"Promise me that you will reach your potential and bme Absolute. Then, you will revive me." "What...?" "If I fail, that is. If I do not, Then the race is still on, child. I wish you luck." "Wait-" "Fathe-" BOOOOOOOOOOM Before Nux and Aelianauld say anything, a deafening explosion shook the entire Yrniel. Yrniel’s sky turned crimson as it trembled violently, distorting the very space around itself. Unable to hold out any longer, Yrniel’s spatial fabric started cracking. The ground cracked, the air twisted, and an energy so pure, dense, and endless was released that even Nuxuldn’t believe his eyes. This energy... It was much higher than what heuld release, even if he used the energy of Umbrasol and all other worlds that were inside his Universe. It was... The energy of the World. Raw energy of the World that wasn’t inntrol any longer. An energy that released so much pressure that no being in Yrnieluld resist. Once again, everyone passed out. Even Nux and Aeliana would have been the same, but... The same energy that weighed others down, surrounded them as if protecting them from everything happening around them. RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE THUNDER THUNDER THUNDER Yrniel cried. This energy... It was the energy that belonged to it. This endless amount of energyuld make it as strong as it was supposed to be, a world much stronger than any High-Level World. It was a good thing. The energy was all for it to take, but... Yrniel still cried, and when Nux finally realized what was happening, he glanced at Azriel, his eyes widening in horror. Azriel’s body was breaking apart. "FATHER!!!" Aeliana screamed, rushing towards him. Nux, however, grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "NUX! WHAT ARE YOU-" "You cannot go. His body would perish with even the smallest force." Nux spoke, his voice much heavier than usual as he stared at his father-in-law in front of him. "What...?" Aeliana felt a chill down her spine, unable to believe what she just heard. She turned towards her father, wanting to hear that all of this was a lie, but... Azriel just smiled. His Blood Essence, which had been holding on to Yrniel’s Energy, finally let it go, risking its very own existence. No, risking was a hopeful word. This was no different than self-destruction. Almost all of Azriel’s Blood Essence was made of Yrniel’s Core Energy. His very existence was being supported by Yrniel. The moment he gave it up, his Blood Essence... dissolved, unable to hold out any longer. His face became paler and paler until his fleshuldn’t take it anymore and dissolved into a thick, crimson mist. It was over. Azriel’s very existence was being erased because his blood didn’t exist anymore. Everything he did so far, everything that went against the Universe’s Rules, giving a part of his Blood Essence to his wives to strengthen them, burning his Blood Essence to strengthen himself and face an enemy heuldn’t defeat, and even giving birth to Aeliana, strengthening her much more than a normal Yrniel’s Vampire should be... All his mistakes, which werevered by Yrniel’s Core Energy, were now being revealed, and his very existence, which should have perished if not for Yrniel protecting him, was now... perishing since he abandoned Yrniel’s protection. This... was true annihilation. The Vampire Progenitor then turned towards his daughter, his expression so gentle and calming as if everything was under hisntrol. "Aeliana..." He called out, his deep, steady voice cutting through the chaos. "Father!" Aeliana, whould barely believe what was happening, reacted instantly when she heard her father’s voice. In her mind, she was still expecting her all-powerful father to do something, anything, and return to her. She wanted him to say something that would calm her down. She wanted him to tell her that everything would be alright, just like always, but... "Take care." Just two words. A simple farewell. And yet, for Aeliana, those two words were far more terrifying than anything else. "FATHER!!" She screamed, tears streaming down her eyes without stop. Her body trembled. If it wasn’t for Nux holding her, she would have longllapsed. Not again... Sheuldn’t lose her father a snd time. Azriel, who saw his daughter like this, closed his eyes. This was for the best. Nux was here. He knew his son-in-law would take care of his daughter, and because he knew that... Azriel decided to be selfish this one time. It was too painful, living in a world without his wives next to him. It was... lonely. Even someone like Azrieluldn’t take it any longer. So he decided to risk it all. All for... One last fighting chance, one last struggle to get back what he had lost. One last chance to bring his wives back to him or... go to them. Nux, who saw tears in his wife’s eyes, felt his heart breaking. Hisnnection with Aeliana was already much stronger after the illusion. He had sworn to himself that he would never let her be sad no matter what... Yet here he was... helpless when his wife was crying... Frustration, helplessness, and... anger... All these emotions overwhelmed him, and as he stared at the perishing Azriel, all these intense emotions were directed at someone else. "It was the Seer, wasn’t it?" Nux spoke up, his body trembling in rage. "She must have enticed you into believing that this was the way out. So that was the reason she wanted to meet you in the first place. Her goal wasn’t me, but you. I should have kno-" "She told me not to do it." Azriel smiled at Nux’s words. "She wanted to meet me because she knew I was planning on doing it and told me not to." "Then why di-" Before Aelianauld evenmplete her question, "I was selfish." Then, a blood-red tear came out of Azriel’s eyes, and as he looked at his daughter one last time, "I am sorry." "No—Father, wai—!" As if he had said his final words, Azriel’s entire body turned into Blood Mist and... It disappeared.