The crater trembled.
Not like an earthquake.More like the world itself was… breathing.
Lucius stood alone in the center, the others backed away to the perimeter. Claire was still recovering from the failed healing burst. Zara held her like she was a weapon that needed polishing.
Velda looked at the shard, eyes wide. "It's stabilizing. No more shadow surge. That should mean it's safe."
Lilith shook her head. "Nothing that shaped Lucius's soul is ever safe."
Lucius approached the shard.
It hovered midair—silent, pulsing faintly. Then a voice echoed inside his mind.
Not someone else's.
His.
"Do you remember why we stopped hoping?"
Lucius stopped walking.
His jaw clenched.
The shard pulsed again.
"Do you remember the night you stopped praying?"
Images flashed—A burned village.A girl screaming his name.The first time he raised a blade without knowing whether he wanted to save… or destroy.
[System: Final Fragment Detected – Tyrant's Core]Choose:
Absorb It – Regain all lost emotions and forgotten memories.
Reject It – Burn it to gain more power, but lose part of yourself.Time Remaining: 60 seconds
Velda shouted, "Lucius, talk to us! What's happening?!"
He didn't respond.
His vision blurred.
Claire's voice broke through the noise. "Please don't do something stupid again."
Lilith: "You don't have to prove anything. Not to us. Not to anyone."
Zara: "But if you do it… do it for you. Not for the monster the world wants."
Lucius reached out.
Hand trembling.
The shard drifted toward him.
He could feel what was in it.The hope he abandoned.The pain he repressed.The love he didn't think he deserved.
It wasn't power.
It was everything that made him human.
He touched it.
[You have chosen: ABSORB][Processing Memory Integration…][Warning: You will feel EVERYTHING again.]
Lucius fell to his knees.
He screamed—no sound came out.
Images. Emotions. A thousand moments hit him all at once.
The time he begged for help and no one came.The time he saved someone and was still blamed.The first time someone said "I love you"… and didn't mean it.
And under all of it—One memory. One girl.Smiling. Real. Holding his hand in a garden of fire.
Her name?
He couldn't remember.
[Soul Synchronization Complete: 100%][New Title Gained: The Tyrant Who Remembers][Skill Gained: Empathic Domination – Your pain becomes your strength. Your memories can now influence reality.]
The crater quieted.
Lucius stood, eyes glowing with something entirely new—not just rage. Not just power.
But clarity.
The girls stared at him.
No one spoke.
Then Claire stepped forward.
"…Are you okay?"
Lucius looked at her.
And for the first time in forever…
He didn't lie.
"No."
[Hidden System Notification: You are now eligible to reshape your fate.][But the cost… is coming.]