Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 459: Lucas breaking down

The weight of everything that had just been revealed still lingered heavily in the command tent, the air thick with unspoken thoughts and the burden of what lay ahead, yet despite the tension and the exhaustion that clung to his battered body, Lucas pushed himself up, his movements slow and strained as he rose from where he had been seated, his legs trembling under him as though they might give out at any moment, but he forced them to hold, his will refusing to let him remain down when there was still too much left unresolved.

"What’s... the next plan..." he asked, his voice rough and uneven, each word costing him more than it should, yet his tone carried that same stubborn determination that had kept him standing even in the face of Ken’s relentless assault, his head lifting slightly as though trying to focus on the others despite the state he was in.

No one answered immediately.

Not because they did not have thoughts, but because they could see it.

The way his body moved.

The way he stood.

The way something about him was no longer holding together the way it should.

And before anyone could respond...A sharp, uneven breath escaped him, his chest tightening suddenly as a wheezing sound broke from his throat, harsh and uncontrollable, his body jerking slightly as though something inside him had snapped loose, his balance failing in an instant as his legs gave out completely beneath him.

He fell.

The impact would have been worse if they had not reacted immediately.

"Xavier!"

The shout came from more than one voice at once as those closest to him rushed forward, catching him before he could hit the ground fully, his body limp in their grip as the wheezing continued, growing harsher, more desperate with each breath he tried to take.

"Clear the table!" Captain Varran barked without hesitation, his tone sharp as urgency took over.

Commander Alexander moved instantly, sweeping everything off the command table in one motion, maps, tools, everything crashing to the ground as space was made without a second thought, and together they laid Lucas down on it, his body barely responsive as his chest rose and fell in uneven, strained motions.

"He’s burning up," Lira said, her voice shaking despite her attempt to stay composed, her hand hovering over him before finally resting against his skin, her expression tightening immediately at the heat she felt.

It wasn’t normal.

It wasn’t even close.

His body temperature was high.

Extremely high.

The kind of heat that did not belong to a simple injury or exhaustion, but something deeper, something far more dangerous that had been building beneath everything else.

His wheezing worsened, each breath sounding more painful than the last, his body trembling slightly as though it could no longer regulate itself, and then Blood. It came suddenly.

Dark and thick.

Spilling from his nose as his head tilted slightly to the side, staining the surface beneath him as more followed, his condition visibly deteriorating in front of them.

Selene stepped forward quickly, her hands moving with urgency as she tried to assess him, her expression tightening with every second that passed.

"Internal damage," she said, her voice low but tense. "Severe... this isn’t just surface injuries."

Her fingers pressed lightly against his side, then his chest, then his neck, each point confirming the same thing.

"His body is completely breaking down," she added, her tone growing more strained. "Multiple internal injuries... and something else..."

She did not finish that sentence.

She didn’t need to.

Because everyone could see it.

The way his body reacted.

The way his breathing faltered.

The way the heat radiated unnaturally from him.

Lira stepped closer, her composure cracking despite her efforts, her hand gripping the edge of the table tightly as she looked down at him.

"Xavier..." she whispered, her voice barely holding together.

Nyx stood still, her usual calm shaken, her eyes fixed on him as though trying to process how someone who had just been standing, just been speaking, could collapse this completely in the span of seconds.

Henrietta, still weak herself, could only watch from where she was, her expression pale, her hands clenched as she tried to push herself up, only to be held back by her own condition.

Selene continued working, but even her steady hands could not hide the tension now, the urgency growing with every passing moment.

Tears that could no longer be held back as they watched him lying there, broken in a way that no amount of strength or willpower could immediately fix, the image of him standing defiantly against Ken still fresh in their minds, now replaced with this, this fragile, failing state that felt unbearably cruel after everything he had endured.

They had seen him fight.

They had seen him refuse to fall.

And now...they were watching him slip away, right in front of them.

The tension inside the tent sharpened as Lucas’s condition continued to worsen, his wheezing uneven and strained, his body trembling faintly against the surface of the table as the unnatural heat radiating from him refused to subside, and in the midst of the quiet panic that had begun to take hold of the others, the Empress stepped forward, her movements calm and untouched by the rising fear in the room as she approached him with the composure of someone who had already understood far more than the rest.

She did not speak immediately, instead placing her hands on him, pressing lightly along his torso, his chest, his abdomen, her touch precise, her senses extending beyond what the others could perceive as she assessed not just the visible damage, but the deeper state of his body, the internal chaos that had been building throughout the battle, and as she moved, her expression shifted slightly, not into panic, but into quiet recognition of the severity of what she was feeling.

Then she raised her right hand and placed her palm gently against his forehead.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then cold and pure energy flowed into him.

It moved from her into him in a controlled stream, not violent, not overwhelming, but steady and deliberate, spreading through his overheated body like a calming force, pushing back against the unnatural heat that had taken hold of him, and almost immediately, the effect became visible as the intense temperature radiating from him began to drop, the burning sensation that had seemed to consume him gradually easing under her influence.

Lucas’s body reacted, a faint shudder running through him as the cold energy spread deeper, clashing against whatever was causing the instability within him, and though the heat began to dissipate, though the surface symptoms were being suppressed, the pain did not vanish, his breathing still strained, his body still tense, as though something far more rooted remained untouched by this initial intervention.

The Empress withdrew her hand slowly, her gaze remaining on him, focused, thoughtful.

"There is something else," she said quietly.

Selene stepped closer, her expression tightening as she nodded.

"The residue of the shadow dragon’s inferno," she said, her voice low but certain. "It’s been inside him since before this fight... and it’s gotten worse."

The Empress gave a slight nod, her expression confirming that she had already sensed it.

"It has spread deeply," she said, her tone calm but serious. "Far deeper than it should have been allowed to."

Her gaze lingered on Lucas for a moment longer before she straightened slightly, her decision already made.

"I will have to cleanse it completely," she said. "Not partially. Not suppress it. Remove it."

The weight of that statement settled immediately.

Selene’s eyes widened slightly.

"That’s... dangerous," she said carefully. "If it’s that deeply rooted, forcing it out could...."

"It must be done," the Empress interrupted gently, not dismissing the concern, but making it clear that there was no alternative. "If it remains, it will consume him."

The Empress turned slightly, her gaze moving across the room, settling briefly on each of them.

"Leave the tent," she said.

Her voice was calm, but absolute.

"I need complete focus," she added. "And what I am about to do cannot be interrupted."

The King hesitated for a fraction of a second, his eyes moving from her to Lucas, then back again, the weight of leaving him in that state clearly not sitting well with him, but he understood, just as the others did, that this was not something they could assist with, not something they could even remain present for.

"...Do what you must," he said finally, his voice low, carrying both trust and concern.

One by one, they began to move.

Lira lingered the longest, her eyes fixed on Lucas, her hands clenched at her sides as though she was fighting the urge to stay, to remain close no matter what, but in the end, she stepped back, her gaze softening as she forced herself to turn away.

Selene followed, though her steps were reluctant, her mind clearly still running through everything that could go wrong, everything that might happen during the process.

Nyx, Henrietta, Captain Varran, Commander Alexander, and finally the King himself all exited the tent, the sound of their footsteps fading as they stepped outside, leaving behind only silence within the enclosed space.