Aetheric Chronicles: Reborn As An Extra

The tension was palpable as the explosion gathered strength, humming ominously as it began to pull everything toward annihilation. Adrian's focus was fierce, his entire being devoted to sustaining the barrier of light that surrounded his friends and the others.

His gaze remained on Kalin, who was thrashing against the radiant and shadowy wall with a furious hatred, cursing Adrian's name with every breath. All he could think about was protecting them, holding back the darkness long enough to give them a chance.

Swish-!

But then, something shifted in the air—a barely perceptible flicker behind him, as though the shadows themselves had come alive. Before he could react, a cold, sharp pain erupted just left of his spine, piercing through flesh, muscle, and bone as a steel blade burst from his chest, narrowly missing his heart.

"..."

Blood began to spill freely, staining his clothes a deep crimson, dripping from the sword's blade and seeping into the ground below.

~~~~~

The air around him seemed to still, his mind catching up painfully slow to what his body was already enduring.

THUMP-! THUMP-!

His heart thundered as he stared down at the blade, watching with a strange detachment as droplets of blood slid down the cold, glinting metal.

'W-What...?'

A wave of dizziness crashed over him, and he felt warm liquid bubbling up from his throat. Blood trickled from his mouth, hot and metallic, staining his lips as he coughed, the sound swallowed by the shock that swept across the clearing.

Kalin's laughter rang out, shrill and triumphant. "Well, well… Looks like you people are really messed up. All that light, all that 'protection'—and for what? Getting stabbed in the back? Hahaha!"

Adrian felt his legs give way, the strength of the relic's light slipping from his grasp as his mind grew foggy. He stumbled forward, his hands reaching for the wound as if to push the sword away, but his limbs felt too heavy, his fingers too numb.

The radiant light surrounding his friends flickered, then vanished, leaving him and everyone else exposed as the explosion started to spread, hungrily devouring everything in its path.

"Adrian!"

The familiar voice that called his name was anguished, slicing through his hazy mind like a sharp knife.

He knew that voice—it was Aria.

But he couldn't respond, his gaze fixed on the blood spilling down his torso. Each drop seemed to hold some part of him, some piece of light, slipping away. The others—Elara, Ceil, Cedric, Lloyd, Aurelius, and Seraphelis who just arrived—stood in stunned silence, the realization dawning as they saw the blood, the sword, and the man standing behind him with a grin of satisfaction.

"Finally," the assailant muttered, pulling the sword out with a sickening twist. Adrian barely registered the motion, his knees giving way as he began to fall forward. The assassin chuckled darkly, his voice filled with smug delight.

"Bounty complete." With a triumphant sneer, he turned to the others, giving a mocking salute before his form began to waver, shifting as if to vanish into thin air.

But before he could fully disappear, spikes of shadow tore through the air, lancing toward him with lethal precision. The assassin's grin vanished as he dodged, narrowly avoiding the attack, and his hand shot to a scroll tucked into his belt.

He unfurled it with a desperate, frantic motion, muttering words under his breath in a hurried attempt to activate it. But before he could finish, a shadow moved behind him, and a resounding crack filled the air as Azura struck him ruthlessly across the back of the head. The assassin crumpled to the ground, his scroll falling from limp fingers. His head was twisted, showing the black handlike tatoo.

"..."

Adrian felt himself falling, his vision blurring as the world tilted around him. His mind registered only fragments of what was happening, the colors and sounds a chaotic jumble. And then he felt warmth—a familiar warmth—and soft hands catching him before he could hit the ground.

"Adrian!" Aria's voice was broken, her face pale as she knelt over him, cradling his head in her lap. Tears streaked down her cheeks, her hands trembling as she brushed his blood-matted hair back from his face. Her gaze was filled with desperation, a silent plea that he could see through the haze clouding his vision.

"Elara, Lloyd—help him!" Her voice cracked as she looked up, and the two sprang into action, pulling the blood-soaked fabric of his shirt away to reveal the wound.

Elara's face went white as she pressed her hands to the wound, muttering a hurried healing incantation, while Lloyd began to pull the sword out, his expression filled with both self-guilt and grim determination.

Blood spilled from the wound as Lloyd pulled the sword free, the metal tearing through already damaged flesh. Elara's hands glowed with healing light as she pressed them against the gaping wound, but Adrian could feel something - poison sinking deeper, spreading like icy tendrils through his veins. Each breath was a struggle, a fight against the cold grip of death tightening around him.

'...A-Am... I dying?'n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

One obvious question surfaced in his mind as his vision grew blurry.

'...N-No.'

'I don't… I don't want to die.

' The thought hit him, sharp as a knife, and a flicker of defiance stirred within him.

'All the plans, all the promises…

'

He wanted to fight, to hold on, to keep the light alive for them, for her. But the fog around him was thickening, reality blurring at the edges, slipping from his grasp. '

How? How could it end like this?'

There had been so much he'd planned to do, so many dreams that had been just within his reach.

'Why?'

'...'

'I'm the disposable extra, is that it?'

'Is that why...'

He couldn't stop the thought from surfacing, a sharp pang of resentment stirring in his chest.

"A-Adrian…" Aria's voice was choked, her tears falling onto his face as she leaned over him, her fingers brushing against his cheek. She didn't care about anything else right now. Only Adrian. "Hold on, please. You're… you're going to be okay. I'll save you—I'll find something, I promise."

She fumbled with her storage ring, her hands searching desperately for anything that could stem the blood, the poison, anything to save him.

But right in this moment, faced with his own mortality, the reality crashed down on him in a way he hadn't expected.

'No, this isn't fate. It's reality. There's no plot, no story, no characters—just… this.'

And yet, for all his acceptance, he couldn't help but feel disappointed, a hollow ache settling in his chest that hurt worse than any wound.

"A-Adrian." Aria's heartwenching voice sounded in his mind once again with her now angelic face.

'...'

'Haha... My angel is going to send me to-'

'But... Why is it more painful to watch her... crying...'

'No...'

Adrian's mind was both clear and a mess.

He wanted to reassure her, to tell her that everything would be okay. But his voice wouldn't come, his strength fading with each second.

Then suddenly, his mind clicked.

'The light-!'

'The others will die too... She will die...'

The images of the vision resurfaced in his mind...

'I need... acti...'

"Cough-! Cough-!" (Blood spilling)

He tried to reach for the light again, to summon the power of the relic, but his chest erupted in pain, and he coughed, more blood spilling from his lips. His vision dimmed, the edges darkening as the pain grew, each pulse of agony driving him closer to the edge.

"No, don't do it!" Aria's voice was fierce, her hands clinging to his, trying to pull him back from the brink. She knew what he was trying to do. She just knew. "You… you'll die if you keep trying. Please, just stay still. We-no-I'll save you—I will!"

But Adrian knew.

He could feel the darkness looming closer, the shadows stretching out toward them as the explosion's edge crept ever nearer. It tore through the Domain with brutal efficiency, devouring everything in its path, a wave of destruction that threatened to consume them all.

Others trapped within the Domain were fleeing in their direction, desperate faces painted with horror as they scrambled for safety, but Adrian could see it—none of them would escape in time.

'Is this... the price...'

'..for..'

Aria held his hand tightly, her eyes wild with desperation. "Stay with me. Don't close your eyes—Adrian, please, don't!"

He blinked slowly, his gaze locking with hers.

There were so many things left unfinished, so many words he hadn't yet spoken. He was disappointed he couldn't be there for her, that he would never see the end of the journey they'd begun together.

'Hah...'

She was beautiful even now, tears streaming down her face, her lips trembling as she clung to him. He wanted to tell her everything he hadn't said, to promise her that he would come back, that this wasn't the end. But his voice was gone, his strength sapped, and all he could do was hold her gaze, hoping she could see everything he couldn't say.

The edges of his vision faded further, the cold creeping deeper into his bones.

"S-So... r..y..."