Ferax raised his palm toward the sky. The six black wings behind him stretched outward, blotting out what little light remained above the battlefield.
"Endless Darkness."
The world disappeared. Darkness spread from Ferax like an ocean without an end, swallowing the battlefield, the distant horizon, and even the faint light that remained in the night sky.
Alzwalt stood within it. He tightened his grip around St. Alzwalt Light before lowering his body into a fighting stance. Then he launched himself forward.
Golden light followed behind him as he flew directly toward Ferax but Ferax simply stood there smiling and before Alzwalt could reach him Ferax vanished. Alzwalt's eyes widened. A kick suddenly struck his face. BOOM!
Alzwalt was launched toward the ground, but before he could recover, he sensed Ferax's presence again. Ferax was already there. Crouching on the ground. Looking upward at him.
"Do you fear losing your body that much?"
Alzwalt landed and slowly raised his head. For a moment, neither spoke. Then Alzwalt's body began to glow.
His physical form dissolved into pure light. A tremendous golden radiance erupted across the battlefield, causing a huge portion of Ferax's darkness to vanish. The light condensed once again. Alzwalt stood.
"Golden Sun."
He raised his right index finger. A small golden orb appeared above it.
The orb began expanding and expanding. Until it transformed into a gigantic spear of golden light that slowly rose into the heavens.
The endless night was replaced by brilliance. The damaged sun was effectively replaced by the enormous golden radiance above Kael'Ar. The darkness surrounding Ferax began to recede but Ferax only smiled.
"Death's Call."
The darkness returned.
It spread across Kael'Ar once again, swallowing the golden light from above and plunging the world back into night. Then the ground began moving. Hands emerged from beneath the earth.
Bodies followed. The dead began to rise. Alzwalt slowly descended toward the ground. His golden eyes looked across the battlefield. Millions of undead stood before him. Alzwalt's expression became almost sorrowful.
"How pitiful…"
He raised St. Alzwalt Light.
"Even in death, you can't rest."
The undead army surged forward. Alzwalt pointed the tip of his sword toward his right index finger. Then he made a single vertical slash.
There was no visible energy. No explosion or fluctuation in the air. Nothing appeared to happen. Then a quarter of the undead army suddenly burned. Their bodies turned to dust and disappeared. Ferax extended his palm.
"Attack."
The remaining undead rushed forward.
Alzwalt moved. He entered the army alone.
His sword flashed repeatedly as he cut through the undead, each strike burning them away rather than leaving anything behind. He moved between them effortlessly. Left. Right. Forward. Backward. His movements were fluid, almost like water finding its way toward an ocean.
The undead tried surrounding him. It didn't matter. Alzwalt slipped through their formation. Then he stopped. He stood directly in the middle of the army.
His sword moved in a perfect circle. A golden line briefly appeared around him. Then everything within a fifty-meter radius vanished. Every undead caught within the circle was erased.
Alzwalt looked toward the sky. He raised his sword.
"Armageddon."
For several seconds, nothing happened. Then the heavens trembled. Massive meteoroids began descending from the sky.
One after another, they struck the battlefield. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The ground shook beneath every impact. The undead army was devastated.
Half of them were wiped away beneath the falling celestial bodies. But suddenly Ferax appeared behind Alzwalt. Alzwalt turned but it was too late. Ferax kicked him across the battlefield. Alzwalt flew through the air.
Before he could regain control, a black gate opened ahead of him. The Abyssal Gate. The portal swallowed him. It closed. Then another gate opened directly in front of Ferax. Alzwalt emerged from it.
Ferax was waiting. His fist struck Alzwalt directly in the face. The impact sent Alzwalt flying again. He crashed into a mountain. The mountain collapsed beneath him.
Alzwalt fell onto his back.
For several moments, he didn't move. The undead began rushing toward him. Hundreds. Thousands. Millions. Their shadows covered the ground as they surrounded his body. Alzwalt's consciousness faded.
And within that darkness, he saw something else. A memory, a distant mountain and a sunset stretching across the horizon. Two figures stood beside one another, looking toward the setting sun. Alzwalt and John. For a while, neither spoke.
Then Alzwalt asked, "Are you concerned about having free will or living by predetermined choices, John?"
John glanced toward him. Then he looked back at the sunset.
"Think about it like this," John said calmly. "Even if the choices you make lead to a different outcome, or a future where that outcome is possible… you're still the one who made the choice or decision."
Alzwalt remained silent. John continued looking toward the horizon.
"So in reality, you're in power. You're the maker of your own life."
The sunset reflected within Alzwalt's eyes.
"You're the one who gives everything meaning. So why not just do what you want?"
John finally turned toward him.
"And make sure you're in a situation where you can control what comes after you make a decision."
The memory began fading. Back in reality, the undead continued covering Alzwalt's body. He remained motionless beneath them. John's voice echoed through his fading consciousness.
"What are you doing, Alzwalt?"
The voice became louder.
"Haven't you been on the ground long enough?"
Alzwalt's fingers moved. The undead continued gathering around him. John's voice echoed once more.
"Get up and fight. Stop worrying about useless things." Alzwalt opened his eyes. They glowed gold.
The darkness surrounding him began to tremble. A light appeared beneath the undead. Then another and another. Golden radiance began escaping between their bodies. Ferax's smile disappeared. The light intensified.
"Origin Light."
A massive golden explosion erupted. The undead were vaporized by the radiance. The darkness recoiled. The golden light expanded farther and farther, forcing the Abyss itself backward.
And within that light Alzwalt began rising. His body disappeared it was not destroyed or damaged. Simply transcended.
There was no flesh no bones or physical form. Only light.M, Pure, infinite light. Alzwalt had crossed the boundary he had always avoided. The simplified Divine Light was gone. The vessel was gone and so was the body.
What remained was the very thing that existed beyond the body. The Supreme Light….The presence of the God of Heaven. A golden halo manifested within the endless radiance. Eight golden stars appeared around it. The battlefield became completely silent.
The remaining undead stopped moving one by one, they lowered their heads. They accepted death willingly and bowed before the light. Even the darkness surrounding the battlefield began retreating from the mere presence of the Supreme Light.
Far above the ruined land, Ferax looked upward. For the first time since the beginning of their battle, his smile had completely disappeared. He stared into the golden radiance where Alzwalt's physical body had once existed.
And somewhere within that infinite light Alzwalt had finally awakened as something far greater than an angel.