An expanse of nothingness stretches out as far as the eye can see. Devoid of life and color all around, not even the bones of dead animals and beasts alike remained, nor could withered plants and trees be seen. The scenery was nothing but ashen gray. It was almost emptiness if it weren't for the two humanoid-shaped silhouettes standing in the middle of these eerie lands.

A human stood still; he had beautiful brown skin. He wore a broken platinum armor and a broken platinum helmet. The human raised his arms and removed the helmet, dropping it to the ground, where the impact created an explosion of ash that rained down everywhere. The helmet must have weighed at least a ton to produce that result. After removing his helmet, it revealed blazingly long red hair that seemed to scorch underneath the hot sun.

The other stood unshaken with his long blonde hair, fair skin, and long pointy ears. He seems to be what you'd call an elf, if not for the large black protrusions on his body that would make you think otherwise. He wore what looked like a regular tunic if it weren't for the bluish light radiating around it, suggesting that magic was in play. However, despite that item that could be a magical treasure, the one who wore it had ceased to live as a longsword was stabbed right through its chest. And his left arm had completely disintegrated into ash, with his body slowly following.

"They said heroes are made, not born. But what are they made of? Sacrifice?"

He chuckles a bit and looks up at the sky.

"I have made a lot of sacrifices, haven't I?"

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He looks down with a wry smile on his face.

"Maybe because I was naive, maybe because I always hesitate with everything I do."

He looks at the collapsing figure in front of him.

"I guess I wouldn't know the answer to that now. Isn't that right, my friend?"

The body that once belonged to his friend completely collapses and turns into a harmless pile of ash; the longsword that was stabbed through him drops down and scatters more ash into the air.

He picks up the longsword and holds it tight in his right hand. He closes his eyes, and as if time had stopped, the ash that was falling down remained still, as did the wind. Then, all of a sudden, a blinding light surrounds him, followed by an immediate, devastating explosion. As the smoke cleared and the ashes fell, it revealed a new beauty- one that replaced the former beautiful brown skin and red hair with a shining pale skin, white hair, and red eyes.

"I'm sorry, Quila. But please wait for me there; I just need to do something first."

He stabs his sword into the ground, unleashing an ungodly amount of mana into the atmosphere. The ground shook violently, mountains arose from the ashen wasteland, and monsters and beasts alike appeared out of thin air, covering the blue sky and the barren lands with their gray horrors.

The man in the midst of it all spoke.

"I, king Eleazar announce-"

As if time had resumed, the ashes that was unmoving in the air started falling down, and the various beasts and monsters that rose alongside the mountains started to move.

"-the end of the world."

In an instant, the mana the sword was releasing stopped, and all the creatures that were moving suddenly collapsed and fell to the ground, and the man in the middle disappeared.

Only a weak voice that said, "I'm sorry." Remained in what would be called the Valley of Death a few hundred years in the future.