New World - A New Beginning

The ground around me cracked as bits of stone floated in the air. Dark violet lightning crackled throughout my body, bolts of lightning traveling from stone to stone in search of an enemy. The entire scene seemed to be electrified, and I could tell even Ares felt the absurd pressure that my aura was now exerting.

If he had considered my previous aura to be overwhelming, then adding Asthia's on top of it was sure to crush him. My eyes burst open, the process finally completing as my hair turned crystal white. A soft mist wafted from my eyes, the energy flooding in the form of air.

My arm glowed a bright cyan, the fissured scales covering my limb as I prepared to face the S-rank.

Ares remained stunned at the transformation of his opponent but quickly dismissed his surprise as he began to advance towards me. His eyes glowed a bright amber color, a light earthen aura encircling his body.

"Here I come, Jay Cadmium."

The most minuscule of smiles appeared on my face. It had been a while since I had felt power like this.

The movements of S-ranks were completely imperceptive to the naked eyes of even high-ranked adventurers, but I was able to look up and clearly watch Ares dashing towards me. The world moved in slow-motion, the full powers of lightning bind finally allowing me to fight Ares on even ground.

His firepower and endurance far surpassed mine, but I easily made up for it in speed.

I moved my body calmly, evading the first strike. Lightning flowed through my leg as I sent it flying into the S-rank's side. I was surprised he had managed to block it with a defensive position in time, but the blow was still filled with energy.

BOOM

Ares slid sideways, but he read my mind immediately. The earth below him churned, latching onto his feet and bringing him back to his initial position.

I scowled at his quick reaction. He was completely aware of my goals.

I no longer had any intention of participating in this battle. Asthia was dying, and the western front... was lost.

Morale had completely collapsed after Surge's betrayal, and Dragons were being trampled all around me. Ares knew victory was his, but if he were to allow me to escape with Asthia, we would both become irregularities that could endanger him and the entire Dominion alliance.

The lightning around me flashed brightly momentarily, signaling my departure as I manifested beside Ares. I supercharged my fist with a mixture of lightning and fire, coating my arm in the explosive combination of elements.

Ares hardened his arms with earth, raising them defensively immediately.

BOOM

I continued my offensive, realizing how little time I actually had before Asthia ultimately perished.

A few minutes... I thought, continuously delivering blow after blow as Ares consistently defended. Massive eruptions of bind disrupted the flow of the battlefield, the shockwaves of our clashes terrifying both armies.

I set my sights on Asthia, beginning to dash over there with the power of lightning.

"!!"

A giant wall of earth erupted in front of me, preventing me from going any further. My eyes looked up in alarm at the explosion of energy. Ares came crashing down with his fist.

Tsunamis of earth arose from the point of impact. I shot myself up with a gust of wind in response, leaping over the attack.

"Supernova."

I shot down onto the S-rank.

BOOOOOMMM

My breaths were becoming shorter. I could feel myself gasping for air after only a few minutes of battle against an S-rank, but I already knew that this was what it took of me to fight on equal grounds with the most powerful individuals in Auroria; Amelia had shown me that.

The smoke from the devastating attacks began to clear. I wasn't surprised to see Ares standing valiantly after all my blows, seemingly unscathed.

Ares stomped the ground with one foot, cracking it immediately and using his hand to bring forth multiple chunks of rock. I watched quietly as each gigantic piece was crushed into thousands of smaller projectiles, all of them awaiting Ares's command.

He shot his hand forth, sending everything at me. I remained still, focusing all of my remaining bind into my muscles. The world progressively slowed down. I finally gasped for breath, realizing I was at my limit. Any more bind would crush my muscles, and I was already infusing them with neutral bind, wind bind, and lightning bind. Anything that could allow me to move faster...

I looked around, my eyes widening at the effects.

The world around me... had come to a complete halt.

"Fuck," I muttered, wincing at the mind-numbing pain that was piercing my entire body. I appeared beside Asthia, pushing through with all of my willpower to not faint on top of her. She was stone cold. I had used up too much of her bind, and the fact that she was still breathing was nothing short of a miracle.

I looked over at Ares and the thousands of shards that had previously been surrounding me, his calm expression frozen in time.

"You win, Ares," I said, turning back and disappearing from the battlefield. I didn't look back, leaving behind everything: loyal soldiers, innocent civilians back in Lares, as well as both Mia and Diana.

In one final struggle, the Dominion had come out on top. I knew the battle would continue for a few more hours at most. The disappearance of two major individuals within the Dragonkin army would devastate the ranks, and some of them were probably going to concede soon.

I tried to ignore the fuzziness and the heat that was building up inside my head, a specific destination stuck within my mind as I flew over there as fast as possible. I would have to travel for at least a few hours, but arriving there undetected would benefit us greatly.

The effects of the Integrate ability wore off, my hair returning back to its usual light brown color as the world around me resumed to the pace I was used to while manipulating lightning. It was no longer frozen, but at least I wouldn't faint.

--

My lungs felt utterly crushed. I entered the wooden cabin like a ragged doll, barely managing to stay conscious. I made my way upstairs, placing Asthia onto the bed in front of me. I almost threw up knowing what words I was about to utter, but I shook my head and continued.

"I-Integrate..."

I waited a bit for the effects to fully enter my body, Asthia's powers barely noticeable at this point. I tapped into Asthia's knowledge in holy bind, adding everything I knew with the healing aspects of healing to try and save the girl's life.

"Full Heal!"

A warm wave of luminescent rays escaped my palms, covering the cold body with its gentle touch. I had managed to keep Asthia alive long enough by using wind bind along the way, but holy bind was sure to attract monsters if used in the wild. At this point, even a C-rank wolf was enough to kill me.

The bind that was exiting my body felt more like I was losing my very life force, but I ignored the voices in my head that begged me to stop. I continued the process for as long as I could. Minutes slowly went by, every muscle in my body beginning to give in to the fatigue and the wounds.

My legs stopped functioning. I collapsed onto the bed, but I was still awake. As long as I could think, I could heal.

The golden light that illuminated my vision began to fade, Asthia's white body being the only thing in focus that I could see. The arrows in her back were now completely gone, and I could see small bits of color returning to her pale cheeks.

I turned the girl around to make sure she was laying on her back, that final push being the last action I managed to accomplish before succumbing to the unconscious.

Two thoughts echoed in the back of my mind amidst the darkness, those two sentences being the last thing I remember before my brain switched off.

Thank god you're safe.

And I'm sorry for failing as a commander.