The lie of mortality

Blood haze mingled with spectral mist as the battle raged on, painting a macabre tableau of violence and determination, making the space around this frenzied-looking monster look more like a separate world of its own.

And just to the side of such a crazed spectacle, the monster's parents and his guardian stood just as tattered as before.

Antanasia used up all the strength in her flesh and muscles, moving after using the cursed blade for so long was practically impossible even if she was somewhat healed now.

Elah? She couldn't even stand, using up all mana at best results with the person simply passing out, yet she persisted through even the insane pressure put on her mind.

Her body was shaking from head to toe, her eyes were focusing in and out, she was so dizzy that even if there were any strength in her, she wouldn't be able to walk... and still yet, her gaze was never diverted from her son. The pain in her eyes which tainted her blue eyes red didn't reflect her body instead it was a mirror to that small frame that was torn apart right in front of her.

Amongst the three figures, Xalier stood as the lone beacon of resilience. Thanks to his Royal Vampire lineage affording him remarkable regenerative abilities, but his recovery proved insufficient against the overwhelming tide of despair that gripped him when he saw his son.

But the moment his body stirred to life, did he continue to focus on recovery or rush to the aid of his beloved... No, instead that fucker found himself propelled forward, driven by a force beyond comprehension.

Clutching at the closest visible veil but... Both his magic which was mixed and enhanced with the power of spirits and his lighting-fast blade that never before failed him... Now neither did nothing, cleanly one after the other each passed through the ghostly veils.

Be it once, twice... dozens of times... the veils were not affected, each going forward without any hindrance... his strength prised by everyone was rendered impotent, and proved to be nothing... such strength... The very strength he had honed to perfection seemed feeble in the face of his ultimate failure—to protect their child.

In that harrowing moment, as his gaze fell upon his crumbling offspring's form, an abyss of emotions engulfed him. Desperation, anger, anguish, rage, and unbearable self-blame tore through his soul, shattering the facades of invincibility he had cultivated over centuries.

For the first time... For the very first time in his close-to-immortal existence, Xalier's eyes reddened in a way never before... his heart echoing the cacophony of emotions that ravaged his being.

Though he had dedicated his life to training and fighting to spare others from this exact torment, he found himself unprepared for the raw agony of loss. Who in these innumerable worlds would be able to prepare...

Witnessing his people, tens of thousands... millions of them suffer this fate... day after day, he had vowed to shield every one of them from its grasp, never foreseeing that he would fall victim to death's merciless embrace as well.

As his mind spiraled into chaos, his body betrayed him, collapsing to the ground in anguish. A drop... two... His head began to thump so hard he couldn't help but grasp at it, drops forming in his squinted eyes... Each of his slow heartbeats felt like a dagger through his soul, each breath a struggle against the weight of unbearable grief.

"Son... I... I..." His words faltered, lost amidst the overwhelming torrent of emotions that threatened to consume him. There existed no words, no time, for what he wanted... For what he wished to tell and experience with his only child...

I myself am unsure... if others would feel this looking at that form... how would those dear to you feel? How would those people you cherished feel...

Boy, I know... You knew what you would show to them... I want to condemn you... Your greed your arrogance... that desperation and will... but...

I can't... I have no right to do such a thing either... But at the very least feel it... because you must... the pain in that broken form of yours brings to them...

Sigh... What form would that pain take... Tearing the heart slowly apart, breaking it to pieces so it would never recover... I can't tell that either...

I... I... Who am...

Sigh...

Boy, wake up...

.

Wake up...

.

Awaken for fuck sake... your story... soon it will end...

I won't be able to tell more... Awaken... kid... please... please...

.

.

.

I... This will be the final act...

...

'March, flesh, march toward them! Let their blades carve your very being!'

'Feel their blades slice through your flesh as if sculpting a grotesque masterpiece!'

'March toward death, even if every fiber of your being screams for it to be your own!'

'Carve flesh, leave trails of crimson in your wake!'

'Slaughter them! Let their blood rain down upon you, a dreadful baptism!'

'Cloak yourself in the crimson shroud of their blood, let it be your armor!'

'Hide these wounds beneath a facade of carnage, let the rivers of blood wash away your suffering...' 

Words pressed him forward, his form breaking apart with every step he took, pain was nonexistent to the words that ordered him to kill.

'But... when... when does a man become a monster... When did I... become the monster?' The child's voice trembled as he whispered these haunting words to himself, the weight of his own anguish pressing down upon him like a suffocating shroud.

Was it the first time he felt these chilling whispers of darkness creep into his mind, or the moment he felt the sharp sting of his own hand drawing blood?

Perhaps it was the agonizing instant he faced his own mortality... or the desperate decision to escape the torment by his own hand...

Was it when he stood helpless, watching his mother's last breath slip away like a fragile wisp of smoke... or when he cradled his sister's broken body, crimson rivers staining his trembling hands?

Was it when he tore at his own flesh, consumed by the agony of witnessing his first love's life drained, blood-frozen body... or when his own father's trembling words branded him with the searing mark of a monster?

Perhaps it was amidst the chaos of battle, as he drowned in the sea of his enemies' hatred... or when he lay broken and bleeding, the bitter taste of his own blood mingling with the salty tears of despair?

Despite the odds stacked against him, the boy refused to falter, drawing strength from within to face the relentless onslaught. And finally, amidst the ogling gazes of people, some mesmerized, some sympathetic, some joyful, and even ecstatic... different but each emotion signaling the approaching finale...

A final thunderous blow shook the battlefield, shattering the veil with the last of his power, lifting all the gray Immortal Residue into the air as the ethereal forms of the veils dissipated into nothingness.

As the chaos settled, the bruised and battered, fully cracked-up form bathed in an eerie green glow with the fire still burning his flesh showed itself. The now frozen still form of the monster emerged amidst the wreckage, surrounded by the motionless veils, hundreds still remaining. Questions hung heavy in the air.

Until this exact moment, the monster's momentum had only surged, each strike faster and stronger a hundred times more potent than the last, a testament to the indomitable spirit within him. 

 No matter how many times he fell, he always rose again, a will that burned so clear even his own flesh was scorched by it... and yet, without warning, he ceased.

"Wh-What happened... He didn't seem close to death... his strength was only growing... Did he... surrender?"

"No, he did not..." To the young one's question, the mighty one answered without diverting his eyes from the mirror's screen.

"Can you not see... the desperation and will etched upon his face..."

'Move! Move! Move damn it!' Not just them, but everyone else could also clearly see it.

"Then... why...? What transpired that could stop that little beast?"

"That... The last Reaper he vanquished... It marked the thousandth..."

"A thousand?"

"Yes, do you not recall?"

"What... Ah!" In that instant, a vivid image flashed in his mind.

'South Battle Arts... One against a thousand...'

"Yes. It appears his Battle Art carries a rigid limitation."

"Such a tragic end... Yet not unexpected. Techniques utilizing True Energy... they are exceedingly rare, bound to possess such limitations... But truth be told, this was my first encounter with one as well."

"..."

'That... That may not be surprising, but... Lord... Did Lord Taroth truly count this beast's foes... Was he so fixated?' The mighty one had erred, succumbing to fascination, a perilous path that clouds judgment and invites hasty actions and words.

"You..." But offering neither them nor anyone else even a moment to contemplate, the figure stood defiant amidst the chaos and destruction-filled world.

"...!?" Every being turned to the scene, each estimating, is this for the last time? Is this the final stand?

"You... can't... beat me..." A horrid and cracked voice spoke up, its sound so distorted it was clear the vocal cords of the speaker were severely damaged. Yet, through these simple words, akin to the man not far from him, his knee gave in, falling into the grey dust of those he ended.

"Death... can't win... against the living..." The words reverberated through the battlefield, each syllable dripping with a heavy feel, at first, the people believed it was defiance, his raw determination to defy the inevitable...

"Dying is... hard..." But amidst the chaos of minds and thoughts, his voice rang out, piercing through the clamor, a clarion call.

"But it's... easy... to leave... everything... behind..." As the declaration echoed across the scorched earth, it carried with it the weight of years, a feeling an emotion born from the depths of the soul.

"Life... is cruel... painful... and will... always... beat you... into the ground..." It was only around this time, hearing these words, that the listeners realized what the heavy emotion in his words was...

"Death can't beat... the living..." At that moment of resounding silence, it was clear this was not a challenge to mortality itself but a proclamation of undying spirit, a refusal to succumb to the whims of fate...

"The only reason... it does..." And even though such words, his true emotions were laid bare, anger, annoyance... and strangely it was even more transparent... his anger was not towards death itself but rather... towards the living. 

"The only reason it does... because... WE THE LIVING... LET IT BE!"

One truth rang clear: it was not a mere battle of flesh and blood, but a clash of wills, right this instant this monster declared the knowledge spread and witnessed throughout all mortal existence as a lie, he challenged it, and his rage and annoyance gave away his true thoughts, this being he truly believed, mortality was a lie, and with the testament of his indomitable spirit that burned not just within, he faced the army of death.

His challenge was so clear, that the hundreds of frozen veils began to move, and to their unknowing existence, this was all he needed... this proved everything he believed in...

"You think... you can... kill me!?" The air crackled with energy, charged with the fervor of one who had stared into the abyss and refused to flinch.

"Nothing..." Each word carried the weight of a lifetime of struggle...

"NOTHING!" ...a lifetime of defiance against the shadows that threatened to consume his existence as a whole.

"NOTHING CAN KILL ME!" But these words... they were not only meant as a challenge... this was his declaration and reason of rage...

"I am not... Mortal!" From him... who can never die...

"I do... not... Die!" a last warning... to those who wished to live.... for them... to run!

....

Hi hi, SeayYes here. I put the author's note here because this is rather important, there is only one more chapter till the end... of season two, ;) Anyway, yeah so much time passed it feels surreal, I feel a little impressed by myself, writing just came up because one of my friends loved to listen to my stories and asked for me to write them down and everything just started like an avalanche.

Again I'm speaking too much sorry, back to the main point. Shortly (in a few days) I will post the last chapter after which I will go on a break, I will see what life brings and will post an announcement chapter later about when I'll be back.

To be honest, I already have the story ready but it still needs touches like I don't even have names and such yet. If you are really worrying, Temorsth will remain the main character... nothing bad happens like him dying... hmh... maybe that happens... Who knows XD Be happy and have a nice trouble-free life while you wait for the return of this crazy boy who wishes to overwrite the laws of existence.