Nero opened his eyes.

He let out a sigh.

"Oh? Nero is finally awake."

Nero smiled softly,

"Yeah. I'm awake. Let's get going."

He rose to his feet with the orb floating around his head,

"You said you can lead me to the Spire of Dreams, right, Icarus?"

The orb bobbled,

"Did I say that? I—"

Nero waved dismissively, cutting it off,

"Lead the way."

The orb of light went silent.

Then it turned around and began floating away.

"Sure, sure. Right this way..."

The scent of bark, leaves and moist earth filled Nero's lungs.

He shook his head, 'It all still feels so real.'

He knew this place was not real.

And yet, there was nothing convincing him otherwise, save for the orb of floating light that was going down the wrong path away.

Nero smiled.

In reality, he could finally see the right path thanks to Heretic Eyes.

The story told by Eli had fed his thoughts for some time.

He realized that this entire ordeal was some strange test being conducted by Eli. However, that didn't matter.

Because he had finally figured it out.

The answer to the riddle.

The Dove was a liar but could not kill.

The Dove told that the Raven killed the Prince.

The Raven was a killer.

One of the two had killed the Prince...

With every step he took forward, Nero was even more sure of himself.

His back straightened.

"I won't do it."

Just like the darkness of night was black.

Just like the earth drank the rain and darkened.

Just like the wind carried whispers and scents in equal measure...

He could not deny what he was.

The beast hunting him could not deny what it was.

The orb floating a few meters away from him could not deny shat it was.

A liar and a killer.

"I see it now."

There was a whole lot to be understood and so little.

But often times, interpretation was as varied as the sands of the earth.

Finally, after walking for a long time, Nero finally arrived at the base of the Spire of Dreams.

He turned up to Icarus,

"Well, thanks for nothing, Icarus."

The voice from the floating orb chuckled,

"I led you here successfully, didn't I?"

Nero snorted, "Of course you didn't. But I'll have to admit— you are a good liar."

The orb of light vanished.

Nero sighed then turned his gaze forward.

There, standing at the base of the Spire of Dreams, right before his goal, was the thing that had chased him through the forest.

Above the monolith, the dark clouds cleared away to reveal the light of the moon that washed through the world below.

Thanks to the radiance, Nero was able to see the fiend much clearer.

It was an abhorrent monstrosity.

Its visage was terrifying. Its body was dark and huge. Its back was curved with an enormous growth on it.

Its arms and legs were bulky and enormous.

Its eyes were dark and bottomless.

Slowly, as the moonlight washed over its features, the golden glow in the depths of its soul shine through.

Indeed.

Nero had found that what he was staring at, was a simple reflection.

A mirror.

He was the dove.

And he was the Raven.

There was no reason to deny either part of what he was.

The dark beast that looked unerringly similar to the Black Body Form screeched and launched itself at him.

Nero sighed and chuckled bitterly,

"The least you could do is get me a weapon."

He stood with both legs spread apart.

His body began to transform, bulging and squelching disgustingly until he was just as large and ugly as the abberation.

Fist met fist..

Bones shattered and blood spewed forth violently.

He stared into those golden, grey eyes.

Eyes without a soul.

A beast without form, reflecting what he was back at him.

Nero grinned.

A beastial, remarkable smile that stretched from ear to ear.

He roared and lunged forward, smashing his fist into its jaw.

A disgusting squelching noise cut through the darkness as black ichor splattered onto the surface of the monolith.

The Abomination brought its knee into his chest, sending him stumbling backwards.

Then its claws raked arcaos his face, tearing through his eye and partially blinding him.

Nero rushed forward and smashed his shoulder into the chest of the Abomination. Pushing with all his might, he bashed its back into the dark wall of the Spire of Dreams. The Abomination roared out in pain, smashing its fists into his back.

However, Nero refused to let go.

His eyes were widened and his jaws tightly pressed together as he continued to hold on.

Then with a grunt, he wrapped his arms around its waist and lifted.

A feat of incredible strength. His muscles bulged to their absolute limits as he growled then smashed the Abomination headfirst into the ground.

There was a sickening crunch.

Getting onto its body, Nero continued to bash his fists into its face.

The Abomination opened its maw, grabbing his fist with its sharp fangs and biting down.

Nero's eyes glowed with that gilded radiance as he pressed his fist even further into the monster's mouth.

"Choke on this, bastard!" He growled in a guttural, monstrous voice.

His fist smashed into the back of its throat, cracking its spime at the base.

Then he unfurled his fist. He lifted his other hand which was broken at the start of the battle and stabbed it into the mouth of the Abomination.

The monster's mouth was full of his blood, but all that didn't matter, as in the next moment, he gripped hard to both jaws and pulled with all his might.

The sound of tearing was stomach churning. Hot blood sprayed across Nero's chest and face as he yelled out in fury, pulling and pulling until with a final tear, the head of the Abomination had been separated from itself lower jaw and body.

The black ichor flowed across the ground to the base of the monolith.

However, Nero paid that no mind as he screeched into the heavens.

A cry of victory.

Then his jaws stretched inhumanly wide.

He bit down on the skull of his vanquished foe.

In a few minutes, the entire corpse of the Abomination had been completely devoured.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.