“Timely appearance, Kargorath.” Visir commented cheerfully. “Did you know this will happen?”

“I send my Godslayer here!” God of War laughed. He swung his hand widely, presenting Adira lying defeated on the floor. “I was making them for the sole purpose of conquering this place and breaking the System. Imagine my surprise this one brought Salgos himself!”

He walked towards the girl. Unceremoniously he lifted her up and put straight. The young huntress barely stood, as her head spun. Somehow, she managed to stand without any additional support.

“My chosen one, you did well!” The God of War patted the girl on the shoulder with his giant hand, almost causing her to fall again. The huntress stood one-to-one with God of War.

“What’s going on?” She finally mumbled.

“Ha-ha! Your friend there is now a God! We have brought back the good old times. Now people are free to kill each other!” His tone changed to conspiratorial. “You will become my first herald of Violence. Hadn’t had a Demigod to command for a while.”

“Demigod?”

“Yes! You will ascend, girl. You served me well, and you have it in you. A short temper and the ability to kill just about anything! I want you to bring War in every corner of the world!”

“I…” She stumbled. Her head refused to think. She couldn’t focus on God’s words. The sphere carrying the Title of the God pulsed inside her thirstily. Adira’s whole body was stretched from the inside as if a hand grabbed her spinal cord and pulled her to the side. Only the thought that it would be embarrassing to fall in front of God held Adira together.

“You are the Herald of Violence. You always were, remember?” The huntress fell into those words. It worked like hypnosis. Immediately she remembered how fearlessly she was fighting powerful monsters. How she was always sure she would kill anyone who went against her. Her most notable kills. She was indeed powerful. Likely the most powerful mortal.

“You fought Gods and survived. But you are not whole. Complete yourself. Make it a first step to becoming the Demigod of War. You had unfinished kills. Let your rage do the talking.” Kargorath glanced towards the entrance. Galen and Skreetha were peeking inside curiously, unable to see anything through the dust.

Adira walked towards them obediently, not yet sure what she was supposed to do, but flames of anger had already shown their tongues in her soul. This sole feeling of bloodlust, of battle fury, the rage of being ignored. She picked up a glaive. Her only desire. The girl expected others to give it to her, to help her. But only God of War understood it. She must take it herself. Might make right. And the young girl held all the power.

“Adira!” Galen noticed her dragging herself forward. “What’s going on? The skills… Levels… What happened there?”

“The System is dead. The world returned to how it should be.” Adira replied monotonously without expression.

“So, this…. Is what it’s like.” The man looked at his arms studying them as if for the first time in his life.

“Normal or not, I am more helpless than ever!” Skreetha complained. The monster crossed her eyes with the girl. The arachne felt the overt threat oozing from the girl. It was the kind of look a hunter gives its prey. She stiffened and called gently. “Adira? You know I am no threat to you, right? I mean the Demigod said-”

“I know.” Adira interrupted her. “I know everything about you, Skreetha.”

The human half of the arachne perked up a bit. Her ugly face smiled weakly, but when Skreetha actually looked into Adira’s eyes she saw the terrifying resolve she was always afraid of. The girl made up her mind. She walked towards her, darker than the dusty lightless cave.

Galen stopped her with his shoulder, pressing his hand onto her other side.

“You won’t.” He said simply, trying to be as pacifying as possible. That was not Adira he knew. Her skin darkened significantly. It might be the trick of a poorly lit cave or the amount of dust stuck to her skin, but it seemed unusual. Her hair glimmered with red-like blood color, and blue scars around her eyes seemed to glow slightly. She lost her armor, but her body felt like steel to the touch. She looked towards the arachne like a stalking monster.

“Are you protecting this monster, Galen?” She spoke with a low voice, pressing herself onto his hold. Galen felt like he was holding a wild animal, ready to tear everyone present apart. He called to the last piece of sanity, which seemed to still hold the girl back.

“Who of you two is a monster right now?” Adira peered at Skreetha this whole time, but now she turned to him.

“This is between me and her. Get away.”

“It is not. I know you. Look at yourself, you are not the girl I know.” The man moved his hands on her shoulders, keeping her from breaking away, but at the same time trying to calm her. “What is affecting you?”

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Adira twitched with her whole body at his words. For a moment it broke the hypnosis that was laid on her by the God of War. Her thirst for fury calmed, and she thought rationally about what she was doing. The spite wormed inside her screaming to sate it with blood. It flamed her anger. Such a pathetic manipulation. With the power of the sphere and her own magic, the girl squashed the God of War’s seed. She did not need anything like that to fuel her power.

The arachne was the first to react.

“Wait, please! Salgos ordered-” Crack.

A loud cracking sound of crushed chitin filled the room.

“No!” Galen cried out, suddenly finding himself on the floor with a broken leg.

“It was never about Salgos.” Adira stood over the arachne, her glaive thrust into the arachne’s chest. She spoke grinding her teeth. Skreetha spurred blood in a dumb confusion.

“Please.” She pleaded with a weak voice. “I don’t want to-” Adira twisted the blade, ripping her body from inside, and pulled quickly, tearing the life out of the monster. Skreetha’s body fell to the ground, but her spider legs twitched violently in place, unable to recognize the death of its owner.

The girl turned and screamed at the top of her lungs. Emptiness and rage fought in her body. What was this mixed feeling? The revenge was not sweet. It left her emptier than ever. She knew she wanted to kill Skreetha more than anything, but now that it was done no emotions came. Perhaps because there was nothing else for her in this world. The girl looked at the blood on her glaive.

She embraced her spite. There was no need for Kargorath’s manipulations. She made the decision herself a long time ago. There would be no happy end for the monster, Adira would be the one to take everything from her. Her rage needed a new target now, otherwise the girl would collapse. That was her life now.

“I hate what you’ve become.” Galen scowled looking at Skreetha’s lifeless body. He already stood up. Potions fixed his leg quickly. He was wary to approach the huntress. First time in his life he met such a spiteful being. The archer did not know what to do.

“Yes.” Adira nodded. She disappeared behind the smoke screen separating the two rooms. “I hate myself too.”

“Good job!” Kargorath acknowledged the girl as she returned. “You did well, my herald. Your rage shall burn until eternity and bring havoc to the world.”

“Yes. I must kill those who made me like this.” The girl’s words brought a satisfied smile to the God of War’s face. The huntress looked towards Salgos. He stood on one knee, holding his chest. The energies stormed around him, trying to rip him from the inside. Visir stood over him with a puzzled expression, unsure what she could do.

“Shouldn’t you usurp the Title?” Adira overheard her saying. He needed the Title to complete his evolution. She held the key to his power. Salgos knew that as well. He looked at her expectantly.

The girl nodded and wished the sphere into existence. A black substance of the God of Darkness rolled in her hand. Kargorath immediately recognized what it was.

“Give it to me, my champion. This is the key to our dominance.” He extended his hand. “With that, we will control this world!”

“No.” Adira shook her head. “That’s not what is going to happen.”

“What?” The God looked at her with wide eyes. “But you are my Champion! I made you. Do not defy my will.”

His tone changed to threatening and the more he spoke the angrier he sounded.

“I am the Champion of Darkness.” She spoke steadily, raising her weapon in the air. Kargorath eyed her showing no emotions or hesitation. The girl tossed the sphere to Salgos.

“No!” Kargorath shouted, but Adira’s steady voice spoke over him.

“You are the reason I hate the world. Now let me show you the extent of my wrath!” The girl never served God of War despite being cursed with his blessing. Her revenge was not done until God who forced this destiny on her was alive.

The huntress concentrated on her abilities. “Odium Steps” flashed under her heels, freezing the world around her. Her heels lit up the cave with a radiant glow. It was not as effective as with the System’s help, but it served her well.

Adira recalled King Azalor’s attack. A skill able to kill God. She did not need the skills or levels she could just do it. So, what if her body was not ready for it?

She charged her weapon, finding it surprisingly easy to reach for two forces that needed to weave this spell. The girl let mana travel in her blade, and the void responded.

“Open your maw, God Eater.”

The hungry power was waiting for her call. The glaive lit up with blackness and the light of the sun. The dark energy tore her arms where the mana streamed, leaving ruptures on her skin. Darkness oozed from the cracks all the way down to the girl’s chest. Void miasma enveloped the blade. The light assembled around the weapon, melting into Adira's body, where darkness did not touch her. Two powers began to eat at each other, using her body as the source.

The girl trembled struggling to control the beast. The cage the God Eater was contained in was opened slightly, and now a raging devourer tried to escape. It was up to Adira to tame it.

God of War raised his axe to crush her before she finished the attack. Ignoring her whole body screaming to stop, Adira slashed her glaive with lightning speed across the belly of the Kargorath in a blind hope to redirect the God Eater’s rage somewhere else. Her attack went right through God’s body. A large tear in space followed the tip of her weapon, exposing stars lying in the emptiness beyond.

The maw of the void swallowed Kargorath in an instant, sending him stumbling through Infinity. He disappeared before even realizing what happened. A moment later Adira felt the God Eater’s hungry pull. Her legs gave out, and she glided through the air following the God of War into the rift in space.

She did not reach it. A hand made of darkness hid the rupture in its palm, stopping the greedy maw. Soon it lost its power and stopped being fueled by Adira’s life.

The girl canceled her “Odium Steps” long ago, but her body was still burning with a golden light, spreading upwards. Her legs were already reduced to ash, and her lower body now disappeared in the flames. She lay on the ground confused, gasping in silent cries of pain.

The Dark God lowered on one knee next to the girl. Looking into her eyes.

“I thank you for your sacrifice, Champion of Darkness.” He watched as Adira lay on the ground. Her last glance was filled with acceptance and relief. She even managed to give a weak smile, before turning to ash.