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A murmur of amazement ran through the crowd. No one knew someone had gone so far in the System\'s challenges. The only level 5 human.

"I am the strongest, and as God once said," Fathoran continued. "The law of the strongest will prevail. Progress will continue, yes, but I will always be the strongest. I will always protect and nurture my family. My children, my descendants, will always lead the advance. That\'s why I\'ve decided to have so many children, to ensure the future of our city as a unit."

His eyes settled on Elio. "But it seems some of you have forgotten your place. You\'ve forgotten that my family is above any outsider."

With a fluid motion, Fathoran extended his hand. Elio felt an invisible force preventing him from moving.

Fathoran calmly walked until he was face to face with Elio.

"Don\'t worry, boy," Fathoran said, his voice deceptively soft as he lifted Elio by the neck. "God told me the barrier doesn\'t affect humans. But of course... monsters are another story."

Elio felt panic invading him. He tried to move, to scream, to do something, but his body was completely immobilized by the carbon Fathoran had created around his joints. He couldn\'t even scream, as his throat was closed by the pressure of the patriarch\'s hand.

"Elio!" Zara\'s desperate cry resonated on the parapet. She, along with Micah, Kriz, Brok, and Ren, tried to run towards him, but with a simple gesture from Fathoran, they were frozen in place, trapped in carbon prisons similar to Lucien\'s.

Fathoran walked to the edge of the wall. Hundreds of thousands of monsters rushed against the barrier protecting the city. The drop was a mere 20 meters, despite the 500-meter height of the walls. A reminder of the absurd number of monsters piling on top of each other, as they tried to climb before being pulverized by the barrier.

Above this horrifying sight, Fathoran lifted Elio, intrinsically threatening to throw him to certain death.

"Tell me, young Elio," Fathoran whispered, his warm breath on Elio\'s face, "what would you be willing to do to survive? To protect your own?"

Elio looked into Fathoran\'s eyes, seeing in them a coldness that chilled his blood. At that moment, he knew there was no plea or argument that could save him. But if he was going to die, he wouldn\'t do it without a fight.

Concentrating with all his might, Elio activated his magnetic control with his fingers. His lance, which had fallen to the ground when Fathoran immobilized him, began to vibrate. With one last desperate effort, Elio directed the lance towards Fathoran\'s face.

The lance flew at a dizzying speed, straight towards the patriarch\'s eye. But at the last second, a small carbon scale appeared on his face, deflecting the lance as if it were a harmless toy. The lance fell off the corner of the wall, lost forever in the sea of monsters.

Fathoran smiled, a cold, humorless smile. "Admirable," he said. "But futile."

And with those words, he released Elio.

Time seemed to stop as Elio fell. He saw the horrified faces of his friends, heard Zara\'s heart-wrenching scream. He saw Lucien\'s helpless expression, trapped in his carbon prison. And as he turned his eyes, he saw the endless sea of monsters waiting for him beyond the barrier.

As he fell, Elio thought of his family, of his mother and siblings. He thought of everything he had learned, of the truths he had discovered.

The wind whistled in his ears as he plummeted to his death. The monsters below seemed to stir, as if sensing the proximity of prey. Elio closed his eyes, bracing for impact.

♢♢♢♢

Above, on the parapet, the soldiers watched in horror, unable to believe what they had just witnessed. Zara fought against her carbon bonds, tears of rage and desperation streaming down her cheeks.

"ELIO!" Zara\'s scream tore through the air, raw and primal. Her voice cracked, the sound of her heart shattering echoing in every syllable. "NO! PLEASE, NO!" She thrashed against her restraints, her skin tearing against the unyielding carbon, blood mixing with her tears.

Her eyes, wide with disbelief and anguish, remained fixed on the spot where Elio had disappeared. "You can\'t... you can\'t be gone," she whispered, her voice now a broken whimper.

The others watched, their own grief magnified by Zara\'s display of pain. Kriz, usually so quick with a joke, stood silent, tears streaming down his face. Brok\'s massive frame shook with silent sobs. Ren and Micah closed their eyes, their usual composure shattered.

Fathoran observed the scene with imperturbable calm. "Let this serve as a lesson," he said, his voice resonating in the silence. "The people must not go against their leaders. My family must always come first."

He turned to Lucien, who was staring at the point where Elio had disappeared with horror and guilt. "And you, my grandson," Fathoran said, his voice laden with disappointment. "I hope you\'ve learned your lesson. Your family comes first. Always."

With a gesture, he released Lucien and the others from their carbon prisons. Lucien fell to his knees, his body trembling.

"Now," Fathoran continued, addressing the crowd of terrified soldiers. "Return to your posts. Tomorrow will be a new day, and I expect you all to remember where your loyalty lies."

And with that, Fathoran turned around, the rabbit on his head observing everyone with its unsettling red eyes. The other Summoners followed him in silence, leaving behind a parapet full of shocked and terrified soldiers.

♢♢♢♢

Lucien remained there, motionless, his mind trying to process what had just happened. He had gravely underestimated his grandfather, had underestimated how far he was willing to go to maintain the order he had established.

Zara was the first to break the silence. With a cry of rage and pain, she ran towards the edge of the wall, ready to jump after Elio. Brok grabbed her just in time, holding her as she fought and screamed.

"Let me go!" Zara howled, her voice raw with grief. "I can\'t... I can\'t leave him down there. He needs me!" She clawed at Brok\'s arms, leaving bloody scratches, but he didn\'t loosen his grip.

"Zara, please," Brok pleaded, his own voice thick with emotion. "He\'s... he\'s gone. You can\'t help him now."

"No!" Zara\'s denial came from the depths of her soul. "He can\'t be... he can\'t..." Her words dissolved into sobs, her body going limp in Brok\'s arms.

Micah approached Lucien, his face pale and shocked. "What... what do we do now?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Lucien looked around, seeing the terrified and confused faces of the soldiers. He saw the desperation in the eyes of Elio\'s friends. And he knew that, despite the horror of what they had just witnessed, they couldn\'t give up.

"Now," Lucien said, standing up with difficulty, a tear running down his cheek, "now we resist. More than ever. For Elio, for all of us. This can\'t end like this."

He looked towards the horizon, where the sun bathed the world in a golden light that cruelly contrasted with the darkness of the events that had just transpired.

"Elio showed us the truth," Lucien continued, his voice gaining strength. "He gave us hope. We can\'t let his sacrifice be in vain."

The others nodded slowly, determination gradually replacing shock on their faces.

"But how?" Ren asked, his voice trembling. "How can we fight against someone like Fathoran?"

Lucien took a deep breath, his mind working at full speed. "With knowledge," he said finally. "With unity, with sacrifice. Fathoran is powerful, yes, but his power is not exclusive. And now we know the truth, together we can obtain similar or superior power."

He turned to the soldiers, who looked at him with a mixture of fear and hope. "This is not over," he declared, his voice ringing with determination.

\'It\'s just beginning. Elio died because of me, but I will carry on. For him, for all of us, for the future of our city.\' Lucien thought.

The battle for the future of the city had just taken an unexpected and tragic turn, but it was far from over.

The revolution that Elio had started would continue, fueled by the fire of his sacrifice and the unbreakable will of those he left behind. In the face of overwhelming power and cruelty, hope still flickered, a small but inextinguishable flame in the darkness.

End of Arc 1 - Prologue