Chapter 166: Shoulder’s Loop

Chapter 166: Shoulder’s LoopAsurik followed her lead. His magma Ikona shimmered beside him, molten light spilling onto the pod’s ruined surfaces. He lingered at the threshold, one hand sliding along the battered doorframe as he turned to Kikaru, pinned within the netting.

"Sorry, Kikaru," he said, his tone heavy with resigned pragmatism. "Looks like we’re fated to keep crossing swords."

Beyond the doorway, the corridor stretched out, dim and oppressive. The conduits glinted faintly, the distant roar of B Block’s chaos echoing in faint bursts. Cube X’s tension was almost tangible—an invisible pulse that pressed against Elias’s skin. He stepped forward, the weight of his own lies dragging with him as he followed Vira into the dark.

Elias kept his hand firm on Junjio’s shoulder, guiding him forward as the boy stumbled. His portal Ikona, once a strong ring of light, now barely glimmered at his side.

Tears cut streaks through the grime on his face, his wide, terrified eyes darting from shadow to shadow.

Dot hovered close to Elias, her steady blue glow casting fleeting, restless shadows against the curve of the corridor walls. The soft hum of her presence was the only constant, a faint anchor amid the torrent of thoughts hammering in Elias’s mind.

His shard pulsed against his chest, each faint thrum matched by the cold numbers on the system prompt floating just within view. The countdown burned in his vision, a reminder of how little time remained. Who am I supposed to save? he thought, the words spinning through his head.

Junji’s dad? The ones I left behind? Someone I haven’t even met yet?

The unspoken question carved a deep groove into his focus, yet no answers came. All that surrounded him was the corridor—its damp, metallic scent of oil and blood, its conduits arching overhead like the ribs of some immense, slumbering beast.



Vira’s sharp voice snapped through the haze. "Move it," she said, her crimson serpent Ikona weaving ahead of her through the narrow passage. Her boots struck hard against the steel flooring, the sound ricocheting off the walls.

"Jasmine and Culdrin are waiting—your portals better hold, kid." Blood dripped steadily from her shard, leaving a dark, spreading trail behind her. It felt like the trail wasn’t just blood, but a marker of all that had been lost.

Elias’s heart raced, his mind a tight coil of doubt, plans, and uncertainty. He kept his tone steady as he asked, "You trust them to hold their ground?" The question hung between them, heavy, almost daring her to falter.

Junji’s voice barely rose above the faint buzz of the corridor’s pipes. "My dad’s out there—will he be okay?" he asked, his words trembling with desperation. "Please...he’s all I have." The boy’s hands shook, and the pale ring of his portal Ikona quivered with them.

Its faint glow flickered uncertainly, as if it too shared his fear. The damp sheen on the corridor’s pipes caught the light, warping the boy’s reflection into something ghostly, fragile. Elias didn’t answer right away. He couldn’t. The silence pressed on him just as hard as the stifling weight of the countdown.

Asurik’s magma Ikona flared, its molten light washing over the narrow corridor. The heat it gave off was subtle, almost comforting in the otherwise cold, damp air, though it carried a reminder of the volatile power behind it. "Jasmine’s got a mind like a blade, and Culdrin’s built like a damn fortress," he said, his voice quiet but firm, the weight of his words rooted in experience.

"They’ve been planning this ever since the Epics wrecked Vardency. Saw what shard users could do when they weren’t chained down. Yeah, it’s risky throwing in with them, but Vira’s got the right idea—my magma’s our muscle, and my name’ll get us through doors we wouldn’t otherwise touch." He spoke like a man used to picking through broken plans, his tone steady, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of hesitation.

Somewhere beyond the corridor, B Block’s roar swelled louder, the hum of the conduits rising in tandem.

Vira looked back over her shoulder, her serpent Ikona’s glowing eyes fixed on Asurik for a moment before shifting to Elias. Her smirk didn’t fade, but her gaze sharpened, measuring.



"We need that insane magma Ikona of yours, Asurik. Your reputation’s the kind of leverage that can pry Cube X apart for good." Her voice was smooth, calculated, as though each word was weighed before it left her mouth.

"But don’t slow us down, Elias," she added, her tone hardening as she turned her focus on him. "Keep the kid steady, or we’ll have more than just B Block to worry about."

The corridor felt tighter as the sounds of the battle drew closer. The walls closed in, slick with condensation, the pipes overhead rattling faintly as steam hissed out in curling streams.

The acrid tang of oil mixed with the lingering metallic bite of blood, a thick atmosphere that clung to the skin.

Beyond the immediate press of the passageway, the distant chaos rang clearer—plasma rounds slicing the air with sharp, sizzling bursts, steel clashing against steel, and voices rising in a tumult of defiance, fear, and pain.


Every sound pressed into Elias’s mind, pushing against his thoughts as they made their way forward.

Elias’s shard pulsed harder, the prompt’s timer pounding in his head: 22 minutes remaining. His mind churned with possibilities. If Vira turns on us, if Jasmine and Culdrin fall, if the others run out of energy... The thought cut deeper with each step. Dot’s glow remained steady, a quiet reassurance amid the chaos. But the question gnawed at him, sharp and relentless: What if I choose wrong?

The corridor twisted around them, narrow and suffocating, the hum of conduits forming an ever-present, maddening rhythm.

Junjio stumbled slightly, his steps faltering as his portal Ikona flickered erratically. "Elias..." the boy’s voice broke through the haze. "What if I can’t do it? What if I mess up and my dad..."

He trailed off, his words swallowed by fear. Tears welled in his dirt-streaked eyes as his trembling hands clutched at his jacket. The faint, dim ring of his Ikona wavered, its light flickering like a fragile heartbeat.