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On another world far away, as Dorian was fleeing from the incoming Shades, readying himself to fight, a very different scene was taking place.

Marcus Aurelius closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his heart twisting in pain. He exhaled slowly, maintaining his imposing composure.

A fierce undercurrent of anger throbbed within him as he waved his hand, sending out a small wave of energy.

A moment later, a shadowy figure emerged in front of him. One of Julia’s, his beautiful Spymaster’s, servants, a Pseudo-Lord Class Vampire specializing in Blood Magic, with a focus on communication.

He sighed. He missed Julia. Everything was so much easier when she was around.

“Are their injuries healable, Damian? What’s the report?” His voice spread out in the small, enclosed space.

He was standing in an elegant, if worn, red tent. A large table was set in the center, with a fine and detailed map of the 30,000 Worlds, all bunched together. A few chairs dotted the sides of the room, and a large, glowing crystal lit everything up, the night sky outside giving little light.

A crude rendition of his famous Map Room, built for use out in the field. It was better than nothing.

“No, Highlord.” Damian replied, his head bowed. He was a middle-aged vampire, wrapped up completely in dark robes. No part of his features was visible.

“Probus has lost his main arm completely, and no magic or healing tools have the capability of bringing it back. It seems to be some variation of Curse Magic, one our healers have suggested is related to an inborn Ability the attacking Anomaly held.” His voice was cold and mechanical. The best spies had few attachments.

Marcus closed his eyes briefly. A small, seed of guilt formed within him. He pushed on, ignoring his feelings.

“And Trajan?”

“His injuries were initially more severe, but we believe it was only because of the fallout from the original, targeted strike.” The agent began, continuing,

“He will never see again.”

“He has, however, regained full use of his voice and mobility.”

The seed of guilt bloomed, tearing at his heart. His hand shook for the briefest instant before he brutally forced his feelings down. He could not afford to allow himself to feel right now.

“And the remnants of the attack that were initially detected?” He queried.

“We were briefly able to detect traces of the energy, but they seem to have gone dormant. We are working on a way to remove said traces as soon as possible.” The spy replied.

Marcus was quiet for a short moment.

“No other troops were maimed like this?” He said, after a moment, checking to confirm initial reports.

“No, Highlord.”

“Very well. You are dismissed.” Marcus waved his hand out.

Damian nodded and vanished, stepping out of the tent.

Marcus looked down at the map in front of him, snapping his fingers. A small, metal cup of wine instantly appeared, one that he held in his hand casually.

The defense had gone so well. They’d successfully fended off multiple attacks, with no real losses.

Until now, when two of his finest Reavers, with great potential, were crippled beyond repair.

He studied the map closely, his eyes going from planet to planet, world to world.

CRINK

He stopped his study, looking at the wineglass in his right hand.

The cup had crumpled completely, its fine iron lining caved in and destroyed from the force of his grip. Wine splashed out of it, soaking the floor.

He stared at the cup for a moment before tossing it to the ground of the tent, ignoring it as he turned around and left.

Around him, a small town of tents spread out. One of the temporary forward bases set up by his men, on the World Bridge to Plumadone.

They had avoided creating any magical contracts or buildings that might scar the environment at the request of Trajan.

Marcus began to walk through the tent, his eyes calm and collected. He slipped past several vampires on patrol, warriors walking about or practicing, sharing jokes or tales with friends. The mood in the camp was somber, but also cheerful. Vampires lived long, dreary existences, and often managed to find humor in even the darkest of times.

Soon he arrived outside one of the medical tents, a white and red painted tent that was larger than average. It was the one designated for the two injured Lord Class Vampires, Trajan and Probus.

He paused at the entrance, catching a conversation at the edge of his hearing,

“But Trajan, I’m just saying tha-” Probus’ curt voice echoed forth, full of annoyance,

“Probus, look at the facts.” Trajan’s voice was full of cheer, belying his horrible injuries,

“I’m blind now, right?”

“Yes.”

“And Justice is blind, right?”

“Yes but-”

“Therefore I am Justice.”

“That’s not how any of this works Traja-”

“Enough of your rebellion, evildoer. Bow to the almighty power of the Environment, Lord of Justice!”

Marcus smiled, unable to help himself. As he heard the resilient camaraderie and cheer in the room, he felt a small part of his heart break. Veins throbbed in his forehead.

He waved his hand once more.

Immediately, Damian once again appeared. The agent was tasked with following the Highlord around until his replacement came.

“Damian, send an order to have a message passed to our friend with ten thousand clones.” His eyes were cold and still like a frozen sea.

“Tell him we accept his offer, and wish to implement it immediately.”

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Dorian sprinted after Arial, dodging and leaping over collapsed stone structures. The inner city of Icicar was a giant maze, full of large, obstructing stone houses or stores, most of them in a dilapidated state.

As he leapt over one fallen pillar, he slipped on a long pool of ice covering what was left of a street.

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

Just as Dorian caught himself, falling over, two spears of darkness shot through right where his head had been, stabbing into the ground. They exploded into motes of darkness, spreading out over the floor and then vanishing.

‘It seems to be some type of debilitating spell.’ He noted as he felt just a small bit of the effect of the darkness spears, feeling slightly sluggish. They didn’t seem to have any attack power. The ice, at the least, was undamaged.

‘Thanks soul.’ He gave his soul a mental thumbs up, crediting it for twisting Fate and helping him dodge it. The attack hadn’t shown up in his innate sixth sense at all, probably because it wouldn’t do any damage to him.

“Careful!” Arial’s sing-song voice echoed out as she leapt over a small stone hut, dodging down a side street.

Dorian turned, following her, and immediately realized why she yelled.

A pair of un-transformed Grakons were walking forward, greatswords on their back.

“Grrrr.”

“GRGRRRRR!”

The Grakons began to Expand, lunging towards the duo.

Before they could attack, however, Dorian and Arial had sprinted past, avoiding them entirely.

“Where are we running to?” Dorian yelled out, his eyes focused on the fox girl.

He had just met her, and didn’t trust her entirely yet. He didn’t think she was an enemy, and it was clear the Shades were trying to take him out too, so he figured running with her wasn’t a bad plan for now.

But only if they had a destination.

“I know somewhere we can hide from them at! It’s a place called the Ice Keep at the center of Icicar, near the Traveling Ice Waterfall.” She began.

BOOM

A small explosion rang out behind him as their pursuers wiped out the pair of Grakons they had passed.

Above them, the chaotic winds and side effects of the battling King Class fighters continued to echo forth, still providing them with a layer of cover. At the minimum, it would be hard for anyone to navigate through the air when chasing them.

“The Ice Keep?! Isn’t that where the Grakon King lives?!” Aristodemus the Coward, the ruler of Icicar City, was said to live in a fortress of frozen stone and ice, one that was set mostly into the ground. This fortress, according to Dorian’s research, was indeed next to the giant waterfall of Gworen Ice.

“Yes, but he is out right now! If we make it inside, I know a way we can lock the Shades up!” She responded, her voice hurried.

Dorian thought for a long moment and then shrugged. He didn’t exactly see many other options right now.

“Alright. What do we need to do?” According to his research, the Ice Keep was a dangerous area that was nigh on impossible to enter.

“I can get us through the front gate as long as I have a bit of time. If we want to trap the Shades, however, I’ll need your help…” She dropped back to run next to him, explaining her plan quickly.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Gerulf hunched down on the ground, running his fingers over the collapsed rubble. A faint imprint of a large dragon could be seen, a large crater smashed into the ground. Nearby, the corpse of a Grakon lay still, its head incinerated.

“This is where Jasper set off the warning signal.” He said aloud, motioning behind him.

“Mhm.” Mika, one of the other Shades responded, her voice cool.

Four of the group of six were here, all having rushed to the location when Jasper set off the alert.

The Shades had been spread out in key points in the city, constantly scanning and searching for the Lightsworn Fox that had escaped them.

There were only so many entrances and ways to get to the Ice Keep, and as long as they kept a stern watch, it should’ve been impossible for her to move anywhere undetected.

They would’ve stayed by the Keep itself, but the danger of getting caught there, as well as the constant Grakon attacks drawing attention and foiling their attempts at hiding, made the option less appealing.

Who could’ve expected, however, that a massive battle between King Class warriors would take place, and throw their plans into chaos?

“Where’s Siegfried?” He said aloud, looking around. Only the four of them were here.

“He’s probably with Jasper, pursuing the fox.” One of the other Shades said, shrugging.

“That or sleeping.”

Gerulf rubbed his forehead, looking around the scene. Rumbling booms shook the air, and occasionally blasts of wind would come down, trying to knock them over.

The noise overhead was too great, and he couldn’t rise into the air in a controlled manner to get a better view of the city.

“Damn it. Alright, everyone on me. Let’s just head for the Ice Keep and hope they went that way.” He swore, cursing their luck. His team members were all elites, they would know how to pressure the target. The Fox was tricky, but in a direct confrontation, they would win. He would just have to pray Jasper and Siegfried had managed to successfully chase it down, or chase it towards the Ice Keep.

The Red Portal found there was the only reason the damned fox was on this planet.

The troupe set off, rushing towards the center of Icicar City.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

“We made it!” Arial’s voice trembled out as she and Dorian arrived near the center of the city.

They had entered a large, open courtyard like area that stretched for several hundred meters. No other buildings or homes could be seen in this area.

Only the enormous flowing waterfall of ice, and, set in the ground behind this waterfall, the entrance to what looked like an underground dungeon. A large, stone opening at least 3 dozen meters wide and a dozen meters tall, with cut steps leading downward, to a large gate.

The waterfall was difficult to look straight at, for some reason. The air around it was distorted and felt dangerous just to be near.

The home of the Grakon King of Icicar.

This area was usually patrolled by Grakons. However, with the exit of the Grakon King, most of the patrolling guards had flooded out of the city, moving towards the ongoing battle.

Dorian and Arial had been forced to duck and dodge many of the patrols.

The Shades behind them had shown lesser restraint, engaging in several fierce fights. Most of this was Dorian and Arial’s fault, as they startled the Grakons and caused them to transform, making their pursuers run into them.

“To get us inside, I’ll need to melt open the Ice Lock on the door, but you’ll need to make sure no one disturbs me.” Arial yelled out as they dashed forward, circling the giant waterfall.

A freezing aura washed off the oddly distorting ice waterfall as they moved around it. Odd, crinkling sounds echoed out as the ice flowed downwards, into a deep, fathomless pit below.

BOOM

They had just finished circling the waterfall, arriving in front of the entrance to the Ice Keep, when a loud thud caused Dorian to spin around.

The figures of two Shades appeared, faint specks of darkness rising from their hands. One of them was giving off a pure, clean Aura of white light, while the other gleamed sharply, giving off a heavy, metallic Aura.

The one with the metallic Aura had a slim, pale face with warm green eyes and a small nose. His weak chin made him seem, well, weak, but Dorian could sense a powerful, latent strength in the Shade.

The other figure was wrapped up in white furs and robes, his features indistinct.

–

Species: Shade

Class – Lord Class (Late)

Maximum Energy Level: 81,331

–

–

Species: Shade

Class – Lord Class (Pseudo-King)

Maximum Energy Level: 103,266

–

“Damn.” Dorian looked at their numbers, his eyes unblinking.

He couldn’t beat them.

“Please, Dorian! Hold them off as long as you can!” Arial’s voice trembled out as she descended to stands next to the entrance to the Ice Keep. On the door, a massive, complicated looking array of symbols was visible, covered in frozen ice.

The fox girl clapped her hands together, an Aura of pure, warm light flooding around her as she drew, seemingly from thin air, a long sword made of pure, gleaming light.

She then held this sort up against the array of frozen symbols. Odd flashes of energy rang out, and a burnt smell appeared as she started breaking into the Ice Keep.

“Hmph. You murdering scum. We meet again.” The Late Lord Class Shade spoke aloud, staring beyond Dorian towards Arial.

It was at this point that Dorian recognized him, and one of the figures that Ausra gave him.

It was the same Shade that had callously thrown the freshly dead corpse of that human woman down, back when Dorian found the slaughtered expedition.

“Language Jasper. That is what Gerulf would say, anyway.” The Pseudo-King Class Shade said aloud, wagging his fingers at his comrade.

“Whatever Siegfried.” The Shade returned. A second later, the Shade’s body blurred, white motes of light surrounding it as a spell was secretly activated.

In a literal instant, before Dorian could physically react, an enormous weight slammed into his chest, sending him flying.

BOOM

Dorian’s vision wavered as he slammed into one of the overground stone walls that led down to the entrance of the Ice Keep. He felt several of his bones creak, his entire back feeling as if it was on fire. He coughed, blood spattering from his mouth as he fell to the ground.

“F-fast.” He muttered, his eyes blurred as he looked at the figure of the Shade.

He had actually managed to register the attack, with the powerful innate senses he’d gained a few days ago.

His body, however, was far too slow to adapt to those senses, and he had been forced to take the attack before he could even move.

“My Partial Light-Speed punch is pretty rough to take, huh?” Jasper’s voice came out full of mockery as the Shade stared at Dorian, shaking his head.

“To think that this evil witch had a subordinate here in the city.” He shook his head a second time.

“Don’t kill it, Jasper.” The other Shade appeared, his body blurring as he stopped down, standing next to Jasper.

“We’ll capture both of them.”

“Evil deserves to be purge-”

“We have our orders, Jasper. Do not question me.” The Wizard argued back, turning to glare at his comrade.

Dorian, meanwhile, was still reeling from the impact, his body barely recovering from shock. As he recovered, he felt his mind enter an odd state.

He looked at the two arguing Shades, and then back at Arial, who was desperately working to cut into the Ice Lock.

He felt an odd sense of deja vu.

It was happening, all over again.

Just like he lost Will.

He was going to lose again.

To lose protecting someone he decided to protect.

Perhaps it wasn’t someone he deeply cared for, or even someone that he really knew at all.

But once more, he had decided to protect someone.

And he was going to have that taken from him.

‘No… No! NO!’ He muttered, his arms shaking.

‘NO!’

Deep in the far recesses of Dorian’s mind, the tendrils of darkness that had started to spread a few days ago began to writhe, spreading even further in his soul and mind.

These tendrils had first appeared right before he snapped, killing those hunters for torturing innocent creatures. A punishment, when Dorian looked back, that felt far too permanent for their crime, but one he was unable to change.

And now, as Dorian looked at the two Shades, those dark tendrils began to curl, spreading to every single corner of his mind.

As they moved, Dorian felt his innate sense of battle and control grow stronger and stronger.

“NO!”

“I WILL NOT ALLOW IT” Dorian yelled out loud, his voice booming and echoing, causing the two Shades to turn and look at him in astonishment.

Dorian’s eyes flashed as he took full control of his body, willing himself to transform.

Instantly, his body expanded in size, his arms growing stronger and denser, splitting into two sets of arms, and then four sets. The black skin of his Ifrit form grew darker and denser. His eyes took on a deep, reddish glow, and he emanated a sense of raw fury.

‘Berserker Demon Evolution successful.’ Ausra’s notification sounded off in a corner of his mind, one he ignored as he looked at the two Shades in front of him, an incredible feeling of anger sweeping through him.

At the same time, the tendrils of darkness in Dorian’s mind finished their movements, touching every single part of his brain.

The moment they finished moving, Dorian’s mind shuddered.

Abruptly, a flurry of memories filled his brain. Memories of awe-inspiring battles, practice, and training, of thousands of duels and tens of thousands of fights. Wars raging on unending, a hellish landscape of fire, a deluge of memories swarmed into Dorian’s brain.

Memories belonging to a warrior and Wizard, renowned as a genius above all geniuses.

An ungodly prodigy obsessed with the concept of achieving perfection.

A man named Yukeli Shorn.

Dorian’s eyes flashed as he launched himself forward, attacking the Shades.

.

.

.

Edit: For those who can’t remember, go reread Chapter 1 if you are curious about the first time we have heard the name Yukeli mentioned.

Also corrected a minor typo where I called Dorian ‘Jack.’ (whoops).