In eternal darkness, William slept. It was a cold dream, like the ones he had before. But, the first time he had slept since the Horizon Soul, his dream was quiet.
Just like now.
He didn't know what that meant, whether it was symbolic of something far in the future, or whether this meant that the dream had truly reflected what was going to happen.
But, he also had no time to ponder.
A crimson-red blood sea emerged from the endless, enveloping darkness that was similar to outer space. It moved like water, although you could not see anything within the paints of red that formed and flowed eternally.
It was like this place was a different dimension that he was summoned to. Like Hell. The Crimson Hell.
However, there were no demons, so that couldn't possibly be it. Crimson Hell did seem like a fitting name, despite that.
Since he could see the souls of the dead through the blood sea. They were either screaming in anguish or laughing joyfully. Those who died with regrets were the ones suffering, while those who died with accomplishments had no Karma to bear.
This was the true afterlife, said to have been ruled by three Primordial Deities, according to the faction of the "Stargazing Scholars", the God of Debts, the God of Death, and the God of Laws. They each had an orthodox religion devoted to them, not knowing that they were deities of the Skies Beyond.
One theory stated that the pantheon was what made up the Divine Creator themself.
'How… how am I…?' William pondered.
'How am I floating…?? How am I… awake? What is this??'
The moment he began to talk, the souls began to wail. The presence of a living man did not belong here, with them.
But, among the billions and billions, perhaps even trillions, of shrieks and screams, only two people did not scream. For their son was here to comfort them, one last time.
The scales that defined Law shook, and a predetermined price was paid. They were allowed to exit the sea of blood, and they rejoiced, embracing their son.
"Mom? Dad?"
"Are you two… dead?"
Tears began to flow from his eyes and a chill rose through his body, threatening to ruin this peaceful embrace. He didn't let it happen, and he hugged them back, as hard as he could.
He didn't even get the chance to save them.
But, as long as this embrace lasted for an eternity, it wouldn't matter. Nothing mattered.
However, that could not be made possible by a human. Instead, they whispered words into his ear.
"My son, William. Wake up from this dream of yours. We were dead long before you knew. Your father died in a car accident five years ago, leaving me and you alone. And I… I died of heartbreak, seeing as you weren't home and how dangerous the outside world was when it happened."
"I couldn't even be brought back to life, as I wasn't struck down, but fell to myself."
"You… You are special, though. Your luck is immense, to have survived that horrible night in the forest. You are blessed by the Gods. And the Law declares you as a saviour. You will unburden the world, and make everything right. All evils that are coming are your enemy, so, strike them, and do not fear."
"We will forever be watching you."
…
"I can't believe you said my name out loud like that… What would I do if people found out that I was once the young, pretending scholar that studied blasphemous alchemical techniques, all in revenge?"
The group of six stared at him with confusion.
"…It's fine. I don't care about it anymore anyway." Brewer replied.
Truth be told, anyone experienced in the art of catalysts and whatnot could easily infer that his specific concoction methods were derived from alchemy, which is why he only hid his name nowadays for specific reasons.
"…I didn't know you liked to talk, Shard. How interesting." The Steellion said.
"But don't worry, I'll make your death the most interesting of all!"
Brewer, who now wielded his true name, Shard, took out many talismans and imbued them with a variety of concoctions in less than a second. The catalysts that were the potions, served to turn these pieces of paper into weapons of destruction.
By Shard's command, the talismans attached themselves to the Steellion's body and made it roar with pain. But, it stood in front of William and smiled devilishly through the agony.
"Sarah, stay away," Shard said, "You are too valuable to risk losing in this battle, alongside that boy."
"You weaklings will not defeat me!" The Steellion declared.
The beast clawed deep into the earth and ripped its claws upwards, sending a powerful force of dust and rocks at them.
However, these rocks were blocked off by Sylvia, whose sword technique was like a hypnotizing dance, swift, smooth and elegant. Her sword's edge rushed towards the Steellion, but even with her full force, its skin was unable to be pierced.
"Pathetic."
The Steellion swiped down at her, and despite her being caught off-guard, she was saved by Barrow, who diverted its claw blades with his bare hands.
"Damn it… run away, Slyvia!"
"…No…" Sylvia muttered, biting her tongue to concentrate, "I won't run."
She held onto her sword extra tightly and silently calculated in her head when the right time to strike would be. Barrow was already loosening his grip, so his bloodied hands wouldn't be able to last much longer, meaning she had to secretly sign to the four behind them to wait for her mark.
"1… 2… 3…!"
She raised her blade and dashed forward quickly just as Barrow let go, meanwhile, Lukas, Duncan and Soria shot their arrows with united precision, targeting the few orifices of the Steellion's body. It roared and prepared to take down both Barrow and Sylvia in one strike.
However, Shard's talismans prevented that. His concoctions were mostly poison-based, and the most utilised one out of his entire current collection was his 13th out of 34 formulae, "Blackening Freeze."
Using the arrows as steps, she stepped on its back and used her blade to impale through the fleshy, unprotected part of the Steellion's neck. It roared, but the battle wasn't over yet.
Using her blade, Sylvia steered it away from William and made it stand up on its hind legs. Lukas, Duncan and Soria took this as the chance to shoot at its unprotected belly, and Shard took the opportunity to use his 34th concoction.
"Hah, I've been waiting to do this!"
He took out a vial and dipped several wooden needles into it. He held onto these needles and grinned, sprinting at full force to the beast before slashing it several times in the stomach with the poisoned needles.
This concoction, "Sunshine & Rain", was anything but that. It made the body react in opposite ways, making you radiate steam and ash as if you were being cooked alive, while frost and ice also covered your body.
It was the sole unique concoction that Shard had come up with, and he made it by mixing a variety of rare, unique flowers.
However, the Steellion was a Demonic Creature. Like a Magic Creature, it had a natural resistance to the elements of the world. But, unlike a Magic Creature, it also had something else.
It could become an Unholy.
In other words, a demonic entity. The most inferior kind, sure enough, much, much more deficient when even compared to Hellhounds, but a demonic entity nonetheless.
It unleashed a wave of Karmic Debt and Mana that pushed everyone back and radiated a crimson darkness that boasted similarities to one word, the "Abyss". This crimson darkness was its lifeblood, and it sacrificed that to gain a humanoid body.
At last, it completed its transformation and looked like a living black suit of armour.
"You…!"
"Haha, the only reason why I bore this pain of living like a Demonic Creature, apart from the fear I had in my heart for the original me, is because of this powerful form I could gain access to, as long as I sacrifice my life force."
"Despite me being a pawn, you must understand, in this body, a group of inexperienced adventurers and a Mage without a proper catalyst cannot possibly defeat me."
"So now, let me see you in despair!" It said, before swinging its armoured hand at the defenceless William.
The sound of golden bells ringing filled the air. Sarah's eyes were closed, but her greenish-gold power that was borrowed from the Eleven Visionaries enveloped the entire area in half a second.
"You seek…"
"Someone's salvation from destruction."
"That wish is granted, child. The price shall be paid another day."
Sarah nodded and fainted instantly. Meanwhile, the power that spread from her body circled the Unholy and bright, golden chains arose from the ground, holding it in place.
"What… What trickery is this?!"
Suddenly, a bright flash of light occurred, and William's power had finally finished its coalescence with that of another's.
The closed eye on his chest had conditionally opened itself and granted him the Power of Law, which merged with his Golden Ink to create a temporary???, "The Artisan's Law."
The God of Laws had peered within William's divine potential and temporarily allowed??? to be created.
The Skies Beyond want to see how far this young luminary would go.