Requiem Of A Failed Hero

In a desolate canyon, a sudden mass of darkness suddenly burst out, the mass of darkness was large enough to shroud the whole canyon in shadows of its malicious presence. IL

The darkness roared loudly with a piercing sound, one that shook the entire landscape, it rolled and rolled in and out of each other. As if it was fighting hard to free itself from something.

The surrounding was infected and affected by this turmoil, stones blackened and some of them couldn't withstand the force and shattered.

The black mass only continued the struggle to escape from itself, rolling forward and smashing rock into splinters. The area trembled, it was a great deal that no human was currently present in this place.

Whatever the land was, it was abandoned and to put it in a strange way…

The canyon stretched out like a colossal wound slashed into the barren earth, revealing its shattered layers. Jagged cliffs loomed on either side, not the smooth weathered stone of ages past, but ruptured and fragmented as if some cataclysmic force had pummeled it from within and without.

Great craters pockmarked the ground, their massive contours weathering into rugged hills splitting the terrain. Boulders large as houses littered the canyon floor, evidence of the pulverizing impacts that bore these scars into the land.

Nothing green dared dwell here; no birdsong or animal tracks marked the absolute stillness. Only the occasional hiss of wind through cracks in the stone and now a violent cry of darkness pummeling itself in and out of the rocks.

The symmetry of overlapping craters was unnatural, it suggested what hellish bombardment could have wracked this land. Giants? Maybe something more but definitely colossal.

Suddenly five pillars of darkness shot into the gloomy sky. And continue to shimmer for the next few minutes bathing everything in absolute darkness. Then the pillar of darkness suddenly curled and scattered into different places, causing the grey light that once reigned in the place to return.

—

Raith watched with awe as the light that covered the two phoenixes began to slowly fade, revealing their beautiful feathers.

They seemed to have grown slightly bigger, the red phoenix now had a scattered few of blue feathers and the blue of red. They seemed different but not so different. Their feathered tail was longer, each of them had grown a small crown-like tuft on their heads. Their eyes shimmered with a multicolor glow as they both stared at Raith.

"Amazing…"

Raith smirked. He looked down at the new sets of letters that began to appear in front of him.

[Slyvia has received a unique art]

[Maria has received a unique art]

[Jarvis has received a unique art]

[Antares has received a unique art]

[Fenrir has received a unique art]

[Kortopi has received a unique art]

[Crimson has received a unique art]

[Noir has received a unique art]

[Rogue has received a unique art]

As anxious as he was to see what arts each and everyone of then had received, he decided to put it all to rest and return to his room.

'Still… who would have thought that my generals are still somewhere… alive.'

He had thought the abyss would have killed them or made them its own someway. Actually, it's more baffling that it hasn't… or maybe it couldn't.

Raith smiled.

'Anyway, this means there's hope, I can find them all again.'

He tapped his bed and laid down to sleep but a few more minutes bright rays began to penetrate the window, distracting his eyes.

In sudden realization Raith shot up and looked towards the window.

The melodious chirping of birds, the clanging of metal somewhere far away, the low mutterings of passersby and intermittent shouting here and there.

It was morning already?!

It wasn't even night when he dove into his soul sea. And it's already morning? Did he use over ten hours trying to merge the energies.

Raith felt drained and fell to his butt.

'Hell no…'

"What are you doing?"

The asura appeared, a second later a frown lowered his brows.

"What have you done to yourself?"

Raith turned and looked up at Thard - Harl.

"Myself how?"

'Can he feel the change?'

He speculated while looking at the asura, hiding behind his face whatever hint could point to his big change. But there was probably a big chance that the asura would have noticed. He wasn't an asura for nothing.

Thard - Harl made a disgusted expression, pointing at him.

"What did you do to your hair… foolish human do you think it will make you look noble?"

"My hair?" Raith hurried touch his hair but couldn't feel anything to freak him out or make him disgusted like Thard - Harl currently was. He did a change in texture though, he noticed it before and was being reminded of it again as he touched his hair. Rolling his eyes up, Raith tried to really see… and he did.

He could slightly and blurily see the edges of his hair just above his brows and they were white.

"How strange?"

Raith closed one of the window doors and looked at himself through its mirror glass.

His eyes grew wide and shook.

"What in the world happened to me?"

His hair had become white overnight. His skin pale. He didn't look lifeless instead he looked calm, harmless and timid but there was something about the look in his eyes. Something ferocious, something murderous.

His red and black eyes set another pair of difference in his look. If one would even say, Raith had kind of gotten handsome. Before his hair was thick and all tangled together, now it was thinner, frizzy, greasy, curling into each other and parting to reveal his forehead. The edges ended just above his eyes.

He touched his cheek bone and his jaw. Turned right and turned left.

"Undoubtedly… I've become more handsome." Then he quit the mirror glass and turned to Thard - Harl. "Ah… I see, I understand why this may be a problem to you. You feel intimidated don't you?"

The asura looked at him with disdain for a second then his expression became blank as he started:

"We must leave now. I have discovered traces of our hunt."

"Wow… but if you don't mind. I've not eaten anything. Can we get something to eat before we start moving?"

The asura frowned and was about to talk when a knock sounded.

Both of them looked to the door and Raith went to open it.

Theta lowered head, bowing slightly with a food tray covered with thin fabric in her hands.

Raith looked down and delightfully invited her in.

"Father insisted that I bring you breakfast." Her face drew taut for a few seconds as she stared at the slight change in Raith's appearance.

"Warrior Raven. Did something happen overnight?"

"It's fine… I dyed my hair before…" Raith replied with a polite smile.

"Oh. You look way better this way."

"Thank you"

As Raith replied, Theta threw a scowl at the asura and turned back to him with a sweet smile.

"I brought you breakfast. I personally made it."