The gears of fate turn and churn as the world below spins in rhythm.
The ashes of war could be tasted in the air as it was carried along by the breeze.
The skies that were once blue were nothing more but an echo of a bygone past.
What lay now was a bloodied ether that screams of death.
And when night comes not a glitter from a star gleam upon this weary world.
But among the ruins and rubbles, a man caresses his sword that was once full of light.
Now could only shine a small cinder from the blood and guts around it.
His blonde hair was barely washed and his black eyes barely slept.
A voice rang within his mind.
"Reynold!"
"Nice one, Rey!"
"As expected of you, Reynold"
He uttered a weak smile as he remembered the voices of his friends and allies.
But now they were nothing more but the voices of the dead.
His hand started to tremble.
He remembered the crown.
Broken in half and so was the shield.
Monsters beyond of his caliber soon came and Tyresia tasted their wrath.
He clasped his hands around together to stop them from shaking anymore and closed his eyes.
Help us Aether.
We need your unwavering light.
Shine your revered radiance upon this broken land and grant us Hope.
.
.
.
.
.
Please give us hope.
.
.
.
Please.
Despair crept upon the back of his mind.
Only the deafening noise of silence was all he got for reply.
He soon opened his eyes full of anguish and the barren wasteland took his sight.
Blood flowed beneath the soil.
Bodies of men and monsters scattered along the horizon.
Why did the shield break?
Why did so many people die?
Did the gods abandon them?
Why?
Stolen story; please report.
Why?
Why?
Why?
He then felt a hand touch his shoulder.
Breaking him from the countless questions in his mind.
"You alright, Reynold?"
A girl with silver hair and blue eyes met his gaze.
"Just reminiscing about the golden times, Gwen,"
"I wish they lasted a little bit longer," Gwen couldn't hold back the sadness in her voice.
Reynold turns his head back again to the ashen wasteland.
"I wish they did too,"
He then felt a small weak punch to his shoulder.
"Xayah would do that seeing you in this pitiful state,"
It came from the silver-haired girl.
He uttered a small chuckle.
"I miss them, Gwen,"
"Me too, Rey,"
"Me too,"
The ground then started to shake.
He soon stood up and grabbed the handle of his greatsword.
"They're coming, Gwen,"
Gwen then applied magic and aura to her Glock-19
[Accelerate]
[Piercing]
[Anti-Magic]
[Poison]
[Scorch]
[Electricity]
[Harden]
Both of them were the only ones remaining after the constant barrage of monsters that sought to enter the central city of Tyresia.
The knights and mages that accompanied them,
Killed in actions.
How much longer must they persist?
They both asked in their minds.
No, they must persist.
Reynold remembered the remaining survivors behind his back in Tyresia.
They were the last stand.
They must protect them.
The weight of their lives rests on their blade and bullets.
Soon a figure of something could be seen approaching them from the distance.
They both widened their eyes as it got closer.
They had expected another barrage of monsters to come but instead.
There was a person.
But as they sensed the aura of that figure.
It wasn't human.
It was full of dread, despair, horror, terror, and torment.
It looked at them with scarlet eyes.
Both of their breathing became rushed.
The Sovereign himself has come before them.
A Demon with bladed wings that stretch behind its back with a black crown on its head.
Shock filled both of them, the crown on its head was the same crown that protected Tyresia.
The sound of clapping then snapped them out of their thoughts.
Something then accompanied its side.
The a second clap.
Then a third.
Soon after the fourth.
It stood there along the horizon with four figures of despair.
Soon a voice stretched across the wasteland.
"I must commend you, human"
"You killed three of the sins of your kind,"
His mind then turns to the archdemons he killed over the years of this painful journey.
Banoffee the archdemon of hunger.
A humongous demon of fat and stench.
With jaws that could swallow an entire nation.
His flames that hunger for everything that lives were still burning in his mind.
Zelos the archdemon of envy.
The very first archdemon he killed,
A demon who dared to wear the face of the same kind he killed.
His dagger stood no chance against his greatsword.
He cut him in two and sent his body to the dogs.
Then he remembered the demon that lay in silence in his sword.
Azrael,
The archdemon of wrath.
He was able to kill him when it finally revealed itself during the battle with the amalgamation.
But....
The vision of a girl with a tail, and short black hair flashed in his mind.
Millia paid the price.
The despair he felt earlier now was gone.
Veins started to bulge from his hand and his black eyes set upon The Sovereign.
He was full of seething hatred.
"I like your eyes,"
The Sovereign only found that anger amusing.
Without a word, Reynold imbued himself with his golden aura.
It was the aura he was able to control after being blessed by Aether.
And rushed fearlessly at the Sovereign.
"Reynold, no!"
The screams of Gwen fell on deaf ears as Reynold like a comet charged at them.
But with a snap of a finger.
From the skies wyverns, griffins, and basilisks came to meet him.
His hands tightened around his greatsword and jumped with all of his strength.
One by one he started to cut their wings.
Gwen immediately followed with her trusted Glock and assisted him
The four archdemons and the Sovereign watched the ongoing battle of the last heroes with interest.
The Sovereign then snapped its fingers again.
From behind the forest wolves, cave bears, and great lions came at its behest.
They joined the ongoing battle with lightning speed.
Reynold and Gwen barely had time to be shocked.
They steeled themselves and fought tooth and nail.
The sound of bullets firing and blades tearing flesh accompanied the ears of the demons.
They stood there watching the last stand of the humans with interest.
They treated it as nothing more than entertainment to pass the time.