Chapter 0.4 prologue - one last journey (finale)

For a solid minute, John stood silently, fully aware of the implications if both Pallas and Kostas survived, and the entire battlefield was empty. He couldn't ignore the truth, having heard the massive booms that marked the deaths of Geoffrey and the others. But he had to keep his emotions in check; now was not the time for grief. As he made his way through the aftermath, he reached the spot where Pallas had been commanding the battlefield, only to find an empty chair. As he turned around, another explosion echoed from the center of the battleground—Edward had fallen, leaving no trace of his body. Their injuries alone stood as testament to the strength of his friends.

John himself was exhausted, having faced thousands of dragons. However, he knew that Pallas and Kostas were likely far more fatigued and injured after battling his friends. He also recognized that he didn't have to face them both at once, as they were undoubtedly eyeing each other as well.

"Let's end this, shall we?" John said as he slowly walked to the center of the battlefield, where Pallas and Kostas stood in their human forms, waiting for him—a gesture of respect shown to someone who stood on their level.

Once John stood before them, a brief moment of tension lingered before Pallas broke the silence. "Let's dance," he said, and the three launched toward the center of the triangle they formed.

Kostas threw a powerful punch at Pallas, while Pallas aimed a side kick at John, who swung his spear straight at Kostas's head.

*BANG*

Their attacks landed simultaneously, creating a loud shockwave that sent them several meters away.

*ROOOOOAAAARR*

Pallas unleashed a massive fire beam at Kostas and John.

"Ascension stage 2 - elemental cut," John swiftly danced with his spear, slicing up the fire beam, scattering it.

"DIIEEEE YOU DAMNED LIZARD!" Kostas shouted, jumping high in the air to deliver a hammer kick to Pallas's head.

*BAAAM*

"Fucking oversized human," Pallas wobbled back a few steps before covering his tail in spirit aura and lunging toward Kostas. As he spun, he shouted, "DRAGON TWISTER," releasing sharp blades of wind that inflicted a series of cuts on Kostas's body.

*SWISH SWISH SWISH*

"Heavenly spear dance + ascension stage 7 - world splitter," John ran toward the spot where Pallas and Kostas engaged in a kicking battle after both had lost an arm, making it easier for them to use their feet.

"Arghhhhhh!" John's spirit aura and ascension-based technique clashed with the spirit aura-covered legs of the Titan Emperor and Dragon Lord, creating a massive crater around them and cutting deep into the ground.

"Dragon furry!" Pallas jumped back and returned to his dragon form.

"Wrath of the Titans!" Kostas turned back into his titan form, retrieving his sword from the battlefield.

"Heaven's fall!" John shouted, leaping into the air and dancing with his spear.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOM*

As their final attacks collided, a deafening boom echoed, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

As the smoke cleared, the battlefield revealed the half-destroyed bodies of John, Kostas, and Pallas, leaning against stones for support in their final moments.

"Cough cough, I told you fuckers to be aware of the consequences," John managed to say, his right hand and once-glorious golden spear now reduced to dust.

"Blergh," Kostas puked out a bucket's worth of blood. "We always knew this would be the consequence, but you will never understand the feelings of a father who has seen his child pass away in his arms," he said, coughing, with his internals and spinal cord exposed.

"I would cough not be so sure about that," Pallas retorted as he reverted to his human form, his right side completely gone except for his face. "I never thought your kind would be such a pain," he said, glancing at John.

"Hahaha, cough cough," John laughed and coughed, thinking about his friends' final moments of glory. "Ahhhhh, so many regrets," he mused as death approached.

"Say, lizard, now that we stand at death's door, will you finally admit you killed my son?" Kostas managed to utter, his vision blurring.

"How many times have I said I was not responsible for the death of your son? What about you? Do you still refuse murdering my son?" Pallas retorted, coughing blood.

"When will the two of you understand that neither of you killed either's child... It was pretty fucking clear from the start it was a third party who caused it to happen... You were too lost in your bloodthirst to fucking understand that despite being ohh so fucking enlightened," John cursed sarcastically.

"Right... I suppose he's right," Kostas said with a smile, continuing, "I suppose we did all of this for nothing," which prompted a laugh from him.

"Haaah, had I another chance, I'd have killed both of you fucks before things ever got this bad," John said jokingly, laughing along with Kostas. Their laughter echoed through their impending doom.

"That second chance, are you serious? Would you be able to stop us if you had another chance?" Pallas questioned seriously.

"Oye, what are you talking about, you fucking lizard... Has your brain died before your body?" Kostas replied sarcastically.

"Hah, given enough time, I probably—no, definitely—I would have stopped you. My teacher told me I had the greatest talent ever given to a human. At the time, I laughed at his words, but considering I am standing here, rather dying here, with two god-like creatures, I would say his estimation was correct," John laughed, his eyes fluttering as his vision blurred.

"I will give it to you, that second chance you talked about, but do not fail my expectations," Pallas said, as John's consciousness started to fade, and his eyes closed.

"Don't tell me the rumors were true? Did you really manage to create a spell that travels through time? Why not use it on you or me?" Pallas asked, wide-eyed in surprise, though he could barely see anything.

"Yes, and our souls have grown too weak to take on the burden of time travel. Comparatively, his is still strong—only his body has reached the breaking point. If I fuse both our souls with his, all three of us should technically be able to go back in time," Pallas explained, as a magical circle appeared on the ground, and their blood acted as a catalyst, causing it to emit a gentle light.

"But I am not sure how effective it will be... My ancestors made sure we understood that this was only ever to be used as a last resort if the existence of our race was at threat. And if someone can cloud our minds to the degree we did something this stupid, then I feel there is no better time to do this," Pallas said, as the light from the complex magical circle grew brighter.

"I see... Well, it's good then... that not all is lost," Kostas said softly, closing his eyes.

Meanwhile, John, who had lost the strength to keep his eyes open, overheard the entire conversation, trying to make sense of what these two ancient beings were talking about. But before he could conclude his thoughts, he lost consciousness and died. On May 4th, in the year 1350 of the imperial calendar, on his 60th birthday, John, the third prince of the imperial empire, the grand general of the imperial southern army, commander-in-chief of the entire imperial army, and a man with many friends, passed away.