TWISTS AND TURNS OF LIFE

Stork’s breathing grew ever more ragged, his face losing color as blood trickled down the corners of his lips. His upper torso was ravaged red, and none of his previous heroic and headstrong disposition remained. He looked like a hovering, bloodied calamity on the verge of dying.

A few dozen meters behind him hovered Ruela, in no better condition. There was a long and deep gash running down her right thigh, rendering her right leg useless. Both had just witnessed Hylana’s death, yet didn’t even have a moment to grieve. The whole of the battle – at least on their side – was collapsing, bit by bit, and it was clear by now that they had lost. With the Dragon tying up their High Father, and the boy reinforcing the battlefield below, they had lost any chance they had of wining.

Ryuuk had slowly began regaining more and more strength as the battle dragged on, and, right now, Stork and Ruela alone weren’t enough to even tie him down, let alone defeat him. Retreat was the best option, but they weren’t given the order for it. Besides, Sorth and Grath were still fighting; leaving now would put the two at even greater disadvantage.

“… isn’t it enough?” a low, ancient voice echoed inside their minds, startling both of them. It took them a moment to realize that it was the Dragon’s, who retracted all of his shadows, burying them inside the mass of darkness that was his body. “You’ve fought valiantly, but some battles cannot be won.”

“… shut up.” Stork wanted to shout, but a mere mumble left his lips.

“One of yours had already fallen,” Ryuuk continued indifferently. “And I don’t see the other two surviving either. You two can, at best, hold me off for a few more minutes, but then what?”

“… he said to shut up,” Ruela said, grinning. “We’ll either kill you or die trying.”

“Lofty ambitions,” Ryuuk replied, a hint of bemusement in his voice. “Pointless, nonetheless. “Your deaths here would be utterly meaningless. Can’t you see? Your side is merely putting up a front. If they truly wanted me dead, they wouldn’t send a bunch of Grand Realm kids to try and kill me. To them, I’m just an opportunity for a momentary distraction. I had entered this world for less than an hour, and even I had realized it. Don’t tell me you didn’t? Or are you purposefully ignoring it?”

“…”

“…” both Stork and Ruela remained silent, their eyes fixated on the mass of darkness beneath.

“I take no pleasure in killing those weaker than me,” Ryuuk continued. “After all, there is no point. Especially if they’re already at the brink of fading out. You can leave. No one will stop you. Or, you can stay here and wait for your brethren to die, and for you to be taken prisoner. Or, if you still wish to fight, I’ll grant both of you swift deaths.”

“You really do think yourself mighty, huh?” Stork laughed bitterly as he raised his sword up. “Unrivaled beneath the sky, right?”

“Not at all.” Ryuuk said. “Look up.” sky had suddenly began burning aloofly, crimson flames devouring the horizon itself; in-between them, bolts thicker than hills danced, battling back the flames. As Stork and Ruela witnessed the scene, they felt their breaths escape them as their jaws grew agape. “That is a battle that only one other here can enter without dying immediately, and that is not me. For better or worse, you are still alive. Are pointless ideals worth throwing that one life you have away?”

“Look,” Ryuuk shifted their attention toward the battling Lynne and Grath, with latter being suddenly blown backward like a kite, bleeding profusely. “He’s about to lose. As is the other one. The battles that truly matter have been lost. Will you still stubbornly bang your head against the wall?”

“… I’m just a human,” Stork said, ignoring the battles surrounding him and focusing back onto Ryuuk. “I can’t stand on the wayside while my brothers and sisters fall. Even if the sky were to crumble, and everyone except for me died, I’d still do the same.”

“… and that is why,” a heap of shadows suddenly emerged from Ryuuk’s massive body, all aimed toward Stork and Ruela. “You should sleep for now.”

A few dozen miles away, Lynne was taking great strides in the sky toward Grath. Space around the latter had completely crumbled, behind him nothing but infinite abyss of no color. Space contorted forward like a half-sphere, trapping Lynne who didn’t even glance at the borders.

He suddenly felt his skin tingle as countless cuts arose atop of it, all letting out blood. Yet, a mere moment later, golden flames showered his body, healing all wounds in the process. The two actions entered into an infinite loop as Lynne approached Grath. The latter, seeing that his spell had no effect on Lynne, grit his teeth and poured even more Mana outward, nearly drying up his Soul. The space bent forward as darkness suddenly swallowed both of them, closing out the rest of the world. They stood ten or so meters apart, Grath panting on his knees, his gazed fixated on Lynne’s eyes. The latter approached slowly and crouched in front of him, glancing around.

“… interesting,” Lynne mumbled. “So you can bend space like this, huh? What do you call it? In-between dimension?”

“… what do you care?” Grath asked. “You’re as good as dead here. Ha ha,” he laughed, coughing up a mouthful of blood in the process. “To walk into enemy’s spell like an idiot, you truly are too confident.”

“Tell me,” Lynne said, ignoring his words. “Who ordered you to come here?”

“… hm?”

“By now, you should have realized you were sent to your deaths,” Lynne said. “Do you really think they ‘missed’ a gigantic Dragon on its way over here? However strong your Gods are, one cannot withstand a Dragon. Yet, all the same, they just sent one. All of this reeked of generic probing from the start, and now, seeing as you guys aren’t getting any more help, I’m all but certain you were sent as sacrificial lambs.”

“So?” Grath asked, grinning. “Sacrifices are necessary to win a war. If my death can propel our side to victory, I couldn’t ask for a more beautiful one.”

“… look around you,” Lynne said, a hint of pity in his voice. “What beautiful death? What martyr’s glory? If I don’t take your corpse out, no one would even know how you had died. There’s no such thing as a beautiful death, the same way there’s no such a thing as a martyr. At the end of the day,” Lynne paused for a moment before continuing. “They’re just lies to inspire fools like you into a battle to death when odds are stacked against you.

“Ha ha,” Grath laughed mockingly, glaring at Lynne. “How could a selfish imbecile like you understand it? What did you come here for anyway? To help out a Dragon?! The very same creature who had killed millions of humans during the last Great War?!! You should be ashamed!!”

“… aah, I am ashamed,” Lynne said, smiling lightly. “Ashamed that someone as idiotic as you is using the last of his strength to preach morality to me.”

“…” Grath suddenly spat, hitting Lynne squarely across his face, dyeing it crimson. “For a moment, I even thought you had a proper heart. Even brainless animals can act docile from time to time, it seems.”

“Defiant until the last breath,” Lynne said, chuckling while wiping away the spit from his face. “I respect that. Do you know that, less than two years ago, in a space much like this one, I had killed my own mother?” Lynne mumbled as he thought back. “However, unlike you, she wasn’t defiant. She begged for mercy. Ah, I’m venturing off-topic. Seeing as you’ve got a few more minutes to live, at best, I may as well ask you some things that matter. Like, who ordered you to come here? How did you learn this Spell Art of yours? Do your friends have similar one to it? That kind of stuff.”

“… let me ask you something instead,” Grath said. “Reportedly, you’re just an Empyrean King. No matter how talented you are, how were you able to so easily resist my Space Decay?”

“Is that what you call it? Appropriate,” Lynne said. “How was I able? Simple, really. I burned the corrosion away. After all, space is such a common thing, but my flames aren’t.”

“… aah,” Grath sighed in realization, chuckling bitterly. “You underwent Draconic Nirvana, huh?”

“Wow! I’m surprised you guessed it right off the bat!” Lynne exclaimed in surprise. “Not bad.”

“… to repay you, I’ll answer one of your questions,” Grath said. “I learned Space Decay similarly to how everyone else learns quasi-Primordial Arts: from the murals of Primordial Ruins. We merely copy the stance and the Mana flow, and hope for the best result.”

“… so it’s not uncommon, huh?”

“Hardly,” Grath said. “However, pure Primordial Arts are. I’ve heard you know one.”

“… I entered this world a tad bit late,” Lynne said. “Technicalities escape me, so even if I do know one, to me it’s just another Spell Art.”

“… ha ha, the Source is truly unfair.” Grath said, smiling bitterly. “I’ve worked my ass off for nearly sixty years, yet where did it get me? And then there’s you, barely older than a child…”

“… I know, right?” Lynne grinned widely.

“Don’t look so smug about it. There’s always someone stronger and more talented.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Lynne said. “But, unlike you, ideologies don’t tie me. Were I in your place, I’d have picked my friends and fled the moment I saw that the battle was tipping over to enemy’s side. Heroics are best left for fools, after all.”

“… I don’t want to discuss philosophy with a brat during my last breaths,” Grath said. “So why don’t you just end me already?”

“… tsk,” Lynne clicked his tongue. “And here I thought we’d have a heartfelt discussion as your life slowly leaves you. There goes another dream of mine.”

“About thousand miles south, in a small cave underground, is Hylana’s body,” Grath said, lowering his head. “I ask you to bury her, that’s all. Do whatever you want with me.”

“You should have told her,” Lynne said, extending his arm and grasping Grath’s fragile neck. “Now, it’s just one more regret of yours.”

“… never.” Lynne’s fingers tightened as a faint snapping sound echoed out. Grath’s last word escaped into darkness as his head turned limp, eyes tightly shut.

“… you’re a lot like her,” Lynne said, sighing. “Oh well. At least now I know we have a major mole. It’s quite surprising. Oi, Spirit.”

“Yes, oh brave, smart, King?” the Spirit’s body appeared next to Lynne as the former bowed slightly.

“Wow, that scared me to death. Never do it again.” Lynne said, his body shivering for a moment. “Can you send a message?”

“To whom?”

“Hmm… let’s see… for now, just Y’se and the Principal.”

“I will,” the Spirit said. “However, didn’t you promise not to pry in other people’s Souls? It didn’t take you that long to break a promise.”

“… I just took a peak,” Lynne said as he got up on his feet, throwing Grath’s body over his shoulder. “It’s not like I damaged it or anything.”

“… so, what’s the message?” the Spirit asked as Lynne began walking forward.

“Call immediate retreat,” Lynne said. “And inform them that we have a mole. It’s Thalia’s Master, Lady Ella. Tell them not to spread it for the time being. We can probably use this to our advantage.”

“… isn’t that the woman you were in love with?” the Spirit asked.

“Aye, it’s a real shame. Her body can even make eunuchs burn.”

“… I’ll just… go and send the message…”

“Yeah… uh, you do that.”

“… sex-crazed moron.”

“Oi, shut up!! She’s really hot!!” Lynne shouted, but the Spirit was already gone. “Tsk, bastard.” Lynne clicked his tongue, sighing. “It’s really unexpected, though. However, if Hylana and Ruela were her Disciples, shouldn’t Thalia recognize them? Aah, get one answer, watch hundreds of new questions appear. How terribly exhausting…”