In the City
A woman stood before a wooden window, her fingers absently toying with the frayed edge of the curtain.
Outside, the city had not changed.
The same noise. The same faces. Even the wind passed as it did every other day.
Yet something was out of place.
"Do you expect him to return covered in blood… or wearing that usual smile of his?"
The boy's voice came from behind her—calm to the point of coldness.
She did not turn.
"I don't know…"
She fell silent for a moment, then added in a lower voice:
"But what worries me is… his recklessness. He's far too reckless… Ah, my dear, please come back quickly."
He had been gone no more than twenty minutes, yet it felt as though ages separated them.
Something in the city's silence, in the way the dust slipped from the curtain's edge, made her pain grow at a pace that defied time itself.
She had tried to cling to his cloak before he left, but his hands had been swifter than her fear… his stubbornness had always been stronger than any warning.
---
In the Aura Gold Warehouses
The sounds of battle had been rising for minutes.
Explosions. Clashing metal. Collapsing stone. Screams and ringing blades. A brutal fight raged above.
Strangest of all—though the sun burned fiercely at the zenith—the atmosphere there was gradually shifting into something overcast, as if rain were about to fall.
Below, in the main office of the warehouses, a man was nearly drowning in his own sweat from sheer tension. His brow dripped, his hands trembled as he watched through a small opening in the ceiling.
Unlike him, two other men—guards or mercenaries—were carefully and painstakingly undoing metallic threads. If not for the nervous shouts of the overweight man, their task would have been easier. They were already halfway through; only the remaining half of the staircase's metallic wiring was left to remove without injury.
Above, the clash intensified to a frenzy.
"Die!"
The Lord of Gravity roared as he bent a massive slab of metal in half, attempting to crush Karsu between its jaws.
But Karsu was faster. With a powerful kick, he shattered a nearby pillar, preventing the metallic surface from sealing shut and suffocating him.
He surged forward, channeling his aura into his legs. His speed increased despite his wounds. He slipped from the clamp of metal plates and veered left toward a distant corner
---
Where a man with horse-like features stood, holding a flute.
The Lord of Subjugation—the master of the Ajjad.
The Lord of Flame unleashed a colossal wave of fire from below, melting everything in its path. Then he launched himself forward at insane speed in pursuit of Karsu.
Karsu was faster. For a moment, he nearly leapt high enough to reach the Lord of Subjugation—
But vines burst suddenly from the ground, coiling around his ankles. He halted mid-leap and crashed to the earth.
The Lord of Flame arrived.
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"HAaaaaaaaa!"
He screamed as he poured out all his fire—a tidal wave of flame swallowing everything before it. His arms turned red, then his entire body became a source of unbearable heat, spewing fire in an unstoppable surge.
Karsu stood before the blazing torrent that illuminated the entire field—even beneath the sun.
Fortunately, the sheer temperature reduced everything nearby to ash. Even the distant vines binding Karsu burned away, freeing him.
But the wave reached him.
"Damn it…"
Karsu muttered, his expression less than satisfied.
---
"Is he dead?"
The Lady of Radiance—the whip bearer—was the first to speak. Her voice trembled between astonishment and curiosity, her glassy eyes trying to pierce the rising smoke.
"Well… I believe so."
The man in the long-collared cloak—the Lord of Gravity—answered calmly, though his gaze remained fixed on the glowing chasm ahead. He did not look away from where the flames had devoured everything.
"Do not rush to judgment."
The Lord of Sand stepped forward, fingers trembling as if sensing the earth's pulse beneath his feet.
"He may have survived somehow. Though I truly doubt it… I do not believe anyone but myself—thanks to my ability—could endure such an assault."
He lifted his gaze.
"The ground there… is completely dead."
---
On the other side, Rashid had reached the Lord of Subjugation—the horse-faced man with the flute—alongside the other Subjugation Lord, whose Shatter Worm and eagle had already turned to ash.
The three stood together, staring at the deep crater carved into the earth by the firestorm. It still glowed with intolerable heat, its edges glassy from intense melting.
---
Silence.
A heavy silence thick with anticipation.
Then—
Something moved inside the crater.
Bodies stiffened. Breaths halted.
Amid the burning flames, between tongues of fire still devouring what little air remained, someone stood.
A man.
Completely naked.
His skin gleamed from the heat. But his eyes—his eyes were open, steady, watching them through the smoke.
The Lord of Flame.
---
Under the gaze of all the Qaz Lords, the Lord of Flame stood naked and alone amid the roaring fire.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Then let himself fall.
He hit the ground with arms spread wide, exhaustion carving deep lines across his face. For a moment, everyone stopped breathing.
He had fainted.
Dozens of vines shot forward like green ropes, wrapping around his body and dragging him swiftly from the fiery pit.
"No wonder he collapsed… he burned through every last drop of energy in his core."
Rashid said it with clear sympathy as he watched the Lord of Flame's body laid upon the cool ground.
"I only hope he doesn't suffer Hollow Core fragility when he awakens."
—
Seconds passed. Then a full minute.
All eyes remained locked on the glowing crater.
The Lady of Radiance broke the silence.
"So… did he truly die and turn to ash without even leaving a corpse?"
The Lord of Transparency appeared suddenly before her, causing her to step back in fright.
"It is difficult to say. We should extinguish the fire and dig. Perhaps he buried himself somehow, avoiding the attack."
The Lord of Mist looked at them, his face obscured save for two silver eyes.
"Very well… I will begin."
He prepared to release a wave of mist to smother the flames.
But he stopped.
Or rather—someone stopped him.
The Lord of Shadow emerged from the Lord of Mist's shadow, pointing toward the crater.
"Do not extinguish it. There is life. I can sense it."
"What?!"
Shock swept their faces.
They were given no time to react.
—
The flames at the bottom of the crater trembled.
At first slightly. Then more violently.
An arm burst from beneath the scorched earth.
A clenched fist breaking through charred soil. Then an entire arm. A shoulder. A head.
Karsu.
He rose from ash and fire, covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. He stood at the bottom of the crater, staring up at them.
Moments before emerging, he had deactivated Rock Qaz—the ability that had hardened the soil around him into solid stone to shield him from the inferno. Now, with the Qaz released, the stone crumbled easily under his strikes.
He stepped out.
His cold eyes searching for one target.
The Lord of Subjugation.
---
A wide smile spread across the Lady of Radiance's face. Her eyes gleamed with excitement.
She lunged.
Like a praying mantis striking, she activated her Radiant Qaz. Her arms transformed into two faintly glowing crimson whips. Even her facial features sharpened, predatory—like something freshly emerged from a monstrous cocoon.
Her assault was extraordinary. Her arms spun like a chain of blades in every direction—extending, slicing, glowing brighter with each motion.
She was a meat grinder, tearing through everything in her path. Even the air seemed to scream as her whips passed through it.
—
In response, Karsu raised both arms.
Whether through adrenaline or the surge of aura within him, for the first time in minutes he managed to move his paralyzed right arm.
His fingers trembled—but it was enough.
From each finger, a metallic thread shot forth like a hooked bow, racing toward her. The threads tore through soil, carved into metal, and lunged at their target.
But her momentum did not slow.
She sliced through every thread in her way as though cutting silk, not steel.
Karsu watched her. Fatigue was evident on his features.
But surprise?
There was none.
On the contrary—he was calm. Observing.
Her expressions. Her movements. Her aggression. All calculated within his eyes. She relied on instinct, speed, cutting force.
He was counting on it.
Come closer.
The distance shrank—mere meters now.
The sound of ripping air became deafening.
—
She saw one final thread racing toward her.
A desperate one. A last attempt.
She smiled as she prepared her arm to cut it—just as she had cut the rest.
But she did not know.
This thread was not ordinary.
It was reinforced with aura.
—
In slow motion:
The red radiance arced forward. It met the gleaming silver thread. Touched it. Passed through.
The thread snapped.
But—
A hiss.
A fountain of blood.
The Lady of Radiance's wrist separated from her body.
"AAAAAAAH!"
Her scream tore through the air. Pain nearly shattered her throat. Tears welled but did not fall. The pain transformed instantly into blind fury.
"I will kill you, you bastard!"
But she was not alone.
Dozens of vines surged from the ground, wrapping around her entirely and dragging her swiftly away from the battlefield.
Karsu did not hesitate. He dashed after her—to finish her, to reduce the number of his enemies.
But—
His movement halted abruptly.
He grew heavier. Far heavier. As though a mountain had been placed upon his shoulders.
The Lord of Gravity.
From a distance, he raised his hands, increasing the weight around Karsu, preventing his pursuit—buying Rashid enough time to pull the Lady of Radiance to safety.
Karsu stood in place beneath unbearable weight, watching her vanish behind the vines.
Another opportunity lost.
I write these words in the chapter box because I know that no one reads what I write in the author's box. So, all I want to say is: Thank you all for reading the novel, and a special thanks to those who read the chapters as soon as they are released in the first few hours. Truly, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I have a simple question, and I sincerely hope you will share your opinion with me.
First: Is 7 AM a suitable time to upload chapters, as I currently do, or do you think we should change the time?
Second: What is your opinion on the current chapter's word count? My average word count is usually 2000 words for a regular chapter. I intend to continue with this style of chapters to maintain the excitement and intensify the thrill, or perhaps I'll stay within the 1800-word category. What do you think?
Such a chapter whose words 1800word
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