A Hope Unbroken by Death

Grand Gaia, a world gone through many battles and turmoils by Gods and Demons of all kinds, is once again under a war declared by the Gods of the world. To exterminate all humans due to them managing to seal away one of the Divine Ten, that was their command. Many however, retaliated back against the Gods that govern the world.

From the Dragon War in Atharva where an ancient slumbering dragon controlled by a demon wrecked havoc and four allies joining together to defeat the demon and dragon, to the battles between the Twelve Guardians where allies fought against traitors of the Gods that govern, and finally to the fights in Ishgria, the demon world where the Oracle Knights fought against the Guardians of Meirith. Many battles have been waged all to end the cycles of battles.

It was here after the fight against the Oracle Knights and the Guardians of Meirith that new heroes rose to defend the innocents. Known to many warriors within the six kingdoms as the Six Heroes, these young warriors rose from many trials to become the warriors they now are. Protecting allies and innocents from the wrath of the Gods, they have managed to defeat countless foes that dare stood against them including the four of the Divine Ten known as the Fallen Gods, ones that called upon this war to exterminate humankind from the world.

The power these six warriors had within them was enough to rival the many enemies that stand in their way of peace and tranquility. As a result, they had the ability to possibly either prolong or completely stop and end the war sooner than any Gods have expected. Seeing the immense power that these six warriors have, a disciple of one of the Divine Ten, ordered the only surviving Oracle Knight to defeat them in any way possible as a way to appease the Gods so that his master will be inclined to save even a portion of humanity itself.

Reluctant at first, the mysterious knight only obeyed because its maiden who he thought was lost during the battle its master participated in, was found and doing this task would allow them to be reunited at last. The knight obeys the order and asks a few people to weaken the Six Heroes so that he can finish them off. Yet despite that, the idea of killing humanity's last hopes weighed heavily in his thoughts.

In the kingdom of Bariura, one of the Six Heroes emerged from here. The knight, by the name of Magress, was a son of a powerful cavalry leader. From childhood, he knew of the empire's wish to unify the continent and by the time he reached the age of sixteen, joined the cavalry with the intent of gaining the skills necessary to defeat anything that stood in his way. As time passed during his training, his talent grew quickly and he was soon considered for promotion. However, he soon lost to his father.

Feeling the need to train further, he left his family and the empire. He trained hard, using his anger to hone his skills and as a result, was somehow able to pierce even the most sturdiest of armors. After his intensive training alone, he soon became the strongest knight of all of Bariura. During that time when he was gone however, his parents were murdered. When he found out about this, he was enraged and went to the capital to kill the knights he thought were responsible for their deaths. However, the war with the gods soon began during his run to the emperor who was the true cause of his parents' demise. As a result, he killed countless gods on his way to defeat the emperor thus earning him praise from the people while making the knights fearful.

Holding a lance that bore the blood of all the Gods he defeated in a rage sated by vengeance, his form changed drastically in his hatred-driven attacks. A human he was once inside the armor, the blood of the Gods transfigured him to something not even remotely human. Yet even that did not faze him for he kept on striking down many who stands in his way. He soundly defeated all those in many swipes and stabs from his lance. Despite his vengeance for those that were involved in the death of his brother, he did not fall behind in the knight’s honor code. Thus, he was calm and kept the knight’s code in his heart.

In the shadows, the mysterious knight waited and watched the scene as Magress fought against one of the God’s disciples. Knowing how powerful he was, he decided to wait it out until he was fatigued from the fight against the disciple chosen to go against him. The disciple managed to kill the dark knight’s comrades in a crazed glee.

Amongst his friends was one who although having previously claimed to hate traitors, sacrificed himself in order to save Magress. Consumed by his rage, Magress slaughtered one of the disciples of the Gods while completely covered in wounds. Blow after blow they exchanged, trying to subdue each other almost with no end in sight. Soon, the disciple fell to Magress. However, the dark hero’s body was strained from the fight. His body was beginning to fail on him yet despite this; he managed to hold.

The lone knight saw an opportunity to finish off the dark hero yet even then, he was reluctant to finish him off even with the knowledge about the Oracle Maiden. His mind was debating on what was right and what was wrong, kill the Six Heroes and save the Oracle Maiden or leave them be and face the consequences. The decision was gnawing at his very soul but with a profound sadness, he chose the Maiden over the heroes that were needed, "I am sorry fellow knight...” With a heavy heart, he unsheathed his two swords as he stepped out of the shadows.

The sounds of drawn blades reached Magress's ears prompting him to turn around. He sees the masked man step forward with two blades drawn. The warrior he sees had no honor in him, waiting for his opponent to be at his most vulnerable instead of facing him. The sight made him scowl quietly but at the same time he was also questioning his appearance, "Who are you and why appear when I am almost unable to fight back?"

The Oracle Knight looked away in shame of having to do what he must do but relayed the message the disciple said to him, "I appeared only so that my lord will be able to save a portion of humanity. In return, you must die as a way to appease the Gods."

Magress was surprised at the revelation but at the same time saw the movement and can tell that the knight was not happy to perform this task. Perhaps the knight had some honor in him after all, “So... despite the fact that you look unwilling to perform this task, I must die for humanity's sake?” As he struggled to stand, he realized that his armor was now hindering him. Having no use for his armor, he discarded pieces of it as the clang on to the ground leaving just his lance with him to fight, “I will be happy to die for my people, but I wish to also die a warrior's death. Please... give me a warrior's death I deserve...” He stood up and entered a battle stance ready to face his fate.

The Oracle Knight let out a sigh as he looked at his adversary. Despite hating what he was doing, he nodded to the knight's request. Raising his two swords, he lunged forward bypassing the dark hero’s best attempts to hold him back and lands a clean hit on him in his chest. Magress was spitting out blood from the attack as he felt the blade being pulled out from his abdomen. He clutched onto the fatal wound he received as he let go of his lance. A smile formed on his face as he felt his life slowly vanish, “I thank you warrior for giving me… a knight’s death.” He collapsed onto the floor and with one last breath, succumbed to his injuries and died.

The Oracle Knight turned to see the dark hero with a smile. It was a tragically beautiful sight for the mysterious knight to see him like this. As a result, he couldn’t bear to leave him on the battlefield like this. He stepped next to the fallen knight as he pulled out from his pocket a seal. Touching Magress's blood with his thumb, he dabs the seal with it and placed it on the body. The seal started to glow a white color first before shifting to a deep black color as it slowly got brighter before enveloping the body. As the light begins to dim down, the body disappeared from the world with no trace of blood or body.

The knight was not glad with doing the task but the deed was done. At the very least, he wanted to give the Six Heroes a place where they could be in peace knowing that they did not fight in vain. With one of the Six Heroes down, he left to his next destination to find the next of the Six Heroes, the light hero of La Veda.

Towards the La Veda Republic was the light hero by the name of Atro. Raised as an orphan in a monastery with the Friar as his guardian, he originally wanted to become a monk until one day, bandits attacked the monastery. After Atro repelled them with just a tree branch, the Friar took notice of his skills and suggested he take upon Vedan fencing. He took upon the Friar's recommendation to heart and from there, was the start of his journey.

Per the Friar's words, he managed to find a Vedan fencing master and begun his training. Soon, he went to be a gifted swordsman. His technique was keen with the sword while bearing the integrity of a monk thanks to his life in the monastery. Many who saw him came to give him the title of Sword Saint. However, he was unaware of this and continued to train daily. During his time training, he received a sword that was never before drawn in the La Veda Republic from its holy resting place. Forged and tempered by the gods themselves, the legendary sword Urias was an extremely powerful weapon. As the rightful bearer of the sword, he was now a master swordsman in name and deed. However, Atro would never draw the sword in fights with swordsmen that sought for fame.

During the great battle with the gods, he struggled with whether or not to fight the gods. His decision was made when they destroyed the monastery he grew up in. In anger, he cut down the gods breaking his former reputation as a graceful master swordsman. As Atro fought back violently against the army, in the midst of battle, the sword Urias, was broken. When his anger subsided, he came to his sense and realized how immature he still was. He then swore to use this sword only to protect the people that could not protect themselves. Just as that happened, the sword glowed and returned to its true glory. This action causes a smile as he sees the newly awakened Urias. As he grabbed the awakened sword, a knight appeared before him. The knight in question bore a forlorn look despite the mask as he spoke, "Atro... Hero of Light... It seems that you have gained newfound power... I applaud you but regrettably, I must stop you here."

The words that the knight confused Atro as he stood up. He was careful to not let his guard down with whoever he was talking to and be wary of his surroundings as well, "What do you mean knight? Surely you are not on the side of the Gods that attacked us? Do you not see what they do is unjust for the innocent?"

The Oracle Knight nodded in agreement but it did not sway him. Rather it only pained him more to do this task, "I know... and I agree with your sentiment but... I cannot back down from this. I do not wish to harm you yet I am tasked to defeat you in order to appease to the Gods so that even a portion of humanity can be saved... You can however retreat and I shall not bring harm to you or the people of La Veda, I swear upon my word."

Atro can tell that the knight was speaking the truth due to his tone yet despite that, he could not do so. Even if what he said was true that one of the Gods would save a portion of humanity, he found it too hard to believe in. With what the Gods did, he would rather fight and finish the battle than fall back unless otherwise. With that knowledge in mind, he shook his head and readied himself for battle, "I cannot fall back... As much as I would like to do so to fight another day, there is not another year for humanity itself even if what you say is true. Hence, I will continue and see to it that I end this cycle. I'm sorry but if you wish to see me perish, you will have to fight me to the death..."

The knight was not surprised to hear his response yet still wished that it did not have to come to this, "I'm sorry it has to end this way fellow knight, I really wished this was avoidable..." Just as he finished his sentence, he lunged towards the light hero, blades drawn. Atro swung his sword just as the knight swung his two swords. Their blades collide with one another as both opponents try to keep their footing. Atro teleported and reappeared behind him, sword raised high as he performed a downward slash. His adversary however was swift as he blocked the attack with one of his swords and delivered a wide slash with his other. The light hero once again teleported away from the attack only to appear in front of him and lunge at him.

Both tried to subdue the other with everything they had in their arsenal and continued like that for some time until Atro heard a scream from a child. He looked to see an assassin had taken one child as a hostage. His whip blade was unsheathed and was around the child who were trying to hold their tears. Seeing this, Atro looked towards the knight in disdain, "You would put harm towards these innocents just to put me at my most vulnerable?" The knight's answer however was him looking away in clear shame. The reaction was clear enough for Atro to know that he would not stoop himself to this level. He then turned towards his attention towards the assassin in question and glared at him. It was not long before he lowered his sword and faced the knight in silence knowing that either decision will still result in death either with himself or the child taken hostage.

The mysterious knight was deeply conflicted on whether to carry out the deed or not as his emotions were under turmoil. Looking at Atro, he was willing to accept his death for the child currently captive despite having been told to be instrumental to humanity's survival whether by fighting the Gods or dying. It was that display of selflessness that made the knight's decision all the more harder. In the end, despite his conflicted feelings, he delivered a slash around the chest fatally wounding him.

The assassin, seeing that Atro was at death’s throes, released the child from his grasp. That prompted the child to run away from the assassin and away from the city. The dying hero saw an opportunity and with his last bit of life charged at the assassin and pierced him with his holy sword taking the assassin’s life. Blood poured around him as he collapsed to the ground taking his last few breaths. He looked to the lone knight whose sword was coated in his blood. Despite dying to the blade of this knight, a smile formed on his face. Having managed to get his people and the children to safety, he welcomed his death and managed to say his last words to the knight, “May it bring a bright future for the children.”

The light hero’s eyes slowly closed as he succumbed to his injury and faced his fate. The lone knight felt his heart reaching out for the light hero who fell by his hands. He did not wish to continue this bloodshed and kill the other four but… He let out a sigh, saddened that he is forced to do this. He created the same seal he performed on the dark hero. However, instead of a black glow, Atro’s body begun to glow a luminescent white. The light soon enveloped the body it too begun to fade away. Seeing the body disappear from the world, the lone knight left the country of La Veda and went to the next empire waiting to defeat the third of the Six Heroes.

The country of Atharva was under attack by the God army as the city was barraged. Here, the thunder hero of legend known as Eze was defending his city from the gods. Raised in an old mine, he worked from the time he was but a young child. At one point, he grew tired and left to become a demon bounty hunter. His swordsmanship was tempered thanks to his years working in the mines, allowing him to eliminate demons in one blow. While he tends to speak rough, he is polite to woman despite having trouble speaking with woman in general. Eze would continue to train one day to develop the confidence to defeat large demons on his own.

During his training, he witnessed Emilia, the princess of Atharva, fight a demon. Seeing her in battle made him realize how inexperienced he was at the moment. After her battle, he went out and sought out sights with other masters in the hopes that he will be able to unlock his own hidden powers. While doing training, he found what would end up being his signature sword amongst the treasures he received when he defeated a behemoth. The Thunder Sword Batootha held the power lightning allowing Eze's skills to rise to a whole new level as he was able to sunder armor like paper thus earning him the title, the Thunder King.

When the great war of the gods began, he would be able to decimate his enemies with his elusive speed and devastating thunderous blows with his sword despite being outnumbered many to one. He even manages to rescue Atharva's best female general Emilia during an intense battle with the gods. At that time, she spoke with Eze. While her words are debatable, apparently she said this to him, “You're not just some idiot, you're an idiot to be respected.”

After that, he decided to continue into the heart of the battle hoping to end the fight quickly. As he made his way onto the heart of the battle against the gods, he noticed a woman standing still. He was confused with the lady there and assumed that she needed help but with the battle raging around them, now was not the best time to request help unless she was a down soldier or something even though this was a woman Eze was talking to, "Excuse me miss... You should probably head back to safety, it's not safe here..." She did not respond to his warning somehow, "Uh miss?" Even with the fact that he tends to have trouble speaking with women, what she was doing was starting to annoy him, "Okay, are you even listening to me or...?"

The woman's expression still retains her neutral expression as she opened her book making Eze questioning what she was doing now. Just as he was approaching her, she reacts and suddenly decides to spread carnage. During that moment, the woman looks at Eze, her neutral expression gone. Now she bore one of anger as she stepped in front of him, "I won’t let you pass beyond here and end this fight so quickly! Your life ends here!” Just as she said that, a whirlpool appeared right where Eze stood. He had barely enough time to react as two spears appeared below him. While he barely dodged the first one, he was not so lucky on the second one as it hit him on the leg.

He bit back a scream as he was out of the whirlpool. He was clutching his bleeding leg as he looked towards the lady in question. The suddenness of the attack was one thing, but there was another that bothered him the most, why did she want to stop him. He silently cursed himself for not bringing in any cures to the battle yet at the same time, he also silently chuckled at that notion. He was struggling to stand up for a few moments while keeping his gaze upon the lady. He decided to ask her the question that was in his head, "Why...? Why stop me? You're human too aren't you?"

The woman merely scoffed as she opened her book once more, "Does it matter? I cannot allow you to live..." Just as she said that, she unleashed a barrage of attacks on him hoping to end the thunder hero. Refusing to fight with a woman at first, Eze hesitated to strike her as her ferocious attacks kept coming at him.

As he kept on blocking a string of attacks, he tried to talk her down from attacking him further, "Hey! I don't know what's going on, but you really should stop! If you want to let your anger out at someone, do it at the God Army, not me!" Despite what he said, she continued her attacks with seemingly no end in sight. His leg was still crippled but he continued to fight through the pain as he dodged another string of water attacks. He tries once more in the hopes that her attention will be diverted, "Lady, did you not hear me?! I said aim that at the God Army, not me! What is wrong with you?!"

What she said made the thunder hero realize the extent of this woman's resolution, "Why should I when I am a part of the God Army you fight against? I joined their side with a purpose. What it is does not concern you Thunder Hero, all I was called for is to end your life right here, right now!" She unleashed yet another barrage of spells on Eze. The attacks seemed unrelenting but they were weakening slowly.

Despite not knowing her, Eze seemed distraught from hearing her revelation, "You would join the enemy and go against your own people? I don't get it why you would do that at all..." Knowing that she was set on eliminating him, he raised his sword Batootha high into the air. With a heavy heart, he came to the woman with all his might, attaining powers greater than those of the gods within that short period. An intense battle ensued between the two of them until he finally took her life. He looked at the body of the woman he came to defeat. Saddened yet proud of this woman’s determination, he went ahead and charged to the heart of the battle.

Before he could enter though, a lone Oracle Knight appeared before Eze. He looked at the thunder hero with a sad expression on his face as he spoke to him, “I am sorry about this fellow warrior, but as what the woman said, I must end your life here. Please forgive me for this…” He unsheathed his two swords ready to fight against the hero much to the lone knight’s shame for ending his life.

Eze was even more confused now as he stopped his charge, "What is going on today?! First that lady wants to kill me and now you? Would someone mind explain what the hell is going on?!" Although the battle was raging around the two of them, many of the members did not seem to want to engage against the thunder hero. It was smart on their part as he could easily decimate them.

The knight struggled to keep his laughter in due to the outburst Eze said. That however soon faded as the message rang clear in his mind. He could only feel remorse for having to this again once more. He looked towards the thunder hero with his experience expression still the same as always, "Her reason for why she wants to defeat is the same as mine. You must be defeated in battle now. Your death will appease the Gods to save even a portion of humanity."

Eze's eyes widened upon hearing this news. It was something he didn't yet it also made sense with why the lady attacked him. To the knight's surprise, Eze smiled broadly in response. Having seen that despite being able to continue to fight, he was too injured to continue the fight against the knight standing in front of him. Knowing that he was to face his death regardless of how much he kept on fighting, he turned his blade towards himself. Only then did he exclaimed to the fellow knight in question, “Only I can defeat my own self!” Eze then takes his own life as he plunges the blade deep into his body. His death comes quickly just as he collapses and his eyes close while still wearing his smile.

The Oracle Knight lowered his swords from the speech, surprised yet again that the thunder hero decided to perish by his own hands instead of him delivering the killing blow. Regardless though, this made the lone knight grief over this sudden loss, "How long will it take before this is all over?" That question would linger in his thoughts for years to come. Placing the same seal on the thunder hero, the light was now a thunderous yellow as it enveloped Eze. Like the others, he was soon vanished from the world and hopefully into a life where he can live the good life. Sheathing his blades, he disappeared from the battlefield heading for the next of the Six Heroes.

Vriksha, the country known for the World Tree residing there, was under turmoil by the gods’ onslaught. Here was the fourth of the Six Heroes. The Nature Hero of Legend by the name of Lance, he was a quiet and noble boy living in peace when he discovers the Demon Pike Drevas lying in a storehouse on his estate. During that time, he suddenly informed his family that he was leaving to train. His parents however strongly opposed, but in the end, he ran away from the estate with Drevas in hand. During his time training, those that faced him were in awe of his superior techniques despite being an inexperienced pikeman and called him a genius. However, Lance disliked being called a genius from time to time.

After his training was finished, he went to travel the land. During his travels, he managed to free the World Tree from its prison. From that time, he was never seen again until the battle with the gods began. Here, his pike, Drevas, had awoken and now carried the strength of the World Tree. He then took on the gods with his own might, refusing to align himself with any military entity.

The weapon was powerful under Lance’s possession as it helped the nature hero imbue him with power beyond his imagining. However, said power came at a heavy price. Whoever bears this pike would soon be consumed by its curse and become a tree. The spirit within the Demon Pike was the name of the weapon, Drevas. A spirit who could not control its curse, he was the one who called him to bring him forth at first to overcome its loneliness. Overtime though as he learned about Lance, they slowly became friends resulting in Drevas learning and feeling emotions he once couldn't feel as a demon. However, despite that, he felt sorry for the person that soon came to be friend due to the curse.

Lance did not mind the effects of the curse in question however. The spirit was most surprised about this yet accepted him as his worthy bearer despite his grief over the curse. In the end, Drevas’s power would soon become Lance’s as he fought against the gods. The fight spread to the country and Lance was called to defend his home country. As he kept fighting the gods, Lance's Demon Pike ate into his body even further.

During the war, a sniper from afar was trying to snipe him down from the distance. As Lance was handling the enemies coming towards him, Drevas would fortify their blind spot he was aiming for. This annoyed the both of them to a degree, This sniper is starting to get annoying now trying to kill us from afar...

"I concur... I'm trying to take care of these enemies in front of me and whoever is shooting us is now just being annoying." In the midst of everything, Lance had hatched an idea to take care of the sniper. However, it required the consent of his spirit friend, "Drevas, I have an idea to take care of the sniper, however, you might not like it."

His words were enough for the spirit to understand where he was getting at, Lance no... if you unleash the full strength of the pike, your body will deteriorate faster from the curse! I'm happy to have you as a friend, but that... I have to politely deny it! Drevas wanted Lance to not allow him to use that much power to take the sniper out. Even if it did work, the rate at which the curse will fully consume would be too much for him to handle.

Lance on the hand, knew that and didn't care much. He answered his denial with a logical explanation, "Look Drevas, I know you don't want me to become a tree now, but to be honest here. I don't think we'll be able to make through this alive anyhow. This is war and even if I live, the curse is going to get me anyway unless we find the cure for the curse quickly and time is not on our side." His spirit friend fell silent upon hearing his explanation. He hated to admit it, but he was right. No matter if they make it out of this, they may not have enough time to be able to stop and cure the curse ailing Drevas.

With a heavy heart, the demon spirit unlocked the full strength of the pike I don't like this Lance... But I'm allowing it for you. Lance then smiled as he unleashed his pike's ultimate power. Creating energy from nature, he flung the energy across a great distance in order to defend himself from a series of sniper attacks that had been continuously targeting him. Though this attack was successful in taking down the sniper, as expected, it consequently sped up the rate at which the Demon Pike was deteriorating his body.

Despite this, he continued to keep on fighting until the curse had fully consumed him. At the aftermath of the battle, the curse had begun to spread immobilizing him in place. Having managed to defend his home country, he awaits the curse to be completed. Before the curse fully consumed his body however, a lone knight showed himself before him. He looked at the knight who wore a sad expression on his face as he delivered a message, “I am sorry for the curse Hero of Nature but do no fret, your death will manage to save humanity itself from the Gods, that I can assure you.”

Upon hearing the knight's words, an expression of relief came over Lance's face. He looked at the lone knight for one last time before the curse consumed him, “Thank you fellow knight. I am glad to hear such wonderful news. I can at least feel at peace knowing that in the end, everything was worth the trouble.” After he said his last words, he embraced the Demon Pike as he turned into a great tree.

The Oracle Knight watched the hero become he was consumed by the curse. A forlorn smile formed on his face seeing the nature hero facing his fate with a smile. Almost all the heroes so far had faced their fate with a smile. He planted the seal on him causing it to glow from the familiar white to a natural green hue. Lance’s body, now a tree, glowed with the seal as he vanished from the world. He looked into the country of Vriksha, before departing to defeat the last two heroes.

As the God Army was defeating the people of the kingdom of Sama, a warrior of ice stepped forward to defeat those who managed to best many of their warriors. This warrior was the Ice Hero of Legend. Selena. Born from a line of chiefs of the wandering people of Savat, she was raised in traditional long sword techniques. Her training resulted in her standing out so much amongst the Savat warriors. As a result, she was offered the treasured sword Lexida as proof of her chiefdom at the age of fourteen. However, she refused it at the time, claiming she was still inexperienced.

At the age of eighteen, she felt an insurmountable level of pressure from the people to take upon the sword as the new chief. In the end, she folded to the pressure and took up Lexida as proof of her chiefdom. She had always rejected the sword in question but it ended up as a good fit for her quick and ice cold style. During a civil war in the Sama Kingdom, she aided the king and as chief of the Savat people, led them to many military victories. Impressed, the king granted her the title of Gilles De Lava meaning savior of the kingdom. While the Savat were pleased, Selena was not and she wanted to find a reason to quit being a chief. But fate deemed otherwise for the ice hero in question.

As the war with the gods began, war had encroached itself upon the Sama Kingdom. During said war, she refused to the call of the Sama Kingdom and instead lead the Savat people to save the masses. The treasure sword Lexida, reacted by showing its power in response to her skills as Selena cut down the gods with a cold pale blue strike giving the people courage and terrifying the gods as a result. However, while saving the masses, the Savat people she led all lost their lives in the great war. As the last one standing, she felt truly lonely for the first time and tried to end her life there. A voice from her ancestral sword, however, halted her suicide attempt. The voice in question were her fallen countrymen encouraging to continue the fight in the honor of the Savat people. Their words gave her a sense hope as she stood. With her allies' souls in Lexida, she continued the fight with more beauty and strength than ever before.

After losing the people she had lost, she sought to end the war and stop the God Army. On her way there, she suffered an assault by a religious fanatic witch. The witch in question continually barraged her with fire spells as she melted through her ice quickly, stopping her from utilizing any defensive measures with the ice. Selena noticed however, that the witch in question was a human just like her, making her shocked to see someone of their kind joined the side they were opposing. Her words only cemented her position in the war, "You defy the gods themselves... Do you know what it means for you human?"

Before Selena could speak out her answer, a surge of water blocked a volley of fireballs meant for her. Turning to her right, she saw her close friend Lucina coming forward and stepped in front of her and challenged the witch, "If you want to face my friend in a fight..." She raised and pointed her sword towards the witch before entering a battle stance, "You'll have to go through me to fight her!"

Selena's eyes widened from hearing what her friend said. Immediately, she tried to stop her friend from doing this, "Lucina, please don't do this for me! I already lost my people because of my mistakes, don't sacrifice yourself to save me! I don't want to lose you as well to the ravages of war!" She was holding back her tears by then as she was grasping her friend's left hand trying to be brave for her people.

However, her friend simply smiled as she grasped her hand, "Don't worry Selena, I'll make it through this, I promise! If the two of us ever make it through this war, do you want to--" Before she could finish that sentence, Selena moved her out of the way as a fireball flew pass her head barely leaving a mark on her face. She turned towards the witch in anger at first before turning towards her friend who was on her knees once more as she finishes her sentence, "Like I said before she interrupted me, do you want to adventure together like we dream of doing? With the both of us smiling and laughing like before when we were but children?"

A single tear escaped from Selena's eyes but her answer was clear to her. She blinked once before nodding to her answer. Lucina then smiled before standing up and charged towards her opponent. Selena stood up as she watched the two do battle. She did not wish to depart but as it was her choice, she could not argue with her friend. Just as she was about to depart, the battlefield was suddenly engulfed in flames with the two of them caught within the spell. The ice hero wanted to jump in there and help her friend desperately, she really wished to, but in the end, the war held more priority over a single battle between her friend and the witch. She looked away from the fires and silently prayed to her friend, "Please survive Lucina... I want to be able to adventure with you together."

After that prayer, Selena attained powers greater than those of the gods that threatened them. Looking ahead, she left the scorching battlefield behind her and immediately charged at the God Army. However, before she could arrive at her destination, she stopped as a lone knight appeared before her. He looked at her with a sad expression as he spoke, “You are the last of your kin yet you charge to fight a battle you may not be able to walk away from… Do you know the implications should you die?”

The question made Selena pause for a moment even if she knew the answer to that, Looking ahead, the battlefield was soaked with the blood of not only the Gods but of her kin as well. Being the last of her people has undoubtedly put more pressure on the ice hero yet despite that, she never yielded to the enemy. A smile formed as she looked towards the masked knight, "Yes, I do know the implications of what should happen. Despite that, I will continue to fight for my people for they believe in me."

The words Selena said spoke well to the knight in question. Like the other heroes, it made killing her much harder despite there being a good reason. With said reasoning in mind, he decided to relay the message to her, "Your words carry the justice of the people you cherished. It is... remarkable but I must regrettably end you here..." Selena's hand was on the hilt of her sword ready to draw against the knight in front of her. What he said next though managed to break her, "You see, your death will appease the Gods in question allowing them to save even a portion of humanity as a result. I want to allow you to fight but... I cannot."

The lone knight looked towards her and instantly regretted saying the message when he saw the shocked and saddened expression Selena currently wore. She examined the knight quickly, desperately hoping that what he said was a lie. While she did find him feeling ashamed to relay the message, there was no clear sign that he was lying about it. Before she could readily accept it, she asked him the question she feared facing, "Are... are you speaking the truth? I... I..." Her answer came in the form of him nodding.  The sight of that caused her to lower her ancestors’ sword.

The Oracle Knight was saddened to break her confidence but what’s done is done. He unsheathed one of his swords ready to end her life as he apologized, “I am sorry for doing this but at least, by doing so, you spare humanity from any more damage.” The words felt like poison to the knight no matter how truthful it was,

Selena stared at her soon-to-be killer as she felt her willpower fading. Even with the knowledge being true, what as going to happen to her will forever haunt her. She ends up saying something to the knight that will always be remembered to the both of them, “Even so, I will never forgive you.” The lone knight closed his eyes in response as he struck down the ice hero. The blow was hard for both her and the knight as he was saddened to have to end her life. Even with the smile she wore in her last moments, it was not enough to heal his hurting heart. He dipped his index finger on her blood before swiping it on the seal. Placing the seal on the Hero of Ice, she glowed a beautiful blue color before she vanished from the world. The Oracle Knight suddenly realized that there was only one hero left to defeat. With a heavy heart, he left the Sama kingdom to end the last hope of the humans.

Here in the Agni Empire, the last of the Six Heroes was fighting back against the many adversaries lingering in the battlefield. As a child, Vargas was proud of his late father, Avant when he became a knight in the Order of Agni. When was of adult age, he trained in the long sword hoping to follow in his father's footsteps becoming a formidable knight as a result. Although he became well-known for his countless victories over other warriors, he still considers himself inexperienced and continues to train with great zeal.

Eventually, he managed to join the Order of Agni like his father before him. However, soon after he joined, he was defeated by a swordswoman named Lava who was also under the Order of Agni. Ashamed of having lost to her, he left to train once more and intensified his techniques with the long sword. Through harsh training, he mastered the use of his fire-encased sword, Dandelga. The sword in question was made by a fellow blacksmith and friend named Galant during his intense training. With this sword in hand, he came to face the swordswoman he lost too and both were an even match. However, soon after their fight, he became a drifter not returning to the Order of Agni for some time.

When the war of the Gods begun, Vargas was at the frontlines, cutting down many gods that came at him one by one. His mere presence encouraged those who were terrified by the gods' strength, giving the humans a chance to counterattack and fight back. Continuing to lead the attack, Vargas would end up making even the gods fear his strength like the others before him becoming a savior to many. Yet even he could not escape unscathed when faced with the impregnable forces of the gods. As he collapsed from the pain and felt his life slowly fade away, he hears Lava's distant voice echoing in his mind, "Take my wings. I don't need them anymore." When he felt his life return to him, he found blazing wings on his back but could not find Lava. This made him assume that Lava sacrificed herself to give him her wings. With that knowledge in mind, he charges into battle with a renewed vigor. However, his guess while not true, would soon become a reality.

As he was about to charge into the battlefield, he ran into some enraged animals who were causing havoc in the villages. Despite the war holding more precedent in question, he decided to stop the raging animals and get their attention away from the village so that the people can escape to safety. Stepping in front of the animals, he creates a wall of fire separating them from the village allowing the villagers to evacuate the town. Once he noticed that the town was now empty, he dispelled the fiery wall only to find a furious young girl standing besides the animals. This baffled the Hero of Fire for a moment before the confusion faded away as he noticed her comforting one of the agitated animals. Despite the anger in her eyes, he saw her as someone not requiring violence. He sheathed Dandelga and took a few steps to introduce himself, "Hello there young girl, what appears to be--"

Before he could finish his question, he heard a command from the girl that caused him to pause and react to the situation, "Take down that human everyone! End the flames that once destroyed the forest!" Just as she said that, all the animals now were charging at him with overwhelming numbers.

Vargas immediately backed away, not wanting to fight her in question. Wave after surging wave of animals continued to attack him as he continued to dodge their attacks. A roar from a bear alerted him as he sidestepped out of the way only to walk into the claws of another animal leaving a gash on his back. Vargas bit back his scream as he was clutching his back. He decided to fly above the stampeding animals in order to reason with the young girl. As he continued to dodge the animals during his flight, he tried to reason with the girl who stood still and watched the scene, "Wait, I'm not who you think I am! I do not wish to harm upon you or the forest you reside in question! I wish to fight against the gods that are opposing us!"

His words unfortunately only managed to make her more angry as she decided to step forwards, "I don't trust humans who not only threaten the forest but use fire against us! You are all going to face your fates here, right now and I'll be sure of that!" She pointed at his direction and suddenly, birds of all varieties were coming for him. Vargas could only continue to dodge as he continued to try to reason with her, not wanting to shed the blood of an innocent and misunderstood child.

During this time, Lava sought to make her way back to the Hero of Fire after receiving her new wings when she sacrificed her old wings to Vargas, only to find him battling a young girl in a forest while injured. Seeing that his heart was not in the battle, Lava tried to interfere out of anger until a new foe bent on destroying everything suddenly appeared. This led her to release the full extent of her power in order to face this new foe. The result of that battle lead to the death of that disciple but severely crippled her.

As he was continuing to evade the animals both ground and aerial, he noticed a woman lying on the battlefield. Although he couldn't a good look on who it was, he was able to immediately recognize who he saw, "Lava...?" His expression from seeing her went from bewilderment to one of panic as he noticed blood pooling around her, "Lava! Hold on, I'm coming!" He tried to get to her but a lion managed to pounce on his back bringing him back down. Fighting the lion off of him, he managed to recover and land without too much of an injury. The young girl continued to send wave after wave of animals at Vargas. The fire hero was now getting irritated as he unsheathed his sword, "I do not have time to deal with this! My friend is in danger and I must help her now!" Just as Vargas was about to unleash his attack, the girl moved in to attack herself. He saw and tried to stop himself, but the girl was under divine protection and managed to deliver a serious blow to him.

Vargas was sent flying from the sudden attack but managed to recover with his wings as he was clutching his chest while coughing up a little bit of blood. He looked towards the young child seeing her in a new light. That one attack made the fire hero realize that she really meant to fight him to the death. The idea of shedding a child's blood was something Vargas did not wish to do but seeing her resolve, he had no choice but to quickly finish this to help his friend, "You... are serious about this..." He fell silent as he grabbed his sword once more silently mourning for the inevitable death approaching for her, "I am sorry little girl for doing this..." As the girl and the animals charged, he performed an upward slash just as he chanted the move he was performing, "Sacred Sunshine!" A stream and waves of fire surged from the sword as it enveloped the battlefield. Vargas could only close his eyes as he heard the scream of the girl echoing in his ears.

As he finished the move, he opened his eyes once more and never turned around as he departed to save his rival. Despite being injured, he managed to sprint to her side and dropped to his knees as he lifted her head up, hoping that he wasn't too late. Slowly, her right eye was struggling to open but it was clear that she was alive. Vargas immediately smiled seeing a sign of life from his rival, "Oh thank the heavens, you're still alive!"

Lava opened her other eye as she raised her right hand up and touched his face, "V-Vargas... Is that... you?" She blinked once just to be sure that the person she was seeing and touching was the same person that she willingly gave her old wings too. Once she confirmed that the person in front of her was her rival in question, she could only berate him despite the situation, "You idiot... Why would you... not take the fight against that girl seriously the first time? You almost died there..."

Vargas could only look back at the forest where he fought the young girl in question, "Because..." He fell silent for some time silently mourning and regretting for ending the life of the youthful girl, "Even with all the damage she caused, she was still a young female caught in something she should not have participated in. I tried not to kill her but..."

Lava could only look towards the forest and slowly but surely understand the situation her rival was in. Shedding the blood of a child is something she does not wish to do herself even if said child was not so innocent, "I... guess I could see... why you..." She immediately was coughing out blood while clutching her chest with each cough. Vargas saw it and was about to carry her out until a hand stopped him. He looked to see Lava grabbing his wrist and shaking her head, "Even... if you tried... you wouldn't be able to... make it..."

Vargas shook his head, vehemently denying her statement, "No... I don't want to see you die here Lava! I'm going to get you back to the Agni Empire! The medics can...!" Before he could finish his sentence, Lava pulled herself up and wrapped her arms around the fire hero. The action surprised Vargas, but it helped calm himself down as he returned the gesture. Both were locked in this for some time before Lava was coughing once again. Vargas let go and looked at Lava who was smiling despite the pain she was in, "Why did you do that?"

Lava could only chuckle as she was struggling to breath, "Because... why not? You needed to calm down..." She smiled once again as she felt her right hand slowly dropping from Vargas's shoulder. The fire hero immediately grabbed it in response and gently put it to rest on her body. Lava was thankful for that simple yet kind gesture as she looked at her rival, "I... can feel... my life fading... Vargas, before I depart... to the heavens, tell me..." She fell silent for some time as the sounds of war seemingly quieted itself around them. She bought her sword to her side and placed it on her body as she asks the question, "Do... do you think my fire... burned strongly till the end?"

Vargas could only smile as he placed his hand over her hand and heart, "Yes, it very much did Lava. Your prowess as a swordswoman is something I can recognize as one I am glad to have witness." The fire hero had never said that to Lava before in a long time but having said it now made her passing harder to accept for him.

His words makes his rival smile once more and shed a single tear as she closed her eyes, "I'm... glad... to have met you... as my rival. I wished... we could have fought... against each other... just like old times... after this war." Lava's soul slowly begun to dissipate with each passing second as she felt her life slipping away before the fire that shone brightly stopped burning. Vargas held onto her body even as he tried to not shed some tears for her. The fire hero did not want her body to be desecrated so he decided to carry her body somewhere tranquil and away from war. He finds a location perfect for her and walks there. Here, he places the body and her sword under a tree that shimmered brightly with the sun. Only when he was satisfied did he depart back to the battlefield with a drive to end this war once and for all.

At that moment, a knight appeared before him causing him to momentarily stop. The knight in question looked towards the fire hero who looked ready to fight once more. What got him though was him giving his rival a proper passing. It made taking his life, like with the others, much harder now. Still, he could not back down from this. As the last of the Six Heroes, he knew that humanity would have lost all sense of hope once this was accomplished, "Vargas, Hero of Fire, I do not wish to fight you but as per the God's request, I must..." Before he could finish his sentence, Vargas immediately attacked him causing him to back away.

A fire burned strongly in Vargas as he unsheathed Dandelga from its scabbard, "Whatever the Gods requested to you, tell them that I'll pass on it. If you want to see me fall here, then fight me! I have seen too much unnecessary bloodshed your Gods' caused to the innocent humans! I have seen so many sacrifices done by my friends and family that will forever be in my memories for years to come! If I am too fall, I will continue to fight until my last breath!"  The fire hero then charged at the knight and at that moment, Vargas would obtain powers greater than those of any god known .

The knight saw him attaining the power prompting him to block each of his attacks hoping to talk him down, "You must calm yourself, Hero of Fire! There is a reason for your demise now!" That only made Vargas strike harder with each strike he blocked. The knight knew that if this continues, he will not be able to live. He tried once more by relaying the message he said towards the other heroes, "If you perish here, that will appease the Gods to save even a portion of humanity!'

That managed to stop the fire hero from attacking. He looked to see that Vargas was wondering if what he said was true or not, "Is what you say true knight? if I die here, humanity will be allowed to thrive?" He pointed his fire-cloaked sword at his face as he stared him down seeing if there was any sign of him lying, "Because if not, I will happily be willing to end this battle here and now..." The knight was nervous from the threat since he spoke true with it.

But it did not stop him as he answered his question, "Yes, I speak the truth here. As per the Gods request, you must fall so that in return, they will save even a portion of humanity..." Vargas was checking him out, seeing if there was even a single clue that told him he was lying about this. When he found none, he lowered his sword in surprise. The thought of having even a portion of humanity be saved by the gods was something he would not trust so easily considering what they did but his words and his tone had a ring of truth to them. It was by that point that he sheathed his sword and let the knight do what he must do. The lone knight was in pain for performing this task even if the reasoning was right. With a pain of regret, the knight struck him. Vargas could only smile as he lost his life to the blade that struck him down.

With no one to defend it, the Agni Empire began to crumble after this hero's death and the Oracle Knight knows this. He had truly wished that this never was to be the result but with the promise the Gods said and him being reunited with the Oracle Maiden’s life, was their any other choice? In the end, all was said and done. He placed the final seal on the Hero of Fire. His body begun to glow white before becoming a burning and shining red. As the light enveloped his body, like the others, he disappeared from the world. The lone knight sighed seeing that this was all over yet he knew that this whole ordeal was hard on him. He sheathed his two swords and left to return to the Grand Gaia Crater, “May these heroes find peace in the afterlife…” Even with these words, the war of the Gods would leave scars that would haunt the world of Grand Gaia for all eternity. Yet... despite the deaths of the Six Heroes, their example to continue to fight would up end being the hope that will forever stay unbroken for humanity as long as they can fight.