Glorious Victory

Dark clouds appeared in the night covering the light coming from the Moon and Stars. Darkness swallowed the whole forest as tear shaped droplets of water began falling down from the sky. A loud thunderous roar resonated from up above the clouds while streaks of lightning descended from the heavens giving light to the forest for a short amount of time.

The masked man and Aran found themselves staring at each other not moving an inch as if time was stopped between them. A dragon like roar from the skies echoed across the whole forest and a massive lightning strike lit the surroundings. Aran and the masked man both dashed at the same time. The masked man revealed a silver saber with a brown handle with a golden guard hidden in his cloak and clashed with his foe's spear. Seeing the Saber, Aran's face darkened.

"Where did you get that Saber?" Aran said in an agitated voice as his face twitched while their weapons clashed.

"I found it lying on the ground along with a dead corpse" the masked man casually said, "You should have seen her final moments, pleading for help, believing that someone will rescue her as her life flows out of her body"

With a shocked expression on his face, tears suddenly burst out of Aran's eyes.

"Bastard! You shall receive no mercy" Aran shouted angrily as he pushes back the saber.

"Did you know that woman?" the masked man mocked Aran, "It's just that I couldn't stop the saber from entering her body"

"Do you think this is funny?" Aran shouted angrily as his tears overflowed from his eyes dropping on his hand. "you were the ones responsible for the death of Arinea "

"Arinea? That was her name. Such a pity" the masked man casually said as he laughed at Aran's words, "death can either bring you great satisfaction or immense pain, and you got the latter"

"I'll make sure your death gives me great satisfaction" Aran shouted angrily.

The masked man broke their deadlock jumping far away from Aran. As the rains continues to drop, Aran's heart felt heavier than the downpour. It was engulfed with unbearable sadness, despair and anger. All he could think of right now is killing the man in front of him.

A bright golden light radiated from Aran. All the wounds from his body had disappeared, his face showed no trace of being burnt showing his handsome and elegant facial features. His golden hair grew back shining brightly in the in the darkness of the night. Golden Runic markings appeared throughout his body making him look like an immortal being.

"This is amazing. At such a young age, you have mastered your family's Divine Art" the masked man gasped in awe, "Such a shame that this will be the last time that I'll see this magnificent form"

"And I'll make sure that it'll be your last" Aran said.

"Who is this man? He wasn't surprised when I changed my form and was rather expecting it" Aran thought to himself.

"Good! Now let's see how strong you really are" the masked man said confidently as he threw away his cloak revealing his black elegant robe underneath.

"How brave of you to lead a dangerous mission with no armor" Aran said, "I commend you for that"

"Armor's just dead weight against you" the masked man said.

"Fair point" Aran said.

In a blink of an eye, Aran appeared in front of the masked man. Using his spear, he strikes the masked man's chest but the latter quickly defended using the saber. Although he defended, the force of Aran's strike created a powerful shockwave that devastated the nearby landscape and sent the masked man flying until he hits a rocky mountain that buried him deep inside of it causing some rocks to fall down on the entrance.

Crimson rays of red light emerged from the fallen rocks and a powerful crimson red beam of light blasted the rocks disintegrating them to the point that even dust where nowhere to be found. In the hole that was created, the masked man slowly walked towards it.

"I gotta thank you for that attack" the masked man spoke mockingly, "You got me all warmed up"

He charged at Aran quickly and attacked him with the saber with such speed and strength that Aran was put on the defensive. The clash of their weapons lasted for a while until Aran jumped back to break the deadlock.

"I see that you're not all talk" Aran said as a smile on his face appears. "I'd be disappointed if you fell just like that"

Golden light shone again on Aran's body but this time it was all concentrated on his left shoulder. The Golden light quickly began to form the shape of his left arm. Once finished, one can see the bright glowing energy completed Aran's body. As soon as he finished shaping his energy. He dashed to the masked man and fiercely attacked him with such power that every hit creates a shockwave. The masked man was on the defensive this time. If he lets his guard down like he did earlier, he would've been sent flying again.

"You've become serious now" the masked man spoke seriously, "I guess it's time to show you my absolute power."

The masked man emitted crimson red light from his body which stopped Aran's fierce attacks. Markings that resemble a chain appeared on his heels, wrists, and neck. A symbol of crimson red light appeared on his chest. He screamed as if he was in excruciating pain. His presence completely changed and once he finished his transformation, he was not the person he was before. He looked like an evil being that was exiled from skies.

Aran was surprised by the transformation. He thought that he had a similar art but after observing him, it was completely different. The energy that he emits are crimson and black which represents Bloodlust and Death.

"Is this your first time seeing a power like this?" the masked man casually asked, "To put it simply, I'm an artifact hunter. When I was looking for treasures long ago. I found a cursed ring that gave me this power."

"I see, those chain-like markings that appeared on your body shows that you're restrained and bound by this ring" Aran said mocking the masked man. "Foolish man"

This time, instead of dashing to the masked man, Aran instantly appeared in front of the the masked man, punching him in the chest that launches him in the sky. With the quick reflexes of the masked man, he quickly recovered himself by levitating on the sky and anticipating his next attack. Aran appeared on the back of the masked man but the latter quickly retreated away from him.

As the rain continues to get stronger, Aran and the masked man got into a fierce battle in the sky. When their weapons clashed, it would produce such a powerful force that could devastate everything nearby. Aran's spear strikes and slashes were so vicious, precise and swift that when rain drops touch the tip of the spear, it was cleanly cut in half rather than being smothered.

Crimson red light flashed on the masked man's left hand and after attacking Aran with the saber, he unleashed a powerful beam of crimson light that was much more powerful than what he unleashed earlier. If Aran didn't dodge quickly to the side, it would have been a threatening situation for him.

Golden light appeared on Aran's right hand and with a little bit of his strength, he punched his foe sending him flying. He swiftly threw the spear at him after the punch hoping to land an attack to the enemy. He then concentrated his energy on his makeshift arm preparing for something. He threw his spear towards the masked man with all his might. The masked man used his saber to defend himself from the incoming spear but as he did, he left himself wide open. Aran instantly appeared on top of him ready to attack with his makeshift arm containing his concentrated energy. As the attack hits his foe's face, the massive energy Aran contained in his left arm was unleashed. It created a massive golden beam of light that looked divine and terrifying. As soon as the beam touched the ground, it decimated a portion of the forest making it look like a barren wasteland.

In the darkness of the sky where the clouds cry and lightning illuminates, a figure fell down from the dark skies followed by another who descended gracefully. When the figure finally hits the ground it created a mini crater that was the size of his body. The other that descended stabbed it, sealing his fate.

Lightning hits the ground and from the light that it produced, Aran was lying on the ground, unconscious with a saber embedded on his stomach.

"at least you'll die by her Saber " the masked man said in a serious tone "Farewell"

The night turned dark and silent, only the sound of falling rain touching the ground and the loud roars of thunder in the skies were heard throughout the the area. Aran was lying on the ground injured and powerless as if the last bits of his strength has faded away from his body. Along with him is the masked man who was standing triumphantly in the rain as his body was covered in wounds and burn marks.

"I'm sure that my final blow landed in your face and yet here I am lying on the ground with a Saber in my stomach. It really doesn't make sense as to how I got into this state. How did I lose?" Aran said calmly as blood drips out from his mouth.

"I told you earlier right, I'm an artifact hunter. I'd be a failure as one if I only have a single artifact in my possession." the masked man said as he took out an eccentric looking broken mirror from his robe, "This mirror reflects the damage dealt by the attacker but this time it didn't. The mirror couldn't take the full force of your attack breaking it. I would have died instantly if I took it head on"

"Tch, I underestimated you. If only I had fought more cautiously" Aran said as he sounded defeated.

"It's too late for regrets now. This will be your final resting place along with your father" The masked man said casually. "Look at the bright side, this place ain't half bad for your final resting place. Take it as a parting gift from me"

The masked man slowly walked away from Aran as he entered the remainder of the forest to regroup with his allies leaving him to die alone in the rain. As he completely disappeared, Aran reached his right arm up at the sky uttering some words as tears fall down from his eyes. A little golden orb, the size of a coin appeared from his index finger. It slowly ascended up in the air and once it reached its peak, it sped out of the sky disappearing in an instant.

"I am sorry Alexius." Aran whispered to himself as he mustered every ounce of strength he had to speak, "My death will only taint your heart. For now, I want you to live a normal life. I don't want you to live your life with vengeance. I'll seal your memories and when the time comes, you'll remember everything and inherit mine"

Aran's body was engulfed in golden flames burning every inch of his body. The immense heat of the flames scorched the surroundings while Aran's body was slowly turning into dust. Instead of screaming in pain, he was smiling. He mustered his remaining strength to say a few words as he completely burned and turned into ashes.

"That sly bastard."

Meanwhile in Alexius' ditch, as he looked up to see his survey his surroundings, he saw a bright golden sphere heading towards him at high speed. The sphere hits and enters his forehead knocking him out cold.