"W-what the hell is going on, Thalion?" Alaric's voice tore through the broken sky, blood speckling his lips as he drifted among the scattered remains of what used to be his palace.
All the while, the old scholar hadn't lifted a finger, just stared through those cracked lenses, sweat tracing pale lines down his temples.
Nothing about tonight came as a shock; two weeks ago, Thalion Eversight had witnessed this very moment play out in countless futures, watching Ash walk through the star-iron doors as if the crown was already his.
Every plan, every artifact, every intricate formation had sprung from those visions.
The necklaces they wore, inscribed with ancient arrays that reduced foreign soul brands to little more than a whisper, had been his idea.
Normally it was a ninety-four percent certainty that the most common timelines would always come true. But now, every one of those futures was in shambles.
"Thalion! What's our next move?" Queen Sara shouted over the wind as golden-pink orbs of unreal flame hurtled toward them like falling stars.
FWOOSH!
BOOOOM!
The paradox balls went off in flawless sync.
Five figures were tossed through the air like ragdolls, landing in smoldering piles around the still, unmoving scholar. The flames that touched their skin didn't burn; they froze, locking blood into crystals and turning each breath into a puff of hoarfrost deep in their lungs.
Teeth clenched and hands trembling, they pushed mana through their cores, shattering the paradox frost at the cost of five percent of their reserves each. It was a heavy price, but better than being frozen into statues of living ice.
Thalion's voice was a ragged whisper, barely cutting through the howling carnage.
"All paths are blurry… no, gone. The ninety-four percent certainty is now zero." His gaze fixed on the monster in human form hovering above the ruins like a god who'd grown tired of mercy.
Absolute Sol Invictus had swallowed the night whole; every photon for miles seemed to be pulled toward Ash alone.
He stood as the last light in the immediate surroundings like a solitary sun wrapped in flesh and paradoxical flame.
The five survivors rose unsteadily, uncorking elixir vials and downing mana-restoring pills.
Ash watched with a wide grin, golden-pink eyes glinting with predatory amusement.
Seris and Thalion had already piqued his interest with their presence, but that alone wasn't enough. What he wanted now was proof—proof of a spirit that wouldn't bend, of grit that would hold firm even if the heavens themselves yielded.
'I need real grit.'
He spoke with a lazy, warm tone, like chatting about the weather.
"I gave you enough time to impress me. You did alright." His gaze swept over the six of them, sharp as a blade at their throats.
"Now I want to see who's worth keeping."
It was a lie—he already knew exactly who he would keep, just tossing out a shred of false hope.
Then he dropped.
No soaring, no flashy aura—just a smooth, controlled fall until his bare feet hovered above the rubble, the air holding him steady as marble.
Round two began.
Ash dashed straight at King Alaric.
The king roared, unleashing lunar and gravity mana in a desperate sphere of crushing force.
As it met Ash's circle of absolute light, gravity itself flared and burned to nothing.
Ash continued through the collapsing sphere as if it were just morning fog.
[Absolute Density] gathered into his right fist until his knuckles bore the weight of an entire mountain range.
BOOOM!
Alaric's chest caved in, his massive frame folding inward before blasting backward, gouging a three-hundred-meter trench through the western wing and coming to rest under the ruins of the bell tower.
Ash didn't even pause.
Queen Sara and Prince Cael struck in flawless mother-son unison, sending twin surges of absolute-zero frost and crushing gravity spiraling toward him like divine judgment.
Ash lifted one lazy hand.
Every photon nearby obeyed, condensing into a molten-gold lance hotter than a star's core, tearing straight through both assaults.
Ice flashed to steam; gravity shattered like glass.
In an instant, he was on them—his left hand resting lightly on Sara's pale throat, his right on Cael's. His gaze locked with theirs for a single, still second.
Panic. Fear. Doubt. Seeing it all, he smiled.
Cinderlight, his favorite kind of glow—brown-black yet brilliantly bright—bloomed in their chests.
BOOOM!
Ribs burst outward in a spray of scalding bone and blood, organs cooked through in an instant. What remained of mother and son collapsed in smoldering ruin, lifeless before hitting the ground.
Mirene screamed—a raw, shattering mix of grief and fury that seemed to split the night. Hundreds of flawless illusions flared into being, each gripping blades of shimmering light sharp enough to cut souls.
Ash let out a slow breath.
Light folded into another perfect sphere around him.
Every illusion that brushed against the sphere vanished as if it had never been, wiped from sight and sound. He kept moving forward, each step erasing dozens of Mirenes until only the true princess was left, trembling, with tears freezing on her cheeks.
He halted just an arm's length away.
"You're beautiful," he said softly, almost tenderly. "But beauty without backbone is just decoration."
It might have seemed like she was fiercely defending her kingdom, but Ash saw right through the masks these people wore.
With a simple flick of her finger, a slender beam of cinderlight struck her forehead. In an instant, Princess Mirene Velora ceased to exist—no body, no blood, just the faint scent of burnt moonlight where she had once stood.
Four were gone.
Only Seris and Thalion remained.
Seris stood cloaked in drifting crimson ash, the Eternal Pyre Heart pulsing beneath her skin like a second, raging sun. Her gaze met his without a hint of fear—just raw, unyielding defiance.
Thalion's cracked lenses slid from his face, shattering against the rubble. For the first time in five hundred years, the future lay in total darkness, and the calm in his ancient eyes was almost peaceful.
Ash's smile was warm, bright, and real.
He reached behind his back and drew a sword forged of pure light, no hilt, no guard, just a screaming blade of molten gold and paradox pink that hurt reality to perceive.
"Let's dance properly."
He blurred.
Seris met him head-on.
Twin daggers, forged from ash, flared to life in her hands.
With a roar, the battlefield bent to her will as [Ember's Dominion] turned every ash she'd ever conjured into a swirling storm of molten blades capable of toppling cities.
Ash shook his head with a teasing click of his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Don't you see all light bowing before me?"
Still, her stubborn defiance sparked a warmth in his chest. She knew it was hopeless, yet she struck with everything she had.
That was the grit he craved.
He pushed forward through the storm.
Each ember that landed on his skin flared into gold, reversed course, and shot back to Seris in an instant. She folded her arms, her ash armor solidifying into obsidian thick enough to withstand siege fire.
CRACK.
The light-sword sliced through the guard, armor, and the Eternal Pyre Heart itself, halting just a hair's breadth from her throat.
Ash leaned in until their noses nearly touched, his smile playful and full of delight.
"Ding ding ding," he chimed, voice as light as a child proclaiming a winner. "Congratulations—you've just earned yourself a place in my kingdom."
He pressed two fingers to her forehead and activated [Eros Whisper - 10% MP].
"Now sleep~"
Seris's eyes drifted closed as she crumpled amid the ruins, crimson braids spilling like blood.
The blade disappeared.
Thalion stood unmoving.
Ash glanced at the scholar, tilting his head with casual curiosity. "By now, I'm certain you're the mind behind this grand scheme," he remarked, as though commenting on the weather.
"Tell me—how many futures did you survive?"
"None," Thalion replied evenly. "I only chose the one with the best odds… but even then…"
Ash let out a laugh, quick, sharp, and brimming with delight. "Welcome to the new regime." Then, he deactivated his talents.
In the next heartbeat, light spilled back into the night.
Lanterns glowed once more across the capital. The eclipse had ended—because Ash willed it.
New banners were ready to rise.
Velora was his now....
[EL +200]
[EL: 7,392.5]
[A/N: 10-50 EL is universally gained for killing beings. Due to his physique, he earned 5x more.]