The roar of metal colliding against the vacuum filled the wasteland, but within Arthur's mind, the noise of battle transformed into a sepulchral silence—an introspection forged in the mud of the trenches while his body, now imbued with the bluish light of Phaedra's heart, moved by pure instinct against Neura's silhouette.
Each thrust of his sword of light, each millimeter-perfect dodge before the red spear, was accompanied by the echo of a life that no longer belonged to him. (I was born with a very grand sense of patriotism), Arthur thought as his blade clashed against Neura's darkness, sparks illuminating his grave face. (As a child, I trained day and night to one day become a royal knight. I had talent, too much of it... the people of my village often idolized me).
A strike from Neura forced him back ten meters, his feet dragging through the scorched earth. Arthur did not waver. (It was a very peaceful village. Though we were at war, it didn't seem like the invaders would ever reach us. Heh, what an innocent thought). The memory of physical pain returned to him like a lash: (I only remember the pain of a spear penetrating my chest and the smell of metallic blood everywhere. Some put up a fight. By the end, both the local invaders and my village were slaughtered in the conflict).
Neura lunged in a flurry of thrusts that Arthur blocked with superhuman speed, but in his mind, he only saw corpses. (I lay there, tearing myself away from the invaders who had arrived. At that moment, I saw them as demons of evil, invading to fulfill their pleasures). His movements grew more erratic, fueled by an ancient rage. (As the sole survivor, I quickly enlisted in the holy knights. I wasn't the best soldier, but I was notable. I always dreamed of defending my homeland and exalting it. I was so blind).
A clash of energies caused an explosion that separated them again. Arthur, his breath hitching, observed the impassive silhouette of his enemy. (Even the battles I expected weren't what I believed. Thousands, hundreds of men taking refuge in trenches, using any means not to rest or die. I remember well the swelling in my feet that tore my skin). The disgust for the past gave him new strength. (The orders from high command were stupid, demented... they practically wanted suicides. And if we didn't die, the next mission was even more suicidal. It enraged me to see the faces of those decrepit old men with a natural racism grafted into their very being).
Neura spun his spear, creating a vortex of vacuum that Arthur leaped through, slicing the air with his blue sword. (They could say such aberrant things without any repercussion. Well, I didn't oppose them much either. War propaganda could blind anyone. They told us the invaders were irrational... when it was obvious we were the ones after the territory).
Arthur landed a blow on Neura's shoulder, but there was no blood, only red static. (One day, without warning, they sent all the troops from both countries in one last charge. I cannot describe the massacre it was. Body parts flew as much as the earth did. I saw comrades agonizing with their lungs or brains pierced while still alive... or well, writhing in life). The memory of the frightened invader crossed his mind like a lightning bolt. (We were separated, but shortly after, I found him lifeless in that field. I went back to face the king, but everything, even the castle, was destroyed).
With a cry that did not leave his throat but echoed in his soul, Arthur concentrated all the light of the Progenitor's heart into a single point. (I realized that in war, strangers fight without reason through acquaintances who hate each other to death. I had a childish dream then: to be a king and represent my country to the world. But then I realized I was a dreamer... that in reality, people wouldn't learn and would be ridden by their impulses).
His eyes shone with final resolution as he lunged for Neura's neck. (That was when I joined Hiroshi and the Progenitor to end this corruption from within. I've always thought... Neura has a great hatred toward humans. And if he comes from the future, has he experienced an unparalleled cruelty, or is it simply a human discrimination of our own?)
— Even with that, I will fight for a future for humanity! Even if that future is chaotic, it will be a thousand times better than that nihilism of yours! — Arthur roared, his voice defying the roar of a world falling to pieces.
The clash of weapons devastated continents. The speed of the combatants left behind trails of gold and darkness that scarred the sky. Every attack Arthur launched seemed to dissolve into nothingness; the lack of oxygen began to sap his concentration, and the effort to keep the pace was inhuman. One single error, one single graze from Neura, and he would be split in half.
In a frenetic exchange, Arthur gave ground on purpose, sacrificing his position to place his sword at the right angle to cleave Neura, but the black silhouette dodged the slash with unnatural fluidity. The response was a devastating kick that Arthur managed to block by gripping his sword in a reverse hold, though the impact sent him flying back several meters, furrowing the charred earth.
— The atmosphere has become impossible — Arthur gasped, feeling the weight of the increased gravity —. The darkness of the clouds, the earth turned to charcoal... I'm only alive because of the bond with the Witch, but she won't hold much longer. If the planet is destroyed, there will be no future. Charlie cursed him with her soul, but as long as he is conscious, the curse cannot take root. I have to take his head to have a chance... and to shift him, I must keep him impaled for more than five seconds. Fine, I can do this...
Before him, the black silhouette loomed like an error in the fabric of existence. Neura did not give the illusion of a god; he gave pure terror, a primal fear in a desolate space. His figure was an abnormal screech in the silence of the cosmos, something that shouldn't be there.
— I can't move a single muscle in my face — Arthur thought, facing the horror head-on —. I will not bow. Even if I look into the abyss, I will give it no importance.
A slash of vacuum interrupted his thoughts. Arthur dodged by millimeters a blast that split everything visible on the horizon. It was now or never.
— IONIC UMBRAL! — Arthur whispered to himself.
He launched himself like a flash at dizzying speed, but Neura's spear blocked the impact with raw force. Arthur did not stop and, amidst the struggle, whispered again:
— PRAGMASTNS!
The light fragmented, creating several silhouettes of himself that attacked simultaneously. It was a surge of swords and spears that momentarily overwhelmed Neura's defense. Tired of the game, the villain unleashed his thousands of metallic spider-legs like needles, using them as piercing wings that swept the copies away in an instant. But in that moment of blindness, the true Arthur filtered through the shadows. With all his strength and speed, he managed to tear Neura's head off with a brutal thrust.
Neura's body remained standing as the head disappeared, but as it regenerated, a series of thick, black veins pulsed through his body, agonizing in real pain for the first time.
— Aggh... I see now... — Neura groaned —. That girl cursed me with her own soul. I have nothing left to lose. Now, it is everything!
Neura lashed reality with multiple slashes that disintegrated everything in their path. Arthur, in his last breath, lunged toward the heavens. Neura tried to crush him, but in the empty space, Arthur felt for an instant the presence of Hiroshi and Noah cushioning the spiritual impact. Neura tried another shockwave, but his muscles failed; Charlotte's curse was weakening him from within.
Filled with a murderous impotence, Neura battered the golden knight's body with plasma blasts that tore his armor and scorched his flesh. But Arthur kept moving forward. Neura concentrated all his power into one final, definitive thrust.
— At the end of your time, this ends! — Neura screamed —. With my spear forged by my own rage, your only option is your mere dysfunction!
Arthur, wielding the bluish sword and approaching beyond the limit of death, replied:
— This is how I wanted to live! Even if this is my end, I will be proud of my dysfunction! With my promised victory, I will end this epilogue of terror!
Neura's spear pierced Arthur's chest, destroying his body, but the youth did not stop. His hand, moving past the spear impaling him, drove the sword of light into Neura's head. In that instant, he activated all the power of Phaedra's heart.
Reality fragmented and condensed. Seconds became eternal as an immense pain invaded the sky. A nearly divine gaze loomed over them with silent gratitude. Arthur yielded to his own dysfunction, his body finally surrendering, but the catastrophe was achieved: Neura was shifted, expelled from that time.
Death reached everyone in that wasteland. Silence returned to the world, leaving only a sword driven into the concrete of a land without a single spectator.