Everyone stood frozen, stunned by the sudden chaos unfolding before them.
Caym's words earlier were never meant to provoke a real fight to the death. He had only postured in front of the people of Netheris to preserve the dignity of the Dark Syndicate.
He never truly planned to fight Robin to the death.
None of them had truly expected Hacyon to take such a devastating action.
Boom!
"You treacherous woman!" he roared. "You think this ends here? I swear, I'll make you suffer a thousand times more than death!"
Then, without hesitation, he turned and leapt straight into the depths of Wraithvale.
"Mr. Ramsey!" Daphne and Rita cried out in horror as they followed him into the abyss.
"Shirley!" Robin's anguished roar echoed through the frigid darkness of Wraithlands.
"You monsters of the Dark Syndicate! You destroyed my beloved's soul. If I don't wipe Netheris from existence, I'm not worthy of the name Divine Drakebane! I'll obliterate the Dark Syndicate! I'll shatter Netheris! I'll scour this cursed land until nothing is left but blood and ash! I swear this oath: if I fail to carry it out, let me, Robin Ramsey, be erased from existence—body, soul, and memory!"
His voice thundered through the mountain like a thousand roaring lions, shaking Soulforge Mountain to its core.
Down below, over half the furious citizens of Netheris spat blood and collapsed on the spot.
On the Soulforge Platform, the assembled warriors stared in horror.
What they had just witnessed was no empty threat—it was a declaration of annihilation from Drakebane toward the Netheris and the Dark Syndicate.
The leaders of the Syndicate understood perfectly: from this moment forward, there was no way out of this but war to the death.
Kage stumbled back several steps in fear.
His eyes landed on Hacyon, who was still kneeling in a daze, her expression hollow. Rage surged through him; he scolded, "You idiot! You dared to destroy Drakebane's wife's soul! I'll kill you myself!"
"Your Holiness, please calm down!" Nox rushed to stop him.
"Mr. Drakebane said he would handle her himself. Let's not make things worse."
Kage's hands trembled as he raised the dagger. "What's left to stop him now? What can possibly halt Drakebane's rampage?"
Hacyon, ignoring the pain in her shattered knees, knelt deeply and said, "My Holiness ... According to the Soulforge Manuscript, Wraithvale drops ten thousand feet deep. The temperature at its base is unimaginably high—enough to melt solid steel in seconds.
"Robin may be a Divine Drakebane of Earthend, but his body is still mortal. How could he possibly survive such a fall, let alone withstand that kind of heat?
"In my humble view, this descent into Wraithvale is his final end.
"Netheris is strong. And under your leadership, the Dark Syndicate commands the awe of the world. Our people stand united. Even if Drakebane survives ... he's just one man. How could he possibly oppose us all?"
Below the mountain, the surviving citizens of Netheris roared in support, shouting their pledge to fight alongside the Dark Syndicate until the bitter end.
Kage slowly lowered the dagger and turned to look toward the chasm.
There was one secret hidden deep within Wraithvale—a miracle only he knew about.
And if Drakebane truly encountered it, everything Hacyon had said would be meaningless.
...
Wraithvale.
The soul-locking chasm of Netheris.
Ten thousand years ago, this land was a barren wasteland—a forgotten pit from the Circle of Souls where the Hell Realms were born.
Of the Six Realms, none brought more agony than the Hells.
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