(Prologue) End of the Endless II

It was as if all his words were reduced to nothing but a child's nonsense banter. Something insignificant.

It was all too sudden. Brien was yelling just moments ago, and now his neck was a bloody mess where his head used to be. Vedial couldn't speak.

'Was it the Adonis who killed him?'

'But how? He was unconscious moments ago. Or was he pretending to be?'

Several thoughts ran through his head like a maelstrom. He wanted to turn his head and demand answers from Evander, who was also left silent at the scene.

He wanted to cast his most powerful spell to at least buy some time to escape.

But most of all, beneath all that fear, he wanted to yell at the boy. Tell him that a deity could never understand how Brien had felt.

How they had felt.

That despite his earlier insistence for the beheaded apprentice to behave, he understood him. An entity born without humanity would never understand the horror of having their homeland burnt to ashes in the name of the gods' glory, and that he had no right to take his life.

But Vedial thought, 'He appears as wretched and miserable as I was the day I lost everything in the war's destructive embers.'

The boy's face, upon closer look, was riddled in small scars.

For a moment, he couldn't understand. A transcendental being, looking so young, was supposed to be living a lavish life in a grand palace, or perhaps a temple, far from the filth of the mortal grounds. And yet, here he was, brought to the lowest of the low; starved, alone, crippled, and injured.

'I'm but a mere human.'

He refused to empathize with the boy as if he was seeing a blurry mirror.

He refused to try and fathom just how much this boy had gone through.

He knew the moment he did that; he'll most definitely soften.

The silence was broken when a guard shouted in panic.

"Fire! The prison is on fire!"

"Quickly take the mages out and keep the prisoners in check!"

"Sir Vedial and Sir Brien are still inside!"

Vedial gulped nervously. If the guards came, the situation would only worsen. He discreetly sent a telepathic message to one of the guards, considering the data he's read that the deity in front of him is weakened from the scathing scarcity of mana.

'Focus on the fire. I'm fine.'

Though, he had hoped that they would be able to survive. He knew a sudden fire could not be a mere coincidence. There could only be one reason for it: an assailant is present; someone who was aware of their little trip to the underground.

Several voices could be heard from above, while the three remained silent. The two stood face-to-face while Evander was still sitting with his head almost drooping in exhaustion and hunger. He had lusterless eyes, as if readily waiting for the flames to reach the deepest part of the dungeon, accepting whatever fate awaits him.

'But...'

'I don't think the Adonis has any intention of killing me.' Vedial thought.

"Was the fire also your work?" he carefully asked. It contradicted his previous knowledge, but he had to be sure.

He didn't expect an answer, but the boy mumbled.

"My affinity does not involve fire. You should know best about my current situation."

"...I see."

"Are you afraid?"

"How can I not be? You just beheaded my apprentice right in front of me so...indifferently."

The Adonis slowly trudged his feet towards Vedial, creating a faint slimy sound of his pale feet coming in contact with Brien's blood.

"You humans are all the same. Fearful yet brazen enough to run their mouths recklessly. Indeed, ignorance is bliss."

Vedial gulped. He had a feeling from connecting the chain of events that have been unfolding quickly. His gut was now telling him of what would happen to him.

"You don't have to be so wary."

The boy continued.

From a distance, series of heavy footsteps resonated above them as a sound of blades clashing against each other could be heard.

—"what the—!"

"Intruder! There's an intruder!"

"Get him!!"

"There's only one!"

"Uaaack!"

"This fleeting life will end soon anyway—"

It didn't take long until the chaotic voices subsided. Vedial inwardly sighed as his worse fears were slowly unfolding.

A presence eerily neared the prison cell at a ridiculous speed.

"—and a new round will start." Vedial could not understand the meaning behind his vague phrases. However, he knew that the boy did not show an ounce of hostility.

It almost felts as if gazing into the calm depths of Abyss, a feeling both dreadful and sublime.

"May I take the risk of knowing your name?"

Vedial continued to face the boy despite the approaching presence, who was currently emanating a wild aura.

"Kaisellin."

His voice carried unmistakable dignity despite lacking emotion.

Vedial slowly withdrew.

"I shall remember." As if knowing what was to come, he closed his eyes in resignation and lowered his head to match Kaisellin's height.

The boy, seizing the opportunity, struck his nape, rendering him unconscious. Kaisellin carefully rested Vedial's unconscious self in the mossy brick wall before turning his head in the direction of the prison's entrance.

He was currently located underground, at the deepest part of the confinement. It also meant that the intruder is currently descending at a quick pace to reach this very bottom.

And soon enough, flames danced along the figure of another adolescent standing from afar, behind the flight of stairs, signifying the entrance to the underground prison they were in.

The intruder's velvet eyes shone fiercely in the darkness.

"You've come." Kaisel dryly whispered.

'To kill this body, and unknowingly make way for another regression to take place.'

He thought, deep within the restraints of his control over his own body.