Fading into the darkness, Ardere felt nothing. It was a void, as if he was in a deep, deep sleep. But this strange abyss only lasted for a few moments when he woke up in Terra Ignis, in the middle of the street.
What the? The confusion only lasted for a few seconds before he found his answer, as Seru's voice was before him. Something was off about the world around him, a darker sensation that felt like the one from his childhood had emerged, in his home of all places. The sense of confusion and shock overcame his body as the young woman explained. He had failed? How was that possible? He had overcome the darkness, and her tone was much harsher than before. It almost hurt his feelings, but the warrior inside of him did not give up. The brown haired mage gritted his teeth, holding back his emotions as well as he could. The sense of failure flooded his veins, infecting his very core. Stumbling back, he reached for his sword, but could not find it. The town he had known to love was shrouded, by a form of darkness, he could feel it. Arching his eyebrows, he lashed out.
No! I'm not going to accept that! Looking around for the source of her voice, his actions were to no avail. Her presence had disappeared, causing him to stand there, a sense of broken will coursing through his body. But he had to keep it together. Looking around, he noticed the villagers walking towards him, but something was off about them. The people he had sworn to protect, were covered in darkness like he had encountered before. But rather than accepting this, he knew he had to fight until his last breath. There was still a chance to keep on fighting.
No... This darkness was unacceptable. It had overtaken those he had fought for, for so long, the citizens he left for his own selfish reasons.
Tightening his fist, he stood there, shaking. Even with his will to protect, the people of his village dashed towards him, many even armed with weapons. Shaking profusely, he let them attack him. Beating into him, piercing him with their swords, his body of flame ensured that none of his wounds would prompt bleeding, but he still felt the pain. Even though his body reformed in flames, he still felt every slash, and every punch. Ardere could not escape the feeling that he deserved this. Laying into him, the villagers screamed and shouted, as the darkness surrounded the Fire King. Shaking like a small child, he fell to his knees. The world felt so dark, so cold, and so lost. But what would his death prove? Just that he truly was a failure, hence, he could not allowed them to kill him. Smacking his fist into the ground, cracks shot across the earth. The dark villagers stumbled, and he stood up, performing a tornado kick. Knocking several of them back, he leaped upwards. Even though they were consumed by the darkness, he could not kill them, not if there was still a chance to save them. His most redeeming attribute was his ability to overcome incredible odds and maintain his morals, his light, in the darkest of times. The Samurai did not view himself as an Angel, in fact he felt more like a Demon most of the time. Nonetheless, he was a warrior for light, for the good in this world. Landing on top of a nearby roof, he understood his purpose here. Defeating this evil was all he could do to redeem himself, if not correct his wrong-doings. Standing atop the roof, he peered down into his once peaceful city, full of people he no longer knew. The shadow turned them into monsters, a fact he found hard to accept, but one he wanted to correct. Gritting his teeth, the brown haired mage dashed off towards the guild. The current situation was too much to handle, and he found the need to look for his sword. Perhaps it was back at the guild hall, and perhaps his members were holding up there, fighting against this darkness.
Dashing across the roof tops, he felt the wind rush through his thick brown locks. Narrowing his eyebrows, Ardere had become even more serious and tightly wound than he had in the recent months. His normally laid back attitude was thrown out the window the minute his villagers were taken by the darkness. Punching a hole in the wide of one of the pillars holding up a nearby building, it collapsed on top of itself. The infected villagers tried to follow, but he was far too fast for them. Wind rushing through the plates of his armor, the fire mage leaped from the tallest roof top, into a horde of trees. Moving from tree to tree, leaves and a cloud of dust were left in his wake, as the Midi-styled castle which was his guild hall, grew closer. Increasing the speed in which he was moving, he could hear nothing coming from the hall, even with his enhanced senses. No voices, no movement. Standing at the door, he did not even hear any hear beats or breaths. His heart sank into his stomach, as he slowly opened the door to a wave of darkness. Looking around, he saw nothing but death and shadow. Stepping forward, he looked around at his members stabbed and ripped apart, presumably by the dark ones. He could not help but feel like he had failed them, leaving them behind for his journeys. Shaking, he stumbled forward, looking at the hordes of bodies. Utterly destroyed, the final nail in the coffin was hammered when he heard foot steps coming towards him. It was his daughter, impaled by Clarent. His eyes widened, the fire mage froze. Instantly paralyzed where he stood, he could not even speak. So flabbergasted, his body grew weaker by the moment, and his heart was broken as she leaped towards him. Stepping to the side, he noticed all of his dead guild members stand up, shrouded in darkness, all coming towards him. This darkness had overwhelmed them, and he instinctively filled the room with flames. So filled with fear and rage, he destroyed nearly everything in his path, losing control of his god slaying flames like he was a small child who had just learned the magic.
Celica, Rowan, Jackal, Szeras, Deniel, Enola, Alye, Haretsa and many others, all had tried to kill him. The hordes of members had been beaten back, and by the time he realized what he had done, the lifeless body of his daughter laid in front of him. He knew she had already been dead, but it hurt to knock them all down like that. He was forced to fight the lifeless, darkness ridden, forms of his guild members and even his own daughter. Who could do such a horrible thing? Holding his precious, red haired child in his arms, he pulled her in tight. For the first time in many years, Ardere wept. He sat there with the one he loved most, the one he would give his life for at any time, lifeless in his arms. Wailing, tears gushed out of his eyes, streaming down his face. Screaming with all of his might, he felt every bit of happiness he had ever experienced be utterly shattered.
My baby girl. My precious little cinder, fucking shit I'm so sorry. God dammit! Crying for what felt like an eternity, he knew he had to pull his sword out of her chest, she deserved to keep her body intact. Slowly pulling the sword out of her, the tears stopped. He still felt broken and useless, but something felt off to him. How had the sword entered her body in the first place? He took it with him when he entered Seru's world, therefore it could not have been used to kill her. Then possibly if he defeated the darkness that had overtaken his city, he could reverse all of this. Gritting his teeth so hard there was a slight crunching sound, he laid his little girl down, and ripped off his family cloak, placing it over her body.
I love you more than life itself Malva, and I will bring you back, even if I have to die in place of you. Picking up his own sword, he reached down and picked up his daughter's blade, which had once been his own, the Kasai family blade. Wielding both powerful blades, he encased them in powerful black flames. Opening his mouth, all of the flames lighting the torches across the entire castle were consumed by the fire mage. The flames filled his body, as a godly aura encased him. His hair turned black, lengthening a bit. His skin became even more pale, a paper white, as a black aura shimmered across his body. Eyes red and flame tattoos covered his face and neck, for a moment, he felt the power of a god in his body. The Fire King had entered god force, ripping off his armor plates, revealing his pale yet toned physique.
Stepping out of the guild hall, he stood in front of hundreds of darkness covered villagers, all ready to tear him limb from limb. The black aura covering his body was powerful, and so was he. Disappearing for a moment, he engaged the villagers, deflecting sword attacks and hand to hand maneuvers. He aimed for non-lethal places, slashing and kicking his way through hordes of them. Fighting and fighting, he was engaged in a war with them, one he could easily overpower. At this level he could take on the strongest of enemies, but that was not how he would win this battle. It would not return his citizens to normal, and it would not fix his failure. This darkness had to be cleansed, and it required an immense power to do so. So he leaped into the trees, making his way as high as he could before blasting flames from his feet to increased his height.
I will never give up. As long as I am breathing, I can keep fighting. Darkness is nothing without a little bit of light, so back to whatever hell hole you came from! Slamming his hand down into the ground, he channeled pure light magic into it. This would be the base for his guild spells as a wave of light erupted in all directions, cleaning the darkness as it went. This particular technique would be utilized by his head of destruction. As a guild master and a leader, he had to be the light standing in the darkness, no matter what. Even when he had lost everything, he could not lose himself. The pain of losing his daughter and loved ones had destroyed him, but it had also reminded him of his purpose in this world; to return the light. Attempting to cleanse the shadows, he watched as the light overtook his guild and city. He was using all of his power, and he knew it would be enough. He had given it all he had, emotionally and physically, shaking to keep the power flowing into the city. The light was so bright, that it would temporarily blind most enemies, but it was even more effective on the darkness. Using all of his power, he had not lost hope. Ardere used up all of his magical power to do this, but it was worth it in the end. Returning light to his city was all he could have hoped for, and as a leader, it was his duty to do so.
Light always wins, you bastard. Collapsing with a smile on his face, the guild master let out a heavy breath as he stared up at the bright blue sky, so beautiful, and vast, just like the world. Chuckling a bit, the power had been inside of him all along, just waiting to come out. The pure light his guild was founded on had manifested itself, and it helped him realize where he was meant to go in the future, but it would be a dangerous path. Fortunately, he was ready for it now.