Chapter 85

I'm posting some chapters ahead of time on my discord server: https://discord.gg/r2VSvS5kaH

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Their battle was something more than the world could handle. Jin-woo could still feel it, despite it being in an entirely different space. He chuckled. His battle with Antares was nothing compared to this one.

Even the infinite nothingness that existed in between the dimensions was a wreck. It was violently shaken with every attack unleashed by the two adversaries. His hands trembled at the thought of joining that battle. It was a thrilling idea, but he might not be able to face the current Monarch of Destruction.

Only Ashborn was capable of doing so, with him having something to counter Antares. The Fragments.

In the middle of their battle, it became apparent that both sides began to use the fragments in their possessions. It gave them something more than just magic. Now, they could directly control time, space, and existence.

It became a hassle to predict each other's moves.

Antares was not dumb. At this point, he was ready to use everything to kill the Shadow Monarch. Including the same petty tricks he once hated.

Ashborn was not an exception. This was a battle of survival where the survivor decides the future.

*Flash*

Antares' eyes were blinded by a bolt of purple lightning that approached him. He chose not to tank it and transform it into his smaller form. The sparks of fire that exploded from his dragon form merged into a human.

The lightning stuck past him and lit up the surroundings, including the shadow monarch. The great sword appeared in Antares' hand.

*Clang*

Ashborn and Antares collided with their swords crossed. They were evenly matched, despite Shadow Monarch having more fragments. When it came to the power of fragments, even one was capable of doing the unimaginable. In this case, the count just determined how long they would last.

That's why they were both targeting each other's fragments. If one manages to take it out, they will have more chances.

But unfortunately, there were no such prospects yet. The two greatly blocked or countered each other's attack. Only if they could maintain such seriousness and calm in this situation. A normal mind would've been overwhelmed.

Ashborn's expression was especially calm. He was being attacked by Antares so fiercely, but he never once even twitched his face. His eyes were attentively locked on Antares, as he kept analyzing his every move.

*Crackle*

Antares' eyes shifted their attention to Ash's hands. One of them was emitting purple lightning. He had to rotate himself not to get his chest stabbed by Ashborn's hand.

*Swing*

Ashborn found a way to expose his enemy's chest. He exerted more force on his weapon, and with Antares not having a stable foothold, he managed to incline it in a way.

*Breath of Destruction*

The dragon monarch sensed the danger and wasted no time. At the expense of his arms, he launched the destructive flames at Ashborn. It hit, but the latter was quick enough to create a shield to block the attack partly.

The hot flames burned through his flesh as they rained down on his shoulders like lava. He was being internally erased, and Ash could feel it. His eyes landed on the Antares, who recreated his hands with the power of fragments.

He did the same.

It was a peculiar fight. Nobody screamed or groaned. No words were spoken at each other, but it seemed like they still held daggers at each other's throats. Even after receiving this much damage, they just shrugged it off and continued.

Strong attacks were becoming useless, or so they thought. The Breath of Destruction wouldn't work as intended; only if it did hit the target, then it might. The complication was that with the help of fragments they could easily return their bodies to former states. This worked for both sides.

'I need to trick him...'

This was becoming a battle, not about power; they had plenty of it. This was about who would outsmart who first. Only one wrong move could decide the outcome of the battle. Who is going to risk it all to win it all was the question, but with such a cautious battle...

Both Monarchs used more power from their fragments than necessary.

The aether back on the planet trembled, almost as if it resonated with its origin. The relictomb was even shaken once.

"Did you feel that?"

"Yeah, what happened?"

All those strangers in the relictomb felt the ground under them tremble. They just thought it was an earthquake. Some even said so. Despite the obvious reason why they were evacuated, not many knew what was actually going on.

Those who were in the course of actions were seated in a circle in the same villa Ashborn created for them.

The lances were anxious about the quake; it happened for the first time, and it raised suspicion in them. What if this place isn't as safe as Ashborn described it?

"This was the first time. People are getting nervous again." Bairon commented as he peeked from the window to see the situation outside of the villa.

"Bah, this was the first time ever! It was so weak that they hadn't even stumbled on their feet. Let them be. The nervousness will disappear soon." Virion just swept away the worry from the group. He was experienced in those matters; he had been a king for a long time, after all.

"Take care of yourself first, before you worry about others. You aren't in the best shape from this war. Just rest."

The war between continents harmed everyone, including the Lances. They worked harder than others. They had a white mana core, but they were still human. They had dark eyebags from countless sleepless nights. They still haven't slept since arriving here.

Virion chuckled, "You too, older Leywin." The old elf and Reynolds got pretty close in the relictomb. They understood each other well.

"I barely managed to make Ellie and Alice sleep, but I can't myself."

"How so?"

"I guess I'm just scared to close my eyes."

As a parent, Reynolds' fears were understood by Virion. He had the same fears, and even now he hopes to wake up every morning and see his family in one piece. Years ago, he experienced what it was to lose someone from your family, and he wished that Reynolds wouldn't experience the same thing. He had two sons, but one was taken by the war. This scenario resembled him, but this time he was watching someone else's.

"Ashborn is a strong boy. He'll do what he must do. I'd have fewer things to worry about if he was my son! Bwahaha!" Virion joked to ease the tensions.

"Right, I'm really lucky. Aren't I? I just hate how he is suffering. Arthur, how did it happen? I wonder..."

[KWUAH!!!!!!!]

*KA-BOOM*

"I hope they are okay."

*BANG*

[AGHHHHH!]

It was only reaching its peak. They were literally burning in their respective colors. Like a flame, Antares' mana was dancing around him. Ashborn's dark aura wrapped around him like camouflage, and purple mana streamed through him like veins.

*BOOM*

In an explosion, Antares returned to his dragon form, and so did Ashborn, to protect himself from the massive Breath of Destruction. He rose in his enormous avatar and clashed with Antares.

*Bang* *Bang*

Immediately, he went for the punch. Ash couldn't knock down the massive dragon; it was definitely prepared for this one.

*Scrap*

The dragon's claws couldn't penetrate the dark armor. Antares clicked his tongue and lit up his own claws on fire. It was similar to Breath of Destruction, with the same effects, but just used the fragments as the source of energy. It was burning a bright purple.

He expected it to penetrate the armor, but to his surprise, it couldn't.

Ashborn also used the fragments to create a protective barrier over his body. It was covering him from all sides.

*KA-BOOM*

Antares decided to check on how "protective" that barrier would be. He used the Breath of Destruction and amplified it with fragments. Usually, the blinding yellow color of the flames was now purple.

Ash crossed his hands in front of him and moved the protective barrier. It now encircled him like a balloon.

*Boom!*

The blast of fire hit the barrier right in the middle, but now, instead of getting repelled in different directions, the barrier consumed the fire entirely. From time to time, the epicenter of the collision would kick out some crackles.

The fire was entirely consumed by the barrier, and the avatar quickly raised its hand and pointed at the dragon.

*Crack* *Crack* *Crack*x??

In multiple places next to Ashborn, the space opened with a crack, and pointy swords popped out of them. He adjusted their angle and pointed them at the Monarch of Destruction.

*Snap*

With a snap of his fingers, the swords were set ablaze by the same fire Antares had just attacked. The attack was launched, and the swords instantly reached Antares. This time the dragon could only move his head, his large build still posed a problem.

[Kwuahh!] Antares screamed. The swords hit his wings and erased them. The destructive fire began to spread across his body.

*Boom*

Before it could burn further, he turned into his human form and began to run at Ashborn's avatar. His fingers stretched as the claws appeared on them. They lit up on fire soon after. The ground shook as Ash's avatar took steps.

Antares jumped onto the Shadow Monarch, his fingers dug into the dark armor.

[Come out, Ashborn!] The Monarch of Destruction shouted at the Monarch of Shadows.

The fire on his hands intensified; it began to melt through the armor after some time of heating it up. Antares wanted Ashborn out of this armor.

*Bash*

Antares moved away in time to avoid the giant palm crashing onto him. It was Ashborn who swept away the little silhouette from his chest.

*Crack*

The grey floor underneath the red-haired cracked as he landed. His eyes instantly moved up to see the giant avatar of Ashborn staring down at him with its purple glowing eyes. Almost as if the eyes told him what was to come, he created another great sword in his hands.

*Shatter* *Boom*

The Shadow Monarch exploded out of the armor and moved so quickly that even his armor was swept away like a breeze.

*Clank*

As soon as their swords touched each other, a great explosion happened, and both were thrown away by the impact. They regained their balance in the air and dug their feet into the ground.

[Ashborn! It's the time to finally-!]

[End this...] Antares wasn't allowed to complete his sentence, and both took an explosive step forward.

*Clank* *Clank*

Their swords clashed, with an explosion after each touch. Their movements were evenly matched.

*Crack*

With each of their attacks, the space next to it was beginning to crack. Through a little free space in between those cracks, the light could be seen entering. Even this place couldn't handle their clash.

The foothold had no meaning anymore. Up and down were irrelevant. They were flying, teleporting around to attack each other.

*Clank* *Clank*

[Die, Ashborn! AAAHHHHHHH] Antares screamed at his foe as he found the opening, and the Black Heart was exposed.

His sword was closing in on Ashborn's chest.

*Grab*

Ash grabbed the sword but realized he wouldn't be able to counter the force behind it. Instead, he averted it in a different direction.

*Slick*

The sword struck his left shoulder and sliced through his bones like butter. With this, Antares was exposed, caught in a very nasty moment. Ashborn was ready to strike.

[AGHHHHHH!] A battle shout escaped his mouth as well.

The dark sword in his right hand moved in the right direction at the right time, with Antares having no way to defend it. He thrust the sword with just the tip pointing at the fragment.

The tip first touched the flesh, then there was a sound of bone crunching...and finally the fragment.

It touched.

*BIG BANG*

The big bang happened, which was caused by the dark sword that hit and destroyed the fragment. The light emitted by the gigantic explosion blinded Ashborn, and he couldn't see anything.

Colossal energy was repelled from it, and with it, Ashborn was also thrown away.

The cracks which appeared in this darkness finally began to shatter, and slowly the place where they began to be enlightened... by the sun? The explosion kicked him out of the dark space, and he was now free-falling somewhere else.

With the blinding light gone, Ashborn noticed that his right hand was gone. His body armor was destroyed, and he had received a lot of burns.

'We are back...'

The same place where they teleported to the space in between the dimensions, now they were back there.

*Boom*

Ashborn made a loud descent to the ground. He immediately got to his feet and turned to survey the area for his adversary.

[Fuh...] Finally, Ash's mind became more at ease, and he exhaled a comforting sigh.

A little bit away from him. Antares was laid on the ground. He was desperately trying to crawl away. He was badly wounded, with his right side of the body burned by the explosion of the fragment.

[I can... continue...] He spoke through pain. Gritting his teeth, he moved toward the sword, which was close.

He was about to get a handle on it, but someone stepped on it. Antares looked up to see Ashborn standing over him, and his expression was the same as always.

[Hah...]

*Kick*

The Shadow Monarch kicked away the sword so that Antares couldn't grab it.

[It's over Antares...] Ash said as he looked down on the crippled Monarch of Destruction.

He no longer had the magic and the fragments to regenerate. He was now a defenseless lizard. So he could only chuckle grimly. Using his authority, Ashborn flipped over the dragon monarch to face him.

[Do you have nothing more to say...to your enemy?] Antares asked Ashborn after a few seconds of silence.

Ash avoided looking into Antares' eyes, [Die] With his remaining hand, Ashborn thrust it into Dragon Monarch's stomach, where the mana-core was located. This was the same place where Antares' and Arthur's souls resided.

The mana core cracked in half and began to dissipate soon,

[I lost. Again. This is the end, isn't i-] Antares' voice disappeared. The red eyes of Antares were switched to light blue, and the red hair changed color back to auburn.

When he was sure that Antares' soul was erased, only then did he proceed to heal the mana-core. It happened instantly, and the core returned to its place. Now he only hoped that Grey's soul had remained.

[Arthur?] Ash asked, but there was complete silence... or not, the heartbeat was present. His face was just in a frozen state and he did not breathe. [Arthur, it's not time for the jokes.] Again, he warned but got no response.

He had no other choices.

Ashborn placed his hand over Arthur's mana-core and used the power of fragments. He intended to turn it back; Arthur's soul, back to how it was. although with some complications.

Wherever the intense yellow glow passed by, burned flesh would regenerate. The bright yellow glow covered the shocked body. The charming right side of Arthur's face appeared once more.

[Arthur, answer me.] Ashborn again called out for Arthur. Again, there was no response, but at least the guy was breathing.

*Slap*

"Waaahh!" The auburn-haired boy was abruptly awoken. His eyes darted everywhere, scared, and somehow he found himself in a mysterious environment. Everything was burning around him, so of course, he'd be dumbfounded.

"Huh?" He noticed his hands. They were weirdly big for a 3-year-old. "What the hell!" He shouted.

*Thud*

Ashborn slumped to the ground on his back and muttered, [It's finally...over.] The damned battle was over and Antares was gone.

The shadow monarch turned his attention back to his brother, [Arthur, it's me Ashborn...] His own hair returned to old and the purple glowing eyes died down back to blue,

[We had quite a problem...and you won't understand much, will you?]

"Ash...wait, Ash? Leywin right?...is this some kind of weird dream? How are you so grown..."

That's right. Ashborn just brought Arthur's soul back to how it was ten years ago, meaning when Arthur was still 3 years old. And his confusion was a natural one. Thankfully, Arthur-...Grey was already grown up mentally.

"Ashborn...we are done." Another person appeared at the scene. Sung Jin-woo, Ashborn's successor. "And I see you have a problem. Mind if I help out with this one too?" The person in question nodded.

Jin-woo gently touched Arthur's forehead. The latter felt something surge through his mind, those were the memories of the past ten years. Ashborn realized what his successor did after Arthur's eyes became watery and he held his mouth with a hand. His eyes were terrified.

"How?" He asked his successor as his voice also returned to normal.

"We are beings not bound by time and space...We are spiritual existences, and we can very well disrupt the flow of time, space, and existence."

Ashborn looked at him with a deadpan expression,

Jin-woo shook his head, "To be honest, I just found out about it in an acciden-"

*Sniff*

"Did this all really happen?" Arthur was crying, and his adultery didn't help him out. He couldn't handle it as the tears continued to roll down his face. He just viewed everything that happened from his perspective in the past ten years, including this battle.

"Ash! I'm so sorry!" Arthur, on his knees, crawled to Ashborn and tackled him in a hug. "I don't know how that happened!" He saw how he had pierced his brother's chest with his own hands.

*Tap* *Tap*

The first shadow monarch tapped him on the back and said, "It wasn't your fault. I know that for sure...Please sleep for some time; you really need some rest."

Seeing the expression on Arthur's face soften and his eyes closed, Jin-woo picked up the boy in his hands.

"You say it like you don't need rest..."

"I have something else to do."

Jin-woo shook his head. Does this man ever rest? He asked himself, but denied it soon, as Ash probably never actually had a rest. In his past and current life. For now, he'll just take the boy, Arthur, back to his family.

Now... what does Ashborn have to do? Everything was pretty much done. Except for that, he still felt emptiness, as if something was missing. And maybe he was being selfish, but he decided to borrow the prowess of the fragments again. Why not? If he could.

The yellow-golden light spread over the area.

From Ashborn's hands, very thin lines spread around like snakes. Then the space between them was filled with a darker shade of yellow. From a different point of view, nobody would understand what that was, but for some reason, Ash kept going.

In reality, those yellow lines were vessels, bones, and flesh. The golden light took the shape of a humanoid first. When the skin formed, the body began to color in its normal colors. The hair was growing on the head and it took platinum color.

The face... Of course, it was the face of a woman. This person's aloof demeanor gave away a lot about who they were.

Seris Vritra.

When gravity finally made up its mind to act, the floating person felt its effects. Ashborn quickly whipped up a blanket and caught the woman just as she started to fall. Considering that she was completely naked, he had to cover her.

Seris' eyes snapped open as she felt something touch her, "Hm?" Her sharp, dark eyes stared at Ashborn.

There was a minute of silence.

"I see, I remember now." The same thing that happened when Jin-woo and Arthur touched did occur when she touched Ashborn. The memories reappeared in her mind. She was just calmer than Art.

"Are you angry?"

"Depending on your response to my next question, I might be." Ashborn nodded at her and was ready to answer. "Did your idea work out? Are my people safe?" Her eyes stared into Ashborn's as her impatience grew.

Ashborn took a deep breath and answered, "Yes, it's over and everyone is safe." Seris drew a relieved sigh.

"Haha...I thought we'd fail." Ashborn said nothing more and dived into his shadow.

With the monarchs gone, his army was free and returned to his possessions. A lot of Asuras still survived, and this time, they were freed from their shackles. Including Sylvie, who was reunited with her mother... but obviously, she couldn't believe it. Arthur would have to interfere in this.

So they returned to the relictomb. His successor, with the auburn-haired twin in his hands, was waiting just for him.

"Let's get in." Ashborn opened the portal and they finally entered his world of dreams. Seris was shocked, and Jin-woo was mesmerized. This place was beautiful!

They were on a grassy hill at the moment, and from their point of view, they could see this gigantic place with the tower at its center.

Jin-woo had to admit that this was something out of the dream. " I have no words... This is like a fantasy game. Mind if I take a walk around?"

"Sure."

Jin-woo gently placed Arthur on the soft grass and walked down the hill. He was like a child. He played a lot of RPG games in his childhood, and they reminded him a lot. Especially the journey with the system... it was just unforgettable. He wanted to check it out now that such a world was right in front of him.

Ash glanced at Seris. She comfortably placed her head over his shoulder. "I'm glad that I trusted you." She said.

At that moment, Ashborn felt accomplished. If the person he acted so rudely against in the beginning now trusts him, then it is definitely a sign of his progress.

"But...why would you waste energy on me?" Seris was still confused as to why Ashborn would go as far as to get her back to life.

"I also saved Caera... and she really wanted to see you."

"Oh that girl, she is a special one. Thank you, I didn't want her to suffer even a little. " Seris always seemed emotionless on the outside, but she deeply cared for Caera and was taking care of her. She even gifted her with the artifact that concealed her appearance.

"But was that the only reason?"

"I wished for you to be alive to see what we have achieved. To see the future that I'm going to build."

Seris stared at him, dumbstruck by his words. "You...wanted me to see it?" She looked away from his blue eyes.

"Well, you knew of my plans since the beginning and decided to trust me. There are not many people who actually trust me. I care for people that helped me."

The woman's pale cheeks flashed bright red, "Don't say it like that..."

"Hm? But it's the truth though."

"Just forget it." The unknown emotions in Seris rose, and she felt the warmth. Somehow, this aloof woman was still far from knowing what he was experiencing.

As this was happening between the two of them, the Shadow Army began to return to its lord. They walked through the gate together. Their number was diminished in this battle, but the strongest survived.

"My liege!" Beru screamed joyously as he, together with some other shadows, ran up to Ashborn.

Ashborn smiled at his army. They indeed did a good job. Most of them would not take praise from him, thinking they didn't help out much, but the Shadow Monarch had to praise them for their hard work. At the moment, it was the only thing he could do.

Agrona, Aldir, Beru, now already gone Windsom, Hawky, Tank, the Asuran soldiers, the ants, all those different mana beasts from the beast glades, and many more... They played a big role in this victory.

For the final...

Bellion and Igris, those who are still with him even in this life. Both of them dug their knees into the ground loudly and lowered their heads as low as possible. It wasn't visible to Igris due to the mask, but Bellion had tears in his eyes. They couldn't bring themselves to call Ashborn their king, due to it being Jin-woo...it was unnecessary, Ash understood that.

"Bellion, Igris... You were with me the longest, but I could never apologize and thank you for what you've done for me."

He tapped on both of their shoulders.

"This might not be much, but I'm very thankful. I was very lucky to have capable people like you next to me."

"We don't deserve such praise..."

Ashborn only smiled, "I decide that. Now... someone carry my brother."

"Right away, my king." said a specific shadow as it picked up the young man with auburn hair.

Ashborn narrowed his eyes at the shadow... Uto was a peculiar shadow, but he had been in Arthur's shadow for quite some time, so the Shadow Monarch assumed that he had grown accustomed to him.

...

*Knock* *KnocK*

Several people seated around the table turned their attention to the noise that was coming. Someone was obviously knocking on the door, but who could've it been?

Alice volunteered, "I'll open." but someone placed a hand over her shoulder and forced her to sit down.

"You rest, I'll open." Rey was worried about Alice's mental condition, she could barely sleep for five hours, so all the time he did all the work for her.

Reynolds walked out of the living room and approached the entrance of this giant villa. With a clank, the door opened.

... *Silence*

The auburn-haired boy with blue eyes awkwardly stared at Rey. He was in the hands of a dark figure. Next to him was a person similar to his appearance, with just dark hair, and he also held someone in his hand. There were two menacing shadows standing behind them, looking down on Reynolds.

The awkward silence was broken by him,

"We're back."