April 21st

Year 2120

The Gap

Southern Wastes, Gartaena

Kayline is dead. Merdilen thought about it once more, trying to assimilate the situation. He swept off more tears from his face. It was hard to think she was gone. He had just barely been able to get over Alvoren's death, and now this...

Kayline had been one of his only friends, and they had grown quite close. They had truly confided in each other, and along with Alvoren, Merdilen had never been truly alone. To now think he was gone... it was as if fate itself was laughing at him.

But what bothered Merdilen the most wasn't the fact that she was gone. It was the fact that he himself had killed her. He could still vividly see the moment in which he had cut off her head. He had been so certain it had been another shadow monster... And so, in a rush to protect her, he had ended up doing the very opposite. He had killed her.

Damn it! he thought, punching the ground. After that, everything seemed blurry. He had somehow killed the shadow monster, then wandered off into the night. Now, the next morning, the realization hit him hard. Everyone that had ever been close to him was dead.

Merdilen was alone. And it was his fault.

Damn it, he thought once more, and started to silently weep again, clenching his teeth. What hurt the most was what he had seen Kayline doing in those last moments. She had been running towards him, her fist ready to strike.

Kayline had tried to kill him.

Why would you do that, Kayline? Why?! Because he was a menace? Everything he did was for their own good. Couldn't she see that? Did... did she even care about him at all? In fact, had she ever cared about him? Or had she always only seen him as a tool, to be used and then discarded when she felt like it? The truth was, he'd never know. He'd never know.

But she had really seemed to care about him at those last moments. She had hugged him.

I care a lot about you, and my family, and everything, but..., she had said, the greater good, and the world, comes first. She had seemed truly sincere at that moment. Then, why? Why?! Merdilen had done so much for her...

It doesn't make sense! he thought in frustration. It doesn't make sense! Why? Why?!

It just didn't seem like her. She wasn't the type to do what she did. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Merdilen.

The world. It wasn't like her, because it wasn't her idea. It was the world's. This world is wicked. It has hated me all along, and has made everyone hate me as well.

If it hadn't been for the world's corrupt brainwashing, Merdilen thought, Kayline wouldn't have tried to kill him. She wouldn't have hated him. She would have loved him.

"Damn you all!" he shouted at the top of his lungs to no one in particular. Another tear spilled down his cheek.

Because of the world, he was alone. Because of the world, he was hated. Because of the world, he was broken. It hadn't been just the bandits, or the cultists, or the soldiers. It had been society itself. The world had killed Alvoren. The world had killed Kayline. The world had tried to kill him. But it hadn't succeeded. It would never succeed.

He stared silently at Kayline's tomb, erected a short distance from where he was, her twin swords on top of it.

It's okay, Kayline, he thought, trying to console himself. I know it wasn't your fault. I forgive you.

Now, his determination was bigger than ever. He would get to Morkilen Farenthar's fortress, whatever it took. For them. And then... he didn't know how, but he would impart justice. He would make things right. Because he had determination. And a Transmutator, with determination, could do anything.

Merdilen saw it. A day after he left Kayline's tomb, he finally saw it, towering at a distance. The thing he had been walking towards for the entirety of the past month.

Morkilen Farenthar's fortress.

It rose as a towering mountain of black obsidian, like an ancient temple, a memorial of times long gone. It was like some massive obsidian pyramid-like block cut in half, with all its upper half missing, leaving a massive black area on top of it. Tall black spires jutted upwards, one in each corner, with another one rising high in the middle. And, inside it, the army stood. The Fergahnian army stood guarding the fortress, with guards posted at all entrances, in the balconies, and probably in every hallway as well.

A good five hundred of the soldiers had survived the shadow monster attack. It was only a small fraction of the original army, but more than Merdilen had thought would survive. And leading the army would be the Anti-Transmutation Strike Team itself. The biggest enemy. The final challenge.

But he knew he couldn't face the whole army on his own. Not yet, at least. And he wasn't fond of sneaking either. That left him with only one choice. It was a gamble, but one that would probably pay off. Probably. He'd rush the front door, running past all the guards, then get to the closed wall Kayline's father had spoken about. He'd pass through it with his Transmutation, sealing it off behind him. And then, he'd get all of Morkilen Farenthar's knowledge and power. Next time he faced the Fergahnian army, he'd be nearly omnipotent. He grinned to himself in satisfaction.

He first approached in a crouch, trying to scout a little the fortress before rushing in. Hiding behind a rock, he took a peek through the front entrance. Its double doors were wide open, revealing a long black passageway on the inside, with another passageway leaving the room on either side. It was lined with thick pillars, and in the end, there was a massive entrance, decorated with intricate carvings. Except that there was no door. It had the carvings of an entrance, but a big obsidian wall obstructed it.

That's it! Merdilen thought. That must be the office of Morkilen Farenthar, where he kept all his knowledge. And in front of it, lining the hallway, were ten guards, five on each side. Rushing past them would be easy. Sure, the guards would call the alarm, but once they did, it would be too late. Once he got his power... it would be too late.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up, and ran. He ran towards the entrance, and as he did, he heard a guard shout.

"There he is! The Transmutator! Call all troops!"

Two of the guards raised bows, aiming them towards him. Merdilen focused, visualizing the arrows as they left the bows, shot towards him. Then, he Transmutated once more at range. The arrows became specks of sand, falling harmlessly to the ground.

Another two guards stood in his way with swords, trying to cut him off. But Merdilen didn't have to fight yet. He just had to run. He Transmutated a small set of stairs going up as he ran, jumping from the stairs over the heads of the astonished guards. He hit the ground with his feet and kept running. Two more guards tried to cut him off, but before they did, he Transmutated at range once again, turning their armor into hard rock, making them lose their balance. He ran past them, grinning. He was getting good at this.

He was about to get to the entrance-wall, when suddenly, a pillar erupted out of the ground in front of him, blocking his way. He slammed face-first into it, and turned around, dazed. At the other side of the room, facing him, was Sir Grendar Bartel himself, raising his left arm and grabbing his Bladesmasher with his right. The commander of the Fergahnian army.

Merdilen suddenly realized. The solid matter Manipulation serum had been stolen by the army from the killed Manipulator. And who had injected it into himself... was no other than the leader of that army. Sir Grendar Bartel. He had become the solid matter Manipulator.

"It's been a while, Transmutator," Sir Grendar said in a monotonous tone.

"Not nearly long enough," Merdilen retorted, bracing himself for battle.

He Transmutated the pillar into small stones, and threw them at Sir Grendar as projectiles. As he did, he Transmutated the stones in midair, turning them into sharp and thick spikes that flew against the knight. Sir Grendar rushed Merdilen, heading head-first into the rain of metallic spikes. Right before he impaled himself with them, Sir Grendar Manipulated them, throwing them back at Merdilen.

Merdilen grunted, Transmutating his jacket into steel armor, brushing off the metallic missiles. Sir Grendar used his Manipulation to push himself up from the ground, jumping high and raising his Bladesmasher above his head with a roar. He slashed downwards, at Merdilen.

Merdilen rolled out of the way, but Sir Grendar Manipulated the Bladesmasher to the side, towards Merdilen. Merdilen in turn Transmutated the greatsword, turning it into sand before quickstepping away. He then turned Sir Grendar's plate armor into sand too, leaving the knight in just his normal clothing, and grinned.

But Sir Grendar, without missing a beat, raised the ground into several individual stone projectiles, hurling them at Merdilen.

He must have practiced nonstop since he became a Manipulator, Merdilen thought with amusement as he Transmutated the projectiles into sand.

Sir Grendar hurled projectile after projectile at him, Merdilen Transmutating them all into sand. It'd become a battle of endurance. No, more than that, a battle of wills. And, even though Merdilen was certain he was more powerful in terms of raw strength than his opponent, he wasn't going to take any chances. He dashed for the farther wall.

Before long, he reached the wall, and without stopping, he ran through it, Transmutating it into sand as he did and then back into obsidian once he was on the other side. He heard the muffled shouts of the guards behind him. He Transmutated several more layers of obsidian in front of it, until almost half the room was covered. Even with a Manipulator, there was no way they'd be getting through that obsidian wall anytime soon. He took a look at the room in front of him.

As the rest of the fortress, it was all black. It had several pillars supporting its roof, and on the middle, a platform that rose several steps. On it, there was a lectern. On the lectern, a book, and a serum. Merdilen's heartbeat quickened. Slowly, carefully, he walked towards the platform, then up its steps, one by one. He reached the lectern. The book was titled 'Transmutation.' Next to it there was a serum.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!" he exclaimed, grinning. He had finally done it. All the power of Morkilen Farenthar, the greatest Transmutator that ever lived, was at his fingertips.

He opened the book and started to read.

The first few chapters were about the basics of Transmutation; pretty much everything that he already knew. After that... it started to get interesting. The techniques and uses it showed it started to get more and more advanced, being on a whole different league. A certain specific portion caught his attention. It was labeled 'Imperium.' It read,

"Transmutation is not absolute. It never has been. As it has one flaw: it can't Transmutate neither liquid nor gaseous matter. But I have devised a way to get past that weakness. It is called Imperium. A Transmutator's ultimate form. Imperium creates a sort of cognitive field thirty feet around the Transmutator, allowing him to sense with superhuman cognition everything in it. This also empowers enormously the Transmutation itself, allowing the user to Transmutate much farther, much bigger, and much more than usual. But the biggest feat this Imperium gives, is the ability to also Transmutate all solid, liquid, and gaseous matter. The ultimate creator. And the most dreaded destroyer.

"With this, I will finally be able to become the god of the new world I'm creating. And then, the world, and myself, will finally have peace."

What the book said was true. Overcoming that one weakness, a Transmutator was completely unstoppable. Merdilen grinned once more, and kept reading.

"But I fear that what I am doing will not be enough. I fear that Arthenmon will somehow devise a plan to kill me. So, I have thought of a way for my power to never die, for my legacy to endure. If you are reading this, then it means I am dead. But my power will never die. For I have discovered a way, a backup plan, for it to endure. Once I'm about to die, I will channel the entirety of my power into the serum that comes along with this book. Use it wisely. It is a part of myself. With it comes my power, but also my dreams, my ideals, and my determination.

"Continue my legacy. Follow my dream. Create a new world with an absolute, omnipotent ruler, a world with no wars or conflict, a world where the ruler rules and the subjects are ruled. A world where everyone has peace. That is my dream. I trust in you, Transmutator."

Merdilen picked up the serum, feeling it in his fingers. It had a purple liquid floating inside it. So this is where Morkilen Farenthar stored his power when he died.

He knew that, once he injected it onto himself, he would be almost omnipotent. But, for some reason, he hesitated. There was a part that bothered him. 'With it comes my power, but also my dreams, my ideals, and my determination,' the book read. Did that mean Merdilen would become like Morkilen?

Not if I'm able to control it, he thought. He remembered Alvoren's dream. A world with no shadow monsters. He remembered Kayline's dream. A world with no sicknesses and hunger. He remembered his own dream. Becoming a hero. Merdilen would fulfill their dreams.

With that determination in mind, he injected the serum with his right hand into his left shoulder. He screamed.

Suddenly, his whole body became filled with insurmountable amounts of power. The secrets to Imperium. The secrets to Transmutating life. The secrets to transforming human beings into shadow monsters.

Then... A lifetime of memories passed before him in quick succession. It started slowly.

Two boys playing in a park. Kateko Arthenmon and Morkilen Farenthar. Those same two boys going to school. Having a normal life. The boys growing up, having dreams. Morkilen, with dreams of a world with an absolute ruler, with no war, pain, or suffering, but no freedom either. Kateko, with dreams of a completely free world, where everyone could be what they wanted to be, but with people with conflicting opinions. Both going to university. It started to get quicker. Studying science. One of them making a discovery. A discovery that would change the world. Transmutation. Both of them talking about it, then arguing, then fighting.

The memories passed by quicker, quicker, quicker. Morkilen stealing the Transmutation serum. Kateko confronting him about it. An explosion caused by instability of the serum. The first innocent death. Both blaming each other for it. Both becoming Transmutators. War. Best friends fighting each other. Death, death, death. Suffering, suffering, suffering. Destruction, destruction, destruction. A massive explosion. Kateko crying. Morkilen dying.

The succession of memories then ended. Merdilen lay down on the obsidian floor, gasping. He felt... different. And it wasn't just the extra power. All the destruction he had seen in those memories... it changed him. It intensified his feelings of anger, vengeance, and hate, making him someone that he had always been deep inside but had never truly demonstrated. He felt... like he wanted to fulfill Morkilen's dream. But, the truth was, it wasn't just Morkilen's dream.

Part of it had been his own dream too. Of being respected, of being important, of being loved. The two dreams merged, becoming one. And Merdilen stood up. He now knew what he had to do. He now understood his duty.

He had to conquer the world.

The soldiers stared at the massive obsidian wall, trembling. Behind it was the Transmutator. Behind it was death. They waited, waited, waited. And, after a few hours, it happened. The wall suddenly turned into fog. And, from within the fog, emerged an obscured figure that slowly walked forward, step by step. It had its fists clenched and was dressed all in black. The Transmutator.

And, in front of the thirty soldiers, the unexplainable happened. The Transmutator's severed left arm started to grow again, as if Transmutated right from the air, and it turned into a full-fledged limb, as if it had never been cut. The Transmutator flexed the fingers of his left arm, feeling it, smiling.

The soldiers charged, yelling. Thirty grown men, all in full iron armor, with swords and shields.

They didn't last a minute.

Swords materialized in the air out of nowhere, falling towards them. The whole room became black swords in the air, which fell downwards, in the heads of the screaming soldiers. They all died instantly. The Transmutator slowly walked out of the fog, heading towards the outside of the fortress.

It feels good, Merdilen thought. He now had the power of both Morkilen Farenthar and himself. He was twice as powerful as any Transmutator before him had ever been. And he meant to enjoy every last bit of it. He was a Master of Matter.

He walked among the corpses of the soldiers, exiting the fortress. Outside, waiting, was the rest of the army of the kingdom of Fergahn. They had probably waited outside as being in the open would give them a better fighting chance, Merdilen thought. But it didn't matter. It didn't matter where they were. They were already dead.

As soon as he stepped outside, about twenty archers pointed their bows at him. In front of the archers stood Sir Grendar, Jarleren, and Salvatore. The Anti-Transmutation Strike Team.

"This is over," Sir Grendar said in a solemn tone. "Surrender now, and we will grant you a swift and painless execution. Fight, and you won't enjoy such privileges."

"You're right. This is over," Merdilen said. "But not for me."

The archers fired. The old Merdilen would never have been able to stop all those arrows, not even with Transmutation at range. But he wasn't the old Merdilen anymore. He muttered a single word.

"Imperium."

With that, he felt his whole body fill with power, and his cognition augmented massively. Suddenly, he felt everything. He felt small insects in the ground, he felt the presences of all the soldiers near him, and he felt the arrows flying towards him, all irradiating individual presences. He raised a hand towards the arrows, and all twenty of them turned into air itself.

Merdilen Transmutated the ground into a tall platform that rose him high above the ground, high above all the lines of soldiers. When he was far above that he could easily see the whole army under him, he concentrated, and prepared to Transmutate.

There had been something else Morkilen had written about Imperium, a sort of side effect. When one Transmutated at too much range, extended his consciousness too far, there was a risk of losing one's consciousness to the world, of one's life leaving the body with the power. No one knew what happened then. But, when the consciousness went too far to Transmutate, sometimes, there was no coming back. Still, that meant that, if one was able to keep control of one's self, the range of Imperium could be extended indefinitely. Infinitely, even. But he wouldn't go that far. Not yet, at least.

He extended the range of his Imperium to some sixty feet, struggling to keep hold of his body, and Transmutated the air into massive fiery rocks, rocks bigger than any normal man, surrounded in fire. Meteors. And he let them fall towards the army as a massive meteor swarm. The meteors fell, absolutely destroying the battlefield, making soldiers scream as they were smashed down by the massive burning rocks. He kept Transmutating, more and more, until he could no longer see the army under him. He kept going, wrecking, smashing, destroying. He felt a sharp spike of pain in his head as he felt the deaths, but ignored it.

After several rounds of meteors, he stopped. He looked downwards, and his eyes widened when he saw the result. Massive craters now littered the battlefield, giant holes going down into the earth. The army was no longer visible. But, more astonishing than the destruction itself, was a group of three people standing in front of the remains.

The Anti-Transmutation Strike Team.

Last round.

"This should be some fun," Merdilen muttered to himself, grinning.

He lowered the platform, going down towards the knight, the assassin, and the archer.

"You killed Kayline," Sir Grendar said. "You murdered your own ally."

Merdilen's smile vanished.

"I killed her? I did?!" he exclaimed, hot with rage. "It was you people who brainwashed her, you who made her betray me, you who sent her to die! And now... it is you who will pay!"

Merdilen prepared to fight. He was no weakling anymore. He was not the innocent kid who would let himself get destroyed anymore without fighting back. He knew there were probably tens of ways he could annihilate them all on the spot, but he gave them a chance. He would enjoy this. He would make them suffer.

Simultaneously, Salvatore shot three arrows towards him, Jarleren flanked him, and Sir Grendar rushed him. First, Merdilen turned all three arrows into thin air, then he Transmutated the air next to Jarleren into a small roofless rock box, trapping him inside, then Transmutated a wall in front of himself, blocking Sir Grendar's Manipulated rock attacks. Sir Grendar with a sweep of his hand Manipulated the wall, throwing it to the side, and attacked again.

Merdilen Transmutated Sir Grendar's glove into burning-hot lava, and Sir Grendar screamed, letting go of it, his hand partially consumed. The projectiles fell to the ground, having been released. Sir Grendar grabbed his arm, stumbling several steps backward. At that moment, Jarleren jumped out of his roofless rock box, stabbing at Merdilen. Merdilen then Transmutated several feet of the ground into air, and Jarleren fell, not being able to complete his attack. Salvatore fired six more arrows in blurringly fast succession, but Merdilen simply turned them into sand.

Sir Grendar had his whole hand burning, but still, he rushed towards Merdilen, Manipulating sharp rocks towards him in a futile attempt to reach him.

"No matter what you do..." he groaned while Manipulating, "the world... will always... have heroes."

"You're right," Merdilen replied nonchalantly. "And that hero... is me."

With that, he Transmutated the air into a blade right in front of Sir Grendar's shoulder, and he ran right into it. His arm was severed completely. Just as Merdilen's arm had been severed by Sir Grendar.

"How does it feel, Grendar?" Merdilen asked in a mocking tone as Sir Grendar screamed.

Jarleren jumped out of his hole by jumping from wall to wall and threw a pair of daggers towards Merdilen. Merdilen mercilessly turned the ground under Jarleren into a lava pit. He fell right into it.

Jarleren slowly burned to death.

"Jarleren!" Salvatore exclaimed, shooting several more arrows towards Merdilen in determined but futile attempts. Merdilen then Transmutated a massive chunk of dirt right in the place where Salvatore was, making him drown in it.

Salvatore Arneret slowly drowned to death.

"Damn you!" Sir Grendar exclaimed towards Merdilen, slowly getting to his feet once more. "You are a monster. A monster! And always have been. But monsters... monsters never will-"

Merdilen cut him off, stabbing his longsword towards Sir Grendar's chest. But Sir Grendar Manipulated a wall from the ground in front of him, blocking the strike. Merdilen Transmutated blade after blade towards the knight, with Sir Grendar blocking attack after attack. He was in a fully defensive position now. He couldn't even wish to attack anymore. A silent testimony to the enormous power gap now between Merdilen and Sir Grendar.

Enough, Merdilen finally thought, and Transmutated out of the air at both sides of Sir Grendar a massive greatsword that pierced through him, impaling him.

Sir Grendar Bartel let a final roar of pain, and bled to death.

Merdilen looked in horror at the corpses, in a sudden moment of lucidity. Did I... really... do this? he thought.

Yes. They deserved it, he forced himself to think. They deserved it.

Merdilen started to rise once more in a Transmutated crystal platform, getting high in the air. Then he started to walk forward in the air, Transmutating the air below his feet into a bridge as he walked. As he walked towards civilization.

Merdilen arrived at the shadow culture's territory, with its tall houses, ruined buildings, tattooed people, and shadow monsters.

This culture is wicked, he thought with disgust. It sacrifices people to those monsters. It deserves to die. And Alvoren deserves to be avenged.

He then activated Imperium once more, raining blazing meteors unto the unsuspecting people and shadow monsters. He felt the pain in his head as thousands of people died, but ignored it.

It is for the good of the world, he forced himself to think. I am a hero.

During the next day, he traversed the entirety of the shadow culture's territory, erasing it entirely from the map.

Merdilen later arrived at the Crimson Ruby bandits' mountain lair, where about a hundred of the world's most vile thieves, murderers, and robbers lived.

This organization is evil, he thought, remembering his imprisonment and the pain it had put Kayline through. It, too, deserves to die.

He again activated Imperium, throwing rounds upon rounds of meteors upon the mountain, until it was completely destroyed. He easily ignored the pain in his head the deaths caused. He was getting used to it. He kept walking.

Merdilen kept moving forward, until he left the Southern Wastes and entered the kingdom of Fergahn. He ignored the small villages and cities he passed. He had only one objective as of yet: the city of Cornaler, capital of the kingdom of Fergahn. There, he would threaten the rulers, and make himself king. Somehow, deep inside, he knew that that wasn't what he wanted, but somewhy, he felt the urge to do it.

During his journey towards Cornaler, pangs of nostalgia hurt him. He recognized several of the places in which Alvoren, Kayline, and himself had set up camps, where Kayline had drawn, Alvoren had talked about his adventures, and Merdilen had read. A sudden burst of sadness welled up within him, but with it came determination. He'd make their journey worth it.

Merdilen kept walking towards Cornaler in his crystal bridge, and several weeks after he left Morkilen Farenthar's fortress, he arrived. He had absolutely no problems, as he was walking high above ground level in his bridge, so no bandits or shadow monsters could attack him.

The big city of Cornaler loomed before him, with its big houses, noble keeps, and imponent castles.

He heard shouts below him, in the city wall. A guard had seen and recognized him. Let them come, he thought. There would be about ten thousand guards in the city, all of them coming to fight him. He liked those odds.

The guards started to fire arrows at him, arrows that barely reached him, and that he Transmutated into air as soon as they entered the range of his Imperium. He counterattacked, acting completely on instinct, not holding back, Transmutating and throwing meteors, swords, and rocks at the guards. Soon enough, a whole portion of the city wall collapsed.

As a toy structure would collapse with the hit of a kid. Merdilen started to chuckle.

So easy! he thought.

But then, he saw something that caught his attention in the city. A small red-haired boy and his mother, running away. The mother seemed to have some serious illness, as it was walking with difficulty and with his son's help.

Huh? The mother seemed familiar somehow. Then he realized. He gasped.

Kayline's family! She had talked a lot about them, before she... died.

Kayline. Kayline...

Thinking of her, a bit of lucidity returned to Merdilen. He looked around, shocked, as if he had just escaped some kind of trance.

What... am I doing?

Somewhy, he remembered what he had first thought when he met Kayline. I won't kill, he had thought. I will be a hero, not a monster. That young and innocent version of him hadn't lived long enough to find out how wrong he had been. A single tear slipped down his cheek. Somewhere along his journey, he had forgotten what he wanted to do. He hadn't originally wanted to gain fame and respect. He had just wanted to be a hero.

You are a hero! he tried to convince himself. But, seeing the horror in Kayline's family's faces, he realized that wasn't the truth. He had become the very thing he had sworn to destroy. He looked horrified at his own hands. Hands almost as if they were covered in blood. Somewhere along the road, he had become a monster. He forced his evil personality out of himself, thinking back to how he once thought.

Merdilen realized something. True, maybe he wouldn't survive if he stopped killing. But, was it really worth it living as a murderer? As a monster? Was he even worthy of surviving after all? After all, if he fought evil with evil, evil would prevail no matter what. The world would keep being evil, even more so if he brought more evil into it. He just had to sparkle it with what little good he had left.

He finally acknowledged something that had been on the back of his mind since he had first killed those three shadow monsters and his riders. He wasn't a hero anymore. He was a monster. A monster. A monster. He started to cry.

Maybe... Kayline had been right. No, it wasn't a maybe. Kayline had in fact been right. He had become the very thing he had tried to prove he wasn't. His life didn't seem like some grand adventure anymore. It now seemed like a tragedy. From hero, he had become a monster. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Or... was there?

Merdilen looked around, at all the destruction and chaos. Not only the ones he had created, but the world itself, with its unnatural craters, peaks, and mountains. The chaos created by the Transmutators.

Merdilen gasped, coming to a realization. During his whole journey, he had always wondered one thing. Why had Kateko Arthenmon, his ancestor, destroyed all things concerning the Transmutation in his fortress? He understood now. Kateko Arthenmon had discovered the truth.

The Transmutators were monsters.

Because power corrupts people. It causes wars, destruction, and hate. That's why his family had stayed in exile, too.

Merdilen had been a monster, but... maybe there was something he could do about it. Something to mend all that the Transmutators of old destroyed. He remembered a certain passage from the book he had found in the fortress. If one was able to keep control of one's self, the range of Imperium could be extended indefinitely. Infinitely, even. That meant... there was still hope for the world. He didn't know if he would survive his attempt, but he realized with surprise that he didn't truly care anymore.

Merdilen started to extend the range of his Imperium. That would allow him to Transmutate at a much bigger distance and amount of mass. First, he decided to cover the whole city of Cornaler. He kept going, going, going, covering all the houses, keeps, castles, and basically every building in the city. He found out that the more he extended the range of Imperium, the less he felt in control of his own body. He started to feel it less and less, as he extended his cognition. Soon, he didn't feel his own body at all. But he felt absolutely everything else.

He kept going, covering with his Imperium farther, and farther, and farther. He first covered the entirety of the city of Cornaler. He kept going. He didn't know how long it took, but after a long while, he had covered the cities of Mithforden, Rarbeng, and Arthol, along with the entirety of the kingdom of Fergahn. He kept going, covering what was beyond the kingdom, until he had covered every single kingdom in the South. He didn't feel his body at all. But he didn't care. Not anymore.

Then, when he had covered everything that had been damaged during the Transmutation War... he Transmutated. Merdilen's last Transmutation. He Transmutated everything into how it should be: he filled the craters, he leveled the spikes, and he made the mountains rounder. He created a paradise, a perfect planet, with everything being how it should be. No more shadow monsters, no more chaos, no pain, and... no more Transmutation. He didn't know if it took days, months, or years, but when he was finally done, he smiled to himself.

Sure, maybe he had done terrible things during his journey, but now... he could die a hero. Now... he could die at peace. Smiling, he let go.

Here I go, Alvoren, Kayline. To where you two are.

With that, he lost consciousness completely, and the new world he had created was finally at peace.

THE END