The Devouring Knight

After a while, they finally pulled away from the embrace, though a trace of warmth lingered between them. Lumberling studied her face, noticing the fatigue etched into her eyes, and asked gently,

"Where's Skitz?"

"He's guarding the prison where Kairo is kept," Liraeth answered. Her voice steadied, though worry lingered beneath it. "He said something unusual might happen, so he went there himself."

Lumberling nodded, thoughtful. "I see. Then I should speak with him directly." His tone softened as he rested a hand briefly on her shoulder. "Get some rest, Liraeth. You've done enough for now."

She looked as though she wanted to protest, but in the end, she only gave him a small nod. "Be careful down there."

"I will," he assured her with a faint smile.

Turning away, he started down the narrow passage leading into the depths of the underground prison. The air grew colder with each step, heavy with dampness.

At the end of the dim corridor, a heavy iron door loomed before him. Lumberling pushed it open with a steady hand.

Inside, Skitz leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed, his sharp eyes flicking up the moment Lumberling entered.

"You finally woke up, my Lord," Skitz said with a smirk. "How's your body holding up?"

"It's nothing serious. Agathis couldn't possibly harm me. More importantly, where's Kairo?"

Skitz pointed deeper into the dim chamber. "In the back. We cut his arms off. He's unconscious now, and Shade's guarding him."

Lumberling's brow lifted slightly.

"The bastard gave us a hard time," Skitz went on, his voice carrying frustration. "Even crippled, he almost escaped more than once. Took all of us, me, Shade, and the captains, working together to stop him. At one point he nearly jumped off the cliff to get away. Good thing Shade was there to pin him down."

Lumberling nodded at Skitz's words, though his mind lingered on the thought. 'The chance of him escaping… it's never zero. Luck is always unexpected.'

His icy-blue eyes sharpened, and then, something shifted.

The world around him dulled into shades of grey. The flickering torchlight, the stone walls, even the shadows themselves lost their color. Yet Skitz… Skitz was different. From his small frame radiated a faint glow, not blinding, but steady and strong, like a hidden ember refusing to die out.

Lumberling's gaze lingered for a moment before the world returned to normal. He let a smile curl across his lips.

"You really are a lucky bastard, too."

Skitz tilted his head, confused. "What was that, my Lord?"

"Nothing." Lumberling shook his head, still amused. "Lead me to Kairo."

Unbeknownst to Skitz, Lumberling had just activated the new skill he had gained, Luck Analyze. It was his first time using it, and already he had confirmed something.

The brightness of the glow revealed a person's luck. The stronger the glow, the higher their fortune. Skitz's light was far brighter than any average being's, far too much for a goblin born from filth and shadows.

Compared to the so-called Children of Luck, Skitz's glow was still dim. But even so, it was rare.

…..

They moved down the corridor until the air cooled. Skitz held the torch; its light threw long. At the end of the passage a heavy door creaked open.

Inside the dim room Shade lay curled like a sleeping hill of black legs. Beneath it, bound in thick iron chains, Kairo slumped, only ragged cloth where his arms once were. He looked up as the torchlight fell across him and bared his teeth.

"It's you, bastard," Kairo spat. He tried to push himself up, the chains held into his legs and forced him back to the floor.

Lumberling stepped in. "Your master is dead."

"You evil bastard," Kairo snarled. "You killed my master, how could you? You'll burn for this."

"And she asked me to kill you before she passed."

Kairo froze, then let out a jagged laugh, half-choke, half-bitter mockery. "She…? No. No, that's a lie. She would never…"

"Believe what you want," Lumberling cut him off. "It changes nothing."

Kairo's chest heaved, his eyes wild with a fire that refused to die even in chains. "I'll make you pay… I'll…"

He never finished.

Lumberling moved the moment the words left Kairo's lips. No warning, no pause. His spear slid through the air in a single, precise strike. His spear drove clean through Kairo's chest, silencing him mid-breath.

No chance for resistance. No chance for luck to twist the outcome.

Kairo's eyes widened in shock, the hatred there flickering, then dimming as his body sagged against the chains.

A pulse of light surged into Lumberling as Essence Devour activated. The world narrowed to sensation, heat, fragments of memory, all pouring into him like sparks feeding a flame.

(You have devoured a fragment of Divine Blessing: Blessing of the Undying Flame - Near death, your body and spirit burn brighter, granting you bursts of power far beyond normal state.)

Lumberling's face stayed calm, but inside he weighed what he had taken. Another blessing. Another thread stitched into the strange patchwork of powers now living inside him.

'So, another Divine Blessing… but that's all he really had, along with some luck. Compared to the others from Agathis' memories, Kairo was the weakest,' he thought.

From the doorway, Skitz's voice broke the silence, casual yet sharp. "So, my Lord, how was it? Was the prey tasty?"

Lumberling pulled his spear free and wiped it clean before sheathing it. "Not as much as I expected."

"Really?" Skitz tilted his head, a grin spreading across his face. "That's disappointing. We're the ones who did the hard work catching him, after all."

A faint smile tugged at Lumberling's lips. "True enough. Still, I got something useful out of him. I just don't know how strong it'll turn out to be."

"Useful is better than nothing," Skitz said with a shrug. Then he jerked his thumb toward Shade. "Well, shall we tidy up then?"

Shade lowered its head, mandibles clicking, then without hesitation devoured the corpse in one smooth motion. Flesh, bone, and chain vanished into its gullet as if they were nothing more than scraps.

When it was done, Shade slammed one massive leg onto the stone floor, the sound heavy and final, like a butcher finishing his work.

Skitz chuckled. "Efficient, as always."

Lumberling gave the beast a brief glance, then turned his back on the scene. "Clean up the rest. Burn what needs burning."