There—at the top of the hill…
Where the winds howled as if trying to tear the earth apart,
Leora stood—
Her black-blue hair flickering like flame,
And her right eye burning with a crimson fire that did not belong to this world.
She slowly raised the scepter,
Then aimed it directly at Zynfor's chest.
"Playtime is over…"
A crimson flash burst from the scepter—
The ground shook beneath her feet,
And the air between them exploded—
Zynfor was thrown back,
His body smashing into the rocks behind him.
She didn't grant him even a second.
Leora launched forward like an arrow—
In a blink, she was in front of him again.
Both hands gripped the scepter.
She brought it crashing down, a vertical strike aimed at his chest.
BOOM!
The blow slammed him into the ground,
Cracks split the earth beneath him,
Dust erupted in violent rings around his fallen body.
Leora lifted the scepter once more,
Her glowing eyes now blazing even brighter.
She leapt toward him with explosive force—
Aimed for his head—
But Zynfor vanished just before the strike landed—
Reappearing behind her,
Clapping slowly, mockingly.
With a sharp voice, he said:
"You've become… truly irritating."
Then, his smile widened, and his tone dropped to a deadly whisper:
"I'll make this quick."
He raised his hand—
Dark energy surged from both sky and earth.
His voice roared:
"TUBERA!"
Suddenly—
The entire place quaked.
The soil cracked beneath them.
The skies above twisted into swirling spirals of crimson-black darkness.
His aura exploded like a hellish cyclone.
A terrifying force poured from him—
So dense it felt like a wall that could not be stopped.
Even the wind halted…
And then, erupted in waves.
Riven, Kyle, Ely, and Mia—
All dropped to their knees.
Their heads bowed to the ground,
As if their bodies could no longer resist the pressure.
Ely gasped in a hoarse whisper:
"His energy… it's completely changed…"
But—
Amidst all that chaos… stood Leora.
Still.
Unshaken by the wind.
Unafraid of the shadows.
Unbothered by the overwhelming force of Zynfor's rage.
Her blue cloak whipped behind her.
Her black-blue hair danced in the storm like quiet fire.
She looked at him… with disdain.
As if watching a clown flaunt a power that didn't suit him.
"Is that all you've got?"
She said it softly,
But her voice tore through the silence like a sword.
Her feet planted deep in the earth,
As though her roots stretched into the world's core.
Leora raised the scepter high,
The wind howled around her,
Her dark-blue hair flared like searing flames.
Then, her voice came steady—
But behind it, a storm of pain:
"No more silence…"
"No more fear…"
"Today… I will not retreat. I will not forgive!"
She screamed with a crimson flame blazing in her eye:
"I will avenge Moraliska!"
"For the cities crushed… for the blood spilled… and for the souls suffocated under your black reign!"
"Zynfor!"
She stepped forward,
The scepter glowing between her hands:
"I will shatter your rule… and bury the name of the Izarim beneath the soil you've tainted!"
Her voice roared like thunder:
"I am Leora—heir of the bloodline, and the wrath of Moraliska made flesh!"
"I command you—awaken, Tuberaaa!"
Her cry echoed into the horizon—
As if the sky itself answered her call.
Suddenly—
The air around Leora began to tremble,
As if time itself paused to witness the transformation.
The scepter in her hand ignited—
A deep crimson glow pulsing with blue lightning,
The carved emblem—the mark of the Crimson Blood—
began to beat like a living heart.
Leora's aura erupted—
Not just energy—
But a raging tide that swept across the land.
Stones ripped from the earth.
Trees bent low—
As though bowing before an unstoppable force.
Her eyes changed completely—
Now fiery orbs lined with crimson streaks,
Glowing with focused fury and holy rage.
The scarf at her waist tore slightly,
But her magical cloak held firm—
Billowing behind her like wings of fire.
And amidst the chaos—
Only her voice stood tall:
"Now you'll see who the true Heir of Peace is—
—when the chains of tyranny are crushed beneath her feet!"
Zynfor stepped forward,
Eyes gleaming with madness,
His dark aura stretching like a beast unleashed from hell:
"Come then, Heir of Peace… Let's see if your words are more than just screams!"
In a blink—
He vanished from view and reappeared before Leora.
A black sword in hand—
Radiating strange heat.
He slashed sideways toward her neck—
But—
"Virahel!"
Leora whispered.
A glowing shield formed instantly,
Blocking the strike.
BOOM!
Light burst.
Zynfor was forced back.
Leora advanced like a blazing comet:
"You won't escape this time!"
She slammed the scepter into the ground—
CRACK!
Pillars of crimson light erupted from the earth.
Zynfor leapt into the air to dodge—
But Leora was faster.
She vanished—
Then appeared above him mid-air—
Striking downward with a blow infused with the force of wind and stone.
BOOOOM!
Zynfor crashed hard to the ground,
A storm of dust rising around him.
But he stood, laughing—
Blood dripping from the corner of his mouth:
"Yes… this is what I wanted… a battle that wakes my sleeping demon!"
He hurled a wave of darkness—
But Leora cloaked herself in light,
Split the attack in two,
And kept charging forward.
A direct clash.
Scepter met sword—
Magic sparks exploded between them.
Their faces—just inches apart—
Each seeing in the other: the past, the pain, the bloodline.
Leora struck with all she had.
Her aura flared with every step,
The scepter glowing with a deep red—
as if the fire of Moraliska itself burned within it.
Her final strike—
Was nearly fatal.
But Zynfor, with the calm only villains with filthy secrets could muster—
Smiled.
"Don't you want to know… your parents' final words?"
Time froze.
Leora halted—
Her eyes trembled—
Shimmering with buried memories.
And in the next moment—
BOOM!
A magic punch from Zynfor slammed into her body.
Leora's frame was hurled through the air—
Crashing against a massive boulder behind her.
A thin line of blood trailed down her forehead,
Staining the earth with the color of a painful memory.
Zynfor approached—
His steps slow… dripping with delight.
He bent down,
His face now inches from her bloodied one,
And with mocking calm, he said:
"What happened? Where did that storm go—the one that nearly killed me a moment ago?"
"Or have you finally… grown weak?"
Leora's eyes flickered.
She swallowed her blood and whispered hoarsely:
"You… bastard…"
Zynfor leaned in even closer—
His voice brushing her ear like poison creeping into the soul.
He whispered,
Each word a dagger driven into her chest:
"You think this was all just a war?"
"Let me tell you, Leora… the truth that's been kept from you all these years."
"That night… your parents didn't arrive on the island by chance."
"We—we opened the way. We let them believe hope still existed."
A devilish grin curled across his lips as he added:
"We wanted just one thing… the end of Crimson Blood."
"There were obstacles, sure… people who died. Not that we cared."
"But when we finally reached them—"
"There they were… bleeding, barely breathing… yet still…"
"In their eyes, there was light. A look I had never seen in my life."
He leaned even closer,
Looking straight into her eyes, and said:
"I held your parents in my hands. And my brother… with his dying breath, he said:
'Please… stop.'"
Zynfor exhaled, like savoring a fond memory.
Then concluded, chillingly:
"But I didn't stop…"
"I killed them… with my own hands."
Leora screamed—
Blood still running down her face.
Her eyes ignited with a fury that could end worlds:
"YOU MONSTER… I'll KILL you!"
"I swear it—
I SWEAR I'LL RIP YOU APART WITH MY OWN HANDS!"
Her voice shook the earth—
Mountains themselves could have risen just to silence her wrath.
But before she could strike back—
A voice ripped through the battlefield like a scream from hell itself:
"ZYYYYYNFOOOOOOOOR!"
It was Riven.
His body broken, back bent,
Knee nearly touching the ground from the crushing pressure—
But his eyes…
His eyes burned with a golden fire no one had ever seen before.
"Touch Leora… and I will kill you."
"Lay a single finger on her… and I'll crush your bones beneath my feet."
"I won't show mercy. I swear it—I'll show you NONE!"
Zynfor chuckled darkly.
He walked calmly,
As though their rage only made him stronger.
He glanced at Riven with contempt:
"Look at you… can barely stand, and you threaten me?"
"Oh… how I love this heroic stupidity."
He turned back to Leora,
Still writhing in pain from the earlier blow.
He knelt beside her,
Then, glancing back at Riven with blood-soaked sarcasm, he asked:
"And what, exactly… will you do about it?"
Before he finished the sentence—
He drove his sword through Leora's foot. Brutally.
The air was sucked out of the world.
Time itself froze.
Leora's scream tore through the silence—
Even the stones trembled beneath it.
Riven's eyes went wide—
His pupils dilated,
As if his soul ripped apart before he could even see her pain.
"LEEEEEEEEOOOOORAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
He fell to the ground—
Fists clenched in the dirt.
His face drenched in sweat, rage, and something more…
Something inside him began to change.
Zynfor smiled,
Then whispered to Leora:
"You feel it, don't you? That… stillness.
The calm when you finally know…
there's nothing left."
Riven tried to move—
To crawl to her, even if it meant dragging himself on his knees…
But before he could lift his body—
Her voice came.
Thunderous despite the pain.
Steady despite the blood.
As if the skies themselves spoke her name:
"…Riven."
He lifted his head in shock—and saw her.
Leora… rising slowly, her hand still clutching the staff.
Blood trickled down her forehead, but her eyes—
They burned with the fire of the sky and the fury of the flame.
"I'm fine… Not yet… I haven't given up!"
Her voice trembled—yet within it, there was hatred, resolve, and unwavering belief.
She looked straight at Zenfor, whose mocking grin hadn't left his face.
She pointed at him, her chest glowing with inner fire.
"I swear to you, Raven…
He dies today.
Here—on this very ground—he dies."
A faint smile crept onto Raven's lips before he cried out with all his strength:
"Finish him, Leoraaaa!"
Behind him, the cheers rose like a spark igniting the hearts of those still standing.
Kyle:
"You've got this, Leora!"
Mia:
"It's time he met his end!"
Aely, with her soft, gentle voice:
"Go, Leora… End him!"
And their voices, together as one, echoed like thunder beneath her feet:
"You've got this!"
"You've got this, Leoraaa!"
Leora turned to their voices, her eyes still blazing with fury and purpose.
A faint smile stretched across her lips, despite the blood running down her brow.
She spoke with a voice that shook the air itself:
"Thank you… my friends.
For believing in me."
Then, she turned back to face Zenfor—
And something in her gaze had changed.
She was no longer just a warrior…
She was the heroine of this saga.
"Get ready, Zenfor…"
She stepped forward, each stride filled with certainty,
A deadly calm before the storm.
"Your end has come."
Leora now stood facing Zenfor,
A cold wind swept across the battlefield—as if time itself had paused for her.
She closed her eyes slowly…
And in the darkness behind her lids, she saw not despair—
But them.
Her father, with his quiet smile and proud gaze.
Her mother, reaching a gentle hand toward her, as if to say:
"It's your time now, my little one."
Leora gasped, her breath heavy,
A single warm tear escaped from her eye.
Then, she whispered—barely audible, yet powerful enough to stir the heavens:
"Mother… Father…
Lend me your strength…
Tonight… I'll finish what you began."
Suddenly, her aura exploded—
As if the universe itself had answered her call.
The staff in her hand glowed with a strange light—
A fusion of blue, black, and crimson red…
The mark of ancient blood… the cry of memory.
Zenfor stepped back, eyes wide as he stared at the aura erupting from Leora.
The staff rose on its own, as if lifted by ancestral spirits—
And the ground beneath her feet began to tremble.
Zenfor clenched his jaw and muttered in disbelief:
"Impossible… Does she still hold that much power in her body?!"
He looked to the sky, as if it rained the curses of history upon him.
Then whispered, narrowing his eyes:
"This isn't the strength of an ordinary girl…
It seems you've surpassed even you, Arso…"
But Leora kept advancing—
Her crimson eyes blazing,
And her hair whipping wildly, as if the wind had chosen her as its queen.
She spoke in a low voice, harsher than any scream:
"Let's finish this."
The ground exploded beneath Leora's feet as she dashed forward like an arrow.
Her steps tore through the earth, scattering gravel into the air.
In an instant, she was before Zenfor,
Her staff charged with a glowing aura, her eyes flashing pure vengeance.
"For my mother!"
Her first strike shook Zenfor's shoulder and sent him reeling backward.
"And for my father!"
A swift second blow tore through the air and pierced his magical shield.
Zenfor tumbled on the ground, barely catching his breath—
Until Leora screamed, crashing down on him from above:
"And for every soul you killed!"
Her staff slammed into a defensive shadow wall he conjured hastily,
But the impact was too fierce to withstand.
The barrier shattered, releasing a violent magical wave that cracked the rocks around them.
Zenfor slipped backward, blood dripping from his mouth, breathing hard…
He forced himself up, panting, glaring at Leora with burning eyes.
"No… my end will not be at your hands!"
But Leora advanced slowly, merciless eyes locked on him—
Her next move faster than any eye could catch.
Zenfor stood, wounded yet defiant,
His blood-smeared grin never leaving his face.
He shouted loudly, words aimed into the void:
"Show yourself, Kyle… I know you're there, watching silently."
A pause.
"I command you—protect your leader!"
Silence fell…
Then a shadow moved behind a crumbled rock.
Kyle emerged, clothes torn, blood dripping from his mouth,
His eyes blazing—not with submission, but rebellion.
He stepped forward, standing between Leora and Zenfor,
His calm voice weighted with heavy meaning:
"I don't have to protect you… not anymore."
The air froze around them. Leora stared at Kyle in shock,
Zenfor furrowed his brows and whispered:
"What?!"
Kyle continued, voice lower yet truer:
"Finally… I'll witness your end with my own eyes."
He raised his head, looking Zenfor straight in the eye:
"I've wished for this moment for a long time."
Kyle walked steadily toward the hill where Mia, Aely, Kyle, and the exhausted Raven stood.
Zenfor's crushing pressure still squeezed the air—yet Kyle did not hesitate.
He drew a strange spear glowing with layers of earth's light, etched with ancient runes.
He plunged it into the ground, sending out a mild shockwave…
The pressure vanished suddenly, as if the sky exhaled relief after a storm.
Everyone raised their heads in surprise, eyes turning toward him.
Mia, kneeling and gasping for breath, looked at him with sparkling eyes, full of questions:
"That person… the one I always hated… why?"
Kyle approached her, his face smeared with blood and dirt, but his gaze was different—
Calm, sincere, and perhaps for the first time, free.
He reached out a hand and said softly, with a faint smile left:
"Come on… get up."
Mia rose, eyes gleaming with a mix of anger and betrayal.
She stepped closer, pounding his chest with trembling fists as if trying to vent years of silence:
"Why?! Why did you help us?!
You know well… I hate you!"
Kyle stood silently, taking her blows without defense, as if punishing himself.
Then, suddenly, he gently caught her hand before she could strike again.
He looked up at her and said bitterly:
"I know… I know.
I also know I deserve your hate…
I deserve your curse as long as I live."
He paused, looking away as if ashamed, then muttered:
"But I can't bear being that soldier anymore—
The one who crushes everything beneath his feet…
Even the faces of those he loves."
From behind them, a mocking voice cut through the tense air:
"Kyle…
Not only did you betray me, but you stood with the enemy…
For that girl?"
Everyone froze and turned toward the voice's source.
Zenfor's eyes gleamed with malice:
"It seems I made a mistake leaving her alive.
I should've crushed her beside that boy that day… Oby."
Mia's expression froze, then she slowly turned to Kyle:
"Wait… Kyle…
What does he mean?
I'm sure…
You…
You killed Oby, didn't you?!"
Kyle didn't respond. His eyes stayed on the ground, as if an immense weight had just crushed his chest.
Zenfor laughed scornfully, his voice sharp:
"Kyle? A killer?!
That weakling never stained his hands with a drop of blood!
I took him into my team to clean up my mess—
Corpses, chaos, disasters…
He was just a shadow following my orders."
He paused, then added with a wicked grin:
"And believe me, girl… if I hadn't shown up—
Oby would still be alive today."
Mia screamed all the pain she had left:
"You bastard!"
She charged at him like a storm, but Kyle grabbed her shoulders and held her firmly, voice sharp yet trembling:
"Stop, Mia! You won't beat him… not now."
She hit his chest with fists, tears flying with each strike:
"Let me! I'll tear him apart!
He killed Oby… killed him in cold blood!!"
Kyle only tightened his grip, as if holding onto an unforgivable, old guilt.
At that moment—
Leora's voice thundered through the smoke and ruin:
"Zeeeennforrrr!!"
She launched like a lightning bolt tearing through the air, staff raised, aura doubling.
"You bastard!" she shouted, striking swiftly.
"Die now!!"
Blow after blow echoed, shattering the silence.
"This is… for Raven!"
"And this… for Mia!"
"And this… for Oby!"
Zenfor? Nothing but stunned features, retreating, unable to block the blows.
His speed… insufficient.
His confused gaze was unseen before, like something inside him also shattered—but he dared not admit it.
Leora stepped back, breathing fast, eyes burning with unyielding focus.
She looked at Zenfor regaining balance and said firmly, dripping with rage:
"No more games, Zenfor."
She raised her staff before her, placed two fingers on his glowing chest, and whispered deeply:
"Dematra…"
The ground trembled beneath them, ancient roots bursting from the soil, writhing like giant snakes, lunging toward Zenfor with terrifying speed.
"What…?" he muttered in surprise, but time betrayed him.
The old tree roots coiled tightly around him, binding his arms, legs, and torso,
For the first time in the battle, his eyes widened in shock as he screamed:
"Stop, Leora!"
But she did not stop.
She raised her staff again, stared at the sky, then spoke a second spell:
"Arcaliom…"
Behind her, dozens of spears made of light and energy emerged, each shining with a different color—
Manifestations of her blazing wrath.
She pointed her staff forward:
"Go!"
All the spears shot toward Zenfor like a rain of pure fury.
They pierced his barrier, shattered the silence, and tore into his body…
The sound of stabs echoed in the air… Zenfor could no longer scream.
He collapsed to the ground, his body weighed down by the wounds, slowly crumbling amid flying dust and the shaking earth that still trembled.
His breaths were broken, his eyes pale—but a spark of defiance still burned.
Leora approached, her face a mixture of anger, victory, and sorrow.
She bent down slightly, looking directly into his eyes, then spoke calmly but cruelly:
"Any last words, Zenfor?"
He chuckled faintly, a tired, broken laugh—his last shred of pride… then muttered:
"Only now… do I understand why I hated Arso all this time…
Leora raised an eyebrow, but Zenfor continued in a weary voice:
"Because he inherited what should have been mine… the Crimson Blood… purity, strength, light."
His voice trembled and choked on the words:
"I just wanted… my name to be remembered…
To be the light… not its shadow."
A faint memory of his brother crossed his mind and he said:
"Ah… so that's how it is… I was the only one who loved me."
Arsó…
His eyes slowly dimmed, while his lingering smile told the story of a heart that lost its battle long ago—before losing it today.
Leora moved closer to Zenfor's fallen body, her eyes still as if replaying every memory… every pain, betrayal, and tear.
She knelt beside him, gently closed his eyelids.
The moment she did, a fleeting vision appeared—
Two shadows standing nearby, bathed in tender, translucent light.
Her mother and father, smiling at her like never before.
She looked at them with tearful eyes… and when they smiled, they vanished in a glow of light.
Leora lifted her gaze to the sky, where sun rays pierced through clouds.
She heard voices… her friends calling her name from afar:
"Leora!"
"Leora, you did it!"
She turned toward them, a faint victorious smile on her lips.
Raised her hand in a victory sign… then her legs weakened.
Everything around her began to fade… breaths slowing… vision narrowing…
But before she could fall, warm hands caught her and held her steady.
"I won't let you fall, Leora…"
It was Raven.
As the heroes caught their breath after what seemed like the end of a bloody chapter of their lives,
Mia stood before Kyle, eyes shining with an unfamiliar look.
She spoke with a broken voice, carrying all the years of reproach:
"Why didn't you tell me? All these years… why didn't you say you didn't kill Oby?
I hated you, despised you… I prayed for your death more than once!"
Kyle looked at her, his face drowning in sorrow and regret.
His eyes—once so steady—now trembled silently.
"I deserved that," he said softly, as if speaking to his soul before her.
"I brought you here.
I thought I could protect you… but you were the price.
Since Oby died… I curse myself every moment."
Tears suddenly streamed down his face… he could no longer hold them back.
Mia looked at him, shock mixed with burning pain filling her expression.
"Kyle…" she whispered.
Then, without another word, she stepped closer and gently wiped his tears with trembling fingers.
Her own eyes began to water, as if the truth had broken something inside her too.
"I'm sorry… truly sorry."
But Kyle shook his head, as if apology wasn't enough.
Then suddenly, he dropped to his knees before her, eyes wet with tears:
"I'm the one who should apologize… Mia, please, forgive me."
Silence fell between them, as if time itself paused to witness their final decision.
Kyle still knelt, awaiting forgiveness, hand shaking as he lowered his head…
But Mia reached out and gently lifted his face.
"Kyle…" she said, her tone shifting from reproach to a warmth she hadn't felt in a long time,
"You've always been stubborn… but you were never truly bad."
He stared into her eyes as if they were his window to salvation.
She laughed softly, tearfully, and said:
"Imagine that? After all this… I forgave you."
He collapsed onto her chest as if a weight of years fell away.
She hugged him tightly, whispering:
"We're not what we used to be, Kyle… but there's still something worth saving."
He slowly raised his head and said hoarsely:
"Could… we ever be like before?"
She smiled, a tear trailing down her cheek:
"Maybe… like we should be."
As they embraced under the new sunlight, the wind whispered around them, carrying a promise of a new beginning.
Amid the quiet moment and morning breeze that murmured life's return…
Kyle raised his voice with a playful grin:
"You two… come here, hurry up!"
Mia ran toward him, waving her hand, then turned to Kyle, still standing where he was:
"Come on, Kyle! Join us!"
Kyle looked at her, voice soft and hesitant:
"Is… it okay if I join?"
Mia looked at him with forgiving eyes and a sincere smile:
"Of course… I'm not going without you."
Then she reached out her hand to him…
He hesitated for a moment before taking it in both of his hands,
And together they walked toward the light that was beginning to paint a new future.
The wind caressed their hair and cloaks,
And the sky melted into the colors of the first sunrise.
Leora stood in the center, her staff resting on her shoulder,
Her gaze a mixture of exhaustion and triumph.
Riven stood silently beside her, his golden eyes watching the horizon with an unspoken rhythm.
Mia and Kyle stood close together, fingers intertwined in a silent promise that needed no words.
Kyle stood behind them, arms crossed, watching them with a quiet smile tinged with nostalgia.
Then…
Soft wings fluttered behind them.
Leora looked back and saw Aely floating gently in the air, her wings shimmering with the colors of dawn.
Aely whispered softly, like the breeze's murmur,
"You did it. The era of the Azarim is over… the light has begun to return."
She nodded, her eyes sparkling with a magical glow.
Before them, the sun began to rise…
As if scattering a new promise over their souls,
As if declaring a dawn that carried nothing but a fresh beginning.
And for a moment…
Silence reigned.
Only the sound of the wind, the shimmer of Aely's wings, the warmth of the light,
And hope rising from the ashes of what once was.