“Ae!” the words filtered into his consciousness.

Ae blinked and looked to his side. Fara stood there, her face concealed by her mask.

“What are you doing, spacing out like an idiot? Come on, we have to get to Desolation Hill,” she said, an overtone of frustration in her voice.

“Right,” Ae said. “Right,” he repeated, this time more convincingly.

His head was buzzing.

Was any of that real?

The question was burning a hole in his mind. Even though he vacantly stared at the enemy lines that were quickly approaching, he didn’t see anything. The entire trip to Desolation Hill passed as vaguely and quickly, as if it was just a half-remembered dream.

“Ae, watch out!” Fara shouted.

Ae looked up and could only barely make out the outline of a Shadow approaching him. The Shadow swung its sword at the defenseless Ae.

Defensively, Ae raised his hand, and for some inexplicable reason he decided to press his finger against the sword.

The impact resounded out, like metal striking metal, yet it was the Shadow’s sword striking Ae’s finger. Then the sword shattered into a thousand pieces.

Fara was on the Shadow almost instantly, driving her sword through the Elemental’s chest. It burst into black smoke, the forces binding the shadows into being completely destroyed, and the silver mist of achievement flowed into Fara’s mask.

“What… was that?” Fara asked, looking at Ae who still held an outstretched finger.

“I blocked it… with my finger…” Ae said, as confused as Fara.

“No, you idiot. What are you doing?! Open your eyes! Draw your sword! Fight!” she shouted at Ae.

“Right,” Ae murmured, drawing his sword. He shook his head, as if that would shake off the trance-like confusion he was in, but it only marginally helped.

Then he remembered how he might verify whether what he saw was a dream or not.

Show Aspects.

Annihilation

Retribution

It was real…

Panic overwhelmed his mind, followed by sorrow and then finally it transformed into fury. He lost everything twice.

Why? Why is this my destiny?

As the words floated up to the surface of his turbulent consciousness, Ae spotted the Subjugator on the top of Desolation Hill. The creature that has been their secondary target for so long was no different in appearance from an ordinary human. It didn’t even wear armor. But once someone saw that red metal sword, one could spot the Subjugator from a mile away.

The confidence in every one of the Subjugator’s motion, as it cut down several Templars with each swing, was tragic and beautiful at the same time. The Subjugator was a master swordsman and the ease with which it dispatched opponents was enough to make one stop and stare in awe—if only they were on the same side.

Recognizing the Subjugator, an overwhelming desire to crush it filled Ae’s veins, and he willed himself to move forward. The ground vanished below his feet. The world before Ae’s eyes shrunk into a tiny point. It felt as if Ae was in a tunnel, surrounded by nothingness on all sides. There was no gravity, no air, no heat or cold, there was nothing but the tiny point of light at the other end, which was like a window to his destination.

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The tiny point expanded rapidly, as if he was approaching it at neck-breaking speeds, and when it fully came into view, it turns out that Ae was, in fact, moving at such speeds. Black smoke shrouded his arrival and he slammed into the side of the Subjugator at speeds that would ordinarily crush his bones. But not this time, for some reason.

The Subjugator was sent sprawling to the ground, bouncing off the ground like a stone sent skipping over the surface of a lake. Finally, the Subjugator came to rest, twenty meters away from where Ae collided with it.

While Ae was wondering why he wasn’t dead, the Subjugator stood up and looked at Ae with an expression that was a mixture of fear and surprise. It appeared mostly unharmed, but the psychological damage could not be measured with a simple glance.

Ae banished the doubt from his mind and charged the Subjugator once more. He held his sword high, pommel almost pressed against his shoulder; It was an aggressive stance. The Subjugator saw Ae’s charge and prepared a defensive, counter-attacking stance by pointing the sword away from Ae, and concealing most of it behind the Subjugator’s body.

The two collided together, as did their swords causing a hollow sound to ring out. Almost instantly, they attacked each other once more, but the result was the same.

Ae’s face was concealed, but it was just as focused as the Subjugator’s was. Ae never saw the Subjugator make that expression before, even when it was outnumbered. Usually, they would fight the Subjugator two versus one, or three versus one. Not all of them would survive that fight, but the Subjugator always looked calm and calculated. Now, there was a frenzy in its demeanor and a turbulent panic in its eyes. It almost looked human, the way it reacted to Ae.

Their swords struck against each other once more, deflecting each other away with enough force to pull the wielder along with them. Both Ae and the Subjugator stumbled, regained their balance, and then threw themselves against each other once more.

The Subjugator’s red sword burst into fire, and then coalesced into itself, taking on a solid form; It was not a red metal sword anymore, but a sword made of solid fire. Ae saw that technique before and it had cut right through his sword, last time. It was too late now to abort his attack, but if he could just change the angle of impact perhaps he could avoid a repeat of last time.

The Subjugator’s sword struck Ae’s at a shallow angle, cutting partway through it before chipping away a large chunk of the blade and bouncing off. As the Subjugator’s sword went high, Ae saw the opportunity, and pushed through on the remainder of his swing.

Ae’s sword struck the Subjugator’s body and buried into his hip.

The Subjugator roared and kicked Ae away. Ae could not hold onto his sword and lost possession of it as he tumbled on the ground. He realized that the blow he struck against the Subjugator was not fatal. Not even close.

This is it, huh?

The Subjugator screamed with a voice that wasn’t entirely human, proving its true nature, as it ripped Ae’s sword out and then threw it away, far into the distance.

Ae chuckled, already knowing how this will end. Yet, even in doing so, he caught himself thinking about how he would exact vengeance on the Subjugator next time. Ae realized then that he was becoming obsessed with retribution. Was that how Aspects work?

As the Subjugator closed in, Ae tilted his head. He still had [Celestial Lightning], but was that enough to fight back? Then he realized that he was forgetting something. He had another skill.

Ae extended his hand forward and drew a thin silver line with his finger. The silver line hovered in the air, entirely solid. Then it expanded as lightning crackled through it, slowly taking the shape of a sword.

Lightning Formation

Ae remembered that the skill creates an object with an Origin related to Lightning. He didn’t really know what most of that meant, but he just needed a sword. Ae snatched the half-formed blade out of thin air and the moment he touched it, he felt an overwhelming power flow through his being.

Your connection to the Plane of Lightning has become stronger.

The half-formed silver sword suddenly crackled with electricity so violently that its entire surface was concealed by arcs of electricity. The sword warped in Ae’s hands until it looked like he was holding a solid lightning bolt.

The Subjugator paused in its advance and its eyes focused on Ae’s sword. Then it took a step back.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Ae said, extending a finger towards the Subjugator.

Celestial Lightning

The bolt that erupted from Ae’s fingertip was nothing like what it usually was. It was not a bolt either, it was a solid beam of lightning energy that carved through the Subjugator instantaneously and blew away a large chunk of the hill that it was standing on. The beam continued onwards, carving a massive ravine through the ranks of the enemy soldiers. The entire area was bathed in a brilliant light, until the beam completely disappeared.

You have gained Essence.

You have gained internal energy.

Ae slowly lowered his finger and then looked at his new sword.

“Oh, is that how it works?” he asked no one in particular.

With a satisfied grin, he looked towards the enemy ranks.

“Where is that Tyrant?” he asked with a jovial tone.