The sky was filled with ash and smoke, and the buildings were shattered everywhere. Rivers of blood flowed, carrying chunks of crushed flesh from the wars. Amidst these ruins stood a towering spire, seemingly out of place, bathed in the light of the stars from the heavens, giving it an aura of eternity.
In front of it stood four armed individuals, breathing heavily, covered in fresh blood that indicated their exhaustion and fatigue. The man in the tattered cloak raised his head among them. His features were handsome, but unfortunately, they were marred by exhaustion and blood. He spoke angrily, "Now, let me kill that self-centered bastard. He wasn't satisfied with deceiving us when we were young. Now it seems he's completely lost his mind."
The man carrying a black sword in its sheath, breathing with difficulty, replied, "Hah, William was our friend when we were young. The least I can offer him is a final rest by my own hand."
At that moment, the woman in the blue cloak with blue hair interjected coldly, "William's crimes have long surpassed our authority. Lucius, you can no longer cover for him. His only fate now is either death by our hands or being taken to the last fortress for public execution to boost morale. These are your responsibilities as the Dragon Slayer Prince for the human race."
Hearing this cold analysis from Olivia, signs of anger, sorrow, and acceptance appeared on the weary face of Lucius with the black sword. He replied coolly, "As expected from the Eyes of the Sky, Olivia Henrietta Eden. A cold and ideal analysis to reach the optimal outcome. The past and emotions don't matter." But he turned his face, his gaze filled with anger towards the woman who hadn't spoken a word yet. She had white hair, pale skin, and hollow, empty eyes. Even the exhaustion of battle hadn't affected her hollow eyes. "I can understand Liam's anger at betrayal or Olivia's pragmatism, but what about you, Claire? You were the closest to William. He treated you like a sister, and now you show no reaction. Are you even alive?!"
Liam showed signs of distress, and even Olivia fell silent. In reality, although they were childhood friends, their paths had diverged at some point on the transcendent path. Whether it was Liam Morningstar, the dominant force over Prana, Lucius Pendragon, the Dragon Slayer Prince, or Olivia Henrietta Eden, the Lady of Ether, their time was limited to reach the top, and they couldn't stay close.
William didn't want to remain close to them. No one wants to be a firefly next to the moon.
Unlike Claire Klein Hart, due to various circumstances, they remained friends for a long time.
Claire didn't care about their gazes or the past. She simply replied with boredom and monotony, "If you can't kill him, leave it to me and stop the nonsense... instead of bringing up this past."
Their conflict was interrupted by the sound of quiet footsteps.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The sound of those monotonous steps imposed pressure and tension, despite lacking transcendent power. The owner of the steps wore a black suit and held a decorated cane, leaning on it as he walked out of the darkness of the tower's corridor into the light. His face appeared... a handsome face in his early thirties, showing signs of maturity and wisdom, with black hair mixed with white. His blue eyes, like a calm ocean, radiated wisdom and insight. With his black suit, he looked as if he was going to a party, not facing the strongest beings in the human realm who wanted to kill him. He placed his hand on his heart and greeted them nobly and theatrically, "Hello, companions of the past, stars of the present, and executioners of the future."
Then, as if concluding a funny joke, he said with a smile, "What do you think of my offer? Since you're knocking on my door, it means the western borders have fallen, and humanity is besieged in the last stronghold."
Liam couldn't contain the anger in his veins, like volcanic lava threatening to erupt. Millions of humans had died, and the bastard was laughing. If he felt any guilt towards William, it was gone now, and he decided to kill him with his own hands, if not for Lucius restraining him. "You scoundrel, is this a joke to you? Our friends are dead, our families are dead. You caused the genocide of humanity out of pure hatred, and you laugh? I swear I'll kill you."
Hearing these words didn't anger William. Instead, he laughed... laughed as if he hadn't laughed before, to the point that tears burst from his eyes. With words steady and mixed with a bit of hatred, he said, "You're still foolish, Liam. Why would I do this if it wasn't my goal? Let this race, which only cares about power, go to hell and die. I don't think this world will miss another race of power-crazed lunatics."
At that moment, the silent Claire intervened, imposing her magical pressure on William as she approached him. With her hollow eyes and cold manner, as if stating heavenly truths, she said, "Don't try to portray yourself as a revolutionary or a fighter. You're just a human who wasn't born with enough talent to become transcendent. That's why you hate this world. You weren't satisfied with being born into power. No, you're greedy. You exploited this power for evil to cover up your feelings of inadequacy and insecurity." With each step she took, she imposed more pressure on William, who began to breathe with difficulty. When Lucius saw this, he intervened with his final offer, speaking sincerely and extending his hand, "William, this is your last chance. Despite not being transcendent, you possess a mind that earned you the title 'Ocean of Wisdom.' Help us save what can be saved, and I'll try to save you."
Hearing these words, even Olivia, with her iron will, reacted with anger and disdain, deciding to approach William and end this farce. "Are you kidding me? Damn it, our comrades, friends, and families are dead, and you say there's atonement? When will you stop playing the role of the big brother and pampering us, Lucius? We don't need him... his fate is death here."
Seeing their argument over his life or death didn't make William grateful. Instead, he felt a bit amused. It reminded him why he hated them when he was young and distanced himself from them. Talking about him as if he weren't present, treating him as unworthy... he loved this arrogance. But they didn't notice that his smile began to shrink and disappear, and his bright, wise eyes started to change into cold, calculating eyes radiating indifference, as if he had turned into a completely different person. He spoke in a cold, indifferent voice,
: You're right, Claire, I am selfish and resentful towards the world. However, I don't believe the sin of eradicating the human race is deserved, despite my wishes to commit it. From the awakening of Hydra to the war of the planes to the rousing of the ancestors, these are merely sins I exploited for my own benefit, but I did not commit them "
Then he took a few steps towards the tower, pulled a dagger from his suit, and muttered, "Just a mortal human like me, obsessed with returning, can't do it. But at least I can convey my remorse."
Suddenly, formations of blood began to appear on a global scale, in every battlefield. The battlefield of Lucius, Liam, Claire, and Olivia appeared in the gray sky, with stars aligning perpendicularly over the Tower of Stars, merging the energy-filled tower and the blood formations to create a magical formation in rainbow colors. They all looked and spoke simultaneously, "The alignment of the stars." They looked at William to find him in the middle of the magical formation, pulling a dagger from his suit and stabbing it into his heart. "No!" they screamed in unison, with different reasons but sharing one emotion: grief.
They stopped their battle and approached his body, carrying it among the four of them, their faces not showing their emotions. "Let's go. We still have other battles on the human frontlines. There's no time to grieve for him or those who died before him."