***

Cough!

The collapsed woman heaved out a dry cough.

She scowled from the smell of ash and burnt flesh in the area, but her frown only lasted for a moment.

Before lifting her head and surveying her surroundings.

"Is anybody there…?" She weakly cried.

Only a bleak gust of wind blew by.

"Is everyone… dead?"

She waited, but no reply.

Kuk!

Tears began to stream from her eyes as she let off a sudden chuckle and began humming, then singing a lullaby tune.

"Dead, dead, everyone's dead~"

In her despair, she looked at a burnt corpse near her and thought it looked better than some others.

In another spot, lumps of meat that were once whole were floating in a pool of blood.

She looked around once more as disappointment emerged on her face.

Her body hurts yet she somehow managed to raise her upper body before spitting out her saliva mixed with blood.

Her complexion lightened a little before she looked at the distant sky with her blurring sight.

'How?'

She asked herself.

'How did she end up like this?'

She sighed as she remembered the past.

This woman was the admiral of a certain kingdom, subordinate to an alliance.

She was six years old when she first heard the news of the foreign invaders from space appearing in her world.

She was ten when she heard the news of the collapse of several kingdoms despite being known for their overwhelming technological and magical engineering.

It all started to crumble when the planet turned into a barren wasteland after the alien race devoured the deities worshipped by the alliance.

Plague and Death were their methods as their Queen, posing as the new goddess, began her bloody invasion throughout the planet with her ever-growing armies.

Despite new and foreign races emerging to counter her conquest.

Fighting for their right to the planet for the sake of survival, righteousness, or conquest.

Recalling the events of the past, the admiral feebly chuckled.

The land once ruled by mortals was now a warzone for several diverse races.

Exiled from their land, migrated to this new land, the original inhabitants that were once humanity devolved into nothing more but lambs for slaughter.

However, accompanying these foreign races were seven un-worshipped gods who were exiled onto their planet.

These seven gods promised to help the surviving humans in exchange for their worship and prayers.

And so, the deal was struck.

But to their surprise, help strangely came from these gods in an odd manner.

Their method of fighting back was to form an army of summoned individuals across time and space.

There was no other choice but to accept.

For what alternative could they have when the alliance was at its corner?

How could the kingdoms combined hope to resist without divine help?

Furthermore, the population had drastically plummeted due to the war.

"Those damned sons of bitches."

The admiral spat once more as she let out a curse, continuing to stare blankly up at the sky.

"We should never have trusted them in the first place."

It wasn't all that bad in the beginning.

The first summoned individuals had otherworldly potential and grew at an astonishing speed under the divine blessing of the seven gods.

However, the situation began to change when in-fighting ensued for the sake of pride and profit.

Factions and guilds were formed amongst the summoned based on race, religion, politics, and ideals.

In the end, selfish desires were the root problems.

The separation began to form rifts in the relationship of the once-united kingdoms with the desire to survive until it was shattered.

Weakening the inhabitant's forces.

But was that all?

In the end, the majority of them refused to participate in the final battle.

They coldly ignored the inhabitants, the moral pleas, and returned to their homeworld.

This is why rage boiled inside the admiral.

She began to curse once more but quickly shut her mouth at the sudden sound nearby.

Splash… splash…

A soft sound echoed amidst the gradually cooling mountain of corpses of followers and foes alike.

This sound approached her, but it stopped a bit to the right of her.

She focused her gaze to find a burnt corpse standing there and before him stood a looming darkness with a form that couldn't be described in words.

"Amazing."

Although abstract in form, one could hear the astonished tone in its voice as it continued.

"Truly Amazing! I did not have much hope, but to think you actually survived this bloody battle."

'A summoned?' the admiral asked within her mind.

The man collapsed on his knees and, as if he heard the admiral's question, nodded towards her.

A powerful emotion surged up within her heart, but she had no choice but to swallow it back down.

Seeing the state of this man was horrific.

So much so that she wanted to avert her gaze.

The number may have been extremely small, but it wasn't as if those who were summoned didn't participate in the battle.

The state of the man before her demonstrated that he had fully fulfilled his duty.

When the admiral thought this far, she began to develop a sense of sympathy.

At the same time, she felt it was a shame.

'If only there were more summons like him...'

"I would praise you further but you didn't understand. Never understood what you were. What you are. What you were becoming."

The low-pitched voice struck her ears.

"You were gifted, the essence of us was inside you. You were born to be All That Is One but you couldn't face that, couldn't accept that. And what do mortals do with the parts of them they cannot face, cannot accept? They hide that which is inside because then it is safe. You chose to conceal the source of your power, as many would. Yet you relied on its powers during times of inconvenience. The question is, why?"

As if to answer the being's question, the man raised his head.

A powerful emotion surged within but he spurted out bits and pieces of his organs along with a mouthful of blood.

His voice seemed to be lost, as only the sound of wind can be heard through his vocal cords.

The admiral felt concerned towards the man but, like him, she had little choice other than to continue to listen.

"You did it because you could remain mortal. Normal, as though The Demon never was inside you. Putting on that could then be taken off, like a mask. But now The Demon has taken you off. You were foolish."

An ominous sensation suddenly rose within both the admiral and the man's heart.

"You treated the gifts that you had been given as a curse. You did not look too deeply into what you were, what you were becoming, or what you could do. You committed the ultimate sin by denying yourself. Strength, speed, senses. These were the simplest of abilities that you had been given. The ones a child would find exciting, and yet, you stopped before anything more was discovered. As the child never asked and the question remained unanswered, what happens when you merge a mortal with a demon?"

"..."

"Only at The End did the answer to that question become apparent. Now, you are dying, The Demon within you is not, it refuses to die. Within the Dreaming, The Demon dreams of being a mortal until at last, I awoke. To be reborn. But the question remains, reborn as what? And perhaps just as important, who? And so it called to me and I am here to grant you a wish since you kept your end of the bargain."

As the darkness set its sights on the man's eyes, his weakened gaze looked forward.

"You do not have to speak, I can simply read your mind. Now, do you wish to be revived? What emerges from rebirth may be more than demon or more than mortal. Because what is suppressed for too long must surface and witness with a relentless vengeance. Once in a while, although rare, a mortal can be reborn. Like The Serpent. Shed their skin, its past, and begin anew. Every wound, healed. Every injury, repaired. A lifetime of pain, cleansed. Every sin, forgiven."

The admiral inwardly laughed. 'Wishing to be revived? What use would that be? We're at The End and everything is over.'

"..."

"No? Hehe, how foolish. Your life is hanging by a thread. Then what is it that you want? Don't tell me, riches? Glory? In this situation?"

"..."

"What? You want to start over?"

"..."

Suddenly, the tone of the darkness went up.

"Impossible!"

An enraged voice could now be heard from within the darkness.

"Even with your feats, how could it be possible to reverse time now!? You wanted to return everything to the way it was?"

"..."

"Insolent! Perhaps if you achieved today's feats dozens of times more, but in the current state that you're in, I cannot grant your wish. Never mind your soul, not even a single piece of your stories nor body can be sent back."

"..."

"How persistent! Given that your life is about to end and your previous accomplishments, I shall restrain myself. Now, tell me another wish."

"..."

A heavy silence descended.

"Hoh? Why did you make such a wish?"

"..."

The darkness moved by the pitiful sight of the man dropping his head.

The voice reverberating in the admiral's ears softened slightly.

"Child, hurry and wish for your revival. If that is truly your wish, you can ask again in the future after you've accomplished more feats. Though, I can't say that it will be possible."

The man's shoulders jumped ever so slightly. He seemed to be cackling.

It was already a miracle just to have survived this battle, let alone have the energy to converse with this entity.

But he had to survive and accomplish dozens more of world-ending battles?

The man, the admiral, and the entity all knew that it was impossible.

The man barely raised his head so slightly and slowly in his final attempt to make his wish.

"..."

"Your emotions?"

"..."

"Since you can't send back your body or soul, you want to send back the feelings you felt?"

The darkness seemed to be taken aback as silence descended once again.

"Sending back feelings based on memories… is possible…"

After a long silence, the voice answered.

"But even that is difficult."

Although it was only for a brief moment, the mouth of the dying man twisted up.

"I am truly sorry."

And that was it.

The man's head slumped, never to rise again as the light in his eyes dimmed until no indication of life was present.

Just like that, he stopped moving.

"How foolish…"

Suddenly, a hand-like frame reached out from the darkness.

As if it had suffered a great loss, it slowly caressed the man's head.

"I understand," the admiral, who had been watching in silence, spoke up.

The darkness then stopped its actions as it turned its gaze towards her.

"You are… a descendant of the Royal Families."

"That is correct,"

The admiral smirked as if to ask why her status now mattered.

"The seven kingdoms have fallen. The gates must have been taken over by now too. With everything he's experienced, wouldn't it be better to die? Even though the blessings would cause him to lose his memories, that'll only make for a cleaner ending. He would just return to the place he was summoned from."

"No," the darkness replied, "this child didn't wish to return."

The heavy tone of the voice caused the admiral's eyes to widen.

"He said he didn't have a place to return to… a place to call home."

Those words moved the admiral's heart.

Perhaps, she felt a sense of camaraderie.

With the kingdom's collapse, she also didn't have a place to now call home.

Although a few humans may have survived, their fate could no longer be anything other than livestock now.

After all, humans couldn't become the victors of this war.

"Then, why didn't you just grant his wish?"

Her curious question made the darkness smile.

"Nonsense! All effects must follow causes. No matter what, this child's wish would endanger this and the other worldlines to oblivion by interfering with the past."

The admiral chuckled bitterly. She couldn't understand, nor did she want to. It just sounded like an excuse.

"His achievements were simply not enough to balance the scales of cause and effect influenced by probability."

"You say that," the admiral remarked, "but you seem to be regretting your actions quite a bit."

"How could I not?"

The darkness turned its attention once more to the burnt corpse once more, "this child was born with the brightest star."

"The brightest star!?"

The woman's face stared in shock.

No one has seen one in eons, not even in the Empire.

They were considered to be myths that always affected the course of history.

Destined to bring about change in the paths of salvation or destruction.

The only problem was that this man was unable to realize his potential before the final battle.

"Indeed, he would've shone brighter than any of the other stars. If only he didn't ruin everything with his own hands. I will never understand why mortals only learn to regret after everything is over?"

The darkness fell silent.

The admiral closed her mouth.

She had spoken because she didn't want to die alone.

Although she had regained her consciousness for a brief moment, she knew when she opened her eyes that she didn't have long to live.

The admiral's eyes turned to the dead man, his humble end was all the more pitiful.

He fought like a dog and died like a dog without receiving his deserved reward.

After a moment of hesitation, the admiral rummaged through her pocket to present an amulet.

"Please, grant this man's wish."

"Mm?"

The admiral firmly held the amulet as the aura of a ruler was conveyed in her next words, "The Contract, you haven't forgotten about this. Have you?"

The amulet shimmered with a golden hue with a large emerald gem socketed in the middle as several carved runes slowly revolved around it as if they were dancing.

Although it is stained with blood, its beautiful craftsmanship is unique as this is one of seven amulets created by the gods and goddesses bestowed upon the rulers of each of the seven kingdoms.

What is most unique about this amulet is that each gem had a unique symbol etched into it with different symbolic meanings.

In this case, the ancient symbol of Love was carved on this amulet.

"With the contract that you made to my family and this man's achievements, wouldn't it be enough to grant his final wish? Even if reversing time is difficult?"

"Do you have a reason to go this far?" The darkness questioned.

"Of course," she nodded.

When the summons crossed over to this world, the Royal Families also promised to reward them for their efforts.

The admiral had no desire to reward the cowards who ran away from the final battle, but this man in front of her had stayed until The End.

Since he had honored his duty, it was time for her, as the admiral and last of her name, to honor her family's promise.

Plus, this was the final ounce of pride she should make as a ruler before dying.

As if to test the admiral, the darkness replied with an offer "but I can grant your wish instead."

The admiral laughed out loud. One thing she learned from this long war was that not even gods were omnipotent. What could she even wish for in this doomed world?

"I will say it again, this child cannot go back. Only his feelings of guilt and loss. Even those would not be etched into his mind and only pass by like a fleeting dream. He might end up treating it like an insignificant nightmare and forget all about it. One thing that I am sure of is that both you and he will be in this place again. Are you saying that this is okay?"

The darkness' voice struck the admiral's ears multiple times as if to reaffirm her wish. It would be a lie if she said she didn't have second thoughts but… she was exhausted. The war had gone on for a long time. Too long. Although she endured all this time as one of the rulers of this land, she now wanted to rest. Returning to nothingness and falling into an eternal sleep didn't sound too bad.

'If only all summons were like you,' she thought in her heart. Then, she wouldn't have any regrets.

"You want to grant his wish that much? Even at the cost of giving up what rightly belongs to you?"

A genuine smile formed on her lips for the first time as she answered, now, without hesitation, "YES!"

Finally, the wish had been decided.

"In that case, fine."

A smile formed on the lips of the darkness before a pair of wings emerged.

"Come closer, my child."

Suddenly, the admiral's body turned incorporeal as her essence was absorbed within the amulet.

The darkness then turned to the man as it expressed its genuine desire by parting with him these final words, "Accept us. Accept who we are. Accept who you are."

After a short silence, the darkness continued.

"The Mortal destined of being a demon and The Demon who dreamt of being a mortal. Find within us the gifts you did not discover, the abilities you were afraid to call your own. Be the being you are and here, at last, embrace us. Reforge your story. Become All That Is One."

Suddenly, the man's body turned light like a feather as it hovered in the air.

The world spun and the stars above shined their light towards him.

"But as you go, given this last chance, remember one thing. The Mortal died, The Demon was reborn. I was reborn. So the question remains, are you, you?

"Or are you me?"

The last thing that can be seen...

"Are you The Mortal who dreamt of being a demon or are you The Demon who dreamt of being a mortal?"

...was a crystal rising above the man's chest towards the stars...

"Are you The One or are you The Other?"

...and the darkness maniacally laughing.