The battlefield was silent.
Not the quiet of peace—but the heavy silence that lingers after something terrible.
Aetheron stood in the middle of it, his eyes locked on the fallen Sovereign. His mind raced, but his body remained still. There was something about this place… something unnatural.
The wind barely moved. The sky was a swirling mass of dark clouds, frozen in time. Even the broken weapons scattered across the field seemed untouched by decay, as if this battle had happened moments ago… or an eternity past.
Aetheron's fingers twitched. His Dominion pulsed. Something was wrong.
The hooded figure beside him finally spoke. "This is where it all began… and where it ended."
Aetheron's gaze didn't waver. "Then why does it feel like it's still waiting for something?"
The figure tilted their head slightly. "Because it is."
The Sovereign's Final Stand
Aetheron took a step forward. The crunch of dirt beneath his boots was the only sound.
His eyes locked onto the Sovereign's blade, half-buried in the ground.
The weapon was massive—too large for any ordinary human. Its surface was cracked, but it still radiated something deep and heavy.
Aetheron crouched down, reaching out. The moment his fingers brushed the hilt—
—The world shifted.
Aetheron's vision blurred. The battlefield around him came to life.
Screams.Flashes of power.The air thick with blood and fury.
Aetheron's breathing hitched. He wasn't just seeing the past. He was in it.
The Sovereign stood at the center of the battlefield, his armor cracked, blood dripping down his face. Around him, warriors fell like dominos.
And in front of him—
A shadow.
Aetheron's heart pounded. It wasn't just any enemy.
It was something else.
Aetheron's vision focused. The Entity.
The very thing the Sovereign had failed to stop.
The Entity's Power
It didn't have a face. Just a mass of shifting darkness, its form unstable, its presence overwhelming.
Aetheron could feel it—pure destruction.
It moved without effort, a wave of black energy surging forward. The Sovereign barely had time to react—his sword clashed against the attack, but the force behind it was monstrous.
The ground shattered.
The air cracked.
Aetheron's hands curled into fists. Even with all his power, the Sovereign had been losing.
The vision sped forward.
The Sovereign roared, his Dominion flaring—gold and crimson light crashing against the darkness. He launched forward, his sword splitting the air—
The Entity swallowed the attack whole.
Aetheron's chest tightened. This thing… it didn't just destroy. It consumed.
The battle raged on, but Aetheron already knew how it ended.
The Sovereign fell.
And the Entity remained.
The vision blurred.
And then—
The Weight of the Past
Aetheron was back.
Back in the silent battlefield, his hand still on the Sovereign's blade.
His breath was heavy. His mind raced.
The hooded figure watched him. "Now you understand."
Aetheron exhaled slowly. "The Sovereign never had a chance."
The figure nodded. "Which is why he chose you."
Aetheron closed his eyes for a moment.
The pieces were falling into place.
This wasn't just about him growing stronger.
This wasn't just about survival.
It was about preparing for what was coming.
He opened his eyes, his grip tightening around the blade.
The past had already been written.
But the future?
That was still his to decide.