Zekai tried to lift his head.
He couldn't. His muscles refused to obey. An invisible force pressed down on every inch of his body, crushing his ribs inward and forcing his chest against the cold stone.
Each breath came out shallow. His vision blurred at the edges.
Yet Lucien remained seated. Completely relaxed. As if the person being crushed beneath his feet wasn't even worth acknowledging.
"Know your place, Fool."
Zekai's pupils contracted.
Fool?
The word echoed inside his mind.
He hadn't introduced himself.
He hadn't explained his Authority.
Yet this being already knew. Not only his name. Not only what he carried. It knew exactly what he was.
How?
A shadow emerged behind the throne. The guardian. The same man who had stopped him on the Ascension Steps. He approached without a sound and lowered his head.
"Lucien."
A pause.
"My lord."
Zekai's attention sharpened despite the crushing pressure.
Lucien...
The name meant nothing to him. But the way the guardian spoke it did. There was no hesitation. No familiarity. It sounded like a title carved into the laws of this place.
A name the world itself was expected to obey.
The guardian walked toward the throne and leaned beside Lucien.
He whispered something. Too quietly for Zekai to hear.
Lucien listened. Then the corner of his mouth slowly lifted.
"...Interesting."
What did he tell him?
Zekai's fingers curled tighter. Null Drakular was still in his grasp. His body was being crushed into the floor, yet he refused to release the sword.
No.
I'm not letting go.
His thoughts drifted backward. To the first time he'd encountered Zero.
That same suffocating feeling. That same helplessness. Someone standing above him. And him being unable to do anything about it.
Zekai's teeth clenched.
"...Again?"
His vision trembled.
"Why..."
His voice barely escaped.
"Why does this keep happening?"
The pressure increased.
CRACK.
Another fracture spread through the stone beneath his body.
A broken gasp escaped his throat.
"Ahhhhhh!"
The sound echoed across the sanctuary. Lucien didn't react. Not even slightly.
Zekai's right arm trembled violently. His fingers were beginning to lose their strength. But then he raised his other hand. Only his pinky finger moved.
A faint glow gathered around it.
The Fool's Authority.
Zekai's breathing became ragged.
"...You..."
Lucien finally looked down at him.
Zekai forced his arm higher.
"I..."
His entire body shook beneath the pressure.
"...don't..."
The weight became heavier. Pain tore through his bones. His fingers nearly gave out. Yet a crooked grin appeared on his face.
"...kneel."
The Fool's Authority erupted. For one brief instant—
Reality twisted.
The air around Zekai distorted as though the world itself had stumbled.
Lucien's golden eyes narrowed. Then his wrist moved. A simple downward gesture.
"...No."
The pressure multiplied.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Zekai's face slammed into the stone. The platform beneath him shattered. Cracks raced across the floor.
His consciousness flickered. Null Drakular slipped from his fingers. His body went completely still.
Silence. The crushing pressure disappeared.
Lucien calmly lowered his hand.
The guardian stared at Zekai's unmoving body.
Neither spoke. For several seconds, nothing moved.
Then—
A faint blue light appeared beneath Zekai's skin. The glow slowly intensified. Frost energy spread through his body.
Crack.
His broken bones shifted back into place. Torn muscles knitted together. Damaged organs began reconstructing themselves. Crushed tissue regenerated.
The injuries vanished one after another.
The blessing of the Snow Monarch was doing exactly what it had been created to do.
Heal. Without hesitation. Without asking permission. Within moments, Zekai's fingers twitched.
His eyes opened. He drew a sharp breath.
"Haa..."
His consciousness returned all at once. The first thing he saw was Lucien. And something inside him snapped.
The helplessness he'd felt only moments ago returned. But this time...
It didn't become fear. It became anger.
BOOM!!
Zekai vanished. His body became a streak of silver.
Null Drakular flew into his hand.
He appeared directly before Lucien. The blade was already against the entity's throat.
"...Again."
His voice followed behind him.
"...I'm not falling again."
The guardian didn't move.
Lucien didn't move.
Zekai's eyes burned with rage.
"Now..."
His grip tightened.
"...you die."
SHHHHK!!
Null Drakular passed cleanly through Lucien's neck.
For an instant, nothing happened. Then the head separated from the body.
Zekai's eyes widened slightly.
'I did it.'
But there was no blood. No scream. No resistance.
Lucien's body simply remained seated.
Zekai landed several meters away.
He turned slowly. The severed head rolled across the white stone.
Thud.
It came to rest beside the throne.
Zekai stared. For the first time since entering the sanctuary...
He breathed freely.
"...Hah."
A grim smile appeared. He raised Null Drakular. His gaze shifted toward the guardian.
"Next..."
His smile widened.
"...you're going to die too."
The guardian smiled.
Zekai froze.
"...What?"
Something was wrong.
He couldn't explain it. There was no movement. No attack. No sound.
Yet—
The world flickered. Just once. A single frame. Like reality itself had skipped a moment.
Then everything changed.
Zekai was standing again. Null Drakular remained in his hand. His body was completely unharmed. His breathing was normal.
The sanctuary was intact. The waterfalls continued flowing. The throne remained untouched.
And Lucien—
Was sitting upon it.
Alive.
Exactly as before. One leg crossed over the other. One hand supporting his cheek. His red hair falling naturally across his pale face.
Zekai's breath caught. His mind refused to accept it.
"..."
His eyes widened.
How?
He looked around. The guardian stood beside the throne. Exactly where he had been before.
Nothing was different. The wind still moved through the sanctuary. The waterfalls still poured into the valley. The golden light still covered the white stone.
Everything was exactly where it belonged.
Except Lucien was alive.
Zekai slowly looked down at himself.
No wounds.
No blood.
No pain.
His hands were steady. Null Drakular was intact.
He touched his neck. Nothing. His memory, however, remained perfectly clear.
He remembered the sword. He remembered the blade passing through Lucien's neck.
He remembered the head falling. He remembered the body remaining on the throne.
That happened. And he remembered the feeling. The relief. The victory.
His fingers tightened around the sword.
'I know it happened.'
He had seen it. Only an impossible result.
"...Illusion?"
Lucien opened his eyes. Golden light filled the sanctuary. For the first time, there was something resembling amusement in his expression.
"Hey, Mr. Fool."
Zekai's entire body stiffened.
Lucien smiled.
"That sword carries more possibilities than you can comprehend."
Zekai said nothing.
"You thought you killed me."
Lucien's golden eyes narrowed.
"But you don't understand..."
His smile slowly widened.
"...what death means here."
A strange golden light flickered deep within his eyes.
The air around the throne seemed to become unnaturally still.
Lucien leaned slightly forward.
"Your death..."
He paused.
"...is my life."
Silence.
His earlier confidence had vanished.
Zekai's grip tightened around Null Drakular. For the first time since entering the sanctuary...
He didn't understand the rules of the fight.
Worse—
He didn't even know whether death itself was still a rule here.
✦ End of Chapter 61 — Your Death Is My Life ✦