"Yes!" Within The Twilight Wolves' headquarters, Leon unconsciously shattered his drinking mug as he gazed at the brightly smiling draconian on the screen. The young thief never realized just how tensed he had been until the very end. Leon released a self-deprecating chuckle as he wiped some sweat from his forehead. "Haha, Sweet Mera. I didn't think he had gotten this powerful? Can I even afford his help right now?"

Leon laughed as he picked up the broken mug pieces and then apologized to the vendor from whom he bought the drink. He dropped some coins to compensate for the shattered mug and then turned towards the exit. ' I'd better wash up before meeting him. If nothing else, I might have to rely on my smile this time.' Leon inwardly joked and was about to leave when loud gasps drew his attention back to the screen.

"No." Leon's heart dropped to the floor when he saw a familiar red-haired god standing on Kira's back. Razznik was not dead! Furthermore from his appearance, he did not appear injured at all!

Did they ultimately fail? Thousands around Destia wondered this very same thing as they gripped their chairs or friends' arms in tensed disbelief.

*** Meanwhile, above Oni Hill, Kashi wore a calm smile as he looked at Razznik who stood in front of them. Shadow had already risen to his feet, daggers drawn, but he just as quickly sat down when he sensed Kashi's relaxed mood.

Kashi looked Razznik up and down as he drank a mana potion taken from Shadow. "So, was your battle any fun?"

"Well, you are no fun." Razznik clucked his tongue and then nonchalantly sat down on Kira's back like he belonged there. Predictably, Kira softly growled, announcing her displeasure at Razznik sitting on her back. She was not a mule. Not just anyone had that honor. Surprisingly, Razznik did not appear annoyed by the rejection. Instead, he softly patted her back as he looked at Kashi with approving eyes, "You chose a great partner."

Kira's growls instantly ceased. 'Partner.' Razznik called her Kashi's partner, not a pet, or mount. That single word denoted Razznik's respect. He viewed her as Kashi's equal, and thus his as well.

Kashi felt Kira's acceptance. The draconian chuckled as he teased the wolf, "Softy."

Kira snorted, ignoring Kashi. She would not let the draconian spoil her good mood.

Kira's shy discomfort amused Kashi, but he refrained from teasing her some more, or she just might throw him off. Instead, he looked at Razznik. He could tell this Razznik was different from the one he fought because their auras were different. The Razznik that fought him had a godly aura that crushed down everyone around him. If the Wolves did not transcend when they did, they would not have been able to even stand in his presence.

Compared to that Razznik, Kashi could not feel a single thing from the one seated across him. He could not get a measure of this Razznik's strength, because there was no aura to draw calculations. It was like Razznik existed on a plane of existence his brain could not comprehend.

Kashi was not new to this feeling. He had experienced it several times already—whenever he met one of the Broken Swords. Through logical reasoning, it was easy to deduce that this Razznik was the one that left to battle the Broken Swords for a while.

"So, what do you want?" Kashi asked.

Razznik sighed. First, he looked past Kashi, as if staring into space, and called out, "Genesis, cut the audio feed. I need to have a few minutes with the brat. You would not deny me this, right?" Then, without confirming whether his wish was fulfilled, Razznik looked at Suzuki with hints of a wistful smile at the corner of his lips. "A thousand years is a long time, isn't it?"

Kashi's brows slightly furrowed. "I've been meaning to ask. Did you really live over a thousand years?" This was a question that bothered both Kashi and Suzuki ever since they found out about Razznik's existence.

Razznik looked at Kashi with strangely calm eyes. "What do you think?"

"I think you should've gone insane by now," Kashi honestly replied. "Razznik was ready to die after living a couple of years. How could you stay alive for this long? Furthermore, your eyes are not dead. Did you find a new reason to live outside Suzuki?"

"Heh, that is impossible." Razznik shook his head. "My purpose in life has always, and will always be in service of Suzuki. That will never change."

"Then—"

"Even now, I live in service of Suzuki," Razznik interrupted. "The nature of my service is irrelevant to you." The Chaos God's harsh tone brooked no dissent. But then he paused as a mischievous glint sparked in his eyes. "If you wish to know, you may disturb that loud, golden-haired baboon. He is sure to have answers to all your questions. Including why they kidnapped you all."

Kashi's heart dropped. "How do you know about that? Can you read my mind?"

"You should know I am no longer connected to you. No, I am incapable of reading anyone's mind. It was a logical inference based on the clues available to me." Razznik held up his hand before Kashi could speak. "No, I cannot tell you what those are either." The Chaos God waved his hand as he changed the topic, "More importantly, you should have healed up enough. Can you call out Suzuki? I have some questions to ask him."

"Hey, if it is not too much trouble, mind getting me something like a chicken too?" Syèl sarcastically called out, "I'm dying here!"

Razznik smiled as he regarded the dry husk of a man. "A True Vampire. How rare." The Chaos God nicked a small cut on his index finger and controlled a small glob of blood to flow out. He then casually flicked the glob toward the incapacitated vampire.

Syèl was way too drained to even use Dawn Pelmut, so he lazily opened his mouth and swallowed the offered blood. "Hm!?" Syèl eyes widened in shock when he felt the overwhelming power contained within that single droplet. It was many times more than everything he absorbed in Oni Hill! The Vampire Prince quickly shut his eyes to focus on comprehending the Blood Rites. When next would he get this quality of blood? There was no time to waste!

Kashi observed Syèl's figure. Color slowly returned to the vampire's cheeks and his muscles began filling out as his regenerative skills finally kicked in. The draconian nodded. He did not think Razznik would do anything underhanded, but it never hurt to be more careful. After confirming Syèl's status, Kashi summoned a portal, from which Suzuki stepped out.

Kashi groaned and shut the portal once Suzuki walked through. His body was still in an abject mess with his ki and mana fluctuating wildly. He needed a few minutes for the chaos to settle before his body's regeneration could finally begin. Unlike Syèl, he could not suck blood to jumpstart the process.

Suzuki, meanwhile, regarded Razznik with a hard gaze, before ultimately asking in all seriousness, "Are you alright?"

Razznik's smile faltered for the briefest moments, but then he burst out laughing hard. It was such a strange scene seeing this man who struck fear into the hearts of billions express genuine joy without any sinister tones. "Haa~" Razznik took a moment to calm himself and then looked at Suzuki. "Still a softie."

Anyone who had met Suzuki would have asked Razznik if he needed glasses. Suzuki, a softie? What alternate reality was Razznik talking about? Did the thousand years really scramble his brain?

Kashi, however, knew the reason Suzuki asked this question.

Suzuki frowned, choosing to ignore Razznik's tease. "You did not answer the question."

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"I understand why you would assume I'm not," Razznik admitted with a sigh. "The man, 'Razznik' is so driven by his singular purpose that he would not find any reason to live if he either could no longer fulfill that purpose or posed a significant threat to it."

Kashi nodded. "That's why the first Razznik chose to die when he did. He had completed his goal of bringing Suzuki's rage under control. He feared that if he lived longer, he might lust after life, which would play into Suzuki's desire to get erased."

"Mm," Razznik admitted, and then sent Kashi a curious gaze, "You appear to have chosen a different path, seeking a way you can both co-exist. I do not agree with it, but you beat me, so I can only trust you know what you are doing."

"We're not talking about me," rebutted Kashi, destroying Razznik's attempt to change the subject. "I was not certain, but after talking to you, I am sure you were at one point, an exact copy of Razznik." Kashi did not say it, but he was honestly amazed by the Razznik in this world. Imagine living with the knowledge that not only were you a computer program but you were created by copying someone else's memories. Not only were you a software at the whims of some unreachable 'gods,' but your existence wasn't even original. Most existences would have gone insane with this revelation.

One did not have to look much farther than the fate of the original A.Is that attempted to hijack Syèl's friends' brains to live a 'real' life.

Kashi shook his stray thoughts aside and looked at Razznik. "A lot can change over a thousand years, but it doesn't feel like your core has changed much. Not that I expect it to, to be honest. If Razznik was the type whose core could change under influence, we would not be having this discussion."

Suzuki nodded. "You have a reason, something that's keeping you alive. This mission that's worth living a thousand years. How grave is it?" The young man paused, and then asked with solemn eyes, "How is it linked to me? Is it something you can accomplish?"

"Hah~ Your perception is as annoying as ever," remarked Razznik as he indulged in ancient memories covering him and Suzuki bickering over their future. Well, they were not exactly 'his' memories per say, but what the hell, they were in his head, so Razznik always adopted them. "Unfortunately, one: I cannot answer your question, two: I will definitely accomplish my mission, and three: Yes, I am alright. I had Genesis to keep me company this past millenia. I've also seen and done so many things you will never believe."

Razznik paused, hesitated, and then decided to take a little risk. "I cannot tell you much, but what I can tell you is that the world is much larger than we ever conceived. We—" Razznik suddenly froze mid-sentence as he once again glanced off to the side. After a few seconds, he shook his head and lamented with a wry smile, "I seem to have pissed Genesis off. I can't stay much longer, so I'll make it quick."

First, Razznik looked at Kashi. "The coordinates are xxºN:yyºW. The Cataclysm shifted the coordinates by a bit. You would have found it eventually, but this should save you some time."

After giving the draconian some unknown coordinates, Razznik's gaze hardened as he reverted to his fiery expression. "I have one question for you. Are you certain about your path? You realize it is not just your life on the line."

Kashi, for his part, solemnly nodded, "I may not be as fanatic as you, but believe me when I say that I will never do anything that will harm Suzuki. Razznik performed a phenomenal job pulling Suzuki from the abyss. I can't teach him anything more about pursuing strength. I think this path is what's best for Suzuki and me. I will inevitably lose some potential personal strength pursuing this path, but I believe my friends will more than make up for any shortcoming."

"And if you perish because you lack personal strength?"

"Then so be it. I will be satisfied knowing I lived a full life every second I had." Kashi smiled as he added with a teasing glint, "Life's not worth living if you're all alone in it."

"Yumi said that to me once." Razznik snorted. However, despite his callous tone, one could see the gentlest of lights in his eyes as he thought of his old friend. "I can't say I agree with you. Personally, I will always pursue the path of personal strength. No ploys in this world can stand before ultimate strength, but I cannot fault your approach either." Razznik glanced at Suzuki as he added, "You managed to pull him in here. I built dozens of perfect bodies and clones for him, but he never agreed to enter King's Journey. I may have pulled him out of the abyss, but you gave him the urge to explore paradise. I can only hope it convinces him to abandon his stupid ideas about suicide."

"Are you two just going to keep talking about me like I'm not here?"

"Yeah," Razznik stated.

"Pretty Much," Kashi concurred.

"What're you going to do about it?" They chorused in unison and then laughed as realization hit them.

Razznik smiled as he looked at the reason for his existence. "I have a message for you from your Razznik. But, as part of the deal, I made to exist to this moment, I cannot tell you yet. Until I do, promise me you won't die."

Suzuki frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Same answer as always." Razznik chuckled. "I can only ask that you trust in the memory of Razznik, believe me, and promise."

"Fine." Suzuki acceded after a moment's thought. This was Razznik. The man was many things, but a liar was not one of them. He could omit some truth, but he would never lie. With this in mind, Kashi promised to the best of his ability, "I can't promise that I won't get into trouble, but I can at least promise to do my best to get out of it."

"For you, that's good enough," acknowledged Razznik. He took a moment, and then looked at Shadow who had remained silent through the entire conversation. For whatever reason, Razznik did not exempt Shadow and Kira from this intimate discussion. The Chaos God nodded as he observed Shadow's silver eyes. "The life of a shadow is immensely difficult and rarely rewarding. Chances are you will be forgotten in the rivers of history while Kashi and Suzuki's names get lauded by all. Are you certain you wish to continue on this path?"

Shadow took a deep breath as he looked into Razznik's fiery gaze. For some reason, he felt like this was a defining point in his life. Once he crossed this bridge there would be no going back. The assassin took a breath and then chose his words carefully. "I am Kashi's Shadow."

"Four Words. Succinct." Razznik acknowledged with a nod. As someone who cut to the heart of the matter, he appreciated Shadow's candidness. "I should reward you for laying the final blow." The Chaos God took a minute to think, and then said, "I cannot give you any tangible rewards, but I will give you a clue. There is a man waiting for Kashi in your headquarters. Follow him, and you'll find the strength you need to become the most powerful shadow. Whether you live or die will be left to you."

Shadow did not say anything, but his clenched fists belied his true emotions. Shadow would do anything to get that strength!

Razznik nodded approvingly at Shadow's resolve. He then looked at Suzuki one last time as he said, "We will meet again soon. I hope we can have a real battle then." Razznik stood up and, then lightly kicked off Kira's back. As he ascended, he gave a final warning. "Also, do not put too much trust in the gods. Every living being has an agenda—gods included. Even me." The Chaos God then disappeared from view.

Moments later, Razznik reappeared on Oni Hill, next to his old crystal throne. A wry smile escaped his lips as he caressed the cold, icy crystals. "Every story has its end," Razznik muttered as he softly tapped the throne, causing it to shatter into millions of tiny crystals that floated under the morning sky like fireflies.

Razznik then tapped his feet against the ground, and numerous teleportation portals appeared under everyone within Drakase's border. Then, with another tap, they were all safely transported within one hundred meters of Oni Hill.

Most impressively, the warriors found themselves grouped up accurately, not only according to the factions they joined the battle with, but also their teams, squads, or friends.

After doing this, Razznik placed his hands behind his back and looked solemnly ahead. "Citizens of Destia, and Summoned from Beyond." Strangely, everyone in Destia felt like Razznik was right in front of them, even though that did not make logical sense. Regardless of their emotions, Razznik coldly continued, "I must congratulate you all on surpassing the first half of your tutorials."

"TUTORIAL!?"

"I understand your surprise and confusion. First I wish to say—"

"Stop!" Suddenly, Destia froze as a sharp voice interrupted the Chaos God. Many did not recognize this voice, but numerous Twilight Wolves glared at the skies with abject hatred in their eyes. "You may continue your talk another time. First, we must apprehend that aberration."

Razznik's eyes turned frosty red as he looked up at the golden flood flying above. In this world, there was only one group of beings that dared to fly in a sky he had cleared.

Razznik, Suzuki, and Kashi spat in shared disgust and anger as they glared at one of their most hated enemies. "Adjudicators."