2 Zetearoph

The night air was deathly still. Silence pervaded the air. Not even the chirping of insects during humid summer nights could be heard. Silvery light from the crescent moon illuminated the lands underneath it.

Boom!

An explosion resounded, followed by the sounds of crashing rocks.

A kneeling youth was panting laboriously amidst broken boulders. Blood streamed down from the various wounds on his body. A long and deep bloody gash stretched along his right side under his ribs. His vision was dyed red from the blood in his eye. The world spun around him. Before he could regain his bearings, an invisible whip-like force whipped towards him.

Yu reflexively conjured an elemental shield. A magic circle with intricate patterns appeared on his side. A line of runes in the Old Language swept in a circular arc, attaching itself onto the magic circle as the spell was casted.

White magic energy collected around the magic circle and resonated with the magic energy within Yu himself. All these happened merely in a split second. The spell was released and a shield made of white magic appeared just in time to block the hostile force.

Crash!

The white shield successfully blocked the attack but was shattered into pieces. Yu was sent flying from the collision and landed several feet away. He rolled into a stop and groaned in pain. Several of his ribs were fractured from the impact. His hyper-vigilant senses screamed for him to get up immediately, but his body refused to listen to his commands.

"Pity. Is this all you've got?" A deep voice laced with crackling sounds said.

The voice came from a seemingly ordinary man. He looked like a simple villager with a set of humble linen tunic over a pair of trousers. There were patches of mismatched pieces of cloth sewn over some parts of the tunic.

However, the aura exuded by this man was nothing but ordinary. The living quivered with every step he took. His aura exhibited a huge pressure on all living beings, stopping them in their tracks.

"Dargon," Yu gasped. His body was paralyzed, succumbing to the inhuman pressure from the monstrosity disguised in human skin in front of him. He stared at Dargon with steely eyes, putting on a brave front despite being in a perilous situation.

"Why didn't you unseal your powers?" Dargon gestured towards the collar around Yu's neck.

"You should be many times stronger than your current sealed form," he asked earnestly. He was truly curious.

Yu felt the cold bronze buckle of the collar against his neck. He was incredibly reluctant to use the powers from the Crimson Abyss. He felt that he lost a part of himself each time he gazed into the abyss.

"Are you afraid of it?" Dargon guessed.

Yu maintained his silence.

"... You are afraid," Dargon eyebrows lifted in surprise after observing Yu's expression.

"Interesting, very interesting indeed," he chuckled.

"It seems that Grizz had caused you to be like this. Too many cycles of death and resurrection. But still, you're young, and shouldn't be able to comprehend much of the abyss yet. I still see sanity in your eyes," Dargon thought aloud.

Yu froze when he heard Grizz's name. His expression was a mixture of fear and hate. A chill went down his spine as memories of his past experiences with Grizz flashed into his mind.

About a decade ago, Yu managed to escape Grizz's imprisonment and torture of three years, after a chanced encounter with his Master. He thought that his Master and he had successfully sealed Grizz, that they somehow overcame the curse.

This lasted only a moment. He quickly recovered and came back to the present. When Dargon mentioned Grizz's name, Yu realized that Grizz must still be alive. Fear and uncertainty gripped his heart.

"You know Grizz? He's alive?" he asked as his heart sank.

"Yes, and yes. He's very much alive. He was the one who told me about you and your intriguing condition," Dargon said while his eyes shone with curiosity.

Alas, Yu's final strand of hope was dashed. They did not manage to overcome the curse after all. It was wishful thinking. He knew deep in his heart that the curse was unbreakable, but after so many years, Grizz did not come after him. This had led them to believe that they succeeded.

Disappointment swept Yu's heart. He turned to look for his Master and saw the latter's lifeless body in a pool of blood some distance away. Despair turned to rage.

He struggled to free himself but to no avail. He could only grit his teeth in frustration and asked Dargon accusingly, "What do you want with me?"

"I want you to help me," Dargon replied.

"What?"

"You are an interesting existence. An Estavan turned Dark Knight. Powers from two worlds existing within a single body. One from here on Earth and the other from the Crimson Abyss. Your existence may hold the key to facilitate human evolution," Dargon explained.

Nothing but confusion was expressed all over Yu's face.

Dargon laughed.

"Boy, you know nothing, don't you? Didn't your Master tell you anything? Maybe he told you something along these lines:

The Dark Knights and Zetearophs share the same power source, which is the Crimson Abyss.

Right, we are the same, you and I," he sneered.

Yu frowned. 'What has that got to do with human evolution? What has that got to do with me?' He thought.

Seeing Yu's expression, Dargon rejoiced, now that he got the latter's attention.

"I guess I'll have to explain it to you so that you understand my motivations. Perhaps you'll be willing to help me then," he said.

"You know about the Crimson Gloom, right? The energy from the Crimson Abyss that leaked into your world when the dimensional rifts that appeared and connected our world to yours about four hundred years ago. During that time, your world was exposed to the power of the Crimson Abyss via our world, Zetea.

The great power from the Crimson Abyss gradually changes everything it touches. Nobody really knows what it is and where it came from. The abyss first appeared in our homeworld. It granted us incredible powers, as you now know. It is now doing the same to your world. It's a natural process," Dargon paused.

"Still, what has that got to do with me? What gives you the right to ambush us? Why kill my Master?" Yu almost shouted as his frown got deeper.

"I apologize. My curiosity got the best of me and I couldn't help it but test your strength. As for your Master, it was an accident," Dargon sighed.

"Accident… you--" Yu was speechless while his breath was ragged with disbelief. He clamped down his anger and struggled to move. He looked around for a possible escape route.

"It's useless to struggle and think of escape. I have marked your unique bloodline. Wherever you go, I will be able to track you down."

Yu glared daggers at Dargon. The latter merely shrugged it off.

"Back to the main point. Natural evolution is random and takes too much time. It will be thousands, if not, millions of years for Earth to completely transform. We can facilitate this evolution. That's why I need your help.

The Estavan bloodline, bestowed by one of the Guardian Spirits of Earth, represents the purity of Earth. On the other hand, we have the Crimson Abyss, which is the source of change. Both of these variables are within your body, coexisting. How do they interact? Will they change in time? How will they change?

By studying the prime example, that is you, we can use our findings to expedite the evolution process. Humans will gain the powers from the Crimson Abyss! You'll become stronger, faster, smarter, and have faster regenerative abilities! You don't have to worship deities anymore to use magic, the Crimson Abyss will grant you magic powers!"

Dargon explained his intentions excitedly. His breath quickened as he was engrossed in his passion. A previously unseen gleam of anticipation can be seen in his eyes.

"Hahahahaha…" Yu laughed suddenly.

"What's so amusing?" Dargon snapped out of his fervent expression at Yu's unexpected reaction.

"Don't think that I don't know what you're really aiming for. You want our world! Your world is dying and you can't wait for millions if not, thousands of years for the evolution to complete itself! You can't survive without the Crimson Gloom. Until then, you have no choice but to hide pathetically in human vessels. That's why you want Earth to evolve!"

Yu said through his clenched teeth, almost growling, "I'll tell you what:

I. Don't. Care.

I don't care if humans are going to get stronger. I don't care if your world is dying. I don't care even if Earth burns down to nothing. I am going to end all this nonsense. To hell with the Crimson Abyss. We don't need it here."

He paused for a moment before continuing softly, with his gaze downcast, "Then, I can truly die."

Dargon was startled by Yu's sudden outburst. His hands gestured agitatedly as he tried to reason with Yu.

"You don't understand… this process can neither be stopped nor reversed. The evolution had started ever since the dimensional rifts appeared and connected our world to yours. Ever since the Crimson Gloom shone onto your world-- "

[Tisa: Sthenti]

Two magic circles appeared almost instantly under both Yu and Dargon. Sweeping runes flashed along the edges of the magic circles. They shimmered for a short moment. Yu's originally dark gray irises shone with golden iridescence.

"You--" Dargon could not react before the runes clicked into place. The Time Elemental spell was released. Dargon froze halfway in mid-sentence, unmoving. The immense aura exuded by Dargon disappeared in that instant.

'I did it!'

Yu rejoiced internally. He collapsed to the ground, coughing his lungs out. His chest ached. It felt like a battering ram had struck him squarely in the chest.