Eventually, Fara caught up to Ae at the top of the hill and the beginning of the ravine his [Celestial Lightning] had carved into the environment. The ravine stretched out for an entire mile, and it was twenty meters deep in some places.

Fara didn’t say anything about Ae’s sword, his impossibly quick movement or the beam or lightning energy. Instead, she just followed Ae’s gaze, completely aware of his objective.

“Is that the Tyrant?” Fara asked, pointing into the distance.

Ae narrowed his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make out anything specific that far away.

I thought my eyesight was good, but Fara’s is something else.

In reply to her question, Ae shrugged. “I can’t tell at this distance.”

“I sense a vast aura coming from it. It’s like a veil of darkness,” Fara said, her tone sounding more hollow due to her mask.

“We could ask Mao. He fought the Tyrant before,” Ae said.

Fara shook her head. “A Templar just told me that Mao died.”

“Already?”

Fara nodded. “Not just Mao. Zia is also dead. They were ambushed by a new type of enemy. Ixia and Sena are also dying. They’re at the Canyon.”

“So it’s just us guys?”

Fara turned her head to Ae. Though her face was covered, body language was more than enough to convey that Fara was glaring at Ae.

“And you, I mean. Of course. Us guys, and you.”

Fara sniffed angrily, and then looked back towards the approaching army in the distance.

“Have you heard any news of Senon and Belal?” Ae asked.

Fara shook her head.

Ae nodded. “We should assume they are dead or dying.”

Fara shrugged, “What do you want to do? We can try fighting the Tyrant alone, or we could go to the left flank and check out this new type of enemy that killed Mao and Zia. Maybe they’re worth something.”

Ae shook his head. “We are going to kill the Tyrant.”

“Just the two of us?”

“Who else is there?”

Fara was motionless for a moment, but then nodded. “We may as well give it a try.”

Ae glanced to Fara and sighed.

“Fara, have you had a dream where you went back to the day when the stars fell from the sky?”

Fara looked at Ae and tilted her head slightly. “No, not really. I don’t even remember that day. Did you have such a dream?”

Ae didn’t want to answer that question. Even now, despite having proof that it happened, he still felt unsure. Rather, perhaps he didn’t want it to be true. Like an outsider looking through a window, he saw himself change when the regret of betraying Ataraxia sunk into his heart. A desire for violence and destruction burned in his being, and, perhaps too late, Ae realized that it did not come from merely making the wrong choice. He changed.

Perhaps this was the Corruption that Ataraxia spoke of. Origins may be related to the way a person acts or perceives the world. It may be even more than that, but surely, it would affect the personality.

Before his Origin changed again, when Ae realized that he was going to lose Ataraxia again—or at least the person Ataraxia looked like again—he felt overwhelming sorrow. But now, there was only hatred and an unquenchable desire for vengeance.

Annihilation and Retribution.

The thought surprised Ae, even though it was his. It held the promise of a deeper understanding into the nature of Origins. Perhaps it is not the Origin that changed Ae’s personality. Perhaps his Origin changed because he moved closer to the Aspect of Annihilation and Retribution. That made more sense.

“Fara, what is your Aspect?” Ae asked.

“Hmm?” Fara was surprised by the sudden question. “Ruin,” she answered.

“Ruin, huh?” Ae repeated and then paused. “I think I understood something from my dream.”

“What is that?”

“The closer we move to our Aspects, the more powerful we become.”

“Sounds easier than dying all the time for some meager internal energy.”

Ae shook his head. “The closer you move to your Aspects, the more you change as a person. I think that is what Asivos meant by saying that Principles can affect your Origin.”

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“We are talking about Aspects though.”

“I think they are similar. Principles, most likely, reinforce the Aspect.”

“I see,” Fara said.

“When I returned from the dream, I realized I became obsessed with annihilation and retribution. My Origin changed as well.”

Fara slowly nodded. “Are you going to be all right?”

“Mm,” Ae emitted.

Fara glanced at him, as if reading his mind. “Don’t go and do something stupid, Ae.”

Ae chuckled and nodded. After a moment of silence, he said, “Fara, I think I am going to kill Asivos when we return.”

Fara was motionless for a moment, as if she didn’t hear Ae’s words, but then nodded. “I will help you.”

Ae nodded. “Thank you,” he said.

“You should be able to see it now, I think. Do you think that is a Tyrant?” Fara asked, pointing out an individual in the distance.

Ae squinted and could barely make out someone that looked like a teenager. He was flanked by men much older than him, and in that regard, he was just like Ae and Fara. He was young, confident and brimming with concealed power. The aura Fara mentioned, Ae could sense it too. It was vast and all-encompassing, more a sensation than something someone could see. It was nothing like Azat’s, which was a magnitude or two above the Tyrant’s.

“That is a Tyrant, without a doubt,” Ae said. It was the only logical conclusion. A Subjugator was like a drop of water in an endless ocean compared to the entity at the head of the second army that was approaching the hill.

By now, the Templars must’ve lost control of both flanks, and only the hill remained. Any time now, the enemies on the left flank would surround the center, and the second army will smash it to pieces. That was the Convergence—the event that always happens.

Ae and Fara gave up on trying to hold the left flank. If they had any illusions of holding it, they wouldn’t have stood on the hill and chatted about things completely irrelevant to the coming battle. They knew that holding the left flank was impossible, as if it was preordained by destiny itself.

Most of the Templars were dead or dying, just a few dozen meters ahead of them, at the foot of the hill. Perhaps in the past, Ae and Fara may have felt the need to go and help them, but both of them were convinced that the Templars weren’t people. In that sense, they were like the enemy, except they were friendly and didn’t try to kill them. They looked human, but they didn’t act human. Any conversation topic unrelated to the battle was ignored, and they only obeyed orders. All of them knew Ae and Fara, by name and Origin, even though they never met before.

“What’s the plan?” Fara asked.

“I’ll keep it busy, you strike from the blindspot.”

“Are you sure it has one? Surely, it is very powerful and has some sort of defense against that type of thing.”

Ae pondered and then shrugged, “Just pick a moment to strike.”

Fara nodded. “Works for me. Let’s go then,” she said and began heading in the direction of the Tyrant.

Ae followed behind her. As they approached the ranks of the Distortions and the Templars, the two sides stopped fighting each other and made way for the two masked warriors. Ae understood why the Templars made way—that’s how they acted—but the enemy was a different story. There was no sense of respect in the gesture, the desire for battle still burned in the unnatural eyes of the Distortions.

As they passed through, the second army stopped advancing, except for the Tyrant who calmly strode forward. This close, Ae could get a better look at it. It had brown hair and green eyes. It walked with an elegant confidence that did not conceal its martial prowess. Ae began to think that he may have underestimated the power of a Tyrant if just looking at him made Ae feel wary of the entity.

The [Serenity] skill kicked in, suppressing Ae’s fear and awe. Fara, at Ae’s side, did not have such a skill it seemed. Her movements became sluggish, her eyes focused on the ground.

“Celestials,” the Tyrant spoke. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I haven’t met you two before.”

Neither Ae nor Fara replied to the greeting.

The Tyrant chuckled. “The Midnight Sun of the End. That is an interesting name,” it spoke and then switched its focus from Ae to Fara. “And here we have The Litany of Destruction.”

Ae looked to Fara. She never shared her Origin with Ae before.

“I am most pleased to make your acquaintance, albeit short our meeting shall be,” the Tyrant said. “But I shall introduce myself, as pointless as it may be. I am the Dragon of the Last Harvest.”

“Do you have an actual name, Dragon? Something to put on your tombstone,” Ae said.

The Tyrant chuckled and shook his head. “So confident, only because you acquired another Aspect. You need to learn your place.” The Tyrant pointed a finger at Ae, and then flicked it downwards.

An overwhelming pressure fell on Ae’s shoulders and forced him down to his knees. Only then did Ae realize just how badly he underestimated the Tyrant.

Fara looked at Ae and then back to the Tyrant, as if seeking an opening to attack.

“You can attack me, girl, if you want. Look, I am wide open,” the Tyrant said, spreading his arms out, as if ready to embrace Fara’s sword.

Fara didn’t move and after a long moment, the Tyrant disappointedly lowered his arms. “Lost the will to fight, huh? Can’t blame you.”

Fara looked at Ae. He could feel her glare on his back, urging him to stand up, but it was impossible. It felt like he was supporting the weight of an entire mountain.

“Where is the Throne of Dusk? He is usually the one who comes to greet me,” the Tyrant asked and looked behind the two. “I am not really interested in fighting the weaklings. Bring Throne out, I want to fight him.”

Ae gnashed his teeth together and ever so slightly managed to resist the pressure battering him down. “Mao is dead…” Ae squeezed the words through his teeth.

“Ah, that’s a shame. So it’s you two, then,” the Tyrant spoke with even greater disappointment than before.

Finally, Ae managed to resist the pressure against him, and stand up. He realized, perhaps a bit too late, that acquiring a new Aspect must mean he acquired new skills. One of them was a movement skill and the other one must be related to his ability to break swords with his finger, or resist immense pressure.

“So, you acquired Retribution, huh? That’s quite a rare Aspect. I am impressed,” the Tyrant spoke. “What is your other Aspect? I can’t quite make it out.”

Ae glared at the Tyrant, and even though his movements were sluggish from the pressure, he still raised his sword, ready to do battle.

“Mm, doesn’t matter, I guess.” The Tyrant drew his sword. It was a simple, iron-looking sword with a slight curve to it. The Tyrant glanced to Fara and pondered her for a moment. Then the Tyrant smiled, “I guess we won’t need her.”

The Tyrant pointed a finger at Fara and this time, a ball of blue energy hovered on the tip of the Tyrant’s finger. A sense of danger flooded Ae’s mind like a warning bell, and he was about to tell Fara to run when a brilliant beam of blue light blinded Ae.

The beam erupted from the Tyrant’s finger, and though it was slim at the origin point, it widened outwards into a cone that completely consumed Fara. It was similar to Ae’s beam from earlier, but several orders of magnitude more powerful.

When the light finally faded and Ae could see again, Fara was gone. There was nothing left of her. It wasn’t just Fara. As Ae followed the trail of destruction that the beam carved into the Ancient Battlefield, Ae realized that Desolation Hill itself was gone. There was only a scar in the devastated ground where the hill used to be. The ground itself was molten in some places, and turned to glass in others.

You are stunned.