Moonlight poured through the tall windows of Azriah's study, silver rays stretching across stacks of books, scattered documents, and intricate magical schematics.
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
At the center of the table sat a small obsidian vial wrapped in crimson sealing cloth.
Inside it—
A liquid darker than night itself slowly swirled.
The Whisper of Spirit.
One of Elysiums most sought after elixirs.
Azriah rested his chin against his intertwined fingers, staring at the vial with narrowed eyes while Sham floated nearby in spiritual form, lazily circling around the room.
"That thing creeps me out," Sham muttered. "Are you gonna drink it or stare at it dramatically until sunrise?"
Azriah smirked faintly.
"Nah It's incomplete."
Sham blinked.
"…Incomplete?"
"The catalyst isn't enough." Azriah tapped the table lightly. "If I consume it now, it'll only partially awaken the effects."
His crimson eyes gleamed.
"I need more material."
Sham sighed. "And let me guess… the material is something normal and easy to get?"
Azriah slowly stood up from his chair.
"No."
That single word alone already told Sham everything he needed to know.
And he hated it.
Azriah grabbed his coat and headed for the door.
"Where are we going now?"
"Asta's study."
The corridors of the Antioch estate were silent at this hour.
Only the soft echo of Azriah's footsteps accompanied the dim golden lights of the manor.
Eventually, he stopped before a large blackwood door.
Knock.
A calm voice answered from inside.
"Enter."
Azriah opened the door.
Asta sat behind a massive desk cluttered with reports and documents. Candles flickered softly around the room while magical projections hovered in the air beside her.
Even now, she was working.
Her sharp silver eyes glanced toward him briefly before returning to the papers.
"You're awake late."
"So are you."
"…Fair point."
Azriah walked toward the desk.
"I need a report."
That finally made Asta look up properly.
"What report?"
"Lyrin's experimental analysis on me."
For the first time since he entered, her expression shifted slightly.
"…Why?"
Azriah crossed his arms.
"I need to understand my body better."
Asta stayed silent.
He continued calmly,
"If I'm going to utilize my abilities properly, I need to know exactly what changed."
The room grew quiet for a moment.
Then Azriah added casually,
"I'll also be leaving for a while."
Asta's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Leaving?"
"I need experience in the wild."
He shrugged.
"And while I'm at it, I'll stop by Ironmere."
"To do what?"
"Get myself a sword."
Asta stared at him for several long seconds.
The silence became oddly heavy.
Then—
"You don't need to lie."
Azriah paused.
Asta slowly opened a drawer and pulled out a thick black document before tossing it across the desk.
Azriah caught it effortlessly.
The title alone made Sham recoil.
Godslayer Protocol.
Even Azriah's brows lifted slightly.
"…Godslayer wow a flashy name isn't it? Makes me cringe"
Asta leaned back in her chair.
"You're heading somewhere dangerous."
Her gaze sharpened.
"And whatever you're planning, it's definitely not just sword shopping."
Azriah chuckled quietly.
"…Sharp as always ma'am."
Asta ignored the compliment.
Instead, she said something unexpected.
"Thank you."
Sham nearly choked.
Azriah blinked once.
"…For?"
"The Auremont situation."
Understanding flickered across his eyes and he turns to leave.
"Ah."
Sham immediately floated closer.
"Wait, hold on—what does she mean by thank you?"
Azriah sighed softly as if explaining things to a child.
"At the party, didn't I publicly embarrass the Auremont heir?"
"…Yeah? What does humiliating Lucien Auremont have to do with anything?"
"I didn't do it because he annoyed me."
Sham frowned.
"Then why?"
Azriah casually flipped through the Godslayer Protocol while answering as he was going back to his room.
"To prevent a blood feud."
Sham stared blankly.
"…What?"
Asta remained silent, allowing him to explain.
Azriah's voice became colder.
"A few days ago, the younger brother of Count Auremont attempted to assault the daughter of the Idrilla Highblood Patriarch in Azeroth."
Sham's expression changed immediately.
"What?"
"He planned everything carefully," Azriah continued. "He was suppose to acquire a suppression artifact produced by Antioch factories."
A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes.
"The artifact neutralized mana flow temporarily."
Sham slowly realized where this was going.
"…So she couldn't fight back."
"Exactly."
The room turned heavy.
"He failed," Azriah said calmly. "But the incident nearly caused a catastrophe."
"The Idrilla Highbloods demanded Antioch halt production of those artifacts."
"But Antioch refused," Asta finished quietly.
Azriah nodded.
"That disagreement eventually escalated into military conflict."
Sham's eyes widened.
"…The Mount Tyber war?"
Azriah smirked faintly.
"The very same."
Mount Tyber.
One of the greatest disasters in imperial history.
Thousands dead.
Entire bloodlines erased.
And Sham was now realizing that history had nearly begun from something as vile as one noble's arrogance.
"But how does humiliating Lucien stop that?" Sham asked.
Azriah closed the document.
"Simple."
His smile turned razor sharp.
"The Auremont family is petty."
"When I publicly humiliated their heir, they retaliated emotionally."
"They stopped purchasing suppression artifacts from Antioch factories."
Sham's eyes widened slowly.
"And started buying them elsewhere…"
"From the Imperial House," Azriah finished.
Silence.
Then—
Sham's jaw dropped.
"…No way."
Azriah leaned slightly against the table.
"The future chain of events still occurs."
"But now…"
His crimson eyes gleamed faintly.
"The Imperial House becomes the primary target of Idrilla's anger instead of Antioch."
Asta exhaled quietly.
"One action," she murmured.
"One humiliation."
"And the entire flow of political history changes."
Sham looked utterly baffled.
"…That's insane."
Azriah merely smiled.
To him—
This was normal.
A few minutes later.
Azriah left the study with the Godslayer Protocol tucked under his arm.
The manor halls were quieter now.
Only the distant sound of wind brushing against windows could be heard.
Sham floated beside him silently for a while before finally speaking.
"You really planned all that from the start?"
Azriah shrugged.
"Of course."
"…You're terrifying sometimes."
"Only sometimes?"
Sham groaned.
"I hate you."
Azriah chuckled softly and entered his room.
Weapons, maps, and equipment were already laid out neatly across the bed.
Travel gear.
Potion kits.
Mana stones.
And several concealed blades.
Sham stared at everything nervously.
"…Where exactly are we going?"
Azriah began fastening belts around his coat.
"To Tatara."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Sham froze midair.
"…What?"
Azriah casually adjusted one of his gloves.
"I'm descending into Tatara."
A second passed.
Then another.
And suddenly—
Sham burst into spiritual form completely.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!"
His voice echoed through the room loudly enough that even the windows rattled slightly.
"That place is a godforsaken abyss!"
Azriah remained completely calm.
"Correct."
"People test nuke there!"
"Also correct."
"Entire expeditions vanish!"
"Mhm."
"WHY ARE YOU SO CALM?!"
Azriah finally looked at him.
"Because I know what I'm doing."
"That sentence has NEVER comforted me!"
Sham grabbed his own head dramatically.
"TATARA?! Of all places?! Why not somewhere safer?! Somewhere normal?!"
Azriah walked toward the table and picked up a map.
"Oh don't be dramatic! I need something from there."
"Oh wonderful," Sham groaned. "Of course there's a reason."
Azriah's finger tapped a marked region deep within the blackened territory of Tatara.
"The Heart of Nightfall."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Sham went pale.
"…No."
Azriah smirked.
"Yes."
"No no no no no."
"The Whisper of Spirit requires it."
Sham floated backward slowly like he wanted to physically distance himself from the conversation.
"You're talking about that Nightfall?"
"The Wolf of the Moon," Azriah confirmed.
A dangerous excitement flickered in his eyes.
"Its heart will stabilize the elixir."
"And its fangs…"
He glanced toward the moon outside.
"…will become the foundation for my future sword."
Sham stared at him in disbelief.
Then another realization hit him.
"…Wait."
His expression twisted.
"The Nightfall Tribe still exists?"
Azriah's smirk widened.
"Oh, they exist."
His tone almost sounded amused.
"They're alive, well…"
A pause.
"…and very ready to wreak havoc."
Sham felt chills run down his spine.
The Nightfall Tribe was supposed to be extinct.
Ancient lunar wolves feared even by highblood clans.
Creatures capable of manipulating moonlight mana and shadow currents simultaneously.
Entire armies once hunted them to extinction.
Or so history claimed.
"…How do you even know they're alive?" Sham whispered.
Azriah zipped up his coat calmly.
"Because history lies."
He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
"In the future, Tatara becomes one of the greatest catastrophes on the continent."
"Why?"
"Because a new lord of ruin will be born there."
The room fell silent again.
Sham slowly processed the implications.
"…What do you mean by lord of ruin? Do you know what that implies anyone who ascends to ruination will cause the gods and there army of angels to manifest in material form to destroy it.
"Yes and never ever in history they were able to stop it."
"…Why do I feel like you're about to do something unbelievably reckless?"
Azriah walked toward the balcony doors.
Moonlight illuminated his figure as the wind blew through his dark hair.
A grin slowly formed on his face.
Sharp.
Confident.
Dangerous.
"Because I am the future lord of ruin."
He stepped onto the balcony railing casually.
Sham panicked instantly.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY —UGH WE ARE LEAVING NOW?!"
Azriah glanced back.
"The sooner I descend, the sooner I return."
"That is NOT reassuring!"
Azriah ignored him completely.
Instead, he looked toward the distant horizon.
Far beyond the empire.
Far beyond civilization.
Toward the abyss known as Tatara.
His eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"Wolves."
"Forbidden elixirs."
"Ancient monsters."
His smirk deepened.
"…Sounds fun."
And then—
He jumped.
The wind exploded around him as his figure vanished into the night.
Leaving behind only Sham's horrified scream echoing through the estate.
"ONE DAY YOU'RE GOING TO GET US BOTH KILLED!"