He fought.
To the bitter end.
He took one step. Then another.
Then he began to run .. rushing into the consuming dark like a falling star hurtling through space.
With breathtaking speed, he appeared before Sansa, attempting to strike her down immediately.
But she vanished ..swallowed by the shadows.
The darkness raged around him, manifesting into thousands of black hands reaching to grab him.
Yet with masterful movements, Oliver shredded through them .. cutting the shadows apart at incredible speed, unleashing countless strikes that carved glowing blue trails into the void.
He charged after Sansa, who weaved freely through the darkness, untouchable, unreachable.
All the while—on every side—the black tendrils and shadow blades formed again and again, ceaselessly surrounding him...
Wherever he went ..wherever his feet carried him .. Oliver Khan found only darkness closing in from every direction.
Bit by bit, he could no longer chase the princess. All he could manage now was defense .. spinning a web-like cocoon with his blindingly fast strikes, a shell that held back the razor-sharp blades and shadowy tendrils lunging to impale him.
Trapped within, even with all his skill and inhuman speed, Oliver Khan began to take hits. The number of attacks raining down on him was simply endless.
Sansa attacked from every shadow, from every angle, relentlessly. Blow after blow pushed him further back.
Had he been in peak condition, Oliver could have blocked every strike. But he was far from that now.
His daggers—once weightless—now felt like they weighed tons.
Something was pressing down on his entire body.
Deep inside… he just wanted to stop.
To rest.
Haven't I done enough?
Haven't I given everything?
Those were the thoughts that filled his mind after countless battles, after endless struggle.
He was still parrying the ruthless onslaught when he looked toward Sansa in the distance.
"How many times?" he muttered.
How many chances had he had to kill her .. to end it all?
But he never did.
And here he was , still fighting. Exhausted. Bleeding. Worn thin.
"I'm begging you… Sansa…"
BOOM!
Explosions erupted around him as Oliver dashed at full speed, trying to escape the abyss of black shadows.
"Please… fight it…"
"Fight it… like I fought for you…"
That was all he wanted.
But what answered him instead was deafening laughter .. echoing from every direction, crushing his hope.
"It's useless, human… that girl has sunk too deep into the dark."
Beside Sansa who now raised her hand toward Oliver .. a black sword materialized, radiating power so intense it shattered the ground beneath her feet from pressure alone.
Sansa's crimson eyes locked onto him, her face twisted in a terrifying smile.
"She knows the truth now… the truth of what her own hands have done. She's finally realized that those weren't nightmares , but a grim reality she brought upon herself!"
He had shown her the souls he helped kill.
"I warned you…"
SWOOSH!
Like a missile, the dark blade fired at a speed beyond sight .. scraping across Oliver's right side and carving a devastating gash into the wall behind him.
Staggered, the masked warrior fell back in shock—but the shadows pursued him instantly.
"Maybe you thought you'd win this time too."
More explosions. More darkness.
Oliver was being pushed to the edge.
"How foolish you are… human."
Now that her power had awakened, the chance of defeating her was 0.
"This power will keep growing .. every minute, every second."
The shadow would spread until it devoured the world and everyone in it.
"Look, human."
"Look closely… at the monster that's grown inside me!"
That voice—through Sansa's body—howled, unleashing a wave of darkness to finish the battle once and for all.
The shadows surged to slice Oliver Khan into pieces ..
But suddenly, they froze .. forming a barrier around Sansa.
A shield that caught a devastating beam of aura that had exploded against its surface.
The attack had been blocked.
And Sansa turned her head toward the castle gates—now flung wide open.
There, a young man stood.
A black sword clung to his left hand.
His eyes burned with a fierce violet glow as he stared at her coldly.
"You…"
The thing inside Sansa recognized him.
Frey Starlight had entered the battlefield.
"Mirage."
In an instant, Frey moved .. splitting into over a thousand clones that tore through the shadows surrounding Oliver with surgical precision.
The clones converged, forming into one man standing at Oliver's side.
The masked warrior, regaining his balance, stared at Frey as he stepped into the heart of the storm.
"What are you doing here?!"
he asked urgently.
Frey answered quietly.
"I'm here to help."
"Get out of here! This isn't a fight you can handle!"
Oliver stepped forward, trying to push Frey away as the aura radiating from his body surged once more...
"I'll be the one to end this madness…"
Oliver Khan was determined to be the one responsible for whatever happened to Sansa… and Frey knew that all too well.
From the very beginning, Oliver had cleared out the entire area for this exact reason.
That's why Frey had been able to sneak in so easily back then.
But now… there was no turning back.
From behind, Frey spoke calmly.
"I can save her."
Just a few simple words—yet Oliver froze in place.
"What?" he asked, barely able to form the word.
"I have a way."
Frey answered with unwavering confidence.
But before he could say more, laughter erupted from the thing inside Sansa.
"A way to save her?"
The tendrils of darkness surged around her, stronger than ever.
"What a joke…"
The tendrils shot toward Frey instantly... blades of pure shadow moving at terrifying speed.
But Frey saw them clearly with his Hawk Eyes.
Before they could reach him, Oliver Khan intercepted .. unleashing a barrage of blinding blue slashes to shield Frey, placing himself between the two.
His eyes remained locked on the young man.
"Kid… what did you just say?"
Frey didn't hesitate.
"I can save her from the thing inside her."
His voice was firm ... utterly certain.
Normally, Oliver wouldn't believe such a claim so easily.
But given his current state ... after all the time, the exhaustion, the hopelessness…
Something in him wanted to believe.
"You'd better be right…"
"You can count on me," Frey replied, stepping forward.
"Step back. I'll take this fight. You're not strong enough to endure it."
"I can handle myself."
Frey raised his other hand, and a radiant aura flared ... reflecting in Oliver Khan's eyes.
A fearsome sword manifested in Frey's right hand as he stood beside Oliver, a destructive pressure radiating from his slim frame... The dark sister .
"Twin blazing blades…"
Oliver muttered, recognizing a glimpse of Frey's power.
The true Starlight…
Even in their situation, Oliver couldn't hide his astonishment .. watching a mere youth wield not one, but two legendary swords.
But the pressure Frey gave off was no joke.
At the very least, he had proven he was more than qualified to stand here.
Side by side, they now faced Sansa.
The masked warrior stepped forward.
"I'll lead the charge. Support me from the rear," Oliver said.
Frey smiled .. acknowledging the recognition at last.
"You got it."
One wielded blazing blue aura.
The other, a blackened violet.
Together, they rushed toward her .. toward Sansa.
The girl who had drowned everything in shadow.
An endless, consuming darkness.
...
...
...
A.N : Two extra chapters are on the way shortly...
In the meantime, here's some insight into the current volume for those curious:
The current volume, Convergence, is made up of three arcs.
The first arc—the one unfolding now—is The Fallen Princess Arc. It serves as the opening act and is the calmest of the three. From here, the pace will accelerate as we enter a far more intense arc titled Secrets of the System.
Then comes the final arc: The Hunt—the climax of Volume 2, rivaling the Victoriad in scale and impact.
The full story is planned across seven volumes.
You already know the title of the current one, but as for the next volume ...its name is The War of Darkness.
See you again in the next chapter very soon.