A bleak and cloudy sky hangs overhead, imprisoning Astraoth in its pale, frigid gaze. Moving through the vast, sandy desert, Astraoth climbs over a gigantic dune, a speck in front of its size. Cloak draped around himself, Astraoth begins to dash through the desert, harsh winds blasting around him.

Looking forward, Astraoth scans across the horizon, still sprinting ahead, all the while, alert and ready. Suddenly, a thick pinkish-grey claw bursts out of the sand below Astraoth's feet, aiming for his heart. Expecting the attack, Astraoth dodges to the side, flashing around the attack, and, pulling out a small knife, stabs into the sand, two inches to the left of the base of the claw. The animal leaps out of the sand and readies itself. The beast, standing at two meters tall, has a short torso with the knife embedded inside, two long, thin arms with spikes on the ends, and seven solid legs. Its tail, previously used to attack Astraoth, snakes around its body, and it begins lunging at the boy, using its two long arms to pierce Astraoth.

Astraoth sidesteps the arm and appears at the beast's side, pulling his knife out of the creature's torso, leaping up high into the air, using the monster's body to propel himself further into the air, his knife ready in reverse grip. At the peak of his arc, Astraoth curves downward, falling directly toward the animal. Slashing down with all his strength as he passes the monster's neck, Astraoth flips, and lands solidly on the ground. Returning his knife to its sheath inside his cloak, Astraoth continues moving forward, the animal falling into the sand, dead.

Through the haze of sand and wind, Astraoth walks on, eventually coming to a crack in the ground, three meters wide and tens of meters long. Seeing it, Astraoth smiles, his silver hair waving in the unrelenting wind. Jumping down into the crack, Astraoth prepares his knife in reverse grip, his eyes turning serious. Falling around ten meters, Astraoth lands on the hard cave floor, his eyes searching around, wary. The cave rests at ten meters tall and twenty meters wide, with a five-meter tall hole in the cave walls opposite to Astraoth.

Eyes locking onto an entrance into the cave, Astraoth quickly backs away, creating three meters of distance between him and a huge hole in the cave walls. Light appears and, from the dark hole, appears an enormous white lion which towers over Astraoth at four meters tall. The great beast's golden mane is draped over its pure white fur, which covers its entire body. The lion begins to look down at Astraoth, its golden eyes seeming to surround him, emanating power and strength.

The resplendent beast approaches closer to Astraoth, standing only a meter from him, narrowing its eyes and baring its teeth as it advances. Astraoth gulps slightly, attempting to calm his nerves, tightening his grip on the small knife. Astraoth, willing himself to remain steadfast, refuses to back down, stepping forward, despite his fear.

Springing into action, Astraoth dashes forward, swinging around to the left of his opponent, a blur of light. Readying himself, Astraoth leaps onto the lion's leg, climbing higher, eventually steadying himself on the lion's back. Sprinting forward, Astraoth arrives at the lion's neck, bringing down his knife in a stab, attempting to slice through the mane in a single blow.

As the blade approaches the neck, however, a brilliant white pentagram appears below the lion's feet, and flames begin to rise from it in a spiral, curling around the terrifying beast. The mane ignites in flames of a dazzling white, forcing Astraoth backward, away from the neck.

Astraoth, seeing the rest of the lion's fur ignite, gathers Essence Energy in his right hand, wrapping it around the blade, diving off the monster's back, cutting into the beast's flesh with his knife as he falls. Landing on the ground, Astraoth's energy surges into the air, obscuring his figure as he retreats. Astraoth, reaching the leftmost wall of the cave, looks up, finding a small crevice five meters above him.

Astraoth, filling his legs with energy, leaps into the air, grabbing onto the ledge, pulling himself up with a casual flip, landing solidly on the rock. Looking over to the lion, he sees it rushing at him, bathed in flame. Astraoth flips his knife around his hand, grasping it tightly, his body cloaked in a burst of energy. Leaping off the ledge, Astraoth streaks downward toward the lion's head, eyes burning red. As he reaches the lion, the beast opens its mouth, revealing a pentagram, flame streaming out from it, heading directly toward Astraoth.

Astraoth cuts through the flame with a swipe of his knife, and, arriving at the lion's mouth, slice only a centimeter into its flesh, backing off the lion as he completes his cut, kicking off the lion's face, landing on the ground in front of the lion. The monster is filled with rage, its flames soaring into the sky, drawing Astraoth's attention upward. Seeing the cloudy white sky, even the sun blotted out by a muted white, Astraoth shakes slightly, his opponent's aura rising higher, incomparable to before.

Unaffected by Astraoth's attacks, the lion steps forward, Astraoth, intimidated, stepping back subconsciously. Astraoth, falling from his calm state, is separated from nature, losing his enhanced awareness, unable to draw energy from his surroundings, dropping his knife into the floor.

Swallowing once, Astraoth closes his eyes, trying to calm down. Opening them, his eyes are drawn to the sky, as a small patch of blue is revealed, the clouds finally parting. Looking downward, a small fold of the lion's skin exposes the beast's soft neck. Astraoth's eyes surge in intensity with a burst of bright crimson light.

Astraoth picks up the knife from the floor, his energy gathered on the floor, a circle of light surrounding him. Astraoth shoots out at the left, toward the ledge he used before. Leaping on top of it, Astraoth leaps from it once again, energy gathered in his feet. The lion once again races toward him, flame streaming from his mane. As Astraoth reaches the lion, he flips upside down, using his energy to propel himself downward, switching his orientation as he approaches the lion's neck. As he speeds toward the lion's neck, Astraoth's energy leaks out, and a hint of red light curls up his arm, and into his knife.

Accompanied by the red light, the blade easily cuts into the beast, ending its life. As the beast falls to the floor, the world turns black, and suddenly, Astraoth opens his eyes, seeing a beautiful night sky. Turning around, Astraoth sees Oromius sleeping happily in his hammock. Shaken, Astraoth looks to the sky, resolving himself, for the first time, to gain full command over his body and his mind, his will only made stronger by his lack of control.