When Moana finally came back to her senses, it didn't take her long to realize that she was no longer standing on the battlefield, mere moments away from unleashing one of her most powerful skills against her aunt. Instead, she found herself lying inside the very cave where she had been born, surrounded by three people, and judging by the expressions on their faces, two of them looked like they'd been worried sick for her.
"Hey..." Moana slowly pushed herself upright from where she'd been lying and greeted them with an awkward smile.
The moment she did, Milim barreled straight into her, knocking Moana right off the rock she'd been sitting on. "Waaa! You're awake! I was so worried about you!" she cried, rubbing her cheek affectionately against Moana's.
Veldora also wandered over and crouched down beside the two girls, staring at Moana for several long seconds as though desperately trying to find the right words. "Kid... you okay?" he finally asked, in an unusually uncertain voice. Clearly, he had absolutely no experience acting like a parent... or a functioning adult, for that matter. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" he added a moment later, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head while discreetly checking her condition himself with [Mana Perception].
"Thank you for your concern, Father-sama. And you too, Milim." Moana gave them both a warm, appreciative smile before lowering her gaze to her body, or at least as much of it as she could see while still firmly trapped in Milim's arms. "As for injuries, I don't think I have any. At least, none that I can feel or see right away," she added with a small shrug.
"That's good," Veldora sighed in relief. "I know my sister can be pretty intense, so it's good to see you back here with us in one piece." A broad smile spread across his face, though it quickly vanished when a sudden thought seemed to cross his mind. "Oh, and another thing. Stop with this whole 'Father-sama' business. It feels really weird every time you say it, so just call me something simpler and more casual, if you don't mind."
"Oh... then how about Dad?" Moana asked bashfully, in noticeably softer voice as she tucked a loose strand of her bluish-golden hair behind her ear. "Would that be all right?"
The moment Moana called him Dad, Veldora completely froze. For several seconds, he simply stared at her in stunned silence before awkwardly clearing his throat. "Yes, that would be acceptable," he replied, quickly turning his head away to hide the faint blush creeping across his cheeks and the embarrassingly pleased smile threatening to appear on his face.
"Thanks!" Moana beamed so brightly that, for a brief moment, it almost seemed as though flowers had suddenly begun blooming around her. "Also, Milim, how long are you planning to cling to me?" Moana asked after a moment, glancing down at the pink-haired girl who was still firmly wrapped around her.
"Hehe~, sorry about that." Milim stuck out her tongue while rubbing the back of her head before finally releasing Moana from her grip. "But we were really worried about you, you know." The playful expression on Milim's face quickly faded as her eyes grew unusually serious. "Like, one moment we were watching you fight Velzard, and you were doing so amazing! Then, all of a sudden, the video just cut out, Rimuru disappeared, and the next thing we knew, he came back carrying your unconscious body!" she explained, while animatedly waving her hands around.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me." Moana immediately turned her attention toward the blue-haired man who had been standing at the back, silently watching their little family reunion. "Uncle Rimuru, what actually happened after Aunt Velzard suddenly started acting so differently? Also, did I really lose? And how did I even fall unconscious when I was the one about to go on the offensive?"
"Hold your horses there, girl," Rimuru chuckled, raising a hand as Moana bombarded him with questions at breakneck speed. Shaking his head in amusement, he walked forward and gently placed a hand on top of her head. "All right, to answer your questions in order, your Aunt Velzard entered what I like to call her serious mode and basically one-shotted you before you could unleash [Primordial Sea]," he explained, answering her first question.
"Yes, you did lose in the end, but considering you not only passed her challenge but also managed to force her into revealing her adult form, I'd say that's pretty much a win in my eyes," Rimuru continued, answering her second question as Veldora solemnly nodded in agreement from behind him. Though, if Veldora was being completely honest, a small part of him was still deeply concerned about his newly acquired daughter's mental state after witnessing his sister's true form firsthand. Still, that concern was easily overshadowed by the immense pride swelling in his chest. After all, Moana had managed to push Velzard that far in her very first real battle, and as her father, he couldn't help but feel ridiculously proud of her.
"And as for why you lost consciousness, that was because of a skill Velzard used on you. Though I'm not going to tell you exactly what it was. Consider it a test and a challenge for you to figure out that skill and overcome it in the future," Rimuru answered her final question before folding his arms across his chest. "And with that, all your questions are answered. So, is there anything else you want to know?"
"Yes, actually, there is," Moana replied with a quick nod as her expression turned curious once again. "Where's Aunt Velzard? I don't see her anywhere," she added, glancing around the cave in search of her.
"Well, your Aunt Velzard had a few things she needed to take care of, so she left before us," Rimuru lied as naturally as he breathed, not allowing so much as the slightest twitch to betray the truth behind his words. "But don't worry. I'm sure you'll see her again soon, and when you do, you can discuss every little detail of your battle with her to your heart's content," he added with a teasing smile, having already seen through the real reason behind Moana's question.
"Oh, was I really that obvious?" Moana blushed, rubbing the back of her head with a shy smile. "So, what's next?" she quickly asked, eagerly steering the conversation away from herself before anyone else could start teasing her.
"Next, you're finally going to be introduced to your new family," Rimuru told her with a warm smile, watching her reaction closely. "Excited?"
"Yes!" Moana immediately jumped to her feet, and all traces of embarrassment vanished in an instant from her face as stars practically began shining in her eyes. "I can't wait to meet them!" she exclaimed.
"Good. In that case, go on ahead with Milim and wait for us at the entrance of the cave," Rimuru instructed, watching as the two girls happily made their way out. He remained silent until both Moana and Milim had completely disappeared from sight before turning toward Veldora with a serious expression. "Veldora, as Moana's father, I think you deserve to see this," he said, and produced a crystal orb from his hand and quietly passed it to his sworn brother.
Veldora accepted the orb with a confused look, but the moment he took it, the crystal began to glow. In the next instant, he found himself watching the continuation of the battle between his sister and daughter from the exact point where Rimuru had cut off the broadcast. Veldora remained completely silent as the scene unfolded before his eyes, watching Velzard transform, her entire demeanor shift, and the battle reach its brutal conclusion. With every passing second, his expression grew darker until a terrifying rage finally blazed within his golden eyes, and his fingers tightened around the crystal orb until it shattered in his hand.
However, before Veldora could completely lose himself to his anger, Rimuru stepped forward and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Calm down. Getting angry right now won't help anyone," he said calmly. "Besides, I didn't show you this to create a rift between you and your sister, and I definitely don't want you charging off on some mindless rampage against her. I showed you this because I believe that, as Moana's father, you deserve to know exactly what happened during that battle."
Hearing Rimuru's words, Veldora remained silent for several long seconds before finally taking a deep breath and slowly forcing the raging storm inside him back under control. "You're right. I won't act like the same Veldora who ended up sealed by the Hero three hundred years ago," he said, closing his eyes for a moment to gather himself before looking at Rimuru once again. "Besides, even if I did go and try to vent my anger on my sister, we both know I'd probably be the one who ended up getting beaten to a pulp," he added with a bitter, embarrassed chuckle.
"That's true," Rimuru agreed with a nod. "Even though you have an Ultimate Skill of your own now, you're still leagues behind your two sisters when it comes to actual combat experience, control over your Skills, and mastery of your True Dragon Magic. In terms of raw power, you could easily compete with them, but when it comes to actually using that power efficiently, you're nowhere near their level yet," he added, not even bothering to soften the blow.
"Hey!" Veldora exclaimed, looking genuinely offended as he snapped his head toward Rimuru and glared at him. "Even if it's true, you don't have to say it out loud!" he complained.
"I mean, it is what it is," Rimuru replied with a casual shrug. "But the real question is, what are you going to do about it?" he asked as an evil smile slowly spread across his face while he stared at his sworn brother. "Are you really okay with your two sisters constantly looking down on you and thrashing you whenever they feel like it, especially right in front of your daughter?"
As soon as Veldora heard those words, a horrifying image flashed through his mind. He saw himself lying battered and broken on the ground while Velzard and Velgrynd loomed over him with devilish grins and glowing red eyes. Off to the side, his daughter stood silently, staring coldly down at her father with an expression filled with nothing but disgust and disappointment.
"No! I can't allow that to happen!" Veldora suddenly roared as he lunged forward and grabbed Rimuru firmly by the shoulders. "Rimuru! I need you to create a dungeon for me to train in! Something similar to the one you made for Moana and my sister's fight!" he demanded desperately, his golden eyes burning with newfound determination as the terrifying image of his daughter's disappointed face continued to haunt his mind.
'Looks like I've awakened a sleeping beast,' Rimuru thought to himself, mildly amused by just how easily his sworn brother had fallen for such obvious provocation. "All right, then. What kind of dungeon do you want?" he asked.
"What kind of dungeon?" Veldora repeated, finally releasing Rimuru's shoulders as he fell into deep thought for a moment before his eyes suddenly lit up. "Yes! I've got it! I want a dungeon filled with the deadliest thunderstorms you can possibly create!" he declared, clenching one fist in front of himself. "First, I'm going to master my element and become the true embodiment of storms! Then, my sisters will finally witness the true might of the Storm Dragon Veldora!"
"Sure, if that's what you want," Rimuru replied with a shrug. "But I have one condition before I create this dungeon for you," he continued, his expression suddenly turning serious as he fixed Veldora with a stern look. "From now on, you're not allowed to spend all your time lazing around with snacks and manga, nor are you allowed to completely lose yourself in your training," he explained, folding his arms firmly across his chest. "No matter how strong you want to become or how much you want to laze around, you still need to make time for your daughter every now and then. Check up on her, talk to her, and actually spend time with her."
"Do I really have to?" Veldora drawled, only for his complaints to die in his throat the moment Rimuru pinned him with a particularly pointed stare. For some inexplicable reason, that single look reminded Veldora far too much of his older brother, causing a long-buried sense of terror to resurface from the deepest depths of his soul. So, not wanting to relive that particular horror ever again, Veldora immediately straightened his back and puffed out his chest. "Don't worry, Rimuru! I've got this!" he declared confidently, flashing the blue-haired man an enthusiastic thumbs-up even as cold sweat trickled down his back.
"Good, as long as you understand," Rimuru said with a satisfied nod. "Now, come on. I'll make the dungeon for you later. For now, though, it's time to introduce Moana to the rest of our family."
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(A few hours earlier, while Rimuru was busy creating child support for Veldora, a completely different encounter was about to unfold in another part of the world...)
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Nasca Namrium Ulmeria United Eastern Empire
Within the highest and most luxurious private quarters of the Eastern Empire's Royal Castle, Emperor Rudra stood alone upon the balcony, gazing out over the vast and prosperous Empire he had spent thousands of years shaping with his own hands.
However, despite the breathtaking view before him, a sight that almost any other ruler in the world would have killed to call their own, Rudra's eyes held none of the joy, satisfaction, or pride one would expect from such a successful emperor. Instead, they appeared tired and hollow, as though the weight of the entire world rested upon his shoulders. And in a sense, that wasn't entirely wrong. After all, he had indeed been burdened with such a responsibility a very long time ago.
Yet, at that moment, Rudra wasn't thinking about that responsibility, nor was his mind occupied with the Empire he had sacrificed so much to build. Right now, both his thoughts and his heart were entirely consumed by the grim knowledge that his body and soul were steadily deteriorating with each passing day, a self-damning reality he had neither the means nor the will to stop or reverse.
"I don't even know how much longer I can hold on to my consciousness," Rudra muttered beneath his breath as a weary sigh escaped his lips while his gaze remained fixed on the distant horizon. "Maybe one or two more reincarnations, but after that... will I even be the same man who started this journey?" he wondered aloud, his expression growing increasingly somber as he thought about how little of him might remain once his next reincarnation stripped away yet another piece of his ego. Would he be reborn as an entirely different man, carrying his name and memories but none of the person he once was? Or would he simply become a hollow shell of his former self, wandering the world like an animated corpse?
Letting out yet another exhausted sigh, Rudra finally tore himself away from the balcony and slowly walked back into his chambers and sat down on the edge of his bed. "I'm so tired of this..." he quietly admitted, rubbing a hand over his face. Then, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a framed picture resting on his nightstand, one depicting him standing beside a kind-looking woman with beautiful pink hair and a gentle smile.
Reaching out, Rudra carefully picked up the picture and gently caressed its surface with his thumb, while his eyes lingered on Lucia's smiling face. Even now, after two thousand years, he still couldn't erase the image of her lifeless body from his mind. That memory had never faded, nor had the hatred he carried toward the kind that had taken both his beloved sister and his teacher from him. Looking back, Rudra could say without a shadow of a doubt that it was the day that had changed him forever, the day that slowly transformed the once idealistic hero into the cold and ruthless Emperor he was today.
"Lucia... I wish you were here..." Rudra whispered, his voice trembling ever so slightly as tears slowly gathered in the corners of his tired eyes. "I really, really miss you, my dear sister..." he added softly, closing his eyes as he gently pressed the picture against his forehead.
At that very moment, however, just outside Rudra's private quarters, an azure-haired dragoness stood with a steaming plate of freshly baked meat pie in her hands. "Finally! After so many months of trial and error, I've finally managed to make Rudra's favourite dish!" Velgrynd exclaimed with a bright and genuinely proud smile spreading across her face.
Over the past few years, the relationship between her and Rudra had slowly begun to strain, little by little. And in the last few months, things had reached the point where Rudra had visibly started distancing himself from her, frequently dismissing her attempts to get close to him and sometimes even speaking harshly to her whenever he was in a particularly foul mood.
Despite all of that, Velgrynd had never once held his behaviour against him. After all, in her mind, how could she ever truly be angry at the man she loved more than anything in this world? Instead, she had somehow managed to convince herself that the fault must lie with her, that she had unknowingly done something wrong and caused Rudra to stop returning the affection she so freely showered upon him. So, in a desperate attempt to repair whatever mistake she believed she had made, Velgrynd had spent the past few months trying all sorts of things to regain his affection, and learning how to prepare his favourite dish was merely the latest of her many attempts.
Of course, there was another reason Velgrynd had been deliberately keeping herself occupied with these small, almost trivial tasks. Ever since returning from her visit to her sister a few months ago, she had been unable to shake the strange feeling that something inside her was missing. There was an inexplicable emptiness within her head, a blank space where she instinctively felt something should have been. At first, Velgrynd hadn't paid much attention to it, dismissing the sensation as nothing more than lingering exhaustion. But as the weeks turned into months and the emptiness stubbornly remained, her suspicions only continued to grow, leaving her increasingly certain that Velzard had done something to her during their encounter.
"I'll have my answers soon," Velgrynd muttered, narrowing her eyes before quickly shaking her head and pushing all thoughts of her sister to the back of her mind. Right now, she had far more important matters to deal with, namely impressing the man she loved and hopefully seeing a genuine smile return to his face. So with her determination renewed, Velgrynd took a quiet breath and, without bothering to knock, opened the door and confidently stepped into Rudra's private quarters.
However, the moment Velgrynd stepped inside, she immediately regretted her decision. The cheerful smile on her face vanished almost instantly as her eyes landed on Rudra in an incredibly vulnerable moment, and an uncomfortable feeling settled in her chest as she realized she had accidentally stumbled upon something deeply personal, something she was never meant to witness.
And Velgrynd wasn't wrong. The instant Rudra turned his head and noticed her standing in the doorway, the vulnerability and sorrow in his eyes vanished without a trace, replaced by an intense, almost explosive rage. Without saying a word, Rudra quickly placed his sister's picture back on the nightstand where it belonged before rising to his feet and marching toward Velgrynd with heavy, furious steps.
"How dare you!" Rudra roared in a furious voice that echoed throughout his private quarters as he glared at her with burning eyes. "Who the hell do you think you are, barging into my room without my permission!?"
"I-I-I'm sorry..." Velgrynd stuttered, all of her earlier confidence vanishing in an instant as she instinctively took a frightened step back. "I-I-I just wanted to give you this meat pie I made myself..." she explained nervously, glancing down at the dish in her hands. "It's your favourite, right?" she added hesitantly before slowly raising her gaze to meet Rudra's furious eyes.
Rudra glanced down at the meat pie in her hands before violently sweeping his hand across the plate, knocking it from her grasp and sending the entire pie crashing to the floor, reducing the result of months of Velgrynd's hard work to a ruined mess in less than a second. "Tell me, who the hell asked you to waste your time doing this stupid shit!?" Rudra snarled before suddenly grabbing her by the arm and roughly shoving her against the wall. "You're the Empire's Marshal, for fuck's sake! Can you not act according to your position for once!?"
"I-I-It's not like that!" Velgrynd stammered, her golden eyes widening as she desperately tried to find the right words. "I was just trying to-"
"Damn it, Velgrynd!" Rudra cut her off before she could even explain herself. "At least be mature enough to admit when you've made a mistake, you dumb lizard-brain!" he snapped, finally releasing her arm before turning his back on her and planting both hands on his hips. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder why you're even still here. It's not like you're useful to me or the Empire anymore," he continued, his rage and frustration taking control of his tongue before he could stop himself. "Honestly, you're nothing more than a waste of space-"
Suddenly, Rudra froze mid-sentence as he sensed a familiar presence in the distance. "That guy..." he muttered under his breath, and almost instantly, all the frustration and rage that had twisted his features moments earlier vanished without a trace, replaced by genuine joy that lit up his entire expression. "...It's been quite a long time since we last saw each other," he added with a nostalgic smile tugging at the corners of his lips before he finally turned his attention back to Velgrynd. However, the moment his eyes landed on the dragoness still pressed against the wall, the warmth in his expression vanished just as quickly, and his face soured all over again.
"Velgrynd, I'm stepping out for a while to meet an old friend, so don't follow me," Rudra said coldly before glancing down at the spilled meat pie scattered across the polished floor. "Also, make sure you clean that up before I return," he added dismissively. Then, without sparing her so much as another glance, he vanished from the room.
Once he was gone, Velgrynd, who still had her back pressed against the wall, slowly, almost mechanically, slid down the cold stone until she was sitting on the floor. Her mind gradually began to process everything that had just happened, from the pie being knocked from her hands to every cruel word Rudra had thrown at her, and before long, tears began gathering in the corners of her golden eyes. "Where did it all go wrong...?" she lamented quietly, her voice cracking as she pulled her knees against her chest and buried her tear-streaked face between them as Rudra's harsh words continued to echo relentlessly through her mind.
******
Mountain Range separating the Puppet Nation of Jistav from the Eastern Empire
"Nation of monsters... Rimuru..." Guy muttered to himself as a wide grin slowly spread across his face. "How amusing... It seems I'll soon have another pawn to add to our game, Rudra..." he mused before suddenly narrowing his eyes as he sensed a familiar presence approaching. "Speak of the devil..."
The next moment, Rudra appeared before him, his sheathed Genesis-grade sword, Deva, held casually in one hand. "Guy, to what do we owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?" he asked with an easy smile, showing none of the exhaustion or anger that had consumed him only moments earlier. "Don't tell me you've finally decided to concede defeat after struggling for so long and came all the way here to end our game with an all-out war."
"In your dreams, Mr. Emperor," Guy scoffed, rolling his eyes at the blond Saint standing before him. "I'm just out here sightseeing and checking your side of the board to make sure you haven't been slacking off."
"Oh, please. Now you, of all people, are going to lecture me about slacking off?" Rudra raised an eyebrow before openly scoffing at the Primordial Red. "Last time I checked, you're the one whose pieces have been steadily declining in quality," he pointed out, flashing his old friend a smug look of superiority. "Honestly, Guy, your standards have really fallen over the years that you've literally recruited half-baked monsters like Carrion, Frey, and Clayman into your merry little band of clowns, and not a single one of them is even a truly awakened Demon Lord."
"It's the Ten Great Demon Lords!" Guy suddenly snapped as a dark, suffocating aura erupted from his body, and he glared furiously at Rudra. "Don't you dare disrespect that name. Do you understand?" he added as his crimson eyes burned with genuine irritation as memories of the countless, painfully boring Walpurgis meetings he had been forced to sit through before they finally came up with that name resurfaced in his mind.
"Wow, someone's touchy," Rudra replied with an indifferent shrug, completely unfazed by Guy's hostility or the oppressive aura rolling off the strongest Primordial. "Anyway, as I was saying before you threw your little tantrum, you have absolutely no right to lecture me about slacking off when you don't exactly have much to show for yourself either."
"What can I say, old friend? I'm simply working with the hand I've been dealt," Guy replied with an exaggerated sigh as he casually tucked his right leg beneath his left and leaned forward, resting his chin against his fist. "Besides, I'm always at a disadvantage in our little game since I can't simply send hordes of humans marching to their deaths because of my role. Isn't that right, Mr. First Hero?" he added with a provocative smirk and a sharp, sarcastic edge to his voice.
However, instead of taking the bait, Rudra merely smiled and slowly shook his head, much to Guy's disappointment. "A good attempt, but unfortunately for you, I've long since risen above such petty squabbles," he replied calmly, though the brief flicker of resentment and anger that surfaced in his blue eyes. "Besides, do you really expect me to care about the very kind that took both my sister and my teacher from me?" His fingers tightened around the hilt of Deva until his knuckles turned white, while the bitterness in his voice grew stronger with every word. "Truthfully, if it weren't for the role Teacher burdened me with, as well as our little game, I would've made them pay for what they did to her a thousand times over by now."
Upon hearing Rudra's words, Guy simply stared at him for a long, heavy moment before letting out a weary sigh, and for once, all traces of his usual amusement disappeared from his face. "My friend... I don't even recognize you anymore," he admitted quietly, a hint of nostalgia creeping into his voice as the image of a determined, righteous, and annoyingly cheerful young man flashed through his mind.
The Rudra he remembered had once travelled the world with an unwavering smile and the ridiculous dream of uniting humanity without unnecessary bloodshed. That young man stood in stark contrast to the cold and ruthless Emperor before him, who, ironically enough, now seemed almost completely devoid of humanity despite having been personally appointed as humanity's guardian by the Creator of the World himself.
"Change is a good thing, isn't it?" Rudra replied as a strangely distant and unreadable look settled in his eyes. He already had a good idea of what his old friend was thinking, but even if he tried, Rudra could no longer bring himself to care about such things. Especially not now, after crossing far too many lines for the sake of their game to simply turn back. He had long since passed the point of no return, and whether he liked the man he had become or not, all Rudra could do now was continue walking down the path he had chosen.
"Hey, Guy, do you remember that night? The night of Teacher and Lucia's wedding?" Rudra suddenly asked in a strangely nostalgic voice before turning to glance at the red-haired Primordial. "Velzard made you dress in those ridiculous ceremonial clothes despite your vehement protests," a faint smile slowly formed on his lips. "All of which were obviously ignored," he added as the distant memory resurfaced in his mind.
"How could I possibly forget?" Guy replied, a genuinely fond smile appearing on his face as he allowed himself to drift back to that distant night. "And you, bastard, just had to make some rude comment the moment you laid eyes on me, which naturally escalated into yet another fight between us," he added before bursting into laughter at the memory. "It only ended when the man of the hour, the groom himself, finally showed up, called us a pair of troublesome children, and then proceeded to smack both of us straight into the ground."
"Yeah... that was a good memory. Almost feels like something from another lifetime," Rudra said softly before the fondness in his eyes vanished, replaced by an intense solemnity. "Guy, the next Great Tenma War will begin soon, and this time... I intend to end our game once and for all," he declared, briefly turning his gaze toward the distant Eastern Empire before looking back at his rival. "This time, there'll be no more playing game masters and moving our pieces around from the shadows. This time, you and I will fight one last time and finally settle that unfinished duel between us," he concluded, raising his sheathed sword and pointing Deva directly toward the Primordial Red as a fierce determination burned within his eyes.
Guy fell silent as he studied his old friend, who, at that moment, somehow looked more tired and painfully human than Guy had ever seen him before, as though the countless years of his long existence had finally caught up with him and settled deep within his eyes. "If that is truly what you wish, then that is exactly what you'll get," Guy finally replied as he jumped down from the rock and came to stand face-to-face with the Emperor of the East. "And I promise you, it'll be the most glorious duel of your life," he declared with a fierce grin before raising his fist and lightly punching the blond man in the chest. "But for now, this is goodbye." With one final salute and his usual infuriating grin, Guy vanished from the mountain without another word.
"So long... my friend..." Rudra whispered softly before falling silent as he once again looked towards the Empire. Truthfully, there were so many things he wanted to say, so many thoughts and regrets he wanted to share with the last true friend he had left in this world. A part of him desperately wanted to confess that he was no longer the same man Guy remembered from all those years ago. The repeated reincarnations had slowly been stripping away his strength and sanity, gradually reducing him to a hollow shell of the man he once was.
But Rudra didn't.
But Rudra said nothing. Because even if Guy was the only true friend he had left in this world, first and foremost, the Primordial Red was still his rival, and Rudra's pride would never allow him to appear weak or broken in front of that arrogant demon. That was why, instead of opening his heart and admitting the truth, Rudra had issued him a challenge, choosing to frame his farewell as one final, glorious duel between two ancient rivals.
With that thought lingering in his mind, Rudra finally pushed his doubts and worries to the very back of his consciousness before disappearing from the mountain as well. After all, the next Great Tenma War was rapidly approaching, and if this truly was going to be the final round of their ancient game, then Rudra still had a great many pieces to move and countless preparations to make on his side of the board.
However, the moment Rudra disappeared from the mountain, the empty air where he had been standing suddenly distorted as a jagged rift tore through space itself. From within the figure of a beautiful, almost androgynous boy with wild blond hair and piercing dark blue eyes stepped through with an expression of pure, undisguised disgust etched across his face.
"Even after all these years, you're still more concerned with your stupid game than avenging him or finding a way to bring him back," the boy spat bitterly, each word dripping with contempt as barely suppressed rage seeped into his voice before he visibly forced himself to calm down. "Alas, it doesn't matter anymore," he continued as a sinister smile slowly crept across his face. "Because your precious game will never reach its conclusion, nor will you ever have that final duel, Rudra!"
Then, he slowly raised one hand to his face, covering one side as his lips twisted into a wide, manic grin and an almost fanatical light burned within his dark blue eye. "Because soon, I will bring justice down upon this ungrateful world for the unforgivable sin it committed against you, my dear Lord!" his voice overflowed with zealous devotion as he declared, while staring toward the heavens themselves. "But more than that, I, Feldway, will bring you back to us. And this is my heartfelt promise to you, from the most devoted of your creations."
To be continued...
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[A/n: Just a heads up that I have changed the gestation period of Shizu from 18 months to 12. Thank you!]
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Illustration: Rudra and Velgrynd