Lost within the endless maelstrom of white, a young woman felt her legs drift amidst the endless curtain of snow. A cold wind howled against her, its speed strong enough to shake the nearby trees.
No wildlife dared to wander amid this desolate mountain. Was this female who journeyed through the winter a fool with a death wish? Well, some would definitely agree with that notion. However, her unwavering will, inexhaustible strength, and fierce expression told a different story.
How long had it been since this lonesome wanderer had tasted the warmth of sunlight? A month? Six months? A year? She did not care enough to know. All the young woman wanted now was to keep going forward.
Using her right arm to block the ongoing snowstorm from hitting her eyes, she separated her lips to speak. "Kohryu, how much further now?" her words echoed all the way to the great mountain's summit.
"Not far — though I suspect the one who summoned us here won't be open for chit-chat," a masculine, husky voice spoke from within the innermost depths of the female's subconscious.
"Doesn't matter. Whoever it is, if they try something funny I'll just kick them down this damn mountain and call it a wrap."
The disembodied voice, Kohryu, laughed out loud. "That confidence of yours never ceases to amaze me," he echoed her courageous heart with a momentary sense of satisfaction, however, things were never that simple with him.
"If we're pushed back against the wall — run."
Raising her eyebrow, the girl felt slightly tilted over the suggestion. "What's with you today? We never lost, not even to Esdeath. I'm sure we'll be fine."
A heavy sigh then came from within the female's mind.
"Anna...I never told you this before because it never seemed relevant — but just know that there are threats greater than the Ice Queen could ever have hoped to be. This world is but one of many, and even my power is but a drop in the ocean when looking at the grand scheme of the universe."
"This world is one of many? You mean like... aliens?"
"No, girl..." he sighs. "Well in-part, I suppose that those must exist out there. Nevertheless, I more so speak of other universes and timelines. In the limitless web of possibility lie vastly different Earths to our own — from worlds where you never escaped the Empire's mental reprogramming to worlds so vastly distinct to our own that the concept of gods walking amongst mortals is commonplace."
Stopping dead on her tracks, Anna cut to the heart of the matter. "And? Pretty sure whoever called for me is not some God from an alternate timeline or whatever, " she put it bluntly.
"That's where you might be wrong, girl. Though you can't sense it — I have only felt pressure like the one being emitted from the summit once... a long time ago."
"Don't leave me hanging Kohryu... tell me the whole story."
"In an age predating men — a primeval creature born somewhere beyond the cosmos walked upon the Earth. If one were to merely look upon this ancient monster they'd be induced to end their own lives. Back in those ancient times, the young Earth was home to mythical beasts with power the likes of which would make Esdeath look like a mere child... yet the presence of this creature brought them to their deaths."
"If that's the truth... then how are we having this conversation right now?"
"This Great Old One that brought an end to most of life on Earth during the Age of Myths... its name was Abbadon the Destroyer of Worlds. It came from another world guided by forces unknown to us and murdered the Goddess that ruled over life, Selena, and her husband. It was truly the end.
Yet in the wake of such doom, another deity answered our prayers... Relaria the Goddess of Chaos was her name. She too came from somewhere beyond the stars... and she fought alongside the dragons of yore in an attempt to stop Abbadon after it had attained the authority of the dead Goddess.
Relaria eventually managed to end our hardship by sealing the soul of this great old evil inside what appeared to be a crystal of radiant ice. From the corpse of the Great Destroyer spawned the endless species of Danger Beasts that the world knows today... and likewise the Chaos it harbored would dwell in the hearts of men.
"So the aura you're feeling right now..."
"Exactly, Anna. The power atop this mountain belongs to Abbadon. It's possible someone attained the crystal and altered it into a Teigu, nay, something even beyond that—a divine treasure of limitless potential."
Taking a deep, long breath, Anna closed her eyes and focused her mind on the sound of the raging winter wind. Though a mere mortal such as herself could not comprehend or measure the presence of an elder god, she could feel the pressure in the air, the wildlife in the region retreating, and a chilling sensation running down her spine.
Opening her eyes once more, Anna reached underneath the dark hooded cloak that kept her safe from the cold. She pulled a letter out of her jacket's side pockets and looked down upon its writing.
"Anna — or as the locals call you; Guardian of the Mountain — if you'd like to see your beloved Ichi once again... come to the summit. Words cannot express her need for your presence right now."
Crushing the paper, Anna gritted her teeth. "I can't just run away now...if something were to happen to Ichi... I'd never forgive myself, " she reluctantly put her thoughts into words.
"I understand...that's why we will need to use our utmost potential to best the one who awaits us, " Kohryu explained.
"You mean—
"Yes...the true strength we mastered during our time on this mountain."
"Alright... let's go."
Whether or not she stood a chance did not matter now. The former member of Night Raid and Jaegers alike ventured through the sea of white before crossing the threshold leading to the summit of this great mountain. Waiting in complete silence, a mysterious man awaited for her arrival. Blood red eyes, smooth white hair, a figure that towered over Anna. All of it contrasted well against the business suit he wore. Its coloring was black, however, vertical white stripes also decorated it. The man wore a crimson scarf around his neck, no doubt to protect himself from the cold. Regardless, the most notable feature in his choice of attire was his golden and sapphire necklace, the item oozed a black miasma that caused Anna to freeze up in place.
"As I foresaw... you're still alive," a deep, husky voice akin to that of a smoker made its way into Anna's ears as the stranger stepped away from the edge and elected to move closer to his guest.
Grabbing a hold of her cloak, Anna tossed it to the wind revealing a dark, winter jacket that reached down to her waist. Her long, jet black hair with crimson highlights danced as her one red eye began to emit a strong flame-like radiance. Her left eye meanwhile had a black iris and displayed a fierce look all of its own.
"I'm here... now where the hell is Ichi? Tell me now or I'll gut you where you stand, " she inquired whilst clenching both of her fists.
Smiling at the girl's false confidence, the man decided to play along. "Where are my manners? My name is Araya. But as Kohryu has told you — I'm the one commanding Abbadon's Ice crystal."
Araya's tone was almost deadpan. No humanity could be felt from his grinning expression as he made a threat against Anna's life. Instead, he simply moved his right hand up to his necklace crystal and grabbed a hold of it intently. He then set his gaze directly at the girl whose presence carried enough murderous intent to match that of an entire army.
"You're simply incredible, Anna. The girl who eluded death's embrace time and time again, the one who saved this Empire from the grasp of a madman and his corrupt desires, and alas you're also the one who brought an end to Esdeath's warmongering. You're known in the new history books as the all-powerful Red-Eyed Dragon of Vengeance. No warrior from this world could ever hope to match your feats in battle...
Nevertheless... the crimes of Night Raid must be brought to light. You are all murderers who led a bloody rebellion and there is no greater crime than taking a life. The rest of your group is already where they belong... and soon the law will judge them for their crimes."
Whatever fears or hesitations that had crept up into Anna's mind retreated into obscurity when the name of Night Raid was mentioned by that man.
The thought of Akame, Ichi, and the others being locked behind bars caused her anger to boil up once more.
"I... for a year... I tried to escape that person, the one I used to be; The Red-Eyed Dragon of Vengeance. But even so...I won't allow you or anyone else to ever threaten my family!"
Araya's grin widened, the thought of ending this mighty dragonkin proved to be intoxicating. By reaching out with his hand, a thin black and blue energy blade akin to a rapier was called forth.
Anna tensed up. "LET'S GO THEN!!!" she shouted. As Anna yelled, the entire mountainous range trembled. However, at the moment that their match truly began, Anna lost sight of Araya.
The black aura around his crystal had expanded into a dark crimson radiance that soon enveloped his body. Twin wings of energy sprung from his back allowing the man to accelerate beyond what the girl could keep track of.
"He is a swordsman with a limited range. He has to bring the fight to my domain if he wants to get me," Anna quickly analyzed in the minuscule fraction of time it took for Araya to cross the space between them. His speed was not normal — it was much faster than anything Anna had seen before. She could tell that his body was as light as a feather, but he did not lose any of his strength. He was in top condition — an elite fighter armed with the power of a god.
As he stepped within Anna's reach, Araya began to shift his slashes from left to right. His fast movements created illusions before the girl's eyes making it even more difficult to track him. There was not a single flaw in his rush down technique. There could not be — it was the ultimate display of speed.
But...even the sharpest attack could not measure up to sheer destructive power!
"Wyvern Stomp!!"
Anna raised her long, elegant leg into the air and drove her heel down into the ground. In that moment the soil pitched up with a blasting sound, snow shooting in all directions.
"......?!!? This strength!"
The moment Anna stomped the ground of the mountain summit, the entire mountainous region broke into a spiderweb of cracks with her at the center. Araya could not possibly have expected such power to come from a girl's slender legs.
Her goal, however, was not to bring down the mountain. Her Wyvern Stomp would stagger anyone, forcing them to stop moving for at least a moment.
"RAAAAAH!!!!"
A flash occurred.
The Red-Eyed Dragon of Vengeance was enveloped in a bright flash of flaming golden light. A moment later Anna's body had dawned in a shining red and gold armor composed of spiked shoulder pads and a chest piece alongside dark, reinforced chainmail that protected her midriff. Furthermore, her waist and thighs were protected by yet another inner layer of black chainmail enveloped by an outer layer of golden draconic armor. Lastly, two sets of twin claws full of poison materialized as attachments to her golden gauntlets.
Araya tried to attack in his stunned state, but Anna met his swing with her claws — those draconic fangs shined bright with their intense heat.
Of course, Araya had a response in mind. Before Anna had even begun her counterattack, the mysterious man had read the course her claws would take and promptly met them with his thin energy blade. Yet it was useless.
"Guh!"
By predicting his counter—Anna managed to catch his blade in-between her claws for a moment. As a result, Araya was left vulnerable. Using her other hand, Anna aimed her next attack directly at his skull. Her twin fangs would pierce through the man's eyes and smash his brains in. There was no way he could hold back the enormous power she was bringing against him.
However... he would not accept defeat.
"Converge!" He shouted as the flaming wings that allowed him to speed-blitz Anna earlier morphed into flaming hands that instantaneously reached down and embraced Anna's fist preventing her strike.
Stuck in a deadlock — Anna let her instincts take over. "Screw! You!" she shouted before violently headbutting Araya. The sheer power of her attack forced him off of the ground and sent him flying through the air like a rag doll.
"!!" his vision blurred. Luckily he managed to flip in the air and land on his feet a few inches away from the cliffside.
Despite having read the course of her movements completely, he had been thrown at least 40 meters by her attack, a fact that had a cold sweat running down his face.
"...I guess I really can't take even a single hit from you... a Fell Dragon really is as mighty as the old myths say."
"You really worked hard for this, didn't you?" Anna called to him as he recovered at the edge of the cliff.
"You tried to come at me right at the start of the match to catch me before I could get a read of your technique. Too bad for you that I'm always at my best. You missed your chance for a quick kill."
Her voice was full of confidence. The Anna that Araya knew from the history books had never had that attitude. In the tales, she always knew that she was strong, but despite that, she had always seemed to find herself lacking. Here and now, however, she was strong plain and simple.
"I missed my chance? Don't be ridiculous."
That's right — thinking he had failed was a huge mistake.
As he popped his shoulder back into place, he looked at Anna with exhilaration clear on his face. He'd had multiple chances to attack already, but he had not taken them. He could see that in the moment that he were to move forward the gaping mouth of a dragon would devour him.
"Hehe..." Suddenly, amidst their staredown, Anna began to giggle.
Then...
"......"
She stopped defending herself completely. Instead she spread her arms wide before Araya purposely making herself completely defenseless. It was as if she was saying, "Go on, stab me."
It was so unexpected that Araya completely stopped. Seeing this, Anna began to laugh harder.
"What's wrong, old man? Why won't you attack me? Just look at how many openings I've given you."
The girl's smile was so bewitching that it seemed more suited to inviting him into her bedroom than inviting him to attack her. But nevertheless he did not move.
"You underestimate me, " Araya concluded with a half-hearted grin. Seeing his caution, Anna let out a regretful sigh.
"Too bad. At this rate things you'll never let your guard down... so I guess we can skip the warm-up now."
As soon as those words left her mouth, the world twisted.
".............!!"
"Kohryu - Total Chaos Release!"
Anna's body suddenly started producing so much heat that sparks and embers flew from her hair. The heat warped the air around her. At the same time, the very world around her thundered. It was quite the mighty sound, a massive heartbeat that made the ground shiver. In time with the beating — Anna's armor began to flash with light from deep within her.
A moment later her powerful armor melted away into a puff of smoke and in its place remained her shirtless torso and burnt up pants. The crimson insignia of a dazzlingly bright dragon head marked the center of her chest and four flaming shot from her back.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■...!!!!"
Her mouth was spread wide open to reveal great fangs whilst she howled to the sky and melted the blizzard. Her voice was no longer that of a girl, but instead had become a mighty roar like the crash of the ocean. There was no doubting her strength now.
As her power exploded into a flowing, magma-like aura, her trademark jet black and red hair shifted to a golden color. Alas, her transformation came to an end when both of Anna's irises became bright red.
"This is..!! This light!! That insignia!! There can be no doubt!!! Kohryu!! You have brought out the full potential of a hybrid between a mythical dragon and a human... the first Half-Blooded Dragon Fell since the end of the Age of Myths!!" Araya excitedly proclaimed. He couldn't help but admire Anna's strength.
Anna and Kohryu—their synchronization had tapped into a higher level of existence, something beyond what either one could achieve on their own. That scorching heat emanating from her turned the blizzard into the equivalent of hell on Earth. The snow melted, the cracked mountains became pure magma, the woods spontaneously combusted, and alas the skies were covered by a red hue.
"■■■Araya — hurting our family was a huge mistake, and you will pay for that■■■!"
Kohryu's bellowing voice and Anna's confident tone mixed together into one. With a simple swipe of her finger through empty air, the kinetic energy generated behind it was so intense the air itself was blasted towards Araya forcing him to protect his face using his right arm. Her sheer movement alone was now enough to create continent-wide thunderstorms.
"Girl...our synchronization has amplified our strength exponentially at the cost of burning through our lifespan and life force. Our armor Teigu, Seishin, served as an additional layer that limited access to this form. Now that it is broken, we can only safely maintain this state for about five minutes or so."
Kohryu's explanation ran through Anna's mind. Now there was truly no reason to show restraint.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■...!!!!"
A dragon's roar drowned out the sun. It was no exaggeration, the day had turned to night as the echo of Kohryu and Anna's fused power bent the very foundations of space-time.
At the same time, a change had occurred in Anna's body which was visible to the eyes. The bright shine produced from her body grew more intense. The outline of the being named Anna began to blur into light itself.
Reappearing right in front of Araya — her right hand closed into a fist as she delivered an uppercut straight to his chin. The man skyrocketed upward into the clouds above like a ragdoll. As for what remained of the mountains surrounding Anna, their entirety was engulfed by the girl's scorching aura in the blink of an eye. The dense mountainous range was left almost completely vaporized when Anna launched into the air to chase her target.
Her fist connected with Araya's energy blade once more when they meet midair. The two sped across the skies, piercing the clouds while at it. The man had to deal with a wild flurry of punches with no more than a rapier, but he did manage to keep up with her nonetheless.
Suddenly four black, shadowy tentacle-like appendages stretched around Araya's angelic, energy wings, and swirled around Anna's four limbs.
"Bind of the Elder God!"
Multiple energy swords began to rain down on top of the restraint female. Several dark blades landed against her chest, stomach, thighs, and knees before disappearing. In their place powerful curses were put in their places in the form of black spots that served to corrode Anna's skin.
"Not yet... I won't die here!"
Looking up at the night sky, Anna sought to the stars. The number of colorfully colored stars spanned over 100,000 in the nocturnal night sky wrapping the whole vast world.
"Severance of the Cosmos!"
The stars started flowing in order from the outermost marginal one, playing a sound like a bell, aiming for a certain point.
Innumerable light spots began to blink in the northern sky. The flock of stars began to move. In the form of streams of light, a cascade of white, blue, red, green, yellow light drew a huge rainbow in the night sky. At its end, Anna became one with that miracle. The moment when the stars that flowed countlessly from the northern sky became rainbow-colored waterfalls and flowed into her, she had become a goddess in her own right.
Embellished in the light of 100,000 stars, a large translucent odachi materialized under Anna's possession. The sword absorbed the power from the extensive space as its core. The last one of the stars considered to keep raining infinitely was sucked into by the sword.
The Blade of the Severance shone in the color of pure gold.
Light began to flow from the handle into Anna's arm and filled her body with renewed strength.
"■■■Oh ... oooooooooooooooh■■■!!"
The roar of a mighty dragon in all of its brilliance.
Six draconic wings birthed of pure energy sprung from the girl's back as she held her fiery blade. The cosmos themselves shook under the weight of her presence.
Nodding in approval, Araya smiled. "To think you would come this far for your so-called family... very well, you are worthy of facing the full might of the Destroyer!"
The two ascended into the heavens — to the point where their position overlooked the Earth.
Not another word was spoken.
The two converged at each other at at a speed far beyond light.
"■■■ This is the end■■■!" the dragonkin roared as loud as she possibly could whilst channeling the entirety of strength into her now moon-sized odachi.
Time seemed to slow down as Araya pressed the side of his necklace, the dark miasma around it instantaneously spreading over the farthest reaches of dark space.
Then... she saw it.
Staring through Araya's aura, she saw Abbaddon's true face.
As the light of the stars contained in her blade clashed against the pure wall of darkness that consumed Araya, the dragonkin could do little but watch in awe as the almighty power of the legendary dragon Kohryu vanished into the veil of nothingness — the blade that represented the heights of their bond cracking into a thousand pieces before blinking out of an existence.
"No..."
"You have failed, child," Abbadon spoke through the darkness that now surrounded and entrapped Anna.
Its face...it was a hideous monster with vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. Within that realm of darkness the monster towered above the universe, no, it existed outside of it.
Anna felt... beyond insignificant before it. Her hands sought to claw her own eyeballs out while her brain simultaneously ceased rational thought.
"No...no...NO!"
"Anna stop!"
The girl's hands stopped just short of squishing her own eyes out of their sockets. Kohryu's influence had saved her. Regardless this was but a temporary solution, one that came at a great cost.
"Koh...ryu..."
Anna could feel it — her ever-present companion had reached his limit. A small outline of fire could be seen around Anna's body, it was all that protected her from the cold void.
The presence of that monster, a God, was unlike anything she felt in her lifetime. Anna felt her insides begin to burn, blood escaped her lips, her skin felt like it'd melt, but worst of all... Kohryu was fading alongside her.
His soul, the soul of the friend that accompanied her through thick and thin, began to evaporate into nothingness.
"N-No...Kohryu...we can't die here—
"Anna...I...I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." he interrupted the girl. In that moment an orb of light left Anna's chest — it immediately expanded and morphed into the true form of the mythical dragon of destruction.
"Our time together — I cherished it with all my hearts. Anna... please, live on. Be a survivor. One gains strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look your fear eye to eye. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along. Survive...you'll be alone and things will be difficult...but this is not the end, I believe in you, Anna."
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown — and right now Anna's heart raced into a storm of uncertainty.
"My dying wish is that the God of Dragons may guide your way, Anna."
"..."
In Anna's subconscious she could see the image of a radiant golden flame about to be snuffed out by the might of the cold breeze.
"Koh...—
Her words couldn't reach him. With a mere nod, Kohryu sent Anna through the void of that pocket reality and back down to Earth. When she opened her eyes, all she saw was the kindness of the southern blue skies and the whiteness of an unending field of snow for her tired body to rest on.
The last flame of Kohryu's life was about to be snuffed out by a God that existed far beyond the farthest Anna's comprehension...
Anna did not scream or beg for help. Instead she silently shed her last tear underneath a blanket of snow and blood.
"Kohryu...
Ren...
Selan...
Ichi...
Everyone...
They're all gone...
There is no one left.
All that remained of Anna's consciousness now wavered on the brink of life and death. "Am I destined to die alone?" she pondered.
Such kindness would not be awarded to her. "Is this how the mighty dragon of vengeance falls?" Araya inquired as he descended onto the field of snow. He still appeared to be completely unscathed in spite of the fact he took the full potency of Anna's strength head on.
"Anna my dear... it is absolutely necessary, for the peace and safety of our kingdom, that some of earth's dark, dead corners and unplumbed depths be let alone; lest sleeping abnormalities wake to resurgent life, and blasphemously surviving nightmares squirm and splash out of their black lairs to newer and wider conquests. You are now one of these corners — a loose end that must be eliminated for the sake of lasting order in my new world."
Anna could do little more than struggle to get up on her feet as Araya continued to monologue in unrelenting fashion. In the end, she could only get up on one knee.
Aiming his rapier blade at her chest, Araya pulled his arm back in order to ready a thrusting motion.
"Goodbye, you foolish little bitc—
The wind began to pick up.
A chill ran up Araya's spine — a sensation so cold it burned.
"This pressure..." distressed, Araya looked towards the trees in the distance. Likewise, Anna looked over her shoulder.
The night air wrapped its fingers around Araya's throat. "Is this...a human's presence?" he thought as he backed away giving room for Anna to slowly get up on her knees.
The pressure she felt drawing near rivalled the Ancient God she had encountered.
Emerging from the woods amidst a fiery aura, the figure of a red-eyed man with long, messy black hair came into view. He wore a black jacket with golden trim and buttons on the outside like a uniform at an academy but the inside was laced with red velvet. Underneath that, he wore a white T-shirt. Around his waist was a blue sash over top of another sash that was comprised of a red scarf. Black pants, black gloves and boots rounded out the rest of his attire, along with a crucifix-like necklace. The crimson luster around the man condensed itself as he approached Araya and Anna. Part of a chinese dragon tattoo could be seen rising up his left arm, however, most of it was obscured by his sleeve.
When he was about twenty meters away, the former dragonkin decided to speak up. "Who... are you?" Anna inquired using whatever remained of her stamina in the process.
Araya's face meanwhile became filled with a bout of silent fury. "How dare you interrupt a king? This girl is a criminal who must be executed!" he put it bluntly.
With a half-hearted smile, the mysterious man let out a meek sigh. "A King? Please you're the irrelevant puppet of a Cthulhu wannabe, " he casually remarked before smiling.
"How dare you?! Araya angrily shouted whilst immediately calling upon his crystal's powers. Almost instantaneously a vast legion of blades composed of dark matter formed above the bold man and promptly rained down upon him.
The impact of those projectiles caused them to detonate upon impact; thus leaving a huge crater and creating a huge cloud of smoke.
Araya relinquished an intoxicated laughter. "NONE CAN SPEAK ILL OF Abbadon!" he madly proclaimed.
That confidence in his god, however, was broken by what happened next.
"Look at you getting so easily offended. Talk about being paper thin. Sorry to break it to you bud, but I'm always brutally honest. It's not my fault the truth hurts."
As the smoke cleared, the unnamed male stood at the center of the crater completely uninjured.
Reappearing right in front of Araya, the red-eyed man set his gaze upon the Follower of Abbadon.
"I know you're hurt, but here have a band-aid, " he spoke while at the same time delivering a swift punch to Araya's gut. The impact of the strike brought his frame forward causing him to gasp for air only to then have him be propelled into the far distance. By the time his consciousness caught up to the pain he was lying motionless on the snow.
Despite her best efforts, Anna could not keep track of the mysterious individual's movements at all. A certain vibe surrounded him though, that much she could tell.
Gathering whatever strength she managed to get back in the time it took her savior to beat Araya with no more than a punch, Anna covered up her exposed breasts with one arm and stumbled up to him. She was never one to care about being naked among men, her less than usual upbringing had done away with her feminine sense of shame. But this time, something within Anna's heart compelled her to behave in a more civilized manner.
"That tattoo you have there... you're like I was, aren't you? A Fell Dragon I think was the term, " she broke the silence.
The man smiled — his mature yet youthful face causing the girl's heart to skip a beat. "Fell Dragon huh? I like the name. Guess you could say I'm one of them, but well... let's just say I'm not exactly from around here, " he responded amicably.
"Yeah, about that... who are you exactly? I should know the name of my savior... maybe I can thank you somehow?" Anna awkwardly contemplated. It took her a few seconds to realize the accidental pick up line she had dropped in there.
The male cracked up a bit over the girl's choice of words. "Where are my manners right, young lady? My name is Akaro, " he elegantly remarked only to then bow down.
"And you're not out of danger just yet, " Akaro pointed to where Araya had landed. The malicious individual had risen to his feet, now holding his stomach in pain.
His face distorted into that of a mad man. "How can I be a victim of such humiliation?! I gave my everything for this power... I cannot die as long as the Great Destroyer desires! I can snuff out the entire universe on a whim! How can I ever be bested by a simple man?! ...it's not fair!"
The facade of a man seeking justice fell apart. All that could be seen in the wake of despair and defeat was a simple individual full of insecurities being used by a grander entity.
Without a hint of his playful attitude, Akaro set his sights onto the shell of the man. "Araya, why do you seek power?" he made a simple question, but it shook the madman to his core.
"Why...?"
The gleeful escapism provided by the power of a God ceased leaving only the man, Araya.
He saw what he once had... a life.
A bumpkin in the countryside doing manual labor for a farm. Day in and day out, Araya would put on a simple white shirt and work for grueling hours to barely make ends meet.
Life was a never-ending cycle. Till one day... he was called to action.
A neighboring village was set ablaze and the fire had reached the farm he worked on. Yes, he still remembered the sight and the smell of that inferno spreading endlessly.
Anna, Selan, Ren... he had heard of these talented children but little did he know that his decision to heroically charge through the chaos would end in unforeseen consequences.
As he emerged from the woods, he saw the horror of war. There was a housewife being beaten down and stripped naked by soldiers, men were likewise forced into horrible fates. They were forced to form a line — only to be executed by a firing squad.
Amidst the chaos he observed Esdeath's prowess as a warmonger, the strength of Night Raid, and the failure of both sides to save anyone.
For willingly taking lives — they were all subhuman trash in his eyes.
"But I was worse than trash for watching and doing nothing. My own impotence prevented me from saving a single life."
A nobody.
A coward.
Araya fell to a lost bullet that pierced his heart.
He who would forever be just another nameless victim of that massacre.
The music of war faded, the violin of life slowed. The darkness took hold as the light of consciousness abandoned him.
Araya's last glimpse of life came in the form of the original trio's escape. In his last breath he saw their future, their sin ridden lives, and their deaths. He could see all the good, all the bad. Except for the girl — Anna — her death was not yet visible.
The Empire would fall but heartless rebels would take power. Anna, and others, would go unpunished despite taking lives.
"Unacceptable!"
That's when the Destroyer embraced his soul.
"My omnipotence will guide you to your justice."
That was the Elder God's promise.
That was Araya's reality — he became a puppet given new life and a self-righteous purpose.
"Why do I seek power? In life I never had any — I was a man without hopes in a dead end job. Then, I died. Irrelevant and forgotten. I could never accept that this world would praise killers as war heroes while good people like me died by the dozens... so I made a deal with Abbadon," Araya finally broke down.
Titled by his words, Anna burst with anger. "What a goddamn hypocrite! You claim others are sinners because they took lives but you're no better! You would have killed me if I didn't fight back!" she shouted.
Likewise Araya would not bow down and listen to a brat. "You would never understand what I've been through! I'm a dead man walking — and as such I'm completely willing to be a sinner myself if it means nobody else has to suffer!"
"And what do you think we're doing huh?! Night Raid fought and died so that no else would have to be unfairly punished and die pointless deaths — we fought so that people who ended up like you would not exist!" Anna angrily retorted.
Araya clenched his fists. "Tch..." he growled under his breath. The unyielding anger he felt could not be put into words.
"Araya, tell us the truth and we might let you live. What is Abbadon's plan? He must be using you for something grander," Akaro interjected.
"You're smarter than the girl it seems, good. I'll tell you, stranger. The Abbadon that came to this world exists in past, present, and future simultaneously and it can freely jump between them with its transcendent and almighty "higher-dimensional perspective" of space-time. The Abbadon that Anna saw in that pocket dimension was a version of it that existed in a point in time before it was sealed by the goddess Relaria.
It knows of the future... it knows Relari will seal it. Therefore he plans to stop those events from occuring; thus creating a new timeline where he succeeds in killing Relaria and taking over this world."
"But... Kohryu said she sealed him a long time ago," Anna pointed out.
"Correct, Anna. From our perspective it would make no sense — but we're merely witnessing said events out of chronological order. Think of it like this:
Relaria at some point will appear in this current year. You two will meet, and by telling her of her destiny she will know that she has to go back in time and seal Abbadon when he appears long ago. However, by getting rid of you now... she'll be oblivious to it all and the Great Old One will be free."
"Wouldn't that mean you'd die as well, Araya? If your God destroys this world in the past then there will be no future where you succeed," Akaro said.
"... Indeed — life is pointless, stranger. No matter what the decisions of the divine will guide our own. Normally changing the past would be impossible since any change will make it so the reason you went back in time in the first place never existed; thus creating a paradox. However, as I said before Abbadon exists simultaneously across all of time and can decide and select the ideal future from an infinite number. Any contradictions or paradoxes that may occur are ultimately meaningless since no matter what would occurs in the past its existence is an immutable concept."
"But you're not immune to paradoxes," Anna coldly pointed out, "Your dumbass is on a suicide mission from the beginning... are you actually that much of an idiot?!"
Araya sighed whilst shaking his head. "Does it matter, child? As long as I get to create my ideal world where my justice is unchallenged then it does not matter if my rule is brief."
The conversation came to an abrupt end. Anna and Akaro could do naught but pity the deluded fool.
Taking a step in the madman's direction, the mysterious Akaro closed his own eyes and took a deep breath. "I would normally crack a joke to ease the mood, but you... man you're a mess," he spoke not in a spiteful tone but in an emotionless tone.
"Araya, don't you know? He who reigns within himself and rules passions, desires, and fears is more than a king. Instead you embraced your impulses — and that turned you into someone's puppet," Akaro concluded while reaching out with his hand.
Within his grasp crimson electricity began to swirl, the bolts of energy crackled and twisted into odd shapes before converging and reforming in what seemed to be the shape of a sheathed katana. The sheath itself had various mechanical contraptions, a black and silver finish, and a red trigger just under the tsuba.
Holding onto the sheath, Akaro pressed the trigger. In that same instant the katana contained within the chamber was shot out at incredible speed, but nonetheless its user still managed to grasp the blade's handle with ease and use the added momentum to swing his weapon cutting through the air from a downwards to upwards crescent angle.
The crimson blade filled with flowing red electricity as it cut through the air. The sword defied the very concept of 'distance', this facet of its structure allowing the motion of the attack to cut down Araya in an instant. By the time his bifurcated cadaver fell onto the ground he evaporated into a miasma of pure darkness.
"Yo," Akaro utters as be turns to face the freezing Anna, "The two of us should probably get going. That Araya fella is not actually dead... that was just a projection of him. Also I'm afraid your friends are still in trouble... if we don't hurry they'll be facing the firing squad."
The girl shivered in place, barely able to stand in the freezing weather now that Kohryu was gone. To be offered safety after a nightmarish battle was like a dream, but she had to know more about her mysterious savior first.
"I'm not going anywhere... now until I know exactly who you are," Anna asserted strongly. The man named Akaro smiled amicably in response to her distrust. After everything she has been through it only made sense.
"Listen... Kohryu used his dying wish to save you. He prayed for the God of Dragons to protect you, and in fact his prayer was so strong it conjured me to this world. Once more... my name is Akaro Hajime, and I'm the Envoy of the Crimson Dragon. You could say this dragon is the true archetypal origin of the species."
Anna nodded whilst barely keeping up with the explanation. "Okay whatever. I don't really care... wake me up when we're in the Capital..." the girl mumbled before falling flat onto the snow — or at least she would have done so had her Envoy friend not caught her mid-fall.
He chuckled before picking her up onto his arms in a bridal carry pose.
"Alright Anna... let's go save your friends and the world."