For better or for worse

~ Ten thousand years ago, before the War of Magic... ~

An epic battle was taking place. Four giants were in battle against someone... or more like something... It seemed as if they were doing battle against a force of nature. The first giant used the power of the earth. The second one used the water element in battle. The third one had incredible speed. And the fourth giant was the king of giants. He used overwhelming strength. There was no one among the giants able to match his power. And yet, the giants were all falling… one by one. Dark Ramiel was just too powerful for them. He could consume all the magic they used against him. Their strength amounted to nothing because he wasn't affected by their attacks. So Ramiel turned them to dust and consumed them. He was about to consume the first giant (the one known as Kohrr in present-day) when the Third Guardian arrived with a few angels. They were able to hold him off, and Ramiel then decided to retreat.

Third Guardian: Friend. Are you alright?

Kohrr: My brother... The others... All dead… - Kohrr had lost his wind. He was also devastated emotionally since his brother, the king, was consumed by Dark Ramiel. Consuming those three giants transformed Ramiel into a terrifying abomination. But his hunger never seemed to be satiated. 

Third Guardian: I am sorry we did not arrive sooner. Perhaps we would have been able to make a difference.

Angel: Guardian, he might be able to help in the battle...

Third Guardian: I believe he will undoubtedly have an important role to play...

Kohrr: I am no warrior. I am a disgrace to all giants. I couldn't protect my brother... my king... my people... And I needed to be saved by others. Our way dictates: We kill or we die. We never falter. I neither killed nor died. I was saved. I am a disgrace to all giants!

Angel: There is no shame in needing others, my friend. It is good to be strong on your own. But needing others does not equate to weakness. The greatest heroes in Uranos fight together. If you find a group of like-minded individuals, your strength together will know no limits.

Kohrr was somewhat comforted by hearing these words.

Third Guardian: Wise words, indeed. Giant warrior. Come with us. We are readying ourselves to battle this Fiend and a few others... But we cannot succeed without your help.

Kohrr: I will go with you... But allow me first to inform my people of this development.

Third Guardian: Sensible idea. Angel. Teleport him there so we may hurry along.

Angel: Yes, Guardian.

Angel teleported Kohrr to the giant's settlement. When the other giants saw him, they assumed he had run away from the battle.

["The coward dare show his worthless face here again?"]

["The King and the others are dead, aren't they? The only reason you're alive is that you ran away. Admit it!"]

["Get out of here!"] ["We won't have a weakling like you as our king!"]

Fin, Fan, and Fun were the three that had instigated the other giants to reject Kohrr. They believed that he was too weak to be a leader and too cowardly to be a useful warrior. They wanted to kill him. But the elder giants decided he should be banished from their lands.

Angel: They judge you so wrongly... I saw you in battle... You fought fiercely and bravely. Why don't you tell them what really happened?

Kohrr: Let us go. We have a battle to prepare for. – Kohrr said nothing about the matter. He showed no sign of being upset about it, either. It almost seemed as though he didn't care…

The angel called Angel was one of the few angels whose physical features seemed to be that of a female. But in reality, angels were asexual beings. They were unable to reproduce the way humans would. They all existed because they came out of the Forge that The One created. And the most ancient angels, the Guardians, were created directly by The One's hand.

~ Present day, new time-line ~

After Legend had reversed the flow of time with the Sword of Light and had Meg tell the Cabal of the weapon of the arsenal of darkness, things played out the same way as before. The exception was that Meg was now a prisoner of the Cabal.

Like in the previous timeline, the surviving Dalmacian forces sought refuge in the southernmost part of the continent with King Oberon and the Kingdom of Moriah. Despite Meg's absence, Uther still concluded that this was their only option. Oberon agreed to offer aid, while King Uther promised him he'd be able to wed his daughter Rachel (who didn't seem to be on board with that trade-off).

The monster army finally caught up with them, and the battle began. The allied forces could defend themselves at first, but things got terrible once Captain Dragovir fell from the sky. Legend managed to cut off one of Dragovir's arms, but he didn't seem worried about that. The three giants, Fin, Fan, and Fun, were also entering the scene. General Vortigen and another host of monsters were behind the giants. Despite Rachel being able to defeat one of the giants using Holy, her most powerful offensive magic, their odds still gave them no chance of victory. And suddenly, just as before, Relm appeared from out of nowhere. He lifted the Omega Rod, charged up some insanely powerful magic, and prepared to fire a mighty blast of pure energy. As he was charging up, Legend noticed something odd. He appeared to be talking to someone, more like arguing.

Relm: I know you can hear me. THIS IS MY WORLD. YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!

Legend: Everyone, get behind me! Light Shield! (*Legend used the Sword's power to manifest a shield of light to protect the party from the shockwave of the blast*)

Relm: OBLIVION BLAST!

A massive blast of energy was fired from the Omega Rod, obliterating everything in its path. The giants. Dragovir. General Vortigen and the hosts of the monster army. It even destroyed the middle part of the mountain range that separated Moriah from the rest of the Western Continent.

When the smoke and dust settled and cleared, Richard, Rachel, Nimrod, and Legend saw the extent of the damage from Relm's attack. From this point on, Legend realized that everything was playing out differently.

Richard: He... He even destroyed the mountain range!

Nimrod: Look! What's wrong with him? Something ain't right, I'm telling ya!

Relm seemed to be in pain. He kept putting his left hand on his chest as he winced in agony, and his face was warping completely unnaturally.

Legend: Guys... Relm is not our ally! We have to be careful!

Relm: Oh? Now, why would you say such a hurtful thing, Legend? - he said while still visibly in pain.

Legend: I know who you are!

Relm: Is that so? I sincerely doubt that.

Rachel: Sir Relm... Are you alright?

Relm: I'm pretty well, actually. But my other self seems to be at odds with me at the moment... Maybe it'll all be alright if I get rid of YOU...

Relm rose his left arm and yelled:

Relm: Be gone!!

A dimensional rift was opened from the tip of his finger. It was shot toward the party, increasing in size as it moved toward them. Legend jumped forward and swung the sword of light at the rift, and as he cut it in half, it dissipated.

Nimrod: I'm glad to see you figured out how to use that thing, kid!

Legend: What can I say? Practice makes perfect!

Relm again seemed to be in a struggle. While seemingly in pain, he received a surprise attack from behind.

"SEIGEN!" – His movements were sealed by a familiar power.

Nimrod: What the heck are those guys doing here!

Demona summoned a strong beast called Minotaur, while Merlin called upon the power of the Dark Dimension:

Merlin: Embers crackling in endless darkness... Attach yourselves to my foe and deliver your punishment!

HELL-BLAZE INFERNO!

Relm was engulfed in black flames that seemed to be able to burn forever.

Demona: Minotaur! Retrieve the rod! Bring it to me now!

Relm realized that the Cabal was about to steal the Omega Rod from him. He struggled with all his might to free himself from Zeldrys' movement restriction spell. The Minotaur was a huge ax-wielding beast. It was running towards him when Relm managed to break free from Zeldrys' Seigen. But a beam of light pierced his chest from behind. It was Zeldrys' Pierce technique. Relm was incapacitated. The Minotaur got to take the rod from him without a struggle and brought it to Demona.

Demona: Well done, Minotaur.

Merlin: Now, I shall exact my revenge on that lowlife bastard for making me look like a fool!

Zeldrys: We have what we came for. It is time to complete our mission. Our lord must not be kept waiting.

Demona: And what about them? – Demona was talking about the heroes, who watched in awe as they were uncertain of what was the best thing to do...

Zeldrys: They do not matter. The Dark Lord will come and bring about the end of all things. Like everything else... they will also fade into nothingness.

Merlin: I will catch up with you later. No one will stop me from getting my revenge!

Zeldrys: You fool. Suit yourself. Do not forget, Merlin. This time you are on your own.

Zeldrys then freed Meg from his paralysis and let him go.

Zeldrys: As promised.

Meg: I see you're a man of your word. I can respect that.

Legend: Look, guys! It's Meg! He's alright!

Rachel: Sir bird! I'm glad to see you again!

Meg: I'm glad to be in one piece! I was beginning to think that the Dark wizard was going to murder me at some point... but the one called Demona... she is the one they all listen to. She's...

Legend: Meg! This time it worked! The army of the East is defeated, and so is Relm!

Meg: Yeah... About that...

Richard: Just a minute... Legend... what do you mean by this time?

Legend: Is something wrong? – Legend directed his question at Meg…

Meg: They call themselves The Cabal... a secret society working toward the coming of Adramellech to this world. And now they have everything they need to summon that demon from the Dark Dimension... So... Maybe this isn't exactly the outcome we wanted...

As he heard those words, Legend froze up for a moment. At the same time, Merlin enjoyed having the upper hand against Relm.

Merlin: Do you have any idea how awful it was inside that orb of yours?

Relm was in extreme pain. He was screaming in agony from the wounds that Zeldrys and Merlin inflicted and the conflict he had within.

Merlin: What? No witty comebacks? Do you want me to put you out of your misery?

Rachel: What should we do? Should we help him?

Nimrod: I say we let 'em kill each other! What? You were all thinking the same thing!

Meg: Relm may be the best chance to stop the Cabal from bringing Adramellech to this world. But we simply can't trust him! The Fiend within him is just as evil as the demon they're trying to set loose in the Arkana. I say we catch up with the two that left and try to stop them... whichever way we can!

Legend: It's all because of me... I am the one that made it possible... they wouldn't have had the chance to summon that demon if it weren't for my plan!

Meg: Legend! There's no time for that attitude now! What would you rather do now? Stay here moping around or help save the world?

Legend felt guilty for giving The Cabal precisely what they needed to summon Adramellech to the Arkana. But Meg's words seemed to bring him back to focus... even if only momentarily. 

Legend: You're right! Let's go, guys!

~ Ten thousand years ago ~

The Third Guardian had assembled a host of warriors from Uranos, among which were a few of the elites... they were wielding weapons of the Arsenal of Light: Barachiel, with a sword that had a blade made of light; Angel, wielding the Staff of Zoe, a weapon that amplified White, Divine and Holy magic; and could bring allies back from the dead. Then there was also a giant among them... the one known as Kohrr in present-day by the humans. His own people ousted him, yet he was still willing to fight for them. He was given the shape-shifting weapon called Titan.

The four dimensions had endured endless wars and battles between the different factions of the Four Fiends. That's the name they were branded with. Four individuals with monstrous abilities that started to reap havoc as soon as the fifth dimension emerged (now known as the Dark Dimension). Not many knew the identity of the fiends. They were all originally angels consumed by some dark power from the fifth dimension. Few knew why they suddenly appeared, specifically in Nihil and The Arkana. The Guardians were all present. And they had a strategy to defeat the Four Fiends once and for all...

~ Present-day ~

Merlin was enjoying his victory over Relm. He wanted to make sure that he would suffer as much as possible. But Relm had stopped screaming. It didn't look like he was moving or even breathing.

Merlin: No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Don't tell me you're already dead...? That wasn't nearly as much suffering as you deserved!

Relm was face down on the ground.

Merlin started kicking his side.

Merlin: YOU BASTARD!!! You deserve more suffering! More humiliation! Take this! And that! - he continued to kick him as he shouted in an enraged fit.

The heroes had already left the site, trying to catch up with the rest of the Cabal.

Merlin seemed to be highly disappointed. But then, before he managed to kick him one last time, Relm got up and said without even moving his mouth:

Relm: [You should have listened to Zeldrys.]

He touched Merlin's forehead with his index finger and yelled

Relm: BE GONE!

A rift in space opened up, tearing Merlin in half, then vacuuming him inside. Afterward, the rift reduced itself to a tiny little spec that just vanished. Needless to say, that killed him. His corpse was split in half and sent to another dimension… or maybe two different dimensions… it was tough to say.

Relm's wounds were severe. After dealing with Merlin for good, he collapsed on the ground.

Over at the fake town of Salvation, by the Tower of god, Demona and Zeldrys had placed the weapons of the arsenal of darkness by the well. A light shot itself to the sky from inside the well, and the ground started shaking. The sky went dark all of a sudden, filled with dark clouds.

Demona: Master! We have completed our tasks. Come now! It's time for you to fulfill yours!

The light tower was a doorway to the Dark Dimension, or from it, to be more precise. Something was there behind the light. It started moving… Slowly making its way toward the Arkana.

The heroes then arrived at the site.

Rachel: This place holds some awful memories!

Richard: I can only imagine...

Nimrod: What is that light show over there?

Meg: Oh, No! We... We're too late... We have failed! Adramellech will enter this dimension... And destroy everything!

Legend: I won't let that happen!

Legend tried to use Time walker again, but it didn't work this time. He had reached the limit of time-bending he was allowed to use.

Legend: Meg... It's not working!

Meg: What's not working?

Legend: Time walker... I can't reverse the flow of time... I could've fixed it... I thought it would've been fine if I only turned back time and took the weapons from them... but now... is this the end? Did we really fail?

A figure emerged from the tower of light. It was Adramellech: The Lord of Destruction. After being banished to the Dark dimension for millennia, he finally returned to the Arkana to bring his judgment.

Adramellech: Well done, my children. Now it is time for me to fulfill my destiny.