I have realized the numerous accounts that I was betrayed by the many people I deemed worthy of being respected however; this was the very first time that I tasted the bitter essence of it.

Betrayal was so ghastly and so provoking that I was repulsed of the thought of fully trusting anyone again but I had hoped and was so sure that Asahi-ssu wouldn't betray us like this.

King Asahi walked through the demolished roads and buildings in barefoot elegance as he sight-saw the wreckage that was done by not only the angels sent by the God of Earth but also the slumbering terror that once walked through these lands. A sinister smirk was plastered on his lips and his eyes glimmered with merriment and excitement.

As he strolled through the dismantled street and treated it as his own carpet of glory and nobility, fire continued to pour into his being and his form started to change.

A stygian creature was slowly molded by the conflagration released throughout the city by the werewolves possessed by the catastrophic souls. The creature stretched like a skyscraper with a thinly yet muscular form and structured fringes which held the burning fire trailed in various parts of his body.

The cranial area of his head had piercing structures that crowned him and more spikes grew on his upper and lower form. Moving finger-like projections which resembled a villus grew visibly on his back and they began to release spores which slowly rose up higher from the buildings and stayed in their designated level in the now brightening skies.

More catastrophic souls joined his growing shape and his once empty eye-sockets were now filled with the blackness of decay and blazing pupils stood in the middle of them.

This was his new vessel.

It was a new vessel created to remove humanity from their governing power.

How can we help humanity survive through this when their God had evidently lost His hope on them? Wrath was the only thing ruling His heart by now as the angels descend and fought for His thundering odium to His once favored creations.

A loud, ground-shaking, and spine-chilling scream emerged from the Stygian King and Joe and Hyuk Min yelped and ended up embracing each other. The little fragment was getting knocked out of balance and tried his best to move in accordance with the shaking of the ground. I tried to help him but my own feet were twisting and I had to hold on to Luscv-ssu for support. Lucius-ssu gave the little Lucian-ssu mercy and picked him up.

The pegacorns neighed in fright and panic rose within them before all of them absconded except for one pegacorn that stayed and waited for orders.

"What do you mean it worked?" Luscev-ssu asked warily.

"Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?!" Imsothy questioned.

"Unless we suddenly left Earth without you then the answer is yes— we are seeing what you're seeing!" Ki responded angrily.

"Should I go around it to distract it with the ship?" Hoets asked.

"Do you have a secret desire to get stuck in this planet?" Won retorted.

"Stay put Hoets. We don't know what it can do. What's the plan Aecha?" Stugox asked me which in turn, caused me confusion. Why was he asking me what to do in this situation?

"Kaijuu! (Monster!)" Lucian-ssu exclaimed with a pout and pointed at the mutated Asahi that began to walk towards north from where we were. A powerful putrid scent oozed out of him and the trees planted around here quickly withered to their deaths.

"Th-the-they're moving!" Joe cried and pointed at one of the dead bodies which were beginning to move.

"Lucius, what do you mean it worked?!" Luscev-ssu persistently asked.

Lucius-ssu groaned and turned to Luscev-ssu. "The catastrophes were planning to conquer the world by possessing Christ once he comes down but one of the catastrophic fragments of Lucian acted up and transformed into the first ancient King and suggested that in order for the catastrophes to reign again, he must be provided with a vessel that would enable him to use his power to its full extent," he grimly explained.

Ah so this wasn't the original Asahi from Lucian-ssu! What a relief.

Luscev-ssu scoffed. "And you went along with this plan. How could you? After all of the sufferings that my ayah went through to keep this world from getting back in the hands of those fuckers...I can't believe you!" he seethed.

This was no time to quarrel especially when the dead were already on their feet but Luscev-ssu being Luscev-ssu was being...well Luscev-ssu.

Lucius-ssu gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. Anger caused his veins to pulsate until he felt Lucian-ssu's little hand land gently on his cheek. His eyes snapped to big blue eyes staring at him worriedly and Lucius-ssu bit his lips in remorse.

"Go home onii-chan. Go home with me?" Lucian-ssu requested sweetly.

Tears escaped Lucius's eyes and a sob broke through his lips before he cradled Lucian-ssu's chubby cheek in his palm.

"I was overruled by anger. We protected the world for thousands of years only to bear witness of how humans torture nature and abuse it for their own greed," he murmured before looking at Luscev-ssu with tearful eyes.

"I'm sorry for abandoning you and your ayah. I am sorry for siding with those that I strongly opposed to thousands of years back but the humans...they do not care. They ruined everything. They are worse than the catastrophes. They are the evolved form of cataclysm and there is no equivalent ancient that can stop them because they destroy with willingness," he further added.

He turned away from Luscev-ssu and stared at the sauntering form of the Fallen King. "You know Luscev? Even without the catastrophes, this will be Earth in another millennia— destroyed and decayed with no lingering hopes of survival."

I did not want to stand by what he stated because everyone was fighting for a second chance however; what we were seeing was not even the rest of the world.

Was this really it for this planet?

Lucius-ssu once warred against the decay and sacrificed his whole life in protecting Earth until he was awakened by the realization that Earth wasn't worth fighting for anymore. Should we just pack our things and leave? Should we just leave the rest to the God of this world?

Was that how a Paragon should act?

"Perhaps you're right," a monotone voice spoke out from behind us.

An older fragment came up from behind as he walked through the dead with no fear in his eyes. Those that tried to touch him were immediately blown away by zephyrs and his steps caused the bloom of life in areas of impossibility.

"But you told me once thousands of years back that we are creatures of life and not death therefore no matter what, we have a responsibility to fulfill the duty given to us at birth," he deadpanned.

"Lucian's friend! Hello!" the child fragment greeted happily.

Lucius-ssu stared at Lucian-ssu in a state of wreckage and the child Lucian dropped down from his arms and ran up to the older Lucian before merging into him in a form of glittering lights.

Lucian-ssu stayed a foot apart from his older brother and gazed at him with an unreadable expression.

"Because I have life I want the things around me to have life too—these were your words oniisan and these were your words that you lived up with much reputation. Now, you don't even deserve to live. You deserve to rot with them. You are no longer my brother instead you are just a bother. Do not hinder those who want to render hope to this planet. If you want to die with no dignity, don't involve others with you, " Lucian-ssu murmured before turning away with dismay.

"Don't come home, I'm not waiting for you anymore," he coldly laid off before disappearing with the winds and cutting down his ties with a man that let him down.

I looked at Lucius-ssu's face and found his eyes streaming with tears. Luscev-ssu stared at him with an unreadable gaze and even I felt the twinge of pain in my ticker for him.

Luscev placed his hand on his uncle's shoulder and moved past him.

" Do what you wish uncle. The fragments are all around us and the Asahi that came from the original Ayah must be plotting something against this thing. Pick your side," he advised.

Luscev-ssu began to walk to the direction where the mutant Asahi was and he called out to us to follow him.

I pursed my lips in pity for Lucius-ssu and hesitantly placed my hand behind him.

" Lucian-ssu is waiting for you in Eli. He didn't want to leave knowing that you are not with him. He is child-bearing again and it would be a shame if you are not there by his side," I told him.

Upon the mentioning of Lucian-ssu's status, shock overwhelmed Lucius-ssu and he stared at me in awe. It was fortunate that the dead were so sluggish with their movements or else they would have reached us by now.

" He is? " he asked me.

I nodded at him and the anxiety rose within me when the spores in the skies continued to increase. At this rate, no light will be able to pass through and everything will be covered in darkness and decay.

Lucius-ssu lowered his head and a bitter smile spread across his lips. "I promised that I'll always be there for him in every occasion of his life. He is my precious little brother... He and Luscev are the only ones I have..." he trailed off.

Determination sparked on Lucius-ssu's face and he placed his hand over mine and firmly nodded at me.

"Let's go pinky," he declared and glanced at his pegacorn with a grin of someone who just regained his strength and purpose in life. "Argo, let's go!"

Asahi-ssu hadn't contacted us yet and it was nerve-wrecking. We had no idea of what to do with the sauntering decay and the buildings were getting eaten by harmful bacterial invasion in the air.

"Do we have a plan?" Ki asked.

"This guy knows where he's going. Are we just going to follow him?" Joe questioned.

"It's just spreading this gooey and smelly rot," Hyuk Min commented and rubbed off the dark and greasy-like substance that got under his shoe. The substance was actively growing and spreading itself on a wider expanse.

A thin figure soared down from a building showing Won followed by Imsothy. Two other forms emerged from above the buildings on our right showing Ki and Stugox. Loud neighs hovered on top of us and the pegacorns that escaped landed in front of us with Lucius-ssu leading them while riding Argo.

"What do you have in mind uncle?" Luscev queried and crossed his arms. "This one is heading straight to Lake Michigan."

Lucius-ssu stayed seated on Argo and gathered us for quick instructions.

"Powerful electricity turned me back twice from the state of a catastrophe and if we may be lucky, we might elicit a favorable response from that guy over there," he told us and referred to King Asahi with his thumb.

"So we are depending on luck," Ki sighed.

"That's all we have for now until the original Asahi shows up," Stugox defended before communicating with Hoets.

"Use lightning on the target," he ordered.

"Roger that," Hoets affirmed.

"I'm sleeping then," Won announced and sat himself down on the ground. "I can be of better help when asleep," he told us and shut his eyes before leaning against a broken down car.

Was he just using this as an excuse to sleep? But since he was more flexible in his dreams, Won will really be much of help because of his ictus.

Luscev-ssu's back showed a wave of bone movement and a low growl occurred in his throat before he hit an incoming corpse walking towards him. We slightly jolted in place from his sudden uncontrollable actions but brushed that aside.

The sound of our ship and a loud cracking noise of forced energy became our cue to start our assault. The pegacorns soared up and their horns sparked upon Lucius-ssu's command. Storm clouds started to form above the now agitated King and lightning after lightning came to bombard him.

The monster released a shrilling cry and tried to claw our ship and the pegacorns surrounding him but Hoets expertly dodged the claws and continued to release electricity from our ship. Lucius-ssu was like a pastor with how the pegacorns followed him and watching from below I was worried for all of their safety.

Now what can I do to be of use to this situation?

Luscev-ssu cracked his neck and lowered his torso down to touch the floor before sprinting forward like a wild animal. His speeding body released electricity that made him seem like a lightning bolt and he shot up in midair and pierced diagonally into the monster's side.

"Those storm clouds are really doing their magic I am impressed Won!" Hyuk Min praised and gently patted the sleeping Won on his shoulder.

Stugox and Ki stood guard and took down the dead. Our leader skillfully stroke down the resurrected beings with his broad sword and Ki shot them down with his bow.

"Wear these," Imsothy suddenly popped out of nowhere and offered me a pair of obsidian colored boots with their bottom part lit with a royal blue color.

He also handed me a whole cylindrical cartridge containing bombs that I can attach to my arm before nodding.

"I'll show you how to do it. These boots can take you anywhere; these are just the prototype though so sometimes they won't work."

I had a possibility to suddenly fall without a fight then?

I stared at the boots with doubt and gave Imsothy an unsure look. "But —"

"Come on homie!" Imsothy cheered and sprung up from the ground. The boots that he wore helped him leap fifty feet above the ground before he attached himself on King Asahi's leg and implanted a bomb in his thigh. These boots will help me save energy from jumping too much.

My eyes widened in amazement when Imsothy peeled himself off with his head upside down and he sneaked in a peace sign beside his eyes before fully flipping away. The bomb ruptured and generated a continuous flow of electricity that debilitated King Asahi for a few seconds.

Hyuk Min stood by my side and a neon blue wand with its upper part curved into a head with two wings materialized in his hand.

"Whenever you're ready Aecha!" Hyuk Min cheered.

His body floated up and winds started to surround him before he rotated his staff and a horde of mighty electrical and irregular bolts raced towards Asahi-ssu and struck his lower body. Joe charged ahead and started to launch electrical missiles together with everyone else and with me being the only idle one; I had to do something to contribute.

I immediately slipped into these prototype boots and then hooked my arm into the hole of the cartridge before following Imsothy's example hoping that the boots won't suddenly act up.

I unsteadily latched into one of the creature's legs making sure that nothing from my bare skin will get in touch with him (or else the electrical pulses will also course through me) and released a bomb from the cartridge before attaching it to his upper thigh. I saw Luscev-ssu remaining up in the air, focusing his criss-cross lightning bolts on the torso and Lucius-ssu continuing to command the humble creatures behind him.

I jumped off and was relieved that the boots didn't act up on my way up but felt swindled when my ankle was suddenly yanked out from somewhere and I was hauled away from my landing spot.

"Huh? What? Imsothy are these boots supposed to act this way?!" I questioned.

"Huh? Hey! Where are you moving that way?" Imsothy asked. "That's awesome though. Teach me senpai."

"I'm losing electrical power Stugox. If I continue on, we won't have enough to get home," Hoets updated us.

"Fall back Hoets," Stugox ordered.

"I don't think this is working," Joe stated. "I feel like something dangerous is up ahead!" he added. I released a grunt when my frontal body hit a wall of a building and I was continued to get hauled above.

The spores in the skies thickened even more now and if it wasn't for the flashes of electrical currents, everything would be pitch- black

I suffered great deal of hits from the bumpy areas of the building that I was sliding against and my attempt to remove whatever was wrapping around my ankle was futile. My ticker reeled with confusion and fear until I reached the very top. I let out a yelp when my body finally hit a proper surface.

"Aecha," Asahi-ssu's voice sounded in front of me.

"Asahi-ssu? The original one?" I asked with a sudden swell of joy.

"Indeed, it is I. You look pathetic as ever," he light-heartedly mocked causing me to laugh.

I heard a rummage of clothing and Asahi-ssu's bright golden face came through the darkness. He knelt before me and placed a hand on top of my head and I oddly noticed the difference of his aura then and now.

He looked a lot nicer and kinder. He was relaxed and dignified.

"Your body cleansed my catastrophic side Aecha therefore I had to find ways to call out the catastrophes. I gathered all the fragments and asked the Asahis in them to come out and help me," he told me before snapping his eyes to the source of the shrieking sound before he seemed to notice something.

"Tell them to move away from that creature!" he barked at me.

I didn't doubt or question Asahi-ssu's words and quickly lay off his order. The others questioned that but Stugox understood the seriousness of that command. Seconds later, a surge of electrical bolts swelled from the Stygian's body as its trembling voice shook vehemently. A wave of a powerful radiation was released and blew me away from place. The clap of explosion temporarily ended my conscience and once I woke up, my eyes saw nothing but an abyss of darkness that blanketed the world from any light.

My breath hitched and I began to breathe heavily from the concealment of light. I released beams out of my eyes and noticed that if the city was wrecked before, it was even more in ruination now.

"Aecha, calm down," Asahi-ssu's voice popped inside my head. "Listen to me; you have the power to purify that thing. You can end this and you can save this planet."

My breath settled down and I focused on Asahi-ssu's voice.

"What do I have to do?" I questioned him. I will do anything because no matter how hopeless a case may be, a Paragon must always see through it no matter what the price may be.

"You have to enter its body and once you do, you can leave the rest to me," Asahi told me.

I nodded in understanding and slowly stood up. Once I rose to my feet, various fragments of Lucians lit up before me. They were lined up leading to the Stygian form of Asahi-ssu that was currently kneeling on one of its knees.

"It is weakened and is currently fighting off the last bits of electricity that is circulating in its body," Asahi-ssu murmured.

A soft growl was emitted by the creature and my feet started to take me towards him.

I didn't know if my friends were still alive after that blast.

I didn't know how many people have perished because of different creatures of different worlds merging with theirs.

If there was a chance of saving this planet I will grab it.

The universe brought us here for a reason.

Earth still had a chance.

Earth will survive.

I scurried through the guided path of the creatures of life and felt the stream of tears cascading down my cheeks.

I finally realized why we were still fighting for Earth. Even if we were intervening with the Gods themselves a Paragon will not have his limits. We will break through boundaries as long as people hoped. We will challenge the strongest as long as people wanted to live and we will only stop if life itself abandoned us.

Paragons enter worlds and connect with its creatures.

We guide the lost ones; we mend the broken ones, we save who we can save without question.

And if Earth survived after all of this, we will continue to watch over it.

The kneeling monster started to shift when it noticed my presence and its jaw dropped down and relinquished a growl of hostility. I leaped and extended my arms upfront and dove inside not knowing what will become of me.

I always end up being a snack but I met with so many remarkable people because of it.

If I ended up being digested, so be it. As long as I served my duty well, nothing mattered anymore.

"Aecha...Thank you," Asahi-ssu's voice whispered kindly to me.

"Asahi-ssu?"

"I admire your courage. I give you my gratitude."

"Where are you?" I asked him. I couldn't open my eyes no matter how hard I try to. My body was paralyzed and I was weakened.

"I shall return this form into a humble state of life and finally return to Tom-Ak-Ta," he told me. I was bewildered of what was happening and at the same time, I was saddened.

"What about Lucian-ssu?"

I was sure that Lucian-ssu will be looking for him. They were acquaintances in the past and now even friends in the present.

I heard Asahi-ssu release a breath of sigh before saying:

"I am his bitter past and he now he has his presents loving him and protecting him in a way that I couldn't because of my mistakes in the past. The day he left me was the day I lost everything. I lost my Kingdom. I lost my throne. He was that everything Aecha and I hurt him. I surrendered to Tom-Ak-Ta and I made a promise that I will watch over Lucian quietly and if the world succumbs to an end like this, I promised that I shall intervene to pay for my sins."

"Then...we won't see you again?" I asked depressingly. I had no idea of what sins King Asahi had committed but did he not deserve a second chance?

A flash of light occurred in my mind and King Asahi stood in front of me with a gentle smile on his face.

"I am afraid not. Gaining forgiveness from Lucian and meeting such brave men are already enough compensation for this. I made a promise therefore I shall commit to that. Maybe one day, you shall see something which reminds you of me," he responded and extended his hand towards me.

I pursed my lips and closed my eyes tucking in the melancholy in my ticker and returned that smile. I grabbed hold of King Asahi's hand and shook it.

If King Asahi was able to accept this whole-heartedly then I had no right to be sad for him. He was finally free from his sins and he will return to his creator as promised.

Perhaps one day, we can all cross paths again.

"Thank you, King Asahi."

Rest well.

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A/N: Ah we're really nearing the end my twinkies. How was the chapter?