(???? POV)
It was a disaster. There were more than a million, almost a billion corpses. Or maybe even more than that... I didn't know. I had fought this war for over three years. Our army was twice or thrice bigger than the enemies, yet... yet we lost!
Damn it! Damn it! If it wasn't... if it wasn't for that God's Avatar descending and helping the Eastern Empire of the Martial Goddess, we would have never lost! I would have never lost!
Suddenly, a blinding ray of light fell upon my face as I was kneeling on the battlefield, defeated and utterly battered in blood and scars. My back was pierced with more than ten arrows and spears, my right eye was stabbed by the enemy, and my body had been slashed so many times that I couldn't even distinguish my skin from the scars.
Despite that, I was still holding my bow in one hand and my spear in another. I slowly opened my left eye to see a beautiful woman that rivaled the beauty of Gods from ancient texts... No. It was a Goddess. Yes, she was the one! The reason we lost this war!
"Martial Goddess... Veythara..." I spoke in a hoarse tone, my throat hurting too much to even speak. I slowly looked up as I saw the Goddess who was the reason for our demise.
She was wearing an extravagant imperial gown, designed in a fiery palette of deep crimson and shimmering gold. Flowing red silk embroidered with golden phoenix and flame-like patterns, and the fabric was layered and semi-translucent in parts, making her look like an elegant Empress even on the blood-soaked battlefield. On her head was the Crown of Calamity, her signature identity. Her raven hair swayed in the wind while her eyes were sharp with the golden shine of her pupils.
There she was, standing tall and elegantly while holding a double-headed spear in her hand, the Heavenly Spear, which had one head buried into the soil and the other head pointing towards the sky with the beheaded skull of my closest friend and my only family, the King of Ankharis, the Land of Sands!
As I saw the head of my dear friend, tears began to fall unconsciously from my eyes. As I was about to speak, the Goddess of Martial Arts spoke first.
"The reason you lost isn't because of me, but because what you tried to do was wrong, and I have descended to make sure that you don't start the corruption before its intended time." Veythara spoke to me in a soft yet authoritative tone, worthy of a Goddess.
But what was she talking about? Wrong? Corruption? Before its intended time? I didn't understand anything, but I knew that she was delaying something by protecting the land of Shenzhouxia, the Land of Dragons, and Bhavantra, the Land of Heaven.
"I don't care what reason you have, Veythara! You... you are the reason why I lost... why my friend lost... why our kingdom lost!" I mustered up all my remaining energy. I didn't fear death, nor did I care if I died, but I would make sure... I would make sure that you fail, Veythara!
"You wish to protect the lands of Shenzhouxia and Bhavantra, huh?" I gripped my bow tighter and lifted it up, mounting my spear on my bow as an arrow and pointing it at Veythara. I watched as her eyes narrowed and her gaze hardened at my actions.
"Hahahahahahahahahaha! Do you think I fear death, Veythara?! Before you can even react, I will achieve my goal!" I turned my bow to my right, aiming towards the capital city of Shenzhouxia, Tianshan. I saw Veythara's eyes widen in horror as I smirked widely.
"I will make sure that your plan fails!" I knew what I was going to do was wrong, but they had taken everything from me, and I would do the same!
With that, I released my spear, which I had enchanted to be the deadliest weapon in the world. And its aim? Towards the Shenzhouxia Emperor's wife, Empress Yin Shenyue. But it wasn't to kill her. No, it was aimed at her unborn child in her womb—to kill her unborn child and make her completely barren! To never let them have a bloodline successor!
"Augustus! You dare attempt to harm an innocent unborn child and barren an innocent woman!" Veythara roared furiously in front of my face, her golden pupils burning with a rage and anger that threatened to swallow my entire existence.
I saw her pull out the other head of her double-headed spear from the soil, the other end in which my friend's skull was impaled. She tossed aside my dear friend's skull and enchanted her weapon too. She threw her spear in the same direction where I had shot mine.
My deadly enchanted spear could travel much faster than the speed of light, but the Martial Goddess's Heavenly Spear seemed to be on a completely different level. I felt that my spear was merely an inch away from Yin Shenyue when Veythara launched her spear, yet... yet it reached there in a mere instant and nullified my attack, even shattering my spear instantly. Damn it! Damn it! Even in my final moment, I had failed to accomplish what my friend wanted.
"You don't fear death, Augustus? Is that it?" Why was Veythara saying that in such a dark tone?! What was she planning?! Damn it! I didn't even have an ounce of strength to speak a single word.
"Augustus... you dare attempt to harm an innocent unborn. Such an immoral thing is a shame to any warrior! As a Goddess, I curse you!" As I heard those words from Veythara's lips, I glared at her as my mind kept racing with thousands of thoughts.
Wait! What did she mean by 'curse'?! What was she doing to me?! Damn it! I knew that it was wrong and a shame to any warrior, but that's the only thing I could do, and I had no regrets about what I did!
"Since you don't fear death, let me take away the blessing of death from you, Augustus. Your body will decay, your skin will be eaten slowly by bugs and many creatures, yet you will live until the end of time! Craving for death, yet you will never get salvation!" Veythara roared indignantly, her eyes cold and deadly—nothing like her usual cheerful and positive self, the wise yet playful Goddess that everyone spoke of.
She turned around and slowly walked away as I could only watch with a single thought that kept ringing in my head as I cursed Veythara.
"You dare curse me, Veythara! You took everything from me! My friend, my home, my people, my parents, my master! Yet you still curse me! Arghhhh! Damn you, Goddess! Damn that Shenzhouxia Emperor! Damn that Bhavantra Queen!" I thought that in my mind, yet I couldn't speak because I had no energy, no power, and no authority.
I kept weeping in despair and cursing them all as I saw Veythara stop for a moment while muttering something, yet I couldn't hear what she was saying. The only thing I was able to hear was, "You will understand this when the time comes, Augustus Verasius..."
With that being said, she disappeared from the bloody battlefield, leaving me the only one alive with a horrific curse upon me. And that's how the war ended. The Great Tenma War had come to an end...