Prologue

The atmosphere was shrouded in darkness and lightning. The crackling sound of thunder reverberated in the air, adding melody to the droplets of rain falling onto the rocky terrain.

Standing atop a high cliff was a man, his right hand gripping tightly against his chest, while his left hand was wide open.

Then, from that very same hand, a ball of energy began to grow. It started small, being no larger than a walnut, but gradually, as time slowly crept by, the little ball of light, eventually grew to become the size of a football.

Hurling the attack forward, the man's eyes narrowed as they gazed intently at the figure not too far away, standing on a cliff, as well. Flicking his wrist, a trail of purple aura flew past his palm, moving at a speed faster than a normal human eye could see.

As soon as the attack was shot out, the man fell on both his knees, blood spewing from his mouth, and the wound on his chest opening up wider than before. He had tried his best to keep the wound closed, but yet, in a last-ditch effort to survive, the injury had opened up once again.

Standing a few kilometers away, the figure whom the man is fighting, raised his right hand forward, and what happened next shocked the injured man completely.

Once the ball of purple aura made contact, the force pushing the attack came to a quick halt, and the ball of energy slowly dispersed into loose particles, before slowly dissipating completely.

"Although you have tried your best, Saliel, you have been unable to defeat me, but that doesn't mean I cannot do the same to you," the figure said, and the next moment, a blue line of aura shot out from the figure's hand, aiming for Saliel.

______

Saliel had already lost a lot of blood, and whatever energy he had left, had left his body as it fell towards the rigid, wet tip of the cliff he stood on. He had no energy required to defend against the enemy in front of him. And sure enough, the shrouded figure was already preparing a counter-attack to finish off Saliel.

'That's it, I give up. I have given all I can. I have given all that I had… but yet, it wasn't enough. It was never enough…' as Saliel closed his eyes, a flash of lightning rippled through the sky, followed by an audible burst of thunder.

An image of a woman, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, cradling a baby in her arms, appeared in his vision. She looked quite upset, mouthing some words, but they were muffled, making it impossible for Saliel to hear what she was saying.

But, he could still recognize their faces.

'Martha… Ben…' Saliel muttered to himself, seeing the two right in front of him. He wished to hug them, to seek comfort from them during his current time of need.

Shaking his head, Saliel said in a low voice, 'Even in death, you still are reluctant to let me join you…' Turning around, Saliel reached into his pocket, and feeling the curved, metallic exterior of the object, he fished it out.

In the palm of his hand, was a pendant. The pendant was shaped as a ring, having a light, metallic chain, looped in the space in-between the ring, allowing one to wear it as a necklace. On top, a small mass of a hard, purple substance, could be seen at the ring's apex.

'After all my careful planning, I never expected this to be the outcome. I never expected it all to come down to this. Ethos… is far too strong. I have no other choice.'

Gripping the pendant tightly, it began to emit a purple glow. The purple glow, similar to the one Saliel created as an attack against Ethos, eventually grew in size, this time, covering the entirety of Saliel's body.

'I will finish what I started.'

_______

Slowly opening his eyes, Saliel could hear the roaring sound of thunder crackling yet again in the sky. The storm seemed to still be brewing, something Saliel wasn't expecting because the storm had been brewing since the beginning of the battle between him and Ethos.

Willing his hand to move, Saliel reached into his pocket, a similar action he had done before, pulling out the same pendant.

Gripping it tightly, it emitted the same purple glow and enveloped his entire body. The glow did something different to his body this time, as energy returned to his body, and all his injuries began to heal.

Ethos, seeing this, gnashed his teeth in frustration. He knew Saliel. He knew the latter wasn't someone who would resort to such tactics just to win. And although this method would be a lot more efficient, Ethos knew it still wasn't an option Saliel would choose.

"I guess I don't know you as well as I thought," Ethos muttered to himself, already preparing a counter-attack, this time using both his hands placed closely together. The base of his palms was touching, with his palms facing outwards, his fingers spreading wide.

A ball of purple aura appeared in front of the space between his two palms, quickly growing larger. Ethos didn't shoot the attack he had prepared before, but he sure did plan to deliver this one.

Looking past the distance between he and Saliel, Ethos honestly didn't know how to feel. On one hand, Saliel now had the power he needed to kill him, but on the other, he was still hesitant to use it.

Ethos could see it, the hesitation.

Saliel, despite already coming to a final decision, was still hesitant to enact his final attempt at arriving victorious from the battle. His eyes wavered, and his hands trembled as his morals, his principles, which he had held with high regard himself, in his life, challenged the choice he had just made.

He shouldn't kill, no matter what, he shouldn't.

That was the very principle, the belief, the law, which he had followed all through his life. It was the single piece of advice left to him by his mother on her deathbed, a life obligation he should never disobey.

Saliel clenched his fist, as he pushed his body off the rocky ground, standing on his two feet. The purple aura from the pendant had healed all his injuries, as well as supplied the blood and energy he needed to get back on his feet.

'Sorry, dear mother, but I have to disobey your last wish… This time only, I hope…'

Opening the palm of his hand, a ball of purple aura, denser than the one he had prepared before, began to form.

At this point, Ethos had shot his palms out, sending a beam of blue aura flying toward Saliel. As the attack left his palms, Ethos' eyes went wide in shock at the decision Saliel had made.

'Perhaps I should have expected this. You wouldn't just sit back and let a dear friend take your life.'

At the same time, Saliel threw his hand out, releasing a swipe of purple aura, flying through the air to collide with the beam of blue energy. As the two attacks collided, there was a clear winner, as the purple aura broke through the blue energy beam, not slowing down, as it neared Ethos, who, at this point, had moved out of the way.

"Saliel!" Ethos shouted. "You have made your choice, well, it's high time I make mine!" And with that, Ethos jumped forward, covering the distance between him and Saliel, who had taken a battle stance, ready for whatever Ethos had in store for him.

The cliff on which Saliel stood, was wide enough to support not just him, and that was what Ethos was banking on. Landing a few feet away, Ethos charged forward, both his hands coated in a blue aura, while Saliel did the same with his purple aura.

Thunder crackled in the sky as the two exchanged blow for blow, kick for kick. Saliel had beaten Ethos into a corner, leading to him holding onto the edge of the cliff, dangling as his grasp on the edge was slowly slipping away.

Walking towards his beaten-up friend, Saliel crouched, meeting Ethos' gaze in closer proximity.

"I never wished to do this, but you left me with no other choice, old friend," Saliel made a slashing motion with his hand, which was still coated in the purple aura, severing Ethos'hand in a single, clean motion.

Lightning broke through the skies, as a ferocious burst of thunder shook the atmosphere. Saliel stood straight, as his gaze shifted towards the dark, gloomy skies. He didn't want to see the body of his dearest friend get mangled by the multiple sharp spines of rock that adorned the cliff he stood on.

Releasing a loud sigh, Saliel screamed as loud as he could, not caring who or what might help him. He didn't want to do it. He didn't want to kill his best friend, despite knowing it had to be done.

Ethos was far too corrupted to be left alive.