Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece-Chapter 178: The One Who Started It All [2]

The air tasted wrong.

Not just heavy or stale, wrong.

Like the sky had cracked open, and Kyle had fallen into a place that shouldn’t exist.

The ground beneath him was soft. Covered in a sea of red spider lilies that stretched far into the horizon.

Their petals were too bright, too sharp. Like someone had soaked them in fresh blood.

Above. The sky was fractured. Threads of Reds, purples, blues, light breaking like glass across an endless dusk.

And in the center of it all stood him.

A man in a long black coat.

Tall. Lean. Calm.

But not the kind of calm that brought peace.

No. This was the calm of a storm right before it hit. Cold. Silent. Absolute.

He stood there, hands in his coat pockets. Smiling like he already knew the ending of a story Kyle hadn’t even started reading.

Kyle’s grip tightened around Zalrielle’s hilt.

Every part of his body screamed, run. But he stayed still.

This place. It felt too wrong. Like the laws of nature didn’t apply here.

Zalrielle’s voice whispered in his mind, cold and sharp like a blade drawn in silence.

’Kyle... this is a domain.’

He didn’t need her to explain what that meant.

A domain wasn’t just a place. It was a trap.

A realm built from a caster’s will. Where they had full control.

Here, their spells would hit harder. Their body would move faster.

And if you weren’t the one who created it... you were at a massive disadvantage.

Only Radiant-rank awakeners or higher could make one.

And the man standing in front of him?

He didn’t just feel dangerous.

The world itself bent around him. The air shimmered at the edges of his coat like heat waves, even though it was cold.

His black eyes stared through Kyle, not at him. Studying him. Reading him.

Then, he spoke.

"You dodged that," the man said, voice smooth. "Impressive."

Kyle didn’t respond. His stance stayed tight, sword low and ready.

The man waved a hand lazily. "Relax. If I wanted you dead, you would already be a stain on the floor."

A chill ran down Kyle’s spine.

The worst part?

He was right.

Whoever this was. He could’ve ended Kyle in the hospital bed before he even knew he was in danger. Which meant...

This wasn’t an assassination.

It was a conversation.

And somehow, that felt even worse.

The man took a slow step forward, crushing spider lilies underfoot like they were nothing. He began walking in a circle around Kyle. taking his time.

Kyle clenched his jaw. "What do you want?"

The man gave a short laugh. "Straight to the point. I like that."

He kept circling.

"Kyle Valemont. Younger brother of Aurelia Valemont, The Gale Witch."

"A disgrace who couldn’t even awaken a single elemental affinity. Until you vanished for a month before Solvayne’s entrance exam."

"Then, miraculously. You returned wielding... Lightning affinity."

He didn’t wait for a response.

"Then you show up just in time for the entrance exam and in comes in Top ten no less. A month later? You’re suddenly using ice, too."

Kyle didn’t flinch. But his fingers twitched around Zalrielle’s hilt.

The man smiled wider.

"From Bronze to Grade 3 Silver in under three months. You survive the Mana Rail 17 massacre. And now? You walk out of a Black Dungeon. Alive. Stronger."

He stopped in front of Kyle, voice dropping.

"So tell me, Kyle Valemont," he said softly. "What are you?"

The question felt like a knife slid across his skin.

Kyle held his ground. Forced himself to breathe.

"Lucky."

There was a pause.

Then the man chuckled, low and mocking.

"Luck doesn’t explain the ancient mana we felt when you crawled out of that dungeon."

Of course, he was talking about that.

But. That word ’we’ caught Kyle’s attention.

His eyes narrowed. "Who’s ’we’?"

The man didn’t answer right away.

Instead, he stepped closer. The lilies around his boots withered. Their petals curling into ash as he passed.

"The people who see the truth," he said.

He gestured to the world around them. The red flowers, the fractured sky.

"Humanity is dying, Kyle. It’s fragile. Lost. Weak. You build cities and hide behind your walls, pretending you’ve still got time. But you don’t."

His voice softened, turning almost kind.

"But we... we’re offering you a place. A way to survive what’s coming. A seat beside the ones strong enough to face the truth."

Kyle’s eyes narrowed. "You’re talking about joining the demons."

The man smiled faintly, like a teacher amused by a child’s answer.

"Demons?" he repeated. "Oh, Kyle. You don’t even know what’s coming."

His voice dropped to a whisper, barely audible.

"The demons you fear? They’re just the beginning. What’s coming will wipe them away, same as it will your kind."

Kyle’s heartbeat pounded in his ears.

He stepped back slightly. "What are you talking about?"

The man didn’t answer.

He only brushed invisible dust from the shoulder of his coat and looked Kyle straight in the eye.

"Join us," he said. "We’re offering you a chance to be on the winning side."

The silence that followed was long and heavy.

Kyle didn’t speak.

Then. Finally, he asked quietly, "And if I say no?"

The air shifted.

The flowers turned black. Like ink spilling through silk.

The light above cracked and split, like glass shattering in slow motion. Kyle felt the pressure hit his chest like a weight.

The man didn’t move.

He didn’t need to.

And when he finally spoke. His voice was almost a whisper.

"Then you die here."

The words hung in the air. Cold, final, and real.

Kyle didn’t move.

His hand stayed wrapped around Zalrielle’s hilt. But he didn’t raise the blade. He didn’t take a step forward. He didn’t even breathe too loud.

Because he knew.

One wrong move, and he was dead.

So Kyle did the only thing he could do.

He stalled.

"You haven’t even told me your name," Kyle said, voice calm, steady.

"If you’re offering me a place at your side. Don’t I at least get to know who I’m dealing with?"

The man tilted his head slightly. Not angry. More... amused.

"Names are meaningless," he said. "Power is what matters."

He paused, then added with a faint smile, "But if you need something to call me... call me Vesper."

Kyle’s grip tightened on his sword.

Vesper.

"Alright, Vesper," Kyle said slowly. "You said humanity is dying. That something worse than demons is coming. What is it?"

Vesper let out a slow breath, almost like he was disappointed.

"You still don’t get it," he murmured. "You think the demons are the enemy?"

He shook his head.

"They’re nothing. Scavengers. Worms feeding on a corpse. Rats fighting over scraps before the flood arrives."

He stepped forward.

With each step. The red spider lilies on the ground shriveled and turned to ash beneath his feet.

"The real war..." Vesper said, his voice low, "...isn’t between humans and demons."

He stopped just a few feet away from Kyle.

"It’s between those who cling to a dying world... and those who are ready for what comes next."

Kyle felt his heart pounding. He didn’t understand all of it. But he knew this wasn’t just madness.

There was something bigger happening. Something far beyond the dungeon or the cults or even the demonic wars.

And this man. Vesper, was at the center of it.

Still. Kyle kept his voice even. He couldn’t let Vesper see his fear.

"You still haven’t answered my question," Kyle said. "If I say no... what happens?"

Vesper smiled.

It wasn’t cruel. It wasn’t even mocking.

It was the kind of smile someone gives when they already know how the story ends.

"Then this place becomes your grave," he said. "No one will find your body. No one will know you even fought. You’ll just... vanish."

Kyle felt something cold crawl down his spine.

He believed him.

"But," Vesper continued, his tone almost gentle now,

"If you say yes... you walk out of here alive. Stronger."

He tilted his head, almost like he was curious.

"So. What’s your answer?"

Kyle didn’t reply right away.

Every instinct in his body was screaming. Run. Fight. Escape. Do something.

But he knew better.

Nothing would work. Not against this man. Not here.

So he did the only thing he could.

He lied.

"I need time to think," Kyle said carefully. "This isn’t exactly a small decision."

Vesper stared at him for a long moment.

Then, he chuckled.

"Smart," he said. "You are stalling. Trying to buy time. I respect that."

He took a step back. Slipping his hands into the deep pockets of his coat.

"But time is the one thing I won’t give you."

Suddenly. The ground shifted.

The black spider lilies around them shivered, then moved.

The petals twisted and stretched. It turned into thin, sharp vines that slithered toward Kyle’s feet like snakes.

Before he could react. The vines wrapped around his ankles, his arms, his chest. They coiled tight, pinning him in place.

He didn’t even get a chance to dodge.

The vines weren’t just holding him. They were draining him.

His breath hitched as he felt his strength fading, like something invisible was being pulled from his skin.

Vesper watched calmly.

"These are not normal vines," he said, his voice quiet but clear. "They feed on life force. Your mana. Your strength."

Kyle clenched his teeth, trying not to show the panic building inside.

"You have exactly five minute to answer," Vesper said, watching him. "Join us... or die here."

The vines tightened.

The clock had started ticking.

———