[THE BATTLEFIELD]

He staggered. The last explosion shook the grounds, blowing apart everything in front of Jace. Unfortunately, that included the men who put themselves between it and him.

His legs trembled, the ringing in his ears enforcing the vertigo. Everything was covered in smoke. Even the sun’s boiling heat, which diluted, simmered softly as dark clouds shrouded its golden visage. The repugnant smell of iron, blood, and death, ate up the air around him, nearly causing him to vomit. It was stomach-churning. Nauseating.

It was there, on the precipice of life and death -- There, where hundreds of hungry eyes searched for him in the fog -- Jacender Ashfield struggled to stand.

Slowly, his hands unclenched, causing his jagged blade to sink straight into the ground. Ryo… Noe… He thought, fighting off the urge to fall.

The taste of metal erupted from deep within his throat, swelling inside his mouth. His legs buckled, and quickly -- before he could throw up -- Jace covered his mouth and forced it back down. “D-Damn it…” he coughed. Somewhere, in the mist, something called out eerily. “Kaaaaa…”

Jace’s brilliant blue eyes bored into the distance, eyeing the approaching carnage. Though he was the last bastion -- the proud son of the Ashfield line -- he could do little but watch in horror at what lay before him: The aftermath of a bloody battle.

The mist slowly dissipated, unveiling dozens of strewn bodies as far as the eye could see. Some were impaled, some drained of their souls, and others were blown to pieces. They were all his men. And Jacender was the last.

"Ahk! Ahk!" he hacked through teary eyes.

"KEKEKE!" several voices cheered, ripping through the silence. Jace strained his eyes and understood immediately who it was. Laughing haughtily, an army of Ravishers -- skinless demons -- stood a few yards away. Behind them were giant golems: creatures made of blood and elements. They each clutched several different weapons and were ready to attack. By all rights, they should have. He was weakened after all. But why didn't they?

Jace dug his fingers into the ground, ignoring his exhaustion, and soaked his gloves in the blood of his fallen comrades. He closed his fist and breathed in carefully. "You all did well..." He whispered, propping himself up by the hilt of his sword.

He grabbed the blade, releasing a heat from his hand that affixed the weapon to his palm. By the look in his eye, he was refusing to release his weapon for a second time. "...You can leave the rest to me."

Steadily, he opened his mouth and inhaled sharply. “RAAAAH!!” He roared, releasing a furious battle cry.

WHKOOM!

Fragmenting the mist around him, the skies parted with the energy surge. The sun, even hotter than before, returned and bathed the battlefield with its radiating intensity.

"That won't help you." A deep voice confidently announced. Jace’s eyes traveled past the Ravishers, searching for its source.

He saw him instantly. How could he not? The speaker stood atop the rocky plateau behind the demonic army. He stepped forward, his figure becoming more pronounced as he entered Jacender’s sightline. A Masked Man.

“You're outnumbered, and low on Sanctum Energy, boy. Not to mention that broken blade.” The Man continued, a tone of condescension creeping into his voice. "I'm curious to see how you'll justify these deaths!"

Now, Jace understood what was happening.

The Ravishers weren't attacking because they didn't want to. They were told not to.

"You're still on about that, huh?" Jace asked, smiling in disbelief. "You're a real nut job, you bastard. Killing people to make a point? Ha!"

The man's eyes glistened behind his mask. "Your bravado won't get you anywhere, boy. I warned you -- Implored you to stand down."

Outlining his frame, a dark tinge of red energy lashed out around him and crackled through the air. The force was akin to an earthquake.

Stolen story; please report.

Hurting, though every heartbeat was agony, Jace raised his blade and rested it on his shoulder. "Stop showing off," He said, fighting back his throbbing heart. “I'm not justifying anything.”

Similarly, a bright surge of white-hot energy, though dim, surrounded Jacender's body as he spoke. “These men... -- My friends -- ... they knew what they signed themselves up for. As long as I'm still kicking, they didn't die for nothing, you got that?”

“..?” The Masked Man noised, stifling a grunt. “You're insa–”

"--You can bet your ass I am, buddy! ” Jace interjected. "So you should be worried about how I'm going to kill you! 'Cuz believe me, it won't be pretty."

He hocked a loogie at the ground and, lifted his sword from his shoulders, pointing it directly at the enemy commander. "But also, something else has been bothering me~!" he announced. "You keep calling me boy! I didn't come here, risk my life for the world, and lose so much to be called boy, got it?!"

Even through the mask, Jace could tell the man was scowling. Good.

"If you want bravado, I'll give it to you! I'll even do you a favor and beat the taste of my name into your mouth, okay? Every damn syllable!" Jace's mouth curved into a sadistic grin. The heat covering his body amplified around his blade with a glaring fervor. Frightened, the Ravishers assumed battle positions and sweated nervously.

"You humans, you’re all the same." the Masked Man said through gritted teeth. He reached into his silver overcoat and placed his hand over the weapons mounted on his waist: A long katana and a short sword. "You brush aside death and act as if it doesn’t affect you! Perhaps you just don't know what it means to love and lose those you've loved. And that's why you'll die here.”

GKKAAAAAHHHH!!

A fantastic explosion of energy filled the air around Jace’s body, electrifying his eyes. “What the hell did you just say to me?" Jace asked slowly. "You think I don't know what it means to lose something? You bastard... It's because I know what it means to lose what you love that I'm here! I'm doing this for those who left and those who are still here!"

"Maybe you don't know how to listen." Jace hissed. "What are you, a baby? I'll kick your ass and stop this whole damn thing in its tracks!”

“Tsk!” The Masked Man reached for his swords, unsheathing both. “There’s no helping it, then. You’ll die right here and now!"

"Just come and try it, dumbass!" Jace bellowed, initiating a mad dash towards the army. "I'll take you all with me!"

The Masked Man waved his blades, signaling his forces to engage. The Ravishers raced to intercept him, each one howling sinisterly as they pushed past the other. However…

He's no fool. The commander brooded. Nor is he the type for a suicide blitz. Has he gone insane?

The blue energy coating Jace's sword, upon contact, blew through the approaching enemies one by one; Almost like a steel bomb.

The Masked man continued to survey him. He was hesitant but didn't know why. No. He hasn’t lost his mind. So what is this feeling of unease? But his reckless use of Sanctum Energy is alarming. By the look of his injuries, he shouldn't last much longer fighting an army of this size.

SSLLAASSSH!

Jace tore through the army, setting off a chain of explosive blows. Even so, The commander reflected. He thought back to Jacender’s speech. Things have been off with him ever since he stood. His confidence increased then.

The commander recalled Jace's words. “Just come and try it, dumbass! I'll take you all with me!”

That's it! the Masked Man realized. Stomaching the realization, he sprang forward and dove down the hill with lightspeed. "NO!" he shouted, hoping to warn his troops. If he exhausts his core--!

SHHUNT!!

Jace split a building-sized Golemn in half and bisected him in two slashes. A smile flashed on his face as he came down. He watched as the Masked Man approached, screaming "It's a trap!" to his soldiers. So, Jace thought, You finally noticed, huh? Well too little too late.

The Ravishers and Golems circled Jace. "That's right," he muttered, swinging his sword through the air and setting off an explosive smokescreen. The Masked Man brushed past his soldiers and pushed them all back, hoping to get to Jace. He was merely a few feet away now.

“NO! HE'LL KILL YOU ALL!” The Masked Man cried. He was only an arm's reach away now. He could kill him in just another moment.

But then, he noticed a hidden smirk behind Jace’s falling hair. In an instant, Jace's energy exploded from his body and condensed into an expanding, blue orb at the tip of his sword.

BZZTTLLEE!

"If I'm gonna die here--" Jace laughed, pointing his blade and orb at the commander's mask. "THEN YOU'RE ALL COMING WITH ME!!"

The Masked Man finally managed to land his hand on his shoulder, but it was too late. His eyes widened with the realization that he had been duped. Jacender knew he would try to save his men. It was why he had willingly thrown himself amid a field of dangerous enemies. It was all for this one moment -- To kill them all in one fell swoop.

The orb discharged, rupturing through the air and igniting a causal nexus of blue and white flame.

KABOOM!

Was the last sound the commander and his troops heard before the energy blew them all away. His mask cracked and crumbled under the weight of the explosion, but his true face was lost in its blinding light.

Would you look at that? Jace thought, he, too, disappearing within the combustion. ...I managed on my own, didn't I, Lex?

His sword shattered apart and the light engulfed every part of him as well. And just like that, they were gone.

[Prologue]