From within the towering jagged spires of ice, a monstrous figure rose. The ground shook as shards rained down and a towerying shadow crawled across the broken ice spires.
GRRR~
It looked like a beast from ancient nightmares.
Its frame resembled a colossal bear, yet twisted with otherworldly mutations. Ice spikes jutted from its back and arms, glowing faintly with blue energy.
Two vast, batlike wings unfurled, dripping frost. Its four eyes burned with unnatural light. At the center of its chest, embedded like a heart, glowed a massive Thugnakan crystal, pulsing with bluish cold fire.
The air turned suffocating as its roar echoed across the ruins.
"MUAHAHAHAHA!"
The sound was wrong, a fusion of beastly growl and a voice all too familiar.
"It... it sounds like..." one soldier stammered, his knees buckling.
"King Aurelus!?"
And the monstrous voice confirmed it.
"Be glad, Austerra!" the beast bellowed like a thundering god.
"Witnesses the power of the chosen King of Lord Thugnaka!"
Then Aurelus rampaged. Ice shattered, flames erupted, and the last remnants of the city crumbled beneath his fury.
Members of the Dark Fate dropped to their knees in worship, chanting in unison.
"All hail Emperor Aurelus! Praise be Lord Thugnaka!"
...
Far from the center, Wilfred lay slumped beneath a tree, blood dripping from puncture wounds in his abdomen and shoulder.
His protective spells had barely saved him. His breaths came ragged, yet his eyes burned with fury as he gazed at the frozen wreckage of his capital.
"Monsters," he hissed through gritted teeth. "When Emperor Romeov hears of this... you will pay."
...
THUD!
The ground split like a shattered mirror as Aurelus stomped, sending another forest of ice spikes ripping outward. They tore through the soil with deafening cracks, toppling centuries-old trees and pulverizing the last surviving structures into frozen dust. The air itself seemed to howl, bitter and sharp, each breath cutting like blades in the lungs of those who still lived to draw it.
The city that had once been the jewel of Austerra was gone. What remained was a graveyard of jagged frost and broken stone, a wasteland sculpted by the malice of a man who no longer resembled one.
His allegiance was undeniable. No trace of the former king lingered. His soul had been swallowed whole. He had fully embraced his role as the Dark Fate’s ultimate pawn.
And yet, deep in the ruins where hope should have already died, a faint glow flickered defiantly against the encroaching dark. Content originally comes from ⓝovelFire.net
A golden sphere of flaming wings pulsed, its light fragile but unyielding. It burned against the cold, sheltering four figures from the annihilation outside.
Inside, Auren staggered as he lowered the barrier. His wings folded inward, their fire dimming as if drained by his exhaustion. Sweat clung to his brow and dripped down his jaw, his chest heaving from the effort. His hands trembled, not only from strain but from guilt that weighed heavier than the destruction pressing around them. He could hear the silence of the dead in every corner of the ruined city, a silence louder than any roar.
"Is everyone alright?" His voice cracked slightly, though he tried to steady it. It carried the weight of a man who knew he had saved too few, far too late.
Austaire panted beside him, shoulder to shoulder with Robert and Mardonio, all three of them pressed tight in the golden sanctuary. Her face was pale, strands of hair plastered to her skin with sweat, but her eyes held a flicker of resolve. "Aside from our wounds," she rasped, "I think we will live."
Robert let out a slow exhale. Blood streaked his clothes, his arm hanging limply from a gash across his shoulder. Yet even through the pain, his expression softened as he looked at Auren. His lips curved in the faintest, proudest smile. "Thank you, Auren." His voice carried not only gratitude but recognition, as though he saw more than just a boy before him.
Mardonio, however, had no words of praise. He stared, unblinking, through the golden barrier at what was left of his beloved capital. The flames of the sphere reflected in his eyes, but they did not burn away the emptiness within them. His lips trembled as he tried to speak. At last, his voice emerged as a broken whisper.
"It... it is over. All of it..." His shoulders sagged, his spirit crumbling beneath the weight of what he had lost.
"No, old man." Auren’s reply cut sharp through the despair. He reached out, gripping Mardonio’s shoulder with a firm hand. His fiery wings spread wide once more, the feathers burning brighter against the consuming frost, their light pushing shadows back from the rubble. His gaze was steady, his tone unyielding.
"Not while we are still alive. As long as we breathe, we fight."
The words struck like sparks in the cold, a fragile ember refusing to die.
Auren’s eyes lifted past the ruins, past the fallen walls and shattered towers, locking onto the colossal silhouette of Aurelus rampaging in the distance. The monstrous figure blotted out the moonlight, each roar shaking the heavens, each stomp cracking the earth. Auren’s jaw tightened. The weight of destiny pressed on his shoulders, but he did not falter. His hand rose, and the Divine Rapier shimmered into existence, its blade humming faintly with celestial light. His grip around the hilt was steady, though his veins throbbed with adrenaline and fire.
Robert’s eyes widened. Panic seized him, and he lunged forward, grabbing Auren’s wrist with both hands. His voice trembled with urgency, raw and unguarded.
"Auren... whatever you are thinking, do not. That monster is beyond you. Please!" His fingers dug into Auren’s arm, desperate, unwilling to watch another life be thrown into the jaws of despair.
But Auren only smiled. It was small, almost careless, but in that smile was a quiet, unwavering resolve. His wings flared outward in a sudden blaze, the air shimmering from the heat. The force of it rippled outward in a shockwave, scattering dust and ice, forcing Robert and the others to stumble back. The light burned against their eyes, too bright, too fierce.
"Do not worry," Auren said calmly, his tone carrying a strange serenity amid the chaos. His eyes, however, gleamed like molten steel.
"I am just finishing what I started."
BOOOOM!
The explosion of air as his wings struck down cracked the ground beneath him. In a single, thunderous beat, Auren launched skyward. The rubble trembled under the force, shards of ice melting to steam in his wake. His figure streaked upward like a comet of flame, defying the choking cold.
The monstrous Aurelus turned, four glowing eyes snapping toward the rising light. A growl like thunder rolled from his throat, his massive wings spreading wide as if to challenge the burning figure cutting through the night sky.
Above the frozen grave of Austerra, fire met frost, destiny met corruption.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
Aurelus quickly noticed Auren’s form approaching and he gladly received it with wide open maw.
"OH YOU’RE STILL ALIVE?! THEN COME AND DIE!"
GROOOOAR!
The two forces, bound by fate and betrayal, closed in on each other, their clash inevitable.
Their final battle was about to begin.
The battle between the Beast and the Monster!