BUAAKK!!
The body of a village soldier was hurled violently through the air before slamming into the wooden wall, cracking it on impact.
Dust billowed into the air.
Tora, Scyte, and Arrow stood firm amid the chaos, staring at the now wide-open path ahead.
Tora clicked his tongue in annoyance, resting his axe on his shoulder. "If it weren't for that damn tree suppressing your power, we'd've caught up to Rare by now!"
Scyte spun his scythe with a blank expression. "Nothing we can do. We just have to catch up to him quickly."
Their thoughts drifted back to thirty minutes earlier…
"I'm going to Yggdrasil first!" Rare shouted.
"Huh–"
Without waiting for approval, his small body shot forward like lightning, leaving behind a gust of wind that scattered dry leaves…
"Hahh… why am I the only one affected by that tree's effect?!" Scyte grumbled, glancing at Arrow, who seemed completely used to the village's environment.
At the same time, deep within the village center, Rare slowly stepped into the hollow of the massive Yggdrasil tree.
His steps were slow but steady, echoing through the vast chamber illuminated by golden light.
At the far end, the Queen of Yggdrasil sat upon a throne of roots.
"Where is my mother?!" Rare demanded, his voice echoing with intensity.
The Queen flinched. Her eyes widened in terror.
To her spiritual sight, Rare's innocent appearance was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, standing before her was a colossal black demonic figure with glowing red eyes, radiating overwhelming savagery.
"?! You… that outcast child!!" the Queen screamed, her voice trembling. "Get away from me, you monster!"
She extended her arm. Golden pure energy gathered and fired like a deadly laser beam.
"Your mother is already dead!!"
"W-what…?!" Rare swiftly raised his Excalibur to block the attack.
But the force was overwhelming, pushing him back and tearing through the inner walls of the massive tree.
DUAAARRR!!!
A massive explosion split the night sky.
Tora, Scyte, and Arrow, still on their way, instantly stopped.
They saw a burst of bright yellow light and a small silhouette being thrown high into the air.
"That's Rare!" Arrow shouted. "Let's go!"
The three of them dashed forward at full speed.
Meanwhile, Rare's body slammed hard into a cliffside outside the village.
Rocks collapsed over him. He tried to stand, breathing heavily.
But the Queen of Yggdrasil gave him no mercy.
She floated in the air, forming a massive golden energy sphere above her hand before hurling it down relentlessly.
Rare immediately drove his sword into the ground.
Massive stone walls erupted from beneath the earth, forming a thick dome around him.
But the pressure of the energy sphere was far too great.
The stone dome trembled violently before shattering into pieces.
Strangely, the fragments didn't fall.
They floated midair, suspended by a distortion of energy.
The Queen didn't give him a moment.
She extended both hands forward.
Two massive magic circles ignited in the air, flanking a projection of an ancient clock ticking between them.
Energy from the surroundings was drawn in, preparing for a final attack.
At that moment, Tora, Scyte, and Arrow arrived.
Seeing Rare cornered, Scyte instantly threw his scythe at blinding speed to break the Queen's focus.
"Who is that woman?!" Tora shouted.
"You pests!" the Queen roared.
Instead of dodging, she manipulated the clock before her.
She pulled its hands backward.
Instantly, time itself rewound.
Scyte's scythe, which should have struck her, suddenly reversed direction and flew back toward him.
Sring!
Caught off guard, Scyte couldn't fully dodge.
The tip of his own scythe sliced his cheek, fresh blood dripping down.
"How is that possible?! That's time magic!" Tora shouted, realizing they were facing something beyond reason. "No Name, help!!"
Far away, at No Name Corporation's base, No Name was focused on studying a glowing red stone on his table.
When Tora's panicked voice broke through the communicator, his concentration shattered.
In surprise, he accidentally gripped the red stone too tightly.
The stone responded.
Pure, absolute red energy extracted itself and seeped directly into his pores.
In an instant, an absurd surge of power exploded through his veins.
But No Name ignored the pain and the newfound power.
His mind focused on one thing only.
His pieces were in danger.
In the skies of Valjotoila, space itself tore apart.
A portal opened and No Name stepped through.
His aura was no longer just pitch black.
It was now laced with blazing red streaks that scorched the surrounding air.
"What's going on, Tora?" His voice sounded heavier… more terrifying than before.
Before Tora could answer, No Name's instincts had already locked onto the Queen.
Without hesitation, he raised his hand and unleashed a massive Black Hole.
The dark singularity devoured buildings, land everything in its vicinity, reducing the entire village to fragments.
Only No Name created a barrier to protect The Four Pion, along with the Yggdrasil tree, which somehow remained intact.
Thinking he had won, No Name lowered his hand.
But suddenly, space twisted unnaturally.
"Return to no life…"
The Queen once again turned the hands of her magical clock.
The destroyed village restored itself completely.
Time had been reversed.
No Name smirked faintly.
He dashed forward again.
Panicking, the Queen poured out all her life force.
She rewound time even further attempting to erase No Name's very existence, returning him to a point where he had never been born.
But No Name didn't fade.
He walked through the distortion of time effortlessly.
The Queen's eyes widened in horror. "What?! How is this possible!!"
"(Hah?!)… heh… sorry," No Name whispered right in front of her face, his red eyes gleaming. "Looks like I'm no longer bound by space and time."
"But… your power isn't bad."
ZRAAASH!!
No Name's hand pierced straight through her chest.
"Argh… you… Primordial Darkness…" the Queen whispered weakly.
No Name paused for a moment then, without mercy, absorbed all of her energy and time power.
Her body withered and shattered into an explosion of energy that flowed into him.
"Not bad. A new power," he muttered, shaking off the smoke from his hand.
Below, the battle had ended.
But the silence that followed felt unbearably heavy.
Tora walked toward Rare, who stood with his head lowered, gripping his sword.
"Rare," Tora said firmly but calmly. "I'll give you two choices. First, if you want to come with us, you must forget everything about this place. But if you choose to remember it, then don't ever come with us."
Rare fell silent.
The night wind blew through his messy hair.
He remembered the stones thrown at him, the villagers' insults, and his mother's fake smile as she sold him for money.
Then he looked at Tora, Scyte, and Arrow people he had just met, yet were willing to risk their lives for him.
"That's enough," Rare's voice trembled. He lifted his face. "You've already done so much for me. As I promised… I'll stay loyal to you."
Rare drove Excalibur deep into the ground.
Energy resonated, causing the earth to tremble.
"(Everyone… Mother… friends… goodbye.)"
A single tear fell from his eye.
It soaked his clothes… then dropped onto the blade of his sword.
At once, the tremors intensified.
The earth cracked.
The more tears fell onto the blade, the more violently the energy resonated.
And with the final tear
the moment Rare completely severed his heart from the past…
The night sky suddenly lit up.
The clouds split apart.
A massive flaming meteor descended at terrifying speed, ready to erase Valjotoila from existence.
Even No Name widened his eyes slightly. "Wait–"
Realizing the danger of Rare's emotional outburst, No Name quickly opened a portal.
Its destination the peak of the highest mountain on Earth.
"Move, now!" he ordered.
The moment they stepped through and the portal closed
A cosmic explosion erupted.
From the snowy cliff at the mountain's peak, No Name, Tora, Scyte, Arrow, and Rare stood side by side.
Rare stared blankly downward.
Far below, in the distance, the village of Valjotoila the place where he was born, tortured, and betrayed
was completely erased, swallowed by a sea of fire and the meteor's destruction.
All memories destroyed.
Leaving behind only a new path…
for the Third Pion.