The Transcendent Godslayer

Zephyrus wiped the tears from the corner of his eye, his gaze carrying a mirthful light that hadn't been there before.

He slowly shook his head and turned toward the one thing present that he hadn't seen in Yula's memories:

Black, tar-like goo on the ground, giving off a pungent odor.

"Hmmm… Impurities… Did he finally awaken?" he mused lightly.

Leaving Yula's corpse, he stared at Menelaus' burnt, skeletal face, silently appreciating how a child could come up with something so brutal.

"To think he's still so young," he muttered with a shake of his head.

"Now to find you…"

He rose from his crouched position, not even bothering to read Menelaus' memories, and headed deeper inside—toward the tunnels leading to the living quarters.

It would be a useless endeavor as he wouldn't find anything through memory-reading. It was better to just search for it himself.

It was important to uncover the relationship between the runes Menelaus had drawn on Kallen and everything else that had occurred.

It would've been much more efficient to extract that knowledge from Menelaus' memories, from there, even discovering the origins of the tattoos and the method used by whoever the source was, had contacted him.

Of course, he hadn't dismissed the idea that a Saint might be involved with all the happenings sorrounding Kallen, or that someone could be scheming against him.

The connections to these events were too closely tied to ignore. Not even a fool would be foolish enough to brush them off.

How else could Menelaus have come into possession of something that he was certain, had given Kallen a significant boost in strength?

The carvings on Menelaus' left palm, which matched the runic tattoo-like markings on Kallen, only made the idea that it increased his strength, more likely.

Besides that, how else could this structure have survived as the epicenter of a clash that had reshaped the terrain of Andreía?

It could even be that it was all the machinations of one Saint, involved in both cases—and that Saint might be the answer to all his questions. If so, then perhaps no one was scheming against him at all.

Still… he couldn't be certain. If this Saint wasn't potentially going to be his enemy, he would have praised them for setting up something so elaborate, it left him in a pickle.

Zephyrus opened Menelaus' stone door and stared into the room for a moment before sighing in mock exhaustion.

The place was completely ransacked and overturned. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened here.

Still, he moved in, carefully but quickly ransacking the room in search of anything unusual.

He found nothing.

Leaving the place as overturned as he had found it, he walked out with a thoughtful look.

It could only mean one of two things: Kallen had found whatever it was and taken it with him… or there was nothing there to begin with. He couldn't have missed it, as fooling his senses was almost impossible.

He would even argue that Saints would struggle to pull it off. And based on the possibility that he was potentially dealing with one, he had been extra careful.

But still... nothing.

So either Kallen had taken it… or the Saint was simply too good. Regardless, he could still pry those secrets from the one who held them directly. Everything still boiled down to one thing: finding Kallen.

He left the forge immediately, reappearing on the surface, ignoring the others who had just arrived and were now staring at the mess of mauled corpses.

While they scoured the... "ruins" for non-existent treasure, he would be going after the real prize.

Kallen couldn't have gone too far, not for a Fourth Ascension ascendant, especially not from him.

Besides…

He looked up to the sky, listening to the thunderous booms above as he felt the approach of a storm.

"He won't be able to move for a while, I suppose."

"Are we going somewhere again?" came a voice he found particularly annoying.

His brother appeared beside him, looking prim and proper, as though the battle earlier had nothing to do with him. Zephyrus ignored the bastard, his eyes chilling.

Then, suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. The bastard could actually be useful.

"Say Phineas..." He turned to his brother with a kind smile curling his lips.

Phineas once again, felt a chill crawl up his spine.

---

Kallen walked out of a building, miles away from the underground settlement, where the surface could only be described as a wasteland.

He kept his head low, the large black cloak he wore doing well enough to hide his appearance completely. He had finally arrived in a place where people were just beginning to pick themselves up from the wreckage the Saints had left behind.

He didn't want to get into any scuffle, nor any interaction… well, any more than necessary, that would lead to suspicion, or even worse exposing him.

The sun was already setting, and the sky rumbled as lightning flashed, dark clouds marching in from the horizon.

He walked into an alley of rubble and, once he was sure he was completely out of sight, pulled a folded paper from his cloak.

Unfolding it, he gazed at a map that depicted this region of Andreía… or at least what it used to be.

He had gotten the map from a man he was truly fortunate to have met, after finally seeing the first kernels of civilization, following a long sprint across miles, until the strain and discomfort in his lungs became impossible to ignore, even with his improved attributes.

Too bad the man had attacked him, demanding he reveal himself and hand over everything he had.

Of course, Kallen couldn't reveal himself, and besides, he was dirt poor.

So he took from the man instead.

As for the man… he had finally found peace.

A single drop of water fell from the sky, landing on the map. Kallen raised his head to the sky, his cold crimson eyes reflecting the fury of the heavens, his thoughts for the coming storm, known to just him.