The forest died as a rampaging conflagration consumed all life within. Corpses littered the ground, yet only a little slowly ascending smoke disturbed the calm, night sky. The stars twinkled high above and oftentimes made people wonder if that was where God resided.

Tyonias stared down at the encrusted silver blade that shined in the moonlight. His blood distorted the reflection as it stayed lodged in his chest. Weakness faded from his legs, and he weakly fell forward onto his knees, staring up at the owner of the blade.

His hands tightly gripped the blade, his left hand adorned by a white ring with engraved markings. It started to vanish, and his eyes widened, perplexed by the phenomenon, as he knew what it meant.

Death would claim him and it was only a matter of time, his lifeblood pooled beneath him.

"Problematic, isn't it?" the mysterious, luxuriously dressed man asked of Tyonias as he effortlessly held his blade in place.

"Waking up again to discover that the one you hold dearest to your heart has betrayed you," the pale swordsman scathingly recounted.

His face was a scarred mess, but he had vehemently refused healing as a reminder. A reminder to never forget his son's rage when he told the youth what Tyonias had done. He had tried to stop the boy from seeing, but the mutilated corpse was taken for all to see. His son had blamed him for protecting the empire that had done this, attacking in his rage- the scar an emotional weight and constant reminder of his past failures.

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The old man, kneeling is his own blood, trembled with unbelievable fear and his teeth chittered as he felt rage billow furiously from the depths of his being. 

"Y-you dare? Without me, you'd have rot away as some unknown slave boy, and this is how you repay me? With betrayal?!" Tyonias groaned as his body threatened to give up on him. "You lived in my home living a life without want. Wealth? Position? An army of servants? A gave it all to you! Why have you done this to me?!"

The mysterious man leaned forward, stubbly beard hairs pressing against the fallen man's face, and whispered into his ear, "How can you even try to claim betrayal after all you've done? One day, for no reason other then an urge to steal life, you go out and kill some people, and for what? For a pact with the Logarians? An insidious pact that allowed you an excuse to sate your thirst for power?"

"Klivas, I-I did it for greed but-." Tyonias coughed up a mouthful of blood, before continuing on. "Have you ever wondered what it was like to feel like a God?" 

Klivas stood and walked backwards, never allowing his eyes to leave the old man that knelt in agony before him.

Klivas looked on in disgust as the older man fell forward lifelessly. He took some time to think before he walked back over to the fallen man, nudging him onto his back with some effort.

"I care little for playing God. If my wife died for such a rotten reason-," he said through grit teeth, pulling his sword free of the corpse. "Then I question whether a God exists. If so, then I never want to know what it means to become a God.To hell with you and this empire, Tyonias. It can all burn as far as I'm concerned."

A Renegade Knight approached Klivas from behind and knelt, waiting for permission to speak. Klivas turned and gave the man his attention. 

"Commander, if you don't mind me asking...  what shall we do with the life string residuals from their rings, Sir?" the knight asked. 

"Distribute them all equally. Be careful not to lose yourself, or you may find yourself lost to the power like him." He motioned over towards Tyonias' corpse.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what will you do now that we've won the war?" 

"Well, I still have one last mission to accomplish."