He caught the blade.
Bare handed.
Blood ran down his fingers. He didn't look at it.
His crimson eyes — identical to his brothers' — lifted slowly to Veltherion's face.
"Still impatient," he said quietly.
get back from there Lucien barked vealtherion cant pull out his sword so he jump back without Keltherion's hand snapped up from the rubble.
sword mean while sword turned into dust
atherion said felix take cassian free the hostages and guard them
felix said but I want to fight
Lucien said kid you are no match for them there is succubus queen and that basterd
tch fine
I didn't push further
one side keltherion and other side vealtherion atherion succubus queen tried to join keltherion
but then a barrier came Lucien said let them talk why don't we get to know
succubus queen said tch I am not intrested in you
Lucien replied well and I don't plane to get close with a monster
succubus queen said I dry you
Lucien flicked one finger.
Just one.
The world around them shifted — reality folding like a page being turned, the battlefield dissolving in a single breath.
When it settled—
Trees. Massive, ancient trees stretching endlessly upward, their roots deeper than anything natural. Mana so thick in the air it was almost visible, pressing against skin like warm water.
The Succubus Queen went still.
Her eyes swept the space — calculating, then confused, then something close to alarm.
"Where—" She turned sharply. "Where did you bring me?"
Lucien adjusted his staff casually.
"Let's just say..." He glanced upward at the canopy above them, light filtering through leaves that had no business existing here. "We're somewhere the World Tree remembers."
"That's impossible." Her voice cracked slightly. "You're bluffing—"
"Shall we start?" Lucien winked. "Round one."
She lunged.
Fast — inhumanly fast, dark mana exploding outward as she closed the distance in less than a heartbeat.
Lucien jumped — high, clean, immediately creating distance.
"You're nothing in close combat," she snapped, already adjusting her angle mid-air—
Her fist came down.
Lucien wasn't there.
The punch connected with the ground instead.
BOOM.
The earth cratered. Trees shook. Roots tore upward from the force of a single strike.
Silence.
"What—" She straightened slowly. "Why isn't my—"
"Icicle Spears."
Lucien's voice came from above.
She looked up.
Twelve spears of pure compressed ice, each one the size of a tree trunk, already falling.
No time to think. No time to redirect.
They hit.
The impact buried her into the ground — ice and earth and force all at once, the shockwave rippling outward in every direction.
When the dust settled—
She rose from the crater.
Damaged. Furious.
Her eyes found Lucien — still floating above, staff loose in his hand, expression completely unbothered.
Something dark and ancient flickered behind her eyes.
Fine.
Her mana shifted — different frequency, different purpose. Not attack.
Illusion.
It spread like ink in water, silent and absolute, wrapping around Lucien's mind before he could register it.
The World Tree replica dissolved.
In its place — darkness. And in that darkness, Lucien sat bound against a tree, chains of shadow pinning him in place.
The Succubus Queen appeared before him slowly, circling, her smile returning.
"Fear," she said softly. "That's all you are underneath it." She leaned close, eyes gleaming. "I'm going to drain you dry for making me waste my power."
She studied his face — waiting for the panic. The desperation.
"For an Arch Mage..." she tilted her head. "You're so weak."
Lucien said nothing.
She waited.
"...What?" Her smile faltered. "Cat got your tongue?"
Lucien's lips curved.
Just slightly.
Then — thin dust filtered down from where the chains met his wrists. Shadow dissolving. Illusion fraying at the edges like old cloth.
The Succubus Queen's eyes went wide.
"What— how—" She stepped back. "This is my illusion. This isn't possible—"
She looked around frantically.
"Where did he—"
The ground behind her shifted.
Lucien rose from beneath it — unhurried, unbothered, brushing nothing off his sleeve like he'd simply stepped through a door.
"Too bad," he said pleasantly. "Did you think you were the only one who could use illusion magic?"
She spun. "What do you mean— wait—" Her expression shifted. Horror creeping in. "Don't tell me—"
"When," Lucien said, "exactly, did you think you trapped me?"
Silence.
"When you said you weren't interested in me—" He smiled, calm and absolute — "I cast mine alongside the barrier."
Her breath caught.
"So the entire time..." His eyes met hers. "You've been inside my illusion."
The world around them trembled.
"Welcome," Lucien said quietly.
"To my stage."
