(September 15th, 2017)

Justin

They say that no one would know the true value of friendship until you lose it. I totally agree with this statement. However, I was lucky enough to reclaim what I lost and now I wholeheartedly understand what I lost. Losing a friend is never an experience one can easily heal from. Most of the time the scars loss leaves cannot be healed, but I was fortunate enough to get my friend back. Alex and I are not just friends, we are brothers. Still, I took my relationship for granted. I did not understand what the white-haired boy went through until it was too late, and even then, even after trying my hardest to make it up to him, I failed to keep him safe. I feel ashamed of myself for having him accompany me on this perilous journey despite him being chosen. But if this is what he wishes, then I am in no position to refuse. I owe it to him, after all. Feeling like a god of failure, I sat on a couch in the office of Alex's parents and pondered about my mistakes. Alex was in the midst of explaining to his parents what has happened to him and was recounting everything that has happened so far while Mia sat next to me. I was not able to maintain too much focus as my eyelids began to feel heavy. All I felt was Mia wrapping her arms around my write arm and resting her head on my shoulder.

"I can still feel it, you know," She said as I slowly drifted off.

"Mm?" I asked, half asleep.

"This energy... This power. No... This... presence that's dormant within you..."

"Mm..."

"It scares me, you know..."

"Oh, hey. Justin has fallen asleep," Alex told his parents.

"The poor thing... He must've been exhausted," Alex's mom, Helen, implied to the rest.

"Well, he did not sleep for a couple of days and fought hundreds of imperials, dozens of undead warriors, demons, and an imperial general throughout this invasion," Zack revealed. "And I think being a god has its limits, I guess."

"I don't think it's his god status that we should be worrying about. Instead, it's his human side that matters," Alex's father, Jonathan opined.

Even though I was dozing off, I was still able to hear what was being said around me as I have not entirely fallen asleep. They began discussing our next step as I was drifting off. Mia kept clinging to me while engaging in the conversation. Not a few minutes in, I completely fell asleep and was not able to hear anyone or feel anything around me. I soon began to hear a familiar voice speaking to me. The voice belonged to that of the night goddess NeomaFlora.

"My love, open your eyes," She said.

I opened my eyes to find myself under a tree and on a mountain. However, I did not feel like myself or even hear my own voice when I spoke. I still had a sense of control but did not feel like I was in my own body, or even feel that I was myself, for that matter.

"Oh, hello there," I spoke, but the voice that came out of my mouth was completely unfamiliar. I realized that my head was resting on the lap of the peculiar goddess with long black hair and a smile so ethereal that I fail to describe it with words.

"We were asleep for quite some time," She stated.

"I feel serenity while my head is on your lap," I replied with the much deeper voice that I know is not mine. "Can we stay here for a while longer?"

She chuckled and said: "As you wish."

I looked at the land below and noticed that the geography of the region looked very familiar. After a moment of focusing on it and taking in the details of the ocean and the landmass, I managed to ascertain that it is the land where the kingdom's capital is supposed to be located, but without a giant metropolis to occupy it. Instead, there were a couple of small, ancient-looking towns in its place.

"You enjoy this place, am I correct?" Neoma asked.

"I do. 'Tis a breathtaking spectacle. One of the very few things I love to stare at," I said before looking at her eyes that suddenly felt very alluring.

"I quite agree. The humans below are quite fortunate to have such lands to call their home."

Putting everything together, I finally realized that I was not in my own body and was living someone else's memories. However, I could not willfully stop myself from continuing, as I was locked into being this person and living out this moment as him. With that said, I was not horrified by this mysterious experience, but rather very interested. I wanted to gather clues from this and try to discover the identity of the person I currently am. From the view of the capital's location, I deduced that I was in an ancient time long past. Having woken up as someone that the goddess of the night refers to as 'my love' made me realize that I was not any random person from that time period, and certainly not a human.

'I am currently in the body of Zanoktryus!' I exclaimed inside my mind.

I—or Zanoktryus, rather— got off NeomaFlora's lap and sat beside her, kissing her on the cheek and caressing her soft, gentle white skin. I, or he, then got up and proceeded to stand on the closest edge and stare at the sky.

"I know the hand life dealt you is very unfair," He said. For some reason, I felt that he was not speaking to NeomaFlora.

"Your circumstances are very laborious and are taking a toll on you, I understand. And I apologize. Believe me, I do not want you to suffer or watch your loved ones suffer, either. It is not my intention to make your life miserable, despite how it seems. I have tried as hard as I could to do my duties as a deity and protect everything I hold dear, but I failed. I pushed everyone away to keep them safe, knowing that they cannot withstand the forces of darkness. I did not wish for anyone else to die, as I had nothing to live for. I fought against the darkness by my lonesome, only to meet my fate by the hands of the warrior I held dear. Despite all my efforts, I was not able to defeat him. However, I am sure that you will achieve what I cannot, and defeat the harbinger of the darkness. Believe in yourself and believe in your friends, for they believe in you as well."

That's when I realized that he was not talking to someone who was present at the time, he was talking to me. With that realization came tons of questions that I could not believe I am asking myself. Is this some sort of divine recording? Was he aware of his fate before succumbing to it? Or is this some sort of message within a simulation taking place inside my head? And if the latter is true, does this mean that the late deity is not so late after all?! I was left overwhelmed. Utterly flabbergasted. Instead of experiencing this in the deity's body, if I were there myself, I'd probably freeze and my mind would shut down on the spot.

"Justin, I truly believe in you. You can do what I could not and succeed me as a better deity because I lacked what you have. I lacked the humanity and the will to fight for something that I truly believe in. I am not as fortunate to have had friends or a family to fight for. I did not have the willpower of the public to give me strength. I was not powerful enough to succeed. I battled the darkness, knowing my fate. And as such, I sacrificed myself for the world. I gave my life to you, Justin. Gifted by the light, you shall become what I could not. Now go forth, unleash the dormant dragons, receive their blessings, fight for what is just, and live on. I believe in you..."

Slowly, I started to feel something within me get released. A feeling of holy power began flowing inside of me, making me more powerful. I also began to feel the muscle memory of someone else implant itself inside of me, giving me some techniques and abilities that I did not possess before. The process of bestowing all these things onto me was too overwhelming. My real body started twitching and shaking, sweating profusely as it all happened. I started to see myself being able to dodge with amazing reaction speeds, project some form of divine energy below my feet to propel myself further while in the air. I also saw myself absorbing hits from multiple opponents and releasing all the built-up energy in a punch so strong that it sent everyone around me flying away. Then, I started to see visions of dragons sleeping inside of caves and dungeons, giving me an idea as to what I am exactly looking for. I also saw a visage of a dark helmet with evil glowing eyes staring at my soul. The image of this creature was a dead giveaway that it was the harbinger of death's face. And lastly, I saw him from Zanoktryus's point of view as he stabbed the aforementioned god in the chest.

My body immediately jolted awake. When I looked around me, I found myself inside a bedroom that did not look too familiar to me. I looked at my hands and watched as they shook intensely as my body was not used to this newfound upgrade. I clenched them both tightly into fists and pressed hard to stop the shaking, succeeding after a few seconds. I looked to my right and saw my phone lying on the bedside table. I took it and looked at the time, realizing that it was 2:30 AM. I opened the front-facing camera to see how I looked and saw that it was indeed my own face and body. I sighed in relief, knowing that I was back to normal

"Man, was I really out for this long?" I asked myself. "Where are the others?"

I got up and looked at the red leather jacket that was neatly placed on a chair next to me. Then, I took a gander at the room I was in, taking in the details and trying to figure out exactly where I was. It felt like a normal hotel bedroom, evident by the closet, desk, kitchen, and TV. The bed was very comfy and warm, seeing as it looked very high quality and the mattress felt very new as if I was the first person to ever sleep on this bed. It was big enough to fit three people, but I saw absolutely no one inside the room. It was a shame that I did not drop back onto the bed and take another nap, as I was overflowing with excess energy due to the pick-me-up my predecessor gave me.

"Was that a message left for me, or what?" I asked myself.

Walking into the bathroom, I washed my face and sighed after thinking of the unbelievable moment that just happened. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and began examining it to find any alterations made to my physique. I did not find anything new or missing, but the feeling of being powered up persisted for a while. Soon enough, it was gone, but I continued to stare at myself through the mirror.

"Is this a new form?" I asked myself. "Or is this really who I was meant to be?"

I was planning on taking a relaxing shower, but I did not have any spare clothes, so that thought had to wait. I exited the bathroom and grabbed my jacket before getting out of the room. It had a card key on the desk, so I took it and closed the door behind me. I found myself inside a long corridor that contains doors for other rooms that may or may not be occupied. The corridor looked very fancy, like that of a hotel. I felt like I was not inside the underground base of Alex's parents, but taking a vacation somewhere I cannot afford. I walked to the room next to mine and knocked on the door. A few seconds passed without getting a single answer, so I knocked again.

When the door opened, I was greeted with the sight of Mia wearing lingerie. I looked at her from top to bottom before taking one step back and looking at her again. Her ideal body was put on display right in front of me, showing her sleek curves and her other natural features. Her eyes looked incredibly alluring and her smiling lips invited me to touch them with my own. Her long red hair fell elegantly on her back and looked as if she had just returned from the salon. She grabbed me and pulled me inside her room before closing the door behind her. I then found myself sitting on a sofa with her sitting on my lap, caressing my face while smiling and biting her lower lip.

"Finally, you're awake. There's no better time for it, too!" She said.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"In my room, silly."

"Oh, really? I'm sorry I didn't realize it. I mean, where is this place, you ignoramus!" I threw her to the side.

"We're in the bunker, Justin! The Millers' bunker!"

"More like a secret military base."

"How was your sleep?" She asked. "I asked them to sleep with you in your room, but Alex and Zack wanted to troll me and sent me to a room by myself."

"Pretty scary."

"Huh?"

"You asked about my sleep. It was pretty scary." I looked at my legs that I crossed over one another while laying my arms on the sofa."

"Why?" She asked, showing genuine concern about me.

"I think my predecessor left me a message, giving me his regards. He made me live out a moment in his life where he was flirting with NeomaFlora. He also gave me some extra powers and a boost to my current ones. And last but not least, he made me see visions about dragons and the harbinger of the darkness. It was some pretty intense stuff. The fever dream to rule over all fever dreams."

She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my chest. I could not help but place one arm around her and kiss her on the forehead. Her romantic gestured definitely felt welcome after this unexpected experience that left me unsure what to think

"Why don't you sleep with me?" She asked.

"Not a bad idea, but my mind is too cluttered at the moment. I feel like punching something."

"Listen. Why don't you let me take care of you?" She asked. "Just relax and let me do my thing, okay?"

An hour and a half later, we were both in each other's arms, wrapped under her bed's blankets with our clothes on the ground and Mia completely tired. She kissed me on the lips before laying her head on my chest.

"Oh, man... You can't possibly imagine how much I was waiting for this..."

"What do I do without you, Mia?" I asked.

"What do I do without you?" She then dozed off on my chest, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I turned around and stared at the ceiling to think and reflect. 

"We need to defeat that flying fortress as soon as possible," I said to myself. I looked at the watch to see if there's any update about the situation and the time, leaving me shocked to see a new app installed on it out of nowhere. It was called 'Astral Power'. "What is this?" I asked myself before opening the app.

I started to browse through it, seeing some of the skills I learned and the weapons I have, which is currently one. There were many more skills that had a lock sign over them and the name was blacked out, meaning I need to learn them or evolve as a deity to obtain them.

"So, it's a skill tree, huh? I play lots of video games, and so a skill tree and a weapons section is the easiest way I can check on my knowledge? Smart move."

"Can we go for another round?" Mia asked, despite being very exhausted.

"You're tired. Try to get some shut-eye."

The devil shook her head. "I can't."

"Why?"

"I can feel that presence in you."

"I don't feel any sort of presence, Mia."

"Okay..." She muttered silently

"Can you tell me why you were mad that Alex spent time with Selena?"

"Sometimes I feel that she's just being friends with me as a way to get closer to you," Mia explained. "Even though she seems very pleased to spend the time with me."

"If that were to be true, you'd think it'd be obvious by now."

Mia sighed. "Right."

"But you'd like it if we were to be the only three people in a room, right?" I asked.

"Unless I'm your main girl. I want to make sure that she doesn't steal you from me, especially not after you and I just started dating."

"That's adorable" I chuckled and kissed her forehead. "You're my only love. I'm getting used to saying it like this."

"I don't mind if you bring other girls into the mix. I just want to be your first and most important love." I felt my heart racing because of her words. She is so lovely, and I adore her so much. I kissed her on the forehead once more and pulled her closer to me.

"Have you thought about other boys?" I asked.

"Be with them? No. Suck their blood? Many times."

"I can't blame you for that."

"I did suck some blood off some of the jerks that were bullying me back when we lived at the Woodpecker's Beak. They were begging me to stop, but I sucked enough blood to leave them unconscious on the ground."

"When did you do that?!" I asked, shocked that she has done such a thing.

"A few days ago." She replied, not caring or feeling a bit of remorse for what she did.

"Mia, those idiots are not powerful beings or evil monsters! Those are people!"

"People? Maybe physically, yes. But I don't remember you thinking of them that way when you smacked them over the head with that pan of yours. They still, to this day, treat others like dirt, not as people. I was not surprised in the slightest that they remembered who I was. They bullied us when we were children, Justin. They tried to kidnap Alex and get a ransom. Don't you get it? They're monsters, Justin. When I found them, they were doing the same thing to other children."

"Alright, Alright. You know I still kept that frying pan, right?" I asked.

"You did?!" Her eyes lit with excitement and joy when I said that. "Where did you keep it for so long??"

"Inside my secret drawer."

"But, it wasn't with your yuri stash."

"No, I hid it somewhere else-" I cut myself off when she mentioned my secret stash. "How do you know about that?!"

"Dude, I'm the biggest perv in our condo. Do you think I would not read through everyone's entire collection of manga, whether they're safe for work or not? I did not know you had such great taste." She kissed my lips after saying that as if it was nothing.

"I, uh... Alright then. I'm about to go and see what's up around the bunker. See y-" She pulled me back into the bed and lay on top of my chest.

"Oh, come on. I wanna go, please."

"Nope. We're staying here all night. I wanna relax on your six-pack and kiss you for as long as I want, okay?" She said.

I grabbed her and yanked her gently to the side of the bed before getting up. It took her a while to register how effortlessly I took her off of me and she watched in bewilderment as I wore my clothes and got out of the room. As I walked past the other rooms, I was stopped by two slightly taller men. When I realized who they were, I sighed in annoyance. Seeing their faces brought me unpleasant memories of a time where I started living in a new environment and had many boys attempt to bully me. Those two are the biggest bullies of them all.

"Oh, look who it is! Blondie boy!" Jason spoke.

"Giving speeches and fighting invaders, huh?" Adrian asked.

Jason and Adrian Meyers. Two High-School students who I have the displeasure of knowing. I remember them bullying the living hell out of Alex and me before this all happened. Alex has a crush on one of their friends, but she sees him as nothing more than a little kid, despite him being leagues beyond them. That alone makes me mad, not to mention the constant display of their obnoxious egos to the world. They and their friend Zoey are all hunters as well, so they get to brag even more than they would if they weren't.

(A/N: What's that? The antagonists of two of my biggest AOT fanfics? Oh My God! I can't believe this!)

"I'm surprised you two are here and not out in the wilds, killing monsters and bragging about it like you usually do," I stated.

"Oh, so you've killed a bunch of robots, and you now you think you can talk back to us?"Jason punched the wall next to me to try and intimidate me, however, I was left unfazed because of who I have become.

"Where is your girlfriend now, huh?" Adrian asked. "She's not here to save your ass now, is she?"

For a long time, I hid my powers from the world. I even allowed them to toy me around for the sake of his majesty and Ethan. I only let my wrath consume me when I saw them punch Alex one time, retaliating with a fist that propelled them both away from my best friend. I was scolded by his majesty for that and it left me very conflicted.

"You know, bro?" Adrian spoke. "I'm still confused as to what she sees in him. Look at this fool! A weak idiot with nothing to show for it! Just good looks will get you nowhere in life."

"Maybe she's into weaklings! You don't know."

"Five minutes with us, and that will no longer be the case. Say, Justin. Why don't you take us to her and we'd make up for the time she lost spending it with you. Whaddya say?"

"I will pretend I did not hear that."

"Aww, did that hurt your feelings, kiddo?" Jason laughed.

"Come on! Just tell us where she is, and we'll let you go."

"You know what? It'd be a shame if I spilled your blood in this corridor as I did last time. Since you two are so strong, I suggest you two go ahead and hunt some monsters and bring food to the people in this place. But on second thought, you might end up bringing the empire down on us while you're at it." I pushed them aside and continued walking. Then I stopped in my tracks to say one last thing without turning around to face them.

"By the way, my girlfriend is in the room at the end. Unlike me, however. She likes to spill blood unnecessarily."

I continued walking to the overseer's office when I stumbled upon the last member of the trio, Zoey. As usual, she looked as pretty as she needed to be to get Alex head over heels for her. Long brown hair, a pretty femme fatale face that all men swoon over, and a well-built physique. Despite being older than him, it did not stop him from drooling over her feminine yet muscular build. Nothing that can rival Mia, of course, but she was nothing to scoff at. The surprising thing about her is how nice she is compared to the other two. She is not an angel per se but is still considerably better than the boys she is friends with. The people she 'bullies' are only close friends of her and are mostly girls. She likes to mess with Alex once in a while, but not to the point it actually harms him. I believe she is aware of his crush on her and so she acts nicer to him than anyone else. However, whether she truly returns those feelings is a question I have yet to find an answer for. Despite that, she seems to be extra nice to me, usually smiling and winking at me.

"Oh," She said when she saw me. "Hey, Justin. Nice speech." She leaned on the railing that was on the edge of the fifth-floor deck that we were at.

"What do you want, Zoey?"

"Don't get cocky because you are loved by the crowd, kid. I can still kick your ass," She stated. 

'If only I weren't against unnecessary murder...' 

She sighed before continuing: "I just wanna know where my friends are at."

"How can I know such a thing?" I asked.

"I've overheard them talking about how they wanna toy with you for a bit. I wasn't sure that they'd find you in such a big place, but they did."

"I last saw them near my room. Go through that hallway, and you'll find your losers." I started walking away from her when she stopped me.

"Listen. I'm thankful for your friend, Alex. It was generous of his family to let us in, even though we've caused him so much trouble."

"Alex has his fair share of pain and has definitely seen better days, but trust me. You are the least of his worries at the moment. But you know what? Answer me this. Why do you hang out with those two? You're clearly not as pathetic as they are."

"They're my friends, alright?" She said. "Just because they're not the best of people doesn't mean that they are not good to me, at least. I've known them since we were children. I think you know what it means to have friends from childhood and struggle with them."

I did not look back to answer her and just continued walking past her as my back was already turned against her.

"Justin!" She shouted, stopping me again. "If... If you see Alex again... tell him I said hi."

Soon enough, I made it to the office and opened the door. I saw that Alex was sleeping on the sofa while Zack and Alex's parents were discussing. I closed the door behind me and walked inside, grabbing their attention. Zack turned around to face me and greeted me with a smile. So did Jonathan and Helen.

"Ah, Justin. You're awake," Alex's father greeted.

"We've made some coffee if you'd like." Alex's mom pointed to the coffee that was still hot and ready to be served. I poured myself some and joined in on the conversation.

"We're discussing where the empire has constructed some of its bases. It seemed it has decided to manufacture their robots right here, in the kingdom. Every state has been reporting sightings of multiple bases showing up in isolated areas lately," Jonathan explained. "We get reports day after day."

"They're pretty quick and easy to build. They only need to find an isolated area and land their carriers. Then they start building walls around their carriers that start to transform into tiny and sometimes not so tiny fortresses," Zack stated. "When I say 'Tiny,' I mean compared to the ones in their own lands. They're still massive, so we shouldn't take things lightly.

"I see you're taking the safety of your country seriously, your majesty," I stated before laughing.

Zack nodded his head and replied: "I think we should head out and destroy as many of these on our journey as we can. It's better for everyone."

"Mhm..."

"Justin, you don't look too well," Alex's mom pointed out. "Are you alright?"

"Just had a dream involving a certain dead god."

"Oh?" Zack uttered.

"Yeah. He left this message to me that he believes in me and wants me to unleash as many dragons as I can," I explained.

"Have you seen his face?" Zack asked.

"Unlike Alex over there, no. I have not seen my respective god's face. In fact, I was experiencing the entire thing from his POV. He even made me flirt with NeomaFlora while at it."

"That's interesting..." Jonathan spoke.

"It felt that he and I were the same person. It felt that I was indeed him and experiencing his moments as him. Our consciousnesses merged in a way," I explained.

"So you were him, but at the same time, you were... yourself?" Zack asked as he scratched his head. "That's... quite a vision."

"Yes. He showed me the city from the time before the first king was made the king. It was beautiful."

"Did he tell you how he..." Alex's mother asked.

"He did. He died because he did not have something to believe in or people who believed in him as a deity. His worship only became a thing following his death, after all. He died knowing that he would die and gifted me his life so that I can take his place and use the power of light to cast away the darkness. The harbinger's power overwhelmed him and he sacrificed himself to keep everyone safe, knowing it was his duty."

"Justin..." Alex said as he woke up. "We're here for a reason. Not because it's the duty that brought us together. It's because we want to be by your side. You have us. Count on us."

I smiled and looked at him, saying: "I do. I do count on you. All of you."

"Tell us what needs to be done, and we will do it," Zack said.

I nodded. "Sure thing. For now, we need to destroy the giant flying imperial mothership."

"Neither our navy nor the Astralis PMC can take it down," Zack informed. "What will we do?"

"I'll figure something out."

An hour or so later, we decided to return back to the city and see what we can do about the empire's biggest asset in this invasion. As soon as we made it back to the city, we started getting attacked by imperial forces as expected. Everyone did not hesitate to engage the enemy and put down their robots as I drove us back to the citadel. As I was driving, I received a call from Ethan.

"What's up?" I asked.

"They have infiltrated the citadel!"

"What?!"

"And they have a general with a huge armor among them!"

"Is she a girl?" I asked him.

"No, apparently not the one in your reports. This is a guy. He is heavily armored and extremely powerful!"

"Hold on! We'll be there!" I said before flooring it and driving to the citadel.

"What's up?" Alex asked.

"They breached through!"

"What?" Mia asked.

"They made it inside the citadel!" Zack yelled.

"Your father!" She exclaimed.

"I know! Just focus on driving, Justin! Mia, you take the rear!"

When we closed in on the citadel, I spotted a few imperial dropships closing by and shooting at the warriors while other dropships already made it inside.

"Alex!" I shouted. Alex conjured his rocket launcher and fired at the ships that hovered over the area, bringing a total of three down.

I watched as the imperials closed the main gate and so I drifted to the side and drove towards the underground parking entrance and parked my car just outside the elevator. We raced to the elevator and called it while impatiently tapping our feet. We exited at the lobby and watched as countless imperials made it inside and started firing at the units inside. Zack conjured his shield and used it to protect us while Alex summoned his assault rifle and began laying down suppressive fire. Mia slid down to the side and grabbed a grenade from a wounded soldier. She threw the grenade at the enemies, taking down a few of them. I jumped over Zack and rushed at the rest, slicing them open with my sword. I began making my way outside while killing as much as I can of the enemies and clearing the way for the forces trapped inside to go out and assist the rest.

As soon as I made it to the street level, I watched as Ethan flung himself from a window in the upper levels alongside the general he mentioned. The man in the armored suit crashed to the ground while Ethan used his daggers to zip around to safety. The armored general got back on his feet, sporting his giant sword and looking extremely menacing with his height and heavy armor. He was considerably taller than Ethan, but his armor is where the true threat was. He looked like a walking tank. He looked directly at me and started walking in my direction. But Alex then appeared and fired at him.

"Eat lead, sucker!" He yelled. Alex's weaponry was enough to slow the general down, but not enough as he kept approaching.

The armored general then leaped high in the sky and landed with his sword directly at our position. If it weren't for us dodging swiftly, we might have gotten hit. I conjured my sword and clashed it with his. Despite his brute strength and large posture, it was hard for him to push me away. Suddenly, he was hit by a lightning bolt and sent careening away. I watched as the king emerged from inside the citadel and threw another bolt at him.

"You've already made it inside, so what's the point in staying without a fight?" The king asked before he summoned his own kingly armor and going toe to toe and sword against sword with the general. King Leon's armor was nothing short of amazing. It gave the king a larger stature and was nearly as bulky as the imperial general's armor, but the difference between the two was obvious. His majesty's armor appeared more magical in nature while the general was more technology-based.

His majesty charged at the general and struck him in the chest with the first swing, but the enemy retaliated by striking again. As they both fought, I ran towards Ethan, who was on the ground, panting for air. I pulled him off the ground and helped him walk a short distance.

"This guy is strong," He said. "He flung captain Astralis to the side when I stabbed him in the chest. H-He was choking her to death."

"They have troops inside the citadel now?" I asked.

"Yes. Ninjas are taking care of them, but our main focus isn't there. It's him." He pointed at the general.

"Gosh, how many generals have they brought here?" I watched as the king with his armor rivaled that of the evil general. The two were basically equal when it came to strength and speed, but his majesty slightly outmatched him.

I watched as Mia flew toward the enemy and struck him with her claw, but then he grabbed her and threw her to the side before resuming his fight with our king. Zack used his magical spears and sent them all flying towards the adversary, striking him in every region of his armor. But the general proved greater still, his armor taking all the damage while he stayed put and covered himself with his magic sword. Alex assisted the prince by firing a missile at the foe, successfully making him fall on one knee.

"All of that, and it did nothing?!" Alex exclaimed.

The imperial then leaped once again and targeted both Alex and Zack. I ran towards them and pushed them to the side before using my sword to block the general as he crashed to the ground. The sound of the blades clashing against each other pierced through my ears, but my resolve remained unshakeable.

"How... are you so... strong?" The general asked, taking me by surprise.

"You're just too weak." I pushed him away from me and punched his helmet with my free hand, managing to crack it once.

I intentionally let my guard down, fooling him into striking. He took the bait and swung his sword at me, only for me to use my newly acquired magic skill. I absorbed all the force and energy of his blow and unleashed it back at him in the form of a punch that sent him flying away.

"You sealed your fate when you tried to attack me," I stated. "As the Astralis would say, hell is an impatient mistress!"

I charged at him and struck him with my sword, only for him to strike back, locking our swords against one another. I hit him with a headbutt before pushing him away and swinging my sword at his big sturdy armor, managing to damage it as I repeatedly struck. King LeoDivinus then jumped into the fight and began assisting me as we fought.

"Ha! At least I don't need armor to kick some ass!" I exclaimed as we fought the general.

"Indeed, you do not. You are a lot tougher than everyone in this place," His majesty replied.

I struck the armored adversary in the chest with a dropkick and watched as he hit a pillar near the main entrance gates to the citadel. Alex fired a missile at the pillar, dropping it on the general's head and trapping him under the debris. Everyone else then took care of the main enemy forces, ending the citadel attack. King Leon and I decided to help the forces and eliminated the remaining imperial troops.

But as soon as I finished the last soldier, the sky suddenly went dark. Everyone around us started anxiously looking around in fear of this unbelievable occurrence. That is when I started to hear giant footsteps approaching the citadel entrance. As soon as the steps grew louder and closer, a silhouette of a giant warrior that's twice as tall as the metal gates of the entrance approached us. It was carrying a huge sword in its right hand. When it has gotten close, I was frozen in fear when I realized who it was.

The dark, evil eyes. The tremendous size and the darkness surrounding him, the dark silhouette of the armor he wore, and the way he slowly walked towards me with his eyes locked at me. My heart started throbbing in fear, and my entire body froze at his sight.

"After thousands of years, many ages and countless nights, you and I finally meet, O' chosen." The harbinger of the darkness finally presented himself, striking fear into the heart of everyone present in the vicinity. His voice was ever so deep and frightening. My bones shook at the very sight of him. The evil incarnate that is foretold to bring destruction to the world... The spawn of the darkness that I am destined to fight... now stands in front of me.

"You..." I muttered.

"How long have I waited...."

"Justin, stand back!" His majesty spoke.

"But it's my job to fight him!"

A spectral sword materialized itself. It was sent flying at the king, striking him in the chest and sending him flying away.

"No more distractions," The harbinger spoke.

I charged at him with my sword, intending to strike him in the chest, only for him to kick me away. Zack summoned his spears to be sent flying at the harbinger, only for the latter to conjure his own arsenal of spectral weapons and sent them flying towards Zack, negating his attack. Mia was too shook and afraid to move, and Alex tried firing at him but to no avail.

"Justin!" Alex shouted. "Get up, buddy!"

Ethan ran towards him and tried to use his daggers and katana simultaneously to land an attack. Unfortunately, he dealt absolutely no damage at all, as the darkness knew how to stop him. He conjured his spectral swords and planted them in every direction Ethan moved, effectively cornering him. Ethan tried to fly at his face but ended up getting swatted like a bug. He landed on the ground, rolling a few times before stopping.

"Everyone... No..." I muttered.

When the troops finally mustered the courage to aim their weapons at him, the harbinger made the weapons disappear instantly without even moving a single finger. The weapons vanished from the hands of the soldiers as if they were not there, to begin with.

The harbinger's spectral weapons only served to hit their targets like a blunt object and not impale them. They instantly dematerialized after striking the king, Zack's spears, and after blocking Ethan. I am sure it was his intention to do that, as he could have used them to stab someone like any sharp melee weapon can.

"'Tis a shame. I have waited for so long, only for you to get struck by my boot like a weak insect. Is this what Zanoktryus left behind?" The harbinger asked.

"You... I will kill you!" I got back on my feet and rushed at him again, using my wings to lift me up to his face and try to land a strike. Our swords crashed for a while as I looked at his evil eyes with my own teary eyes. I sensed nothing but contempt from him as he looked me straight in the eye with that sinister stare.

"Pathetic," He said before punching me away with his free hand. He tried to send a flying spectral sword towards me, but the king had other plans in mind. He ran towards the harbinger of the darkness and blocked his spectral weapon before it could hit me. Then he struck at the evil menace's feet. The harbinger then pushed the king away and tried to strike him with his giant physical sword, but LeoDivinus dodged his attacks twice and locked swords with him.

"What are you doing?! Stand back!"

"You're not strong enough! Go! Leave the city and unleash the dragons! It is up to you now!"

"No! Please, get out of the way! You can't survive any more hits!" I cried.

The king dematerialized his helmet and looked at me, his eyes shedding tears like mine. I tried getting back up, but the blow was too strong, and I could not move without instant pain and coughing blood. The imperials resumed their attacks unleashing many more forces throughout the city. The roman robots descended on us in droves, releasing everything they have at us.

"I beg you! I can't do this without you, your majesty! Come back!" I cried, trying to crawl towards him as he held the giant harbinger back with all the strength he could muster.

"I am truly sorry. Please, take care of one another and save this world that we all hold dear. Safeguard our people and bring peace... I love you, my son..."

"DAD!" I screamed, but it was all for nothing.

The harbinger overpowered the king and impaled him in the chest, the colossal sword piercing its way through the monarch. LeoDivinus coughed up his final breath as I screamed at the top of my lungs. The harbinger slowly disappeared, leaving the king lying on the ground, completely devoid of life. With all the strength that I could muster, I slowly started crawling to his body, coughing up blood, and using my hands to drag myself towards him. When I finally reached him, I cried as I held him in my arms. I watched as he held my face in his hand for one final time, smiling at me before letting go. My tears fell on his smiling face that looked at me as he passed away. His hand then fell from my face and landed lifelessly on the ground.

"Dad... Dad! Wake up! Please! I need you! I need you! Come on, old man! Wake up! Please! I can't do this without you! Don't leave me! Don't you dare leave me, dad! Dad... Daaaaddd!" I cried.

"Dad... I can't bring you back too, can I? You're leaving me for good, aren't you? Please... Get up and hold me like you used to do... I have so much that I needed to tell you... I can't..." I paused and looked at him once more. "No... I can! I will save the world! I will do what needs to be done! You are my father, and I will honor your word! Have faith in me..."

I slowly lost consciousness and lay on the ground as my eyes felt heavy. I could not maintain the energy to remain awake. When I opened my eyes once again, I found myself on my lonesome, surrounded by darkness. His majesty stood in front of me with his back turned to me. I started to watch as the king began to walk away into the light, leaving me alone. I looked at myself and found that I was in my eight-year-old body, running towards him and trying to reach him, finally jumping in his arms.

"Justin... I can't tell you how much I miss you already. I have yearned for a time where I can sit down beside you and listen to what you want to tell me, but this will have to be enough," He said.

"But... I don't want you to go..." I cried.

"I'm sorry. It's time for me to leave," He replied. "Please, take care of your family and do what you must do. This world is in your hands, my son."

He set me down and began walking to the light. I ran after him, but something was holding me back. I tried to run again, but I found myself running in place, not moving forward to stop my father from leaving me behind forever.

"Dad! Please, don't go!"

Soon, he disappeared, leaving me all alone once again. I fell to my knees and cried as hard as I could for him to come back, but he did not return. He left me all alone and will never return. The harbinger robbed me of my father at a time when I needed him the most. I felt as if it is all meaningless. My powers, my existence, everything.

'If I could not save my father, then how can I save the world?'

'I am a failure.'

'I failed my friends, my family, and everyone.'

I remained in the dark void, all alone. The thoughts of despair kept me down and made me feel utterly powerless. Once again, I felt ashamed of my own uselessness in the face of the task that I am supposed to complete. I felt weak. I felt defeated. I felt... nothing.

"Rise, O chosen." A voice spoke.

"Who..."

"The fate of the world falleth in thy hands. That of the king hath already cometh to pass. Thither is no choice but to moveth forward and save the lives of those who remain. Thy comrades art in impending peril. Their forces overwhelmed by that of the empire and its army. They standeth together against the soulless soldiers and abide in desire, sustained by faith unfaltering that their deity shalt arise and bringeth deliverance."

"Thee art not weak. The anathematized is far too powerful for the chosen deity to overcome. The chosen must unleash the dormant dragons of yore and receive their holy power. Only then, once the power of the light is bestowed, can the chosen ascend into godhood. And only by the chosen's hands can the accursed harbinger beest defeated and the peace restored."

"Now, return into the land of the living, and protect your loved ones, for they are in need of their god."

I felt myself overflowing with power as I opened my eyes and found myself on the ground, the king's body beside me. I got off the ground and watched as the imperial soldiers ran towards me, only for them to be flung away by a simple push of my hand. The wind pushed every imperial soldier away and made them all fall.

The sky split open for the four mystical dragons of fury, magic, spirit, and hope. They descended and started firing their divine beams at the empire's forces. The fire dragon unleashed fire from his wings onto all the soldiers around the city, killing them instantly. The golden dragon swooped down and destroyed all the dropships and warships around us.

"This is my world. These are my people. Everyone has suffered greatly. I lost my father. It is time to end all of this. I fight with the power of light! I am the god of war!"

I finally conjured my armor and used my enormous wings to launch myself to the sky. There, I commanded the dragons to destroy any and all who oppose me. We began flying at tremendous speeds, charging through all the warships of the empire and clearing the city for everyone. The magic dragon fired a beam of light from its mouth at my command and targeted the bipedal mechs that roamed the city. The spirit dragon flew around and bestowed upon all the soldiers and my friends its blessing, healing them and giving them additional power. I conjured my sword and flew at every warship in my sights, slicing them in half and watching them explode as I charged through them. With the city clear of airborne enemies, I, along with the mystical dragons, flew towards the giant flying base of the roman empire. It fired energy beams at us, only for us to effortlessly dodge them and fire back with our strength. I started flying around it, striking it with my sword and destroying as much of it as I could while taking down the force field. The dragons took care of the ships that flew around us and tried to protect it. I watched as the navy cheered for their god and watched as we destroyed their opposition.

"How dare you attack my kingdom?!"

I sliced one warship in half and watched as the robots within it began to burn and explode. Then, I flew down to the navy ships and began destroying the bomber drones and fighter drones that threatened them while saving as many lives as I could. I then soared back up to the sky and flew towards the remaining ships of the empire, destroying them all with the aid of the dragons. I decimated the dozens upon dozens of warships and carriers that were deployed by the empire and fought back against their mothership. My sword strikes were strong enough to weaken the energy field around it and damage it even further. I flew around the ship so fast that the naked eye could see nothing but flashing beams of light circling the imperial mothership. After the force field went down, it was time for the finishing blow.

"This is the end. In the name of LeoDivinus!"

I flew to the horizon and charged my power, then I flew directly towards the imperial mothership in a straight line, piercing it from the rear side and coming out of the front. I watched as it started exploding all around itself before getting entirely destroyed with one final explosion and falling into the ocean. With little power left, the dragons started to disappear, and my armor and wings dematerialized as the sudden surge of power weakened and tired me. The last thing I remembered was hearing Mia's voice as I fell to the ocean and feeling her grab me before hitting the waters.

"Stay with me, Justin! Stay with me! You did it! You did it! You've defeated the empire! Justin? Justin!"