Chapter 252: Vol 3 Epilogue: Daphne

Silence spread through the battlefield as all activities ceased.

Everything happened too quickly.

One moment, there was chaos everywhere as everyone was trying to kill each other and those who still had their own will were hopeless, thinking this to be the end of the King.

And then suddenly, the bound people found themselves freed again, no longer under the Entity’s control and the First Overseer, the most dangerous man on Atlantis, was nowhere to be see.

“What… just happened?” Axel muttered, checking his mind and soul.

He felt like he had been put under the Entity’s control and was now seeing things.

Because, whatever happened just now… that was simply beyond his wildest imaginations.

But, when the limit break ended, and he started to die, it was only then that the reality of the situation hit him.

Death Sacrifice.

That was the name of the spell Kyrin used.

And it was death magic.

She used herself as sacrifice, summoned Death, and asked for the death of the First.

And…

“She really… did it.”

And it worked.

Axel couldn’t feel the First’s soul fluctuations at all.

Meaning, he truly had gone.

The First was supposed to be immortal, but in truth, he was only borrowing the Entity’s immortality. And when his soul was separated from the Entity, he lost his immortality as well.

“What happened?”

“We… won?”

“But… Kyrin Tenebrous…”

“Is she… really gone?”

Everyone was still confused about the whole situation, since no one could actually pay attention to what was happening in the main fight when they were being attacked by their own fellow citizens who had been bound.

It was even more so the case for those who had been [Soul Bound]. One moment they were attacking everything in sight, and in the next, the compelling force disappeared, setting them free.

No one could see the First anywhere, but with how many times the man had managed to survive, they were afraid he was going to pop up any time with a ‘Boo-ah!’

Everyone slowly turned their gazes to Axel, who still seemed alive, though looked to be about to die any moment.

Throughout the whole fight, Axel was being broadcast throughout the Kingdom by the drones controlled by the media, who were trying their best to keep the anxious citizens in the loop with what was going on, and the Kingdom’s forces had been cheering for him, trying to boost his morale.

So, it was safe to say that Axel had been designated as the central figure of the Kingdom.

That's why, with hope in their eyes, everyone looked to Axel to tell them exactly what happened.

Axel sighed. He felt uncomfortable with all the attention and expectation. He just wanted to leave right now. But, he still has to do it. He owed it to Kyrin.

Axel gathered up the last of his energy to stand up using the Trident.

“It’s… over. We won,” he declared in an amplified voice, making cheers erupt immediately.

“But…” he interrupted, and getting the silence once again. “We only won because Kyrin Tenebrous, the head of Black Ops division, casted the most powerful spell I have seen, which ended in the death of both the Last Overseer and her,” he said, and the atmosphere turned somber as soon as they heard the devastating news.

Kyrin was a legend in the Kingdom, the iron lady who had achieved amazing feats. So, it was quite difficult to process that she was actually gone.

“She traded her life for the life for the everyone else in the Kingdom, including mine,” said Axel in the silence.

“Therefore, as the current king, I’m giving her order of Mariner 8 stars. May she have peace,” he said, raising his Trident.

Axel’s mind was still getting information on the Kingdom. And as far as he could tell, Order of Mariner was the highest order an Atlantian could be awarded, and Eight stars was the highest in it.

This was the first someone had sacrificed to save him, and he had to say, it was a shitty feeling. He didn’t like to owe debts, so he likes to avoid incurring them in the first place, and tries to repay them as soon as possible in case he does.

But Kyrin has left him stuck with a mountain of it with no way to repay it, since she’s already dead. He could almost imagine her smirking along with Lady Death.

So, honoring her sacrifice was all he could do right now.

Done with the necessities, Axel looked at Akiko, who was blankly staring in the space where Kyrin’s ashes lay.

Tears of blood were flowing down her eyes. And when he looked into her eyes, he saw the pattern in them had changed.

Axel tried to move in her direction, but failed. The effects of the limit break finally hit him.

He was already at his limits, to begin with. But then he went beyond when he imitated the Entity’s tentacles in order to hold down the First.

There’s a limit to how much he can steal and plunger. The Entity was a higher level being than him. He couldn’t steal its skills to perfection or plunder too much of its magic when it’s powers are not bound.

So, doing that with the limit break, along with how tired he already was, Axel had no chance to continue staying consciousness any longer.

He started to fall, but the Trident wrapped his hand, holding him up.

“You’ve done well, my King.”

In his fading conscious, Axel couldn’t help but want to retort.

Done well?

Bullshit.

He lost. And he lost so badly.

Having to depend on others’ sacrifice in order to win. Can this really be called victory? He couldn’t even match the energy despite having borrowed all the power of Atlantis.

The Kingdom might have won. But this fight, Axel had lost.

Despite everything, when it came down to it, he wasn’t strong enough.
Had Kyrin not bailed him out by Sacrificing herself, he was a goner.

Axel was utterly disappointed.

Sure, he was getting stronger, but his enemies were much, much stronger.

This time, the enemy was too strong. And, the First also said that his Soul’s Synchronization with the Entity hadn’t even been completed, meaning he was supposed to be a lot stronger.

And when the Synchronization would have completed, the Entity would have been able to use “part” of its powers through the First, meaning the Entity was even stronger.


And THAT Entity has been sealed here by the powerhouses of the Aetherworld, meaning there are people in other worlds who are supposed to even stronger.


So, to put things in perspective, here's the current food chain.


The Powerhouses of Other Worlds
>>>>
The Entity (could be higher than powerhouses)
>>>>
The First at Full Synchronisation with the Entity
>>>>
The First at Partial Synchronisation
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Axel


In essence, Axel was still weak as fuck.

‘I… need more power.’

With that thought in mind, he fell into the embrace of unconsciousness.

Axel had a dream.

In his dream, he’d often hear sound of someone crying. And every time it would it would happen, he’d feel a pang in his heart.

‘Axel… I will avenge you.’

‘I will grow stronger.’

‘I will bring you back.’

That’s what the person would say repeatedly.

He could also see a woman by this person’s side who’d comfort her.

Axel wanted to speak to her, but the words just won’t come out no matter how hard he tried, neither could he reach out to her.

It was as if there was some kind of power restricting him from doing anything.

“I’m… still alive, damn it!”

Axel’s eyes opened, and he found himself lying in a King sized bed, made out of water.

He was in a white room, with various medical equipment that seemed to be monitoring his state.

Axel pulled out all of the tubes attached to him and jumped out. And through that, he found that he had regained his leg.

‘Who is Daphne?’ Asked a voice, making it him jump. But then he realized it was Zeta, the Aetherian Royalty who was now a part of his wand. ‘You kept calling out her name in your sleep.’

“No one you need to know about,” said Axel coldly, checking his body.

At this moment, the door opened and the Princess walked in, closely followed by Martina.

“You’re awake! How are you? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?” Asked the Princess anxiously. On the other hand, Martina pushed past the Princess and hugged him.

The Princess raised her hand to stop Martina, but seemed to give up, pursing her lips.

It had only been a few seconds, but Axel could already notice the tension between the two.

“She won’t let us see you! Akiko really needed you,” Martina complained. “And I couldn’t concentrate without being sure you were alright!”

“Well, I’m alright…” said Axel, answering both. “Somehow. Yet again.”

At this point, he had lost count of how many times this had happened. The fights just end up needing him to give his all. And time, it was far from enough even after giving his all.

Martina relaxed in his arms, and Antilla nodded as she sighed. “I’m sorry. But I couldn’t trust anyone. Not even myself. With all the things that have happened due to my negligence, I just couldn’t risk more!”

Antilla really never thought that her father of all people would end up being corrupted by the Entity. And she never suspected anything despite all the horrible things he did.

Had she been more careful, so many lives could have been saved, including her sister’s.

“Not your fault, really,” said Axel after some thought. With the things that her father and her uncle had done, the Princess was bound to have trust issues. As someone who has had trouble trusting people, Axel can understand.

“And don’t worry about the Entity anymore. It won’t bother us for a while.”

““Really?”” x2

On this, both Martina and the Princess seemed pleasantly surprised as they asked at the same time.

Axel nodded. He was getting to know the mechanics of the souls better the more his bloodline progressed. So, he knew what he was talking about.

“The Entity bonded its soul with a mortal. It’s a win-win situation really, but if the mortal’s soul dies, it’s fucked too.”

The Seal restricts the Entity from using its powers. But, in order to escape this loophole, the Entity bonded its soul with the First, thus enabling it the ability to use as much power as the First’s Soul could handle, which was A LOT.

But, as they say, high rewards come with high risks.

In return, the Entity had also taken a huge risk by fusing with the First soul, since, while it gives it the chance to use more of its powers, along with the benefits, there is also the drawback that a part of it’s soul was left vulnerable after bonding with the First.

It was a calculated risk, though.

The First has the most powerful Soul in the whole world. And it only got much, much stronger after bonding the Entity, enabling him to even survive that explosion.

So, basically, the odds of the First’s soul actually dying are very low, even at the hands of someone from the Aetherworld.

Except, well, if Death itself wants you dead.

No one, including Axel would have thought that someone in this world would have a card that powerful.

So, the Entity really got done dirty this time, failing to get an inch, and instead losing a mile. And all that after it had almost won it all.

Martina and the Princess breathed a sigh of relief. Clearly, the previous series of events had left them, and the rest of the Kingdom traumatized.

“Now,” said Axel, separating from Martina. “Where’s Daphne? You’ve already told her I’m alive, have you not?”

At that, Martina looked down, unable to meet his eyes.

“About that…” Martina began to explain.

And a few moments later, Axel sat on the bed, trying to process what he had been told.

‘System, was the vision real?’ He asked, clenching his fists.

[Yes, she is currently in the Aetherworld.]

‘Fuck… that was Aetherworld?’

Apparently, as soon as Daphne awakened her bloodline, it also activated a powerful ancient magic that summoned her out of Earth.

According to the system, she is currently in Aetherworld.

It seems that it was the hidden clause of awakening the Bloodline. You get a free one-way ticket to a different world.

So basically, by making sure that she doesn’t get the Bloodline Curse every time she is emotional, Axel ended up sending her to a potentially infinitely more dangerous place.

‘Fuck! Why did you never tell me?!’ He asked the System. Had he known this was the case, he would have never worked so hard to set up the ritual.

Axel was angry with the system. So far, their co-operation had worked well since their goals aligned: Both didn’t want the world to end.

Also, everything the System had asked him to do involved saving things, meaning it wasn’t evil like the Entity. So, he could tolerate a few missions here and there.

But this… this is crossing the line.

[I’m sorry Axel, but it was not possible. Daphne Greengrass is her own destiny to fulfill in the Aetherworld. One that is more powerful than yours. She would have eventually found a way to awaken her bloodline on her own even without your interference.]

‘Bullshit! Destiny? Can’t it be changed?’

[A person’s Destiny is what’s written for their future in the Akashic records. Your destiny was to die in the alley at the hands of Cyrus Greengrass. But it had to be changed due to the changes in the actions of your father. Daphne’s, was to kill her father, get all her memories, and awaken her bloodline.]

[Now you have changed the Destiny of numerous beings, mostly for the better. But, you’re still not strong enough to change hers. Had you interfered, there’s a chance that it might have brought Destruction of the Three Worlds, including Daphne and her family.]

Axel shook his head, not really caring about these complicated matters.

“So, your point is, I’m not strong enough, and I’m going to have to be a lot stronger to help Daphne?”

[Affirmative]

What the fuck?

“Just kind of Destiny does she have? And what kind of bloodline it is to be able to Transport people just like that? Don’t you need keys for that shit?!”

[It’s the Aetherian Royal Bloodline]

????!!!!

It’s that bloodline again?!

Axel was stunned. To think DAPHNE… had the Aetherian Royal Bloodline all this time.

But then, the more he thought about it, the more it started to make sense.

The reason why her destiny was supposedly so important, the reason her bloodline could have the kind of magic to actually transport her to another world, and… the reason why there were so many difficulties between Daphne and Zeta, the lush blond hair, the love for nature, and the similar atmosphere.

And, now that he has that figured out, there’s only one thing left to do. Find her and get her back.

“-xel? Axel?”

Axel snapped out of his thought to find Martina looking at him at him all panicked.

“I’m so sorry… it happened so quickly that I had no time to stop it! I’ve mobilized all of my families resources to search for her, and even tried using Atlantian Outer-world monitoring system, but… I found nothing. She has completely disappeared from the face of the Earth.”

“Don’t worry, she’s in a different world. And I know that she’s safe for now," said Axel.

He slowly explained the whole situation to her.

“So, she’s Royalty in the Aetherworld. No wonder… ” muttered Martina. Due to her sensitivity to magic, Martina had noticed many things different about Daphne that others missed. It was one of the things why she was always on guard against her.

“So, your close female “friend” Daphne is from the Life Bloodline… definitely a worthy candidate…” Antilla seemed to be thinking along a different line entirely.

“Yeah, I’m going to go to Aetherworld to get her back as soon as possible.”

“Okay…” Martina hesitated. “But… is it really so urgent? Aren’t the people in that world much more powerful than us? And, if she’s Aetherian Royalty, then shouldn’t she be well-protected there?”

Axel sighed. “That’s the thing. The Aetherian Royalty… has most likely fallen,” he said, having already access the information.

“What?!”

“Indeed.” It was Antilla who answered. “Our contact with them got cut off thousands of years ago. Ever since, there has been no help, no new relics, no routine exchange… nothing. We’ve been on our own.”

“Only the Royal Family of Aether had the access to Atlantis. And nothing should make them occupied enough that they’d neglect us and risk the return of the Entity. Whatever happened to them… your friend is in the danger of going through the same fate.”

….

Aetherworld

Daphne concentrated intensely on the dead tree branch in front of her.

Light energy gathered in her hand, reviving the cells of the dead branch. Soon, she had a whole new tree in front of her.

Daphne shook her head in dissatisfaction. This was no good. She needed to get stronger faster.

Behind her were a bunch of trees that she had already created.

“You should get some rest. You’ve been at it for hours,” said a girl who was watching her while sitting on top of one of trees. She had dark hair and blue eyes.

“Not yet,” said Daphne as she picked up the next branch.

But, her knees gave out as she fell forward.

“See?” A water cushion appeared beneath her, breaking her fall. “You really need a break,” said the girl as she jumped from the tree.

“So, tell me more about Axel. What were his hobbies? What did he like to eat?”

The girl seemed to have an endless curiosity about Axel, wanting to know everything about him. Which was fine by Daphne since she could talk endlessly about Axel.

Daphne sighed. “He didn’t have any particular hobbies that he really liked. He’d usually spend all his time trying training. As for eating, all he ate was boiled magical ingredients in perfectly planned proportions.”

The girl frowned. “That sounds depressing. How can someone live like that?”

Daphne seemed lost in thought. “That’s the thing. Growing stronger and having food to eat... For him, this was already a dream true compared to the life he had lived. I did try to get him into more things. He played a sport for a while, but he quit because it was ‘too easy’. And I was actually glad he did, because it was attracting too many girls.”

“He was popular? How?”

Daphne bit her lip. “You won’t understand unless you meet him in person.”

“Anyways, so there were so many girls that liked him, but he’d only hang out with me. I like to think he liked spending time with me, even though not as much as I did. Everyday, I’d force him to take some time off, but he’d only do it after completing the days training, which was painfully strict. He’d train till his body would get completely broken, heal using medicinal baths, and then train more,” Daphne sighed again.

“That sounds painful.”

“It was. But the concept of pain no longer seemed to exist for him, thanks to my dear father. He always had this sense of urgency… this insane drive for power that transcended any pain he felt.”

“Looking back, I’ve only ever managed to slow him down. Maybe if I hadn’t met him, he’d still be alive,” said Daphne, getting depressed once again. “I don’t even have the means to avenge him yet.”

“It’s not your fault.” Another voice sounded at this moment, and the two girls turned back to see a blue haired woman standing behind them, wiping the tears from her deep blue eyes.

“If anyone is at fault, it’s me, for failing to fulfill any of my duties as his mother.”

“And its not only your revenge. I want to avenge my son just as much as you do,” said the woman, whose name was Atlana Regius Ignis.

“I want to avenge my brother too!” Said the girl who had been talking to Daphne as she jump from the tree.

“You’re too young, Alexa," said Atlana.

“I’m old enough!”

Daphne sighed.

She was grateful to have found Axel’s family. It didn’t lessen the pain, but it helped to know there are other who feel it too.

It also helped her stay grounded and not go insane.

She looked up at the sky. A hint of madness flickered in her eyes.

‘Just wait for me. Once I take my revenge and help out your family, I'll either bring you back or join you.'



....

3500 words chapter, meaning a really big one
Leave a like, there 175 of you now