As Aurus placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, the air shifted.
A low hum trembled through the plaza, like the breath held before a scream. Slowly, he began to draw the blade.
The pressure hit instantly.
The wind stopped. All sound vanished. The world itself seed to grow heavier.
With every inch of steel that erged, the ground cracked beneath his feet. The weight of his presence pressed down like a mountain.
Adventurers staggered. So gasped for air, others dropped to their knees. A few collapsed entirely, unconscious before they hit the ground.
Even Ronan struggled. His legs trembled. He tried to stand, but finally dropped one knee to the stone, sweat running down his face.
Elysia smiled, her head tilting slightly.
"Oh my," she murmured, voice light and amused, like soone admiring a painting. "So this is the strength of the Hero..."
Crest stood trembling, trying to steady his sword. His muscles scread. His heart pounded. In the corner of his vision, he saw Airi and Astros... completely calm.
They hadn’t moved. The storm passed over them like a breeze.
That gap again. That divide between the chosen few and everyone else.
Elysia turned back toward Aurus with a soft smile.
"Careful now. Letting all that loose might reduce your capital to rubble."
Aurus didn’t blink.
"Even I know when sacrifice is necessary," he said. "And how to limit the damage."
Then he drew his sword fully.
The air exploded.
A blast of pressure rippled outward. The stone plaza cracked, buildings groaned, windows shattered.
Flags ripped from poles. Several people dropped where they stood, unconscious. The sky dimd like a storm was closing in.
Elysia clapped her hands together with delight.
"Marvelous! Just marvelous! Look at that rage! Such beautiful, righteous fury. You shine so brightly, Hero."
Her voice was joyful, too joyful.
"Co now, everyone! Witness it! This is what hatred looks like when it’s pure. Look at the masterpiece pain has carved!" She twirled once, arms spread. "The heat of your fury, the taste of your blood in the air—mmm, exquisite. This is what we live for."
Her eyes glowed bright blue.
Then, in a mont stretched thin by silence, Aurus raised his sword.
The crushing pressure that had smothered the plaza suddenly shifted.
It lifted, coiling upward like a storm gathering above the blade. The sky seed to pull inward, sucked into the weight above the weapon.
The light warped, shadows trembling.
Then... everything stopped.
No attack. No explosion. No devastation.
Pure stillness.
Crest trembled where he stood, eyes squeezed, bracing for the impact. But nothing happened.
Slowly, he opened them. The street was intact. Dust hung in the air, but nothing had struck.
Then, a voice broke the silence. A man’s voice, light and amused.
"Well? What are you waiting for, Hero? I’m right here."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Sacred warriors stiffened. Eyes widened. Aurus didn’t move. His hands held the sword mid-air, frozen.
Elysia turned to face them fully, and sothing had changed. The form they knew was gone. In her place stood a young man. Short blond hair, green eyes, a calm smile.
Aurus slowly lowered his sword, his lips parting in disbelief.
"You..."
The young man, or whatever wore that face, twirled a finger near his cheek, playfully mimicking a familiar gesture.
"Oh, co now. Don’t look so shocked. It suits you poorly."
He bowed slightly, hand over his chest, his voice warm and mocking.
"Shall I make it easier?" he said. "A na, perhaps. I am Maël."
He straightened, his smile deepening.
"Maël, the Hero."
A pause.
"Nice to see you again... father."
The mont froze.
Aurus held his blade aloft, power condensed above its edge like a storm caught mid-collapse. The air groaned, ready to shatter. But then—
Silence.
No devastation. No release. Just the hollow hush of anticipation.
Crest, trembling, eyes shut, slowly opened them. Nothing had happened.
Then ca a voice. Calm. Male. Playful.
"Well? What are you waiting for? I’m right here."
The Sacred Warriors flinched. Their eyes shook with disbelief. Aurus stood motionless, his blade still high, yet frozen.
Elysia tilted her head toward them, but she wasn’t Elysia anymore.
She was now a young man. Blond hair, short and tousled. Green eyes, sharp and bright. A face full of youth, pride, and familiarity.
Aurus’s sword dipped. His voice cracked.
"You..."
Elysia twirled a finger against their cheek, then offered a theatrical bow.
"Should I introduce myself to make things easier? Alright then. I’m Maël. The Hero. Nice to see you again... Father."
Gasps spread like wildfire.
Aurus didn’t move. He didn’t blink. Every breath in the street was held as if waiting for his next word.
But inside him, sothing broke.
He whispered, hoarse and raw.
"You... You know who he is... You took his form... That ans the demons know. They know who the Hero is."
It was more than betrayal. It was catastrophe. The identity of the world of light’s last hope... exposed.
"How?" Aurus asked. "How did you get this? What else do you know? What have you done with him?"
Maël laughed... no, she laughed, Elysia’s voice layered beneath the boy’s. It was a twisted, echoing sound, as if both personas reveled in the mont.
"Oh, dear Aurus. You’re asking the wrong person. I’m soone who thrives on emotions. Answers? They’re such cold little things. If you want to know the truth, you’ll have to go see it for yourself."
She turned away, steps light, as if nothing had changed.
"Besides, we have no more reason to stay here. The next rendezvous is in Castella."
Astros growled.
"You’re not leaving."
She stopped, glanced over her shoulder.
"If I can’t return to explain things to the others, they’ll move imdiately," she said calmly. "And you know how quickly we move. From one point to another..."
She waved mockingly, a dancer’s twirl in her fingers.
"Let’s be smart about this. I love to play with my prey, so I’m your best chance that Maël stays alive until the final act."
Airi stepped forward, anger rising. Her aura rose, but...
Sothing flickered.
[Blessing of the Mindglass Veil]
Airi flinched as a strange warmth passed through her. A blessing, a blessing received out of nowhere.
Her breath caught.
Was she being attacked? Was this Elysia’s doing?
Then she heard Aurus’s voice.
"So you won’t do anything to him if we let you go ?" he asked.
Airi turned sharply, confused. That didn’t make sense. Why would he say that? Why even consider?
But when she looked at him, his eyes were glowing blue.
So were the others. One by one, she scanned their faces, Sacred Warriors, adventurers, knights.
Every pair of eyes glead with an unnatural, blue light.
Her stomach turned. Sothing was very wrong.
Airi felt it.
Sothing was wrong.
The way Aurus nodded, too eager, too resolved.
"Fine," he said, voice firm. "I’ll et you in Castella. And I’ll kill you."
"That’s the spirit," Elysia said cheerfully.
She turned her back on them. Purple flas rose from the ground. They flas began to trace an enormous sigil on the stone, a burning pentagram.
Her figure shimred, already starting to shift again under the fire.
Airi’s eyes widened.
"Don’t let her leave! She’s using a skill on you!"
The others flinched, but they looked confused. Crest stepped forward, calling out.
"Elysia!"
Elysia smiled at them over her shoulder.
"It was fun while it lasted," she said. "But now it’s ti for a new ga. Enjoy my little gift."
Then, without warning, her voice echoed inside every mind.
Airi froze.
"You will be the most troubleso, won’t you, Airi?" the voice whispered. "When you’re a trump card, it’s wise to wait for the last lap to race ahead. Otherwise, you’re walking around waving a red flag."
Slowly, impossibly, Elysia turned her head to face them without moving her body. Her neck cracked, twisting at an unnatural angle.
Goat horns pierced through her hairline.
The whisper returned, darker this ti.
"Don’t worry about , Hero. I’m just a player. Attack if you like... just don’t make the mistake of taking Sloth lightly."
Her eyes turned pitch black.
The flas exploded upward.
Her flesh peeled away, revealing charred muscle, then bone. Her skeleton burned in brilliant violet light, then even that was consud.
The fire vanished, and she was gone.
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