The way this world seems to work is always different. Something I still have trouble understanding properly.

To me it was looking for answers.

Sometimes it was survival of the fittest.

But at other times it was a massacre. And that was the thing happening in front of us. The blue-white light shimmering like gold was washing away in the battlefield. The swamp would tear and compel to the war cries of the monsters, revealing another surge of monsters waving across the land. The unsightly monster had erupted as if woven from dread itself.

The elements used here were not something one could understand. The power of transcendents felt different than that of an awakeneds and awakeners alike. If we were to simply use abilities, no matter how strong they look or how effective they seem, they would still pale in comparison to a simple blow a transcendent could perform.

I did have a few guesses about what made us so different. But they all remained as hypotheses until I could become one myself.

Then a flash of light happened—

It covered the field for a short second, like a cloth had been thrown from above. In that blinding flash my eyes went blank, my pupils dilated back and then heads fell on the ground simultaneously as a sword grazed through the wind gracefully.

Clonas moved like lightning itself, covering the whole field in his range. Those who could even see his shadow movements could only be considered lucky, as something like following with naked eyes alone seemed impossible. Even I, who could watch the world move extremely slowly, couldn't see anything but a glimpse of gestures and, if lucky, even his shadow.

Seeing one more beast fall, something entered our ears, sending a chill down our spines.

The soldiers yelled amidst the ongoing slaughter. Their voices came out filled with excitement and endless vigor. But the words that had come out were anything but pretty.

"Slaughter!"

"Slaughter!"

The chants were ominous and vicious. The war cry didn't stop and only increased with time as more enemies fell to the ground covered in blood.

A single man has pushed an army of monsters by himself.

But now he stopped, surrounded by carcasses of the fallen creatures.

His gaze remained sharp as he saw the swamp continue to spit monsters out; the number, while less than before, still couldn't be defeated by himself alone. I saw Clonas raise his hand, gripping his sword tightly as the tip pointed at the grey sky. From the little I could see through my limited vision, I saw his lips curl into a dark grin.

And then suddenly the door in the great wall opened!

A surge of cheers with maddening energy came out with the influx of soldiers who had now left the safety of the walls behind. Their war cries only became louder as they passed Commander Clonas standing still in the grounds.

"Damn, it's now a full-blown war." Summer whistled.

Suddenly she turned her head toward me in disbelief.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Hmm, I am waiting."

Summer frowned.

"And what exactly are you waiting for by standing at the edge of the wall?"

By now the whole group have turned their heads to look at me and watched me with disbelief.

"I am waiting for my essence to recover." I answered simply, as it was a matter of fact.

I had used a lot of essence since the silver flowers had not been satisfied no matter how much I gave them. Luckily, my recovery had kept up even here at a good speed; otherwise, I would have been down on the floor by now.

Enzo raised his brows with greater confusion and asked with a small voice.

"And what will you do after you recover?"

I smiled faintly and then turned my head to look down.

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"This!" I said and jumped from the wall's edge.

"Ah."

"Wait—!"

Gasps and dumbfounded voices escaped from the lips of Enzo, Summer, and Chris.

Anny left surprised, unable to even let out a single sound as she watched with wide eyes.

Liber, meanwhile, has rushed toward the edge only to watch Asher leap in the sky.

"I… had forgotten he could do that, Sigh."

A heavy sigh left his mouth as he muttered with disbelief, similar to others.

"He has gone crazier."

***

Asher walked through the sky, avoiding all the fights happening below. It wasn't that he didn't want to help the soldiers fight in this battle. Rather, he truly wanted to do nothing else but dive into this battle and help them sweep victory. But he didn't; Asher had a priority right now. He wanted to meet the commander, Clonas, give a good impression, check if he was on their side and last but not least, get some answers about this swamp.

He was too busy to do anything else. Surely these soldiers much older and more experienced than him, could survive another ten minutes even without his help.

'I am busy.' Asher reminded himself with a wry smile as he dodged the spree of green streaks. He pushed those emotions away with a strange look at the site in front of him.

As if the thought of relying on a teenager barely eighteen was not weird enough. They needed him to survive? Yes, maybe it was just Asher's wishful thinking. Trying to ascertain his value more than it already was.

Zzzzzz!

Asher was close, extremely close if he were to say so. The sound of lightning and light was ringing closely in his ears.

A sudden new emotion washed over Asher's heart as he came closer to the swamp. A certain raw and unfiltered emotion that was negative in every sense. A sense of rage, greed, and other things he didn't know sprouted inside of him.

However, those emotions were not trying to be vague even in the least. They were open and so unnatural and unsteady that Asher could pinpoint them with a single thought.

Even a normal awakener with a steady and calm mind could tell that these emotions were foreign and not part of him.

Similarly, Asher's will went straight to eradicate it the next instance the doubts appeared.

If Asher doubts something, then it doesn't exist to affect him.

If he thinks, therefore he is.

The strange emotions soon hit a wall, trying to clash with his will. But it didn't last long. Asher's will, like a dam, flooded the emotions, washing them away before they could have rooted themselves deeper in his heart.

It had happened instantly with no delay whatsoever. Rather, it happened even more easily than when Asher had used his will to eradicate the Plague's influence.

In any case, comparing them was not fair. It was clear that the plague's influence was stronger, as it could return to fog Asher's mind. When that happens, Asher would again fight it to not let its influence deepen on his mind. It was a constant and never-ending battle until he freed these memories of the forgotten from the Plague. Something he still doubted was possible. Hope was the only thing that could keep him moving.

'Focus. Focus.' Asher muttered to himself, as he couldn't let his thoughts go astray right now.

Wind hit his face, letting him know he was finally closer. Asher again kicked the sky, using the world as his ladder to leap through the winds. The deeper he went through the swamp, the thinner the dreadful chants became until Asher could hear nothing but the flashes of light buzzing like lightning.

Even then the light couldn't clear the dark forest.

"There he is."

Asher whispered as he summoned his crystal blade glimmering with dark intensity upon seeing the flood of blood drowning down below.

'Is it excited?'

Asher thought, feeling the hunger that the crystal blade radiated without hiding it.

With a grin, Asher dove in, stopping his air steps midair.

The beasts noticed his presence as Asher reached down on one knee, hitting the ground with a wet thud. The swamp has cushioned his fall perfectly. The swamp was dense, so dense that it felt like solid ground. But some patches, like fluid, were still present around him. One wrong step and he would drown inside, swallowed by the swamp.

Swoosh—!

Asher swung his sword once and then, like wind, rushed forward. His speed, while not as fast as Commander Clonas's, still was not something one could keep up with.

The beast ahead stood with a deadly presence; a thin mist of dark green had covered its frame. The large eyes watched him with shivering coldness. Then a green streak was thrown his way. Asher didn't dodge; instead, he raised his crystal blade once more and then struck the green streaks.

They splashed around as the sword hit them, scattering them away with a clean slash.

Asher inhaled deeply; his eyes watched thin mist grow a pale color of green as the monster's visage seemed to grow darker. The monster raised its blade-like arm covered in green streaks at the same time Asher stepped forward, crossing the distance between them in less than a second.

Then their weapon clashed, Asher swiftly turned his hand, cutting through the beast's arm—blood scattered, coming out like a fountain—and Asher didn't stop; with a blitz of speed, he stabbed the beast through its rough hide. The crystal blade enchantment flared as light started to go dim surrounding it.

The beast screeched, letting out a painful sound filled with hatred. The surrounding monsters be they newborns or beasts, lashed out in his way.

The beast fell as Asher pulled his sword out and then bent his knees, getting ready for a leap in the air.

Just then a flash of light appeared right in front of his eyes, blinding Asher.

For a moment all he heard were screams of monsters. The light cleared in the next second. The monsters that had tried to strike him were down; the smell of rotten eggs and a faint hint of iron entered his nostrils as Asher saw their carcasses surrounding him.

"Why are you here? You all are not allowed to dwell deeper in these attacks."

Asher turned his head in the direction the sound came from.

There he saw a man—fairly handsome, with black hair and clear gray eyes. He wore a dark coat marked with a star over the heart, and in his hand rested a white blade wrapped in a faint blue glow..

Asher tried to open his mouth to speak. But suddenly his hand pushed forward toward the carcasses of the monsters lying around. His sword, as if having a will of its own, greedily went to drink the blood surrounding them.

"Ah." Asher gasped as he couldn't react in time with eyes wide open.

Even the blade of the east was left still on his spot with nothing to say as he saw the blood web on the sharp blade.

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