Shao slithered, his steps light as he shifted in the midst of broken stones and burned wood. His face getting uglier and uglier as he moved on. His eyes drifting upwards, looking at the gray colorless skies and still clouds, moving down he shuddered, looking at the colorless, almost still flames that burned around him.

The world was not just desolate, it was drained from both life and existence, leaving nothing but a husk of a reality. Shao looked at the land that felt so foreign when it shouldn't. The home that is now raised to the ground, removed from existence.

Shao continued moving, finding nothing but destruction. There was no blood nor bodies, yet the signs were there, and the people fought back whatever horror invaded, or at least tried to.

Shao didn't hold much hope, his home was a small town, and he was hailed as a hero for being the first practitioner the town has birthed in years. By offering his services to the closest free city, they gave his home protection and rations, yet here it stands, in shambles.

In the end, it didn't matter. He failed his people. He didn't hold hope for the town or its people, yet he prayed to find a survivor, more than anything, the smile of his sister as she bid him farewell before he left for the city was engraved in his mind, refusing to leave as it echoed with every step he took.

Every motion he took, he was losing hope, yet he kept walking. His steps slowed down as he stared forward lifelessly, feeling all Energy drain from his body. The signs were all there, and he knew it was there, yet seeing it was something else. He saw a pile of stone, wood, and ashes, no different from any other pile in the now lifeless city. No, it was different, He knew, even if there was nothing to recognize, even if the city was now nothing but a plain, he knew. For there, his home, his past, and perhaps his future once was. His eyes hovered lifelessly as it looked around, whatever hope he had draining as every moment went by, slowly. Finally, a spark of light ignited in his heart as he saw something different, as he got closer, he saw it. A body, whole and not injured. He came even closer, recognizing her.

His sister’s.

Suddenly, as he got closer to check on her, he felt a movement near him. He turned around, lifting his sword, not letting any movement evade him. He took a deep breath, reinforcing his body as Energy flowed in his body. Yet, as prepared as he was, he felt his breath freeze as he saw the abomination appear.

It didn’t have any features, he could only see a mass of flesh and bones, haphazardly messed around, as well as other things Shao couldn’t even begin to understand or recognize. The creature trampled, its flesh and bones veering around its body, an inhuman, evil mess.

Shao felt his body shiver, his instincts screeching, commanding him to scamper and escape. That monstrosity cannot be defeated, it was not possible. He couldn’t scan it, nor feel its Energy. It was void, empty as the world around them.

Yet that didn’t matter, for his family, his sister, he would face the world if he had to. Finally, the creature rushed towards Shao. He held his sword as the creature lunged. He shifted around, reinforced himself, and used his core, raising his sword’s strength and impact to the limit as he smashed the creature to the side.

The creature rolled, smashing through the floor repeatedly before getting back up, uninjured, as it rushed in again. Shao propped himself again, pushing himself to his peak, and go even further. I must succeed, I have to save her! He was a peak practitioner, one step away from becoming a candidate, he would not fall here.

As the creature jumped forward again, Shao smashed it to the side again as he fell back. His body shook, as he slowly get himself under control again. He knew he had to finish it in one strike, it was too powerful, each clash, he felt his bones clutter and muscles shout. He pulled his sword back as he started concentrated his Energy, planning to use the strongest attack he could, he felt as if his very soul was poured into it, tasting the blood as it leaked from his mouth.

Finally, the creature burst forward again. Shao stepped forward, his legs shifting ahead as his blade decimated the world, coming down as it split the skies and earth, a strike stronger than he thought he could ever do. It went past the bones and claws of the monstrosity, cleaving it in half.

Shao fell to his knees, feeling powerless. Damn Witch… he cursed, catching up his breath as he prepared to check his sister’s condition, Yet, he stopped, turning his head forward again as he noticed the creature twitching, beginning to reform. Impossible… thoughts turned in his mind. What can I do to deal with this? There must be a way… Perhaps I could…!

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He shuddered, slowly turned around, looking at the body of his sister, the familiar bones and claws starting to form from her corpse, tracing them as one of the claws was extended, cutting straight into his heart. Shao’s lips brittled, rising slightly., A look of melancholy appearing as all stress and tension left his body, remembrance, and sadness. At least, I won’t leave you alone…

He stepped closer to her, hugging her as bones and claws cut him apart. He was finally in peace with himself as he decided what to do, his eyes starting to shine golden, as more creatures started approaching him. He started whispering into his sister’s ears, tears slowly forming in his eyes.

“Forgive me, I have failed all of you. I couldn’t do it… I am sorry. Lea, I am sorry. But it will be fine now.”

His look suddenly turned determined, as loathing filled his throat, stuttering as he continued.

“Vengeance will be had, he will avenge us, all of us. The wretched witch shall fall. For I have heard the news, he is here.”

One last tear fell from his eyes as he finished speaking, Energy around him waving and vibrating as if the fabric of the world itself started to get disrupted. A few moments later, and the colorless town was painted ivory, as Shao exploded in a radiance unlike any else, returning back the world’s colors. As the white glow faded, the skies were no longer gray, but azure, no signs of the monsters as they were burned to a cinder as Shao exploded his core.

In the air, a gust of wind flew, coming from where he once fought, where he gave his life. A single leather cover floated in the air, a lone survivor of the blast, it glided there, barely legible, yet enough letters could be made on it, to know what was written.

Legends of Regalia