(October 2nd, 2017)

Justin

Zack and I returned from the ship of the late king, having discovered that he and his crew got targeted by the harbinger and stripped of their freedom. Having him attack us was nothing but a plan to get rid of Zack and as many people as he could to make me overwhelmed with sorrow and the thirst for revenge. However, the late captain noted that I was stronger than the astral overlord predicted, our victory being proof enough of our strength. But with that said, the harbinger's power is still too overwhelming. The captain informed us that even if our plan worked, there is only a slim chance that we may be able to defeat the harbinger. That information alone robbed me of the courage and determination that I previously possessed. Knowing that all my efforts would mean nothing, I felt the need to scream at the sky for giving me this impossible task. But with my friends by my side, I held onto my strength and regained my composure.

"Zack! Justin!" Mia exclaimed upon our return. "You're okay!"

Simply looking at the injured kind makes me deathly afraid of advancing with my allies alongside me. It would feel as if I was sending them all into a meat grinder and I would not be able to bear the guilt of seeing them all die as easy as it is to breathe. Agreeing to this mission makes me feel stupid and crazy. As I drowned deeper into the never-ending ocean of thought, the surrounding sounds all faded into nothing. The only thing I was able to visualize was my allies, laid before me in lifeless piles of corpses. As a deity, I failed at my most important job, which is to protect my people. 

'I'm allowing them to march to their deaths...' I thought to myself. 'If they try to fight the harbinger, they would all perish! It was obvious the first time, too! I've lost my only father figure because I was too weak and reckless. The same will happen to all of them once we fight the harbinger again! Why am I spearheading this entire operation?!'

What was it that made me agree to this? Was it the fact that I was too blinded by my newfound powers? Or was it that I was afraid? Both, really. I feel comfortable with the people I cherish around me, and that's why I dread the final moments within this world. I felt that with my powers, I would have enough strength to fight off the harbinger and win like the superheroes in movies and comic books. But at the same time, I was still afraid of him. I wanted to have shoulders to lean on when my struggles would prove too difficult, but no shoulder could bear the weight of the world. Regardless, I am out of options and the outcome of our next fight is clear. We were unbelievably lucky to scrape by with no deaths today, but nearly none of us would survive the fated encounter with the incarnation of evil. And when that time comes, everyone will fall and it would be all my fault.

Alex ran to his injured friend and used his healing power to fix Zack's wounds. Knowing that our mission is complete, Zack placed a hand on my shoulder and said: "It's okay. What my ancestor told us is only a possibility. There's no knowing what will happen until we try it. And besides, we're gonna be with you until the end. You're not gonna get rid of us that easily, blondie!"

I smiled at the man that I consider my brother. Seeing his belief in me made me feel at ease after having doubted our long journey, and so we decided to celebrate our victory with the usual song and dance. With the help of the high-quality sound systems on the yacht, the dance felt nothing like it did before. The impact our victory dance had made was felt all across the ship, especially by the ladies present. This immature yet perfectly executed dance even impacted Rox, who probably took me for a serious guy with a duty no man can take, only to see me dance professionally with a bare chest. At first, I was worried that she might see me as an immature child, but after the dance, she expressed her enjoyment of our performance.

Whoever was not enchanted by our victory dance were the ones who just discovered my status as a deity and were left shocked. Those were none other than Kevin and Zack's friends; People that I did not tell to try and contain my secret to only a handful of people. But even after myriad bows and prayer chants, they joined in on the hype for our dance. Alex's sister, however, was still confused about our performance, asking me: "Why did you dance like that? The last thing I expected to see is my brother dancing with a bare chest, Justin."

"It's a silly dance I came up with to help boost the group's spirits after a battle," I replied. "Since I am a pretty good dancer, I decided to make this dance and taught it to the other two."

"I see," Nova replied. "So you're good at fighting, dancing, leadership, and..."

"Yeah, that's it," I informed. "Oh, and eating noodles!"

"E-Eating... noodles?"

"Yes. And that's it!"

Nova sighed, appearing rather disappointed with my answer, despite it being truthful. "Alright then, I'm gonna go check on the others."

After an entire night of partying, I felt tired and went into my room to sleep, too tired to lock the door. I took off my clothes and wore nothing but my pants before going to bed and drifting asleep as soon as I closed my eyes. The blissful rest felt even more delightful because of the king-size bed in my room. Naturally, being of a higher status than anyone else on the ship, I got a large room all to myself. A large bed with a flatscreen TV in front of me, a desk to my left, and a nice view of the ocean to my right, nothing would be able to top this amazing night. Feeling refreshed, I would wake up the next morning to a cold shower and a hot cup of coffee while enjoying a calm view of the blue ocean. Slowly, I stopped feeling my body and consciousness, and the happy dreams set in. I found myself in an open field, sitting under a tree with Mia beside me. She rested her head on my shoulder and released a relieved sigh. "We're going to leave each other soon, aren't we? I'm glad I met you, Justin."

I smiled and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad, too. I'll never forget you, Mia." I smiled once again and looked at the distance to see the sun setting, but that is when I realized something strange. The dream I experienced felt oddly real. Not like a lucid dream, where I can tell I'm in a dream, but as if what I experienced was real. I could feel Mia next to me and the nice breeze of the air. I felt as if this is not a dream at all, but I clearly remember going to bed and sleeping. The more I realized that the less I felt it a dream. After a minute of me pondering, this experience felt completely real. "Hey, Mia? Do you feel-" I looked at my right and saw that Mia was no longer there and the sun has set rather quickly.

"Mia?" I called again, looking around me without being able to realize what was happening. I got to my feet and took a gander at my surroundings, noticing that the once green grass that I sat on has become rotten and its colors faded. "Mia?!" I called once again and did not get an answer. I began to feel the air around me get colder and colder with each passing second. I looked away from the tree and back at the horizon that I once stared at, seeing that the moon has suddenly appeared with a bright red color. Then, cracks started forming on the surface of the moon. The sight was horrifying, but I could not take my eyes off of it. Mere moments later, the moon's parts started splitting away and the inner core shone through as the shattered mon parts drifted away from one another.

"With or without my existence, this world is coming to an end very soon," A deep and menacing disembodied voice spoke, echoing in the wind. "Defeating me will only delay the inevitable, but for how long?"

Then suddenly, I heard a crack from behind me. When I turned around, I witnessed as a branch fell from the once vibrant green tree, now turned into a leafless dead husk. The voice spoke once again, this time coming directly from behind and speaking into my ear. "No matter how strong you are, you remain a speck of dust in the wind compared to what is to come."

I spun around, flinging my fist at the harbinger who I assumed was behind me, only to see that no one was there, to begin with. "Show yourself, you maniac! You did this, didn't you?!"

Another disembodied voice with no origin spoke to me. However, it was not the harbinger's voice of contempt, but the sobbing and weeping of a young woman. "Justin! Save me! Do not leave me behind! Please!" The voice was clearly and evidently Mia's. I desperately turned around everywhere, looking for the source of the desperate voice, but I found nothing. That's when the harbinger of the darkness spoke again.

"You brought a large group of friends with you?" He asked. I turned around to find him, but in whatever direction I looked, I saw nothing. "What an utter waste of time. You yourself are, and will always remain powerless against me. Do you think your friends would even stand a chance?"

"I can sense it. I can sense your fear. Your sweat dripping down your face, your fast breathing... You're so afraid of me that you need a large support group to keep you in check, but we both know what will happen, don't we?"

"You and I... We will face each other and you will fail. Your friends will try to stop me, but they will all perish in the process. But who is really to blame, here? If my memory serves me correctly, you were the ones who summoned them all to join you."

As if this situation he put me in was not enough, his words tore into me. He was not wrong in the slightest. Everyone came with me because I decided that I would need them. I decided that I would need a group of people I can confide in to fight against the impossible. How utterly witless and miserable I felt as his words haunted my mind.

"It's useless, now. You sent these people to their deaths, and your guilt would become heavier and heavier as you watch each of them meet a terrible end. Are you beginning to understand? Tell me, what is stronger, Justin? Your fear? Or your guilt?"

I clenched my fist and yelled at the sky: "Shut up! Once I'll find you, you better say your prayers!"

"Oh..." He replied. "Such powerful words coming from the weak-willed and trembling Justin. How about I show you the consequences of your decisions? Look behind you."

I turned around as he said, and there he was. The harbinger of the darkness in the flesh. Evil incarnate, standing right in front of me with his arms wide open. With my clenched fist, I rushed at him to deliver a punch, only for him to disappear. Because of the anger I felt, I failed to realize that he was standing in front of the dead tree, hiding the horrifying sight of a body dangling in the air with a rope around its neck, lifeless and bloody. Utterly petrified, I fell onto my knees and stared in utter shock at the lifeless body of Mia as she swayed back and forth due to the wind. Her hands were bloodied all over and her eyes were wide open and lifeless. Tears rolled down her face from eyes that bore no life within them.

"She cried desperately for you, trying to scream your name as the rope tightened. And then, nothing... See the blood on her hands? It shows how she struggled in her final moments before death. But she's only one of those who died. There are many more deaths to come. Suddenly, the tree spontaneously went on fire, burning itself and the hung body. I rushed to grab Mia, but the winds blew me away from the tree, Mia's screams and cries echoing loudly.

"Gah!!!" I forced my body upwards and looked at my surroundings, seeing myself back in the yacht room. I breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the unholy amounts of sweat off my face before getting out of bed and walking to the fridge. I opened the fridge and felt the cold air striking my bare chest, making me feel a little chilly, but the cold was refreshing. I grabbed a bottle of water and closed the fridge before drinking it and setting it aside. Feeling the need to check the time, I walked to my phone and saw that it was three past midnight before putting on my shoes and a grey sleeveless shirt and going out of the room. There, everything was calm and quiet, but that was expected after a huge party with everyone that had the three male crusaders dancing all the time. The sea air was normal, nothing unnatural was happening around me, and especially no burning trees or shattered moons anywhere to kick my fight or flight response into overdrive.

I walked around the outer deck and gazed at the starry night while relaxing my mind after that incident that happened within it. The moon was there and it was fine, but I double-checked just to make sure. I closed my eyes and opened them like someone playing peek-a-boo with a celestial object, looking like a complete idiot. I sighed, seeing that I returned to the real world. Everything felt the exact same as the moment before I went to bed, but this time, I was full of energy after the unfortunate nap I took. 

'Then again...' Everything felt real earlier in that 'experience' that I went through. I could feel the grass, the air hitting my body, Mia's voice in my ears, and the utter horror of it all. I all felt real. However, I have regained all my lost energy in the few hours that I was asleep. I have learned tricks to allow me to get as much sleep as possible in the shortest amount of time through my training with commander Astralis and my supernatural body easily adapted to the new sleeping patterns, and that is why I mostly work out and train silently in the middle of the night, while my entire team is asleep. 

"Wait a second..." Thinking about it, I started to see myself as a 'Mary Sue' or whatever the male term is. Alex pointed it out to me during the party, telling me that I am so overpowered it's unreal. He mostly said it to comfort me when I told him about my doubts, but it really made me stop to think about it. An extremely handsome guy with a talent for fighting and dancing and a perfect body. He has a group of girls swooning over him, he leads a team of people to fight evil, and has plenty of ways to defeat his enemies ranging from weapons to magic.

"Yeah, that pretty much settles it, I guess..." I said to myself before hearing the sounds of footsteps coming from my right. When I looked in that direction, I saw Mia wearing her new outfit and walking towards me. After experiencing that nightmare, I walked to her with a fast pace and placed my hands on her shoulders. Seeing her alive and well brought a welcome sense of relief into my soul. I exhaled loudly as I looked at her, ready to take her into my arms and invite her into my room.

"Mia, you're awake," I spoke after a sigh of relief. "I had this weird dream that I need to tell you about in the morning, alright? What are you doing this late, anyway?"

With a smile plastered on my face, I looked at her and waited for a response, but I got nothing but silence. I noticed that she stared at me with a look of contempt that was very strange to see on her. Before I could say another thing, Mia struck me with an uppercut to the face. As I tumbled back I placed a hand on the wall to my right and stared at Mia again in utter shock, only to see her summoning her greatsword and slashing at me. Thanks to my quick reflexes, I ducked and jumped backward while holding my chin. "Mia! What are you doing?" I exclaimed, only to get a polearm thrown at me from a distance. Evading the attack again, I adjusted my footing and stood in disbelief to see Mia firing her bow at me. I summoned my gauntlets and boots to protect myself as the arrows struck the weapons, breaking immediately. Mia did not waste a second and summoned her katana to try and attack me, making me try and defend myself. I decelerated time and pushed Mia away before running the other direction, not wanting to hurt her further. There, I saw Alex. The white-haired boy was staring into the distance with his arms crossed together. I ran to him and stopped mere feet away from him.

"Yo, Alex! Mia's not okay, dude. She just attacked me and nearly sliced my head off!" I informed, but Alex did not respond. Instead, he turned around with a gun in his right hand and aimed at my forehead. He wore his battle mask and had his gauntlet charged with energy. I decelerated time once more and pushed his arm away before jumping to the lower deck. There, Ethan and Rox wielded swords and stopped me in both directions. As soon as they attacked, I guarded with my gauntlet and pushed them away before booking it, only to have a bullet graze my shoulder as it flew past me. When I looked behind me, I saw Alpha-Two and Kevin wielding their firearms and aiming at me. As I ran once more, I looked in front of me and saw Jessie and Trevor aiming their weapons at me as well. But before I could stop and look for another direction, the wall next to me broke, and Ian as a werewolf emerged, grabbing me by the neck. I immediately broke free with my strength, but as soon as I did that, Jessie and Trevor opened fire, forcing me to duck and go through the hole Ian made. He chased after me like a feral creature and destroyed every piece of furniture in his path. As I continued running away from the ferocious werewolf, Zack and a group of men emerged, immediately opening fire on me without hesitation.

I ducked behind some furniture before slowing time and moving between the bullets to the soldiers and pushing past them. After the time limit was over, I resumed my desperate escape, not wanting to hurt anyone in the process. Other than not getting too injured to fight, my mind was focusing on piecing together what is happening. "Dammit! Why are they doing this?! Can't they tell who I am?!" I exclaimed as I continued running, only to find myself in front of A1. Without sparing a second, she charged at me with her white katana, slashing at incredible speeds. With my sword, I blocked and parried her attacks, but that was still a hassle and her speed only increased. Before long, she managed to get a few hits in, injuring my leg and left shoulder before I blocked her sword.

"A1, it's me! Justin!" I exclaimed, but she did not respond. The look in her eyes was that of a warrior thirsting for the blood of her enemies. With a swift kick, she kicked me down from the deck, making me land yet another floor down. As I attempted to get back on my feet, the sounds of Nova's flying armor immediately grabbed my attention. But as soon as I looked in her direction, I saw nothing but the tip of a sword flying in my direction. Through decelerated time, I managed to dodge by the skin of my teeth. And before I could see her, Selena shot me with a pistol, hitting the right side of my abdomen. As I screamed and writhed in pain, another bullet tore through my left leg. As she approached me to put one final shot in my head, I disarmed her by throwing one of the storm bringers at her hand. The gun that fell from her hand did not look like one issued to royal security or military forces. Rather, it looked quite odd and out of place. A long-barreled pistol with a rather large muzzle. It did not need a detective to tell that this is the work of the harbinger, for such a weapon emanated a dark aura from it.

Mia and the rest of the team appeared, some were standing on the upper deck while others were mere feet away from me. The pistol vanished after everyone had arrived, showing that this weapon was merely lent to Selena and not given to her permanently. "A pistol... that can tear through me... as if I was paper?!" After I said that, the sound of clapping became audible. I looked at the uppermost deck of the ship to see a figure hidden within the dark staring at me with unholy red eyes and a menacing aura. The figure stood alone, far away from the people that he considers mere dust in the wind. His presence alone can tear into the strongest men on earth and bring them to their knees. Describing him as 'Demonic' would be an understatement, as no words could describe such a creature. But instead of fear and despair, I felt nothing but rage towards this man. Gone are the days where I dreaded encountering the manifestation of darkness. The only thoughts that plagued my mind were the thirst for vengeance and the desire for justice. With my friends succumbing to his influence, the rage within my heart was raring to be unleashed.

"What... What did you do to them?!" I roared, but he remained unfazed.

"If a mere pistol of my design got you on your last legs," He spoke. "Imagine the extent of my full power. Now, do you realize how impossible this task is? Killing me is and forever shall be the dream of a fallen god. He was the one who put you up to this task. What choice did you have in the matter?"

"Shut u-up!"

"I was and still am truthful, Justin. I would not be lying when I say I feel empathetic for you. You and I are cut from the same cloth. Given an impossible task only for those who are responsible to watch us suffer."

"Let my friends go, you monster!" I shouted at him, but he remained unfazed again.

"Give up, child. You can only dream of taking me out. No matter how many powers you collect, nothing can prepare you for what's to come. You need to look no further than your predecessor. To this day, I can still remember how powerful he was and how he nearly killed me. You, on the other hand, are dying because of two bullets. Granted, they're not normal bullets, but my point still stands. I'm a god in my own right. I just don't claim the title."

As tears fell from my eyes, I looked at my friends, my family, my loved ones, only to see them staring at me with contempt, as if I was nothing but trash on the sidewalk. "Guys... Please, wake up! Wake up, dammit!" I cried, but I got nothing.

"It's no use. Do you feel helpless? That is exactly how I felt when I was getting consumed by the darkness, only for my friends and family to execute me. But unlike you, my allies were fully conscious and not controlled by anyone," The harbinger explained. "Don't think that divine healing power you inherited would help them. After all, you inherited it from me. I visited your dreams and taught it to you. Think of it as a clue to my past and a gift to my kin."

I conjured my crossbow and powered through the unbelievable pain to aim at him, only for Mia to fly down and kick me away. I screamed in pain as I landed at the edge of the ship. With more and more blood pouring out of my wounds that failed to heal, I felt my energy slowly drain away from me. My body felt weaker and became harder to move. My clothes became shredded and soaked in blood. Riddled with bullet holes and dirtied after the battle, what little remained of my clothes did nothing to conceal my injuries. The large group of people that were once my allies approached me, standing back and watching with faces void of emotions as my life faded away in front of them. "So... This is it, hm?" I asked myself, feeling my body get heavier. "I... lost. I lost before even getting started. Was there really no... no chance of defeating him?" I spat blood after saying that.

"Blame the gods who set you up like this. They stole you away from your parents only for you to die like this. That's why I saw myself in you," The harbinger stated. "They left me no choice, either. We both knew this is how it was going to end. Only one of us is supposed to remain."

Despite my fading life, I smiled. I smiled with my face on the ground. Then that smile turned into a laugh. My laughing confused everyone present, even the harbinger himself. "Why do you fight?" I asked, not able to look him in the eye. "Life dealt you a bad hand, and yet you continue. Why is that?"

"I have no choice. With my existence alone, the darkness consumes this world little by little. That is why people have grown evil and demons roam the earth. Soon, there will be nothing but destruction."

I laughed again, knowing that there is nothing more to lose. A few words would not matter in the end. "You know why I fight?" I asked. "Even after being forced to leave everyone that I love behind to fight the darkness, even after I lost so much, I still walk the path of destiny. Why's that?" I pointed at the people I see as my family. The crusaders, Ethan, Nova, Alpha-One, and everyone else.

"I fight for these people. I don't fight because I seek some sense of justice. I fight so that these people can live on, even if I die. I'd be happy knowing they are alive and well, even if I'm not there to see it."

"Is that so?" The harbinger asked. "Then why do you risk their lives just to fight me? Why not leave them alone and fight your own battles?"

I shook my head, knowing that I learned something important just now. "They came here by their own volition. I know full well that all these people share the same ideal. They want me to succeed and will do whatever it takes for me to do it. The bonds we formed on this journey... are unbreakable. I can't stop them from helping me, that's what friends are for, aren't they?"

Mia approached me, carrying the dark pistol in her hand. She aimed it at my head and prepared to fire. "Humanity persevered after the fall of my predecessor. They will continue to persevere after me."

Before Mia could shoot. A blinding light appeared in the sky and made her and everyone else cover their eyes. When I looked at the light, not caring for my life anymore, I saw a silhouette. A humanoid figure appeared within the light, making the harbinger stare at it in utter horror. The silhouette spoke to me in a comforting voice that was too familiar to me and the harbinger.

"O chosen. Even in your desperate times, the strength of your resolve remains unshakeable. With a heart like yours, you can achieve what I could not and save the world from the darkness. O child of the light, rise up, and stand your ground against anything that opposes you."

"IMPOSSIBLE!" The incarnation of evil shouted. "THIS CANNOT BE!"

The figure in the sky offered me his hand and I slowly conjured the power to lift my arm to reach him. And when I did, I was slowly levitated to the silhouette. That is when I saw him. I saw the god that once failed to save the world and died so that we can live. Zanoktryus, the fallen god of dragons. For the first time, I saw his face. And he looked unbelievably similar to me. He was my spitting image. A little older, but there was little to distinguish the two of us. He held my hand and healed my wounds, "Break free from the clutches of the harbinger, O child of the light. You have the resolve to help those you hold dear. Break this illusion and fight for your freedom. I am proud of you."

With the light remaining in the sky, I floated back down to the surface of the boat. Using the power of The Sage, I scanned everyone on the ship and discovered that they are merely illusions made by the harbinger's powers. I summoned my sword and raised it, shouting: "Sun's Sanctitude!" And at a mere flash, everyone got blinded by another flashing light. Then, I shouted: "Holy Chariot!" And summoned a chariot from the sky, pulled by flaming horses of war. Without anyone on it, the chariot fired magical projectiles at the ship, tearing it apart with ease. The harbinger snapped his fingers and summoned a large number of demons to his command, but the chariot began disposing of them on its own as it flew around the yacht.

"Doesn't matter how hard I try, I will keep trying and trying until I defeat you. My mind is set and there's no more fear in my heart." I closed my fist and raised my left hand to the sky, summoning the golden dragon. The dragon blasted a beam of energy at the ship, but the attack only damaged the enemies and nothing else. It did not even touch the fake versions of my allies.

"Graviton," I said, clenching my right fist and summoning a black orb that sucked the enemies into it. The fake Mia tried attacking me, but I grabbed her head and drained all the mana from her at a fast rate. The fake demon screamed as the energy went from her to me. I let her go and she fell on the ground, unable to move from exhaustion. With a snap of my finger, I triggered 'United By Spirit' and sent a large group of doppelgangers at the remaining demons while I walked towards the group of fake allies. The fake Alex tried to shoot me, but I conjured my crossbow and shot him three times before replacing it with my spear and using it to slash the fake Ethan's chest. With the storm bringers, I used lightning to electrocute the fake Selena and then used the Legate of Damnation, my ax, to swat away the fake Roxanna that tried to attack me. With the Deiform Wrath, I unleashed a series of high-speed punches at Jessie, Ian, and Trevor. The fake Zack tried to shoot me with his soldiers, but I absorbed the damage and transferred that energy into the railgun before firing it at them all. Then, I fired the railgun at a flying Nova and brought her down like a hunted bird. As A1 and her group charged at me, I used Emperor Ice to freeze her and her team before chucking them into the ocean. With his plan foiled, the harbinger stood silently and watched as I defeated the fake people of his reality.

"Attacking me with your puppets, huh?!" I shouted at him. "What a cowardly move!"

"Oh, no, boy. Those people were not fakes or clones. They were one hundred percent real."

"I don't care," I replied. "They are not my real friends!"

I leaped all the way to him and fired my railgun, but the projectiles disappear before they reach him. It was as if I never fired in the first place. I conjured my sword and charged at him, only for him to teleport a few feet away and conjure his own sword. My clones charged at him, only to be defeated in less than a second. They all vanished instantly, leaving me and him on the ship.

"Even with your newfound resolve, you can't defeat me. You are fighting on my territory. The rules of physics bend to my will here, Justin," He stated, but I shook my head. "You're alone."

"I don't care. I am not gonna hold back anymore..."

Zanoktryus spoke again: "Even in death, the bond of family is unbreakable, O child of light. Your ancestors shall lend you their strength."

"I am going to put a stop to this, and as a matter of fact... I am not alone!"

My right arm began to glow in a bright white color. It felt as if my arm was being guided by the souls of people long gone. People who are my ancestors and are linked to my soul, giving me the strength I need.

"This... this is the Astral Fist of Virtue... It shall guide me to victory!" The harbinger and I rushed at one another, but with the power of my ancestors, I reached him before he could move and struck him in the face, finally managing to land a hit on him. The punch was strong enough that it cracked his helmet and allowed the light of my ancestors to hurt the incarnation of evil. And with more power, I felt the hands of my forebears holding my arm. With their willpower, I pushed my fist even further and cracked his helmet even further.

After that, the light of Zanoktryus enveloped everything and dispelled the reality that the fallen man had created. When I opened my eyes once again, I found myself lying shirtless on my king-size bed with my shorts perfectly intact. The room was calm and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I sat upright and scanned the room slowly with my eyes, thinking it might be another illusion, but there was nothing strange about the room that would tell it apart from the fake reality, except for one thing, of course. To my right, Mia slept peacefully. To my left, I found Roxanna dozing off. As if that wasn't enough, Selena slept behind Mia, and Jessie was behind Rox, fast asleep as well. I sighed and wiped the buckets of sweat off my face. "Is this it?" I asked myself. "Yeah... this is probably it."

After this fight, I realized that there is a glimpse of hope. Despite all the power the harbinger possessed and despite what little chance I had, I managed to hit him. I finally managed to actually land a punch. A punch that not only broke me free of his grasp but a punch that is a clear sign of hope. "The harbinger can be beaten..." I mumbled to myself as I looked at my hands, knowing that there actually is a chance. "I actually have a chance..." Releasing an incredible sigh of relief, tears fell from my eyes. This tiny ray of hope is a clear indication that I may have a chance at succeeding, regardless of how small that chance could be. There was no denying it at that point. The harbinger is incredibly powerful, but he is not invulnerable. 

With that realization, I came to the decision that I shall not let any of my allies engage the harbinger directly. When the time comes, the harbinger's sole focus should be on me and me alone. Even if the other crusaders tried to assist me, I'll keep them away as much as I can and fight the harbinger as hard as I could. If I could take the fight away from everyone else, I should try my hardest to do so and make sure no one follows me or the harbinger. "I'll be sure to discuss this with everyone in the morning," I spoke out loud before falling back onto the bed and releasing a long sigh.

"I need therapy..."