Omega Ascension System[BL]

Chapter 321: _Soul Fracture

Kyren’s POV

*****

At the end of the funeral ceremony, he remained standing at a distance, leaning against a marble pillar. He watched and picked up details.

First, he saw when Estella walked into the hall. Recalling how he killed Magnus in front of her and sent her running back to Lunaria brought a small smirk to his face.

But enough nostalgia. He had one question:

Why did the Council of Fangs release her? Now and here of all places.

He heard them making excuses for her being useful in the future. It was a convenient excuse. One that still made no sense on why they brought her to a funeral crawling with people who have something against her.

"It’s almost as if they’re trying to test something," he mumbled to himself, all while watching the Alpha Prince and Elian confronting the council members. "Or someone."

Suspicious...

He might not be too entangled in Lunarian politics, but he knew enough to understand not everyone would be pleased with Lucian taking over. Or Elian being at his side as Luna King.

Instead of interfering in any way, he stuck to watching, taking sips from his wine while pushing his advanced hearing to the max.

"Care to explain?" Elder Mateo spoke first when he and the other Eastern Wolves council members approached, "Why is this information only coming to light now?"

Here they go...

With a calm expression, Lucian responded, arms crossed before him. "With all due respect elders... I only discovered it days ago after my father’s death."

"And yet you didn’t inform us?" The only female amongst them arched a brow, shaking her head. "Alpha Prince, do you realise how old this palace is? Or how much history it holds?"

Lucian was about to speak when Mateo blurted:

"Over ten thousand years of Stormborn Alpha Kings ruling over Lunaria from these golden walls." His gaze was almost accusatory. "Yet after your father’s death, it’s beginning to rot from within."

Well, well, well...

Kyren smirked, twirling his drink around. Even from this angle he could tell those words snapped something in Lucian that couldn’t be reattached.

The Alpha Prince’s celestial sovereign aura flared, making the chandelier lights flicker and some lanterns in the hall go off completely.

Delta Reina and Gamma Drax shifted back, terror and hesitation present on their faces.

Elder Mateo was the first amongst the eastern wolves to stumble backwards, eyes widened with realisation. "You’ve... You’ve undergone the Lunarian baptism of moonlight already?"

Lucian didn’t respond. He didn’t have to.

His black hair whipped across his face, fists clenching as he spoke. "For people who claim to keep the Alpha king in check—I don’t recall you questioning my father so much."

The Rogue king’s eyes darted to Elian. His little flame was almost unfazed by the leak of celestial sovereign energy, standing firmly beside Lucian.

Usually, his possessiveness would make him want to step in. But he didn’t. All he felt was pride at how far Elian had come in navigating the bonds.

"You can’t compare yourself to Arian!" An elder with a long white beard snapped at Lucian. "Arian ruled for centuries and rarely ever had any issues. You haven’t even taken the throne yet and—"

"You seem so confident about that." Lucian sniggered. "About my father being unproblematic."

Standing several meters away from the group, the Luna Queen, Sylas and Seraphyne watched silently. Aurora and Estella were the closest to the ensuing drama, both carrying solemn expressions.

Kyren narrowed his gaze on Lucian after his last statement.

’What are you thinking, cousin?’

"I don’t know where you’re driving at, Alpha Prince," Elder Mateo straightened his back despite the energy leak, his limbs trembling. "But I’ll advise you to work with the palace’s magi tech team and your council of Fangs. Fix this. Before it destroys thousands of years of hard work."

Lucian’s jaw was tight. He looked like he was going to explode any second with words that all would regret. Words that would forever paint his father as the scum he truly was...

But he didn’t get to.

Discreetly, Elian grabbed his hand, squeezing softly. That simple move was enough to calm Lucian, making him withdraw his aura. Kyren smiled at that.

Yet as the Eastern Wolves council left, he knew deep down—the palace was about to go through a reckoning unlike anything generations of royals had ever seen.

.

.

"So you’re just going to let that little snake slither in this palace?" Kyren questioned Lucian when they gathered in Elian’s room.

Alongside Elian—who stood in front of the door, eyes distant like he was pondering something deep.

The Rogue king felt like questioning him but eventually let him think. If it was something important, he’d talk.

"What am I supposed to do?" Lucian shrugged, arms folded as he leaned close to a window. "Drax and Reina already explained... She has no reason to be held again—"

"Bird crap," Kyren uttered flatly. "I can name dozens of things she’s done. Particularly to Elian." He glanced at his little flame just then.

Elian still stood silently, shadows looming over his features. Now Kyren was really curious...

"Listen," Lucian rubbed his forehead. "I want to fling her into a ditch as much as the next person—"

"Funny because I was thinking of complete annihilation down to her soul." Kyren shrugged. "Just saying."

The Alpha Prince drew in a breath, pausing for a beat. "But they’re right. She might prove... Useful somehow," he said, almost absentmindedly. "You’ve seen how Amara and Garrick change the people they’re in contact with. From Sylas, to Elian... And to some extent, even you."

Kyren’s expression remained plain.

Lucian continued regardless. "Maybe they did something to her, changed something in her memories that could help us understand how to snatch back control of the wards from Garrick."

"Now that has to be the stretchiest theory I’ve ever heard." Kyren laughed dryly. "Well, it doesn’t matter. Just know at the first sign of her blinking wrong at Elian while he’s here... I won’t hesitate to make her see her real brother."

Silence lingered for a few seconds after that.

It wasn’t a threat. He never made those. Rather, he made promises.

"Uhm..." Elian coughed, making them turn to him. He stepped away from the door, eyes lowered. "I have something urgent to share. Remember the heart jewel curse?"

Kyren’s instincts sparked instantly.

Gods below, no—

"I know we weakened it by splitting it amongst ourselves and all," Elian went on, scratching the back of his head. "But the system gave me a mission. To completely eradicate it."

Kyren exchanged a weary look with Lucian before locking his eyes back on Elian. "What happens if you don’t? And are there any deadlines?"

For a moment, Elian’s lips parted and closed. His cheeks flushed red, guilt sparkling in his eyes.

’Little flame, what have you done now?’

"The deadline’s tomorrow," Elian finally breathed out. "And not completing it would lead to my soul progressively fracturing."

Kyren didn’t speak immediately.

The room felt smaller all of a sudden. Not because of pressure. But because tomorrow had just been dragged into the present and slammed in the room between them.

His crimson eyes flicked to Elian—slow, deliberate. Taking him in. The posture. The faint tension in his shoulders. The way his fingers curled unconsciously at his sides was like he was bracing for impact.

Soul fracturing.

That wasn’t just a curse symptom. That was divine failure.

"...Tomorrow," Kyren repeated quietly. Not as a question. As confirmation.

Elian nodded once. "It’s not sudden. The system says the curse adapted when Amara amplified it. Splitting it bought time—but it didn’t erase the core instability." He hesitated, then added, softer. "It’s like... cracks in glass. You don’t notice them until light hits at the wrong angle."

Lucian straightened from the window.

"What exactly does fracturing mean?" His voice was controlled.

Elian swallowed. "Loss of cohesion. Memories slipping first. Then emotional dissonance. Then..." His eyes flicked briefly to Kyren. "...pieces of me failing to stay anchored in one reality. Flaking into nothingness."

Kyren felt something snap inside him.

"So," the Rogue king said at last, setting his glass aside untouched. "The system wants you to do what, exactly?"

Elian inhaled. "Re-enter the curse’s origin point. Where Amara tied it to divine residue. I’m not sure yet but I believe that’s the only place the core can be unravelled completely."

Lucian’s head snapped up. "That’s suicide."

"Not necessarily," Elian said quickly. "It’s... conditional."

Kyren arched his brow. "I hate that word."

"It means," Elian continued, forcing steadiness into his tone, "that I can’t do it alone. The mission parameters explicitly state that all three curse bearers must be present, anchored and willing."

Silence.

Lucian looked at Kyren.

Kyren looked at him in return.

Then Kyren laughed. Softly.

"Of course," he murmured. "Amara never builds traps for one."

His gaze returned to Elian, sharp now. Calculating.

"Tomorrow," he said again. "Before the coronation."

Elian nodded. "Before Garrick can make any moves with the wards."

Kyren rolled his shoulders back, straightening.

"Then we won’t wait another second," he said calmly. "We won’t announce. And we won’t ask permission."

Lucian exhaled slowly. "Kyren—"

"No," Kyren cut in, eyes glinting. "This isn’t Lunarian politics anymore. This is divine triage."

He stepped closer to Elian, lowering his voice just enough to make it intimate. "And I will not let my little flame scatter across realities because a dead goddess and a delusional witch couldn’t let go of power."

A thin smile curved his lips.

"Tomorrow," he repeated, "we end the curse."