Reincarnated as Duke’s Heir
Copyright© 2025 by TheSmartOne
Chapter 13: Pain.
The world was burning.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
The world was being erased.
White fire devoured everything.
It did not crackle. It did not rage. It did not scream.
It simply existed.
And existence itself could not survive it.
The shadows—the abyss that had once swallowed Ignis—fled.
They did not fight. They did not resist. They did not dare.
Because to exist in the presence of this fire ... was to die a death beyond death.
The fire did not consume bodies. It consumed souls.
It was wrong.
This flame was not of this world.
And so the world rejected it.
TIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTT—
Reality screamed.
Space fractured.
It was not meant to bear this flame. It could not heal. It could not mend.
And so—
The first wound appeared.
A black abyss opened in the sky, like a gaping mouth, as if the world itself sought to vomit out what it could not contain.
It was not a portal.
It was a scar.
A gateway, waiting ... calling ... daring someone to fall in.
Lucas’s POV
Pain.
Pain in his body.
Pain in his soul.
Pain so deep it did not feel real.
His fingers dug into his skull. His nails clawed into his skin. His teeth clenched so hard they might shatter.
But it wasn’t enough.
Nothing was enough.
Because the pain inside his chest—
The pain in his heart—
It was worse.
It was so much worse.
He could feel them.
His father—burning himself beyond limit to fight against an opponent who can cut everything.
His mother—fighting while specifically protecting his room and so she is at a disadvantage.
And the rest?
Gone.
Orion.
Selena.
Caius.
And...
Annie.
“Annie...”
His breath hitched.
His vision blurred.
His fingers trembled.
She was gone too.
The girl who always followed him since he came to this world, laughing with the sun in her hair. The girl who always made him smile.
Dead.
And soon, his parents will follow her.
He can see it.
His eyes can see it.
Their end.
His shoulders shook.
The agony crushed him.
His stomach twisted.
His throat closed.
The weight of it—
It was too much.
A sound escaped his lips. A broken, shattered sound.
He tried to breathe.
But there was no air.
Only fire.
Only hatred.
Only rage.
His vision—
It blurred.
No—
It whitened even more.
The world became nothing but white to him. And so would the other.
His body, his soul, cannot bear this whiteness.
And so
His soul—fractured.
And then—
BOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!