Stood amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, Adonis seemed unbothered.
Unlike what most would believe seeing him smile in such a brutal context, he hadn't lost himself.
This smile was a melancholic one, full of regret and sorrow yet at the same time, it embodied hope and peace.
This was Adonis coming to terms with the brutality he'd undergone in the last three years, fully accepting it as a part of his past and a defining factor of his identity.
Ever since he'd freed himself, he'd tried his best to push these thoughts away and constantly have something else occupying his mind, in fear of what may happen if he faced his own trauma.
He couldn't collapse, he didn't want to but now, all this resistance seemed useless.
Why fear facing what had already happened?
'Hm?'
Adonis turned his head and looked at Thyrn.
He could see the fear in his eyes, the lack of conviction, the lack of trust in himself and so much more.
As he looked at him, Adonis saw a version of himself he never wanted to embody.
His blade moved and Thyrn's screams came to an end, his body dropping dead, his face still painted with an expression of utter and absolute fear.
Adonis looked around.
One boy. Six hundred and fifty nine dead bodies.
The blue barrier that separated the two battlefields faded and Adonis finally got a look at Rylo's situation.
His eyes widened.
On Rylo's side, every single living being stood exactly where they had been before the barrier was erected, the only difference being their heads or rather, the lack of it.
They'd all been cleanly beheaded.
BANG!
Adonis was woken out of his thoughts by a powerful punch that instantly shattered all his ribs and sent him flying.
The figure who'd punched him followed his thrashing body and grabbed his head before violently slamming it into the earth below.
Again and again and again, Adonis was thrown around and brutalised by this figure.
No matter how many times he seemed to layer his own power, he found himself powerless before this shadow, its speed too fast for him to even see its face.
Yet, he didn't give up and whenever he could, he threw out a punch, or atleast, tried to.
For hours, this tango ensued.
"Not bad."
Adonis' neck found itself tightly grasped by a set of tender fingers as on the other side of it, Rylo stood unblemished, with a slight smile on his face.
Adonis on the other hand was as bloody and broken as one could be.
"You truly are an interesting seed, truly. Perhaps the most interesting seed I've seen in the past Dao cycle." He mumbled under his breath.
Rylo sighed.
"If you survive this, come look for me. The name is Ryokan Celestis from the Sundered Heart Lineage."
"Good luck."
And with this, Rylo, or rather, Ryokan, threw Adonis' limp body over the edge of the cliff they'd been fighting on.
Soon, Adonis' body fell into the abyss that was the Brimstone river and his body vanished.
***
Above the clouds of Ishva'al, a grand palace silently floated within the void.
It was a beautiful palace of gold and white, filled with fountains of gorgeous azure water. Flowers upon flowers littered the place as overall, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a man made paradise.
Within one of the many gardens of this palace, a man tended to a few crops.
His beauty was beyond the comprehension of mortals.
He had long blonde hair and deep azure pupils that radiated power and confidence. His jawline was sharp and his features flawless.
He wore pristine white robes that only added to his majesty as the silver jewels he wore perfectly complemented his aura.
Suddenly, behind the man, a veiled woman appeared.
"Master, there has been a change."
"Tell me about it."
"The Blood Cult seems to have set their eyes on the young master. They've been tracking him and have even managed to corrupt the young master's personal guard."
The man stopped tending at the flowers in front of him as he began to caress his chin in deep thought.
"Interesting. As long as they don't use any Higher Ones to attack him, let it be. It'll temper him. Anything else?"
"Yes. A lot has been happening in the continents of Ishva'al. First, from what we've gathered, the Styl mansion has been destroyed. This means that-"
A horrifying wave of power descended from the skies above and blanketed over the entire palace as the man heard these words.
His face, which had previously been calm, suddenly found itself twisted into a disgustingly evil frown, full of malice and hate.
A golden mantle of energy suddenly erupted from his body as his aura only kept rising alongside his fury.
"Continue."
The veiled woman, which had been forced to her knees, her body trembling in fear, was forced to continue.
"Y-yes, master. As I was gonna say, this either means that the traitor's son has died or that he has escaped. From what we've gathered on the scene, it's most likely that he was killed by Lord Ariel."
"Last we heard, Lord Ariel had been praising the name of a so-called cult before he vanished. It's very possible that the Blood Cult got a hold of his soul and used him to deal a blow to us." She rapidly said, afraid she may annoy her master by speaking too slowly.
Patriarch Aksal's aura couldn't seem to hold back anymore as it soared and covered the entirety of the palace before it shattered it and engulfed the entire void around them.
"I should've fucking killed him myself."
***
Under the lands of Ishva'al, near its deepest depths, a man sat cross legged in the darkness of an air pocket.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, revealing the void of his eye sockets.
A grin spread across his face as he heard the roar of rage that echoed from Patriarch Aksal.
"The Son of Hate is finally free."