## Liam's Perspective
The world slowed to a crawl as Josiah's Heaven Splitting Palm technique rushed toward Caspian. Golden-red energy crackled through the air, promising certain death.
I couldn't move. Couldn't help. My body remained impaled by those damned light columns while I struggled with the fusion of energies inside .
Caspian didn't flinch. He stood his ground, arms spread wide, facing annihilation head-on.
The impact was catastrophic.
The blast threw Caspian across the chamber like a broken doll. His body smashed through two stone pillars before crumpling against the far wall. Blood sprayed in an arc, painting the cracked stone crimson.
"CASPIAN!" I scread.
Josiah dusted his hands, satisfaction evident in his cold smile. "Finally. Now for you, Knight."
He turned toward , but froze mid-step. Behind him, impossibly, movent stirred in the rubble.
Caspian Kane rose once more. His body was a ruin—chest caved in, right arm hanging at an unnatural angle, face more blood than skin. Yet sohow, he stood.
"How?" Josiah whispered, genuine fear creeping into his voice.
"You still don't understand loyalty," Caspian said, his voice a wet rasp. The golden glow of his temporary enhancent had vanished completely. "Real loyalty isn't to a family na or position."
He staggered forward, each step leaving bloody footprints on the stone floor.
"It's to principles," he continued. "To promises made."
Josiah backed away, stunned by this impossible persistence. "You should be dead ten tis over!"
"Probably," Caspian agreed with a broken smile. "But I watched Liam fight the Eight-Ard Demon at half strength and still win. If he can endure that much for Lady Isabelle, I can endure this." Рubliсаtiоn соurtеsy оf
My heart clenched at his words. I had never truly known where Caspian's loyalties lay. Now I understood—they had always been with Isabelle, and by extension, with .
anwhile, the fusion process within my body reached a critical point. Yin and Yang energies spiraled together, creating sothing new and powerful. But it wasn't enough yet. I needed more ti.
Josiah's face twisted with rage. "I'll obliterate you so completely there won't be anything left to stand up!"
He gathered even more devastating energy than before, his hands glowing with blinding light.
But Caspian didn't try to dodge or block. Instead, he did sothing unexpected—he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Josiah in a bear hug.
"What are you—let go!" Josiah roared, struggling against Caspian's grip.
"No," Caspian grunted, tightening his hold despite his broken body. "You'll have to kill first, and I won't make it easy."
Josiah's prepared technique destabilized as Caspian locked him in place. "You're insane!"
Blood bubbled from Caspian's lips as he smiled. "Just buying ti."
Josiah drove his knee into Caspian's shattered ribs repeatedly. Each impact produced a sickening crunch, yet Caspian's grip only tightened.
"Let GO!" Josiah scread, his composure completely shattered.
"Can't do that," Caspian wheezed. "Lady Isabelle would be disappointed."
In that mont, I saw soone else arrive—Phoebe Reeves slipped through a side entrance, her eyes wide at the scene before her. She spotted impaled by light columns and imdiately rushed over.
"Liam! Hold on!" She knelt beside , examining the columns. "These are energy constructs. I might be able to disrupt them."
She placed her hands on the nearest column, channeling her energy into it. The light flickered but remained solid.
"It's not working!" she hissed in frustration. "They're too powerful for to break."
"It's okay," I whispered. "Focus on protecting yourself. Things are about to get ssy."
Across the chamber, Josiah had resorted to hamring his fists directly into Caspian's back. Each blow would have killed a normal man, yet sohow Caspian maintained his death grip.
Blood poured from Caspian's mouth now, dripping onto Josiah's pristine robes. "Still here," he taunted weakly.
Josiah's face contorted with humiliation and fury. A Martial Marquis of his standing, held in place by a dying man. It was unthinkable.
"YOU ARE NOTHING!" he roared, channeling destructive energy directly into Caspian's body.
Caspian's back erupted in a spray of blood as the energy tore through him. Still, his arms remained locked around Josiah.
anwhile, inside my body, the fusion accelerated. Light and darkness swirled together, becoming sothing greater than either alone. I was close—so close to breakthrough.
Phoebe continued trying to disrupt the light columns. "Just hold on, Liam. I won't leave you."
"Watch out for Josiah," I warned her. "If he breaks free from Caspian—"
"I know," she cut off. "But I won't abandon you."
Josiah's fury reached new heights as he continued failing to break Caspian's grip. "You're already dead! Your heart has stopped beating! How are you still holding on?!"
Indeed, Caspian's eyes had gone glassy, his skin ashen. Yet his arms remained locked in place, fueled by sheer will even as life fled his body.
"Michael Ashworth once told ," Caspian whispered, "that true strength isn't about power. It's about what you're willing to endure for what matters."
Josiah scread in frustration, abandoning all pretense of control. He slamd his elbow into Caspian's spine with enough force to shatter stone.
The sound of breaking bone echoed throughout the chamber. Caspian's body sagged, but his arms—impossibly—maintained their grip.
I felt the fusion inside reach completion. Energy surged through my newly cleared ridians, filling with incredible power. The breakthrough was happening!
Josiah must have sensed it too. His head snapped toward , eyes widening in alarm. "NO!"
With one final, desperate effort, he channeled all his strength into a devastating explosive burst that finally tore Caspian's arms away.
Caspian's body flew backward, hitting the ground with a hollow thud. This ti, he didn't rise.
Josiah stood there, panting, his immaculate robes now torn and bloodied. He'd expended considerable energy breaking free.
"He's gone," Phoebe whispered, tears streaming down her face as she glanced at Caspian's broken form.
"He bought enough ti," I replied, feeling the new power surging within . Just a few more seconds and I could break these columns.
Josiah seed to realize this too. His eyes darted around the chamber, then locked onto the dozen or so Ashworth family guards who had been watching from the periphery.
"Go, kill Liam Knight now, no matter what!" he shouted, desperation clear in his voice. "He must not step into the Martial Marquis realm!"
The guards hesitated for only a mont before drawing their weapons and rushing toward . Phoebe stood up, placing herself between us, but she was only one person against many.
Behind them all, Josiah's face twisted into a cruel smile. "Too late, Knight. You were so close, but that's all you'll ever be—close."
My breakthrough teetered on the edge of completion as the first guards reached us, weapons raised to strike.
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