"Goodbye, Celdora!"

The sword of light came crushing down onto the dragon. But just before it could touch him, something happened. For a moment, it looked like the fabrics of space itself has been bent: the column of light was distorted and somehow failed to touch the dragon even though it was just above him a second ago.

".....You..." the doll muttered upon coming to realization about what just transpired before her eyes, and most importantly the individual behind it.

"Greetings!" the large figure landed in front of Celdora who still did not understand what happened. Possessing a strange yet unique pale glossy skin of an aquatic creature, this person was one of the last remaining members of their species. Although, to be truthful, up until just a few days ago, he has been dead for quite a long time to be accounted for. "Your favorite actor Xenes is now on stage."

"Be careful, Xenes! She is not who she claims to be." Celdora shouted.

"I know, I know." The pale dragon grinned. "I know who she is exactly."

".....What are you talking about?" muttered Stella.

"Ohoho, no need to feign ignorance! Your tricks don't work against me, little doll! You think only you and your 'friend' are aware of the events ten years ago? That is a very big assumption on your part." Said Xenes.

"......" instead of giving words, the doll threw an intense glare at the dragon. For the first time, she showed such an acute emotion: anger.

"Looks like I hit a mark." Chuckled Xenes.

"What do you know?" Stella pointed her luminous sword at the smirking dragon.

"Enough to realize that this entire thing was just a set-up, as well the what happened ten years ago." Xenes suddenly laughed out loud. "But I got to say, what you did back then, that was the most amusing piece of art I have ever seen. No wonder no one would ever suspect you. They simply can't. Hahahahaha!"

All of the sudden, the light sword slashed forward, only to miss its target once again due to that strange distortion.

"Not so fast!" said Xenes.

"What is your goal?" asked Stella with a hint of fury in her voice. But aside from the unusual intensity of emotion shown on her face, the doll's right arm wielding the sword was twitching, so much that she had to use her other hand to calm it down before muttering. "...Not now!"

"Oh dear, oh dear, apparently, that is not a very well-behaved arm, is it? Got to wonder why..." grinned Xenes sarcastically.

"Shut your foul mouth!" raged the doll. "Answer me! What is your goal?"

"He he he! I desire something very simply yet so complex no one has ever found the answer: the Truth!"

"What?"

"For now, you stand in my....in our way of finding the Truth. I won't let anything disrupting my search.

A terrifying sound echoed inside the doll's mind. Even more strange, it was not a physical sound that was emitted. It was something else, something that transpired even the wildest imagination of all: something not of this world. In the poor soul's mind affected by that odd noise, it was almost like something was trying to contact with her but the noise itself was so ghastly, enough to drive any perceptive individual to the borderlines of insanity. Where did it resonate from? The source was unseen, at least to the visible eye. However, the direction, the doll could sense it: it came from the sky above, beyond the limitations of this world.

"What is this..?" grunted the doll as she crouched down in pain. "I should be immune to illusionary magic....this..."

"Hahaha! None can resist the power of the cosmos, not even you or 'your friend' " said Xenes.

"Don't...under...estimate...me!!!" In an instant, the invisible shackles that bound the girl in white seemed to have been lifted along with her burst of power.

"Oh dear!" muttered the pale dragon. "What an annoying ghost!" He turned to Celdora. "We are going."

"What? Where? I can't let that woman get away!!! She holds the key to everything." The dragon lord argued.

"You don't have to worry about that. She can't get away. The thing she desires the most is right here after all." Said Xenes.

"The thing she desires the most?" uttered Celdora.

"Oh come on. You already know her true identity. You know what she did. In your opinion, what does she want?"

"You can't mean??"

"Yes! Looks like you got it." Grabbing the dragon before jumping down from the shoulder of the titan, Xenes laughed out loud. "Look like we got company."

Following a strong aura that blasted everything in sight, a white figure emerged from the explosion and jumped down toward the two dragons.

"Not so fast!" the doll spoke.

"I have no time for this!

A distortion engulfed the two dragons in an instant before quickly disappearing into nothingness. In what seemed to be another dimension decorated with stars and darkness, Celdora, dumbfounded by his surroundings, asked the only person by his side. "Where are we?"

"Everywhere....yet nowhere!" answered Xenes in a cryptic way.

"What?"

"Follow along, young dragon! We have much to do!" the pale dragon signaled the other to follow him.

Crossing through this strange space, Celdora wondered about the conversation between Xenes and the doll earlier. From their exchange, apparently, this doll had another ally in cahoots with her plan, whatever it was. Could it be Alastor? From the looks of what has happened, it appeared so. However, the dragon could not shake that feeling that there was much more to this story than told. After all, he now knew with certainty that the doll was not who she claimed to be. This revelation would change the entire premise of what has been known during the last decade.

'If it was her....then.....no no it can't....' his voice echoed in his mind, refusing to accept the terrible truth he just uncovered.

"No need to beat yourself up over this! She tricked everyone since the very beginning." Said the pale dragon after taking a look of the contemplating dragon lord.

"...What is your goal, Xenes?" asked Celdora. "I don't believe that you come all this way just to save me."

"You catch on quickly, boy. No, I don't give a damn about your life." Smiled Xenes in a creepy way. "All I want was to confirm the existence of her 'friend' before the end of the show. And it looks like my provocation did wonders."

"Friend? Who is this friend of hers?"

"Use that little brain of yours and think! But even if you know the answer, it won't change anything. Destiny is calling, my friend! Ha ha ha ha!" laughed Xenes.

"....You still did not answer my first question. What is your goal in this?" demanded the dragon.

"My goal? I said earlier, didn't I: the Truth. The cosmic Truth of our universe! That is what I desire. Unfortunately, the answer does not lie in this world nor does any of its inhabitant are even aware of the 'Lie' they are told."

"What are your talking about?" Celdora raised his voice.

"When a child does not know the answer, he has to ask the elder ones. In our case, it is not so easy as many preparations are needed. But the tool has been provided. The actor, or should I saw actress, is on the move. Everything is ready." Said Xenes as he looked upon one particular object floating around a blue world.

"What?" Celdora uttered in confusion, unable to understand what Xenes was talking about.

"The moon will open its gate and the Old One will enter this world to unfold to us the cosmic Truth! Let the finale begin!"

* * *

"....This is bad!" said Lilith after pushing off Alastor, or at least one Alastor.

In front of her, five other excluding the one she just pushed back were combatting against the others. They looked like the effect of an illusionary spell yet they were as real as it could be.

'One already posed a great problem and now there were six of them? Just great!' thought the Goddess.

This event was the result of the spell that our young demon lord has acquired upon consuming Merkabah, the God of Celestials. Just as the celestial once used it against him, Alastor himself could also now do the same to create more versions of himself, balancing the odds stacked against him in terms of number. Though, he might not need them even so thanks to his already ultimate power.

"Hahahaha, die! Die! Die!" the young boy laughed maniacally as he launched a volley of attacks against an opponent who seemed almost too reluctant to even defend herself.

"Alastor, please!" implored Ikarus in a pleading voice as she used her spear and wings to defend against his assault. Although with her current power, the celestial could do much more than that, her heart simply did not allow her to do so. Even though, in some deep part of her mind, she knew what she had to do and pleading was not the answer. "Don't you remember me? Don't you remember our time together?"

"I know naught of any of you traitors!" the boy spoke in a cold voice. In a flash, he caught on one of the winged lady's blunder. "DIE!"

*CLANG (metal clashing)*

"Brace yourself, Ikarus!" Maria, using her twin swords, stopped the blade of the demon lord in its track.

"None shall escape the call of destiny!" Putting more strength in his arms, Alastor shattered the twin blades of the Blood Huntress.

But in an instant, blood spread from her arms before merging forward as two new blades in her hands.

"Interesting trick! But useless all the same!" spoke the demon lord. Quickly redirecting his sword from below, the boy cut down the woman, slashing her into two from her gut.

"Hehe!" the woman smirked as flows of blood emerged from the torn body parts before reassembling together to make her whole once again.

"Maria..." uttered Ikarus upon seeing the ghastly fight in front of her. These two had no fear of death at all in their eyes. They were fighting for real, to the death.

But what about her? What should she do? In her entire life, she has believed in the just, to do what was right. However, what if it put her in a spot where she had to confront her loved ones? Now was the time to answer that question. Only, she herself did not have the answer.

'You have to do it!' a voice echoed in her mind. Perhaps it was the voice of her own reason as it shared her voice, coming from the deepest part of her unconsciousness. But maybe, just maybe, it was something else.

* * *

While the apparent main body was fighting against the two strongest women, the last person who has received the gift from the strange entities was now struggling to survive himself. While his power could be considered the most omnipotent, it inflicted a heavy burden upon him. The price for such godlike magic was ruinous and the boy has given everything he had with little left.

"Is this where I will die? Right after receiving this power?" the boy murmured in defeat.

The demon lord Sullivan, as well as the cat girl Viviana, were doing their best only to halt the relentless assault of one of Alastor's clones. And even so, it looked like he was only toying with them, prolonging their suffering like a sadistic punisher.

A battle of magic leaving the entire area in flame was taking place right in front of him and there was nothing he could do about it. Well, maybe not that he could not do anything but more like he was afraid of the consequences. The few times he has used time magic has almost taken all of his remaining life. In his mind, there was only one last course of action.

"I must..." Edward uttered as he looked down upon the small item in his hand: a hourglass containing a black sand which shimmered under the flashes of explosions.

Those were the words of the man named Cronos before he granted this power to our sorcerer. A warning and quite a wise one, that was what it was. After all, these tiny particles possessed within them the power to control time itself. Such a frightening endowment for such a tiny thing!

* * *

".....Why did you do it?" asked the bartender to the only other man sitting on the other side of the table while doing his usual cleaning of his glassware with a white cloth.

"Do what?" questioned the man cheerfully, as if he has already known what the bartender was talking about but still insisted on making him ask anyway.

"Why did you give him the hourglass, knowing what he would do?"

"I just did what was best considering the situation. In any case, should we not care and prepare for what is about to happen?" said Cronos.

"You mean that dragon?" asked the woman in red who has been listening to their conversation from earlier.

"......" the Master of the place remained silent, not because he was upset about the change in subject but for another reason. Even though his expression was impossible to see, his silent sigh showed a small hint of melancholy in face to the brilliant smile of the other man. Whatever could this mean? "Very well! We shall depart shortly!"

Putting down the glass he has been cleaning in his hands, the bartender moved toward the red door of the place and went out. "See you there!"

"I guess we should not wander around any further. Madame Rouge, if you please!" the gentleman bowed slightly and invited the woman to go before him. "Ladies first!"

"You still did not answer his question, you know? Why did you give the boy that hourglass?" asked Rouge.

Instead of an immediate answer, the man gave out a wicked grin before finally answer the question.

"Because that is the worst thing I could do to him!" smiled Cronos.

.....

*CRACK*

The sound of glass breaking echoed. All it took was a single crush of his small hand. While the sound was so tiny that no one could hear it amidst this battlefield, the repercussion it would induce was tremendous.

In an instant, the black sand trapped inside the hourglass has been freed. But unlike the sand that would normally be drifted by the wind, instead, the black sand englobed the first body it stumbled upon before finding its way to enter it. Like a drug, the sorcerer sniffled the sand, absorbing it into his vessel. Each particle was like a shard of glass, forcefully entered the body of the boy Edward. These immense pains he was feeling, there was no words to describe it. And with each shard in, smoke started to emit from the frail boy. As for his body, it was ...changing.

That strange scene has caught the attention of one of Alastor's clones. Fearing it would be some kind of spell, the clone dashed toward the recovering figure. Raising its sword, the clone tried to attack the figure rising from that smoke.

Suddenly, Alastor, or rather his clone, could feel a chill in his spines. Not out of fear of the person in front of him but perhaps due to the absence of something. Just a moment ago, all the clone could see was a young frail boy wielding some weird magic. Now, even though he still did not perceive anything visual yet because of the mist, his instincts told him to stop, making him jumping a few steps back. How weird for something to make an individual such as Alastor, a person who has killed Gods, to behave this way! Again, this feeling could not be described as fear, but rather uneasiness, a certain anxiety in face of what was in front of him. The aura of the once young boy has disappeared. In return, something else has taken his place, something that lacked a certain aspect which all living creatures in this world shared. And yet, it was not a thing that could be perceived by the common eyes, for it had no form.

The clone refused to take any chance and decided to take the initiative. With a single spell, it launched all sorts of elemental projectiles toward the smoke.

Suddenly, a hand rose from the mist. In an instant, it was as if all the projectiles just vanished with no reason at all. The white mist has now turned into a black storm of tiny shimmering sand swirling around the arm, hiding the face of its owners.

"What is this?" Alastor uttered through one of his clones. Even though it was created by magic, he shared all his senses and thoughts between the clones and the main body and was alerted of this sudden change. "What are you?"

"A man who has abandoned his humanity...A man who has been forsaken by time" the voice echoed from within the sandstorm. "Master, please forgive this student! But I cannot let you do this! I won't let destruction to be the only legacy you leave to our world.

* * *

Meanwhile, another battle was taking place between a father and his child. The echoes of swords smashing against each other rang across the field. With each clash, the hit seemed to get heavier along with the tension of battle. The two individuals have forsaken the battle of words but instead resorted to the seemingly only way to solve the current situation: one of them must go down before the end of this battle.

Using his heavy twin great swords, Kaiser seemed to have the upper hand thanks to his large stature compared to his opponent. Dancing skillfully and ravaging the grounds he crossed, the True Monarch looked like he was the one with the advantages. However, the real situation was a bit different: none of his attacks even connected at all. In fact, he has spent the entire time chasing this young boy who was clearly toying with him.

"KAISER!" a voice rang from behind, catching the attention of the monarch and making him retreat back.

"Sullivan? What are you doing here? What happened to the one fighting you?" asked Kaiser after seeing the cat girl who accompanied the demon lord. With no capable fighter on that side of the field, the clone would be left to launch its own assault upon the rest of the troops. So why did these two come here?

"It..It..." Viviana tried to speak up but something was holding her back. Her eyes showed an expression of fear of what she just saw a moment ago.

"It has been dealt with. More importantly, we have come to help you." Sullivan quickly retorted.

"Then you should have gone to help the others!" Kaiser spoke loudly.

Suddenly, a large black orb came crashing down at the group. Luckily, using his quick reflex, Kaiser has managed to grab both his allies and get out of the way in time. Where they once stood was now nothing but an empty giant crater.

"Tch! They got away!" the caster of that magic grunted to himself as he prepared his next attack. "But not next time! NONE!

Answering the call of its master, the mechanical titan began to move again. Although it has been deprived of its mobility, the titan still held an insurmountable amount of weaponry hidden deep inside the enormous body of metal. A single movement was enough to create violent vibrations in the atmosphere, along with the screeching sounds of metal. Putting both its lengthy arms on the ground, the titan revealed several openings on its back. From each gap, a pointy red object began to rise.

"Let the sinners have a taste of the hell they deserve!"

.....