Black Dragon X [LitRPG • Dark Fantasy] Chapter 47 - 46 : Betrayal

Awareness returned suddenly. As if a heavy curtain had been lifted from Skyler’s mind.

The sound returned. The wind returned. The mountains around him beca clear again. He blinked slowly... then raised his eyes.

Soone was standing in front of him. His breath froze for a mont.

Kai.

He was standing directly before him. Calm. Still. Not a single hair moved.

Skyler’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if his mind were trying to comprehend what he was seeing. His voice ca out hesitant.

"...What?"

In that mont... Kai didn’t move. His face didn’t change. He only looked at him. A cold gaze.

Silent.

Then he spoke in a low, clear voice.

—"To hell... Skyler."

Skyler’s eyes widened suddenly.

"Ka..."

But the word never finished. In his eyes... Kai’s body was reflected. And in that reflection... Kai’s hand moved slowly. It rose. Then his claws clenched tightly. And moved straight toward Skyler’s stone.

Skyler’s eyes widened even more. The air around them beca still. The mont felt as if it had stopped.

Then, Kai’s hand lunged forward. A fierce strike. Direct. Toward the stone. And before the blow could land, Sothing old returned to Kai’s mory :

—

—---------------FlashBack—----------------------------

It was just monts after the third seal of the Black Stone had shattered.

The sky above Kai was torn. Around him, the Ravengers of the Veins were moving. And in that mont... They lunged.

But before they could reach him, They stopped. Suddenly. A barrier. A transparent barrier stood before them.

The distorted bodies collided with it and fell back. Kai rose with difficulty, his body torn, and this ti his pain was physical.

He looked at the stone in his hand. It was not as he had left it. Strange markings crawled across its surface. He shouted not out of fear... but because the stone had moved on its own.

Its weight had changed. Its heat pulsed. Kai didn’t move. He didn’t raise his weapon. He simply... realized sothing :

He was not alone.

Slowly... he raised his head. And in front of the barrier, two people stood. A man with calm eyes.

Tsukishiro Ren.

And beside him... A woman surrounded by a cold shadow.

Izanami no Mikoto.

The mountain was silent. Even the monsters did not move. Kai looked at them for a long ti. Then he said:

—"You..."

But his eyes imdiately shifted to Tsukishiro’s hand. He was holding sothing. A small piece. Irregular in shape, as if it had broken from sothing far older. Its surface was dark, but faint lines moved within it... like slow breaths.

And the mont Kai’s gaze fell upon it, the stone in his hand pulsed. Once. Then again. Faster. The heat returned suddenly.

Kai tightened his grip even more. Tsukishiro noticed imdiately. He gave a slight smile. And said calmly:

"So... it responded."

Kai didn’t take his eyes off the piece. He said slowly:

—"What is this?"

Izanami did not answer. Tsukishiro was the one who lifted the fragnt slightly between his fingers.

"The Veiled Fragnt."

Kai didn’t comnt. But the stone in his hand trembled once more. Tsukishiro continued:

"We don’t know where it ca from."

His tone wasn’t dramatic. Just a simple statent of an unknown truth.

"And we don’t know who it belonged to."

Then he looked directly at Kai’s stone. And said:

"But we do know one thing."

He raised the fragnt slightly.

"That it is connected to what you have been searching for all these years..."

He paused. As if observing what was happening before him. The pulse of the stone in Kai’s hand increased. The markings that had appeared on its surface monts earlier moved even more.

Tsukishiro gave a slight smile.

"You are the one who found the way, Kai."

He stepped closer. The monsters behind the barrier were striking it wildly, but the barrier did not move. Tsukishiro said:

"You have been searching for years."

Kai didn’t answer. But his eyes did not deny it. Tsukishiro continued:

"For the thing that has existed for thousands of years..."

He paused. Then he spoke the word that had haunted Kai for a long ti.

"Veiled Core."

Kai’s expression didn’t change. But he said slowly:

—"The core around which all legends revolve."

Izanami looked at him with interest. Tsukishiro smiled.

"So you know."

He raised his finger slightly toward the torn sky. And said:

"Before the stones... there was the Veiled Core. And before the world..."

Then he paused for a mont.

"There was the First Rift."

An ancient crack in the fabric of this world. The air grew heavier. Kai said:

—"An old legend."

Tsukishiro shook his head.

"Not a legend."

Then he looked directly into his eyes.

"It is a key."

A long silence passed between them. Then Tsukishiro spoke slowly:

"The final seal of the Black Stone... cannot be broken by force."

Kai didn’t ask how he knew. He simply said:

—"So what does it need?"

Tsukishiro answered:

"The First Rift."

Then he added:

"And the First Rift... can only be born in one way."

Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly. Tsukishiro said, leaning forward slightly:

"When the First Ray Stone cries."

Silence deepened. Kai nodded hesitantly, his eyes widening.

—"The First Ray Stone?"

Tsukishiro nodded slowly.

"The First Ray Stone is the Sun Stone before its na changed."

Kai understood imdiately. But he said:

—"Stones don’t cry."

Tsukishiro gave a cold smile.

"They do cry..."

Then he added:

"When their wielder forces them."

Izanami said calmly:

"But that only happens if the mory... and the pulse are used."

Kai looked at her.

She said:

"Not every wielder of the stone can hear the mories of his stone . But when the stone begins to reveal it... its voice becos near."

Then she whispered:

"Near enough... to cry out."

Tsukishiro continued:

"And the legend says...."

He lowered his voice slightly.

"When the Sun Stone cries... the First Rift is born."

Silence returned. The monsters behind the barrier were still striking it. But Kai did not hear them. He said slowly:

—"And this Rift..."

Tsukishiro continued:

"It becos the cause before the final seal of the Black Stone can be broken."

Then he looked directly at Kai.

"And it will free Arkam."

The na Arkam made the air grow cold.

Izanami added:

"And Arkam... is the only one who knows the location of the Veiled Core."

Only then... Kai smiled. A small smile. As if he had been waiting to hear that. He said:

—"So our goal is the sa."

Tsukishiro replied:

"Exactly."

But Kai was not foolish. He looked at him and said:

—"But there is a problem. Skyler. How will he reach the mories of his stone?"

Tsukishiro did not deny it. He said:

"He will not reach the mories... unless he sees the truth."

Izanami said calmly:

"The truth that Kanade knows. in the azraqeen mountains."

The na Kanadi brought silence back again. Tsukishiro said:

"She is the only one capable of showing him the mory so he can reach the pulse."

Then he added coldly:

"The truth... and the betrayal."

Kai looked at him for a long mont. Then he said:

—"The dragons will not allow that."

Tsukishiro gave a cold smile.

"That is why..."

Then he raised his hand slightly.

"You must lose consciousness."

Silence. Then Kai said:

—"Dark Points."

Tsukishiro nodded.

"Yes."

Then he explained calmly:

"The system will only record an increase in Dark Points when the wielder accepts the betrayal. But if he loses consciousness..."

He paused for a mont.

"They will not be recorded."

Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly. Tsukishiro said simply:

"I will strike you."

The silence grew heavy.

"You will remain unconscious for days."

Then he added:

"And in that mont... no one will know that you accepted."

Izanami added:

"But the system will not record your consent."

Tsukishiro said:

"And the Dark Points will not increase."

Kai asked:

—"So they will never increase?"

Tsukishiro answered:

"Only in the Drakhaens Kingdom. The device on your wrist is what allows it."

Then he smiled.

"But if it is broken..."

Kai understood. In the Drakhaen Kingdom... the system is delayed. The Dark Points would appear after so ti. As if they had appeared on their own.

A long silence passed between them. Then Tsukishiro said:

"So? Do you accept?"

Kai looked at the mountain. At the torn sky. Then he spoke the sentence that would remain in Tsukishiro’s mory for a long ti.

—"I’m used to it."

Then he added in a cold, calm voice:

—"I will do anything... to reach my goal."

Izanami asked him:

"Even if you have to betray Skyler?"

Kai did not hesitate. He said simply:

—"Skyler... a small price."

Then he continued:

—"If the path to the Veiled Core passes through hell..."

He raised his eyes. And said:

—"Then I will walk through it."

Silence. Then Tsukishiro said:

"Then let’s begin."

He raised his hand. And in the next mont Kai struck. And Kai fell unconscious. But the plan... had already begun.

—-------------Return—--------------------------

Then,

The sound returned. The cold mountain air. Broken breaths. Kai’s hand was still outstretched. His grip tight around the stone.

The strike... had already landed. A muffled impact echoed between them. For a mont, Nothing happened.

Then Skyler’s stone trembled. The golden light that had been emanating from it flickered. A pulse. Then another. Stronger. As if the heart inside the stone had lost its rhythm.

Skyler’s eyes widened. He stepped back half a step. His hand rose instinctively toward his chest. But the energy did not respond.

The light that had always been steady began to fracture. Threads of sunlight slipped through his fingers, then went out... one by one.

The air around him trembled. A small vortex of energy ford, unstable, unbalanced. As if the stone was rejecting what had happened.

Skyler’s knees weakened. He tried to remain standing. But his body betrayed him. He bent forward. His hand slowly fell from the stone.

The light dimd. Then dimd further. Until only a faint glow remained. Skyler finally raised his head. He looked at Kai. There was no anger in his eyes. Not even shock.

Only... sothing heavier. His lips moved with difficulty. A broken voice barely escaped:

"Why..."

He paused. His breaths trembled. Then he continued, weaker:

"Why did you do this... Kai?"

Silence fell between them. Kai did not move. He neither approached nor stepped back. He simply stood there. His eyes fixed. As if the question... was not directed at him.

The wind passed through the rocks. Cold. Harsh. The last light around Skyler flickered. Then went out. His body leaned forward. And fell. Without a sound. Without resistance.... But the stone... did not extinguish.