'84 seconds.' Dorian thought, stumbling slightly. His chest heaved from exertion, exhaustion tugging at him.

'I took it down.' Exhilaration filled him, grim happiness at surviving. He blinked for a moment, however, his thoughts clashing slightly.

'I am… the Great Lord of the Absolute? I am also Dorian. I AM Dorian. Dorian is I.' He clutched at his head slightly with his remaining arm.

He could feel those battles, those wars, growing up as a small child.

Those were HIS scattered, incomplete memories. That was HIM.

At the same time, he was Dorian, a boy born to a loving family on Earth, appearing on this strange world after his death.

"Ugh." Having two sets of memories as his own… It was incredibly disorienting.

Logically, Dorian knew that he wasn't that child, that warrior. That those memories might feel like his own, but that they weren't actually.

Still, he couldn't help but feel every emotion in them, feel the pains of hundreds of battles and the knowledge that came with it.

"Whatever. Now is not the time." He made an instant determination as he looked at the walls that were starting to tremble. He would fully review all his memories later.

Dorian's body transformed as he slipped back into his Ifrit form, releasing his Condensed Berserker form.

As he finished, however, his eyes twisted, and he turned to stare at the glowing Red Portal.

Its energy flow was chaotic, and dangerous, at least according to Arial.

But it was the only way out of here that he could reach, in the brief period of time he had left.

"First things first." He muttered,

Dorian sprinted over towards where the sword and arm of the undead Grakon King had fallen.

'Absorb.'

WHOOSH

The sword of the Grakon shivered and collapsed as Dorian absorbed the energy within it. Right after, Dorian moved to put his arm on the large, scaled arm of the Grakon.

'Absorb. Ausra see if you can get anything from this.'

'Scanning…'

'There are strange remnants of energy and power on this arm, as well as large remnants of a damaged King Class Soul Spell Matrix. There is only a small amount of remnant energy.'

Dorian's eyes flashed when he heard that.

'Absorb it, immediately!' Even if he couldn't get all of what he wanted, just taking in the small bit of energy would be useful.

'Absorbing…'

'After combining remnant information, the data for the Grakon bloodline has been successfully reconstructed.'

'Grakon Bloodline acquired.'

'You have 62 seconds till the stronghold around you collapses.'

Ausra's voice rang out in his head in quick succession, sending him a series of notifications. He glanced over them all, nodding his head and smiling.

He'd gotten the Grakon bloodline! Finally!

He couldn't wait to grow the bloodline, and combine it with his other forms. Especially for its Expand Ability.

"Arrrgh." A voice moaning in pain drew Dorian's attention as he stood up.

The group of Shades was lying on the ground, bedraggled and tired looking. They were covered in injuries, with most of them unconscious.

Dorian could see that one of them was awake, the most injured one in the group. The Light Wizard that Dorian had beaten earlier. Jasper was his name, according to what his comrade had said.

His face was covered in blood. His skin was pale and sweat covered it. His entire body was shaking as he stared at Dorian, fear in his eyes.

Dorian slowly walked over, scanning the group. They were all, somehow, still alive.

"S… st… stay away." Jasper's voice was raspy as he whispered as loud as he could, one of his arms twitching as he tried to raise it. His body was, unfortunately, in too terrible a condition to move. He could only stare at Dorian in fear and horror.

Dorian walked over to stand in front of the Light Wizard, glancing down at him.

In the back of Dorian's mind, an ancient voice appeared once more. This voice was quiet, inaudible in reality. At a subconscious level, however, the voice could just barely be heard, a pale, wavering whisper,

'Kill him.'

Dorian's eyes were still bloodshot as he stared down at the Shade that had attacked him earlier.

In his mind, that darkness that had spread and was present in every part of his brain, swallowed completely, seemed to writhe. Dorian's body was exhausted and drained, vulnerable.

His right arm moved almost automatically, without thinking, as he grabbed ahold of the powerful Shade, lifting him up by the neck.

'Kill him.' The whispering voice echoed quietly, repeating itself,

'Step into chaos. Seek perfection.'

"Ulp!" Jasper struggled, his eyes twitching as he did everything he could to get out of Dorian's grasp. He was helpless, his body listless.

Dorian slowly began to close his hand, choking him.

A second passed.

Jasper's eyes filled with despair as they rolled up in the back of his head, the Shade slipping into unconsciousness.

'Kill him.'

Dorian's arm shook as he stared at the Shade he was killing.

His heart trembled.

A part of him seemed to be dying inside, yelling at him to stop.

But the darkness in his head was overwhelming. It drowned out everything, casting aside his emotions, his thoughts, his worries.

A darkness forced upon Dorian's soul, out of his control.

A darkness left behind by a God.

Dorian felt as if he was starting to lose himself.

As Dorian's soul was trembling, something flashed out of it.

A small, gentle spark of light that clashed against the darkness, full of hope and light.

A memory appeared in Dorian's mind.

Like a man drowning at sea, Dorian reached out, clinging to this memory, letting it fill him.

It was a memory full of emotion.

A memory of a conversation between Dorian, and a Wizard he was on a journey to save.

William. A friend.

Sitting in a grassy meadow, surrounded by trees and the remnants of a fierce battle.

–

William was staring up at Dorian, from back on the planet of Hasnorth, when Dorian had been in his Myyr Dragon form.

"Why did you save me?" William's voice was full of disbelief as he stared at Dorian.

The mighty looking Myyr Dragon had cocked its head, studying William for a moment before responding,

"I guess because it felt like the right thing to do."

"What?!" William's face flushed as he struggled to stand up, glaring at the dragon in helpless anger.

"I'm your enemy! I tried to capture you! I even helped lead them to you." As William spoke, his voice's pitch went up, sputtering,

"If you were smart, you would kill me right now! How do you know I won't lead them to you again?!"

A moment passed as William's words had settled.

"I don't know that you won't lead them to me." Dorian had said, shaking his head, his eyes glinting,

"But I will live how I choose to live, and not a damn thing in this universe will change that. Maybe I don't have the strength, right now, to back those words up."

"But one day I will. What kind of huma-ahem, what kind of Dragon would I be, if I didn't live up to what I believed in?"

–

The memory faded, the spark of light slowly fading away.

Dorian's eyes widened, however, as he shook his head, awakening from his stupor, his sense of self firmly returning. The darkness lingered, however, still present in his mind.

thud

He let go of the unconscious Shade, dropping him to the floor as he stumbled backwards in confusion.

"Wh-what the hell was that?'"He shook, coughing up a small amount of blood as he looked at his arm. He rubbed his head, feeling sick all of a sudden.

'30 seconds till this area collapses.' Ausra interrupted his thoughts with a cool warning.

"Arrgh." Dorian swore as he knelt down next to the shades again, wondering why every single part of his body seemed to be screaming at him in pain.

'Absorb.'

The Shades were covered in blood and injuries. Dorian tapped his claws on several patches of blood, absorbing it.

'Shade Bloodline acquired.

As soon as he received the notification, Dorian began to grab the Shades, piling them all on his shoulders and back. His body was one that was abnormally strong in its own right, even in his Ifrit form.

Despite missing an arm, he should've been easily able to carry the weight of the 6 Shades.

Unfortunately, every step was a trial as Dorian heaved, blood spurting out of his injuries. His body was in the worst condition it had been in yet.

'Damn. Can't I go at least one week without getting almost killed?' He thought, cursing his luck.

'You have 15 seconds till the area collapses.'

Dorian's chest shook as he dragged himself and the Shades next to the Red Portal. He looked down at the glowing pool of light, one that was shaking back and forth. It would teleport anyone that stepped into it to an unknown location, due to the random energy fluctuations.

"Godspeed, Shades. You, apparently, were good people, so I will try to let you live. Goodbye." Dorian unceremoniously threw them into the Red Portal, a sense of relief washing over him as he lost the heavy weight.

At least they wouldn't get teleported right on top of the angry Grakon King Dorian had sent through it.

'You have 10 seconds till the area collapses.'

Dorian took one last look around the frozen chamber. The walls were beginning to crack, ice and rock shivering.

He turned his eyes back to the Red Portal.

'You have 5 seconds till the area collapses.'

'Please drop me off somewhere where I won't die.' Dorian sent up a mental prayer as he hurled himself forward, falling into the Red Portal.

WHOOSH

Dorian's body shivered and vanished.

BOOM

Just a few seconds later, rampant energy exploded outward as the huge underground chamber and fortress collapsed, detonating due to its unstable state. The city of Icicar shifted as a third of its area blew up, sending enormous chunks of ice, stone, and dirt cascading about, damage that even the odd landscape of Blizzaria could not restore.

Leaving behind a small, red portal that gradually fizzled out, its last light struggling to live, but slowly fading to darkness.

.. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Many miles away, on a distant planet.

Mello rubbed his chin, trying to cover a smile as he looked at the report he had just received. It was made of flashing green paper, with blood red words spelled out on it. A magical transcript sent across fate to him, an official offer of alliance.

He was sitting in a small library in a large, decorated blue mansion, in the middle of Ayborn City, a medium-sized town in a random kingdom, on a random Lesser Planet. Ayborn was dominated by the pointy-eared Aethmen, a prosperous, lively town.

Mello was currently in his Sea Aethmen form, a small, blue skinned humanoid with gills and slight scales. It was, he had determined, his favorite humanoid form. His main form wasn't exactly a body he could use everywhere.

"Number 76. Number 54. Have you two decided on names for yourselves?" His voice echoed softly in the small study as he looked over the message.

The walls of the study were covered in books. There was a large, wooden desk at one end, and a couple sets of chars and armchairs at the other, around a small fireplace set in the wall.

Two humanoid figures could be seen sitting on a pair of armchairs a few meters away from him.

One was demonic looking, with charred grey skin and a wide set of sweeping, edged horns sticking out to either side of its head. A large, glowing green gem was set on the being's forehead, giving off a faint gleam of light. Its body was muscular and gave off a feeling of strength. It looked intimidating and deadly, a terrifying opponent.

(Image – https://i.imgur.com/Ib2KrbF.jpg) (Can't open in App)

The other was covered completely, from head to toe, in heavy-plated grey iron armor. Instead of a regular helmet, it wore one that was shaped like that of a large, ferocious iron wolf. The air around this being seemed to be extremely steady and solid. A two-inch (5cm) thick metal broadsword was strapped to his waist.

(Image – https://i.imgur.com/0jf8ML9.jpg) (Can't open in App)

"Yes." The demonic looking being spoke first,

"I will be called Xaphan. Keeper of the furnace of Hell, maker of the tools needed to reach perfection and the greatest chef in existence!"

The air shivered as he spoke, twisting and distorting slightly. As if Fate itself was warping.

Xaphan paused,

"Well, soon to be maker. I guess. Technically. And I'll be the best chef in reality as soon as I figure out how to cook properly." The demonic warrior looked downcast.

"You'll get there." Mello replied and nodded understandingly, waving his hand encouragingly.

"And you, Number 54?" He looked at the other Flockmember patiently.

The ironclad-being took a moment before responding, his voice thundering out,

"Aron, the Blademaster. Perfection must be sought by reaching the summit of swordplay, to reach a level of skill that cannot be defeated. Skill that is perfection inherent."

"Good, good! My comrades, your dreams are wonderful! You two are a perfect team!" Mello clapped his hands together, sharing a genuine smile. His eyes glowed as he looked at them, pleasure shining forth.

"And now, Xaphan, Aron, I have a mission for the two of you." His eyes glinted,

"The Highlord of the Aurelius Family has requested our aid, to join a team of his Reavers." He smiled wider,

"It seems we have another Flockmember to track down and recruit, hiding with the Shade Commune. One that has taken the name Veritas."

The two Anomalies looked back at Mello, and then at each other, exchanging glances.

"What if it doesn't want to join the Alliance?" Xaphan asked, waving his hands,

"That bastard Number 11 certainly didn't."

Mello's eyes took on a cold edge, but his smile never faded,

"Then we do as we do."

"Kill it and bring its bloodline back."

"Understood?"

The two Anomalies nodded and bowed their heads slightly.

They talked for a few more minutes, discussing the details of the mission. Before long, the duo got up and left, leaving Mello alone in his study.

He began to hum a small song, smiling as he set down the paper from the Vampires, and picked up another sheet.

"Now let's see…"

"An Ability that lets you see through Fate? To see every outcome in a situation, and be guided down the best path?"

"My, my… Sun Wukong. Your Ability…"

"That sounds interesting indeed."

.

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