Path of the Extra

Azriel froze, his body plunging into a deeper chill, a biting cold so intense it seared through him. The world narrowed down until all he could perceive was Pollux standing before him, still wearing his sister’s face.

“W-what… what did you just say?”

Out of nowhere, a knife appeared in Pollux’s hand—a small pocketknife.

“T-that…!”

Azriel’s single eye widened in shock. It was the same pocketknife Pierre had used to gouge out his eye—the same one he’d found hidden alongside the cryptic clue about Pollux’s identity.

“The real pocketknife—the one actually used on you—is still lying exactly where you first collapsed unconscious in this forest. But this…” Pollux said with a faint smirk, “…is something entirely different. Something hidden in plain sight.”

Pollux waved his hand gently over the small blade. Azriel blinked, and in the next instant, a different object rested in Pollux’s open palm.

A jagged black fang, as large as a human forearm, lay there, unnaturally dense and heavy. It wasn’t made of metal, nor stone, nor bone. Its matte-black surface defied comprehension, as though carved from something older than the world itself. Tiny cracks spiderwebbed across its length, glowing faintly with an eerie, pale white light.

Whatever it was, a chill gripped Azriel’s heart, making him shiver uncontrollably at its mere presence.

The fang looked impossibly sharp, terrifyingly dangerous—so much so that Azriel instinctively knew if Pollux swung it carelessly, it might cleave through reality itself.

Or perhaps through this very dream.

‘Is that… the key to escaping this spell?’

Pollux ignored—or simply didn’t care about—Azriel’s inner turmoil, continuing with the same prideful tone as always.

“This is an artifact—” Pollux paused abruptly, clearing his throat, “—or as your people call it, a ‘Void artifact.’ However, your world has yet to properly classify these artifacts, which in truth are separated into six distinct grades. This one here is a Grade 2 Void artifact. The most powerful Void artifacts are Grade 0.”

Azriel blinked at the sudden lecture. Goosebumps prickled across his skin. If this dreadful fang, radiating such a malevolent aura, was only Grade 2, then he couldn’t begin to fathom the horror of a Grade 0 artifact.

“This particular artifact,” Pollux continued calmly, “is called ‘Sealbreaker.’ It is something I managed to salvage from my world before the gods obliterated everything. But as you can clearly see with that one remaining eye of yours—the one you so pathetically lost—it’s not exactly in pristine condition anymore…”

Pollux’s crimson gaze sharpened, pinning Azriel with deadly seriousness.

“It has, perhaps, one final use left. A single chance to destroy something—anything. Even a [Unique Skill] like yours.”

Azriel suddenly flashed a cold smile, eyes glittering defiantly.

“And perhaps to destroy this spell—or even you, I’d assume?”

Pollux returned the smile evenly.

“This is precisely the choice you now face, Son of Death.”

He pointed the razor-sharp fang directly at Azriel, whose entire body instantly tensed.

“Surrender, human. Give up your struggle and live the remainder of your days in a peaceful dream. I promise you will never suffer again. You’ll finally rest, no longer feeling your body grow colder or your mana core burning. I won’t even touch your mana core anymore; there are enough Void creatures and humans trapped in this forest to sustain the spell indefinitely. All I require from you is that you stop resisting. And then, at the very end of your peaceful life within this dream, I’ll use this Void artifact to destroy your [Unique Skill], allowing you to pass away gently and quietly.”

Pollux’s smile grew darker, crueler, dripping with menace.

“Or resist…” he whispered ominously, voice chillingly low,

“…and only Hell will await you, Son of Death.”

At Pollux’s ominous threat, Azriel simply stared back blankly for a moment. Slowly, he lowered his gaze, gently pinching his chin as if lost in thought. Then, raising his eye again to meet Pollux’s crimson gaze—the Starblood still wearing his sister’s face—Azriel broke into a smile filled with dark, vindictive glee.

“You bastard,” he sneered mockingly.

“Did you really believe I’d accept any deal from you? Oh my..! You clearly haven’t been observing my memories closely enough, have you? There’s absolutely no way I’d agree to anything proposed by someone who killed me twice—let alone trapped me here. I’d sooner return to being Doctor Arthur’s plaything!”

Pollux growled, low and dangerous.

“You dare trample upon my kindness, human?”

“Careful,” Azriel retorted, his smile widening sharply, “This ‘mere human’ seems to terrify the same gods who brought your entire kind to the brink of extinction.”

Pollux took a deliberate step forward, his face growing colder, the intensity of his gaze becoming heavier with each passing second.

“So you would rather wallow in misery when I offer you peace?” Pollux hissed, leaning close and whispering darkly into Azriel’s ear.

“Is their love truly worth this suffering? No…”

Suddenly, Pollux laughed softly, a dark, unsettling sound.

“Is it love you seek, or simply a reason not to fall apart alone?

He leaned back, regarding Azriel with a look of disdainful superiority.

“You’re so desperate to avoid loneliness that you force yourself to cherish the very things that burn you.”

For a brief moment, Azriel’s facade cracked. His expression darkened, and he lowered his gaze until Pollux could no longer see his face clearly.

But then Azriel suddenly began to laugh—a cold, wheezing sound. Raising his head once more, he gave Pollux an amused, mocking look.

“I’ve just realized something… This is simply a scenario, isn’t it? I finally understand what you’ve been doing. You’ve tried to toy with my mind while I’ve been trapped in your spell, attempting to make me forget that none of this truly matters. Scenario’s, eventually they’ll all come to an end—whether I resist you or indulge your ridiculous offer for a brief peace.”

Azriel raised a finger and pointed it directly at Pollux.

“And do you want to know the best part? Surely you already realized it yourself after seeing my memories and learning everything that I know.”

This time, it was Azriel who leaned forward, whispering ominously into Pollux’s ear:

“It’s that you—Pollux, Great Divine Star-Spirit Emperor, Last Crown of the Starbloods—are already dead, along with everyone else from this fallen world.”