My time spent in this cursed place had begun to blur together. I was sick of seeing the color red.
Everywhere in this wretched place was bathed in red light. It only served to make me angrier.
Especially when constantly being reminded of my own imperfections...
I was forced to sleep in the same bed as that psychotic woman. She insisted we do everything together since I was her 'hero' and 'role model'.
We slept, ate, bathed, and trained together.
Although since I was in such a weakened state, I couldn't fight. It was more like watching her fight her own soldiers as practice.
Sometimes, we would take trips to the surface on her 'patrols'. This was to make sure that the nomadic peoples living down there didn't try to build anything larger than a tent.
And yes...there were apparently people living down there, to my surprise. Some animals and monsters thrived in the black desert. The people would hunt them for food. It was a miserable existence.
Regardless, one day, Eris dragged me back to the throne room of the fortress in the sky.
The Queen and High Priestess were already here.
"What's this all about?" I said in a low tone.
"It's time! The stars are aligned! The moon will appear and bathe us in its light!" Eris said.
"Moon...? Aren't we in the moon?" I asked.
"No, dummy! Elpys isn't a moon! It's a fortress in the sky! I don't care if we call it Crimson Moon! We have a real moon, you know?" Eris said.
I knew about the stars being cloaked by the Crimson Moon, but...I had never heard of another moon existing in this realm...
By the gods, I hate you so much!
"Fine... What does the moon have to do with the ceremony?" I said.
"We need natural moonlight to make it work. Luckily, since this is the darkest of the dark realms, that isn't a problem. Daytime never comes here. First of all, you might wanna take your robe off. This could get messy."
"I only have underwear on under this," I said.
"Don't care. Do it."
I reluctantly removed my robe and cast it aside.
As I did this...
"Oooooh..." Both Rina and Rena said in unison.
"Mom, aunt Rena, please open the skylight," Eris said.
They both raised their arms and machinery began to move on the ceiling.
From here, I saw a massive hole open in the center of the room. Many layers began to open up after this one until the sky could be seen. Finally, mirrors were moved in place to reflect the moon's light.
Whenever it arrived, that is...
Eris stripped most of her clothes off and smiled at me. She beckoned me closer and I reluctantly moved over to her.
"Do you accept the Eye of Destruction?" She asked.
"Yes. I accept it wholeheartedly."
She leaned close until her face was mere centimeters from mine.
"Eye of Destruction, I have deemed this one worthy of your power! In my time of desire, I command you to fuse your essence with his!" Eris said.
As she spoke, we were bathed in bright moonlight. A crimson magic circle appeared on the floor.
Something about the crude shape of the lines made me believe that it had previously been drawn in blood, then erased.
Eris reached up as she pulled back slightly. Her hand was cloaked in a black claw. She pulled the Eye of Destruction out of her left socket and it moved closer to me.
"Heheh...this is goodbye for now. It was fun, Mizik. Thanks for being my friend!" Eris said with a cheerful smile.
Friend...?
The eye dispersed and the energies went into my left eye.
As soon as this happened, Eris hugged me affectionately.
Then...she was reduced to ashes.
I felt a tingling sensation in my head, which turned into searing agony.
The Queen and High Priestess stood at opposing sides of the circle and cast a magic field over my body.
I collapsed to the ground as I began to feel a searing pain in my chest. I looked down and saw that the heart device had become red-hot. My body felt like it was melting from the inside out.
I tried to claw at it as energy exploded outward from the Heart of the World. It shot out in a pillar into the sky.
Finally, I'd had enough. I used what little magic I could muster to summon a telekinesis spell. I pulled the heart device from my chest and threw it away.
My chest began burning hotter until I was enveloped in a black aura. The energy I released came back and slammed onto my body, creating an explosion.
Moments later, I felt another tingling sensation in my left eye...then it ceased.
I felt nothing but pain as I looked down at my chest.
My body was regenerating, but I could see my own heart beating in my chest momentarily. It had turned completely black with the energy now flowing through my veins.
I slowly sat up and looked around.
The throne room had been completely trashed and the two girls restraining my wild magic had been blown away.
One of them was unconscious, but the other was trying her best to wake her.
It seemed like a desperate situation...
I reached out my hand and a thread of black energy extended to her.
Her eyes opened immediately.
"Ah...I'm alive...?" Rena said.
"Thank Eris!" Rina said as she hugged her sister.
"He...he saved my life... He pulled me back to myself..." Rena said.
I stood to my feet as the two continued their touching moment and looked at my hands. Then I opened my status menu.
{New ability(s) gained!}
{Passive ability: Avatar of Destruction.
Withered Army: The user is now capable of summoning the Withered Army. A legion of phantoms capable of corrupting and withering anything they touch down into nothingness. Soldiers possess multiple forms of attack and their power scales off of the user. They are absolutely loyal and may use every ability that the user wields.
Absolute Destroyer: The user is capable of shattering anything they touch and reducing both objects and magic in their vicinity to nothingness. This ability also allows the user to wither things just as their army does.
Elder Essence: The Avatar of Destruction is bound to the Elder Core. As a result, all Avatar abilities will be drastically reduced when out of range of the Elder Core. When in proximity of the Elder Core, all abilities will be exponentially increased.
Avatar's Armory: The Eye of Destruction has granted the user the ability to call upon its powerful armaments. These armaments include a set of two clawed gauntlets known as the 'Ravagers'. These gauntlets amplify the power to destroy and protect the user from withering and deconstruction effects.}
I noted that the Heart of the World passive seemed to have fused with the Avatar of Destruction passive. I was quite pleased.
"Ah, that's better. I should be able to kill Valtheim now," I said.
I looked around and saw the doors of the throne room open.
A man walked in and bowed his head. Judging from the orange, glowing eye in his left socket, it was Castra. The Avatar of Chaos.
"Castra...I presume?" I said.
"Yes sir! We have never met, but you knew my name right away! I'm impressed!" Castra said.
"What do you want with me? Have you come to start a fight?" I said.
In my current state, fighting was definitely possible. My power had not only returned, but had been magnified greatly. In fact, I was certain that I could even kill Difar in my current state.
"No! Never! A-and...certainly nothing lewd...hahaha...ha... I just wanted to say that it was I who forced everyone to gather in the Order realm! If not for me, you never would have gained the Eye of Destruction!"
"I see. You want a reward for doing me such a service... Is that it?" I said with a smile.
"Why, I had no intention of suggesting such a thing, but the new Avatar of Destruction is generous! I would gladly accept any form of-"
I manifested the black gauntlet on my right hand and grabbed Castra by his face. I picked him up and glared daggers into his very soul.
"IT WAS YOU!!! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO LURED THAT CRAZY BITCH INTO THE ORDER REALM!!!" I roared.
Cast a looked terrified.
"P-PLEASE HAVE MERCY!!! I DIDN'T-"
"MY SHIP GOT SHOT DOWN BECAUSE OF YOU! ONE OF MY ALLIES DIED BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS AND MY WIVES WERE INJURED!!!"
I heard something dripping on the floor and saw that Castra had emptied his bladder in fear.
"Disgusting."
I fired a blast of black magic out of my hand and killed Castra. After that, I held the Eye of Chaos in my hand.
I could still see his soul inside of it...screaming in terror.
Instead of worrying about it, I clutched my hand and dispersed it. The Eye returned to a dormant state just as it had for Triglavikk, over a year ago.
I turned to the two sisters, whom had begun to approach me.
"You two...I'm sorry, but I have to leave this place. I've already spent far too much time here and the rest of creation is in danger."
"We understand..." Rena said.
"Eris kept you here...but you have a duty of your own to fulfill..." Rina said.
They both seemed sad.
"I can't promise I'll see you ever again. Or that this world will survive what's about to happen. Just know that I'm sorry things turned out this way," I said.
"It's alright. The last year was fun," Rena said.
"You made us lots of tasty food and told us stories...very fun..." Rina said.
"I had very little else to do. Now then, I have to get going. I'll be stopping by Eris' old room before I leave. Goodbye."
I turned and left the throne room and headed for Eris' room. After spending over a year in this place, I'd gotten a good feel for the layout.
Once I arrived, I grabbed my old armor and attempted to put it on. Somehow...I had grown out of it. Curiously enough, I felt a few inches taller than before as well.
I decided to put on one of the robes I'd been wearing before and deposited my armor back in my inventory for the time being.
I would deal with my bodily changes later.
Then, I had a thought...
"Maybe I should grab the Eye of War before I go? But where is it...?"
"Should be in the nightstand top drawer. There's a small box in there with the Eye," said a voice in my head.
"Thanks... Wait. What the hell!?"
"Heeeeeey best friend! You're so cool!!! The way you killed Castra was amazing! He was all like: AHHHHHHH DON'T KILL ME-...SPLAT!!!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HEAD!?!?"
"We fused! Remember? I told you a while back that I wouldn't die from this. I said I wanted a front row seat to the destruction you'll cause! Although, I did almost die..."
"Go away!!!"
"I don't wanna! Besides, it's your fault I was able to return, anyway. When you used the Eye's power, it pulled me back from the edge of nothingness. Now I have the strength to speak again! This gives me so many ideas! Lots of possibilities!"
"Like what...?"
"Like...if you keep using it, maybe I'll be able to take over for you sometimes and fight in your place!"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I already have Vengeance to do that for me!"
"Hmmm...nah. This is what I wanna do. I'm dead set on it!"
"Well, there goes my plan... I'll be using it sparingly from now on then. Nothing you say will convince me otherwise."
"Awww... Okaaaaaaay... But just know that eventually, I'll be strong enough to take over. I won't ruin your life, but I plan to have lot of fun breaking stuff."
"By the gods...this must be how Isabella felt..."
I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts. For now, it seemed like her presence had gone away. I was dreading this....
Regardless, I got the Eye of War out of the top drawer and placed it in my inventory. Right next to the Eye of Chaos.
After that, I opened the door to the balcony and leaped off, plummeting to the ground.
As soon as I landed, I dusted myself off and walked over to the gateway. I held my hand out to it.
The Eye of Destrucion flashed and the gateway roared to life.
"I should probably check on Estelyn... The Cursebreaker might still be in Excelsis. But they'll be back for me at any time. Rather than force them to come here, I'll try to meet them in the Peace realm."
I nodded to myself and changed the destination to the Order realm. Then I walked through.
I was quickly transported and fell straight down as soon after arriving.
Luckily, I managed a shaky landing thanks to my reflexes. I'd forgotten that the platform the gateway sat on had been utterly annihilated.
Now, unless someone could fly or jump really high, escape would be impossible.
Or...I suppose they could simply stack rubble until they made a staircase.
Regardless, I began walking through the ruined realm. I kept walking for almost an hour. The most irritating part of all of this was the fact that I had to traverse this ruined city in wooden sandals with a long robe.
Eventually...I heard something behind me.
I turned and saw a massive shape pass through the gateway. A familiar shape...
A large ship had entered the Order realm.
I could only smile as I saw it.
"Well...they certainly got along well without me," I said aloud.
I tapped the communicator on my wrist.
"This is Captain Mizik Iratus of the Cursebreaker. How is everyone doing?"
* * *
As the Warden of Death fell to pieces, the Exo-Generals of the Corruption dropped to their knees.
"Well...that was annoying. The monsters here are pretty powerful..." Said the white-haired man standing before them.
It was, of course, Cain Difar, the Abyssal god of Corruption.
"Lord Difar..."
"That Demon King you told me about. Where is he?" Difar said, interrupting Axiom.
"Mizik Iratus killed him during the conflict in the Order realm. We were tied up with the Cursebreaker's crew as well as the Avatars of Tanavol. They have joined his cause," Axiom said.
"I see... Well, if you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself. I hate to think he'll see me and say that he was right...because he was. I have no intention of honoring a contract that will lead to my death."
"Of course, Lord Difar," Axiom said.
"To think he would actually succeed in making himself stronger! Ridiculous! Ugh...I feel like I've been played for a fool... That bastard child is now a threat to me..."
"No one could ever-"
"Axiom, I'll let you know when I want someone to kiss my ass. Shut up," Difar said angrily.
Axiom bowed his head to the ground.
"Lord Difar... Punish...?" Valtheim said.
"No. He's just an idiot, Valtheim. Now then...let's keep an eye on them for now. If they find a way into the Central realm, we'll follow. Until then, we wait," Difar said.
"Yes, Lord Difar. Am I to assume that we'll ambush them in the Central realm?" Axiom said.
"Duh? I thought that was obvious. Now...GET UP, ALL OF YOU!!! We have work to do!"