Today was the last day at the academy, and all the students of Black Mall had gathered.

But they weren't alone. For the first time since the Red Sphinx District was split, students from all its parts were coming together. qq

The Red Sphinx District was divided into four parts— the Obsidian Maw, the Curved Spine, the Furred Tail, and the Red Crown.

Today marked their final day before heading off to a war that most of them still didn't know about.

The students were all sitting down in the grassy expanse, either chatting or just resting.

Zephyr was one of the quiet ones— resting, at least on the outside. Inside, his thoughts were in turmoil.

His mind kept circling back to Serena.

She had been there when the sun had become bearable to his eyes. She had been there when he had spent half his life in the pit, always bringing him food, never asking for anything in return.

She had always been there, but now she was gone.

Dead.

Her family would never see her again. No one would feel her presence. All that remained were memories.

And memories only deepened the ache.

They didn't bring peace— they sharpened the grief. They turned the feeling of loss into something unbearable.

'She was even about to bring life into this world. But now she was gone forever'. Zephyr was perhaps the one who felt the ache most. He was directly involved in her death.

The only person he could have considered a family in this wrecked world. Just gone.

It was hard to wrap his head around, how could someone be by yourside today and tomorrow they were just gone, just like that. Suddenly.

Never seeing them again.

Death.

All because she helped him, but why wasn't he feeling boundless rage, why wasn't the rage killing him from the inside out. Why was he screaming into the skies, why wasn't he died by now for attacking Demios clan in a frenzy.

Why was the rage so… cold? It didn't burn. It didn't howl.

It wrapped around his chest like frost, it sat in his throat like a stone. It left behind a sharp, chilling clarity.

Why was life so fragile? Why did she have to die? What had she done, really? Was being Aetherless enough reason to torment a child?

And what had he done wrong? Spoken out? Dared to exist?

Now he was here, carrying this weight, this pain, this guilt. Shouldering it alone. She had no family left, her lover died right in his presence.

Could things have turned out differently, if he'd acted another way?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

After all, the original Zephyr barely had any thoughts left to call his own. He, on the other hand, was still just a teenager.

A sixteen-year-old boy, pulled from another world. Still learning. Still making mistakes.

Still human.

But that question lingered, heavy and unspoken—

If he had done something different… would she still be alive? Or would he be the one dead instead?.

******

Noctis heart beat was so loud it wouldn't be a surprise if it was heard by someone nearby.

Recently he had been feeling uneasy for no reason, after tapping into the power of the abyss eye, he left the comfort of his clan and ventured out to the wilderness to hunt.

That was how he delt with stress, fighting.

On this particular day after getting a feel of his power he saw something that truly rattled him.

His clansmen had joined him on the training trip, but things didn't go as planned.

They ran into a herd of Riftsprawn. A herd of Riftsprawn was strange on it's own. Riftsprawn were creatures of solitude, so to see them in a group was bad news.

At first, it seemed like a normal skirmish. But it quickly turned stranger.

The Riftsprawn were stronger than usual. Several of his men were killed— but the creatures didn't stop to feed.

Instead, some of them began dragging the bodies away. Others stayed behind, blocking the path and holding Noctis and the rest back.

That behavior was anything but normal.

Noctis narrowed his eyes as he watched the Riftsprawn dragging away the bodies.qq

This wasn't normal, they weren't feeding, they weren't fighting amongst themselves. They were.... working together. That thought along was a blasphemy on all the known fact and theory that humanity had about riftsprawn.

And that only meant one thing— Extinction.

The word alone made his chest tighten. He had only seen it once— and even then, just a glimpse.

It wasn't a creature. Not really. Not something with flesh and bones.

It was a soul. A thing that existed without a body. A being that didn't belong in any world, and yet... kept trying to enter them.

Extinction couldn't fully descend unless it had a body strong enough to carry it.

So, it started with weak things. Like Riftsprawn.

Giving them minds. Giving them voices.

Making them obey.

That's why these beasts didn't act wild. They were being controlled. Changed.

Noctis clenched his fists.

He remembered what happened the last time.

That world couldn't handle Extinction's presence. Two stigma-ranked beings— two massive forces— couldn't exist in one reality.

So the world broke.

He had watched it happen. Watched the sky tear apart. Watched the mountains crumble into dust.

He had seen Extinction feed on what was left. It didn't eat flesh.

It devoured meaning. It swallowed hope. It erased everything.

And now…

Now it was here again— too soon. He thought he had time.

But he also knew it was a matter of time. The world will was dead, after Extinction had descended and consumed the world.

The world will used it remaining power to turn back time. That had left it severely weakened, it essence was leaking into the void, a new universe was already being birthed by its death.

But even the world will feared death, that was how the world will grasped the last soul. The soul of Noctis. His unwillingness had anchored him to the world.qq

So when the world will grasped him, it showed him the truth, showed him a new path. Gave him a new mantle, one Noctis willingly bore.

Now all that was left was a hollow husk, the world will was dead, not officially.

It used it's remaining power to reincarnate as Noctis. So Noctis was basically the world will with the memories of Noctis.

That was why recently people had been be able to turn hollow Arts to art. Because the world will was no longer there to suppress it. It was this aroma of improvement that Extinction smelt. That's why the world will didn't allow man made Art to actually succeed. And why it placed a restriction on ascending to stigma rank.

The world will was Noctis and Noctis was the world will. Noctis knew that he would have to take up the mandate as the world will and protect this world from the dangers preying on reality.

But they was also a problem, if Extinction got a wisp that this world was hollow, it would try to take over, and claim it as part of it's body. Or if a human was to ascend to stigma rank.

'thank goodness, no one knows the various parts to ascend'. Noctis sighed in relief, but the feeling if unease didn't leave.

*****

'Damn it'. Keal swore. 'What kind of bastard controls Demios clan".

Keal was agitated to say the least. He had recently begun to see signs of Extinction foul play.

Despite the foreknowledge of this world, Keal didn't have a single clue on how to defeat Extinction. In the face of Extinction, the world will was powerless, what chance did he have.

He was very much aware of the state of the world— Hollow. His original plan was to ascend as the new world will, but that plan was scraped before he even started it.

That was why he had to sell the information. But who knew that the Demios clan leader was so.... Powerful.

A few days ago, Keal had used one of his avatars to sneak into Demios clan, and even into the chambers of Demios clan head.

He was caught immediately, it was expected, but what he didn't expect was for the sliver of his soul that was responsible for piloting the avatar to be caught.

The bastard not only gained the information relating to the ascension, he also ravaged all the information available in that sliver of soul.

Luckily, the only information available was the layout of Demios clan and the method of advancement.

But who would have known that the Demios clan leader would not be satisfied, he even used the connection between the souls as a bridge to advance towards Keal's own soul.

It was due to luck that he was able to collapse the bridge, but up till now he had been feeling uneasy, as if someone was looking at him. Someone unseen.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.