The silence in the warded stone house was absolute.
Kenshin, Asami, and Horuto leaned forward, completely captivated by the ancient tale of the Strong Holders.
Master Brados traced the intricate, glowing filigree of his jade longsword.
The memory of the battle was etched into his very soul.
“When two Strong Holders clash, especially ones wielding the absolute apex of their power, the physical realm suffers,” Brados explained, his voice low and solemn.
“King Bellod and I were no longer merely fighting. We were erasing the geography of the third realm.”
Brados closed his eyes, plunging back into the apocalyptic memories of the blood-red sky.
-Break-
The air screamed as Brados and Bellod moved at flash-step speeds that defied comprehension.
To the millions of soldiers fighting on the plains below, the two ancient warriors were completely invisible.
They appeared only as two violent streaks of light—one deep, jade green, the other burning, volatile red—colliding thousands of feet in the air.
CLANG.
CLANG.
BOOM.
Red and green energy paths spiraled upward in tandem, displaying a violent vertical pursuit as Brados chased Bellod up the jagged, obsidian cliffs of the volcanic mountains.
The paths crossed mid-air, indicating multiple thunderous impacts where the Green Dragon Guandao met the Dark Metal Spear, scattering explosive sparks through the choked atmosphere.
A massive, head-on collision caused a blinding white flash, momentarily pausing the fight.
The two warriors locked weapons, their aura pressure crushing the surrounding rock into dust, before breaking away to continue the blindingly fast chase.
Bellod sprinted down the steep face of a stone pillar, the gravity-defying speed of his Wyvern wings propelling him downward.
Brados met him head-on by running directly up the vertical wall.
“You die here, traitor!” Bellod roared.
The King thrust his spear.
The Crimson Comet Thrust cloaked the weapon in a swirling drill of dark red energy.
It tore through the air, aimed directly at Brados’s heart.
Brados executed a flawless sliding low-pass, his dark-green Drake wings folding tightly as he slipped under the lunging swipe.
The red energy drill completely missed him, obliterating the top half of the mountain behind him instead.
Instantly, Brados pivoted into a rising spin to maintain his momentum.
He swung the long shaft of the Guandao, aiming the bottom blade to sever Bellod’s legs.
Bellod flipped backward to dodge, turning around mid-air to launch a multi-directional flurry of spear thrusts.
The red lightning snapped like whips, trying to bind Brados.
The two bounced off the air itself, crisscrossing in the sky multiple times, leaving a massive, intricate network of red and green light trails.
The flash-speed segment culminated in a sudden, brutal stop as they landed on the highest peak of the remaining mountain.
They were deadlocked hand-to-hand, the jagged jade blade of the Guandao grinding violently against the double-ended spiked spear.
“Why, Brados?!” Bellod bellowed, the red ruby on his spear blindingly bright.
“Why throw away thousands of years of brotherhood for these scaled beasts?”
“Because honor cannot be built on genocide!” Brados countered, his muscles bulging as he pushed against the King’s immense physical strength.
Brados broke the deadlock.
He swung his left hand, bringing the translucent jade longsword around in a blinding arc.
The Phantom Jade Parry absorbed the kinetic recoil of Bellod’s counter-strike, allowing Brados to smoothly transition into his ultimate attack.
“Grand Fury!” Brados shouted.
He funneled his entire aura into the jade sword.
The blade roared, unleashing a massive, roaring dragon-face energy projectile that tracked perfectly toward Bellod.
The King sneered.
The red aura surrounding him coalesced into a colossal, sentient Wyvern made entirely of pure, concentrated dark-red lightning.
“Roar of the Crimson Wyvern!” Bellod commanded.
The two apex attacks collided in the sky.
The green dragon-face and the red lightning wyvern violently bit into each other, creating an explosion of magical energy so absolute that it instantly vaporized the storm clouds above them.
The shockwave blasted both warriors backward.
Brados crashed into the rocky earth, his Drake wings shielding his body.
He stood up, wiping a streak of blood from his chin.
His chest was heaving.
He had been fighting at absolute maximum capacity for over four hours.
Through the settling dust, Bellod emerged.
The King was panting heavily, his dark-crimson armor dented and scarred.
The ruby in the center of his spear was flickering, its energy nearly exhausted.
But Bellod was not looking at Brados.
He was looking down at the battlefield below.
Brados followed the King’s gaze.
The tide of the war had completely turned.
In the center of the plains, Draglus stood victorious.
Amator’s golden dual warhammers lay broken in the dirt, the Strong Holder retreating in disgrace.
Nearby, Arguton’s crimson ring-blade was shattered, the elegant warrior limping away from the front lines.
And Zenjiro, having fulfilled his duty without sacrificing his honor, had already fallen back to protect the retreating Gladeon lines.
Of Bellod’s twenty million soldiers, nearly ten million lay dead on the volcanic plains.
In contrast, Brados and Draglus had lost just over one million.
The Gladeon army was completely broken.
They were fleeing.
Bellod stared at the routing army, his Wyvern wings trembling with absolute rage.
He gripped his spear, preparing to launch his World-Piercing Ruby Descent—the suicidal attack that would shatter the tectonic plates and end everything.
Brados readied the Dragon Guandao, preparing to intercept the world-ending strike at the cost of his own life.
But Bellod stopped.
The King looked around at the broken bodies of his loyal soldiers.
He looked at his defeated Strong Holders.
Finally, he looked back at Brados.
The tyrannical fire in Bellod’s eyes slowly extinguished, replaced by a cold, bitter realization.
He could destroy the realm, but he would rule over nothing but ashes.
“You have won this day, traitor,” Bellod spat, his voice devoid of its usual thunderous authority.
“But the cosmic wheel turns. We will meet again.”
With a powerful flap of his dark red Wyvern wings, King Bellod took to the sky.
He did not look back as he retreated, leading the remnants of the Nine and his shattered army toward their evacuation portals.
The war was over.
-Break-
“They accepted defeat,” Brados said quietly, returning to the present moment in the small stone house.
“They created backup portals and evacuated to a different dimension. We had won, but the cost was staggering.”
Kenshin exhaled a breath he did not know he had been holding.
The sheer scale of the conflict was impossible to truly fathom.
“What happened next, Master?” Horuto asked, leaning in.
“Draglus took me and my surviving loyalists to their new, permanent planet,” Brados explained.
“We lived in peace for several years. When I finally decided it was time to return to my birthplace—this Endlerworld—Draglus gifted me the Guandao and the Jade Sword permanently. He told me to keep them, and to remember the pride of the Dragons whenever I needed strength.”
Brados’s weathered face softened.
A rare, gentle vulnerability crept into his dark eyes.
“But before I returned to the Endlerworld,” Brados murmured, “I took a detour. I went to the Liyami world.”
Asami’s icy blue eyes widened slightly.
She knew that name.
“The Liyami world? But that is where…”
“Yes,” Brados nodded.
“That is where Hikari went when she abandoned the Nine.”
Brados leaned back in his chair.
The tales of apocalyptic wars were behind him.
The memory he summoned now was quieter, yet far more painful.
“I tracked her magical signature,” Brados continued softly.
“The Liyami world was a deeply cultured, ancient realm. When I arrived, I discovered that Hikari was not just living there. After her parents had passed, she had taken up her birthright. She was the Queen of the Liyami realm, residing in an impenetrable castle.”
“Why did you not just ask for an audience?” Kenshin asked, confused.
“She was heavily guarded, and I was a former Strong Holder who had just fought a cosmic war,” Brados chuckled bitterly.
“Politics are rarely so simple. I knew there was no way to meet her easily. So, I disguised my aura and joined her castle guard as a lowly soldier.”
For months, the ancient warrior played the part of a common guard, learning the layout of the castle and the routines of the Liyami knights.
“I searched,” Brados said.
“And I finally found her royal chambers. There were dozens of elite guards posted outside her door at all times. I only had one chance to see her.”
-Break-
The memory shifted to a quiet, moonlit corridor in the Liyami castle.
Brados, wearing the silver armor and plumed helmet of a common guard, carried a silver tray holding the Queen’s evening meal.
He had seamlessly taken the place of the usual servant, keeping his head bowed low to hide his grey-white beard.
He moved past the elite guards with a polite nod, pushing open the heavy oak doors of the royal chambers.
The room was vast and opulent.
Standing near the grand balcony window, staring out at the moonlit gardens, was Hikari.
She looked exactly as she had centuries ago.
Her pale golden blonde hair cascaded well past her waist, shimmering like spun honey in the moonlight.
She wore an elegant, flowing gown that complemented her slender, graceful figure.
Brados quietly set the silver plates down on the bedside table.
His heart hammered against his ribs.
He wanted so desperately to speak to her, to hold her after the years of bloodshed and separation. Get faster updates on g.com.
But suddenly, a strange, overwhelming cowardice gripped the ancient warrior.
He was a man of war; she was a creature of peace.
He remained silent.
He turned on his heel, intending to quietly leave the room.
“How long are you going to stand there without talking to me?”
The voice was soft, melodic, and achingly familiar.
Brados froze.
Hikari did not turn around from the window.
“It has been years, Brados. But not nearly as long as the centuries we spent together on our thrones.”
Brados let out a low chuckle, a genuine smile breaking across his weathered face.
He turned back toward her.
“You are right. It has.”
Hikari finally turned away from the moonlight.
Her bright, vivid blue eyes locked onto him.
She walked across the plush carpets with an elegant, airy grace.
When she reached him, her delicate hands reached up, gently lifting the heavy silver helmet from his head.
Her soft fingers traced the deep, battle-worn wrinkles on his cheek.
“I missed this face of yours,” Hikari whispered, her serene expression softening with deep affection.
They spent the entire night talking.
Brados told her everything—the warning to Draglus, the apocalyptic war against Bellod, the sacrifice of his loyalists, and the strange, tragic mercy of Zenjiro.
In return, Hikari spoke of her new life.
She told him of her parents’ passing, and the heavy burden of ruling the Liyami realm alone, nurturing a civilization of peace and culture.
As the first light of dawn began to paint the horizon, the conversation slowly died down.
Brados stood near the edge of the bed, looking down at his calloused hands.
“Hikari…” Brados began, his voice heavy with the inevitable truth.
“The thing is… I want to go back to my world now. I love the Endlerworld. I love you, too… but I cannot permanently live here. No matter what.”
Hikari’s bright blue eyes widened in shock.
The serene composure shattered.
“Why not?” Hikari asked, her voice trembling slightly.
“You have no one left in the Endlerworld. The Strong Holders are gone. Your loyalists are scattered. Why not stay here… with me?”
Brados shook his head slowly.
“Because it is a wonderful world. And I have responsibilities there. I must rebuild.”
“What responsibilities?” Hikari demanded, taking a step toward him.
“I have an empire there,” Brados explained gently.
“A strong sanctuary. The people of the Underward need guidance to ensure they are never crushed by another tyrant.”
“So you are not going to leave them for me?” Hikari asked, tears welling in her crystalline blue eyes.
“They are not your family, Brados! They are just people passing through your life. Can you not just let them be?”
“No,” Brados replied, his voice firm but heartbroken.
“I cannot. I have duties, just as you have your duties to this castle.”
Hikari grabbed the collar of his tunic.
Her delicate fingers twisted the fabric angrily as tears finally spilled down her porcelain cheeks.
“Do you know how much I missed you?” Hikari cried, her voice cracking.
“Every single day I thought about you! And you came here after years, just for what? To tell me you have to go back to your Endlerworld? I thought you would finally come and live with me! How… how could you?”
Brados did not argue.
He did not offer excuses.
Instead, he gently wrapped his large hands around her waist, pulled her close, and leaned down, pressing his lips passionately against hers.
-Break-
The next morning, the sun streamed brightly into the royal chambers.
Hikari awakened slowly, tangled in the soft, silken sheets of her bed.
She reached out, expecting to find the solid, warm presence of the man she loved.
The bed was empty.
Hikari sat up, pulling the sheets against her chest.
On the bedside table, resting beside the silver plates, was a small, folded piece of parchment.
With trembling fingers, Hikari picked it up and read the messy handwriting.
I was not prepared to say goodbye to you.
I am sorry.
But in the future…
we will meet again.
I love you, Brados.
The parchment slipped from her hand.
Hikari covered her face, a heartbreaking sob escaping her lips.
Alone in her opulent castle, the Queen wept bitterly for the ancient warrior who had chosen his duty over her heart.