From Human to Skeleton: Revived with Infinite System Crystals

Behind him, the gravelly arena floor shifted as Cade's energy began to hum faintly. Heissman's eyes flicked to the side, catching the faint glow of Cade's power coalescing into a spiraling vortex. Cade hurled it with precision, the crackling energy arcing toward Heissman like a meteor. The lieutenant twisted, his saber slashing downward to absorb the brunt of the attack, but the explosion sent him skidding back, dust and debris scattering around him.

"You're slipping," Osalf said, his blade steady as he advanced. "Still trying to prove something. Still failing."

"Shut up!" Heissman spat, his voice trembling with fury as he charged again. His strikes came faster now, his saber cutting through the air with reckless abandon. But for all his speed and ferocity, his movements were sloppy, his swings wild and uncoordinated. Osalf deflected each strike with practiced ease, his blade moving like a whisper against Heissman's increasingly desperate attacks.

The lieutenant's breathing grew ragged, his movements faltering as the relentless pressure began to take its toll. Cade launched another burst of energy, the spiraling vortex slamming into the ground near Heissman and forcing him to stumble. Xuán Wěi's wraiths surged forward, their ghostly forms darting in from the shadows to harry him from all sides. Heissman swung wildly, his saber cutting through the spectral figures, but their attacks kept coming, relentless and unyielding.

"You don't know when to stop, do you?" Osalf said, his tone sharper now as he stepped forward. "All that anger, all that desperation—what are you even fighting for, Heissman? Pride? Validation?"

Heissman's face twisted with rage, his saber slashing upward as he roared, "I'm fighting to show you what you really are! Weak!"

Osalf sidestepped the strike, his blade catching Heissman's and twisting it away with a sharp motion. The lieutenant stumbled, his footing unsteady as he tried to recover. Osalf didn't let up. His blade moved like lightning, striking at Heissman's defenses with a precision that left no room for error. Each strike forced the lieutenant further back, his balance faltering as his movements became more erratic.

"You've spent your whole life trying to prove you're better than me," Osalf said, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "But all you've done is show how afraid you are. Afraid of failing. Afraid of being forgotten."

Heissman snarled, his saber flaring with energy as he swung again, but Osalf's blade met his with a resounding clang. The force of the clash sent Heissman reeling, his back slamming into the sandy gravel. He struggled to rise, his body trembling with exhaustion as he glared up at Osalf.

"Shut up!" Heissman shouted, his voice cracking as he slammed his fist into the ground. "You don't know anything about me!"

Osalf's blade hovered inches from Heissman's chest, his gaze steady and unyielding. "I know enough," he said quietly. "And I know this—you were never strong. You were just louder."

Heissman's eyes burned with hatred as he tried to push himself up, but Xuán Wěi's wraiths descended again, their spectral claws pinning him in place. Cade's energy swirled around them, crackling faintly as the remaining Black Bulls closed in. Heissman's saber slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground as his strength gave out.

Osalf stepped back, his blade lowering as he turned away. "It's over," he said, his voice calm but final. "You've lost."

Heissman's body trembled on the ground, his chest heaving with labored breaths, but the fire in his eyes refused to die. Osalf ignored him, his focus already shifting toward his comrades as the Black Bulls regrouped. Yet even as the dust began to settle, a shift in the air made him pause, a faint ripple of energy brushing against his senses.

Far from the arena, deep within the twisted corridors of the King's domain, Yun-Jin lay crumpled against the base of a grand column, her body bruised and bloodied from her previous battle. A deep gash ran up the length of the marble column behind her, a testament to the force that had thrown her there. The light in the chamber was dim, save for the soft blue glow emanating from the King as he stepped forward.

He knelt before her, his golden aura casting shadows across her battered form. A smirk tugged at his lips as he studied her, his eyes sharp and calculating. "Just as I was expecting," he murmured, his voice smooth and laced with amusement. "Lady Yun-Jin, please rise up for me."

A blue circle of light appeared beneath her, intricate runes glowing faintly as they spiraled upward. The energy wrapped around her body, lifting her to her feet like a marionette on invisible strings. Yun-Jin's eyes fluttered open, dazed and unfocused as she tried to regain her bearings. Her breaths came in shallow gasps, her memory piecing itself together in fragments.@@novelbin@@

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"I—" she started, her voice trembling as she steadied herself. "I failed… They got through me. Ty and JJ… I couldn't stop them."

The King chuckled softly, the sound both warm and chilling. "That is fine," he said, his tone soothing but unmistakably firm. "Omina is dealing with them as we speak. Your failure does not concern me. What does concern me is your resolve."

She blinked, confusion flickering across her face. "My… resolve?"

The King extended a hand toward her, his golden aura shimmering faintly. "I have a present for you," he said, his smile widening. "But first, will you take my hand?"

Yun-Jin hesitated, her gaze flickering between his outstretched hand and his piercing eyes. Her heart pounded in her chest as doubts and questions swirled in her mind. "Before I do… is it true?" she asked softly. "Some of our history… is it fabricated?"

The King's smirk deepened, and for a moment, the air seemed to grow heavier. He stepped closer, his voice a whisper that cut through the silence. "Everything," he said, his words deliberate and measured, "is as it should be."

Yun-Jin's hand trembled as she reached for his, her hesitation melting into determination. She grasped his hand, the golden aura enveloping her entirely as the chamber seemed to ripple and dissolve around her. The world shifted in an instant, the sensation disorienting yet oddly comforting. When her vision cleared, she was no longer in the chamber.