Vaelor's greatsword slammed against Aldrich's katana with a force that felt like the sky itself collapsing.
Aldrich's boots skidded back, cutting grooves through the dirt.
His spine rattled.
His fingers burned from the vibration.
It felt as if his arms were about to tear out of their sockets.
Vaelor stepped in, pushing the blade down harder, massive muscles flexing under his robe.
"BREAK—!" the patriarch roared.
Aldrich gritted his teeth, breath cracking out of him.
His left foot sank deeper into the mud.
His vision blurred at the edges.
And then—
The pressure collapsed him.
Aldrich was thrown back, body spinning, crashing into the dirt with a harsh roll. His coat tore at the shoulder, and the wind was punched out of him.
He coughed, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
Vaelor didn't hesitate.
He charged.
Aldrich pushed himself up, chest burning, lungs trembling, and barely dodged as Vaelor's greatsword smashed down where his skull had been.
A crater burst open.
Aldrich leapt aside.
Another swing—
He ducked.
Another—
He twisted.
Another—
He slid under the blade, feeling wind cut across his cheek.
Vaelor fought like a storm.
Aldrich fought like lightning trying not to burn out.
But he was losing ground.
Every clash rattled his bones.
Every missed strike cost him precious strength.
And the patriarch wasn't slowing down.
At all.
Aldrich raised his blade just in time—
CLANG!
The strike knocked him back.
Another.
Another.
Another.
Vaelor pushed him across the field like a man beating down a stubborn animal.
"You're slowing!" the patriarch bellowed. "This is what becomes of vengeance! EMPTY!"
Aldrich stumbled as he parried the next attack—
Then pain exploded across his back.
A flash of steel.
A shallow but long cut from shoulder to hip.
Aldrich grunted, breath catching—
He hadn't even seen the maneuver. Vaelor had twisted the blade with brutal efficiency, catching Aldrich mid-movement.
Blood soaked through Aldrich's coat.
His knees nearly gave out.
The pain was sharp, burning, fresh.
Vaelor grinned.
"Your father died the same way," he spat. "Bleeding… staggering… weak."
Aldrich froze.
Something in him snapped.
Not outwardly.
Not in rage or screaming fury.
No.
It snapped inward—
Quietly.
Calmly.
Like the click of a lock being opened.
His eyes slowly lifted, dark and steady.
"Do not," Aldrich said softly,
"…compare yourself to him."
Vaelor charged.
Aldrich didn't move at first.
He simply breathed.
One breath.
Two.
His muscles found a rhythm.
His legs steadied beneath him.
His center sharpened.
And right before Vaelor's blade hit—
Aldrich stepped… completely in.
It was Eldran's teaching, the one he learned on a night he'd almost broken his wrist while training.
"When a stronger opponent presses forward—don't run.
Step inside.
Take their space.
Steal their balance."
Aldrich pivoted sideways as Vaelor swung—
The greatsword whooshed past him—
Aldrich slammed the pommel of his katana into Vaelor's ribs.
The patriarch grunted, stumbling half a step.
It wasn't enough to hurt him.
But it shocked him.
Aldrich pressed.
He struck again—
A sharp stab toward the thigh.
Vaelor blocked—
But Aldrich had already moved.
Hollowdene footwork.
Exploit the opening.
Use the weight.
Use the chaos.
He ducked under Vaelor's arm and sliced across the back of the patriarch's knee.
Vaelor roared, dropping to one side—
Aldrich drove forward with everything he had.
Slash across the ribs.
Slash across the forearm.
Stab into the shoulder.
Vaelor swung wildly—
Aldrich bent backward so far his spine trembled, the blade sweeping inches above his nose.
He came up fast—
He drove his knee into Vaelor's stomach.
Then—
Aldrich leapt.
His blade flashed downward, carving into Vaelor's chest.
The patriarch staggered, blood spraying across the dirt.
But Vaelor was still a monster.
Still a titan.
Still the patriarch of a clan that had slaughtered his.
He grabbed Aldrich by the coat and hurled him aside.
Aldrich crashed into a tree, gasping, back burning from the earlier cut.
He slid down to one knee.
Vaelor stumbled but still advanced, greatsword dragging through the dirt.
"You… are nothing…" Vaelor growled, raising the blade.
Aldrich spat blood, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and rose slowly.
"I'm your ending," he said.
Vaelor roared and rushed him.
But Aldrich didn't wait.
He sprinted.
They collided in the center of the clearing—
steel meeting steel, breath meeting breath, hatred meeting hatred.
Aldrich ducked under one heavy swing, slashed Vaelor's side.
Vaelor punched him across the jaw—
Aldrich's ears rang—
But he kept moving.
Vaelor swung downward—
Aldrich met the blow with his katana—
The impact nearly ripped the sword from his hands.
His back screamed.
His arms shook.
His legs trembled.
But he didn't fall.
Not now.
Not before the end.
Not before the last breath of the Varkonn line.
Vaelor snarled and pushed harder, trying to force Aldrich to the ground.
"No more running, boy—!"
Aldrich smiled through blood.
"I stopped running nine years ago."
His feet shifted.
His hips twisted.
And he redirected all of Vaelor's force—
Not against himself.
Against Vaelor.
The patriarch stumbled forward—
Aldrich stepped in, blade flashing—
And drove his katana straight through Vaelor's heart.
The patriarch froze.
His eyes widened.
His breath caught.
Aldrich leaned in close, voice low, echoing with quiet venom.
"Are you looking for something down there?" he said, staring down on him. "Look up."
He twisted the blade.
Vaelor gasped, blood spilling down his chest.
Aldrich swung upward in one precise, ruthless arc—
cutting from Vaelor's heart through his left shoulder.
The patriarch's legs buckled.
He collapsed onto his back.
His breath faded.
His eyes went dull.
Aldrich stood above him, chest heaving, blood soaking his coat, back burning with pain.
One man.
Two hundred corpses.
And the patriarch dying at his feet.
It was done.
But the world wasn't finished with him yet.
Two voices erupted from the shadows—
Laughing.
Mocking.
Cruel.
Aldrich froze.
He knew those voices.
They stepped out calmly—
the ones who had fled earlier.
The ones who murdered Taro and Arin Yagurah in their home.
"Long time," one said.
A thin, sharp-eyed man with twin daggers.
"Miss us?" said the other, heavier, carrying a curved blade.
Gareth and Malvek.
Aldrich didn't answer.
He didn't speak.
He didn't breathe.
He attacked.
What followed wasn't a fight.
It was rage made flesh.
Aldrich was exhausted—
blood loss weakening him,
body trembling,
vision fading in and out—
But his fury kept him alive.
The assassins were skilled—
faster than normal humans,
trained killers,
battle-tested—
And Aldrich still took them both on.
Blades clashed.
Blood flew.
Aldrich's coat tore again.
His knuckles split.
His back injury seared white-hot every time he twisted.
He nearly died twice.
Malvek stabbed him in the side.
Gareth sliced across his arm.
He dodged only because instinct screamed louder than pain.
But Aldrich fought like a starving wolf.
He tore Gareth's dagger from his hand and rammed it into his throat.
Malvek screamed and charged—
Aldrich grabbed his wrist, twisted until bone snapped,
took his blade,
and drove it through his stomach.
Both assassins collapsed.
Silence returned.
Aldrich stood shaking, covered in blood that wasn't all his own.
And then—
He burned the entire Varkonn territory.
Flames rose high.
Buildings cracked.
Smoke climbed into the clouds.
Screams had long faded.
Only roaring fire remained.
Aldrich stood before the inferno, illuminated by orange light, blade hanging at his side, rain beginning to patter against his coat.
His eyes softened for the first time in years.
He tilted his head toward the sky, rain mixing with blood on his face.
"Mother… Father…" he whispered.
Then louder—
broken—
triumphant—
laughing through exhaustion and agony—
"I've completed your revenge… and wiped their whole lineage…"
His voice cracked as thunder grumbled overhead.
"So you can finally rest in peace."
The rain fell harder.
Aldrich sheathed his blade slowly, breath trembling, legs barely holding him.
He turned toward Hollowdene.
Every step was agony.
He reached the forest entrance—
just one step inside—
And collapsed, entire body giving out.
His vision dimmed.
And as darkness wrapped around him—
he saw her.
A girl his age.
Black hair.
Wide eyes.
A basket of herbs in her hand.
She gasped when she saw him fall.
Aldrich tried to lift his head—
failed—
And everything went black.