serpent’s massive body—on the verge of death—disappeared into his Sanctuary.

"Fuck Dragon Rider, I’m a Serpent Rider now." He laughed with delight as he turned his attention toward the direction of the exit.

Nevertheless, his face under the black helmet frowned as soon as he realized he had already lost his sense of direction.

The floating islets that had looked close a moment ago now seemed distant, like small stars in the sky, and those that had been far away suddenly looked quite near, only a wing flap away.

But there was no sign of the one bearing the exit hole.

Not letting this small problem delay him, he immediately poured his Presence outward, letting it cover his surroundings, and blended it with his Gaze , allowing the entire landscape to flood his mind like a map.

But it only deepened his frown.

The image that had come before, like a perfect bird’s-eye view, now looked like an Edvard Munch painting—you could appreciate the meaning behind it but never fully understand its depth.

His Gaze bloodline talent once again disappointed him, failing to help when he needed it most.

Cracks now appeared more frequently around him. He had to constantly fly through them and escape, not even knowing—or wanting to know—what would happen if one touched him.

After flying for a while through the chaos, trying to find his way to the islet, he found a pocket of space still intact, at least giving him a short area where he could breathe.

He stopped in the still space, and then Sszhar’s massive body appeared in front of him.

Now you’re my only way out, Adyr thought. Grace flared from his body and his right white wing. The divine light swept over the unresponsive Serpent and began to heal it, body and mind.

After subduing it, Adyr had obtained the Serpent’s Riftwalk skill, which he could now use as if it were his own, but with the Spark on the verge of dying, it was a risk to use its skill.

Watching the Rank 4 Spark regenerate quickly under the healing light, the messy head began to become whole again, its bleeding slowed, the large wounds started to close, and, finally, when he saw it begin to move, he deemed it enough and sent it into his Sanctuary again.

Next, he activated Riftwalk and stepped into the darkness of the void, hoping his footing would carry through and that the skill wouldn’t have a high cost.

His body seemed to walk on air casually, and then it disappeared from the Legacy Domain’s crumbling world.

He looked around and saw only still void everywhere—endless darkness. He let out a small breath as he realized he had truly escaped his doom.

He wasn’t sure Riftwalk would work, since it only let the user walk through existing dimensions. To use it, you had to know where to step, and there had to be a dimension in that direction.

Fortunately, Adyr’s step found its way to one of those existing dimensions, probably one Sszhar had created earlier.

It was also the reason Sszhar had come to the Legacy Domain in the first place. It had probably been searching for a good place to stay, found this empty, almost dead Sanctuary, and decided to make the place its new home.

But where am I now? Knowing he had not completely escaped, Adyr began to look around. He now had to find the direction to step so he could return to the Beyond.