After Jason had sliced apart the Burane race's assassin, his entire energy was drained and he coughed out blood.
Neither his aura nor his stigma were glowing anymore and Jason felt weaker than he had ever been.
Even when Jason had not started to accumulate mana inside his mana core and was malnourished, he had been more powerful than he was right now.
His legs were shaking heavily, but Jason forced himself to stand firmly on the ground.
He was unable to see anything clearly because his eyes were blurry, and Jason could barely lift his trembling hand that was drenched with his own blood.
Just like that Artemis emerged from the soul world.
Yet, instead of taking care of Jason, she had grasped the assassin's corpse with her talons to throw him around.
Meanwhile, Jason ignored what Artemis did as he turned towards his masters that looked at him with a faint smile.
Their faces were ashen-pale and blood poured out of their wounds.
"You've become strong, brat!"
Shane's voice was weak and Jason could barely hear it as tears poured down his cheeks.
Both Shane and Dalia were dying and Jason wanted to rush out of the burned tent to bring help when Dalia used her utmost efforts to say
"Don't go...Please….stay with us...during...our last moments…"
Hearing these words caused Jason to stiffen while he gritted his teeth as his legs gave in.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})He held his masters' hands with his trembling hands, not minding anything that happened around him as he said
"I'm sorry….everything's my fault...all of that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been with born!!!"
Because the Shadow walker had found him and his unique existence as a halfling, everyone had to suffer!!
Not only did war break out, but Scorpio died, and now even his masters would die!!
Guilt about what happened gathered within him and Jason could barely breathe properly as Dalia mumbled.
"Silly, Jael Drake...would have attacked somewhen...even without you…Nobody is guilty to be born! We...have to apologize...about Scorpio...if we hadn't..."
These last words seemed to have consumed Dalia's last energy and Jason's mana eyes began to malfunction because there was no mana left within Jason.
The last thing he perceived was that the icicles that had pierced through his masters had already frozen most of their organs.
Jason wanted to use Solaris' flame that had returned to its black color in order to heat up those organs, but when Shane saw this through his blurred, and heavy eyes he said
"Brat, there is...no use! Let us go...our time..has come…"
While Shane seemed to have some life left in his eyes, Dalia's eyes turned dimmer by the second and the last words she said were.
"Shane, I love you….Jason...don't be too sad. You've made...us..pro-ud…"
After that three magic circles appeared on the ground around Dalia as her body stiffened before it went limp.
The Dryads had given their utmost efforts to leave Dalia's soul world the moment she had been injured, but even after Jason had defeated the Burane race's assassin, Dalia prevented them from doing anything.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})There was only one thing Dalia could do for her soulbonds before dying which was releasing them.
Even though they hadn't been able to help at the end, Dalia had loved them dearly, and she would never allow them to die with her!
Shane had also released his soulbonds and Jason, who witnessed everything couldn't help but grit his teeth, as he laid Dalia's hand above Shane's.
Solaris who had been within Jason's soul world forced its way out as if appeared in front of the silver origin flame that levitated next to Dalia.
At the sight of the black origin flame, it began to tremble, floating behind the Dryads that were kneeling next to Dalia.
When Jason saw this, he instructed Solaris to stop everything it was about to do before his focus returned to Dalia, who had just left them, and Shane, who was currently fighting with himself to say something.
"Jason….you are strong...but not everyone...is like you...please, if possible, help those who need you...don't abandon mankind...We love you!.... Survive by all means!!"
A moment later Jason could see that Shane's life force had been drained as his body went limp.
He was about to cry out and let his emotions free when he sensed dozens of extremely strong mana fluctuations above him.
Lifting his face that was smudged by his own blood and tears, Jason saw more than a hundred beings with nine small solidified prismarine crystals in his mana core.
Only a moment later, the backlash of having unsealed the Celestia bloodline flooded Jason and he lost consciousness as he fainted right next to Shane and Dalia's corpse, while their soulbonds were voicing out their agony.
At the same time, Jason's Celestia aura and his stigma that seemed to have disappeared should have reverted back to its flawless golden-silverish color.
However, this did not happen, and the dark crimson color had spread through Shane's entire being, infesting the Celestia bloodline.
Unconscious, Jason was unable to notice anything around him, and he could only tell that his wrath towards certain foreign races and himself was intensifying.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Nobody deserves to be treated as the foreign races treated Argos and every living being on it.
At the same time, despite his body having entered a state similar to hibernation, his mind was still active, replicating everything that had happened during the last 17 years of his life.
Every single second from his birth to up to today.
What was the reason for humanity end like that, why did everything happen as it did? Who was at fault?
Was it Jason for being born as a halfling, or was it something else?
Why was his first friend Greg, and his family, whom he thought to be a second family of his, forced into a soul contract by Jael Drake?
Why did Scorpio and his masters have to die? Was his weak strength the cause for everything to happen or something else?
Everything had begun with the appearance of the world bridges and the fact that the Shadow walker had seen Jason, a halfling.
Witnessing the past once again, Jason felt as if he was being torn apart, by guilt, wrath, agony, and the question about what he should do in the future.
Was it better for everyone if he would just disappear, never return as if he had never existed in the first place, or would this worsen the situation?
Other than his mother, he had lost Scorpio and his masters whom he had loved more than he wanted to acknowledge.
His masters had supported him in every decision he made and this support was unconditional.
They never asked him for anything in return, and it was only shortly before Shane died that he asked Jason to not abandon mankind.
But...was that even possible...was there salvation for mankind?
**
Jason was still unconscious and didn't even notice that Fasro, had appeared above the burned-down tent.
He looked at Jason, who seemed to have escaped death by a hair's breadth.
At the same time, he looked at the 100 unmoving Elvyrs who seemed to be waiting for something.
'Why is the Evlyr race here? Do they want to join the war on Argos, or did something else happen?'
However, even more important for Fasro was the fact that he sensed a divine being's halo within the camp!
The enormous aura it had released had weakened every single assassin of the Burane race!
The aura had come from the place he was currently levitating, but the only thing Fasro could see was a halved Burane assassin, Jason, his dead masters, and several soulbonds.
At that moment, the silver origin flame that was levitating in front of Solaris had made a decision.
It followed the last wish of its master and allowed the black origin flame that released the desire to devour it.
Jason didn't notice this, but Fasro's eyes widened at this sight.
However, the faint mana fluctuations lingering around Jason were even more shocking as Fasro realized that the young man was the most likely candidate to have released the divine aura.
Subconsciously he eyed the Elvyrs that were still not moving, seemingly waiting for something as one of them said
"This youth….is he Celestia Yaldra's son? But...his aura…"
The leader of the Elvyr couldn't help but sigh while staring at Jason, who was unconscious as he said
"I know...his aura shows the first signs of turning into an Infernal Celestia…"
