A planet-sized, diamond-shaped crystal hovered in the middle of a dark space, lighting up the seemingly endless darkness around it...
The diamond radiated an immense, unimaginable energy, its brilliant glow illuminating the surrounding space as faint ripples of power spread through the darkness...
Several silhouettes stood beneath the diamond, surrounded by a mountain of countless corpses... If anyone could see what these vanquished beasts were, they would definitely be left in shock...
These beasts were wyverns, minotaurs, phoenixes, and countless other fantasy beasts of great power... Their sizes ranged from creatures only three meters tall to titan-sized beasts that could easily dwarf dozens of mountains, while others were so enormous that their bodies were large enough to span entire continents...
Yet they all lay dead at the feet of those silhouettes, illuminated by the diamond’s immense glow... It was clear that these silhouettes were people of immense power...
Among them was a young man wearing slightly tattered clothes, his body covered in several wounds, most of which had already healed...
He stared at the gigantic diamond for a moment before slowly turning toward the figure standing before him, the man who appeared to be leading the team.
"Finally..."
The leading figure, Damien Bale, the Dragon Sovereign, smiled and said, "Yes, Aiden. This is the final step. After this... you won’t have to struggle anymore."
Aiden’s relieved grin widened, not noticing the underlying meaning behind those seemingly reassuring words...
He didn’t notice the sinister smile that briefly appeared on the Dragon Sovereign’s face...
But then...
SWOOSH!!!!
The attack came from behind, faster than sound, faster than light, moving beyond anything a normal human or even a low-level Awakened could possibly perceive!
But Aiden was extremely strong... Despite the unexpected attack from the people behind him, he was actually able to dodge it!
Before he could react, a visible yet intangible golden aura suddenly erupted from the Dragon Sovereign before him and struck Aiden.
It was one of the countless weaknesses that came with being a Dragon Sovereign’s Guard.
His Class, awakened three years ago at the beginning of the apocalypse, had automatically made him the one destined to serve the person chosen to become the Hero of Earth and its people...
On the surface, it was a severely disadvantageous class, making one practically a slave to another person upon awakening, but it came with plenty of bonuses and boosts that made one overlook its disadvantages...
Moreover, Aiden and Damien had grown close after three years of fighting side by side, their shared experiences forging a deep bond of trust between them. As a result, Aiden had never taken the disadvantages and weaknesses of his class seriously...
At least, not until now...
Staring at the back of the figure who remained completely nonchalant despite the immense golden aura erupting from him, Aiden was in disbelief.
"Brother... You’re using your Dragon Sovereign Aura on me..."
Damien didn’t even turn around as he replied calmly, "I’m sorry, brother, but your sacrifice is necessary..."
Aiden was still in disbelief... He looked at the figures surrounding him, then at Garrett, the man who had attacked him from behind...
"I can understand him attacking me... It’s always been clear that he doesn’t like me... But you all... You all are betraying me, after everything we’ve been through..."
The figures surrounding him were all silent, their faces carrying conflicting expressions, but those expressions did nothing except annoy Aiden further...
But when Damien spoke again, his voice had changed...
It was not the calm, friendly, brotherly voice Aiden knew... This one was completely different, cold and detached... It was the voice Damien usually reserved for his enemies...
"Yes, Aiden... I am betraying you. We are betraying you... We’ve been through a lot, but it all ends here..."
Damien paused for a moment before continuing...
"You know, as the Dragon Sovereign’s Guard, you can’t resist the Dragon Sovereign... I’ve always wondered why a class such as yours exists, but before reaching this point, I’ve finally uncovered the reason..."
"The final step is the reason why both of our classes are linked... We need to save everyone..."
Aiden’s eyes widened slightly. ’Save everyone? What was Damien talking about?’
Aiden refused to give up. But what could he possibly do?
Against the Dragon Sovereign, his Dragon Sovereign Guard Class made all his immense power completely useless... Despite the immense power he possessed, he couldn’t use any of it... Even an unawakened human, whose strength was insignificant compared to Aiden’s, would have a better chance of resisting the Dragon Sovereign than he did.
After all, Aiden’s Dragon Sovereign Guard demanded 1000% submission to the Dragon Sovereign...
Aiden was immediately forced to his knees by that immense pressure...
The figures surrounding him were completely unaffected. Although Damien’s aura had spread throughout the area, every bit of its pressure was directed solely at Aiden.
Aiden knew that all hope was lost...
He thought that was the end of it until Damien suddenly burst out laughing...
"Hahahahahaha!" He laughed with his back still turned toward Aiden, his gaze fixed on the diamond.
The laughter cut deeper than any wound, striking directly at Aiden’s soul.
After laughing for a while, Damien finally stopped, "You know what’s funny, Aiden?"
He finally glanced back at him.
"Your parents named you Aiden."
His smile widened. "But perhaps they should have named you Aid."
Aiden’s expression froze as Damien continued coldly...
"Because that’s all you’ve ever been." Damien’s smile widened further. "My aid."
Aiden’s pupils trembled unable to say a thing...
"That’s why your Class chose you. That’s why you were born with it." Damien finally turned back toward the diamond once again... "You weren’t born to become my brother, Aiden."
He paused for a moment.
"You were born to become my aid."
Aiden’s heart sank...
"And now, after all these years..." Damien’s voice became cold. "...you finally get to fulfill your purpose."
With that, Damien casually waved his hand, his gaze still fixed on the hovering diamond as he signaled to those behind him.
Taking the signal, Garrett, who stood at Aiden’s side, moved instantly.
Aiden could only hear the swoosh of movement faster than light, unable to do anything under Damien’s Dragon Sovereign’s Aura...
His body wouldn’t obey him... His power wouldn’t respond... He couldn’t even resist... And then... His vision went blank...
Even as his consciousness slipped away, he managed to hear a few final words.
"Aiden Cross... my dear brother. For humanity’s future... for the ascension of the Sovereign of Fate... your sacrifice is necessary."
Garrett’s voice carried a strange calmness, almost affectionate.
"Don’t blame your elder brother. If anyone is to blame, it’s your Dragon Sovereign’s Guard Class for being the perfect vessel."
Then came Garrett’s laughter. And finally, one last cold sentence from Damien that brought everything to an end.
"Class Merge."
’What?!’
Aiden’s heart shattered.
In that instant, countless moments from the past flashed through his mind. Words he had misunderstood, actions he had overlooked, and signs he had never thought twice about.
Everything suddenly made sense.
’So this is who you really are...’