POV: Aria Akari
Contemplating the correct course of action through a desperate search of courage, Arthur's howl of pain brought me back to reality as my eyes fell upon Wrath, who struck Arthur's abdomen with a decisive uppercut, causing Arthur to nearly lose grasp of his consciousness as through a ruthless onslaught of attacks, Arthur's mind had forsaken him as the air itself began to distort around Wrath's hand, which hovered over Arthur's chest.
"Distortion." Wrath uttered in discontent as he blasted a destructive force of gravity through Arthur's chest, destroying the internal balance of his organs along with his outer clothes as the impact sent his body ragdolling backwards across the carpet of spongy, green moss that stretched across the expanding boreal forest as I swallowed dryly, struggling to retain functionality over my own body as fear constricted my heart.
A deafening silence had taken place amidst the sky darkening as Everett and myself were the last to remain, urging Wrath's eyes to fall upon us as a malevolent grin of nightmares crept onto his face, sending Everett into a state of trepidation as his breathing quickened, but despite the terror exuding from Wrath, I was able to finally gather my courage as I stood in front of Everett and raised my guard nervously, focusing everything into watching Wrath's every move as Pride remained still, unbothered.
"I've killed the boy shrouded in mystery and I've now killed your strongest. You've wasted your only chance of survival and yet, you still have hope in surviving?" Wrath questioned with a wry smile as my breaths grew shallow by the passing second while my heart screamed to be released from within my ribcage.
As Wrath approached me, every advancing step siphoned the remaining of the little courage I had left as I nearly accepted my fate until I noticed Arthur struggling to pick himself up from the ground, tenaciously clinging onto his consciousness as despite Arthur's Aspect not even active, Wrath seemed to have sensed his efforts as he stopped in placed and turned to face Arthur out of respect.
Arthur!
Arthur's resilience had left Pride astonished as Arthur gritted his teeth and after enduring through the excruciating pain coursing through every crevice of his body, he forced himself to stand, gathering his breath afterwards as he faced Wrath with a pertinacious light growing within his eyes.
Although Wrath's body was marred in slashes and marked with a few bruises, Arthur's condition was egregious as it was a miracle that he was even able to stand.
"I told you, didn't I?" Arthur muttered coarsely with blood flowing from the corners of his mouth along with his nose as Wrath remained silent, listening to Arthur's words intently.
"I'm going to become the strongest in the world."
"A mindless psychopath such as yourself will never defeat me." Arthur added, mustering a faint grin amidst activating his Aspect once more as his Aspectual Force overwhelmed every being who bore witness to the indomitable spirit known as Arthur Kojiro.
"What's your name, boy?" Wrath asked in a respectful tone with a growing smile as he began to approach Arthur, who remained equanimous despite Wrath's Aspectual Force clashing against his own.
"Arthur Kojiro." Arthur answered as the two of them approached one another until they stood no further than a meter across.
"Kayd Jurokyu." Wrath stated, offering his name out of respect for Arthur as a droplet of water splashed onto the ground from a limb of a tree, allowing the two of them to spring into action as Arthur aimed two fingers towards Wrath amidst sliding towards him, startling Wrath until a near-imperceptible slash had struck Wrath's upper left trapezius, taking a considerable chunk of flesh out of him as Arthur wasted no time in seizing the opportunity before him.
Upon arriving during Wrath's state of disorder, Arthur tried to split Wrath's body into two with a decisive slash, although there proved to be too many unfavorable variables stacked against Arthur as Wrath's reflexes feigned superior, allowing him to smash his fist cleanly into Arthur's jaw, but to Wrath's consternation, his attack was completely nullified as his fist rested against Arthur's jaw while the light within his eyes shined brilliantly.
As Wrath's body tensed with confusion, Arthur clenched his jaw and gripped the handle of his sword with tremendous strength as he made sure to glare directly into Wrath's eyes.
"DIVERGENCE!" Arthur roared as he inflicted a fatal wound across Wrath's chest with a single slash, causing blood to spray into the air from Wrath's wound as he staggered backwards, clutching his chest with blood flowing from his mouth as Arthur rushed towards him, capitalizing on Wrath's moment of vulnerability as he intended to kill Wrath once and for all, but Arthur's wishes would be unheard as his body had surpassed its limits long ago.
Amidst his advancement towards Wrath, Arthur spewed out blood from experiencing the consequences of surpassing his Exhaust Limit, forcing his body to accept the rebound of his Aspect as he crashed sideways into the ground below from Wrath's attack which he had previously delayed.
No, I can't bear to watch this anymore!
"Even in your last moment, you still found a way to surpass your limits." Wrath said with a genuine smile of respect as he wiped the blood trickling from his mouth while approaching Arthur, who was unconscious with a battered body that miraculously survived against the violence of Wrath.
With a sigh, Wrath tried to pull Arthur's sword towards him with an internal force of gravity, but despite Arthur being unconscious, the sword wouldn't budge from his grasp as Arthur's willpower was praised by a grin from Wrath.
"My only regret would be that I wasn't able to fight you at your best." Wrath remarked as gravity began amassing around his hand, the air itself distorting around him from the sheer pressure he exuded as he looked down at Arthur with eyes void of any emotion.
As he attempted to pierce through Arthur's chest, I intervened by shooting a beam of light towards him, forcing Wrath to respond as he deflected my beam with a simple pivot of his hand.
As Light gathered within the palm of my hand, I extended my palm towards him and tried to blast him once more with a beam of light, but to my dismay, Wrath suddenly appeared before me and grabbed my neck with crude strength, raising me into the air as he examined me with a curious gaze.
"I've had my doubts earlier because of your pathetic Aspectual Force, but your golden aura along with your previous attack just confirmed my suspicion." Wrath said as I clenched onto his arm tightly, desperately trying to free myself as breathing slowly became more difficult while Wrath narrowed his eyes.
"You're Aria Akari, aren't you? First Jett's son and now Joseph's granddaughter. I don't know who sent you all here to be killed by me, but escaping should have been your first priority instead of blindly challenging me. What were you thinking?" Wrath questioned, raising his brow in confusion as I gritted my teeth and glared directly into his eyes.
"I won't run away! As long as I'm alive, I won't let you harm anyone else!" I declared with a rough tone as there was a moment of silence until Wrath sighed, releasing his grasp from my neck as he smashed his fist into my abdomen with a gut-wrenching uppercut, causing me to spew out saliva as he then grabbed my head and smashed his knee into my face, but as blood gushed from my nose, Wrath didn't bother to spare me any mercy as he grabbed my face with his palm and slammed the back of my head into the cold, rocky terrain below, ignoring the mossy carpet as my head was buried within a small crater of rubble.
As my consciousness slipped away from me, I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip and tried to retaliate, but his sheer power and size was too much for my willpower to overcome as he placed himself on top of me, trapping my left arm beneath him as he began thrashing his fist into my face, his indifferent eyes gazing into my soul as I struggled to defend myself with only an arm.
Helpless against the difference in strength, I was nothing more than a personal punching bag as Wrath's brute strength laid waste upon my face.
I wanted nothing more than to cry as the pain only grew, but despite the hopeless situation, I refused to succumb to despair as I let out a war cry of desperation, placing my free hand onto his chest as I blasted a powerful ray of light into Wrath's chest, rupturing his organs as his faced tensed with displeasure with blood trickling through the crevices of his tightened lips.
Amidst his suffering, I was able to push him off of me as I spaced myself away from him while he clutched his chest, coughing up blood before buckling onto a knee as I wiped off the excessive blood flowing from my bruised nose.
As Wrath stood from the ground, I raised my guard, waiting for him to rush towards me as his demeanor exuded warned caution, but startling me was the pivot of his hand as he used his Aspect to pull me towards him as I began sliding forward across the ground, unable to resist the overwhelming attraction of his gravity as he planted his back foot into the ground and with a single step, he appeared before me with gravity amassing around his fist.
I can't dodge!
Striking my face with his fist, I sent crashing backwards into the ground as he began stomping on my chest relentlessly, causing the earth beneath me to cave in with every force as I felt a few of my ribs crack from the sheer violence of his merciless assault while a sinister grin took birth upon his face.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Everett roared, incensed, yet terrified as he smashed his fist into Wrath's jaw with all he had, but despite his courageous action, it wasn't enough to cut the overwhelming difference in their strength as Wrath didn't budge an inch, shifting his eyes towards Everett as his grin widened in delight of Everett falling into despair.
"Do you know why all of your friends are going to die today?" Wrath asked as he placed his hand on the chest of Everett, who was trembling to an uncontrollable degree as he looked down at me with tears beginning to well.
"Aria-"
My name was the last word Everett uttered as Wrath blasted a destructive force of gravity through his chest, but unlike Rai and Arthur, Everett was much more fragile as the crackling of his ribs shattering was audible along with a blood-gargling scream as I watched Everett's body ragdoll across the open field and into the distant forest, leaving an unnatural crater beneath where he used to stand as Wrath flexed his hand.
"EVERETT!" I cried out with a coarse tone, coughing up blood in the midst as tears of frustration flowed from my eyes.
As I cursed at myself from within, Wrath crouched over me and clenched my face with his hand, bringing my face closer to his own as he stared dead into my eyes.
"You're weak. You're a disgrace to your own blood. None of this would have happened today if you were anything more than a failure." Wrath added with a disappointed expression as he stood from the ground, raising me into the air once more as gravity began to amass around his fist with the intention of impaling my torso.
He's right.
I'm weak.
I'm nothing but a failure who was unable to tap into their true potential, despite being blessed with a Divine Elemental Aspect.
The Child Of Light?
Worthless.
We're all going to die here because of me.
Sarah, Arthur, Everett and Rai.
They're all going to die today because of me!
With tears flowing down my face, I accepted the reality that today was going to be my last.
I'm sorry everyone for not being able to protect you.
I'm sorry grandfather that I couldn't live up to your standards.
I'm sorry mom for wasting the life you sacrificed your very own in order to have-
As I despaired, a terrifying, yet, profound Aspectual Force suddenly appeared, inducing an unnerving sensation throughout my entire body as I closed my eyes, bracing myself for death, but as seconds passed, I found myself opening my eyes to the sound of crackling as I was being held in the arms of none other than Rai, whose splendent eyes were laced with animosity as the ferocious tendrils of his surreal blue lightning crackled around his body.
Rai?