William and Seraphine arrived at a familiar location within the ruined capital city of Riverdale. The broken streets were silent beneath their feet, while shattered buildings surrounded them like the remains of a forgotten civilization.
Dust drifted lazily through the air, disturbed only by the soft wind that carried the scent of old stone and decaying wood. William gradually slowed his steps before finally releasing the gentle grip he had maintained around Seraphine’s hand.
Without saying a word, he walked toward a massive pile of collapsed wooden debris that had been buried beneath layers of broken beams and shattered walls.
Taking a deep breath, he planted both of his hands against the first heavy plank and pushed with every ounce of strength he possessed. The weathered timber scraped loudly against the stone floor as he forced it aside before immediately reaching for another piece. One by one, he continued removing the wooden panels without showing any intention of stopping.
Seraphine watched him with growing anxiety from a short distance behind.
"William, stop!" she shouted, her voice filled with panic. "They’re going to find you! Don’t make so much noise!"
She called out to him again and again, hoping he would listen, but William remained completely focused on clearing away the debris. Every piece of wood he removed revealed another layer beneath it, and despite Seraphine’s repeated warnings, he continued working in complete silence.
At first, she could not understand what he was trying to uncover.
Then she saw it.
As the final wooden panel was dragged aside, something slowly emerged from beneath the collapsed rubble.
It was a corpse.
The lifeless body was soaked in dried blood, and a thick splintered wooden beam had pierced straight through its chest. The expression frozen upon its face carried the unmistakable emptiness of death.
Seraphine’s breathing stopped.
"No..."
Her eyes widened until they almost hurt, and every thought inside her mind disappeared at once.
The corpse lying beneath the rubble. It was William.
"What...?"
The word escaped her lips as nothing more than a trembling whisper.
Her legs moved before she was even aware of them. She stumbled across the broken ground in blind panic before collapsing beside the body. Her trembling hands reached toward the blood-covered corpse, carefully lifting its head into her lap despite the horrifying sight before her.
The body was cold.
There was no heartbeat. No breath.
Nothing.
She slowly raised her tear-filled eyes toward the living William, who stood only a few steps away.
Then she looked back at the corpse.
Again and again.
Her breathing became erratic as she desperately tried to understand what she was seeing. Her fingers dug into her own hair while her entire body trembled violently. Her mind refused to accept the impossible reality before her.
She was looking at the same person.
One of them was alive.
The other was undeniably dead.
William quietly walked over until he stood directly before her. His expression remained calm despite everything surrounding them, and when he finally spoke, his voice remained perfectly steady.
"You are inside a dream," he said softly. "It is time for you to wake up."
Seraphine looked up at him, completely lost.
"But..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the entire world exploded.
BOOOM!
An overwhelming shockwave tore through the surroundings with terrifying force.
The ground beneath them shattered as Seraphine’s body was violently thrown through the air like a discarded doll. She crashed across broken stone before rolling several meters away, every impact sending agonizing pain throughout her body.
"Arghhh!"
She struggled to breathe as she forced herself onto one elbow. Every muscle screamed in protest, yet her concern was not for herself.
She immediately searched for William.
A massive cloud of dust filled the air where the explosion had occurred. For several moments she could see nothing beyond the thick gray smoke.
Then a silhouette slowly appeared.
It was enormous.
Towering above the ruins, the figure gradually stepped forward as the dust settled around it. What emerged was neither man nor beast but something that looked as though nature itself had awakened with murderous intent.
Its enormous body was formed from twisted roots, ancient bark, and countless thick vines that constantly shifted across its frame. Jagged branches protruded from its shoulders like broken spears, while its face was little more than a hollow wooden mask filled with endless darkness.
Its very presence suffocated the atmosphere.
"At last..." the creature spoke, its deep voice echoing like countless roots scraping beneath the earth. "I have found you."
Seraphine’s heart nearly stopped.
William was hanging helplessly in one of the creature’s enormous hands.
The spirit held him high above the ground by his throat while William desperately clawed at the massive wooden fingers wrapped around his neck.
"Goddammit..." William struggled through clenched teeth as he tried to pry the hand away.
He had never expected the spirit to discover them so quickly.
Orion had assured him that Seraphine’s subconscious had been unconsciously avoiding danger all this time. He had believed they would have enough time to awaken her before the spirit caught up to them.
He had been wrong. Without warning, the spirit slammed William into the ground.
The impact shattered solid stone beneath his body.
A spiderweb of cracks spread across the ruined street while William coughed violently from the crushing force.
"You insignificant worm," the spirit growled, its voice filled with restrained fury. "How dare you place yourself between me and my successor?"
***
Outside the dream, William’s unconscious body suddenly convulsed.
His entire body jerked violently against the ground as though invisible hands were tearing him apart from within.
Selena immediately noticed the movement.
"So much blood..."
Fresh blood slowly began flowing from William’s nostrils, staining his pale face.
Neither Selena nor Tamasya overlooked the terrifying sign.
***
Inside the dream, the spirit slowly lifted one of its massive trunk-like legs high into the air.
Then it brought it crashing down.
The impact struck William directly in the chest.
Bones snapped with sickening clarity.
His ribcage collapsed beneath the unimaginable weight while his lungs were crushed inside his chest. Blood burst from his mouth as his body twitched beneath the overwhelming pressure.
For one final moment, William turned his eyes toward Seraphine.
He did not scream.
He simply looked at her.
Then the crushing force continued pressing downward.
His eyes bulged from their sockets as every remaining breath left his body.
A horrifying crack echoed across the ruined city.
William died.
"ARGHHHHHHHH!"
Seraphine’s scream echoed across the entire dreamscape.
Ignoring the unbearable pain from her injuries, she dragged herself forward before forcing her broken body into a desperate run.
Every step became more difficult.
Every breath became heavier.
Yet she refused to stop.
She reached him.
Then her entire world shattered.
There was almost nothing left of William’s body.
His flesh had been reduced to a horrifying mass of crushed bone, blood, and torn muscle spread across the broken stone beneath the spirit’s foot.
The sight was so unimaginably gruesome that Seraphine choked in the middle of her own scream.
Her body froze.
Her eyes remained locked upon the remains of the man she loved while endless screams continued pouring from her throat without pause.
The spirit calmly turned toward her.
It said nothing for several moments.
Instead, it simply walked past her before seating itself upon a throne that slowly rose from the earth itself. Twisting vines and ancient roots intertwined together, forming a massive seat that looked as though the forest itself had chosen to crown its ruler.
The spirit lowered its head slightly.
"May the World Tree bless his soul."
Its voice carried no anger.
No satisfaction. Only an unnatural calm that was somehow even more terrifying than rage itself.
Those words settled inside Seraphine’s heart like poison.
Her hands slowly tightened into trembling fists.
Her breathing became uneven, every breath feeling heavier than the last.
Tears continued flowing uncontrollably down her face.
Then grief slowly transformed into something far darker.
Frustration, hatred, despair.
She wanted to destroy everything before her.
Her entire body trembled as she struggled back onto her feet despite one of her legs being broken beyond use. Every movement sent unbearable pain through her body, but she ignored it completely.
"Why?" she screamed.
She stumbled another step forward.
"Why?"
She already knew the answer.
Even so, she needed to hear it. The spirit looked down upon her without emotion.
"Because he was unnecessary."
The simple answer struck her harder than any physical blow ever could. Something deep inside her finally broke.
An unfamiliar energy slowly began leaking from her body, spreading around her like faint flames born from despair itself.
Seraphine did not even realize it was happening.
The spirit did. The moment it sensed that strange power, it smiled.
A deep, unsettling laugh echoed across the ruins.
"The dissipation of your soul has finally begun."
That had been its objective from the very beginning.
Everything that had happened until now had merely been guiding her toward this exact moment.
***
Outside the dream, Tamasya’s instincts suddenly flared with overwhelming intensity.
She reacted before Selena even had time to understand what was happening.
Moving faster than the eye could follow, Tamasya instantly reached William and forcefully separated his unconscious body from Seraphine’s.
She laid him on the ground before immediately channeling mana through his body to examine his condition.
Her expression darkened. There were no wounds. Not a single scratch marked his physical body.
Yet something was terribly wrong. His life force felt unstable, as though his soul itself were being pulled apart.
"[Quickly. Bring him under direct sunlight.] "Virgo’s urgent voice echoed inside her mind.
Without wasting another second, Tamasya immediately lifted William and carried him into the sunlight.