AK : RISING MYTHIC

Arslan stared at the skeletal figure lying lifelessly across Kar'Thæl's lap. Its bones were scorched black, cracked in places like it had been torn apart from within. Runes were still faintly etched into what remained of its ribs—symbols Arslan recognized from the torn pages of the Anti-Kar'Thæl book.

He narrowed his eyes. "Who is that skeleton? Why do you call it my brother?"

Kar'Thæl tilted his head back slightly and let out a half-laugh, half-sigh—amused, almost relaxed in the throne of bones.

> "Ooooh, this skeleton?" he said, as if recalling an old pet. He patted its skull gently. "This delightful little heap of ash was my previous vessel."

He leaned forward now, the shadows behind him stretching and twitching like tendrils of smoke alive with hunger.

> "So naturally, I call him your brother, Arslan… because you, too, will lie across my lap like this… one day."

Arslan's blood chilled.

His fists clenched at his sides, voice sharp. "What do you mean?"

Kar'Thæl groaned loudly and tossed his head back.

> "Ohhhh gods —how much he talks."

He leaned back in the throne and waved his hand as if bored with the conversation already. Then he looked at Arslan, a devilish grin peeling across his lips.

> "It means—you're my next vessel."

The words hit like a blade.

The air pulsed, heavy with unspoken finality.

Arslan took a slow step forward, every movement controlled. "Why me? Why did you choose me?"

Kar'Thæl chuckled again, tapping his long black nails against the skeleton's clavicle.

> "You're not very patient, are you?" He smirked. "I was bored, yes. But don't get it twisted—I call, and you came. I bound, and you began to awaken."

> "You think your darkness is yours?" he said with a flare in his eyes. "I placed it in you. Like a flame placed inside wet wood, waiting to spark. I watched you burn, little by little."

He snapped his fingers sharply.

> "Now stop asking and bind with me. Then maybe I'll give you your answers."

Arslan's reply came cold, steady, burning.

> "I will never let you take my body."

Kar'Thæl's expression shifted.

The amusement drained from his face. His smile twisted into something crueler—sharper. And then, suddenly—

> "Hey—motherfucker—"

His voice cracked like a whip, filled with raw venom.

> "You think you can stop me?"

He stood, the skeleton sliding from his lap like a toy discarded, clattering onto the floor. The moment his boots hit the ground, the entire chamber seemed to tilt—walls groaning, stone whispering in a language too ancient to name.

Arslan didn't back down. He took one breath, then another.

> "I'll fight you…" he said through gritted teeth. "I'll fight you until my last breath. I know you're weak now. And that means…"

He stepped forward.

> "The devils were right. The book was right. You are the true threat to this world."

> "And I will never let you harm it."

Kar'Thæl threw back his head and laughed—not chuckled, not smirked—laughed like thunder breaking through the bones of the earth.

> "Hahahaha! So noble! So broken!"

The throne behind him shattered into black dust. His aura flared—twisting like fire trapped in glass.

Arslan pulled back his cloak, eyes burning with resolve. With a surge of force, he summoned his weapons—

The Dark Shield—an impenetrable crescent of shimmering obsidian energy.

The Shadow Blades—twin daggers drawn from his soul, born from pain and silence.

He dropped into a ready stance, aura swirling violently.

> "Come."

But then—they vanished.

In one blink, the blades and shield disintegrated, fading into particles like dreams being erased.

Arslan's eyes widened.

> "What—!?"

Kar'Thæl clicked his tongue mockingly.

> "Tsk tsk. You were going to use my power against me?" He grinned, stepping closer. "Nonono, don't do that, babe."

With a flick of his wrist, a dark blade appeared in his hand.

The Twin-Face Sword.

Its hilt split into two snarling visages—one laughing, the other weeping. Its blade shimmered with the color of dying stars, and runes crawled along its edge like living scars.

And before Arslan could react—

FLASH.

Kar'Thæl was in front of him.

And the blade was at Arslan's neck.

> "You're fast," Kar'Thæl whispered, eyes inches away.

> "But I'm already inside you."