Sereth and company was in total shock. After witnessing Torvak fight for the second time, they were yet again appalled by the extent of his strength.
Sereth stood up from his seat and turned his head over to where Masaru and Aeon sat.
"Are any of you guys going to fight today?" He asked.
Aeon and Masaru just shook their heads.
"I guess I'll head out then." Sereth said as he shimmied past his friends and turned to leave the arena.
As he was leaving he noticed Torvak going back to sit with everyone, and he saw how everyone started interrogating him about how he did all the things he did.
…
Sereth was roaming around the city, he passed by the alleyway where he and Aeon had planted their seeds, he passed the dojo where he and Masaru trained once, and eventually found himself in a area where there was less of a concentration of buildings.
He poked his head in and out of various places, but they were all abandoned and ruined, so there wasn't much of interest. Though, he did notice that it was colder than the city surrounding the arena.
Sereth had walked for about an hour, before he finally came to something interesting.
There was a path, covered by rubble and fragments of the buildings on either side. Sereth moved some of the stone and realized that it curved into a hill.
Without really thinking, Sereth started the climb.
The higher he went, the colder it got. The wind blew gently as the lights of the city started to fade. Eventually, the path opened onto a flat ridge. The peak of the hill. He turned to face the city, and could easily see the massive arena with its blaring lights.
Calling it peaceful didn't feel right. Because there was a thought in Sereth's head that seemed to be repeating itself deep within his thoughts.
"Welcome back"
"Welcome back"
"Welcome back"
Sereth looked out at the arena, which now looked small. He paused for a moment, and then clapped his hands once. A faint white aura appeared around him. He continued to clap as he ran in place as well, the aura only becoming stronger.
Tenrai Shougeki. Sereth's ultimate technique. He takes all the energy he has stored up, and releases it into an all or nothing blast. Because of Sereth's ability to create infinite potential energy, Tenrai Shougeki can be infinitely strong.
Sereth continued this ritual for around a half hour. His aura was flaring off of him like a wildfire.
He out stretched his palm.
His breath heavy and hot.
But then he stopped.
His mind turned back on, and he realized what he was about to do.
The aura flickered away as he fell to his knees. What was wrong with him? He couldn't believe the evil that had invaded his mind. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he looked out at the arena and he remembered his friends.
Aeon. The kind boy who was never worried about anything. The one who always knew what was happening, even if he spoke in riddles.
Torvak. The crazy giant man with crazy giant power. Though he's a little rough around the edges, he cares big time.
Yoru. The pretty girl whom he had just met, but found to be lots of fun. The girl who was witty, sweet, bubbly, but had strength to back herself up.
And lastly, Masaru. The one who brought him back from his rage in his battle against Vilo. The one he trained with. The one who understood him most. Or rather, the one who attempted to understand him the most.
Thalen also briefly came to his mind, but that thought was quickly rejected. After all, he was a nutty guy!
Sereth let out a long sigh. He had recollected himself now, and was thinking about what had happened.
"Was that the influence of someone?" He asked himself, "No… that can't be right…"
"Why not?" a voice spoke from behind.
Sereth whipped around to find nobody behind him, but he could have sworn he felt Thalen Skierth behind him.
Sweat continued to drip down his face as his eyes frantically scanned the horizon. He was wondering if he was sick: considering how he was hearing voices and thought about blowing up everyone he had met while on this journey.
"But you could do it, Sereth Vaelwyn. What is stopping you? You are a transcendent being." The voice spoke again.
He knew for sure that this wasn't Thalen, it was something like the antithesis to the quirky energy Thalen. And yet, somehow, it felt similar.
"Who are you?" Sereth whispered quietly.
The silence stretched thin on the ridge, the cold air stinging his lungs. Then, the voice answered — smooth, patient, unnervingly composed:
"I am not one to bear a name. That would not be the proper way to perceive me. Still… mortals have always been eager to label what they cannot understand. I have been called Screwtape, Jijitoux, The Devil, The Alternate One, and The Grandmaster. The list is… long."
Sereth blinked, his brow furrowed.
"…Isn't Screwtape the name of a character from an old book?"
A quiet, measured laugh rolled through the air — not mocking, but almost indulgent.
"Ah, yes. Your knowledge of old text is… endearing. That little book must be, what, five thousand years old by now? Curious, how your kind reduces eternity into parable."
Sereth's chest tightened. The voice didn't sound like Thalen — not at all — yet there was an echo of him buried in the tone, a sick inversion.
The voice seemed to smile as it spoke again, low and resonant:
"You are not fully integrated, nor fully unintegrated. You walk between states… a transcendent being. Such as you are, there are others who linger on the edges of form and formlessness."
Sereth's breath hitched. The words pressed against him like invisible chains, not cruel, but suffocating in their certainty.
"You will find your way back to me, eventually. All such beings do."
The cold deepened. Sereth's vision blurred at the edges, the ridge folding in on itself.
Then — nothing.
He woke in his quarters, clutching at the sheets, his chest heaving as if he'd sprinted a mile. The walls were still. The silence absolute.
"…What was that?" Sereth muttered, but the whisper tasted hollow. The echo of that voice lingered, smooth and undeniable, as if it had only just left.