Chương 117: You Wasted Your Life

Faelira extended one hand toward Xarath. An invisible force instantly immobilized him. Xarath felt an external force completely envelop his body, holding him firmly in place. He could not even move his fingers a millimeter. He was completely immobile. He tried several times to break free, but his body refused to respond. It was as though space itself were holding him in place. Faelira then raised her other hand and began tracing a series of complex symbols in the air. She crossed her index and middle fingers.

She closed and reopened her hand. She held it open, then closed some fingers while leaving others extended. A seemingly nonsensical succession of gestures unfolded before Xarath, but every movement followed a precise magical formula. Faelira continued for nearly thirty seconds. Then she pointed that hand toward him as well. Two transparent golden walls materialized on either side of Xarath, completely enclosing him. He studied them carefully. They were moving.

Slowly, but inexorably, the two walls began to draw closer together. Faelira spat blood. Her body gave out and she collapsed to her knees, her breathing becoming increasingly labored.

"The Divine Walls technique…" she murmured, her voice trembling.

"Once he is crushed, his existence will be erased from the universe. It doesn't matter how advanced his regeneration is…nothing will remain". She took a labored breath.

"I learned this technique specifically for this moment". Xarath tried to react again. Nothing. His body remained motionless. A bead of sweat slowly trickled down his forehead. His eyes, however, remained wide open. It was impossible to tell what emotions he was feeling. His face was completely impassive, but his eyes continued moving in every direction, observing the walls, Faelira and his surroundings. They were the only part of his body he could still move. The Divine Walls continued to draw closer.

Closer and closer. The distance between them slowly diminished. Xarath felt an intense heat. It did not seem to come from this world. It was something different. Something alien. The walls continued closing in. Closer and closer. Until they touched him. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The instant the Divine Walls came into contact with Xarath, his body disappeared completely. It was instantaneous. The walls vanished along with him. And all that remained was silence.

Faelira's eyes widened. For several moments, she simply stared at the spot where Xarath had been. She was incredulous. She had never truly thought it would work. She had never fully believed she could kill him.

"He's dead…" she whispered. Her voice trembled.

"I did it…" She remained motionless for several seconds as the weight of what she had just done finally began to sink in.

"I killed my brother…" She lowered her gaze.

"The most powerful mage in the world…" At that moment, a brief image from her childhood returned to her mind. She and Xarath were children. She was running after him across a seemingly endless meadow. Back then, she had genuinely cared for her brother. She wanted to know him. She wanted to understand why he was so empty. She wanted to understand what was inside him. And perhaps, even though she had never wanted to admit it, she had truly wanted to have a brother.

But that brother had become the opposite of everything she believed in. Xarath had gone against every one of her ideals. He had destroyed lives without remorse and turned his own existence into a negation of everything Faelira wanted to protect. She had to kill him. Not only to avenge her parents. She also had to do it because Xarath represented the opposite of everything she believed in. Killing him meant remaining true to herself.

But more importantly, it meant safeguarding the lives of those who would come after. Despite all that, she still felt something inside her. A small emptiness. It wasn't exactly sadness. It was more like the feeling you get when you have waited for a particular moment for a very long time, only to realize, when it finally arrives, that it isn't anything like you imagined. She had spent so much time preparing for that moment. And now it was simply over. Faelira slowly struggled back to her feet.

She turned toward Loxia. The city was still engulfed in flames, but it was not completely lost. Faelira gazed at the burning streets.

"I should still have a little energy left…" she thought.

"Enough to exterminate those damn goblins". She gritted her teeth.

"Then Loxia will be safe". She slowly began walking toward the city. Every step was difficult, but she continued moving forward. When she was only a few meters from the first buildings, something struck her from behind. A black magical ring of energy, resembling the shape of the planet Saturn, passed through her body. With surgical precision. Faelira did not even have time to react. Her body was cut in two. The two halves fell separately onto the scorching rock. Faelira's eyes widened. Xarath appeared before her.

She stared at him, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

"How…" she barely managed to say. Xarath looked at her with an almost admiring expression.

"I knew your final attack would be impressive", he said calmly.

"But I wasn't expecting a technique of such devastating power and such a high level". He paused briefly.

"Congratulations, sister. Truly".

"How…did you do it…" Faelira whispered. Blood flowed from her mouth. Xarath remained impassive.

"I used the Puppet technique". He slowly approached her.

"Compared to a simple copy, it is a much more durable body. It can use the same powers I possess and, more importantly, I can control it remotely". He leaned slightly toward her.

"Don't be discouraged. It was identical to me in terms of power. It's as if you had truly fought against me". He looked into her eyes.

"The only difference is that it possessed no life energy. That belongs exclusively to the original body". Faelira trembled. Her gaze lowered toward her own body. She tried to regenerate. Nothing happened.

"And now…why can't I regenerate…?"

"The ring I threw at you was made from the Fire of the Ash Art", Xarath replied. He slowly straightened.

"I'm sorry, sister". His voice remained calm.

"You will die today". He paused briefly.

"Actually, in a few minutes". Faelira spat out more blood. It splattered across Xarath's boots. Despite her condition, she was still able to speak.

"Asking you…to spare me…would be pointless, wouldn't it?" Xarath smiled faintly.

"You shouldn't ask questions when you already know the answer". He looked at her without hatred. There was no anger in his eyes. Nor satisfaction. Only the same empty tranquility as always.

"Sister, you're just another person who has failed in an attempt to annihilate me". Faelira stared at him.

"It's like someone trying to stop a fire. If they fail, the fire doesn't spare them". His gaze lowered slightly toward her.

"It burns them without hesitation". Faelira remained silent for several moments. Her body was slowly losing the last of its strength. And yet, before dying, she still found the strength to look at her brother.

"With your powers…" she murmured. Her voice was now barely audible.

"You could have saved so many creatures…" She took a broken breath.

"Helped so many living beings…" Her eyes grew heavier and heavier.

"What a waste…" One final breath.

"You wasted your life…brother…" Then she stopped breathing. Faelira died. Xarath continued staring at her for several seconds. He said nothing. Then he raised one hand and pointed it toward her body. Faelira's magical particles slowly began separating from the corpse. Xarath absorbed them. One after another. Until nothing remained.