The impact was so strong that Felicia, Radit, and Raphael were thrown to the ground, unable to withstand the force of William's body. They hit the earth hard, but remained conscious. William, on the other hand, lay sprawled out, his neck crushed as if the weight of the world had fallen on him. His heart pounded wildly, his breath caught in his throat. Darkness nearly swallowed him whole.
Yet from within that pain, his awareness returned. His eyes opened to see the circle of figures around him: Kaivan, Radit, Zinnia, Felicia, Ethan, Frans, and Raphael. Their eyes were fixed on him, silent, but condemning.
Kaivan stepped forward. His gaze was cold, but a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "How are you feeling, Sleeping Prince?" he asked, calm but cutting.
The words ignited something in William's chest. His face flushed with anger. He tried to rise. "You really think you can, ?"
But before he could finish, Kaivan moved. Without hesitation, he pressed the Tome Omnicent against William's chest.
A heartbeat later, William's body convulsed, a scream ripping through the night. "AAARRRGHH!!" The Tome's energy surged through every vein, tearing him apart from the inside, slicing through flesh and bone.
Kaivan didn't flinch. His stare held no sympathy. "Release your influence. Now." He pulled the Tome away, his final warning.
William gasped, trembling under the agony. The wounds on his face darkened, but fury still burned in his eyes. "How dare you treat me like this!" he roared, refusing to yield. But before he could rise, Kaivan pressed the Tome to him again.
"AAARRRHHH!!"
William twisted violently, his body arching in waves of unbearable pain. Kaivan only watched, unmoved. "You're finished. There's nothing left to save you." He withdrew the Tome once more, letting the destruction sink deep into William's bones.
Surrounded, William finally fell still. His breaths were ragged fragments of pain. With a final flick of his fingers, he released his influence, Thivi and Isabel snapped back to themselves. His voice trembled, barely audible. "Happy now?" he muttered, hatred and exhaustion mingling in his gaze.
Isabel slowly opened her eyes, breathing fast. Pale, disoriented. "I… was trying to give something to Kaivan. But someone stopped me… she ran." Her voice wavered like she had just escaped a nightmare.
Zinnia approached quickly, resting a gentle hand on Isabel's shoulder. "It's alright. You're safe now. It's over… or it should be." But the tension in her eyes betrayed her words. Isabel's heartbeat began to calm, yet her gaze still carried something, a worry that refused to fade.
Kaivan stood at the center of them all, tall against the night wind. His hair was a mess, but his eyes were sharp, fixed on William slumped before him. Beneath the moonlight, the silence grew thick. Something felt unfinished.
"What is your true goal?" Kaivan asked, his voice sharp, laced with suspicion and demand. He wanted answers. Someone was pulling the strings behind all of this.
William lifted his head slowly. His breathing was heavy, but his tone remained firm. "I told you… my mission is simple: take you alive, and keep you away from the Tome Omnicent."
The answer dropped like a stone into a still lake, quiet, but shaking everything beneath.
Kaivan stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "Who sent you?" His voice wasn't just a question, it was pressure, carving toward the truth.
William fell silent. His gaze sank to the ground, weighing honesty against survival. At last, with a hoarse, shaking voice, he answered, "A woman."
Time froze. The air turned cold.
"A woman?" Frans whispered, as if speaking something impossible.
Kaivan's eyes narrowed further. His instincts pricked sharply. "Who is she?"
William swallowed hard. "She told us to recruit… like a terrorist cell. But above her, there's a boy. He's the one funding everything… and giving all the orders."
Radit flinched. "A boy? How could a kid have that much power?"
Under a sky scattered with stars, the wind carried the smell of damp earth and crushed grass. The group stood in silence, their breaths still heavy from battle. The pale moonlight washed over tired faces, eyes that no longer knew what to believe.
William knelt in the center of them all. His body trembled, his expression twisted with despair. His right hand moved slowly toward the knife at his waist.
But not to attack. The blade shook as he turned it around, pointing it toward his own throat.
"No… I'm sorry… I shouldn't say anything…!" His voice quivered with terror, as if speaking the words summoned death itself.
His eyes widened, staring at something only he could see. As if invisible strings were pulling his arm toward his neck.
"William!" Kaivan rushed forward.
He grabbed William's wrist, stopping the blade just a breath away from his skin. But the knife kept moving. Slowly. Unnaturally. As though an unseen will was forcing its way through.
Felicia and Raphael seized William's arm. "Damn it! This isn't normal!" Raphael hissed, jaw tight as he fought the pull of that mysterious force. They pulled with everything they had, until a sickening crack echoed. William's bone snapped under the strain.