Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 362: Doomed Henrietta

Lucas did not hesitate even for a heartbeat once the realization settled in his chest, his gaze snapping toward the king with an urgency that cut through the noise of the army and the echoes of the abyss.

"Your Majesty," Lucas said quickly, his voice low but edged with unmistakable alarm as he stepped close enough that only the king, Captain Varran, and Commander Alexander could hear him clearly. "Henrietta and the ice belle are in grave danger. A shadow dragon far stronger than before has engaged them, and Henrietta is already being overwhelmed."

The king stiffened at once, his grip tightening on the reins of his horse as his expression darkened. "The dragon," he repeated, disbelief and anger mingling in his tone. "Inside the abyss, now of all times."

Lucas nodded, his jaw clenched as another pulse of distress rippled through the bond, sharp enough to make his breath hitch. "If I do not intervene immediately, we will lose them. I cannot allow that to happen."

Captain Varran took a sharp step forward, concern written plainly across his face. "Lord Xavier, if you go alone into that chaos," he began, but Lucas cut him off with a slight shake of his head.

"There is no time," Lucas said firmly, meeting the king’s eyes again. "Trust me. Hold the formation steady and continue moving the remaining groups through once the path is secure. I will bring them back."

The king studied him for a brief moment that felt far longer than it truly was, then gave a sharp nod, his voice carrying the weight of command and faith. "Go," he said simply. "Bring them."

Lucas bowed deeply, not as a formality but as a silent promise, then straightened and took a single step backward as space itself trembled around him.

The air folded inward with a violent ripple, frost and spatial Qi intertwining in a flash of distorted light, and before anyone could utter another word, Lucas vanished completely, swallowed by the abyss as though he had never been there at all.

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Henrietta’s body trembled as she struggled to remain upright, her breath coming out in broken gasps while warm blood spilled from her lips and splattered onto the blackened ground beneath her feet. Each cough wracked her chest violently, sending fresh waves of pain through her meridians, and she could feel her strength slipping away faster than she could gather it. Her once radiant aura had thinned to a flicker, unstable and weak, barely clinging to her battered form as the abyss seemed to press down on her from all sides.

The shadow dragon descended slowly, its massive form blotting out what little dim light existed in the abyss, its talons sinking into the cracked earth as it perched before her with an air of absolute dominance. Its single uninjured eye fixed on Henrietta with cold contempt, the pupil narrowing as if she were nothing more than a broken insect that had dared to struggle too long. A low rumble vibrated from deep within its chest, not a roar but a sound filled with ridicule and certainty, as though the outcome had never been in doubt.

Henrietta tried to raise her arms, but the arms refused to obey, trembling violently before falling back to her side. She could taste iron and ash in her mouth, and every breath felt heavier than the last. When the dragon lowered its head slightly, she felt the temperature around her shift as an overwhelming heat began to gather, the air warping and shimmering as inferno flame was summoned from the deepest part of the beast’s belly. The glow built slowly, ominously, casting cruel shadows across the ground and reflecting in the widening eye of the dragon as power coiled within it.

In that moment, Henrietta understood that there was nothing left she could do. No technique remained unspent, no hidden reserve left untouched, and no miracle waiting to answer her call. Her thoughts drifted briefly to the kingdom she had sworn to protect, to the people who would continue marching forward even if she fell here, and to the young man whose plans and resolve had carried them this far. There was no bitterness in her heart, only a quiet acceptance and a faint sense of pride that she had stood her ground until the very end.

She straightened as much as her failing body allowed, blood still spilling freely as her vision blurred at the edges, then slowly closed her eyes. In the suffocating heat of the gathering inferno and the oppressive presence of the dragon looming before her, Henrietta let go of her struggle, ready to embrace death with dignity, believing that her life had been spent for a cause worth dying for.

The instant the inferno burst free from the shadow dragon’s jaws, the world around Henrietta seemed to slow to a cruel crawl, every heartbeat stretching into an eternity filled with unbearable heat and pressure. Her blurred vision caught the expanding wave of blue flame as it tore through the air toward her, its brilliance swallowing the darkness of the abyss and painting everything in violent light. Even before it reached her, her skin screamed in protest, the scorching temperature searing her senses and making it difficult to even draw breath.

Instinct moved her body where will no longer could, and despite knowing how futile it was, she force the Qi remained within her to respond. Her meridians screamed as she dragged the remnants of her power together, layering them in front of her like fragile sheets of glass, each one trembling and cracking under the sheer pressure of the approaching attack. Blood flowed freely now, running down her chin and dripping from her fingers as her hands shook violently, yet she refused to lower them, refusing to face death without resistance even when hope had long abandoned her.

Her thoughts scattered under the overwhelming heat, fragments of memory flashing through her mind as the inferno closed the distance in a fraction of a second. She remembered standing proudly among her comrades, remembered the trust placed in her by the king, and remembered the quiet resolve she had felt when she chose to remain behind with the ice belle. There was fear, yes, but beneath it lay a calm acceptance, a resolve that she would not curse her fate even as it claimed her life.

The flame was upon her now, so close that the air itself felt as though it would ignite, and Henrietta could feel her hastily formed defenses beginning to buckle before they were even fully shaped. Her vision faded further, edges darkening as the searing heat pressed against her final barrier, in that vanishing moment between life and death, she held onto the single thought that she had done all she could.