Chapter 41: Oaraun; Shauran 46th, 344SR; 2:36
"Your wrath, or my envy... Which is stronger!" said Oaraun.
"Envy?" Ajal glared at him, but he turned his head to the left toward the abyssal being's evaporating corpse. "The soul of the abyssal being... There were two..."
Oaraun squinted.
"One of those souls was a young girl, the other an infant... The one who was an infant, when he was fighting, he fought with swords similar to yours..."
Oaraun reared his head back, "You could see their souls?"
"I see the soul leave the body at death..."
Oaraun turned his head to the right. The corpse of Terra Gerrenwalt was in the light of the rising sun. Wisps of pale green smoke lifted off of the abyssal being's body. Oaraun lowered his head, 'Rest in peace...'
The structures around the battlefield were smashed and broken. The entirety of the inside of the chasm was visible, and the city of Pathos was reduced to crumbling buildings and smashed structures. The Lithonians gathered their injured and fallen and ran for the northwest. 'They'll likely use the tunnels leading to Dorad or the Saltrock swamps... Chasing after their weakened forces may be a waste of resources... Besides...' Oaraun turned to Ajal, 'I doubt he'd allow it...' Vincent and Dariel stood by on one side, while Angela Rover and several lieutenants of the angels stood on the opposite side. The two factions were cut off by the tense pressure building between two divine beings.
"Yeah... His sword did resemble mine. We were going to name our first daughter Terra... But we wanted a second child," Oaraun nodded as flames channeled from his body and into the blade. "The abyss is a fickle thing... Isn't it..."
"What the hell happened... For the divine being's children to become the abyssal being?" Ajal asked with wide eyes.
"The retribution those bastards will face should give you a good idea. If you can survive this battle, maybe you'll understand..."
"Sarah, all of you, get back..." Ajal commanded, his exhaustion could be heard with every breath.
"Vincent, Dariel... Assist with the assault on Helios, I won't need your help..." Oaraun ordered as he cracked his neck.
"Zeus! Yami! Let's go!" Angela commanded strictly.
Zeus stood still as he shivered. The pressure coming from Ajal and Oaraun made it hard to breathe. Yami slowly stood up and held his arm, he looked at the noble he once followed.
"Come on Zeus! We need to help the hybrids let's go!" Ando ordered with sweat trickling down his dark skin, the pressure was making him nervous as well.
"That guy was holding back when he fought me..." Zeus whispered to himself as Ando pulled him away.
"Heh, you don't have to tell me twice..." Dariel turned immediately.
Vincent grasped his arm, the same spot Ajal struck earlier. "Are you certain my lord?"
"Yeah... I'll join you in Helios after I'm done here..."
All of the angels except for Yami made their way back toward the buildings. 'He can form black scythes at will... I can break many weapons, but not his...' The black skull helmet formed over Oaraun's face. From head to toe, he was protected, except for his abdomen, neck, and mouth. Oaraun channeled his spirit to the jewel in his core. Ajal cracked his knuckles, then bent his knees as he got ready to fight. He was struggling just to stand, his ripped clothes were obvious evidence of the amount of damage he had taken. 'This is shameful... He's on his last-' The aura around Ajal's head pulsed, and Oaraun focused. 'What was that... Spirit Sense? I didn't see him channel it...'
Ajal's black hair covered his red eyes as he looked down, and a loud drawn-out exhale ran through the air. His sleeves were torn off and his shirt was slashed open, he wore white pants stained red with multiple holes in them. Oaraun raised his flaming sword and sent a burning arc through the air. The bangs covering Ajal's forehead suddenly rose as his third eye opened, he stepped to the side and avoided it. 'He can move through the shadows somehow... Fire a blast from his third eye... I have yet to see him use armor. If I recall correctly, he stole lightning from Avery as well at one point...'
Ajal conjured two small scythes. 'He can make smaller ones? He can control the shape despite it being so durable?' Ajal raised one above his head and whipped it, the sickle spun through the air. 'I definitely outweigh him from the difference in our muscles...' Oaraun deflected the incoming scythe and ran forward. But that eye allows him to be crafty... And he uses Spirit Arts better than anyone I've seen, including me... Has he reached Aka?'
Oaraun ran straight at Ajal. 'Who knows how many more abilities he may possess...' He swung the greatsword as Ajal charged forward with the sickle's edge parallel to his forearms. 'Spirit Ignition!' They both ignited their spirits at the same time. The space between their weapons distorted before they clashed. Dust blasted away from where they stood, and the rubble of the broken buildings started to crack and shatter even more.
"Imperial Battle Arts!" said Ajal.
Ajal redirected the greatsword's tip as he pivoted, pushing against the blade with the black sickle and all his weight. He jumped, raising both his feet engulfed with black and white flame. 'What is that...'
"Piston!" Ajal pressed both his feet into Oaraun's chest with an ignition.
Oaraun leaned back, but he flexed his right arm, his bicep bulging as he curled the sword upwards and flung Ajal off the blade and into the air. As he looked up, Oaraun was shocked. Ajal was right in front of him rather than up high, holding the sickle above his head. 'How did he-' Oaraun hesitated as Ajal swung down, the sickle scraped over the black skull helmet and slashed down his face and even his neck, before getting stuck in the jagged armor. Ajal grunted as he noticed his blade barely pierced Oaraun's armor, but he left a decent dent.
"Jealous..." Oaraun chanted as green flames engulfed his sword.
Ajal quickly jumped back, flipping off his hands and landing on both feet. Oaraun stabbed his blade into the ground. Ajal raised an eyebrow as he noticed the air around the sword warped from the heat.
"Flame!" Oaraun roared.
Oaraun stabbed his blade even deeper into the ground, green light escaped from the cracks. Ajal's third eye lit up as the ground exploded around Oaraun, rippling in a circular wave.
"Urgh!" Ajal grunted as he was burned by the green flames, however, Oaraun noticed his hand was suddenly smothered in a pitch-black aura. "Heart of Darkness!" A black flame spread across Oaraun's green one, tainting it and changing its very nature.
Oaraun leaped through the air with the force of the explosion, 'Spirit Ignition!' Ajal saw the attack coming and his third eye quickly lit up purple, a burst of energy blasted Oaraun point blank and pushed him back. 'Agh!' Oaraun grunted as he crashed through a building. The fire that had been taken over by Ajal traveled towards him and turned from a bright green to a droopy black and purple.
"Ah, that burns!" Ajal held up the black ball of flame with his charred hand.
'He's a divine being, and his Spirit Arts usage is near perfect so I assume he can use that, the Spirit Bloom...' Ajal's burns started to disappear, 'He can regenerate, but not as fast as me...' A white flame appeared in Ajal's other hand, 'That white flame again... What is that... He coated his feet with that earlier but it didn't do anything...' Oaraun wondered as he jumped from the building and took a stance.
Ajal slowly brought his hands together, mixing the white flame with the large mass of black flames as he held it above his head. His spirit focused on the center and suddenly ignited. The flames burst outward over the battlefield. Oaraun was puzzled as half of the fireballs barely came close enough to touch him. 'What was the point of that?'
Oaraun raised his greatsword to shield himself from the black fireballs mixed with the black-and-white aura. As the flames rained over the concrete, Ajal ran towards him with the single sickle in his left hand, but came to a stop and started to swing the blade upwards. Oaraun didn't move, he was certain Ajal would throw it. The scythe extended in his hand and became large enough to reach.
"It extends-"
"Spirit Ignition!" Ajal slashed at Oaraun's leggings, hard enough to knock Oaraun off his feet, but not enough to pierce through. "Damn!"
'It can extend that far?! Wait-' Ajal was gone, Oaraun heard footsteps behind him and stabbed the sword into the ground and planted his feet to the ground in order to keep upright. He turned around with his fist raised, only to see nothing but the rubble, but suddenly felt a Spirit Ignition to the chin from below.
"Ack!" Oaraun gasped.
Oaraun stumbled backward, Ajal breathed in, and then pulled his fists back. 'How is he teleporting-' Ajal threw both his fists forward and struck Oaraun's chest piece with a double ignition from both fists. 'He can ignite his spirit consecutively?!' Ajal then raised his foot and delivered another spirit ignition straight to Oaraun's chest and broke through the armor. Oaraun ignited his spirit behind him and pushed himself up, Ajal kicked off of him to make some distance, but not before Oaraun caught his leg and swung him around.
"Hrah!" Oaraun slammed Ajal into rubble.
Ajal gasped after his back hit the concrete. Oaraun stepped forward and raised his boot above Ajal's chest. Ajal quickly raised his arms and blocked Oaraun's foot, he still winced in pain.
"Die!" said Oaraun with his greatsword raised.
Oaraun stabbed the greatsword down for a fatal blow. However, Ajal's third eye released a black-and-white wave. Oaraun's armor and weapon disappeared. 'That fucking technique!'
"Dark Blast!" Ajal yelled, blasting Oaraun with the searing hot purple beam and launching him into the air.
"Rgh!" Oaraun grunted as his shoulder slammed into the rubble, Ajal slipped into the shadow he had cast.
Oaraun quickly got up, his shoulder pads on both sides had been seared, and the inside of his armor was boiling hot. The searing pain burned him every second, Oaraun cleared the smoke by swinging his blade, only to see no one. 'Those white flames... I've seen him use it many times but I don't know what it-'
"Triple Ignition!" Ajal struck Oaraun in the head from above with a massive impact.
"Agh!" Oaraun winced as he felt his consciousness slipping. "Rah!" He swung his hand through the air. He was inches away from hitting Ajal but missed as Ajal suddenly vanished once again. 'How is he doing- Agh!'
Another strike to Oaraun's head disoriented him, this time from behind. 'What's happening?!' Oaraun turned around and swung his greatsword as Ajal soared back in for another strike. Ajal quickly conjured a sickle and blocked the greatsword, but was forced back, getting slightly grazed at the same time.
"You're crafty, I'll give you that!" Oaraun grinned.
Ajal rolled on the ground, then pushed himself off onto his feet, took a stance, and spun his scythe around before holding it low with both hands.
"Dark Assault! Siege!" Ajal lifted his scythe while he conjured six more, each turned into shadows and melded with the scythe he held high.
The black scythe grew to a colossal size with a massive blade at the end, Oaraun hesitated. 'What the-' Ajal swung the scythe. He raised his greatsword to block the incoming strike, however, it broke straight through his guard and slashed straight through him, the force in the slash cleaved through the building and through the ground itself in a curved line. The black scythe disappeared from Ajal's hand as he exhaled sharply.
"Hah... Hahaha!" Oaraun laughed as blood spilled from his abdomen.
"I slash you open and you laugh?" Ajal huffed as he raised an eyebrow.
"It's been years since I haven't dominated my enemy in combat... This is an opportunity for me to use the upper limits of my powers..." Oaraun explained.
"Upper limits?"
"Hah... We're just getting started..." Oaraun exhaled, "Toll of Envy!" he suddenly yelled.
Oaraun's body glowed, and his veins were lit bright green as he stood up. Most of his wounds already healed instantly. His armor reforged, and the power swelling through Oaraun caused him to grin. Ajal stepped back as the flames crackled, a blazing heat spread through the air, and the rubble started to melt, becoming a green sludge as the embers burnt it.
"What the... Toll of Envy?" Ajal repeated.
"An ability inherent to my existence, just like many of yours... You're going to regret the amount of damage you just wasted," Oaraun laughed.
Ajal's eyebrows raised, "Wasted?"
"Prepare yourself!"
Oaraun stepped forward and kicked off the ground, dashing forward and closing the distance within a second. Ajal barely raised his arms in time as Oaraun tackled him with his left shoulder. Ajal gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, he was sent flying straight through a building. Oaraun knelt down and jumped through the hole in the structure at breakneck speeds and then viciously swung his greatsword down. 'For three minutes, the damage I took is returned as power!' Ajal barely managed to block in time before being launched down through the building's floors.
'Spirit Ignition!' Oaraun dashed in mid-air while pointing his blade downwards. Ajal dodged to the left, while spinning, he conjured two small scythes and slashed quickly. It scratched the repaired armor. Oaraun gave Ajal a toothy grin as he brought his knee up and struck his chin.
"Agh-" Ajal grunted as Oaraun grasped his face and ran forward, driving Ajal through several walls before throwing him through the last.
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Ajal rolled over his back and onto dragging feet. The two scythes fused together into a single larger scythe as he inhaled. Oaraun lunged out of the building and swung down, Ajal spun his scythe and parried. 'He's going to try and match my power?' Oaraun winded up a kick, and Ajal blocked with his knee, releasing a triple ignition at the same time to match the force. Oaraun wildly swung his greatsword, Ajal blocked and redirected the sword, but Oaraun continued swinging the massive blade like it was a dagger. Ajal stepped back as he blocked and parried multiple strikes.
'He's on the defensive!'
Oaraun focused flames into his blade and swung faster. A trail of fire followed his blade as Oaraun started to wildly cleave through the air. Ajal's scythes lit up with white flames as his scythes shrunk into handheld sickles. He blocked a downward swing with both and redirected the sword to his left, spun, and aimed the scythes for Oaraun's arms. The scythes cleaved through his armor. 'He doesn't panic or hesitate...'
"Hrgh!" Ajal's blades got stuck in Oaraun's gauntlet, unable to fully pierce through it.
"You are nothing compared to me!" Oaraun shouted as he raised the back of his left gauntlet.
The moment before the gauntlet struck Ajal, he vanished. 'What- Again?!' Oaraun looked around the decrepit building. Several seconds of silence passed. Ajal was gone. 'Did he run?' A crashing noise came from the other side of the building they just left, it came closer and closer. Oaraun turned to the sound, and the purple beam blew straight through the wall. 'How did he get back over there!' Oaraun thought as he raised his greatsword and blocked the beam. However, he was equally surprised to suddenly see Ajal standing on the gauntlet and pushing the blade down, his foot was raised above his head. Oaraun noticed his other foot at the exact spot Ajal slashed. Ajal swung his leg down, and a loud crack in Oaraun's helmet echoed throughout the chasm as three consecutive spirit ignitions hit it.
Oaraun was barely phased as he raised his foot and pressed it into Ajal's chest to launch him off. Ajal grunted as he rolled backward, slamming against the ground and stumbling back to his feet. Oaraun started forward, 'The spot the white flame hits...' Ajal tried to push himself up with his elbows but fell back, Oaraun jumped forward, raising his greatsword straight into the air.
"Imperial Battle Arts!"
The moment Oaraun started to swing, Ajal suddenly teleported directly in front of the blade and blocked it with two more small sickles.
"Piston!" Ajal kicked Oaraun back to the ground and made some distance.
As Ajal landed, he jumped once more and threw the sickle, it spun through the air, and the white flames engulfed them as well. 'That's it... He can teleport to the spot he hits with the white flame!' Oaraun steeled his gaze as he blocked one sickle with his left hand, then kept an eye on where the other went. It landed in front of the building, close to a large crack in the ground. Oaraun lunged forward and continued to swing forward, launching Ajal with the force of each hit. Oaraun jumped toward Ajal and swung his sword down, however, Ajal blocked without being launched. 'Toll of Envy is no longer active!'
"Triple Ignition!" Ajal shouted as he spun around, pivoting and slamming the back of his foot into Oaraun's side.
Ajal's foot smashed through the black plates, sending jagged black shards of armor in all directions. Oaraun dropped his greatsword into the ground and stumbled backward, Ajal took a stance as he breathed in and focused his gaze. He kicked forward with a spirit ignition and slammed his fist into Oaraun's chest.
"Ack!" Oaraun coughed as the air was knocked out of him.
Ajal coated his right foot in the white flames as he took another stance. Oaraun tried to grab him but Ajal ducked, countering immediately after with a kick straight upwards into Oaraun's chin. 'Ack!' Oaraun grunted, then tried to swing his left fist at Ajal only to be redirected. Oaraun found himself wide open.
'This guy-'
Ajal spun clockwise and struck Oaraun in the jaw, then quickly grasped Oaraun's right arm, pulled him forward, and brought his elbow down on the damaged gauntlet. 'This guy is insanely good at hand-to-hand combat?!' Ajal swung his foot up and struck Oaraun in the head, once again, Oaraun tried to prepare for the next hit, but in a blink, Ajal was right in front of him with grit teeth.
"Triple Ignition!" Ajal swung his foot and broke the black skull helmet off Oaraun's head.
Ajal breathed in and out as he hopped on his feet, Oaraun was disoriented as he swung his left arm. Ajal struck Oaraun's nose, and his vision faded slightly from the pain, 'He's still fighting on par with me despite all of those injuries?!' Oaraun felt a frustration build within him, he tried to strike, only for Ajal to slam the side of his hand into Oaraun's wrist and stop it. Then immediately lifted the same hand and aimed a strike at Oaraun's head. He tried to step back, but Ajal just stepped forward and slammed his fist against Oaraun's right cheek. 'He's faster than me! Then-'
"Toll of Envy!" Oaraun roared, but Ajal didn't even hesitate.
"Dark abyss!" Ajal countered.
As Oaraun's armor reformed, it immediately vanished once again. 'He saved that-!' Ajal ran forward with fists clasped together and coated in black and white flames, clubbing Oaraun in the head hard enough for the sound to echo through the chasm. As Oaraun curled forward, Ajal's knee smashed into his nose. 'Agh-' Ajal exhaled with wide eyes, then delivered a flurry of fists, striking Oaraun's body directly. His joints, pressure points, ribs, chin, knees, 'He's too fast to block!' Oaraun could barely react in time to any of the attacks. Ajal paused for a moment and focused all of his spirits on his left hand as he aimed for Oaraun's face. Oaraun raised his arms to block, but it was a feint. Ajal planted his fist right into Oaraun's side, just under the left side of his chest.
"Triple Ignition!" Ajal struck Oaraun's liver as hard as he could.
"Agh!" Oaraun grunted, he suddenly ran forward in an attempt to tackle him, but Ajal vanished again.
Oaraun felt two arms wrap around his waist with an almost vise-like grip.
"Rah!" Ajal roared as he lifted Oaraun up and leaned back, slamming him head-first into the ground.
"Agh!" Oaraun grunted as he was stuck in the rock and stone, his back ached as his neck and spine bent against the ground.
Ajal jumped up and opened his third eye. "Dark Blast!" he roared out loud, his voice echoing across the chasm.
Oaraun was helpless as the purple beam struck him, the searing beam blasted his body further and further through melting stone. 'Emerald Forge!' Oaraun's armor formed around his body, reducing the damage of the beam. His skin felt dry and tight, the skin beneath his cold reforged armor sweltering. Oaraun clenched his teeth and focused his spirit as he tried to block the beam. His back continued to slam through layers of dense rock. After the last wall of rock, he fell for a few seconds before crashing into a stream of water deep underground. The purple beam smashed the water's surface as well, steam and vapor flooded the deeper chasm. Oaraun conjured his greatsword.
"Hragh!" Oaraun yelled as he pointed the blade up, splitting the beam, the smaller blasts that ricocheted around the cavern carved into the thick rock walls.
Oaraun breathed in and out as the beam dissipated, he quickly stood and took a stance. Light entered the cavern through the massive hole Ajal blasted into the ground, everything else was pitch black and reeked of rotting corpses. He looked up for a few seconds, but no one followed through the hole, 'I can still feel his spirit up-' Oaraun noticed Ajal's spirit moving further away.
"You dare try to run!" Oaraun felt a vein bulge in his forehead, and Oaraun lifted his greatsword. "We will finish this!"
Oaraun stabbed his blade into the ground, pushing a wave of water away at the same time. The water flowed back and surrounded his feet. 'Jealous Flame!' The green flame channeled deep into the ground. The ground cracked, and Oaraun channeled even more. 'Spirit Ignition!' Oaraun jumped, and the force of the ground exploding launched him straight upwards. He flew out of the hole and overlooked the previous battlefield. Ajal limped away slowly, however, he turned and looked up. Ajal cringed.
"Coward!" Oaraun roared.
"God dammit!" Ajal sighed.
Oaraun landed and charged forward. Ajal conjured two scythes, each of them lit with black and white flames. 'He'll teleport twice! I have to track where those hit!' Oaraun dashed forward and so did Ajal. With one scythe raised, they clashed and bounced off each other, 'He clashed with one scythe-' Ajal dragged his feet against the dirt as he spun, building momentum before he whipped that scythe at Oaraun. 'A distraction?' Oaraun slashed the blade away. It twirled through the air, and Ajal suddenly teleported to it and grasped it. Oaraun's eyebrow raised, 'Why would he teleport to that fir- Unless...'
As Ajal soared down towards Oaraun, he raised the blade up, holding it behind him. Oaraun took a deep breath. Ajal disappeared once more, Oaraun quickly turned to see Ajal standing on the blade to keep it down once again. Ajal's eyes widened as he noticed Oaraun let go of the blade and turn instantly. 'Spirit Ignition!' Oaraun swung his fist and planted it into Ajal's abdomen. Not before Ajal could strike his wrist with his scythe as hard as he could, smashing chunks of black armor off once again.
"Ragh!" Oaraun stepped forward as he pointed his fist down, smashing Ajal into the ground.
"Agh!" Ajal grunted, his body twitching from the pain.
"Die!" Oaraun reached over his head and conjured his greatsword.
He swung down and Ajal immediately rolled to the left, however, the blade cut through his back and waist. Without hesitation, he conjured a large scythe from the shadows and swung it up, precisely striking Oaraun's damaged right gauntlet and cleaving his hand off. Oaraun was surprised for a second but didn't flinch, he quickly grasped his blade's handle with his left hand, while his severed right hand was still holding it. Ajal was wide open, and Oaraun charged forward at that very moment for a guaranteed hit. Ajal raised his hands and focused his spirit to block the blade, but it cleaved straight through one of his arms and slashed deep through his other hand.
"Ahh!" Ajal cried out in pain.
Both of their severed arms spun through the air spraying blood against the ground. Oaraun's much heavier due to the armor falling first, while Ajal's flopped against the ground right after. Oaraun stomped down, he roared as he swung Ajal off the blade and headfirst through a wall. Ajal tumbled against the ground, coming to a rolling stop. He curled up on the ground as he grasped his bleeding arm, inhaling and exhaling harsh and sudden rasp breaths. Oaraun stood up as the bones on his arm started to extend and reform. His veins and flesh followed.
"That white flame, you use it to teleport to a location you've touched, and you can appear in any position you desire... You've also been using the shadows to form those weapons..." Oaraun explained.
His hand regenerated fully as Ajal's arm only just started to regenerate. Ajal coughed up a large amount of blood, it splattered against the rock, he looked down at the pool of red only to clench his remaining fist.
"My healing factor and vitality are far greater than yours, however, you possess more abilities than me, and your natural element is much more available. Do not die yet, I've waited to battle someone like you for hundreds of years! Now, stand-"
"Shut up..." Ajal uttered quietly, he pushed himself up off the ground and wobbled as he stood.
Oaraun squinted with confusion.
"The clan leaders and the resistance, an abyssal creature over a hundred years old, and now me... Divine being or not, you're on the edge of death's door and far passed your limit, so why is it you show no fear in the face of your own inevitable demise?" Oaraun asked.
"I... I am not dying... Not yet..." Ajal looked Oaraun in the eyes, determination was practically spilling from his gaze.
"You're still thinking about saving the angels... Were you truly sent to your world, Imperion, for the sole purpose of being a pacifist? I find that hard to believe..."
"No, I had a purpose... It wasn't my own though..." Ajal coughed.
"Your own?"
"When I was born on Imperion... I had a purpose instilled in me..." said Ajal.
Oaraun tilted his head. "When you were born?"
"To become a weapon, a weapon for the soon-to-be Imperials to use. I wiped out the archdragons, the previous harbingers of Imperion. Anyone who stood in the way of my leaders felt my wrath... I hated it..."
Oaraun looked down, "Xenia was born weak and frail, a harbinger with limbs as thin as bone. I was sent to slay the giants, the previous rulers of Grelt, and give Xenia's descendants an unrivaled might." Oaraun started to giggle. "Heh... So you fight to resist that purpose? Doing everything in your power to do the opposite. Heh, hahaha!"
"What's so funny..." Ajal squinted as the bones in his hand started to shift and form slowly.
"To become a weapon, to give Xenia's descendants an unrivaled might... In some sense, nothing has changed. Even for you," Oaraun pointed at him with his regenerated hand.
Ajal stood up and split a glob of blood onto the floor, "You're saying I'm still a puppet?"
"I mean," Oaraun chuckled giddily, "Look at what you've done!" Oaraun said with a maniacal chortle in his voice.
Ajal squinted.
"You freed Jack from Logos, brought him to Andurill, and on the day all of the hybrids and angels would be in the city, he finally snapped. Now the Ammonian race will rise to answer his envy, and the envy of all our descendants suffering in Kamino..."
Ajal gritted his teeth. "You're a shameful hypocrite, you know that..."
"Shameful..." Oaraun tilted his head. "You're referring to the time I was Alexander Rael... At one point I was Alexander Rafael as well, the lieutenant to the previous Noble Rafael..."
"What..." Ajal tilted his head.
"The angels planted a creature in my mind, a creature designed specifically to control me and inhibit my memories. They created Alexander as their pawn to keep the non-unified in check."
"Inhibt memories... That's... That can't be possible..." Ajal shuddered with wide eyes.
"If you ever meet the black-haired woman with red eyes, the demon amongst the angels. Run. That gift stems from Jalrog, it's most likely the power of a harbinger... I have no idea where that woman is now, or what happened to her, her name... Was Theresia Lightbringer..." Oaraun recalled.
"Native to... Jalrog?" Ajal muttered, "Another planet?!"
"Yes, the angels and the demons were never originally from Grelt, the divine being of Jalrog was provoked and somehow, by who knows what devastating power, split the planet..."
Ajal eyes widened.
"When it came soaring towards our planet, I used all of my strength to stop it from falling, even received the aid of my comrades, and due to that they have become stuck in their druid forms ever since..." Oaraun explained.
"You stopped... A planet from falling?" Ajal questioned.
"Not a planet, a continent is a better term, it had burned up quite a lot, but what remained almost resembled a spear trying to pierce our planet, an infection, a parasite... Just like you..."
"I didn't want to come here..."
"Neither did they, yet here you are meddling in our affairs just like them, you off-worlders are going to cause something terrible at this rate...Don't get me wrong, they attacked us and established authority in our home. You, you simply helped a broken child get the freedom he needed to become the envoy of our people, the one who created the path for our return and conquest. And every race which stood by and watched as the virtuous rulers of Grelt were defeated by fortune, will now bow the knee once more to our absolute strength!"
Ajal looked down, slowly taking a stance as his severed hand healed. "This won't bring them back... You're just going to inspire the same vengeance upon yourself..."
"I know, such is the way of this world... You and I followed the purpose the world gave us," Oaraun raised his hand as he grasped the rubble. "And we lost everything anyways..."
Ajal knelt down and touched the ground, the shadows started to move toward him. 'What is he doing now...?' He stood up and dragged an aura of shadows out of it. Ajal clasped his scarred right hand with the bone of his regenerating left hand and created a long jet-black staff. The three-eyed man spun the staff around and the shadows took on a jagged shape. Large scythes with serrated edges formed on each side of the staff, forming a double-ended scythe, with blades pointing in opposite directions. Ajal breathed out as he focused.
Oaraun ran forward and raised his greatsword, Ajal started to spin the scythe with one hand as he ran forward. Ajal threw his scythe with enough force to swing his body around. As Ajal let go, he was already conjuring another scythe. Oaraun blocked the first however the blade on the other end cut into the back of his shoulder. 'Gah!' Oaraun looked up to see another scythe spin toward him, he quickly dodged. Ajal ran forward with a third double-edged scythe.
"Jealous Flame, Frenzy!" Oaraun feinted a horizontal swing and instead swung his blade above his head, channeling flame through his blade and readying to lunge at Ajal.
Ajal started to spin the scythes even faster. Oaraun jumped forward and swung down, Ajal redirected the strike and pivoted around Oaraun's left side. Oaraun felt a tug in his shoulder as a sharp pain rippled through. Ajal let go of the scythe while it was embedded in the back of Oaraun's left shoulder. He quickly conjured another scythe, spun, and hit the exact same spot. The other scythe smashed through Oaraun's shoulder.
"Rgh! Crafty prick!" Oaraun turned and his entire body ignited with green flames.
Oaraun kicked forward with a spirit ignition and swung his greatsword down. Ajal dodged backward, Oaraun split the ground in two with his strike, then continued his assault. Ajal spun his scythe around, and Oaraun didn't stop. Ajal slashed right through Oaraun's shoulders, chest, and arm. However, Oaraun's wounds started to heal immediately, and the berserker continued forward without hesitation. Ajal conjured two scythes and blocked but lost his footing, the impact of Oaraun's strike drove him to the ground.
"Die!" Oaraun shouted again as he planted one foot on Ajal, he started slamming and thrashing his blade through the ground.
The green greatsword clashed with the black scythe over and over again. Oaraun's assault came to a stop as the ground began to rumble. In the moment of distraction, Ajal lunged forward and grasped the collar of his armor, pulling himself forward and headbutting Oaraun with a spirit ignition. Oaraun winced as he stepped back, 'What kind of desperate attack-' Oaraun opened his eyes to see a glowing purple third eye right in front of him. 'Shi-'
"Dark Blast!" Ajal roared as he fired the purple beam at close range.
Oaraun flew through multiple walls, before crashing into a shallow shore of dirty water. The water steadily rained back down. Oaraun looked up and found himself at the bottom of an aqueduct. Not too far away was a bridge to Dorad that had never been finished. 'This should be the west side of Pathos... But... What is this... An earthquake?' The ground continued to rumble, and suddenly two cracks split through the bedrock to Oaraun's left and right. The water on the shore started to slip into the newly formed crevice, 'Something's happening...' A pillar of smoke erupted out of the ground, followed by a white stone pillar stretching straight into the sky. 'That's...' A Celestial sprouted from the ground and started to rise to the sky. Oaraun quickly noticed someone hanging from the side of the tip. 'No... That bastard!'
"Ajal!" Oaraun roared.
The Celestial rose into the sky, and Ajal hung onto the edge of the top. The Celestial rose quickly into the sky, the ground rumbled and cracked as the Celestial passed the edge of the chasm and soared straight into the sky.
"Our battle is not over yet! You believe you can escape!" Oaraun started to focus his spirit throughout his spine. "Land, sea, or air, we conquered on all fronts! Prepare yourself, Imperial!"
Ajal was just a small figure in the distance now, Xenia's new Celestial was rising quickly. Oaraun felt anger boil within him, his spirit ignited across his spine.
"Spirit Bloom!" Oaraun chanted, "Viridiscent Eyed Slayer!"