The night stretched itself until it became a giant whip, torturing Arthur. His mind couldn't fall asleep no matter how tired he felt. He kept thinking about what his actions would bring and whether they were worth it.
He turned around and listened to the quiet breathing of the other members of his party. These people were strangers to him, but they were the closest he had in this world.
Sitting up, Arthur left the artificial cave they dug in and went up the dune. As soon as he did, Gala woke up because her spirit activated to hide Arthur.
"You can't sleep, kiddo? Do you need a hug?"
"Would that give me answers?" Arthur's tone was sharper than he intended. "I'm sorry," He rubbed his face. "I'm just hesitant."
"About helping Freda invade Alva?" Gala rubbed her sleepy eyes. "There's no right answer for that, only what you want to do."
"There must be a right answer." Arthur frowned. "People's lives are at stake."
"Then that's your answer. Do you care about the people more than you care about yourself?"
"The thing is, I don't think I'm doing this for myself. The only side benefiting from this is Freda."
"And Alva too." Gala said, making Arthur turn to her with confusion. "Do you know why Rinzo betrayed this kingdom?" She asked, and in response, Arthur shook his head.
"The duke killed his father before he enslaved Rinzo. Later on, Rinzo turned to be extremely cunning, encouraging the duke to make him his butler."
"Are you saying..." Arthur was about to ask, but she interrupted him.
"Later on, Rinzo fell for a maid. They became lovers, and he was finally happy. The duke found out. He killed the maid and castrated Rinzo." Gala said in a light tone. "It was a demonstration of power. A slave can never take the possession of his owner and get away with it."
"What possession?" Arthur's mouth felt dry.
"The maid, Rinzo's freedom to act, and Rinzo's happiness. It doesn't matter. Everything belongs to the strong. Laws favor the strong, and if they do not, they bend for them."
"So, Alva is rotten."
"The world is rotten." Gala corrected. "Without his ability to create artifacts, King Solomon wouldn't have uprooted the previous unjust king of Freda. That's the sad fact about life; strength is everything."
"Even if you want to do the right things, you can't always do them the right way. You have to be the villain at some point." Arthur nodded.
"The hero is always the villain for his enemies." Gala stood up and walked back to the cave. "Everyone, whether they are good or bad, are just trying to achieve their goals."
Arthur looked at the high walls of the city and witnessed the night unpeel itself. Not only this time, but he would have to be the villain time and time again. He's the villain for Dia, but he's the savior for Gala.
'I just need to be stronger that no war would be too big to stop.' Arthur thought before going back to the cave. His mind finally rested easy, and he fell asleep.
***
The day arrived uneventfully, and Arthur left the cave, Rinzo and Gala behind him. He only took Dia and the little spirit to hide them.
It was early morning; the quietness was suffocating. No life lived here after many battles took place. As they walked together, the two didn't say a single word.
Both knew all that needed to be said of them, so it was futile to say anything. The only difference is that Arthur didn't need to do any convincing.
"That's the wall." He saw the wall approach them in the distance. "Use your strongest attack to destroy it."
"Alright." Dia nodded expressionlessly.
"I'll stand far away, just in case your attack backfires." Arthur knew that he was still too weak to withstand even the aftermath of her strongest attack. Dia didn't say anything, as if she was hoping he would forget such a fact.
They went through tents filled with Demis without being seen. Arthur looked at them all and tried to imagine them as dead bodies, the fate that awaited them. He shook his head and approached the wall.
He stood a fair distance away on top of a hill along with Dia. She looked at him for one last time, her eyes desperate. Arthur, however, was unmoving.
"If you truly love your kingdom, then you need to trust me," Arthur said, but she took it with a pinch of salt, not buying a single word. "Destroy it," Arthur commanded, and his power took hold of her core.
Dia muffled a groan before her body began rising in the air. Her wings spread until they covered several meters, and the Ice Phoenix appeared. The ice flames radiated cold energy that alarmed the Alvan soldiers, but it was too late.
She disappeared from her location and soared through the skies. With her hand raised, she gathered a giant flaming ice mountain above her. The mountain cast a shadow over the land, warning everyone that the world will soon turn upside down.
"It's the princess!" Someone shouted from the camp, recognizing Dia immediately.
Arthur looked at the mountain with unwavering eyes, knowing that this was necessary to return to his world. Solomon was the key, and he needed to take his side.
He lost his arm because of these people and suffered humiliation countless times. Larza used him as she pleased before throwing him to the duke to kill.
'I'm not a saint.' Arthur thought as the mountain descended. 'I'm nothing more than a human.' He had no responsibility toward the world because it gave him nothing but misery and fear. 'Whatever I do, it'll be what I desire. If I want to save others, I'll save them. If I want to kill them, then I'll kill them.'
'I just...' Arthur's eyes were tired. The mountain tore through the sky and fell toward the walls. As it came in contact with it, the walls gave way instantly. 'I just want to survive.' Like piercing a paper with a knife, the mountain crushed everything in its path.
The wall and land froze under Dia's power. The sky rumbled, urging Arthur to look up. His irises constricted when Larza appeared next to Dia.
The snake woman spread her arms, and a barrier surrounded Dia. It was her ability, isolation. Dia turned with a shocked expression at Larza before looking at Arthur.
"Run!" Gala's shout came from a distance, and Arthur turned to see a giant flaming bird descending. In the middle of the bird was the duke's body, his face wrathful.
The Bestial Order activated on its own, and Dia attacked the barrier. The duke waved his hand toward Arthur, and a pillar of flames sprung to attack him. The barrier that Gala created held back the fire.
The flames ate away at the barrier, and it broke down after resisting. The hellish fire engulfed Arthur's body, and he let out a soul-shaking scream.
His body didn't burn, but his soul. The flames ate away at him as Arthur felt the life leave his body. His eyes turned blank as he fell listlessly to the ground.
"Seika!" Gala descended with a power that upturned the soil, creating a giant crater. She waved her hand, and the flames died down from Arthur's body.
"Ungrateful witch, I should have never taken you in when the world wanted you dead. Today, I shall fulfill the wishes of countless people." The Duke descended to the ground as his flames turned it into a wasteland,
"Bastard!" Gala's wrath was unmistakable. "You've brought your death upon you!" She roared as her hat flew away; the gem on her forehead shone brighter than the morning sun.
"Why do you care about this slave so much?" The duke frowned. "Whatever usefulness he had is now gone with him dead. With thousand years of wisdom, you should know better than revenge."
"You ignorant fowl!" Gala snapped as a giant spirit appeared behind her. A salamander covered in electricity looked with its wrathful eyes at the duke. "You have no idea what he could have done!"
Gala waved her hand, and the salamander fired a bolt of electricity at the duke. With a humph, the duke slapped away the attack easily. Gala's eyes widened at how effortlessly he blocked it.
"You... are using the royal artifact?" Her body trembled as a grin broke out on the duke's face. "Your fire..."
"The strongest fire, Nar." The duke clapped his hands. "All defenses are useless against me. This fire burns everything, even souls! That slave is no longer here, Gala. Step back or face death!"
Gala gritted her teeth in hatred. She looked down, and Arthur's body was unharmed, but his eyes were blank. She couldn't feel any spiritual power coming from him.
'Are you... truly dead?' Gala's eyes couldn't believe it. This young man may look ordinary, but Gala knew that he was someone the world couldn't ignore. 'Maybe that's why the world sought out to kill you.' She closed her eyes in regret.
She crouched down to pick his body and leave, but the young man's body began convulsing. Suddenly, an unprecedented amount of spiritual power emerged.
The power shook the world and threatened to make Gala faint. As she held on to consciousness, she heard the young man whisper.
"Start... soul... restructure..." His voice was weak, but it boomed in her mind. It was the last thing she heard before everything changed.