The Monarch of Blood's words hung in the air, sharper than any blade.

Lidien looked down at his own hands, the instruments of what he had thought was a unique and formidable power, now feeling strangely... common.

"And what Path did you choose?"

The Monarch of Blood laughed, and it reverberated in his mind like thunder.

"Crystallization... I could give my army infinite weapons, and every--"

"And still, you died..."

His words cut short with Lidien's mocking remark.

The Monarch of Blood could only grit his teeth, still unable to find the right words to refute Lidien's statement.

'...I'm not dead yet, child... I'm still waiting for your promised new vessel to live again.'

Lidien smirked and shook his head...

"The thing is, I'm not sure how to make an ability with the Soul and the Corpse Path... it seems that I need to ascend all equally to truly become an Angel."

The Monarch of Blood stayed quiet for a while... letting Lidien watch the smoke curling toward the night sky, vanishing at the end of his sight.

'I'm sorry, child, those Idiots are only good at peace talks... teaching useless words, they couldn't even protect themselves with their abilities... especially those from the Corpse Path, they couldn't live without the help of either Blood or Soul Path.'

Lidien laughed; this time he understood what the Monarch of Blood was saying... especially since he had experienced the usefulness of all the paths, he concluded that the Monarch was just being biased by his own power.

"And why is that? Give me your concrete reasoning, Old Man. Don't be biased just because you use the Path of Blood."

As the Monarch coughed in his mind, Lidien listened intently to the following words he said.

'Child... I was born in times of war, and died--no, escaped with my soul as a last resort to have our revenge... we, the Path of Blood, are the frontliners of the War... and those idiots could only stay at home and tend to the dead and talk to the souls... didn't even see one fight with us...'

Then he added another line that made Lidien intrigued by it.

'Ohh I remember... they even had this joint project to make a dead person fight for us... though I'm not sure, they said they read it from ancient scripture... much older than us, from our predecessors who chose to eradicate themselves rather than use their knowledge to fight for our right.'

Lidien smiled, as he remembered his plan to make a body for every soul orbiting his Crimson Shard and create an army of the dead... but the hidden meaning behind the old Monarch's words still lingered in his mind... as his curiosity prevailed, he asked.

"Did you live during the war? Or before the war?"

The silence made Lidien almost deaf, and only the small movements of Alva against the leaves and the soft crackling of fire assured him that he could still hear.

Then...

'We were already running, Child... the Death Church was gone much older than us... and only the burned and scattered relics, scriptures, could tell what really happened in those ancient times... and even that, was not enough...'

A long pause let the words sink into Lidien's mind.

'We tried to live silently... but they could always find us. It was until the time the believers of the God of Space and Time removed their influence from this world, or rather... maintained neutrality, allowing us to breathe and grow powerful enough not to hide.'

Then a chuckle, a mourning laugh that couldn't hide the agony of the Monarch of Blood, echoed in Lidien's mind.

'But we were wrong... Our power was never enough. I am the only Monarch the New Order has to offer... and fighting against the other Six Monarchs of Life and Light was a tragedy I will not be able to escape... not without ensuring the survival of the New Order.'

The Monarch chuckled, and it turned into maniacal laughter while Lidien's smirking mouth twitched from the banging in his mind.

'Child, now that you are here... you could lead the New Order using your tri-path, that only you in this world possess... and gift this world to our god, slumbering inside you!'

A sound escaped Lidien's lips--not a giggle, but a sharp, incredulous bark of laughter that he tried to stifle by biting his own curled index finger.

But the absurdity of it all was too much, and the laughter broke free, cold and sharp as broken glass.

"And what could they give me in return? And why would I gift this world to the Death God? Do you want me to die like a martyr? Idiot Monarch... maybe it was the fall of the Death Church, having someone like you to follow the God of Death."

Then he forced a small cough, his throat itching... and pulled a calabash from his space ring and drank some water to ease the soreness.

"Don't worry, Monarch, I will use the New Order to eradicate the Blood Rose Clan... and maybe, just maybe... use this Savage Expanse as the root of the Death Church," he whispered, staring blankly at the night sky full of stars.

As a soft rustle of leaves perked Lidien's ears, he looked sideways and saw a woman, so white--Alva... staring at him with her innocent-looking eyes, sitting with her legs curled, wiping the remnants of sleep from her face.

"The smell of blood..."

Alva crouched on all fours and leaped immediately toward Lidien... as her eyes scanned the dark forest only lit by the starry skies and dancing flame, her mouth couldn't help but twitch at the sight.

"What happened here?"

Blood was scattered all over the place, some trees were cut down, smashed against unknown beasts where only lumps and exploded organs remained... branches hanging intestines... and two large pools of blood reflected the night sky and flames.

Lidien scratched his face, staring at Alva as he tried to smile innocently.

"I didn't try to wake you up because I knew I could handle it."

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