The Poet's System
Chapter 55: Passage

Chapter 55: Passage

Astara dropped to her knees, drained by the force of her final blow. The hellbears lay in ruins, but the captain’s survival remained a grim possibility.

Yet they were all spent. Medora had given everything to heal Daylan, but the weight of the battles left her too rattled to heal herself properly.

Daylan’s bones had been somewhat mended—though not as strong as before, he could barely stay on his feet, but he was alive.

However, it came at a price. Medora was completely drained. With a faint smile and a thumbs-up toward Daylan, she collapsed into unconsciousness.

Daylan forced himself to his feet just in time to see the captain emerging from the crumbling building. With what little strength he had left, he rushed to Astara, lifted her carefully, and laid her beside Medora.

Astara’s strike had maimed the captain—he’d lost an arm. But even crippled, Daylan knew that without divine intervention, he couldn’t hope to face him in his current condition.

"Let’s end this—I’ve kept my master waiting long enough." The captain flexed his remaining arm, power crackling through it.

Daylan’s fist tightened. "We have to fall back. But... Mother—won’t she be even worse after this?" He muttered.

He was filled with doubt and clearly at a disadvantage, but he refused to give in. His comrades hadn’t endured all that for him to surrender now.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself to his feet, cracked his neck, and reactivated Dark Spiral. With his struggles barely visible, he charged toward the captain.

Daylan aimed for the captain’s weakened right side. He faked a blow from the left, then in a blur of movement, slipped to the right and struck.

Daylan aimed to wear the captain down, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver a devastating final blow. But even in his weakened state, the captain’s sluggish attacks packed far more force than his own.

The clash wore on, but the captain, moving faster than Daylan could match in his current state, landed a crushing blow to his gut, knocking him back and forcing him to slide across the ground.

He collapsed to his knees, vomiting blood.

His whole body shook with fear—raw and primal, like a man cornered by a lion. His limbs failed him, and his strength vanished. It felt like a betrayal, one he refused to accept.

They say you can run, but you can’t hide forever. And Daylan knew it was true—his body had reached its limit. The worst part? He hadn’t even confronted Giselle yet.

But he had to try—at the very least, to find out where she was. Drawing on the last remnants of his strength, he surged forward. In a blink, he stood before the captain. He didn’t attack.

He simply grabbed him... and met his gaze with fierce determination.

Fractal Echo

He gripped the captain tightly and gave him a hard shake. The captain’s eyes widened, confused by Daylan’s restraint. "Where’s your leader?" Daylan growled through gritted teeth.

The captain’s mind was a void—no resistance, no deception. Just scattered, fraying thoughts that led nowhere.

With a sudden blow, the captain sent Daylan crashing into the ground. But Daylan didn’t stay down. He lunged forward again, forcing his way into the captain’s mind.

At first, it was a blur of nothingness—but he kept digging, and eventually, he found something. Something that mattered.

Although it wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear, it was still satisfying news—Giselle wasn’t in the hideout.

Daylan stepped back from the captain and summoned the Titans. The effort took a heavy toll on him, and he dropped to his knees, nearly drained of all his energy.

"Are you okay, Master Daylan?" Silver asked as they faced the captain.

"Giselle isn’t here. Take me to the headquarters—and Platinum," she said, turning to Daylan. "Once you finish off the captain, take Medora and Astara home."

"No, Master. You’re too weak right now, and I doubt Giselle would head to the headquarters without the captains. It’s just not possible—she wouldn’t make it without them."

Daylan’s expression darkened, but before he could speak, he felt a touch at his feet. It was Astara—she had crawled over to reach him. "Let them kill the captain now," she muttered.

Daylan’s eyes widened in confusion, but he didn’t wait to understand. "Kill the captain. Now!" he commanded.

Just as the Titans were about to strike, a voice rang out—"Stop!" Instantly, they froze. Every eye turned toward the source of the command.

However, Astara wasn’t fazed. In that split second when their attention shifted, she gathered all her strength and dashed toward the captain.

Before he could react, she severed his head cleanly—and collapsed, unconscious, to the ground.

At that very moment, Giselle stepped out of the shadows and smacked her forehead.

"Isn’t this damage enough, Daylan?" she said, exasperated.

Daylan stood frozen, unsure of what to do—what to think. There was nothing between him and his mother now, yet unease gripped him.

"Who would’ve thought my own son would form a group just to kill me?" she said quietly.

Daylan instinctively stepped toward her, removed his mask, and gave a quiet order to the Titans. "Take Medora and Astara home."

"The audacity! This is the child I raised," she said proudly with a smirk.

Daylan had so many questions for her—but at that moment, none came to mind. Only one word lingered, heavy and raw.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I can have it all—and that’s exactly what I’m doing," she said calmly, yet with an unhinged edge. Her eyes locked onto Daylan’s while he stood there, breathing heavily through clenched breaths.

"I was meant to be the strongest—that’s why I was born. Born to rule, not just over the Phantoms, but the entire world. But those bastards we call gods..." he said, clearly irritated.

"They tried to take that from me. Lust as my ability? From the moment I was born, it was clear—I was to be branded a liar and a whore. My dignity, my smooth and thrilling path meant to surpass the Vital Five... all of it went down the drain because of their foolish and unjust trial."

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

New Task Available

Objective: [Kill Giselle].

Time Limit: [30 minutes].

Reward: [High-tier Mastery level].

Penalty: [?]

Daylan watched as his mother trembled, just from speaking those words. He didn’t know much about her past, but one thing was clear—she had been a spoiled brat. Nothing like the woman who had raised him.

He took a deep breath. "Things didn’t go your way, so now you’re trying to take it all back—by killing your own son?" he said, stepping closer.

She burst into laughter. "You think I had you because I wanted a child? You were just a means to an end—to get me closer to my goal. And I will reach it. Neither you nor the gods can stop me."

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

Warning: Failure to complete the task within the allotted timeframe will trigger an equivalent penalty.

Penalty: Soul Passage.

Daylan clenched his fists, teeth gritted, as he stepped closer—determined to end it all before his body gave out. And besides, dawn was fast approaching.

"I’ll kill you... I will kill you, Daylan. You can’t stop me."

Daylan narrowed his eyes—something felt off. He rushed forward, only to be met with horror.

Giselle wasn’t there.

Everything was a lie? What have I done?

It was just a hologram—an illusion conjured by the cursed sword.

Before he could react—before he could even search for his mother—his hand was severed. He stared at it in shock, terror rising in his chest. And at that moment, his other hand was cut off as well.

Then, without hesitation, she drove the sword straight into his heart.

Daylan collapsed to the ground, his vision blurring into a haze. Everything felt distant—fuzzy. But through the fading light, he could still see her... his mother, calmly collecting the blood leaking from his body.

I failed. I failed everyone. I’m sorry.

Giselle wore a confident smile as she collected his blood, unfazed by the heavy gaps between his son’s breath and the tears streaming down his cheeks.

With the last of his strength, just before slipping into unconsciousness, Daylan attempted to teleport back to the hideout—desperate to stop his mother from taking more of his blood.

But it was harder than he’d imagined. The orb dimmed in his hand, pulsing weakly—like a second heart, struggling to breathe.

Before he knew it, everything faded to pitch black. He heard nothing, saw nothing—and felt nothing. No muscles to move, no body to command. It was as if he were a balloon, drifting weightlessly in an endless vacuum of nothingness.

Giselle, on the other hand, had collected all the blood she needed. It would’ve been better to put Daylan at the Adren stage—for a smoother, more effective process—but this would suffice. And from the look on her face, it was clear: it was more than enough.

The moment she finished, she simply knelt beside Daylan’s corpse.

"It saddens me to see you like this, son. You’ve been an important part of my life... a good son, truly. But sadly, my love for you doesn’t come close to my love for power. I’m sorry."

She rose to her feet and began to walk away—but then paused.

"You’ve come back to life before. I’d be glad to see you do it again... son."

With that, she turned and walked away.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

Warning: The end is not the silence you must expect—something else is coming, and it does not speak.

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