The battlefield was a light play of flames and shadows as Minho watched the Monarch of Shadows, Jinwoo, face off with the still unclear Monarch of Destruction, Antares.
His eyes darted to the armies. Minho easily pointed out three familiar shadows. Igris, Beru and Ashborn's greatest shadow, even before Jinwoo. Bellion.
The other shadows were new or the old ones he'd seen a hundred times over who barely stood out.
The battle, though in cuts and instant scene flashes was a long one for Minho. It seemed unending. Neither the Monarch of Destruction nor the Shadow Monarch showed any signs of being ready to step down.
On the Dragon side Minho couldn't spot a handful of the noticeable dragons from the ones he'd seen at the dragon palace.
Vasha, Eslin, Rathalos, the great dragon, the other four that flanked the Dragon King and a whole lot more.
"Where are they?" Minho murmured.
Immediately, the scene flashed back to the dragon palace. The dragons stood in silence, all their heads. They were just a small fraction of the main army, but they were still many
All of them were undeniably fuming with rage, but for some reason they just remained still.
The info got into Minho's head.
They were willing to go all out against the Shadow Monarch, but Antares had always been one to think with alternatives.
Though, in this case, he had his suspicions towards the Monarchs, so he told his Dragon Court and some of his dragons to stay back and not leave no matter what was happened outside the place.
Not that could even do so, since this was Antares's own pocket dimension.
The only one other than the Monarch of Destruction, that could open and close the pocket dimension was the great dragon.
After staring idly, Minho noticed the dragons look up and all of a sudden started to either roar or breathe out flames in an uncontrolled frenzy.
Minho decided to look up, wondering what they were seeing, but there was nothing there. The moment he dropped his head, he realized he was back in the battlefield and shockingly,
Antares was completely brought down by Jinwoo. His dragons were slain and there was no fight left in him.
Minho decided to step closer, stopping just by the side, looking at both of them. How did it all get to this?
For some reason, he felt this was a part he wasn't supposed to miss any detail on.
The battlefield field was now quiet, save for the ragged breaths of both Monarchs.
Jinwoo went for Antares's throat and grabbed him by the neck, raising him up.
"Do it." Antares muttered. "End it all, here and now."
"What are you waiting for?" The Monarch of Destruction continued, voice getting weaker.
To Minho's surprise, Jinwoo tossed Antares back on the floor and turned. He then glanced over his shoulder. "Live. Be a ghost. Go to the far ends, where your existence isn't even considered. The third time you all scheme against me, I'll kill you all." Jinwoo replied.
Minho could feel the embarrassment the Monarch of Destruction was feeling as Jinwoo disappeared into the shadows along with his army.
Despite being this close, Minho still couldn't make out anything of Antares's looks. "Just how exactly did you die then? Are you not dead?"
A voice from behind startled Minho and he spun around quickly, only to find the Monarch of Frost and the other Monarchs surrounding them.
"What a shame. Tsk, tsk,"
It belonged to Sillad.
Minho stood there, watching as the other Monarchs insulted and mocked Antares, an anger brewing inside him.
When the Monarch of Destruction tried to get up, they attacked him.
Minho's eyes widened slightly.
A large chunk of ice stabbed through Antares's chest lifting him up.
Minho watched as Antares breathed his last and they absorbed his core, but he noticed the smaller core they hadn't noticed as it hovered higher and higher until it burst into sparkling crimson particles.
The scene suddenly warped, plunging him into a thick darkness.
What Minho heard made his very being shudder, his blood running cold.
"What did I even do wrong? I... I did what they asked. I... I p-picked the crystals. I g-got the cores, I wasn't a... burden, was I? No. But... Why? Why? Why? WHY?!"
It was his voice, but not from him.
A dim light lit the spot where a body laid in a pool of blood, muttering and mumbling stuff.
Walking closer Minho noticed it was him, but from a long time ago. The time that started all of this. The day he got betrayed.
Minho noticed the same crimson particles appear and the place was lighted up. Now he remembered. The place he got the power was, in fact, the dragon palace.
"Do you understand it all now?" A voice came from behind.
Minho turned to see Antares sitting on the throne. He was fully visible now and clear, though in his hybrid form.
His presence was an overwhelming force of its own, pressing down on him more than anything ever, exclusion being what he felt during the start with the Absolute Being.
Behind Antares stood the numerous dragons that didn't partake in the war.
Minho's gaze locked with the great dragon and a chill went down his spine.
"Have your questions been answered?" Antares asked.
"What are you?" Minho asked cautiously.
"I am the last shards of Antares's will." Antares replied. "Do you understand it all? Who I am, what this power you wield is, what your purpose is? You still will to posses such power? You have the one thing I have lost. The will—"
"Tch," Minho interrupted with a smirk. "So wrong." He raised three fingers up. "You lost three things. Don't shy away. One, you lost your pride when you fell to something as petty as fear." He dropped a finger.
Antares's brows furrowed.
"Two, you lost your control when you started to accept what the other Monarchs said or suggested too easily. Your IQ dropped too." Another finger down.
Antares was starting to get enraged by Minho's words.
"And then, you lost your will. Will to survive, conquer, destroy, everything."
"Are you trying to infuriate me?" Antares muttered as his aura flared.
Minho froze, his head instantly going down as if he dare not look Antares in the eye. Sweat started to bead down his head as his heart started to thump hard and fast.
He was once again, after a long time… scared. Not overwhelmed. This was purely fear.
His system flashed messages continuously.
[WARNING: Current capacity of your Destructive Core can not keep up with this state! You may die any time soon!]
[Withdraw immediately?!]
[Yes] | [No]
Minho barely brought his gaze to the system. So it wasn't enough to reach him to the very end. His Destructive Core was still weak. He couldn't even think straight at this moment. His nose started to bleed and he coughed out blood.
"Do you dare to—" Antares's eyes widened as he was once again in interrupted.
A smile appeared on Minho's lips. "Dude… you're in my fucking mind." He forced his legs to move, taking a step towards Antares, climbing onto the first layer of the stairs.
He ignored the system's spammed messages.
[WARNING: Current capacity of your Destructive Core can not keep up with this state! You may die any time soon!]
He extended his hand as he continued to walk up the stairs. "Just shut up and freaking… give me the power. So, I can kill the gnarly bastards that killed you already!"
Antares's eyes widened even more as Minho climbed up and reached for his chest. "Just sit back in hell and watch. If there is one," Minho muttered.
Antares's face softened, a smile playing on his lips as his body started to fade away, revealing a crimson core, right where Minho's hand went for. "You really do have all I lost. You have passed the final test. All I have is now yours, take it and become an even greater being." Then he disappeared.
Minho's hand covered the core. The veins in his hands shun a deep crimson as the light moved up his arm to his chest until it eventually disappeared.
Minho fell to his knees, convinced it was all over now as the system message disappeared. He looked at the dragons behind the throne. "See, you on the other side."
Everything went black.
It wasn't over.
A sharp burning agony burst in Minho's core. The cost of fueling his core. It was from the ones he took before opening the tale.
He could tell because another sharper pain followed. This was the cost of Antares's core.
Minho fell to the ground, his back arching up as he screamed, a desperate sound willing it to stop. It took minutes and minutes and minutes. Minho felt like he was just being continuously tortured from the start of his life to the end he never knew.
Then it all seized.
His breathing ragged.
A screen appeared.
[You have successfully absorbed the real Core of a Monarch!]
"So that was the shit it was talking about?" Minho scoffed. "Kill me already," he muttered before passing out.
But there was one more message he hadn't seen.
[Congratulations!]
[You are now a Monarch!]
[Exiting space!]