The Genius Mage Was Reincarnated Into A Swordsman Family

Darkness, absolute and complete, surrounded Alexandra. Not the ordinary darkness of night or shadow, but a perfect void—an absence so profound it felt like a physical presence pressing against her skin. There was no sound, no sensation of air or ground beneath her feet. She existed in a state of suspended animation, unable to determine if her eyes were open or closed, if she was standing or falling.

Time lost all meaning in this emptiness. She might have been floating in the void for seconds or centuries—there was no way to tell. The only constant was the weight of the darkness, heavy and oppressive, as if the very absence of everything was crushing her from all sides.

Then, almost imperceptibly, something changed. The darkness began to thin, not receding but becoming less absolute. Alexandra became aware of her own body again—the ache in her muscles, the dried blood on her uniform, the weight of her sword still clutched in her hand.

A faint grayness appeared in the void, gradually resolving into shapes and contours. Light returned so slowly that her eyes adjusted without pain, the world materializing around her like a fading dream.

What she saw made her breath catch in her throat.

Everything was gone.

Where Northwatch had stood, where mountains had risen in the distance, where forests had spread across the landscape—only emptiness remained. A vast plain of dark ash stretched in every direction, perfectly level as if the very geography had been erased. No buildings, no trees, no stones—just an endless expanse of fine, obsidian-colored ash that shifted slightly in the faint breeze.

The sky above was a strange, muted blue, as if the atmosphere itself had been altered by whatever cataclysm had occurred. No birds flew, no clouds drifted. The sun appeared distant and dim, its light failing to fully penetrate the lingering haze that hung in the air.

Alexandra took a trembling step forward, her boot sinking slightly into the ash. The sound of her movement seemed unnaturally loud in the profound silence that blanketed this desolate wasteland. She turned slowly, scanning the horizon, unable to process the scale of destruction surrounding her.

The Eternal Rift was gone. Not closed or sealed, but completely erased as if it had never existed. The city, the containment zone, the barrier—all vanished without a trace. Only ash remained, stretching to the horizon in every direction.

"Impossible," she whispered, her voice sounding strange and hollow in the empty air.

As she turned, something caught her eye—a disturbance in the uniform layer of ash several paces away. A form lay there, half-buried in the dark residue.

Her heart lurched.

"Klaus!"

Alexandra rushed forward, stumbling in her haste, falling to her knees beside the motionless figure. It was Klaus, lying face-down in the ash, his body still and unresponsive. With gentle urgency, she rolled him onto his back, brushing the dark particles from his face.

His appearance had changed again. The midnight-black hair that had marked Gluttony's possession had reverted to its original silver hue, though now streaked with ash. His face was pale but unmarked, appearing almost peaceful despite the catastrophe that had unfolded around them.

"Klaus," she called, shaking him gently. "Klaus, can you hear me?"

No response. His body remained limp, giving no indication that life remained within. The obsidian rune on his palm had faded to a faint outline, barely visible against his skin.

"No," Alexandra whispered, her voice breaking. "No, you can't be—"

Tears welled in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks to fall onto his still face. After everything they had endured, after all the battles and trials, to lose him now seemed an unbearable cruelty. She had clung to that small hope—that brief flicker of recognition she'd seen beneath whatever had possessed him—believing it meant Klaus would return.

Her mind flashed to Elisabeth, waiting at the Annex Mansion for her son's return. How would she tell Klaus's mother that he was gone? That the brilliant young swordmaster who had led them with such quiet determination had fallen in a confrontation beyond human understanding?

"You can't do this," she said, her voice trembling with emotion. "You have to live. Your mother is waiting for you."

Alexandra brushed ash from his silver hair, her heart breaking not just for herself but for everyone who would be shattered by his loss. The team members who had followed him, the Lionhart family who would lose their prodigy, and Elisabeth who had already endured so much.

She bent closer, her tears falling more freely now. In the profound silence of this ash-covered wasteland, her quiet sobs seemed to echo with terrible finality.

"Wake up," she pleaded. "The team needs you. I need you."

Something compelled her to take his hand—the one bearing the faded rune. As her fingers wrapped around his, she was struck by how cold his skin felt. Too cold for life, surely.

Yet something made her hesitate. Alexandra pressed her fingers against his wrist, searching for any sign of a pulse.

For several heartbeats, she felt nothing. Then—so faint she might have imagined it—a flutter beneath her fingertips. A single, weak pulse, followed by another several seconds later.

Her breath caught. "Klaus?"

She pressed her ear to his chest, listening with desperate attention. After a moment, she heard it—a heartbeat, slow and uneven, but undeniably present. He was alive, if barely.

Alexandra sat back, wiping tears from her face with ash-stained hands. Relief washed over her, tempered immediately by the realization that Klaus remained in critical condition. His breaths were so shallow they were nearly imperceptible, his pulse dangerously weak.

She looked around at the endless expanse of ash, the absolute desolation stretching in every direction. There was no shelter, no water, no sign of other survivors. Just the two of them in a wasteland that had consumed everything for miles around.

"I'll get you out of here," she promised, though she had no idea how she would accomplish this. "Just hold on."

Alexandra gathered Klaus in her arms, surprised at how light he felt, as if whatever transformation he had undergone had hollowed him out from within. His head rested against her shoulder, silver hair shifting in the faint breeze.

"Stay with me," she whispered, starting to walk across the ash-covered plain. She chose a direction arbitrarily—there were no landmarks to guide her, no features to navigate by except the dim sun overhead. "Just stay with me."

Behind them, their footprints marked the otherwise perfect plain of ash—a solitary trail of life in a landscape of perfect emptiness, heading toward an uncertain horizon and whatever future awaited beyond.