The Dragon King and His Fallen Star novel Chapter 164

Chapter 164: Her Light

KIERYGAN’S POV

The striking of the bells continued.

Third. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth.

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Each time one was struck, the sound rippled through the air like a living force, a vibration that tore through flesh and spirit alike.

Each time, Eirlys convulsed in my arms-her body arching violently against me, as if the sound itself sought to tear her apart from within. Her skin flickered between light and shadow, her glow stuttering like a dying star struggling to reignite.

She was barely holding on, so I held her tighter. Her soundless cries trembled against my chest- louder, somehow, than any scream could ever be.

I cradled the back of her head with one hand, the other cupping her cheek. “Stay with me, Eirlys,” I whispered. “It’s almost over. Just a little longer, my star.”

Her eyelids fluttered-lashes damp with tears and sweat. Slowly, painfully, she forced her eyes

open. Those violet eyes, once luminous, now looked clouded and distant.

Then the seventh bell rang.

The sound cracked through the air-sharp, merciless. Eirlys gasped-a ragged, broken sound that

curdled into a cough. Blood splattered from her lips, dark and glistening as it streamed down her

chin and over my chest. I wiped her mouth with my thumb, but more followed.

“Kierygan…” she rasped, her voice splintering between breaths as her body shuddered in my arms.

Her fingers clawed weakly at my arm, searching for something to hold onto. “I don’t… I don’t think I can take anymore…”

I pressed my forehead to hers, my voice breaking against her trembling lips. “I know this is too much to ask,” I whispered, fierce and low. “You’ve already given everything- to me, to all of us. And I’d give anything, anything, to take this pain from you… to trade places right now.”

Her skin burned cold against mine, her pulse faint and stuttering. I could feel her slipping-like light fading through my fingers. Panic clawed up my throat, but I forced the words out anyway. “Please… just one more, Eirlys,” I begged. “Just one more. Hold on. It’s almost over. I swear it’s almost over.”

Eirlys gave the faintest nod, her chin trembling before it fell forward with a broken, rasping sound.

That small act-so fragile, so impossibly brave-shattered me.

A ragged sob tore from my chest before I could stop it. I pressed my lips to hers, tasting blood and salt and heat. I didn’t care. I only wanted her to feel me, to know that she wasn’t alone.

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Chapter 164. Her Light

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For one fleeting moment, she glowed again-softly faintly, like the final flicker of a candle fighting

the storm.

The seventh bell’s tone still reverberated through the air, a trembling note that seemed to split the very world. The ground shuddered beneath us; the chorus swelled, voices rising like a wave about

to break.

I reached for the link again, my mind burning through the connection. “What are you waiting for?” I demanded, my voice frayed with desperation. “Strike the bell. Now!”

Evander’s voice cut through the haze, sharp and urgent. “Not yet.”

My heart slammed in my chest. “What the hell do you mean, not yet?”

“There’s an interval, a pattern between the notes,” he explained. “I don’t want to find out what happens if we break it. It’s too risky. We have to wait for the harmony to align.”

Wait.

I forced myself to obey, though it meant prolonging Eirlys’ agony. As much as I hated it-though

every instinct in me screamed to act-I forced myself still. I had to. We had to.

Above us, the light torn from her flickered and danced, then-miraculously-began to condense.

Seven distinct orbs hovered for a heartbeat, each humming with the essence of her grains of light.

They shone brightly, brilliant against the darkened battlefield, but slowly, almost imperceptibly, they

began to draw together, merging into a single, unified sphere that pulsed with a quiet, steady

radiance.

The chorus surged, their voices swelling into a single, relentless wave of sound, and the orb

trembled, reacting to the song, as if it were alive. I could feel its power vibrating.

Through the mind link, Evander’s voice cut through the chaos: “Now!”

Ashteryn’s hands slammed against the eighth bell. The sound tore across the battlefield-just as loud as the others, yet tempered, precise, somehow restrained. It didn’t strike her as the previous seven had-or perhaps she was simply too drained to feel it anymore. Eirlys let out only a faint, ragged groan, her eyelids fluttering weakly.

Above us, the brightest flare erupted, making the orb tremble. Even the Light Reaper’s form wavered slightly, a tiny fracture in his control. Yet his voice rose, chanting louder than before, and the others followed, their voices surging, merging into a single, unyielding wave.

The last light continued to blaze, brighter than I thought possible-brighter even than the orb that held the combined seven grains. It was a brilliance that seared the battlefield, and for a moment, I dared to hope.

Then the roar came. Deep, cruel, and echoing across the valley. I knew that voice anywhere. The

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Chapter 164 Her Light

Light Reaper. Even as he continued the chorus, the power behind it now twisted, jagged, impossibly dark.

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He raised his hands, and the air thickened instantly Black wisps unfurled like living smoke, writhing

and coiling across the battlefield. My blood ran cold as they slithered over our warriors, over the

wolves, the orcs, the vampires, the witches-over everything and everyone-and finally, over me and Eirlys.

When the smoke touched me, it began as a crawling chill across my skin, then erupted into a

searing corruption that burrowed deep. I caught sight of Eirlys, and my chest clenched. Her hands

-delicate, perfect hands-were being devoured, black tendrils twisting across her flesh, veins of decay spreading outward.

She coughed, and a curling plume of dark smoke hissed from her mouth, twisting into the air like a living shadow.

“No!” I shouted, heart hammering, rage flaring hotter than fire. My claws tore at the invisible barrier between us and the forces of darkness, but it held fast, unyielding.

“What do we do?” I demanded silently through the mind link.

Only heavy silence answered-thick, suffocating. They didn’t know either. Even through the

connection, I could feel hopelessness radiating from them.

My shoulders slumped. We couldn’t fight anymore there was nothing left. We had given.

everything, and this tiny, defiant creature in my arms had fought harder than anyone. I pressed her closer, holding her tight, letting my lips brush her temple in a desperate, fleeting comfort.

“It’s over,” I whispered, voice breaking. “It’s over.”

I closed my eyes, rocking her gently, murmuring soft breaths as if lulling her to sleep, while the

blight waited hungrily to claim us.

And then-light. So bright it pressed against my closed eyelids, forcing them to strain.

Brighter than I thought possible. Brighter than the combined seven grains of light that had hovered

between us and oblivion like fragile promises. I forced my eyes open, and my breath caught. Eirlys’

light… it wasn’t fading. It was condensing, coiling into itself, shrinking until it became a single,

brilliant, blinding grain. A lone star of hope in the storm.

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