Past Events

"You're... a Lord of Annihilation! Phantylia!"

Aatrox stared at the figure before him in disbelief. The prince had stopped pretending and said to Aatrox, "I only wanted to watch this planet perish. I never expected such an unexpected gain. Darkin, come here. Destroy this planet with me and let it return to [Destruction]. I can overlook your previous disrespect. You can still return to the Legion with your people and serve as its Cataclysm Vanguard."

Seeing Aatrox walk toward her step by step, Phantylia smiled and spread her arms, about to welcome him. But the next instant, Aatrox's aura suddenly surged. With lightning speed, he severed Phantylia's left arm.

That caught Phantylia completely off guard.

"You want to... oppose me?!"

Phantylia was furious. Although this body was only one she had found temporarily, being struck back at by a subordinate enraged her.

"I'm not opposing you. I'm opposing [Destruction]!"

Aatrox's aura continued to rise. His body grew even more robust, the twin horns atop his head more savage, while the crimson heart on his greatsword pulsed powerfully without pause.

Great Annihilation Form!

This form amplified Aatrox's fighting spirit, accelerated the circulation of energy within his body, and multiplied his strength for a certain period of time.

His fierce attacks targeted the weak points of Phantylia's body, while Phantylia continuously created walls of ice to block them.

This body belonged to a warrior from Kasantiya with a shapeshifter talent. Its skin was thick and its flesh tough, so Phantylia did not need to care too much about taking one or two blows from Aatrox.

As long as he did not strike vital spots such as her neck, she could heal herself through the shapeshifter talent and drag Aatrox down until he died.

Phantylia believed that, as a Darkin, Aatrox could only inhabit a human body. Once time ran out and that body could no longer withstand the Darkin's power, it would collapse. By then, she could handle a tiny soul however she pleased.

"There should be a time limit on that body of yours, right? Once the time comes, let's see what you can use to fight me. You know Burning Wind loves traitors like you most."

At the mention of Burning Wind, Aatrox froze slightly. But then he remembered the days when he had been sealed away. No one from the [Destruction] faction had come to save him. His people were merely tools that could be discarded at any time.

Compared to that, Aatrox preferred his days with Bai Sheng. There were no forced missions, and he could do whatever he wanted. Even though so much time had passed since he collected the Darkin weapons, Bai Sheng had not said anything. The better side was obvious by comparison. In any case, nothing would remain in the end for [Destruction], so he might as well seek a slim chance of survival on Its opposite side.

Aatrox's aura rose once more. Powerful Path Energy condensed around him into a ring of blazing fire tornadoes. Against Phantylia's ice walls, they could shatter her defenses much faster.

Meanwhile, Beleria kept looking for chances to ambush Phantylia. Working together, the two forced Phantylia back step by step, though she was still able to withstand their attacks.

On Bai Sheng's side, the [Destruction] Path he had constructed in advance was enough for him to deal with every Shadow Guard around the emperor. Pandora's dark violet Scythe Blade rested against the emperor's neck, while the mountain of Shadow Guard corpses around them silently told the whole story.

The Firefly Alpha Armor had already been damaged. Bai Sheng had placed it in Pandora's space for maintenance and repairs. Looking at the emperor's aged face, Bai Sheng said, "It's over, you old bastard!"

His golden eyes fixed on the emperor, whose face was full of fury.

"Hmph! You are the Prince of Kasantiya! You took the things from the treasury, and you killed all of my Shadow Guards. You defied your sovereign—what more do you want?! I intended to grant you authority equal to a prince! Isn't that enough?"

He glared furiously at Bai Sheng. Was he afraid? Of course he was. With a weapon pressed to his throat by someone radiating killing intent, who would not be afraid? But he could not show it. If he revealed weakness, he would lose any chance to struggle completely.

Hearing the emperor's words, Bai Sheng laughed. He kicked the emperor in the chest, the blow so heavy that it shook blood from the emperor's mouth. Then, in a crazed tone, he said, "Not enough! Of course it's not enough! How could it be enough if I don't kill you? How else could I face my mother and all the brothers who died with me on the battlefield?!"

"After all these years, why can't you let this go?!"

"I can't let it go! How am I supposed to let it go?!"

Bai Sheng's eyes reddened at the corners as his thoughts drifted back to an unknown time.

In Kasantiya, a very beautiful woman sold vegetables by the roadside in a small outer-city town. During one of the emperor's outings, he happened to meet her. By chance, he discovered that she was the long-missing holder of Kasantiya's Spirit Puppet Talent.

Thus, regardless of his motives, he eventually made that woman fall in love with him and began vigorously developing her Spirit Puppet.

As for how she fell in love with him, to be specific, the Anti-Matter Legion that had long been lurking throughout the outer district launched an attack. The entire area was reduced to ruins, and nearly everyone living on the outskirts died, including every one of the woman's relatives. In the end, only the woman hiding in a cellar survived, and she was saved by the emperor.

It was a cliché tale of a hero saving a beauty, but one had to admit that it was indeed effective.

At the time, the previous emperor was still on the throne, and he was merely one of several princes competing for the imperial throne. He used the woman's nearly invincible Spirit Puppet to clear away every obstacle, eventually succeeding to the throne.

However, the Spirit Puppet's immense power clouded the emperor's judgment. He gradually stopped trusting the woman and instead accelerated the development of her Spirit Puppet, even though it harmed her body.

Yet the woman still loved the emperor, and she silently endured it all.

Until one day, the woman's Spirit Puppet accidentally awakened an ability.

It was [Rewind]!

With her power, she could selectively rewind time in a certain area and project what had happened in video form.

For some reason, the woman suddenly wanted to return to her old home on the outskirts. She wanted to use Rewind to see what had happened that year and find a clear target for her revenge.

But that rewind became the nightmare of her life.

She saw that the emperor she had regarded as a great hero was actually the mastermind behind the tragedy!

He had let those Anti-Matter Legion forces into the outer-city town, and he had deliberately delayed the arrival of the reinforcements. He did not appear until flames filled the sky and corpses carpeted the ground.

In other words, in order to use her, the emperor had indirectly slaughtered an entire city!

The woman was dumbfounded upon learning the truth. She had been pregnant at the time, and this tragedy finally broke her after she had held on for so long.

Her health worsened day by day. She had considered aborting the child, but the maternal love in her kind heart kept stopping her from doing so.

Until much later, after she gave birth to the child...