Chapter 58 -Something Only He Can See-

CHAPTER 58 -SOMETHING ONLY HE CAN SEE-

ONYX MILLGUARD

Alter's aura began to shift into something more menacing and less appealing, his features becoming more of what he was before when we fought together against the Demon God, before I died. 

"Now feel the power of the person who will be the destruction of the Apex." 

Not being fast enough to withstand the pressure that was being radiating from him when he appeared behind us, my body flew back to where he stood before. Hitting my back several times as if I was rolling on the hard surface, Sammael had stopped Alter's attack just seconds before he had hit me with the SoulBlade. 

"Are you okay?" Asked the winged woman flying towards me. "I think I am," I answered. Displeased with the fact that Alter is now different, confused as to why he is attacking me. It hadn't been that long since I'd seen him and spoken to him as well. Could he be mad that I haven't sensed any Life Crystals? Deep down, something told me that it wasn't the case. 

The angel too eyed him as he fought Sammael, not interfering with their battle but only for the thoughts and emotions to interfere with us. 

Alter's movement to not only avoid the attack but to use techniques that I haven't seen before in the battle that were meant to kill Sammael. Had he been hiding this from me or everyone outside and inside? 

The scythe blade circled around Alter's blade trying to catch it off of his hands but couldn't, like it had a will of its own and didn't want to hurt him at all. I had some understanding of Sammael being part of Alter's personality, like they were the same person before all of this. Not everything from his past was revealed to me because of some spell that blocked me and everything else that wanted to go in.

The angels were able to go in and out as they pleased but weren't allowed to talk about anything that was inside of it, and when they tried, only static noise came through. 

"Watch out!" 

Suddenly the ground beneath us erupted into the air and on the top, flying down was Alter and in hand was SoulBlade ready to cut off my head. 

Instinctively, I tried to use mana but wasn't able to. There seemed to be restrictions on my core and body, like this body wasn't mine. Neither could I see mana or feel emotions, something was wrong. 

Next to me, the angel woman chanted a shield dome that even I couldn't crack when I asked for training. 

[Oh mana, please shield us from any danger, Shield Dome] 

Around us, till the circle edge of where the earthen pillar end was, engulfed by the waves of mana and crystalline panels colored white was the shield formed. Detailed, I could see how fast the earthen pillar was going. Sounds of whistles—like when you swing a sword as fast as you can—released from the wind being pushed and cut into, began deafening my ears until the silver and purple sword made contact with the shield. 

The loud sound of metallic noise resounded in the whole fantasy world. He wasn't able to break the shield and instead the sword rebounded from the impact that he wasn't able to defend against Sammael's attack. Flickering next to Alter, Sammael unleashed a barrage of strikes with his scythe, fast enough to unhand a powerful shot of wind. 

The boy with white hair couldn't help but to defend himself against the attack, frustrated from not being able to shatter the crystal dome, he derailed the last attacks from the angel. Before grabbing his weapon and sweeping him against the half-circle shield hoping for Sammael to unhand the scythe. 

With success, the angel let go of the white scythe as his body once again with maximum strength was forced and pushed against the panels wall. Alter then took the white scythe and stretched his left arm just above his head to then make it swing down along with that force of his. The beak of the scythe ripped through a crystal panel, Alter seeing this retracted the weapon before doing it again. 

Looking at the angel who casted the dome, I awaited some sort of hint of fear but there was something else in her eyes. She knew that he was capable of making some sort of damage into the shield but not to this extent, her eyeballs searched one more time at the person in front of us before saying, "Just what does Alter see in you that we don't? He is desperately trying to kill you without any regards to his body or anything." 

Turning to me with uncertainty before continuing, "Is he seeing something that we are not? Something that is very close yet very far?" 

Her question gave me a different feeling towards Alter sudden attack, the sudden attack and change of emotion in him when he saw my face. But he didn't seem to be that way the time when he first saw me. 

Scrambling over my mind for the question of this motive, with such little time left as Alter began to increase his movement with the white scythe. One crack after another, leading and inflating the feeling of anxiety towards his next action, yet desperation kicked in too. "Now, you will die. All of you!" 

The yellow dome cracked open, and inside came the boy with malicious intent over the ones inside. Using the angel's scythe as his own weapon to avoid any of us to run as the barrier broke from his brute strength. The flying scythe hit and nailed down the angel woman's wing, a groan came out her lips before the sheer power of the white haired boy poured into the ground of the levitating pillar, pushing her away, off the pillar and into the stable ground. 

Again, I tried to use a spell, one that could alleviate her landing to the hard ground as she fell unable to fly and depleted from her mana that had kept the barrier stable from Alter's rapid attacks. My hand stopped halfway when I realized that I couldn't use mana, not in this scenario at least. Even so, I moved my body in her direction, hoping to be at least as a shield to not damage her body. 

A strong and overwhelming hand stopped me from doing so, grabbing and pinching into my shoulder before being brought back into the place I was as the barrier was destroyed. With a pleading and supplicating voice that I hoped to everything and everyone, that my words would reach Alter's mind and help before her body hit the ground. "Alter! Please help her! She's going to die! Before she hits the ground! She had no mana left and her wing was damaged!" 

In my moment of pleading, I couldn't help but to tear up as I'd imagined her death at this early of an era. Before she could find her mother and reunite with her long loving sister. 

However, Alter didn't change his emotions or objective and simply said with a cold tone that was filled with anger, "That is simply not my business, whether she dies or not it is up to her. She was the one to bring me to this place and will now pay for her mistake." With the blood that came out his eyes, nose, and ears made everything he said more believable. He didn't care about her. Instead he is using this to…

Biting my lips until I tasted the metallic liquid, I stood fast. Closing my hand tightly before throwing a punch to Alter's emotionless face. He dodged without a sweat. Seeing this I threw more, rapidly this time. "How…How can you toy with people's lives?! Like they're only tools who are used till they are useless and throw them away?" I grew annoyed and irritated towards his high almighty arrogance. 

Alter caught my last punch with his palm, his red eyes–that resembled when he would use his ring phase–gave me a chilling feeling of death. Then, pulling my hand towards him with such little force before punching my gut and letting go of my strengthless body. I held my stomach with force, trying to ease the pain as I started to cough from the air I didn't have in me. 

In advance, another attack came. It was a kick directed into my head, dropping me to my back. The hit was so strong that it felt like my head was going to split open, but to think even more were to come made my head hurt even more. 

A kick, a punch, later another kick followed by some strong steppings—like I was some type of insect—made me realize why Alter had attacked me in the first place. During my safe stay inside the crystalline barrier, some of the panels were like a mirror in which I saw myself. Having brownish black hair along with brown eyes, pointing to all it was. To the one who Alter hates with all his might. 

His past self, from his past life. 

"How dare you try to use his voice while having that face?" Alter said, his punches and kicks began to die down in strength. He started to sob, and the blood that once came from his eyes was soon gone by the tears that replaced them. "You try to look weak. You tried to be strong when you are weak. And when you had the power, the opportunity to save those who needed to be saved, you decided to be weak…"

The crying boy slowly threw a punch at my shoulder with no strength behind it, like a baby throwing a punch. No power behind it but only emotions that fled to me.

Seeing him like this, devastated and sad, filled with despair and disappointment towards everything around him. I wanted to console him, but my words wouldn't be enough for it to get through him. He needed to hear those he trusts and relays on, if not he might even fall to what he was before. 

A being who would shower in the blood of its enemies, his mind filled with nothing but violence, no peace for anything around him or anyone, including himself. The one who caused the gods great fearment until and after his ascension into angelhood, leveling continents and oceans alike, innocents or guilties, one person or a group, meeting all the same end when he would arrive into their lives, death and destruction followed him. 

That is why he attacked me when he got to see my face more clearly. I had the appearance of his past self, a being who he hates more or even equal to the gods themselves. Even during my time as his partner in hunting the one specific god, he would blame himself for the death of his friends and family, the destruction of his own clan and race. Allowing him and forcing him to be the one and only Ancient Walker there ever had been for over the years he has lived. The countless nights where he would sleep talk about some deaths that don't register to me, probably during the time of the Demon war, where Isabella was killed and he lost all control over his power and emotions. 

I then taught myself that everything I knew about Alter wasn't everything that I thought I knew about him but only a percentage of it. When I gave Alter my power before my death, I appeared here, in this realm of soul–his soul–and met the angel woman who with time taught me part of Alter's ups and downs. Only the vague parts of Alter's ascendency to angelhood and his formidable feats that led him to where he was now and the titleholder he became with it. 

Sure, I did know only a percentage or two of Alter's life or path he had to walk until where he was now and probably I would learn more in the future, but that didn't mean I had every right to say I knew his life better than anyone. No, that title belongs to someone else, however if I can achieve and get that title I would gladly do so but at this moment that only title I can assert now is…

The crimson eyed boy fell to his knees, the tears continuously dropped down wiping the blood from his face. And all I could do to help him was now. Ignoring the pain that my body gave me, I got myself up and stretched both of my arms to his direction. Hugging him, sending my warmth of what felt like giving it to a younger sibling, a little brother, I thought. 

"My mother and father were not mistaken when they said you were one of us, their child and son, while you are our youngest sibling. Now as your older brother, you must let me understand–no, you must let out those emotions that you've kept locked inside for so long, Alter." I softly said, while seeing that two auras approached us from below the pillar that had now stopped ever since Alter fell to his knees.

Sammael had awoken when Alter was holding me from rescuing the angel, but thankfully he had flown towards her before she hit the ground. Both of them looked at me, unsure of the things happening. To reassure them I gave them a response that everything was okay by shaking my head, he was no longer in a rampage of killing me but now he was a child scared of hurting those around him like before. 

Little by little, Alter let out the bottled up emotions. "It is okay to cry, brother. If we don't we would not be what we are now but animals." Patting his head, his sobs later then became cries. "I don't know what you've been through, but I can assure you one thing. Though I have no knowledge of your past but only a little of it, I now will be there for you, watching over. Today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, this whole week, the upcoming month, the upcoming year and those who are to come.

"You won't be alone, Alter. You have me, us. Sammel, the people of Ezar, your disciples, Luna, Juliette, Pearl, Eugene, Chuzeoth. All dragon generals, the Espions. Me and her." I said, pointing to the angel behind him. Alter turned and saw the girl who had now revealed her true form. Something only he knows.

Hesitating, the white haired boy tried to stand but his strength had left him. He had gone into OverDrive and could possibly destroy his mana influence along with his power, even body. His head was lowered, perhaps even seeing the ground below the angel girl and Sammael. Despite the fact that I couldn't sense the emotions in the air, I knew he felt guilty for what he had tried to do. 

Without any warning at all, I slapped his back shoulder with my dominant hand, sending him a couple of inches away from where he was originally. This was the push he needed, the step that all and everyone refuses or is too scared to take, changing the lives of those who now regret it till' this day. Yet, as his older brother, I won't let him sit and drown in that regret in some distant future. 

With a bright smile that reached my eyes, I sent Alter off along with some confidence he genuinely sealed off but then unsealed it. The boy with white hair and red eyes walked towards the two angels in front of him–only a couple of steps before reaching them–and he looked into their eyes. "I know that what I've done to you two here will not be forgiven, but I hope you guys at least help me with your aid towards my goal. I, with all my heart, could perhaps rely on you guys when I'm in trouble." 

The boy's features changed in our very eyes, though he had been through a lot of things that nobody could even understand. He could have just been a horrible person who's sole in revenge and blood of those who see him as a burden or weak. Yet, he was still the kind and gentle kid who is still scared of hurting anyone else, thinking of those instead of his own. Putting those he holds dear behind him so that he can protect them with his body and soul. 

Alter bowed deeply before speaking again, "Please, please help me protect those I hold dear. Of course it won't be for free, I promise to bring you all back into the real world, soon. I beg of you two to help me. I don't want to lose anyone else anymore because of this curse." His words came out with woe, from beginning to end. All of his words were full of truth and genuine conviction.

"But I was given a second chance…a second life. To amend for the sins of my past, to not make the same mistake that I've made, I need your help."

"Alter you really seem to not understand how we feel, do you?" Asked the black haired boy with a halo on top of his head, calling back his weapon that was next to me. 

The boy in question gave him a confused look, no words did he let out but only expressions. With his head up but still in an inclined body, both angels looked at each other like they knew something but Alter didn't. They laughed, a small laugh that made it looked like they were having a great time. More or less as we had gone to a picnic and were having fun, enjoying the scenery that was provided to us, laughing and exchanging jokes and words. 

A peaceful life. I thought. 

A hand rested on Alter's shoulder, and with a smile that brought relief the angel girl said, "Alter, even if you didn't ask us that, we would have done it. Sammael is part of you, he can't disobey you in any way but he can sense when you don't want to do something, something you might regret." 

Sammael gave Alter a nod that answered and strengthened the statement she said, next she looked at me. It was a long and paused look, perchance she was thinking about something that was unclear to me. 

Then she continued, "Onyx not only gave you the power and the privilege to understand Divine mana, but also the chance to learn more about the other races during your journey to hunt the Primordial God. However, as much as a partner he was before. Now he considers you as a brother, part of his family and blood, a Millguard." 

Once again she paused, waiting for Alter to turn to me and he did. This time he gave me a smile that let me know he was happy with what the angel girl had just said. Her white wing which was damaged by the white scythe earlier was healed, not completely but enough for it to sustain her body when she wanted to fly or display it by stretching it, like a limb. 

"And I, the oldest one here. The one who watched you from your first life and now your second, from your days at Legacy academy as a teenager to later as a general. King of Halos. The Halo King. The Angel of Death. A human, an Ancient Walker. I have always watched you without judging you. I will always be at your side with or without the world's care. You are the being I care about the most, whether you are the hero of this world or the enemy, you will always have me. Whether you reincarnate a million times or pass on to the void cold death, I will always be with you." 

She stopped again, this time catching her breath because of her long speech. Inhaling a long and deep breath before giving it all up in a matter of seconds. 

"I swear by the name of Sirjana Alexander, though it might not mean much but now you have an anchor which confirmed to be the truth in my words." 

Alter didn't say a word, instead he seemed like he was absorbing what he was just told. It was a lot to take in, I knew that. Yet Alter was a being who would absorb things fast, was it talent or skill. 

However, my questioning was taken aback quickly when Alter started to speak. 

"So your name was Sirjana, after so long I've finally heard your name. I am thankful for that, I wanted to talk more to your three about so many things." His voice trailed off into the distance, before giving us all a look of sadness. 

"Wanted? Alter what are you–" My words stopped when I saw Alter's body with a golden outline, yellow and bright particles left his body. He was being disintegrated from this realm, from this world. 

I walked towards Alter with a fast pace, gently placing my hand on his body but it was futile. Passing through his body like some after image, his body was no longer matter but a translucent image of Alter in a golden glow. 

 "It seems like my time here is already at its limit. Until next time." 

Then his body was broken down into particles that raised to the sky until they were no longer visible from where we were. We all watched as the particles faded from the night sky. 

Suddenly, the terrain around us started to shift. Like crystalline panels charging and mirroring our surroundings. The ground began to shake as the source of the pillar was gone and now it needed to be destroyed as mana didn't sustain it. The pillar broke into small pieces of solid dirt and I fell through it, helding up my hand, the angel Sirjana grabbed it. 

I looked up to see her struggling to keep us up in the air, her wings can only sustain her weight, not another person's. Sirjana's damaged wing began to malfunction in strength and movement, bringing us down a little faster than expected. With no mana in my core, I decided that I should do what Alter does, and thus I began to try and utilize the mana around us. As easy as it sounds, it was difficult to maintain this type of concentration when you know you could fall at any moment. 

I started to imagine a strong but gentle gust of wind that could be enough for easing the downfall of two people, my connection towards the wind affinity was slowly sowed into me and my mind. I needed to concentrate more, I said to myself, tightening my eyes shut so that they wouldn't open. 

The needle which was my concentration and the thread which was representing mana, speeded up the process of obtaining the elemental affinity. That is when it was finished, being fully sowed into my core I now had the ability of using the wind affinity to my liking. 

I opened my eyes when I sensed it being done, pushed my arm downward and chantless, released a gust of wind that cushioned our fall. Sammael was speeding to us, in desperate need to save us but we had already landed safely on solid ground. "Sorry, I didn't notice fast enough." He apologized, spectating Sirjana with worry for her state of stress and weakness. 

I held my hand up, "It's okay, at least it gave me the chance to forge a new way of obtaining mana affinities." 

"Is that how you cushioned the fall?" Curiosity hinted in his voice while still looking around as the buildings that were alien to me fell to the ground, the ruble that was left of the buildings fall was replaced with a grassy hill. "But what is happening now? Everything is disappearing and going back into what it was before." 

Being confused along with Sammael, I only watched a couple of minutes before responding to his sentence earlier. When the last building was already to be destroyed–the Legacy Academy–collapsing into the ground and unveiling dust from the concrete. 

"I don't know, and I don't think if I did I would know how to answer it. But I know that whatever is happening, only Alter knows about. Something only he can see.