“Well... this looks depressing”

He said as he looked down at me. The will-o-wisp form of Regis glowed a dark purple.

“You just woke up and already are talking bullshit?”

“What can I say? look at you! you look like a homeless devil. ”

He's right, as much as I want to deny, I haven't eaten nor bath for days, maybe months in my time in this room.

My clothes shirt is on the far side of the room laying on the floor as I'm only wearing my pants for my whole time here. I find this training sufficient to reach my goal but it looks like someone is not in the same boat as me.

*sigh*

I want to smack him so good right now.

“Hey! I can hear your thoughts!”

“That's intentional and can you shut up?.”

“I just woke up and here I saw you for whatever reason, half naked inside an empty ass room in the relictombs. Care to fuckin explain master?”  He ranted with the last part tinged with sarcasm.

I want to deny it but Regis has all the reasons to complain as all he said was true. Maybe except that this is an empty ass room. Far at the end of the room is a wall full of colorless runes which I assume are dead runes and needs aether to work.

“I'm training, and can't you just look at it in my memory?”

“Hell nah”

Regis said, his will-o-wisp body flying around me. His horns that he's so proud before are now just tiny stubs and is barely visible.

“You look pathetic.”

I insulted him and went back on meditating.

-at!

-ey!

I didn't hear him anymore thanks to my focus.

It's been days now and I still haven't done any kinds of progress in this training.

Just as then, I felt all the aether getting pulled out of my body, making my eyes open as I look up.

Regis is now glowing in a purplish hue. No, you can even say that he is the purple hue.

“Whats with this now?”

“I'm stopping your dumb ass.”

He said in a surprisingly calm voice which is a rare sight of him. Although I didn't want to listen to him moments ago, this change in his tone made me more aware of him.

“What is it Regis?” I said in a voice that's supposed to be calm but it came out as a snarl.

“You are strong with what you've got. Stop with this dumb plans Arthur.”

I don't know if he called me by that name to make me angrier but it sure did.

“It's Grey, Regis” I snarled again, this time it's intentional.

“Fine fine, now hear me out.”

The purple hue inside Regis disappeared as he let's go of the aether and released it in the surroundings.

This, of course made me glare at him but he just stared at me, signalling me to wait for his reason.

“You'll die Grey”

“I am prepared”

He grunted as I said that and flew in front of my face. His will-o-wisp like body restricted my vision.

“You saying that you are prepared just like that is the proof that you're not ready.”

“You said that without talking about the consequence? The chances of you dying while doing this is high, yeah it's real high.”

“Did you even think about your friends Grey? Girlfriend? What about the ones that help you grow? Agrona? Seris? Sylvia?”

“What's with this now?” I asked, emotions not even in control anymore.

“You, pumping aether inside your body, trying to make an aether core is suicide.”

“You sure have known about what the Indrath Clan tried to from Agrona yes?”

I did

Agrona said to me back then that the Indrath clan used to experiment a newborn dragon. The dragon didn't have a functioning mana core when its born, a defect. The elders of the Indrath clan then tried to make an aether core inside him but failed. Resulting to the death of the newly born dragon.

“That doesn't matter. I need to get stronger.”

“What the fuck will you do with that strength when you're dead!?”

It seems like Regis has snapped, venom tinted in his voice. This is the first time I experienced atleast this much from him.

“You do know that you're in the integration stage right? Your whole body is a mana core! Meaning aether won't be able to enter no matter what! An aether core is impossible!”

Indeed, the core is still there in integration stage but it's transparent and cannot be seen. Integration stage means your body becomes the mana core as your body integrates with mana. But all the mana still have a center which is the transparent mana core.

And aether, being a higher form than mana rejects it and forcefully push out the mana inside my body. The only problem is that... as mentioned earlier, because of the integration stage, mana is now in every part of my body.

“Hey Regis...”

“no no no no no ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NO!”

But if the center of the mana concentration is broken, will all the mana also leave my body?

I summoned Grudge in my hands and pointed it right in front my sternum.

“GREY YOU BASTARD!”

I saw Regis transform into a giant wolf clad in purple flames, destruction.

I willed all my strength into Grudge and stabbed myself where my mana core used to be. My sword glowed black as I immediately felt mana escaping my body.

I smiled and looked at Regis who's in front of me, his form still glowed purple. Pain started emerging from my sternum.

“YOU MASOCHIST MOTHERFUCKER!”

__________________

“ Didn't I tell you I got this?”

Finally getting up from the lotus position, I stretched my body.

I'm still isn't used with aether that's for sure but with Regis' help and the abundance of aether in this room made it easier for me to adjust.

“You wouldn't have made it without me.”

Regis said, now in his wolf form walking beside me.

“True but I'm the one who thought about it.”

Smirking, I tried to deny the horny wolf's statement.

“When we come back I'll tell the horned goddess about your weird ass kinks”

“You know that's not true right”

“Nah”

He said as he cackled like a maniac. I didn't reprimand him because it will only cause some unnecessary movements.

Now

What do I do? Do I return? I'm sure that I'm stronger now because of the aether running on every part of my veins. But I also know that I have lost something very important in my combat arsenal.

It's my Vritra mana arts.

Unlike before when I can cast the black ice, metals, soulfire and even corrosion, right now all I have is aether and destruction.

But the war is still happening. I can't just train here forever and come back when I'm an almighty being just to see the whole world already destroyed.

I grabbed my shirt on the ground, put it on and walked towards the wall where there are dead runes all over it.

I held out my right hand and my palm touched the runes engraved on the wall.

I willed aether into it  through and the room started to violently shake and glow purple.

Regis and I are already on guard when the glow and shaking stopped. It looked like nothing have happened as I tried to put aether on the wall again but a sound of a door opening made me stop.

A slow but high pitched creak originated from the back of the room opposite of where I'm facing made me breath sharply.

I slowly looked around and saw something or rather.... someone looking at me dead in the eyes.

Asmodeus Vritra

___________________

It has months again since I have seen Grey. After he came back from Dicathen almost 4 months ago, I offered him home again just like how it's supposed to be 3 years ago.

His room in my house is still the same, just as Nico's and Caera's. That day when he came back here, he looked different.

His aura, his demeanor, it changed. He changed from a boy possessed by a vengeful spirit to a powerful being full of resolve.

sigh

I stood up the bed, changing from my nightdress into a comfortable black dress. I glanced at the sun that's still barely rising.

Grey have been missing for months yet Caera and the others still don't know about what happened to him the last one year and a half.

They don't even know that he's currently in the relictombs right now. I didn't give them that information, no... I am not allowed to give them that information.

No mattwr what I do, no matter how much I filed a complaint to the High Sovereign, all he did was order me to let Grey be.

For some reason Agrona just lets Grey do whatever he wants. Grey was an exception. Even Cecila who is his trump card against the Asuras doesn't have this special treatment from him.

sigh

I'm sighing quite frequently now. But that doesn't matter. I quickly walked towards my office and grabbed a Temous warp.

Activating it, I saw the surrounding change from the dark brown color of my office that follows the theme of my mansion into the dark grand walls of Taegrin Caelum.

I walked again, not towards Agrona's office but towards the main hall of the grand castle.

There I found many retainers with their corresponding Scythes. And of course the two people that is coming with me, Caera and Nico.

Camera have grown so much that it made me proud and even... jealous. Caera is now taller than me with my horns included which broke my pride.

I prided my horn as the grandest in the scythes and it's size that made me look much taller than anyone.

But Caera is now taller than me. Even Nico have grew, he still looked the same but his horns grew exponentialy making him scarier than anyone here, except Uto and Cadell. Those two disgustinglu doesn't look human.

“You are a bit late Seris!”

Dragoth spoke, even though I know that this is how he normally spoke, people who didn't know him will probably think that he's shouting.

“I know that and I apologize.”

I said as I walked towards him, falling in the end of the line with the other Scythes.

“Tell me Seris... Are you ready?”

A voice came from the other end of the line.

It was Cadell.

“Yes”

My mission is simple. All of those who are here will be deployed in Dicathen. And out of everyone here, I have the most important mission.

The destruction of the wall.

Although this is merely a smokescreen so the others can follow Agrona's original goal.

The complete control of Zestier, will be assigned to Melzri and her retainer.

Etistin will be Viessa's mission with her retainer.

Dragoth will wreak havoc and take over Vildorial with Uto.

And Xyrus will be taken over by Cylrit and Lyra.

To infiltrate the hideout of their council however. Cadell will go there by himself.

And the last goal of this attack.

“Hey... Are we late? Oh hello there little Seris.”

It was the former Scythe I replaced. Although I know for a fact that she held back when we fought, she is at least on par with Cadell.

Ethrale Vritra, her short black hair just abover her shoulder made her look a bit boyish. Her all white eyes still makes me uncomfortable. Although blind, she is one of the most dangerous lesser being I have encountered my whole lifetime.

Next to her is 7 more individuals. Who for some here may have been familiar faces. They are former Scythes which I don't even know the names.

The old man with a single horn in his forehead that stood like a rhinoceros felt familiar to me. He is the former Scythe of the Central dominion. A formidable foe. Even though he looked weak with his hunched back and wrinkled face, those who have been born atleast a hundred years ago surely knows who he is.

The wielder, Astorius Vritra. Although he doesn't wield any staff he is called the wielder for some reason I wasn't aware of.

I don't know the other five besides Ethrale and Astorius but I have an idea of what kind of people just arrived with those two. They are people who specialized in destruction.

Although they are now Wraiths, Agrona's Asura killers. They have a mission that needs 7 of them deployed and that is...

The eradication of the whole Elenoir.

___________________