Spring rain poured down upon the mountains of Koranora.
It was already late, and a gentle breeze swept through with a wave of light rainfall.
Torches burned atop one of the mountain peaks, forming a ring of crimson flames.
Garius wore torn clothes. His hair was unkempt, and his entire body was soaked in blood.
He looked around and lightly flicked his bloodstained cloak as the mountain wind passed by.
Fresh blood flowed from the numerous wounds covering his body. After standing there for only a short while, a pool of blood had already gathered beneath his feet.
Garius clearly understood his situation, yet even in the face of death, his expression remained calm.
He slowly raised his gaze toward the people standing before him. Their physical condition was hardly any better than his. The traces of the battle that had taken place still lingered everywhere.
White bones protruded from their wounds as blood streamed down, forming small rivulets beneath their feet.
"Garius, continuing this fight is pointless," Alfarwa stepped forward, his sword trembling slightly in his hand.
"Your existence no longer matters. You've lost confidence in yourself and lost your pride before someone stronger than you."
The smile on his face made his confidence unmistakably clear.
"Why not end it yourself? Take whatever remains of your honor with you."
"Yes… you're right." Garius glanced around briefly. The corpses of his companions lay scattered across the area. At first, they had been in control, but Alfarwa's betrayal had turned the tide against them.
"Alfarwa, you know I never once won a fight face-to-face. I always fought in the shadows of my comrades… yet in the end, this coward was the one left alone."
"Have you made your decision, then?" Fatigue was beginning to show on Alfarwa's face. He wanted this to end quickly.
Garius took a step forward. "Yes. I made it… a long time ago."
"I will end you myself. Especially you, Alfarwa."
"So that is your decision." Alfarwa clenched his teeth.
"Neither you nor the group ever asked me why I betrayed you. Why?"
"Ask you? Why should I?" Garius replied coldly.
"Aren't we all traitors in one way or another? You simply chose a different path. That's all."
Garius laid the truth bare. Everyone had the freedom to choose their own path.
In the end, no one cared. I hadn't been myself for months, yet no one noticed. That hurt more than anything. One simple question back then could have changed everything.
Alfarwa quickly suppressed his emotions.
"Yes. Yes, that's enough." He refused to let sentiment take over. It was far too late to turn back.
Both sides took their positions.
The group of warriors remained cautious of Garius's final assault.
There were five of them. Five seasoned warriors.
And Garius stood alone.
Yet… they felt fear.
Fierce men feared the irrational, and the irrational feared those who no longer cared about death. Despite their numbers, despite Garius standing alone, Alfarwa's group felt genuine terror.
This kind of madness—suicidal, indifferent to life itself—was dangerous. Was there anything such a man could not do?
At that moment, Garius's calm vanished, replaced by a dark, suffocating aura.
He clenched his fists tightly. Long black lines spread across his arms and face, giving him a monstrous, feral appearance.
He raised his sword and pointed it at them coldly.
"Alfarwa, you have no idea of the limitless malice that dwells within the human heart."
The aura of death surrounding Garius was overwhelming. Fear crept deep into their hearts—but surrender was no longer an option.
"Watch out!" someone shouted.
Fear sharpened their senses; even the falling raindrops seemed to slow in their vision.
Garius surged forward without hesitation, swinging his sword. Alfarwa and his men retreated, forming a circle around him, launching a synchronized attack.
Garius sustained new wounds, yet his arms never ceased their motion. With every injury, he seemed to grow more savage, more dangerous.
Each time, he targeted a single opponent—charging forward and striking them down with lethal force.
"Now!" Alfarwa shouted. He had deliberately left an opening, waiting for Garius to grab one of them so he could strike from behind.
Garius seized one man and spun him around.
Crack!
Swords pierced the man's body—but one blade struck deep into Garius's left side.
"You bastard! How dare you!"
Garius dropped the corpse and lunged at the man who had wounded him, hacking him down until he was dead.
But his own injuries were becoming increasingly severe.
He turned toward another opponent and pursued him relentlessly. Alfarwa and the remaining warriors did not let the opportunity slip away.
Crack!
Two swords plunged directly into Garius's body. Blood burst forth like a fountain.
"At last… it's over," they all thought in unison.
"Ha… ha… ha!"
Garius laughed loudly.
A shiver ran through the warriors. "Has he finally gone mad?"
His laughter grew louder. His black hair whipped wildly in the wind, and his eyes glowed with a crimson light.
"What is this…?" Some of them trembled. One man tried to pull his sword free.
"It's stuck!"
Immediately after, Garius released his own sword and wrapped his arms around the two men impaled into him.
His action drove the blades deeper into his flesh, yet he showed no fear.
"Let me go, you madman!"
"What kind of monster is this?! Let go—damn you!"
Garius squeezed them with terrifying strength until tendons tore and bones shattered. They thrashed desperately—punching, kicking, biting.
It was useless.
He crushed both men to death.
Leaving their corpses behind, Garius staggered toward the final warrior, who lay trembling on the ground.
Blood streamed from Garius's body. The swords embedded in his flesh made movement difficult.
His black hair draped over half his face, yet in his eyes—there was no anger.
No hatred.
Only emptiness.
His final awareness faded slowly, voices overlapping in his mind.
Would anything have changed if someone had spoken to him? I truly don't know. I'm sorry. He was the kindest among us… if only… if only this world weren't like this.
Garius's body trembled, and the black lines slowly withdrew from his skin.
The warrior raised his sword with great effort, his arm shaking like a broken branch.
"Don't… don't come any closer!"
Garius continued forward until his chest pressed directly against the blade. His face showed no pain—no concern.
The warrior lay frozen, fear devouring every thought.
He shut his eyes tightly… and waited.
One moment. Two.
No scream. No strike. No death.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Garius stood before him, utterly still. Blood dripped from his body in a slow, steady rhythm.
The warrior gathered what little courage remained and staggered to his feet, sword still raised, though he no longer knew why.
He looked into Garius's face… into his eyes.
"What…?" His voice broke as he swallowed.
"He's… he's dead."
This man died standing… those voids in his body…
The warrior quickly turned his gaze away. The damage to Garius's body was unbearable to look at.
"Everyone is dead… except me."
The entire area was filled with corpses. Everything was over—only one task remained.
Dragging himself forward, the man moved toward the center of the mountain.
From afar, he could see a circular area of pitch-black darkness.
"So it's here… at last."
He was about a hundred meters away when he felt it.
A tremor.
It began as a faint vibration.
"What is this? Is the mountain collapsing?"
Before the words faded, the shaking intensified.
"This isn't normal." He braced himself.
Tremor! Tremor!
The surrounding regions began to quake as well. The ground shattered and cracked open—but the man's mind was elsewhere.
"By the heavens… this can't be real." His face turned pale, eyes wide with disbelief.
At the mountain's center, within the pitch-black area, a hand slowly emerged from the dark liquid.
Then another.
The entire body began to rise from the pool. Half of the man's form surfaced, his dark hair reaching down to his nose.
Crack! Crack!
The mountain began to split apart.
"Run!"
That was the only thought left in the warrior's mind. He wasn't fleeing the earthquake—he was fleeing the man behind him.
He moved at twice the speed of a normal human, already reaching the edge of the mountain.
He stared toward the horizon with wide eyes.
Though darkness cloaked the land, anyone could tell what was happening.
It wasn't only the Koranora Mountains that were shaking—every region was undergoing a monumental change.
Great mountains collapsed. Lands fractured. Volcanoes erupted.
And thus, a great catastrophe began.
At the heart of the mountain, as rocks fell away, the central area remained intact—for now.
The man emerged fully from the black pool, his body naked. He lifted his head toward the sky and murmured:
"Haah… how many years…"