Zenithia found a chance and she took it. Without hesitation, she ran towards Azureath and Hans using her newfound light ability. While it was still weak with limited distance and delay, the light dragon managed to change her body into light, teleporting her right in front of the dragon just as the light beam was going to hit the azure dragon. Then, in a flash, she put up the same prismatic shield she used before, turning the light beams into harmless rainbow light Zenithia tuned to her wavelength, absorbing them.

Sacrisantis realized what Zenithia was doing and stopped, just as Zenithia glared at her from behind the prismatic shield.

“So, that’s her,” Sacrisantis mused. “That…can be a problem.”

Sacrisantis did not stop there. Knowing that Zenithia could easily absorb light, she resorted to flying down and attack her while she was still weak. The light dragon knew that, even after absorbing the other’s light, Zenithia was far from her prime. The right move was to stop her from feeding and attack her physically.

However, Sacrisantis did not account for Azureath’s tenacity. The azure dragon, aware of Zenithia’s protection, forced her already injured body in front of Zenithia and opened her wings. She then beat her wings, creating freezing wind that froze Sacrisantis’ wings, only for her to turn her wings into light. Azureath stopped Sacrisantis with her fore legs, but her light dragon adversary’s speed was too much for her. The azure dragon buckled under the force of the attack.

“Getting tired already?” asked Sacrisantis.

“Our fight isn’t over yet, light bane,” said Azureath.

“That’s not something you say when your body’s already broken, azure dragon. This time, you cannot escape death.”

Sacrisantis proceeded to prove what she meant by opening her maws. Azureath could see a white, bright light forming. Azureath had no time to dodge when it discharged, though she had no need to.

Instead, Elyse, once again using her overcharged kick, dropped-kicked Sacrisantis, causing her head to move and her light beam missing Azureath by mere inches. The beam vaporized the wall behind Azureath.

Azureath was far from defeated, but even she knew her body was at her limits. Unlike before, Sacrisantis was a light dragon at optimal strength. Even freezing and breaking one of her legs did not faze her. Rather, it showed the limits of Azureath’s freezing magic to Sacrisantis, and every other successive attempt to freeze her failed, culminating in Azureath being thrown to the ground with Hans.

Yet, this time, it would be different. Before, Azureath engaged Sacrisantis with Hans and Fenrir. Despite of Fenrir’s helpful ability, it did not help much with Sacrisantis capable of seeing him. He did provide a good distraction for Azureath to freeze and break one of Sacrisantis’ fore legs. It was a losing fight, but this time, it wasn’t.

Especially not when Adeline showed that she wasn’t the same werewolf Azureath met on the island. Before, she was a fearless noblewoman eager for an adventure. Now, she was a warrior wielding a light sword with Zenithia. She had always been fearless, but this time, she also knew how to fight in addition to her negotiation skills. Azureath could clearly see it in her fighting stance.

Despite of her earlier misgivings, Azureath started to trust Zenithia. Still not entirely, but enough for the azure dragon to consider her an ally. She should ask why Zenithia looked like she just aged ten years, though the azure dragon knew there was a specific reason for that.

“Well, well,” said Sacrisantis as she bared her claws. “She finally showed herself.”

“Sacrisantis,” said Zenithia short.

“I must applaud all you did in undermining our efforts, Zeni. Shawar, Shalaka, Seraphor, Ashaire…and now, you. All because of this reality. I can no longer understand why everyone is so stubborn and so…so stupid. To hide a whole city just to make an example is nothing short of idiotic, not to mention too much effort.”

“To make an example of what?” asked Azureath.

“This does not concern you,” snapped Sacrisantis. “This is between me, her, and the future of our kind. So this is it, then? This is the Light Bane we fear.”

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Zenithia did not reply, which only made Sacrisantis chuckle.

“Speechless? Never thought you’d be the one that caused it? Unable to handle the fact that you will be the cause of our extinction?”

“We are not going to go extinct, Sacri. We are—”

“Yes, we do!” interrupted Sacrisantis. The light wyvern’s expression turned to anger. “Say what you like about our continued existence, but once this is over, more light dragons will follow your example! Why? Because they all have the same idea as you! That we have grown stagnant, and that we are nothing but parasites! We lose more and more light dragons choosing a short life with an end, tired of continuing on! We are supposed to go on until the end of time, Zeni! We are what we are; the controller of the ever expanding infinite full of undesirable outcomes! We are part of the ecosystem, and your efforts destroyed all that! You, Seraphor, Ashaire…and the rest of the traitors. You all will bear the burden of our end!”

“Maybe it is time for us to end, Sacri,” said Zenithia. She gritted her teeth, knowing that Sacrisantis was telling the truth. The light dragons were dying and she hastened it. However, she made her choice, alongside her unknown brother who convinced her to do it.

“This is not for you to decide. Zeni, please. Three losses in one reality is too much. Just please…come back to us. We can return you to your full strength.”

The others listened to the argument and became worried when the wyvern made the offer.

Zenithia, however, already made her choice. She shook her head and said, “No, old friend. In just less than a month, I found more things to cherish than the millions of years in the void, only able to see how life dies without even showing its full potential. You think I don’t know how many of us ate young realities just because they gave us the greatest satisfaction? I’m alright with a dying reality, but a reality full of potential? I am as much to blame as the other, and I harbored that for years of my existence. There is always a limit for all that, and many of us knew that. Our existence is more than just immortal reality eaters, Sacri. There is beauty in a limited lifespan.”

Sacrisantis seemed convinced, but all she could do was to say, “Then, you’re no longer one of us, Zenithia. I can’t…I don’t know who you are anymore. If you want to be part of this doomed place you considered beautiful, then so be it. I will personally make an example of you, just like what they did to him!”

Sacrisantis lunged forward, ready to attack again. However, this time Azureath was ready. She forced her body to stop Sacrisantis and opened her maws, intending to return the favor with a strong blast of ice. Unfortunately, Sacrisantis anticipated this and opened her own maws, intending to let out a powerful light beam that would surely blast through Azureath’s Eternal Frost ice and through her head. Even the power of Earth’s goddess could not best the power of a light in the void.

That was, if it wasn’t for Zenithia. Risking herself, she teleported in front of Sacrisantis, surprising Azureath and her former friend. Zenithia took the full blast of the light beam just as Azureath shot her, though it was clear that she was unfazed by the absolute zero blast.

Zenithia absorbed most of the beam from Sacrisantis, causing her wings to glow. Then, she returned the energy back to the shooter, incinerating the white-scaled wyvern and causing her to let out a loud, high-pitched shriek of pain. Sacrisantis fell to her side while Azureath closed her maws and Zenithia landed.

Zenithia was unable to process what she did. Before, she never had anything personal during her fights against Shawar and Shalaka. They weren’t close to her. However, Sacrisantis was the only other dragon that she could consider a friend. They shared their meals (realities) and they grew up in the millions of years in the void.

That was at least before Zenithia realized that Sacrisantis also became distant as she started feasting on young realities with undeveloped potentials, much like the rest of the light dragons. They did not realize it, but feasting on undeveloped realities stopped many of the branches, and in turn causing the infinite to become finite. Zenithia wasn’t sure when and why, but she became convinced that either way, the light dragons were going to die out.

She was sure many of the light dragons that chose an end saw this eventuality, though she wasn’t sure.

The beam that was returned to Sacrisantis mortally injured her. Zenithia walked to her and tried to comfort her, or even intending to say sorry. Instead, Sacrisantis glared at her, just as her body slowly dissipated into light.

Her final words before returning to the Source was, “You have doomed us all, Light Bane. We curse you until our inevitable end. Die…with the ultimate sin…of genocide.”

And with all that, she vanished, leaving Zenithia distraught.

“Did we win?” asked Adeline, looking around. “Did you…”

“Yes…with a heavy heart,” said Zenithia. “So, that is what they see of me. A Light Bane. So, that’s where that Aspect of Death heard the phrase.”

“The ultimate sin of genocide,” said Azureath morbidly. “Little did she realize how small she was in being an immortal being. Isn’t it a living being’s desire to die naturally?”

“Would you fear a life so short it’s nothing but instant?”

“I once feared life beyond my branding, little one. I once longed for death…all from the humiliation caused by the Mark wrapped around my body. Thus, I preferred a short life full of happiness than a long life full of suffering. Or even stagnation. Don’t you agree?”

“I would agree…if I weren’t so…conflicted.”

The light dragon could only contemplate the decision she made. On one hand, it strengthened her resolve. On the other hand, it made her realize that Sacrisantis was telling the truth.

That her actions proved to be the end of the light dragon.