The skies above Tatara remained eternally dark.
No sunlight truly reached this forsaken region. Thick ash-colored clouds covered the heavens endlessly while cold winds swept across the ruined landscape carrying the scent of blood, decay, and ancient mana. Mountains stood broken like the corpses of giants while rivers of black water flowed between valleys filled with monster carcasses and shattered bones. Even the mana here felt violent—alive in the worst possible way—as though the land itself rejected the existence of anything mortal.
And within that hellscape—
Azriah Antioch walked calmly through the wasteland.
A month had passed since he entered Tatara.
A month of endless hunting.
A month of bloodshed.
A month of monsters screaming beneath his blade.
His black coat fluttered lightly behind him while snow-like ash drifted through the air around his figure. His physique had visibly changed compared to before. The softness that once lingered around him had vanished entirely. Lean muscles now formed beneath his clothes while countless small scars marked his arms and neck. His silver hair had grown slightly longer over the month, falling messily over his eyes while dried blood stained parts of his sleeves.
At his waist rested a dark dagger emitting faint cold mana.
And beside him—
floated dozens of tiny spirit orbs.
Some glowed crimson.
Others pale blue.
A few radiated darkness so deep they seemed capable of swallowing light itself.
They circled around Azriah affectionately like playful children following their parent.
The boy himself, however, looked utterly exhausted.
Not physically.
Mentally.
His eyes had become sharper over the past month. Colder. More detached. The constant fighting within Tatara had slowly eroded away the remaining traces of softness hidden within him.
Because surviving here required becoming worse than the monsters themselves.
At that moment—
a massive corpse collapsed behind him with a thunderous sound.
Black blood spread across the ground while the gigantic bat-like monster twitched violently before finally going still. Its wings were large enough to cover an entire building while rows of jagged teeth filled its broken mouth.
Azriah slowly pulled his mana blade free from the creature's skull.
Then—
without even glancing at the corpse—
he crouched down calmly and tore out the mana core from its chest.
A glowing purple crystal covered in blood entered the pouch hanging at his side.
Another one.
The pouch was already nearly overflowing.
Sham floated nearby while staring blankly at the mountain of corpses surrounding them.
"…You're still doing this?"
Azriah wiped blood from his cheek lazily.
'Hm?'
"This," Sham answered while gesturing around the battlefield. "The endless hunting. The murdering. The collecting."
Azriah simply glanced around afterward.
The ground was covered in monster corpses.
Winged beasts.
Serpents.
Humanoid creatures with too many limbs.
Everything around them looked like a battlefield abandoned by gods.
Yet Azriah merely shrugged.
'Experience doesn't collect itself.'
Sham's brows twitched slightly.
"Normal people don't call this experience."
Azriah ignored the comment entirely before climbing onto a large black rock nearby. He sat down casually while loosening the pouch of mana cores beside him. The thing landed heavily against the stone with a metallic clinking sound.
Hundreds.
Perhaps thousands.
Mana cores gathered over a single month.
Sham stared at the overflowing pouch before speaking again.
"…You even killed the Void Serpent."
Azriah leaned back slightly.
'Three-headed one?'
"Yes, that one."
Sham's expression still looked mildly disturbed while recalling the event from several days earlier.
The Void Serpent was not a creature ordinary humans could kill.
Three gigantic heads.
A body capable of crushing mountains.
Void mana potent enough to erase entire regions.
Even weakened—
the creature should have annihilated Azriah instantly.
Yet the boy had stalked the battlefield patiently for hours while the serpent fought a griffin over territory. He waited until both creatures were nearly dead before descending like a scavenger upon the exhausted victor.
And afterward—
he butchered the serpent alive.
Sham still remembered the sight vividly.
Azriah calmly carving through scales while black tendrils from Usurper's Hand devoured chunks of flesh.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
Only cold efficiency.
"…You really are terrifying sometimes," Sham muttered.
Azriah smirked faintly.
'Thank you.'
"That wasn't praise."
Azriah simply ignored him again while staring toward the distant horizon of Tatara. Endless darkness stretched before his eyes while crimson moons faintly illuminated the wasteland from above.
After several moments Sham sighed.
"So?"
Azriah hummed softly.
"Is it over or not?"
The silver-haired boy remained silent briefly before nodding.
'Yeah.'
He lightly kicked the pouch of mana cores beside him.
'This should be enough experience for now.'
Sham floated closer.
"Where to next?"
Azriah's lips curled upward slightly.
'Civilization.'
"…That's a terrifying sentence coming from you."
Azriah chuckled quietly.
'Being here too long makes you feel less human.'
Sham stared at him strangely afterward.
Because the boy said those words so casually.
As though acknowledging something obvious.
Azriah leaned forward slightly while resting his elbows on his knees.
'Next stop should be Qamar'i Desert.'
Silence.
Then—
"…What kind of hellscape is that?"
Azriah blinked before turning toward Sham slowly.
Then suddenly—
he burst out laughing.
Actually laughing.
Sham's expression darkened immediately.
"…What?"
Azriah held his forehead while laughing quietly.
'You don't know Qamar'i?'
"No."
'The ancient bones themselves? The kingdom of shattered suns? The burial grounds of gods?'
Sham looked visibly annoyed now.
"You sound like a drunk bard."
Azriah smirked afterward.
'Fair enough.'
The boy leaned back against the rock while speaking lazily.
'Qamar'i Desert was created after the Second Doom War.'
The moment those words left his mouth—
Sham froze slightly.
Azriah noticed immediately.
And his expression subtly changed.
Interesting.
Within the past month he had learned many things about Sham.
Or rather—
many things Sham refused to speak about.
The spirit possessed knowledge far beyond ordinary beings. His understanding of divinity, ancient wars, mana structures, and forbidden races was absurdly deep. Yet there were strange gaps in that knowledge. Entire historical periods Sham knew nothing about.
Like Qamar'i.
Azriah's crimson eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
'You really don't know it.'
Sham crossed his arms.
"Obviously."
Azriah remained silent for several moments afterward.
Then—
inside his mind—
his thoughts began moving rapidly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
If Sham lacked knowledge regarding events after the Second Doom War, then there were only two possibilities.
Either—
he had been imprisoned before the war occurred.
Or—
he was born after it.
But the second option felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Azriah slowly glanced sideways toward the floating spirit.
Sham didn't feel like a creature born from hell.
Everything about him felt… strange.
Pure.
Almost angelic.
Even his mana carried a strange sacredness hidden beneath its chaotic nature.
Azriah quietly thought about this while maintaining a calm expression outwardly.
Within the past month he had developed a spirit-element spell specifically for moments like this.
A mental partition.
Temporary separation.
It allowed him to isolate his thoughts from Sham's perception for brief periods of time.
A necessary precaution.
Because despite everything—
Azriah still didn't fully trust him.
Not yet.
The spirit orbs floating nearby suddenly gathered around Azriah again while emitting tiny chirping sounds. Small flames danced around his fingers afterward—blue fire mixed with darkness.
His spirit affinity had grown absurdly quickly during this month.
The spirits adored him.
Especially the darkness spirits.
Sham once explained that elemental spirits usually feared humans.
Yet around Azriah—
they acted affectionate.
Obsessive even.
As though drawn toward something hidden within him.
Azriah lightly poked one of the fire spirits floating near his cheek.
The tiny orb spun happily around his finger afterward.
Cute.
Then suddenly—
Sham's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"You know…"
Azriah glanced sideways.
"…For someone who talks so much about destiny and manipulation, you've clearly never gotten laid."
Silence.
The fire spirit floating near Azriah froze.
Azriah slowly stared at Sham blankly.
Then—
'…What?'
Sham grinned smugly now.
"You heard me."
Azriah's brows twitched faintly.
'That insult doesn't even make sense.'
"It does in my heart."
Azriah deadpanned at him for several seconds before sighing heavily.
'You're becoming more insufferable every day.'
"Thank you."
Azriah clicked his tongue before standing up from the rock. The mana cores clinked loudly as he tied the pouch properly onto his belt.
Then—
his expression slowly became serious again.
'Qamar'i isn't just some random destination.'
Sham crossed his arms.
"Then why go there?"
Azriah's crimson eyes darkened slightly.
'Because I need to fill the blood pool.'
The atmosphere subtly shifted afterward.
Sham's playful expression faded immediately.
The blood pool.
One of Azriah's newly formed internal structures after awakening blood-element mana.
A terrifying thing.
Something humans should not possess.
Azriah continued calmly.
'Qamar'i is where the blood of gods seeped into the earth.'
Sham blinked.
"…Ah."
Recognition finally appeared on his face.
"The battlefield."
Azriah nodded slowly.
'An entire pantheon died there.'
Sham whistled quietly.
"That explains the cursed reputation."
Azriah's gaze wandered toward the distant wasteland.
'The Light Pantheon specifically.'
At those words—
Sham immediately sneered.
"Oh those roaches."
Azriah glanced sideways slightly amused.
Sham continued irritably.
"They don't die that easily. Most probably escaped into self-created realms."
He paused briefly.
"Or passed through Samsara."
Azriah nodded.
'Yeah.'
The boy's expression turned thoughtful afterward.
'Most of them have already reincarnated by now.'
Sham blinked.
"…Already?"
'Mhm.'
Azriah started walking slowly through the wasteland while speaking casually.
'Most should currently be around our age.'
Then—
after a brief pause—
'Except Aurelia.'
Sham tilted his head.
"The Goddess of Light?"
'Four years younger.'
"…And where is she?"
Azriah's lips curled faintly.
'Azeroth.'
Sham looked strangely disturbed afterward.
"Your world sounds exhausting."
Azriah chuckled softly.
'You have no idea.'
The wind howled loudly across Tatara as they continued walking through the wasteland. Corpses littered the ground around them while distant monster cries echoed endlessly beneath the dark skies.
After several minutes Sham suddenly spoke again.
"…Who's your favorite character?"
Azriah blinked once.
'What?'
"In the game."
Azriah looked mildly surprised by the random question.
Sham shrugged.
"You talk about that thing constantly. So who's your favorite?"
Azriah remained silent briefly afterward.
Thinking.
Then slowly—
a faint smile appeared on his face.
A strange one.
Bittersweet.
'Audrey.'
Sham blinked.
"The villainess?"
'Mhm.'
"…Why?"
Azriah's footsteps slowed slightly.
The smile faded afterward.
'Because everyone hated her.'
Sham frowned.
"That doesn't answer anything."
Azriah exhaled quietly.
'The fandom despised her.'
His voice remained calm now.
'She was manipulative. Cruel. Cunning. A pathological liar.'
The silver-haired boy continued walking through the wasteland while speaking almost absentmindedly.
'She blamed others for her mistakes. Used people constantly. Betrayed allies. Caused disasters.'
Sham blinked slowly.
"…And she's your favorite?"
Azriah smiled faintly.
'Because nobody bothered asking why.'
Silence lingered afterward.
Azriah's gaze darkened slightly.
'Audrey wasn't born evil.'
The wind around them grew colder.
'She was abused.'
'Sold into slavery.'
'Experimented on.'
'Tortured.'
His voice remained eerily calm while speaking those words.
'Every single person who promised to protect her eventually abandoned her.'
Sham quietly listened without interrupting.
Azriah continued.
'Even the protagonist.'
His expression became colder afterward.
'Especially him.'
Sham's brows furrowed slightly.
Azriah looked toward the dark skies.
'Then during her execution scene…'
The boy's eyes narrowed faintly.
'We learned the truth.'
Silence.
'She was the reincarnation of Hecate.'
Even the wind seemed quieter afterward.
Azriah's voice lowered slightly.
'When divine reincarnations die…'
He glanced sideways toward Sham.
'Their bodies turn into ashes.'
Sham froze briefly.
Because he understood immediately what that implied.
Audrey truly had been divine.
And nobody realized until after they killed her.
Sham stared at Azriah strangely afterward.
"…Then why not help her?"
Azriah's footsteps stopped.
The wasteland around them became silent.
The spirits floating nearby slowly circled around him.
Then—
Azriah smiled.
A calm smile.
Cold.
'Eventually.'
Sham frowned.
"…Eventually?"
Azriah nodded.
'If I awaken Hecate's powers properly, she'll become an incredibly valuable ally.'
Sham stared at him for several seconds.
Then quietly asked—
"…Why not save her earlier?"
Azriah's smile deepened slightly.
And for the first time in a while—
Sham felt genuinely disturbed.
'Because if she doesn't lose everything…'
The wind howled violently around them.
'She'll never belong to me.'
Silence.
Azriah continued calmly.
'She needs betrayal.'
'Despair.'
'Loss.'
'Only then will she awaken properly.'
The spirits around them dimmed slightly.
Even Tatara itself seemed quieter.
Sham stared at the boy silently.
And finally—
truly—
understood.
This child was not merely intelligent.
Not merely manipulative.
Azriah Antioch was disgusting opportunistic.
Sometimes rotten.
The terrifying part—
was how calmly he accepted that fact himself.
Eventually Azriah resumed walking again.
As though nothing important had been said.
Tatara stretched endlessly behind him now—a land of darkness awaiting the return of something ancient.
Something monstrous.
And far away—
deep beneath the ruined wasteland—
something sleeping within the abyss slowly stirred for the first time in centuries.
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(A.N- Don't worry he eventually change and Audrey won't suffer because Azriah wont let her)