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Hey guys, here is the second epic battle between the two soul torn brothers. A lot of stuff is going to be revealed in this chapter, so be prepared to gasp at least once :P.

"Markus...it's been too long." That is what Markus and the others near him heard as the glyph suddenly placed them far, far away from the raging battle between the Races of Light and the goblins. Just as the bright light the glyph emitted started to fade away, a chill ran down Markus's spine so sharp, he almost felt the need to shake his coat as a way to stay warm. From what he could see, the four of them had been summoned to a meadow so filled with taint; each blade of grass was as dark as a midnight sky. The willow trees that surrounded them seemed to hang low and swing with a depressing motion, almost as if they had been drained of every bit of life force they once held. Around them, Evizil and Malar stood in a large circle, all with dark, glazed eyes and motionless bodies. Suddenly, Markus felt as if he had been here once before, and after moments thinking about it, he remembered why. 'This is the meadow I saw in my dreams so long ago...this place...it can't be real...can it?' Just as soon as he finished the thought, a large dark sphere of magic appeared in front of them, and then slowly, started to dissipate as a figure came out of the darkness. The new arrival had long blonde hair, piercing red eyes, sharp front fangs, long bat-like wings, a suit of black armor with a giant blood red bat on the chest piece, an ancient looking longsword on his back, and the most corrupt looking smile Markus had ever seen.

With a small snarl, Markus replied "Felix...couldn't really say I missed you." At this, Eon, Kia and Oz looked at Felix, then at Markus, and then at Felix again. Before any of them could speak, Markus pointed towards the circle of standing bodies and said "Please, let me handle this, he is after all, my own brother." With a nod of understanding from each of them, the three quickly moved over to standing dead Markus had pointed to.

Pulling forth his longsword, Felix laughed and said "Ahh Markus...it's so good to see you took my advice and let the Augment take over you." Just as he was about to respond, Markus's eyes widened as he saw his brother's longsword in full detail. The sword was pure silver, including the hilt, and was etched with white, yet unsettling runes that curved and trailed all along the hilt and blade. What made this blade so unique was the fact that when it reached a certain point, just a few inches after leaving the hilt, the blade forked, making it look almost like a large, sharpened tuning fork. When Felix saw Markus inspecting his blade, he merely smiled and said "You like it? I call it Snowfall because with this blade...I will be your demise, little brother." As he said that, Felix swung the blade in the air once, letting the air resonate and rumble as the sword's ancient magics seemed to cut into the very air itself. Once he was finished, Felix cleared his throat and started speaking again by saying "I found this in the Throne in the Darkness, the very home of our beloved god, Uru."

At this, Markus turned his head and spit, afterwards saying "Uru was never a god, he was an ill gotten son of the Night Mother who only sought to destroy Ill for the passionate love he felt towards his own mother. That blade you carry Felix, its true name is The Eradicator because of its unstoppable lust for death. Brother, you carry a tainted blade with you, one that cares not for its master, but for its own malignant gains."

Now, Felix just laughed, and as he finished he smiled and replied "I have no cares for what this sword was once named or what its gains are, all I care about is the fact that I can use Snowfall to end your meddling with our father's plans."

Completely taken by surprise, Markus asked "Father, what does he have to do with this? Felix, the man has been dead for over six years, the last time we saw him was when we were still kids. And besides, he was just a human, there is no way he could have thought of all of this, its impossible Felix."

With a flash of anger, Felix retorted "Father is not just some human, you disgrace for a brother, he is possibly the most intelligent and manipulative person on Illian. But before we continue with this senseless babble, let me see how strong you've truly gotten." With that, Felix began twirling Snowfall around himself as a way to show off his mastery of the cursed blade.

In response, Markus simply concentrated his anger so that he would enter the Lycan form, readied his claws, and charged his brother. When he had first become an Evizil, Markus had been taught from the first day to fight Tooth and Nail because even though a weapon can kill the enemy quickly, they can easily be destroyed or knocked away. Just as he reached his brother, Markus extended his wolfish claws and quickly switched to the Lightning Palm fighting style, a type of attack style that used quick strikes and even quicker movements. Before Felix could even bring his blade up, Markus swung behind his brother and lowered himself so that he could kick his brother from underneath him with one, effective sweep. Just as he had planned, Markus hit his brother's lower legs, causing him to be lifted off of the ground and his lower body was forced into the air. Using his Evizil speed, Markus got up, grabbed his brother by the neck hole in his armor, and swung him up higher into the air, all in a matter of seconds. Now that his brother was unable to think, much less attack, while in the air, Markus switched to a more aggressive fighting style, the Raging Bear, and jumped up to meet his brother. When the two were face to face, Markus unleashed a barrage of furious claw attacks that, had Felix not been wearing his armor, would have gutted and maimed the poor Malar. Letting his rage control him for a short while, Markus kept on switching between the two fighting styles, creating a maddening chain of swift and deadly strikes against his brother, all before the two even hit the ground. When the two finally reached the hard, tainted surface, Markus used his left hand to fully gut out the chest armor Felix had been wearing; then jumped back before Felix could regain his senses.

Covered with bleeding claw marks and already purpling bruises, Felix simply stood up, removed the destroyed armor, and laughed. When he finished, he looked at Markus and said "I must admit little brother, that was quite the attack you used, and somehow, I can sense that was just the tip of the iceberg. But...before we see any more of your "stunning" techniques, let me show you what I CAN DO!!" As soon as he finished, Felix began charging at Markus, but after a second of doing so, he disappeared with a trail of black smoke rising where he once stood. Completely taken by surprise, Markus could do nothing as his brother reappeared behind him and sliced through the back of his armor, as well as his back. As white hot pain coursed through his body, Markus could sense another attack coming, and so with pure reflex, he pulled out Velar and blocked an oncoming swing by holding it straight behind himself. Suddenly, he felt the armor slightly shake and hum and when he looked at his back, he saw that the damage done to the armor was repairing itself. Realizing that his armor had the same type of regenerative powers he had, Markus quickly turned to face Felix and began releasing strike after strike against his brother. So much anger had been built around this moment, and now Markus had decided it was time to use it as best as he could. During the time he had been relentlessly attacking his brother, only to be blocked and parried by the oddly forked sword, he had decided to trigger the Augment; and to his surprise, Valecruiz did not seize that opportunity to take over. Before he had been able to think on why the evil demon did nothing, Markus's strong determination to kill his brother took over, causing him to increase the speed and strength at which he swung Velar. Because the Augment inside of Markus was so strong, each swing Markus made appeared to Eon, Kia and Oz as a blue blur that made a harsh metallic sound as it made contact with Snowfall. With each parry he made, Felix began getting weaker and more fatigued, whereas his brother seemed to get stronger, faster, and deadlier. Within minutes of standing against the hailstorm of attacks Markus had unleashed, Felix came up too slow, rewarding him with a sharp pain across his chest.

While the three standing close to a section of the standing bodies thought that Markus would stop momentarily after hitting his brother, the Evizil had other plans. Even faster than before, causing the sleek blue longsword to entirely vanish as he swung the blade, Markus began slashing in a diagonal pattern, using his wrist to bring the blade back up and swing again. When Felix began spinning his sword in front of himself in a windmill formation, Markus simply grabbed the blade with his right hand as it came down, which caused the blade to bite deeply into his palm. Whereas most men would be down on the floor screaming in pain, Markus simply stood there with a smile that resembled the one Felix had used before. Moments after stopping the blade, Markus moved the blade down and stabbed his brother straight in the chest with Velar. With Felix now immobilized for a short while, Markus removed the blade from his right hand and charged into a tree, causing the blade to sink deeper into Felix's chest. With a laugh, Markus looked his brother straight in the eyes and said "Older brother, you have only cause...pain and...agony and...SORROW!! You killed our mother, all for your...own...personal...gain!" Every time he had briefly stopped talking, Markus had been shoving the blade deeper and deeper into his brother, and when he had finished, it appeared as if the hilt would be going in next. While Kia understood how deep the Evizil's hatred for his brother went, it surprised even her that he was going to these lengths in order to see him suffer.

As blood began dripping from his mouth, Felix started to laugh as he said "Oh who cares if "Sophia Frostbane" died, our mother is still alive, dearest brother."

Shocked, Markus simply shook his head and said "You lie, Sophia was our true mother, or do you expect me to believe I am the son of some tavern whore?"

"I did not imply that, my malicious little brother, I simply meant that Sophia Frostbane was just a mask used by Mother."

"What are you..." Before Markus could continue, a sudden rush of emotions began stirring in his soul. In a single moment, Markus had felt warmth, coldness, happiness, sorrow, lust, celibacy, wrath and finally, forgiveness. Realizing he had experienced this same feeling when Izilan had entered his soul, Markus merely entered his own thoughts and said 'What is it, Night Mother?'

In a tone that sounded unusually cold, Izilan replied 'You must kill him now, remember, you swore an oath to me and Gree you would finish this battle. Drive your blade through one last time Markus, and end the reign of your brother!'

Before Markus could ask her why she sounded so desperate, he noticed Felix was looking at him with an odd smile on his face. Afterwards, he simply tilted his head and said "I see she has made contact with you Markus, it saddens me that she didn't come here herself, how I would have loved to see the expression on her face."

More curious than upset, Markus let go of Velar and replied "What do you mean, brother? I don't see how..." Before he could continue any farther, Izilan suddenly yelled into his head 'KILL HIM NOW, MARKUS, DO IT FOR YOUR SON AND YOUR TWO DAUGHTERS.'

Now Felix laughed as he said "You mean to tell me you never figured it out Markus? Haven't you realized that we aren't like normal people, that we are so very different from ordinary Evizil or Malar? Because you'll never reach this conclusion on your own, I guess I'll have to tell you. Markus, we're demigods. Our mother, the person you believe I killed so long ago, is your dearest Night Mother, Izilan the Wolf Goddess!!"

Now furious, Markus grabbed Velar's hilt once again and prepared to ram it through his brother once and for all, all the while saying "That is a lie no one could believe, I'm even surprised you went to such a low, older brother." Yet, Markus suddenly realized that Izilan was now completely silent, even the rush of emotions her presence brought with her seemed to slowly calm. Horrified, Markus quickly tried to reach out to her by thinking 'It can't be, tell me he's lying Night Mother, please!!'

In response, Izilan released a deep sigh and replied 'I'm so sorry Markus, you should have never...'

Furious, Markus quickly shot back 'So I should have thought that my brother murdered his own mother when really she had been standing here the whole time? We've spoken to each other, hugged each other and...Oh by the Ultimate Force, we slept together?!?'

'Markus, what happened that day was never suppose to be, you reminded me so much of your father, I just couldn't...'

Before she could finish, Markus looked up at Felix and yelled "So who is our father, TELL ME!!"

Now Felix let out his sinister looking smile and said "Our father is none other than Uru, Creator of the Races of Dark and the god of betrayal and deceit."

Now, Markus quickly shouted back "NOW YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR, OLDER BROTHER. THERE IS NO WAY IZILAN WOULD EVER SLEEP WITH HIM."

Not even a second after he had said that, Izilan quickly reached out and said 'Markus...your brother tells no lie, Uru is your father. While the Book of Chrono says Uru was killed by Gree, the truth is that Gree cannot kill anyone of his own blood, and because I am his daughter, Uru, as well as you, have his godly blood coursing through your veins. You have to understand, when I took the form of Sophia Frostbane, all of my godly powers were taken from me, including my ability to sense dark forces. I don't know how, but Uru found out who I had turned into and used his Shadow Magic to become a human as well, a human by the name of Turin Fireheart. From the first day we met, my humanly form instantly fell in love with Turin, and so we decided to become more...intimate. A year later, I gave birth to two wonderful boys, Markus Valecruiz Ealar and Felix Hellfire Sillen. From there, you know as much as I do.'

Still trying to process what he had been told, Markus replied 'So, I really am inhuman, is that why I'm to become a mere weapon for your father? Did you feel my life would be so out of the ordinary that you decided 'Hey, let's just get rid of who he is entirely.' Suddenly, a new thought began rising in his head, one so pressing, he knew he had to know now, or forever be consumed by it. Instead of asking Izilan, Markus pulled Velar out of his brother and asked him "Is the Trinity Prophesy even true? I know you know the truth, older brother, something this important would have never escaped your attention."

With a crooked laugh, Felix stood up and said "Yes and no, my dear brother. It is true that the Trinity Prophesy you know of is nothing but a lie told to your people as a way to never give up hope, yet what not even our dearest mother knows is that a Sinan can be revived. Normally, the combination of the three bloods would overflow the person's soul, killing them in the process; but because we're demigods, our souls can change and adapt to the blood of the three Greater Races. Markus, that's why Father brought Valecruiz back from the Void and sealed him within your Augment. He knew that one day, you would finally be left no choice but to use that powerful weapon, allowing you to become the Final Sinan. Don't you see, little brother, that's why he had me turned into a Malar, so that today, you could accept your destiny and help him take over Illian once and for all."

When he felt Izilan trying to reach out to him again, Markus finally lost it and shouted at her 'LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU TERRIBLE EXCUSE FOR A GODDESS. For more than 4 years, your very existence has been nothing but a poison to my heart. Since the day "Sophia Frostbane" died, I have hated my brother for her death, and now I found out that I have nearly killed him twice all because of your fucking lies. You have done nothing but cause me and Felix pain and suffering, and for that, I will NEVER forgive you. Since the day you changed back into the Night Mother, you have had chance after chance to become the mother you should have been, but each time you simply threw them away. If you're too ashamed to tell your dear Everin that you slept with Uru, your own child, and bore him two sons, then you have NO RIGHT to claim to be my mother, no matter whose blood runs through my veins.' When he was finished, he used every bit of his mental power to throw the Wolf Goddess out of his head and keep her from reentering.

Now enthralled by the anger he felt towards his true mother, Markus transformed into a Thrall and prepared to vent his anger out on the one person he hated almost as much as her, Felix. With a massive wound to the chest, a devastating amount of blood lost, and a body so fatigued it could barely keep itself up, Felix appeared to stand no chance against Markus. Without even realizing what he was doing, Markus sheathed Velar, called back the armor he had been given by Gree, and unlocked the full power of the Augment. Within moments, every dark rune on his body glowed with a black malignant light that bore the same magnitude of hatred Markus felt swelling inside of himself. Clenching his fists, Markus ran at his brother with a speed so great, time itself seemed to slow down before him. As he swung at his brother, Markus realized that his brother had been able to dodge the almost unstoppable attack, and had managed to sink his fangs deeply into the left side of Markus's throat. While the pain of the puncture wound burned greatly, the sudden realization of what was now happening hit Markus greater than any force he had ever experienced. Now that Felix had bitten him, Markus carried the genes of a human, a werewolf, and a vampire, meaning that Markus had completed the Trinity Prophesy. To prove this, the Evizil began feeling as if his whole body was skinning itself from the inside out. Yet, while the pain had become unimaginable, the transformation his body was going through caused Markus to begin howling with terror. Just like every time Valecruiz took over his body, the two horns locked into place high upon his forehead, except now, the horns that protruded from his head were at least 3 feet long. The dark mysterious runes that had been burned to his coat since the Blood Festival more than two years ago now began to lose their shape and encompass his entire body with a maleficent black smoke; until finally, the mist became apart of his very coat, turning it as black as the very ends of the Void itself. Slowly, Markus began to feel himself grow taller, until he finally felt himself stop when he had become at least 9 feet tall. While all of this was happening, his vision had become blurry until shortly afterwards; his sight had become encased in a pure dark purple, a color that only brought forth death and misery to his mind. What had surprised him the most though was the increasingly sharp pain growing in his upper back, and when he tried to look behind himself, all he saw were two large black bat-like wings. As he looked down as his hands, Markus noticed that his fangs and claws had grown at least an inch, causing him to believe he could easily rip through any armor that got in his way. Finally, deep within his mind, Markus felt Valecruiz take over his soul with so much force; he suddenly realized that the demon had been gathering energy specifically for this point in time. Long before Markus could even gather enough strength to fight off Valecruiz, his body was already the demon's to control. When he had obtained full control over the Evizil's body, Valecruiz declared his rebirth with a booming, horrific laugh.

As Markus had gone through the frightening transformation, Eon began feeling a large lump form in his throat as he saw the truth behind the Prophesy he had held so close to himself since he it was told to him as a child. Before he even realized it, Pridus had taken over his body and said "Uru...what have you done?"

Still standing by the bodies, Oz and Kia started at Eon with curious expressions on their faces, but when they noticed his eyes now had blue irises, they nodded to each other in understanding. Yet, as she was witnessing her own mate being corrupted and twisted by an unknown force, Kia couldn't help but add a thickly coated tone of fright in her voice when she asked "Pridus...what on Illian is going on here?"

Pridus turned his head to face her and replied "The Trinity Prophesy, a tale that Izilan and the rest of the gods weaved so long ago as a way to inspire hope into your hearts, has come true. The demon that inhabits Markus's Augment is a corrupt Sinan by the name of Valecruiz. Ever since he was unleashed from the gates of the Castle in the Ether, Valecruiz had lusted for power and domination over this world. He was so driven by this lust, he had dared to kill a god in order to gain the strength of a force as uncontrollable as he was, a force known to us all as the Void. By killing the Void Keeper, Valecruiz absorbed the powers of the Void entirely, causing his body to turn as black as you see it now."

Before Pridus could continue, Oz butted into the conversation by saying "But I've heard from texts of every sort that Valecruiz was banished to the very end of the Void, so how did he get back?"

At this, Pridus merely shrugged his shoulder and shook his head, saying "The only guess I can make is that Uru, the god who had faked his own demise in order to one day rule Illian, used his Shadow Magic to summon forth the soul of Valecruiz, and seal him away inside Markus's Augment until the boy first used it."

With a sudden reminiscence, Kia whispered "The day of the Blood Festival..."

Nodding in agreement, Pridus replied "From that day forward, Valecruiz has slowly taken over parts of Markus so that he would have enough of a threshold over the boy when this day came, the day he would finally be reborn."

With a snort, Oz said to this "So what happens now? Do we have no choice but to kill him?"

After letting out a large, heart-filled sigh, Pridus shook his head and said "No, last time it took the powers of all Fourteen Bound Ones just to banish his true form, and somehow I imagine that over the past 300 years, Valecruiz has gotten stronger. The only thing we can do now is pray to the Ultimate Force himself that Markus can regain control.

****

When the transformation has been completed, Felix let out a large howl of a laugh and said "Ah, so the great demon returns to this world once more; so, how does it feel?"

With a voice that brought forth malice, intelligence, and at the same time fear, Valecruiz responded "Your brother's body feels so much like my own, yet his source of magic is almost enough to stagger one such as myself." As he said this, Valecruiz began examining his body, and to his own delight, it almost appeared as if this was the same body that had been banished to the Void centuries ago.

Losing the smirk from his face, Felix stared into the Sinan's corrupt purple eyes and nearly shrieked out of fear. Never before had the Malar seen so much evil and horror gathered into one being, not even his own father, the god of all Malar, was this frightening. Trying to cover his own terror, Felix still stared deep into those luring purple eyes and said "Father will be very pleased to know his servant has finally been reborn. He's been waiting a very long time for you, Valecruiz of the Void."

With a sense of uninterest, Valecruiz began looking at the back of his left hand and replied "Such a shame, and here I was thinking you had at least some backbone, Felix Lightbane. Do you always follow "daddy dearest's" orders? Not only did you betray your own kin to a demonic force far beyond your comprehension, but you willingly let yourself believe that Uru would give you a share in his power."

Staggered by this response, Felix clenched his fists and said "Of course Father will share some of that power with me. It was I who forced Markus to use the Augment, I who killed his best friend and Alpha Male as a way to start this war, and most importantly of all, it was I who allowed Markus's body to become your vessel by sharing the traits of the Malar with him."

Clearly uninterested by any of this, Valecruiz waved his hand aside as if it held no importance and responded by saying "Enough of this, little Malar, it is time to see JUST HOW STRONG MARKUS REALLY IS!!!" As he said this, the dark energies from the Void itself began rising from the ground and swirled around Valecruiz like a torrent of malignance and woe. Pointing at Felix with his clawed left index finger, he began tracing a star in the air, the seal for a class 7 spell. Yet, even as the final end of the star was finished, Valecruiz kept going. Now, from the tip of the star he finished on, he began tracing a circle around the star, one that connected with the seal at every tip. The moment he got to the top end of the star, he moved up an inch and traced another circle. When he finished this circle, he followed this step once again, until it now looked as if the star was encased in three rings.

With a large gasp, Pridus suddenly screamed "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS VALECRUIZ...THAT SPELL HASN'T BEEN USED SINCE..."

Before he could finish, Kia grabbed Pridus's arm and asked "What are you talking about, what kind of seal is that?"

"It is the seal for the most powerful of the Forbidden Three, the..."

Before Pridus could finish, Valecruiz pulled both of his arms back, connected them by his wrists and shouted "SEAL OF THE FORBIDDEN THREE, I COMMAND THEE TO RELEASE YOUR CHAINS FROM THE...GATES OF OBLIVION!!" As he said this, Valecruiz stretched out his arms as far as they would go, and as soon as he did, a giant bronze gate with two opposing doors appeared. In front of the doors, a large, twisting chain blocked the doors from opening. When the gate appeared, Valecruiz screamed "OPEN, AND UNLEASH THE FURY OF THE DAMNED", which caused the giant chain to suddenly shatter. As the chain shattered, the two bronze doors swung open, and as they did, hell itself took a physical form and forever shattered the peace of Illian. From the now open gate, a giant pillar of pure orange came bursting through, heading straight towards Felix. As if the sight of this colossal abomination wasn't enough, it emitted a sound that closely resembled that of thousands of screaming souls, each one releasing a stronger shriek than the next.

Knowing that it would be impossible for him to dodge such a large attack, Felix merely stood his ground and spread his arms, almost as if he was welcoming his own death. As a tear rolled down his cheek, Felix whispered as the attack encompassed and burned at his body "Brother...forgive me..." As the large pillar moved past Felix, it continued to move forward, ripping apart the trees, the hills, and even the mountains as if they were but wet paper. Before Valecruiz could even turn to face the others, a giant glyph appeared underneath the four of them, and with a large flash of light, carried them far away from the now desolate meadow.

****

Even while the sudden disappearance of their commanders stayed the Races of Light for a short while, every single one of them knew this was war, and in war, battle waited for no one. And so, the battle had continued, and while the Races of Light has lost at least a thousand good men, the goblins had lost at least ten times that amount. Yet, as the battle seemed to be in the army's favor, the giant glyph appeared once more on the battlefield, causing both sides to move back as far as they could before it revealed its surprise. From the massive glyph appeared Eon, Kia and Oz, as well as another being that brought only images of inevitable death to both sides. As the figure turned to face the nearest soldier near him, he waved his hand forward and said with a voice that sounded oddly familiar to Markus's "Would whoever was leading this attack while I was gone please step forward."

From the front lines, Lance Corporal Jin appeared and kneeled before the nine foot malignant behemoth. As he did so, Jin stared into the being's deathly purple eyes and said "Alpha Captain Markus, what has..." and before he even realized what had happened, he was dead.

Quicker and with more skill than anyone could have seen, Valecruiz has used his large left claw to decapitate the soldier known to Markus as Jin before the eyes of his own men, as well as the goblins. As the head rolled onto the ground, Valecruiz raised his head towards the sky and laughed; afterwards saying "Everyone here today shall remember this battle for as long as you live, if you even get that chance. Today, let your hearts be filled with sorrow and fear as realize that Valecruiz of the Void has come once again to the world of Ill, and this time, THIS WORLD SHALL BE MINE!!" When he finished, Valecruiz reached behind his back, grabbed the base of each of his wings, and ripped them straight out of his back. As every person there screamed as they saw him do this, even more fear filled them as they saw him bring the two wings together by their bases, and when they had come together, they had begun glowing and transforming into a massive, double-bladed scythe. While the scythe appeared basic in design, its wing shaped blades appeared to face in opposite directions, giving the weapon a unique, yet horrifying, look. When the giant weapon had fully formed, Valecruiz began spinning it around himself in a circle, declaring to everyone nearby that not only had he summoned this weapon, but he knew all too well how to wield it. As he finished brandishing his weapon, Valecruiz made a 360 horizontal swing, killing two goblins, as well as three soldiers, in one deadly blow. As one of the blades came back up to him, Valecruiz set the scythe in a vertical position and used his long, devilish tongue to lick off a trail of blood that coated the sharp end of one of the wing-blades. When the blade was clean, Valecruiz raised the blade once more and unleashed his torment upon everyone around him. In hopes of killing members of both sides, he brought the blade back so that one end of it was behind him, swung the end in an upward motion, then pulled the scythe forward and twisted it so that he could swing in an sideways motion. Killing three goblins and one gecko in this strike, it became evident to both sides that this enemy was after both of them. Feeling that the only way to survive this was to attack, the two opposing sides charged straight towards him. Yet, as both sides collided with the nine foot evil, Eon, Kia and Oz managed to run to the side of the heated attack. Gathering their breath from the amount of energy it took to run away, as well as the pure shock of what was now happening, the three stood in shock as they saw what unfolded.

Smiling as the countless men came towards him, Valecruiz held the scythe in a horizontal position underneath his left arm, quickly used his hand to bring pull off a forward slash with the back blade of the weapon, killing two foolish goblins that were in a line formation. Afterwards he turned around and cut into the Races of Light by using one blade of the scythe to strike in a horizontal position, followed by bringing the weapon black slightly and using the back blade. As a total of eight men dropped to the ground, their stomachs being completely cut open, Valecruiz jumped backwards, entering the depths of the goblin sea, and began wreaking havoc upon the stupid green beings. Faster than any of the goblins could react, Valecruiz ducked slightly, held the scythe in a horizontal position in front of him, and began spinning himself in a full circle, each turn making him go faster and faster. Soon, the black behemoth turned into a vicious black whirlwind, causing any goblin that got caught within it to be ripped to shreds as the scythe bladed fury upon them. When seeing the sluggish black blood of the goblins began to bore him, Valecruiz began spinning into the lines of the Races of Light, causing the same havoc upon the multiple races in the front lines. As limbs and torsos began flying through the air, the demon only increased his speed, until finally; he began to grow woozy from the constant spinning and came to a sudden halt. When the wind that had surrounded him had subsided, both sides counted a total of 116 newly made corpses that now littered the cold grassy ground. Fueled by rage and fear towards their newfound enemy, both sides subconsciously enacted the same plan, and charged towards the beast as fast as their bodies could take them. While Valecruiz had to admit their courage was admirable, the demon could only laugh as the countless soldiers rushed to their deaths. Standing perfectly still, Valecruiz began spinning his scythe around himself, creating a transparent bubble as his blades cut through the air at a speed that no mortal could even think of attaining. Right as the bubble had formed, both sides knew instantly that they had played into his hands, and now they were about to see the price of their folly. The moment both sides collided with the bubble, Kia and the rest could only scream in terror as bodies began tearing apart and countless limbs soared through the now bloodied air. Within seconds of following this same routine, both sides pulled back as far as they could in the time given.

Now kneeling on the ground with her face in the dirt, Kia couldn't help but release countless tears. Through the dirt, Kia mumbled "Why...why is...this happening? How...can one...kill so much...they...they never stood a chance."

Wiping a tear from his own eye, Pridus took over Eon's body, looked directly at the carnage that was unleashed and replied "None of us stands a chance against him, my girl. This demon has been locked away for over 300 years, and now you see why. His scythe, Belgagan (Bell-gah-gan), has caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of beings, many of which the fourteen of us had known for most of our lifetimes. I have seen him commit acts far worse than this one and still I weep as I see the true malignance that WE created." Kneeling on the ground and putting his hands on the sides of his head, Pridus raised his head into the air and yelled "GREE...WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!?"

Keeping his eyes locked on Valecruiz, Oz clenched and unclenched his fists as he said "This is what has become of my most prized student...may the Ultimate Force forgive me for not understanding the seriousness of the Augment. If we had only known THIS would happen, we would have searched for a way to prevent this than try searching for a fake Prophet."

Raising her head from the dirt, Kia couldn't help but smile as she said "The Trinity Prophet wasn't fake; he was standing in front of us the whole time..."

When Valecruiz had been given enough breathing room, he slowed down the speed in which his swung the scythe until eventually, it stopped altogether. With a warped grin, he took hold of the scythe with his right hand and began creating a seal with his left index finger. Yet, even when a star, the seal for a class 7 spell, was formed in the air, Valecruiz didn't stop tracing; and for a brief moment, Kia, Oz and Eon thought he was about to unleash the "Oblivion Gate" once again. To their surprise, Valecruiz didn't trace a circle around the star, instead, from the left tip of the star, he began tracing another star, and from the bottom right tip of that star, Valecruiz drew another star. Never hearing of a seal shaped like that, Oz was about to ask Pridus what Valecruiz was doing, but before he could say anything Valecruiz had finished the seal. With three stars connect to each other in the shape of a very closed in triangle, the unknown spell seal began glowing the color of dark ink. Holding his left hand face up slightly in front of himself, Valecruiz laughed as a shifting purple orb appeared in his hand. Concentrating his vast pool of magic, Valecruiz began pushing so much dark energy into the orb, visible streaks of black magic began swirling around him almost as if it were caught in a funnel. As more magic was pushed into the shifting sphere, the large and more malignant it became; until finally, when it was about the size of eight watermelons stacked together, it stopped. Stabbing Belgagan into the ground, Valecruiz placed his right hand on the top of the sphere and shifted it sideways so that he could position it better to be launched. Turning towards the sea of goblins, the nine foot behemoth laughed and yelled "THIS IS THE POWER OF THE VOID, YOU INSIGNIFICANT MAGGOTS. CRAWL BACK TO YOUR GOD OF DECEIT AND TELL HIM OF YOUR DOOM. AND MAY YOUR BREATH FINALLY END AS YOU TELL HIM OF THE SPELL THAT ENDED YOUR LIVES, WRATH OF THE VOID!!" As he yelled out this final part, Valecruiz pulled his arms back, then shot them forward, causing the massive purple orb to race towards the goblins. As the ball of magic advanced towards the sea of green monsters, the ground it touched gave way, causing the sphere to leave a large trail of kicked up dirt until it finally reached its mark. To the surprise of everyone but Valecruiz, as the ball of magic hit the first goblin, it didn't explode like a normal attack spell would when it came in contact with a physical substance. Instead, the shifting purple orb merely pushed past the goblin, causing it to rip right through the poor thing's chest. And just when the goblins thought the sphere would destroy countless members of their army, the unending sphere stopped. Seconds after the sphere stopped, Valecruiz clenched his left hand into a fist, and as he did so, the spell ended with a horrifying result. The sphere expanded and grew, catching and destroying anything near it, until when it had grown to the size of a large house, it exploded. Because it was in the direct center of the sea of green monsters, the explosion encompassed the entire horde in a devilish purple bubble. As the explosion started to subside, and the dust it sent flying into the air began to return to the ground, every last person that stood behind Valecruiz gasped in horror as they saw the damage. Out of the probable 40,000 goblins left, not a single one remained alive. In fact, the only trace of anything standing where they had stood was countless grains of ash.

Turning around to face the Races of Light, Valecruiz grabbed Belgagan and bellowed out a large laugh. When he regained himself, Valecruiz looked into the eyes of each and every person that stood in front of him and said "Mortals, if you believe that was all I am capable of, you will be saddened to hear that that was simply a fourth of what I CAN REALLY DO!"

Suddenly grasping what he was telling them, a large group of humans, geckos and Evizil alike dropped their weapons and screamed "RUN, HE'S GOING TO KILL US ALL!"

Just as he was about to head towards the crowd of fleeing soldier, Valecruiz was grabbed around the waist from behind, pinning him to his location. As he turned his head to see who it was, Valecruiz saw a figure clad in dark orange fur hugging him by his waistline. Not daring to look at his face, the figure stared towards the ground and said "Markus, enough is enough, you must regain control." In response to this, Valecruiz began feeling a presence that he had felt he had put into a deep sleep suddenly reawaken.

Furious with the orange figure, Valecruiz grabbed her by the throat and stared straight into the eyes of Markus's mate, Kia. With a snarl, Valecruiz brought her forward, forced her to gaze into his never ending orbs of death, tightened his grip around her neck and said "You insignificant wench! You really think your words can stop the tyranny of a century old demon, well let me tell you, my little kitten, you're wrong, dead wrong." As he said these last two words, he tightened his grip around her once again, causing the feline to gasp desperately for air.

In response, Kia let out a hoarse laugh and replied "You're wrong...Valecruiz of the Void. I know Markus...better than you do...and I know...HE...WILL...WIN!"

At the now sudden rush of benevolent energy filling his body, Valecruiz slightly panicked, causing him to ask Kia "What makes you say that, Kia?"

With a smile, Kia replied "First...because it is his destiny...to save Illian from...Felix. Second...because you just called me...Kia."

As the truth hit him, Valecruiz roughly dropped Kia and began clutching his head in frustration. As the furious torrent of Markus's spirit began filling his body, Valecruiz could only scream in pure frustration as his plans had been foiled by a mere 18 year old boy. Yet, as he prepared to be banished once again into the depths of the Augment, or even worse, the Void itself, Valecruiz noticed that the small Blood Oath amulet Markus had always worn was now floating in the air, while still hung around his neck, and from there he knew where to go. With a large, malignant laugh, Valecruiz began channeling his powers into the glowing amulet, and to his luck, it accepted whole heartedly. As his scythe, his horns, his dark mist, and finally the runes he burned onto Markus so long ago began draining into the amulet, Valecruiz yelled out to the world "Children of Illian...THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!" With that, everything that had been Valecruiz filled the Blood Oath, causing the once red pendant to shine with a permanent purple aura that dared to match the light of the moon itself.

Realizing what had just happened, Kia nearly jumped up when she saw the six foot, white coated Evizil she had mated with kneeling in front of her. Yet, because Valecruiz had drained so much of her energy with his vice-like grip, Kia was forced to crawl over to Markus, and when she did, she embraced him in a loving embrace. With tears rolling down her eyes, Kia rocked the two of them back and forth, muttering "Its ok Markus, everything is alright."

With a sluggish movement, Markus slumped into Kia and whispered back "Kia...the Voidwalker...has come once again." With that, Markus collapsed into Kia's embrace and met the surrounded abyss with open arms.