Before the events that followed on the golem, Aria, in the Blighted Town saw the colossal golem, towering above her. She felt overwhelmed by the colossal being, but she had already seen something similar when she was at the Hero's Party. However, Aria's immediate thoughts were directed at someone else: Thalia, who was still on the rooftop, gazing at her. Aria quickly checked her pocket for the pouch containing the gem, fearing that Thalia might try to take it from her. With her other hand prepared with a concoction, she kept her gaze fixed on Thalia, fully aware of her inhuman speed. Thalia suddenly disappeared from the rooftops in a split second and stood in front of Aria. In a reflex, Aria lifted her arm to throw a vial, but she stopped midway. In her dismay, she couldn't bring herself to harm Thalia in any way. A thought crossed Aria's mind. The Hero Arlan would never have hesitated to save his friend, but she knew she wasn't a hero, she knew she was weak.
Instead, Thalia raised her hand, and Aria closed her eyes, expecting the worst. But to her surprise, she felt a cold touch on her head. When she opened her eyes, she saw Thalia, her hand patting gently on Aria's head. "Little... dove," Thalia struggled to speak, but those words brought tears to Aria's eyes, reminding her of how Thalia used to call her. Aria looked into Thalia's lifeless yellow eyes through the slit of her helmet. "Thalia, I'm sorry this happened to you." Aria utters as she could only offer her sympathy to her former comrade and friend. She knew that Thalia had already died but was now living on as a minion of the dark goddess, the thought made Aria's stomach churn. Finally, Aria spoke to Thalia, her voice filled with determination and resolve. "One day, I'm going to save you, Thalia. I swear it." Aria's words promised Thalia salvation from her zombified state.
Suddenly, Aria heard a cracking noise and turned her head to see where it was coming from. But when she turned back, Thalia was gone. Aria examined her surroundings as the sound of cracks became more apparent and seemed to be coming from everywhere. Another crack was heard near her. Aria tried to follow the sound and found herself in an abandoned house. She went inside and heard the cracks coming from upstairs. Aria slowly crept up the stairs and was surprised to see the room filled with white flame torches. Seeing that the area was void of danger, Aria removed her bird mask, moved across the room and immediately saw a petrified young elf girl on the bed. Another crack was heard; there was no mistake, it came from this petrified person.
Aria observed as the stone cracked and fell off the young elf. But at that moment, there was a deafening booming sound coming from outside. The window glass inside the house began to crack due to the shockwave of the sound. Aria headed towards one of the broken windows and saw that the golem had begun to move in the opposite direction. After a few minutes, another thundering boom was heard as the golem took another step.
As Aria's gaze was on the golem, she heard a soft cough behind her. Realizing that the young elf was still alive, Aria immediately shifted her focus to the young elf girl lying on the bed. Aria looked at the condition of the young elf, who seemed a bit pale. She immediately took a healing potion from her satchel and carefully propped the young elf girl's head upright.
The young elf girl looked at her with dazed eyes and whispered, "Mommy? Is that you? I had the most beautiful dream...", still weak, she tried to rub her eyes. Aria pondered for a moment whether to give her real name and ultimately chose not to lie to the child. Aria responded kindly and softly, "I'm sorry, but I'm not your mommy. I'm Aria. What's your name?"
"I'm Layla. Do you know where my mommy is?" Layla, the young elf girl, inquired as she looked around the brightly lit room.
"We'll find her, I promise. But can you please drink this?" Aria showed the young Layla the healing potion. Layla looked at it with curious eyes and said, "I know what that is, mommy makes lots of those and they taste bad." Layla looked at the bottle with dejected eyes.
As Aria listened to Layla, she remembered how children often refuse to drink bitter healing potions. Aria rummaged through her satchel and took out a bottle of honey she had kept. "See this? It's honey and it's sweet. Here, have a taste." Aria let Layla scoop some honey with her little fingers and taste it. Layla looked elated as she tasted the honey. "I'm going to add this to the potion so it will be sweet, okay?" Aria mixed some honey with the healing potion while Layla watched her.
When it was ready, Aria handed it to Layla. Suddenly, another thunderous boom was heard, followed by a shockwave that broke the windows entirely. Aria instinctively covered the child with her body to protect her. Layla was on the verge of screaming in fear when she felt Aria's warm arms covering her, calming her down. "Please drink this, Layla. We need to escape here." Layla, trusting Aria, drank the health potion to the last drop.
Without wasting time, Aria carried Layla on her back as they moved to escape the house. But before she left, she took a white flame-lit lantern from the dresser and fastened it to her belt.
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As they reached outside, Aria was surprised to see people running about, some dazed and confused. A mass confusion among the awakened townspeople and adventurers who were depetrified ensued. Aria, who was carrying the scared Layla on her back thinks on her next move when suddenly the golem on the horizon falls down to its knee creating a huge quake followed by a shockwave. Aria runs behind the house to protect them from the shockwave, she helds on to Layla on one hand while gripping the house on the other. A huge surge of wind pressure washes over the town demolishing some of the houses and blew people away who failed to hide. When the surge subsided, Aria hears voices of people coming towards them. An army of adventurers goes through the town fully armed. Some healers went to see to the depetrified people. Aria felt a wave of relief as reinforcements have arrived.
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"Platinum in just two years! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you are the Hero's successor!" A guild administrator from a foreign land's adventurer's guild awarded a young boy in his early teens the platinum-ranked necklace.
The young boy continued to complete mission after mission, from town to town, kingdom to kingdom, helping anyone whenever and wherever he could. "You're quite the extraordinary warrior, lad!" an old dwarf remarked as he invited the young boy to his party. Together, they slew hordes of demons and monsters from different parts of the world.
"The youngest platinum adventurer - The Platinum Hero!" he was called by friends and enemies alike. Those who knew him well remembered him as a dual-wielding warrior who resembled the late Hero, not just in skills but also in demeanor. The young boy secretly aspired to become like the hero he looked up to, going to great lengths to imitate him, including his swordsmanship.
Songs of praises and gratitude echoed in the young boy's mind as he tried to hide behind them in this hellish nightmare of a reality.
The young boy, dubbed as "The Platinum Hero," who had never known defeat, felt true terror for the first time in his short life.
In that split second, as soon as he heard the woman's snap, his comrades' heads flew away from their bodies. The only thing he could do was defend his neck from a blade that seemingly cut through time and meant certain death. A woman clad in black armor stared into his soul with her devilish yellow eyes as their blades crossed.
Dorothy, who witnessed the event, couldn't fathom what had transpired. One moment the adventurers were there, the next their heads were rolling on the ground, except for the young boy. All done in by a single woman clad in black armor. The only sound that was heard prior to that moment was a crisp snap by the dark goddess.
"HA-HA-HA!" A loud, terrifying, mocking laugh was heard next as the ground filled with blood and was littered with the corpses of the gold-ranked adventurers. Asmodea, whose belly ached due to extreme amusement, held her stomach, unable to stop laughing. After a few more seconds, she regained her composure and stood tall, fixing her black flowing dress. "Ahem, please excuse me, I haven't had a genuine laugh in a millennium," she revealed as she fixed her hair. "I mean, what was that? That has to be the top worst entrance in my book!" She shared as the young boy stared blankly at his comrades' corpses.
Seeing that most of the nuisance was gone, Carwen proceeded to control the colossal golem once more with her red orb. The golem slowly stood up.
Dorothy, taken aback by what had happened, froze in place. She had to plan her next move and quickly assessed the situation. There were three enemies: a woman whose gaze could make you see things, an old elf who controlled the golem, and a woman clad in black armor who could move at inhuman speeds. Dorothy slowly drifted her eyes to the crimson-haired woman's feet; it seemed she was not moving for now. Observing the dead gold-ranked adventurers, it was clear that the most dangerous enemy was the woman in the black armor. Dorothy's gaze then shifted to the platinum adventurer locked in a blade-to-blade confrontation with the woman. She slowly put her hand inside her belt pocket, preparing for her next move.
The young boy, engaged in a sword fight with the woman in black, felt overwhelmed by his single opponent, despite his age and previous encounters with powerful adversaries. Fear, regret, and sadness mixed within him, but he refused to allow his opponent the last laugh. He steeled himself, using the negative emotions to empower him. He pushed the woman in black armor back and stood still, closing his eyes.
Asmodea, the woman in black armor, and Dorothy were surprised by the young boy's decision to close his eyes in such a dire situation. Their thoughts synchronized on one sentence: "Does he wish to die?"
In that moment, the woman in black armor lunged towards the young boy, her pointed dagger aimed at his heart.
In a split second, the young boy recalled his earlier days as an adventurer, when he was scared and weak. But a memory from his childhood surfaced, showing him cowering behind a man who faced a demon unwaveringly, the man had his two swords drawn. The boy could only see the man's steadfast back as his white cape flowed in the wind. The man, with his golden hair and azure eyes, whispered something to him, but he couldn't seem to recall the words. However, he could remember the feeling as he deflected the dagger of the woman clad in black armor with perfect precision, all with his eyes closed.
Asmodea smirked at the scene but remained silent. Dorothy was awed by the young boy's ability. Though surprised, the woman in black didn't relent, continuing to attack the young boy, only to be deflected over and over again. The woman in black armor, even without a heart, felt a tinge of annoyance. In her anger, she locked her dagger with the young boy. In that moment, the young boy opened his eyes and locked eyes with the woman in black.
"You are a formidable opponent. I am called Wynn. Tell me your name," the young boy introduced himself calmly and with dignity in his tone. The woman in black felt a sense of competitiveness from her former life. Though struggling, she opened her mouth and whispered, "Tha...lia." The young boy acknowledged Thalia with a nod, their blades still locked in place. Neither was overwhelming the other in strength.
Wynn, the young boy adventurer, glanced at his fallen comrades and felt a wave of sadness. "Thalia, you will pay for killing my friends," he spoke in a tone filled not with malice or anger, but with calm determination. Finally, he overwhelmed Thalia as he pushed her back. Assuming an offensive stance, Wynn immediately lunged towards Thalia with his twin swords and relentlessly barrages her with his attacks. Thalia, surprised of the boy's sudden burst in speed, synchronizes her own attacks to his as she matches the boy's speed blow for blow.