Valieon looks at Aurelia with sharp, cold eyes.
"Once you help me… then I'll do what you're asking for," he says.
Aurelia's lips curl into a sly smile. She couldn't refuse—after all, how often does a woman like her stand before a man so devastatingly handsome, cloaked in mystery and raw power?
"Fine," she says, brushing her long silver hair back. "I'll take you to the Eternal Blades."
Valieon nods, his gaze unreadable. "What's your name?" he asks. "And how do you even know about such a buried secret?"
She walks ahead, her voice smooth as silk. "My name is Aurelia. One of my ancestors… Theodore… was the Cosmic Sovereign's general—and his closest friend. When the Sovereign was hunted down, Theodore swore to protect what remained of him. That's how the blades passed down in our family."
Her voice lowers. "And now… I'm tired of protecting ghosts. I'll give you the blades—on one condition. Once you take them, you leave this realme forever."
Valieon doesn't answer. "Take me to the blades."
They cross a poison-ridden river, step through a forest of trees long dead, their branches reaching like claws from graves. Finally, they arrive at a small, crumbling house made of blackened tree-wood. A dark cave looms beside it.
Aurelia pauses at the entrance. "Be careful. One of my ancestors tried to wield the blades. His arms were burnt to ashes. It is said... only the Cosmic Sovereign could—"
Valieon interrupts, his eyes fixed on a strange ancient box. The air thickens with pressure. The aura it gives off is unlike anything he's ever felt before—even stronger than the gods who once knelt at Master Zephyr's funeral.
He walks toward it.
"No—wait! I haven't finished—"
But he's already opened it.
Inside, two divine blades rested, pulsing with silent fury. Their hilts shaped like dragon maws, forged from an unknown dark silver. The chains slithered out on their own, wrapping around Valieon's arms as if welcoming him home. Their names—inscribed in an ancient language—begin to glow:
Alpha — The Beginning.
Omega — The End.
As he lifted them, the purple energy coursed through his veins. Aurelia gasped as the cave walls trembled.
"They… they've never awakened like this before," she stammers.
Valieon straps them to his back, calm as ever. But as he turns, she suddenly remembers—
"The condition," she says quickly. "You said you'd do it. I want you."
He pauses, not moving. Then slowly turns back to her.
He walks closer, silent.
"You… You promised," she says, now a little nervous beneath his gaze.
Valieon leans down, his voice deep and thunderous. "Aurelia…"
She gulps.
"I am Theodore."
She freezes.
"What…?"
He straightens up, eyes glowing faintly with silver and purple. "I didn't expect this from my bloodline."
Her knees give out. She falls to the ground, trembling. "No… that… that's not possible…"
But her mind races—his knowledge, his strength, the blades awakening—every part of her believes him now.
"I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to—please forgive me…"
He stares at her without emotion. "What happened to your oath, Aurelia?"
She couldn't speak.
"What happened to the vow made in my name?"
Tears fill her eyes. "I… I don't know…"
Valieon finally turns his back on her. She reaches forward, panicked, desperate for answers.
He stops, glancing over his shoulder with the faintest of smirks.
"Before I go… you said there was a condition," he says.
Aurelia wipes her tears, avoiding his eyes. "No," she says quietly. "I can't do it. Not with my ancestor…"
Valieon gives a cold, amused chuckle. "Then remember this, Aurelia—you broke the condition… not me."
And with a whisper of wind and shimmer of energy—he vanishes.
Aurelia remains frozen, staring at the empty space he once stood in. Her breath trembles, her chest rising with rage, confusion, and humiliation. The blades were gone. The promise shattered. And the stranger—gone like a ghost.
Her hands curl into fists.
"You… You lying bastard," she hisses through her teeth. "Whoever you were…"
She stares into the poisonous winds of Nexus, voice rising in fury.
"Whatever your name is—I curse you! May the gods never let you rest easy!"
The aura of the Eternal Blades still hums in the air, like a wound left open.
Aurelia turns toward the cave one last time, her voice lower now.
"I'm leaving this realme… once and for all."
And with that, she disappears into the dead forest—leaving behind only broken oaths, burned pride, and the ghost of a man she never truly knew.