Dimensional Descent

Even long after he had left Leonel, Elthor still felt his heart pounding. For the first time, even as a Prince, he felt as though he should bow down to a knee before a man.

He had never felt such emotion before, not even before his own father. Somewhere deep inside, he had already admitted to himself that if the Oryx and The General were to fight, even if they gained small advantages in the beginning, even if it seemed that The General might lose, in the end, it would be they who ultimately suffered.

Elthor clenched his fists.

He had never really wanted to be Prince in his life, this was why he had always been happy to be born third. He was content to allow his elder brothers to take the reins. All he wanted to be was a powerful warrior… The most powerful.

However, the day his Third Eye was awakened, it all changed. The looks his father gave him shifted from love and a doting adoration to looked of expectation, hope, and pride.

It was the kind of look Elthor had always wanted to see, but he had wanted to see them for the sake of support toward him chasing his own dreams. He wanted to be the spearhead that finally unified their world under one banner… He didn't want to be the Ruler that did so.

Unfortunately, his father didn't see things this way. To the King of the Oryx, there was no greater strength than to be King.

This sort of philosophy thrust Elthor to the forefront and created a tension between him as his eldest brothers. The favoritism his father showed couldn't have been more obvious. It didn't matter how much he said he only wanted to be a Knight under their charge, it didn't seem to change anything.

It was then he began to hear stories of The General.

At first, it was just a small blip on their Kingdom's radar. This wasn't the first time the people of the Human Kingdom had rebelled.

But, this time turned out to be different. Two years later, it seemed that they might really fall…

It was then that Elthor finally learned of why his father placed so much hope in him, of why he was willing to risk ripping their family apart for the sake of pushing him to ascend the throne… of the fear that had gripped his father, his mountain of support, for so long.

However, this fear that his father had buried deep within his heart for so long only showed Elthor more of why he didn't want to be King.

Burying such anxiousness within yourself, carrying the burden of hope for so many, being responsible for the lives and deaths of billions…

He didn't want any of this.

He just wanted to step onto the battlefield and fight to his heart's content, to let his strength quake the earth, shake the skies and sunder the stars…

Today, though… Elthor learned something that could make his eyes lock with resolve.

In his pursuit of being that warrior, he had neglected something very important.

If he wanted to be that deity of the battlefield, that existence who could make an opposing army quake with nothing more than a roar… He needed a banner to fly under, a might to grow beneath, a King to follow.

His father wasn't that King, he was too eager to pass on his burdens. His brothers weren't that King either, they had already allowed jealousy to plague their relationship. It was obvious that they had no confidence in themselves.

But The General… He somehow seemed incomplete as well. He was almost perfect in every aspect but something subconsciously held him back from choosing him too.

That said… Elthor felt that by following a man who was so close to his ideal, he just might find that King he was looking for.

'Two months… I can do that…'

…

Leonel dashed through the night, an incomparably calm expression on his face.

In these two years, he had felt a certain anxiousness slowly leaving his body. He felt as though he was even calmer than he had been in the past. Much of this had to do with him learning of the existence of a fourth Lineage Factor lingering within his body.

No, it was inaccurate to say that it was lingering. In fact, this Lineage Factor had been following him for the longest of the four he had. He had just never realized that it was indeed one.

Even now, it was still mostly dormant. But Leonel felt that it was slowly awakening as though a slumbering dragon shaking millennia of fatigue from his foggy eyes…

…

Time continued to tick by. And, soon, a month had flown by.

As promised, there wasn't any movement from the Oryx. However, Leonel hadn't breathed a word of his conversation with Elthor to his lieutenants. Rather, they all focused on tightening the noose around The Capital's neck.

Every movement they made seemed to constrict the once mighty Human Kingdom.

From above, one could almost see the image of a boa coiling its body around The Capital. The more they struggled, the tighter the squeeze became.

Waterways were blocked, supply routes were cut off, escape paths were destroyed.

Every city was systematically conquered. It felt as though one was reading a textbook on military execution rather than a telling of true events.

As the rebel army descended and the second month was quickly drawing to a close, the nobles began to truly feel the heat.

Maybe it was because of the fear Alexandre had instilled in them from the very beginning, but none of them had ever thought that things would reach this point. Or, if they ever did, it still wouldn't be long before their awe inspiring King flipped the tables with a casual move.

Yet, even when the rebel army was bearing down on their Gates, there was still no sign of movement.

Were things really going to end like this for them?

It was then the fateful day came.

Leonel stood before The Capital's tall walls with an army of tens of thousands to his back.

He rose his spear into the air, his aura dignified and his momentum like an endless tidal wave.

At that moment, as though they were all witnessing an act of God, it happened.

"[Armageddon]."