RUMBLE!

Streaks of lightning rent the sky asunder, and deafening thunder followed behind it.

It has been some time since the Demons invaded the land, and the soil was coated with crimson blood and ash. It was a war, a war between light and darkness, between the merciless invaders and brave souls of the invaded.

High Elves and Demons fought a bloody battle across the Neloron continent, without a care in the world for the weaker human servants, who were dying in the millions.

It was the apocalypse, the end of the world for them. They ran and hid as the Gods, the rulers of this world, decimated the invaders and turned them to charcoal with everlasting flames. Streaks of hard light evaporated anything and everything they touched, and despite hundreds of millions, even billions of losses, the enemy didn't stop.

In fact, with every passing day, the Demons and their henchmen were advancing, spreading outward from the Portal, increasing their number and taking over the land. It was like a disease. An all-consuming rot that destroyed the beautiful world.

The most powerful individuals from the High Elves' side fought on the frontlines for weeks already and they were becoming exhausted.

Beliar held his sword in his grasp and turned his strikes into a living meat grinder. Each strike of his took thousands of lives as black lightning shot out, devouring the enemy forces like fire does straw.

With each swing he took, the sky darkened momentarily as if his sword used light itself to feed upon. The interchanging instants of light and darkness were especially unnerving for those of weaker mental states.

"Don't you think your techniques seem a bit too sinister for an esteemed High Elf such as yourself?"

Beliar scoffed and didn't answer.

"Some might mistake you for a Demon…"

"Shut up, old man!" Beliar finally shouted and made another strike, aiming this one towards the ground where the black lightning opened a gully and devoured dozens of Giants at once.

They were the big ones, each a hundred meters tall and far along the path of growth towards becoming a legendary Titan.

"What are you, a thousand years old?" Beliar asked irritably.

"I have crossed my fifteenth century decades ago," the old man beside him answered and his fingers drew a line across the sky after which everything below him, in a straight line, turned to dust.

"And yet you still spout such nonsense! Had you survived centuries in the Void as I did, you would have seen things with different eyes! Compared to the horrors out there, this bit of bloodshed is nothing!" Beliar shouted without even looking at the old High Elf beside him. "Besides, it's your fault this happened! The best formation master my ass! Had you assessed the barrier correctly this shit wouldn't have happened!"

The old man shook his head and sighed, "And who was it that said he could handle the beasts on his own? I clearly remember suggesting we ask for help."

"Shut up!" Beliar became red in the face and released his anger by killing a few thousand High Orcs. The five-meter tall beasts were like ants below his feet. "And stop reading that damn book already! This is war, take it seriously!"

"Ah~" The old man sighed, "To be young again…"

"Damn you-!"

The pair fought in the battle alongside thousands of other High Elves of Divine Rank, hundreds of thousands of warriors of Spirit Rank, and countless others.

Even mortals on the ground fought against the weaklings and cannon fodder, trading their lives with Orcs and Goblins.

Despite being at a disadvantage, the war effort seemed to be bearing some fruit. The armies of darkness entered a long-lasting stalemate after expanding their territory a few hundred kilometers from the origin.

Just when the High Elves thought they could take a breather, tragedy struck.

Or actually, it was the Illusion Demons. A class of bloodthirsty beasts specializing in misdirection, stealth, and assassination.

Stab!

"Urk!"

A crimson blade suddenly pierced the old man's chest from behind. He could barely release a pained groan when a blinding light erupted from his chest and destroyed his body and Soul from the inside.

"Old man!" Beliar shouted with eyes wide open. Without missing a beat, he flew towards the shadowy figure that became momentarily visible in its attack and struck... empty air.

"Aaaargh!" he shouted and expanded his senses to the limit, searching for the assassin.

"Be- Beliar…" the old man weakly called. He was falling from the sky, his powers and life draining out of him like a flood.

"Old man!" Diving after him, Beliar quickly caught the dying High Elf and brought him on top of an empty hill peak. As the old man tried to speak, Beliar quickly hushed him. "Don't speak, I'll get you patched up in no time, don't worry…"

"Arrav, my name is Arrav Xius" the old man answered weekly and then proceeded to cough out a bucket of blood.

"Take- Take this book," Arrav pushed the blood-covered Elemental Codex into Beliar's hand.

"What is this?! Can you forget this stupid book for one second and focus on yourself?! You are dying!" Beliar shouted.

"It's for the... young generation… They... they need... knowledge…" Arrav's voice was becoming increasingly haggard, and his breathing strained.

"Old man?" Beliar called. He got no response.

"Arrav? Arrav! Stay with me!" He shook him by the shoulders and yet… There was no reaction.

"Aaaaaah!"

A sudden scream alerted Beliar and he looked up. Many other High Elves were also sneak-attacked and were falling from the sky. All those Divine beings, with near-immortal Souls and indestructible bodies, were falling from the sky by the dozen, dying.

'What sinister weapon-!' Beliar shouted in his mind when he suddenly felt danger coming from behind him. He spun around and punched just as a thin blade materialized from the air and grazed his side.

"Argh!" He released a muffled groan as the pain that hit him was out of the world. The blade attacked his flesh and Soul at the same time, a terrifying weapon indeed!

However, the attacker fared much worse. Beliar's punch shattered the Illusion Demon's jaw.

"You!" Beliar hissed the word with such hostility and hatred even the bloodthirsty Demon shuddered. His shadowy figure quickly merged with the space around him and disappeared.

"I… Smell… You…" Beliar grinned wickedly and gripped his sword, slowly turning his head towards an empty space.

The air vibrated and the Demon reappeared momentarily. It felt dread from that gaze alone and completely lost the will to fight.

However, just as Beliar lifted his sword and was about to execute it, another ten or so shadows flew across the sky. Each of them carrying the same cursed blade.

"Cowardly scum!" Beliar roared and executed the Demon on the ground and burned it to ash. He then flew towards the sky like a meteor. "Come at me you invisible pricks! I'll kill you all!"

Endless energy inside him burst forth like a raging volcano and poured into his sword. Such a thing should have not been possible after a month-long battle, and yet it happened.

"Disappear!" He suddenly came to a stop and pointed his sword forward.

[Pillars of Annihilation!]

The world suddenly lost all color, and darkness descended upon the land. Only a single pillar of light was visible shining across the sky and striking the ground behind the horizon.

The Pillar of Annihilation skimmed the surface of the planet and disappeared into space. Anything in its way was evaporated in an instant, including the Illusion Demons caught in the blast.

The sheer power released split half the continent of Neloron, separating north and south by hundreds of meters deep valley. The grand sea immediately came crashing back, filling the void left by the banished land, carrying with it the force of a massive tsunami.

"Shit…" Beliar quietly cursed. "Now I have done it…" He winced from sudden pain that assaulted his body and his hands holding the sword trembled. From the tip of his fingers, across the forearms, and up his arms cracks appeared on his skin, and parts of his flesh decayed into dust.

"Arrav!" he suddenly remembered. Luckily the old man was left resting on the ground behind him and was spared from all the destruction. Beliar quickly took him in his arms, but to his horror, he felt no life coming from the body.

"No, no, no! Don't you die on me now!" Beliar shouted. "Innos! He'll know what to do!"

The air shimmered and they disappeared from the place.

Outside the Phoenix Temple, a stone structure made of reddish rock and built into the side of a volcano, the two reappeared again, and Beliar immediately flew inside.

"Innos!" he shouted. "Innos, get over here, quickly!"

Woosh!

Innos appeared in the hall by stepping out of a flaming twist of space.

"Beliar? What happened?" Innos asked calmly as he straightened his robe. "Wait, Arrav?! What happened to him?!"

Beliar almost burst into tears, placing the old man on the ground, "Innos, you have to help him! He was struck by an assassin, I can't feel his Aura anymore!"

Innos quickly crouched down and placed his hand on the old man, feeling for his Aura. Alas…

"It's gone…" Innos whispered, "Even his Divine Soul is gone, not a strand of it is left…"

After a momentary shock, Innos accepted the fact that his old friend was dead. He slowly closed Arravs eyes that remained half-opened in his death and stood up.

"Beliar… What happened?" he asked.

"Assassins… They- They attacked and… And… I failed to notice them, and they…" Beliar's words became messy and difficult to understand as he started rambling incoherently.

"It's all my fault…" he gasped in realization. "It's all my fault! I should have listened to his advice and called for reinforcements! I killed him! Aaaah!"

"Beliar!" Innos shouted and grabbed his friend by the shoulders, "Calm down, you are not making any sense!" At that moment, Innos felt the messy Aura Beliar was exuding, and combined with his sorry state, he came to a sudden realization.

Gasp!

"You used the Pillars?!" he gasped and took a few steps back. "You fool! Do you know what you've done?! Do you realize why that technique is forbidden?!"

"I- I had no choice… There were so many of them, I… I didn't have time!" Beliar stammered. Blood kept dripping from his ravaged hands and pieces of his skin kept slowly turning to dust.

"Just look at the state of you, you are so lucky to be alive! Come, we need to stabilize your body," Innos gestured.

"No! I- I need to… I know what must be done!" Beliar suddenly exclaimed. "I have allies in Atlantis, I'll ask them for help!"

"Atlantis?! You have gone to their world?! Beliar, don't do anything stupid, now it's not the time!"

"Yes, when I traveled the Void… I'll borrow your Gate if you don't mind." He suddenly ran to one of the chambers in the temple and started feeding a stone platform with his energy. His body started decaying faster.

"Stop! Beliar, you are not in the right state of mind! The Pillars are affecting you, we need to get you healed first! And we already called for allies! Dwarves have already agreed to lend us a hand and our brothers across the ocean are also coming, so please..." Innos pleaded.

For a moment it even seemed Beliar would listen to reason, and even his eyes regained their clarity for an instant. But…

"I'm sorry," Beliar said and tossed a white orb to Innos. "All my recent memories are in there... I'll be back soon, take care."

"Beliar!"

The hall filled with white light and a low hum reverberated through the Temple. Beliar was swallowed by the blinding flash, and a few seconds later, he was gone.

"Damn it Beliar! Why do you have to be like this?!" Innos shouted the question to the empty room but received no response. "One of these days… I swear I'll beat you up one of these days! You selfish…!"

Sigh!

Getting upset further would do him no good, so he slowly exhaled, getting a grip of his raging emotions.

"… Stay safe, brother."

"It has been months, and Beliar is still not back. Something must have happened to him, that's for sure."

"I still can't believe he used the Pillars… Doesn't he know the consequences?!"

"Sigh, of course, he does…"

Innos sat at a stone table with a white orb in hand.

"The war is intensifying… Even with our brothers' help and Dwarven muscle, the future looks grim... It's time for me to join the war. I'll empty the Temple and seal it. Hopefully, Beliar will come back soon."

"Beliar, if you are seeing this and the war is over then I'm most likely dead. Don't blame yourself, it's not your fault. Most likely the rest of us would have also dismissed the threat and…"

Innos released a deep breath and stopped talking. He took the orb and entered a room with shelves specially made for holding crystal spheres like that one.

"I'll take my apprentices now and seal the Temple. Hopefully, the Phoenix Necklace will work as intended, otherwise…"

He shook his head and hardened his resolve.

"Anyway… Goodbye my friend, may we meet in this life or the next."