Chương 33: Smiling through tears

Ethan was sitting at a table in the inn, his hands resting on the worn wooden surface. In front of him, the elves danced and sang, stomping their feet in rhythm amid laughter and ancient chants. A burly elf set a large mug of beer in front of him.

"Drink, human! Drink!"

"What are we celebrating?" Ethan asked. The elf burst out laughing.

"You humans really need a reason to celebrate?" Ethan smiled, took a sip, and let his gaze wander. Not far away, Renlin was dancing, surrounded by other elves. Her long orange hair swayed gracefully, reflecting the warm light of the inn, while her violet eyes shimmered with a unique brilliance. At one point, she turned, noticed him, and walked over.

"Would you honor me with a dance, Ethan?"

"I don't know how to dance, sorry". Renlin laughed.

"And you think I do? Come on… improvise". Ethan hesitated for a moment, then took her hand and rose to his feet, allowing himself to be drawn into the celebration. Soraya was kneeling in the snow. Every part of her body was trembling. She had pushed her power beyond every limit, yet it had proven useless. In front of her, Xarath was still charred in several places, but his regeneration continued slowly and inexorably. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Soraya tried to stand, but a sudden stab of pain tore through her abdomen. She placed a hand on her swollen belly and collapsed to the ground once more. The capsule behind her powered down.

"My love, are you alright?!" her husband shouted, running toward her with their two children.

"Yes…stay back!" Soraya cried, her voice breaking.

"Mom!"

"My darlings…please, stay where you are". Xarath advanced slowly. Soraya lifted her gaze, then turned toward her family. Tears began to stream down her face.

"I love you…more than anything else. Forgive me for failing to protect you".

"What are you saying, my love?"

"Mom, why are you crying?" Soraya intertwined the fingers of her right hand. An instant later, her husband and children collapsed unconscious.

"You placed them in an illusion?" Xarath asked.

"Yes", she replied weakly.

"Right now they're living through an ordinary day…we're having dinner together in front of the fireplace". Xarath tilted his head.

"How very maternal of you". He raised a hand. In an instant, the three bodies exploded into thousands of fragments. Xarath absorbed the magical particles that emerged from them.

"Your husband didn't possess even a single magical particle", he said coldly.

"But your children…they could have become great mages despite being hybrids". Soraya did not answer. She smiled through her tears.

"Even though I'm about to die…even though you've killed my family, including the child I'm carrying…there is one thing I know for certain". Xarath watched her in silence.

"A single day of my life with them is worth more than hundreds of years of your empty existence. You live only to erase other lives. You feel nothing. And honestly…I pity you. I wonder what you were even born for". Xarath did not reply. Black flames of the Ash Art engulfed Soraya. She did not scream. She remained motionless as tears continued to run down her face, until her body was reduced to dust. Xarath extended his hands and absorbed her magical particles. It took some time. At last, he smiled.

"Now this is considerable power". His body regenerated completely. He took one step, then another. Suddenly, a searing pain shot through him. He fell to his knees.

"What the hell is happening?!" He began coughing up blood, his body wracked by violent tremors.

"Could she have…altered her magical particles to harm me even after death?!" He collapsed onto the ground, writhing as the pain became unbearable.