The battlefield had already been destroyed.
Now, it was being erased from existence.
Auram staggered across the shattered remains of the dungeon. His breathing had become ragged and uneven, every inhale burning his lungs and every exhale trembling from exhaustion. The brilliant power that had once surrounded him now flickered weakly around his armor, fading with every passing second.
Yet despite everything, he remained standing.
"Not... yet..."
His grip tightened around his remaining blade.
High above the battlefield, Liblee watched him with detached amusement. There was no concern in her expression. No caution. Only curiosity.
"You're still standing?" she asked softly. "How persistent."
Auram gave no response.
Words no longer mattered.
He gathered what little strength remained in his body and surged forward one final time.
His muscles screamed in protest.
His wounds reopened.
His vision blurred.
Yet he still attacked.
His blade rose overhead as he launched himself toward her in a desperate final strike.
Liblee didn't move until the last possible moment.
Then she casually raised one hand.
CLANG!
The blade stopped instantly.
Her fingers closed around it with effortless ease.
Auram's eyes widened.
"What...?"
"Too slow."
Her voice carried no emotion.
No anger.
No satisfaction.
Only finality.
Then she twisted her wrist.
The captured blade turned in her grasp and drove forward.
THUD!
Steel pierced directly through Auram's left shoulder.
Blood burst outward.
Pain exploded through his body.
For a brief moment, time seemed to stop.
Then Liblee smiled.
"Let me show you something."
The crimson gemstone embedded within one of her wings began to glow. The light intensified rapidly as heat flooded the battlefield. The air warped around her.
Then she unleashed it.
A massive torrent of fire erupted from her hand.
The blast swallowed Auram instantly.
BOOOOOOM!
Flames devoured everything.
Stone melted.
The ground collapsed.
Auram's body was slammed downward with overwhelming force.
CRASH!
A gigantic crater formed beneath him.
When the flames finally faded, Auram lay motionless at its center.
His armor had shattered.
Fragments were scattered across the battlefield.
One of his blades was gone entirely.
His body barely moved.
Broken.
Exhausted.
Defeated.
"Pathetic."
Liblee sighed softly.
Then she noticed movement below.
Ryota.
He was standing.
Barely.
His body swayed unsteadily as he struggled to remain upright.
"Hah..."
He bent down and picked up a small rock.
It was ordinary.
Worthless.
Then he threw it.
The stone arced slowly through the air.
Liblee simply stepped aside.
The rock passed harmlessly behind her.
She frowned.
"How did you get back up?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"I was certain my attack knocked you unconscious."
Following the rock's path, her gaze shifted toward where Ryota had fallen earlier.
There, she saw Rio.
The silver-haired swordswoman was still standing despite her condition. Her body trembled from exhaustion, but her eyes remained sharp and focused.
Understanding appeared on Liblee's face.
"I see."
A slow smile spread across her lips.
"So you were the annoying variable. Not him."
Her attention settled fully upon Rio.
For the first time, genuine interest appeared in her eyes.
"Interesting."
She took a single step forward.
"I wonder what Saros' reaction would be..."
Her smile widened.
"...when her final champion becomes my puppet."
Rio met her gaze without flinching.
"Try it."
"Gladly."
White energy gathered in Liblee's palm.
It condensed rapidly into a beam of concentrated light.
"RIO! MOVE!"
Ryota shouted as he forced his battered body forward.
But Rio couldn't move.
The ground beneath her suddenly shifted.
Stone rose around her legs.
The rock wrapped tightly around her ankles and calves, locking her in place.
"Tch!"
She struggled.
Nothing happened.
The white beam continued growing stronger.
Auram forced himself upright.
"NO!"
He lunged forward.
Liblee didn't even look at him.
"Stay down."
Two gemstones embedded within her wings pulsed simultaneously.
Blue.
Green.
Lightning exploded from the blue gemstone.
CRACK!
The bolt struck Ryota directly.
His body convulsed violently before being hurled across the battlefield.
At the same moment, a violent burst of wind erupted from the green gemstone.
Auram was caught instantly.
The gale lifted him from the ground and slammed him back into the crater.
BOOM!
Dust exploded upward.
Silence followed.
Liblee smiled.
"Chronos Eye should be a very entertaining tool once it's under my control."
The beam reached its peak.
There was no escape.
No time.
No opportunity.
"Goodbye."
She fired.
A pillar of pure white light shot toward Rio.
Then someone moved.
Faster than anyone expected.
Girsu appeared directly in front of Rio and shoved her aside.
The beam struck him instead.
Rio's eyes widened.
"Girsu!"
Light consumed him completely.
For a brief moment, he remained standing.
Enduring.
Holding the attack back through sheer will.
Then he turned slightly toward Rio.
His voice was weak.
"Save... my sister..."
A pause.
"I failed..."
Cracks spread across his body.
Light poured through them.
Then he shattered.
Not into dust.
Not into ash.
His entire existence condensed into a single dark-blue gemstone.
The gem fell silently through the air.
Auram's voice broke.
"No..."
Rio stared in disbelief.
But above them, Liblee laughed.
"How touching."
She extended her hand.
The gemstone floated upward and settled into her palm.
"I suppose Girsu will do."
She examined it briefly.
Then looked back toward them.
"Either way, I got myself a new puppet."
Her laughter echoed throughout the ruins.
Then her gaze shifted toward Auram.
Broken.
Defeated.
Still trying to stand.
"And you..."
She raised her second hand.
"I'll be taking that too."
Energy surged.
Auram froze.
The power within him began to tear itself free.
His body glowed.
The bond between him and Indratos ruptured.
A brilliant explosion of light erupted from his chest.
The dragon spirit was forcibly extracted.
The immense power split into seven dragon forms before being compressed into a single rainbow-colored gemstone.
Auram collapsed instantly.
Powerless.
Empty.
"Indratos..."
His voice sounded hollow.
The gemstone floated into Liblee's grasp.
Now she held both treasures.
Girsu's essence in one hand.
The combined power of Indratos in the other.
"Perfect."
Her smile radiated satisfaction.
At the ground below, Rio raised her musket.
Her hands shook violently.
Her body had reached its absolute limit.
Still, she pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The bullet struck Liblee directly.
And vanished.
Completely meaningless.
Liblee laughed.
"I have no use for any of you anymore."
With a snap of her fingers, a dark portal opened behind her.
Distorted energy swirled within its depths.
"I already have everything I wanted."
She stepped toward it.
Then paused.
The crimson gemstone pulsed once more.
Violently.
Unstably.
"If you survive long enough to tell the story..."
She glanced back over her shoulder.
A smile spread across her face.
"...I'll look forward to our next meeting."
Then she unleashed one final attack.
A condensed wave of destructive energy erupted from her hand.
After releasing it, she stepped through the portal.
And vanished.
The attack struck the ground.
The world exploded.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The dungeon collapsed completely.
Stone disintegrated.
Light consumed everything.
Sound vanished.
Then returned all at once.
The resulting detonation was catastrophic.
Three figures fell helplessly through the destruction as the world around them came crashing down.
The world ended in fire.
Not through slow collapse.
Not through gradual ruin.
But through complete annihilation.
The crimson wave consumed everything in its path.
Auram ran.
Every step felt like agony.
His body was on the verge of collapse.
Yet he continued moving.
Ryota rested unconscious in his arms.
Beside him was Indratos, reduced to a small, fragile form after losing most of his power.
Ahead of him, Rio was falling.
Fading.
Barely conscious.
"Not again..."
Auram's voice cracked.
The red wave approached.
Closer.
Closer.
There was no escape.
No route to safety.
Only one final choice.
Auram stopped.
Turned.
And raised his hand.
Golden light erupted behind them.
A barrier formed.
Incomplete.
Fragile.
Flickering.
Yet real.
The protective sphere wrapped around all of them just as the explosion arrived.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The barrier trembled violently.
Cracks appeared immediately.
The force was beyond anything Auram should have been able to withstand.
Yet he held it.
Not through strength.
Not through power.
But through pure determination.
"Hold..."
More cracks appeared.
The barrier bent under pressure.
Threatened to shatter.
"Just a little more..."
Everything else disappeared.
The dungeon ceased to exist.
When the light finally faded, there was nothing left.
Only open sky.
Rio slowly opened her eyes.
For a moment, she couldn't understand what she was seeing.
Blue sky stretched overhead.
White clouds drifted peacefully across the horizon.
A cool breeze brushed against her face.
"We're... outside?"
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
Pain immediately shot through her arm when she attempted to move.
Bandages.
Someone had carefully treated her wounds.
She slowly sat up.
Her HP remained at only five percent.
Still alive.
Barely.
Looking around, she found Auram sitting nearby.
Silent.
Motionless.
His head remained lowered.
Beside him rested Indratos.
The tiny dragon slept peacefully beneath several bandages.
Then Rio noticed something else.
A weight against her side.
Warm.
Comfortable.
She looked down.
Ryota was unconscious beside her, his arms wrapped around her as if afraid she might disappear.
"...Idiot."
She sighed.
Though she didn't immediately push him away.
Carefully, she freed herself and stood.
Her legs trembled beneath her.
Then she turned toward Auram.
"You protected us."
No response.
"Thank you."
She hesitated.
"And... I'm sorry."
Her voice softened.
"For what happened to your friends."
Auram remained silent.
Everything had been taken from him.
His weapons.
His power.
His companions.
Everything.
Finally, he spoke.
"We lost."
The words barely escaped his lips.
"She won."
His fists tightened.
"Just like before."
A long silence followed.
"She always wins."
Hours passed.
The wind continued blowing.
The world moved on.
Yet the three of them remained trapped in that defeat.
Eventually, Ryota stirred.
His eyes opened slowly.
"What happened?"
Rio answered quietly.
"Liblee escaped."
A pause.
"She destroyed the dungeon."
Another pause.
"Auram saved us."
Ryota looked at Auram.
Really looked at him.
The broken weapons.
The empty expression.
The crushing silence.
Understanding settled in.
"I see."
He stood and walked over.
Rio followed.
"Hey."
Auram didn't look up.
"I know things look hopeless."
No response.
"We lost," Auram whispered.
"I failed."
His hands clenched.
"I wasn't strong enough."
"I couldn't save anyone."
His voice grew quieter.
"Again."
Silence followed.
Then Ryota answered.
"You saved us."
Auram froze.
"That's not failure."
Rio stepped forward.
"I want payback."
Her voice was calm.
Certain.
Not angry.
Not emotional.
Just determined.
"For what she did to you."
"To Lib."
"To Girsu."
"And to us."
She looked directly at him.
"I want answers too."
The memory of Liblee's words lingered in her thoughts.
Saros' champion.
What had she meant?
"I'm not forcing you."
Rio took another step.
"But I am asking."
Her gaze never left his.
"Are you really going to sit here..."
"...and let her win again?"
The wind passed quietly around them.
"We're outmatched."
"We're behind."
"We're barely standing."
Her voice lowered.
"But that doesn't mean we give up."
She placed a hand over her chest.
"I owe Girsu."
A pause.
"I owe him a chance to save his sister."
Her eyes hardened.
"And I'm not letting his sacrifice mean nothing."
Silence lingered.
Then more time passed.
Their HP slowly recovered.
Ten percent.
Thirty percent.
Fifty percent.
Seventy percent.
Eventually they stood.
Without discussing it, they began walking down the mountain path toward the Town of Beginnings.
No expectations.
No certainty.
Only forward.
After a while, Ryota finally spoke.
"Guess this is goodbye."
Neither Rio nor Auram responded.
They simply continued walking.
Then something landed in front of them.
THUD.
A broken sword hilt embedded itself into the ground.
Rio and Ryota stopped.
Turned.
Auram stood behind them.
Indratos stood beside him.
Awake.
Alert.
Determined.
"You're right."
His voice sounded different.
Stronger.
"I failed once."
He tightened his grip.
"And it destroyed everything."
A pause.
"I won't make that mistake again."
He stepped forward.
"I won't let her win this time."
Rio smiled.
A small but genuine smile.
Ryota grinned.
"There you go."
Auram reached into his inventory and threw something toward Rio.
She caught it.
An ancient book.
Heavy.
Wrapped in a talisman glowing with faint power.
Then Auram met her gaze.
"Command me."
His voice never wavered.
"Lead me into battle."
He looked between both of them.
"Let's make this the final game."
A pause.
"The one where she loses."
The air shifted.
A system window appeared before Rio.
Bright.
Clear.
Impossible to mistake.
[Would you like to learn the skill: The World Legacy?]
[YES] [NO]
Silence followed.
But this time it wasn't filled with despair.
It wasn't heavy.
It wasn't hopeless.
It was the silence that came before a beginning.
The silence before a new story.