What was the purpose of her species? To fight? To achieve perfection?

  Perhaps the purpose of her existence was nothing more than her father's whim to defy the gods. She wasn't sure, she didn't understand, and she didn't believe it mattered. For, deep within her soul, filled with darkness, shadows, and the ember of divinity, a feeling grew. It wasn't anger, it wasn't curiosity, it wasn't sadness, or any other vain emotion that pgued the beings of that world, only desire, a desire to step forward. To leave the state of eternal calm and bring chaos to their world.

  She stared ahead, where the figure of the strongest among them stood like an imposing barrier between them and her father's workshop. As she squinted, six glowing cores swirled with restrained power alongside the strands of thick darkness. It was an ascended terror, but not just any terror.

  As perfect warriors, their skill was beyond their rank. Each one was capable of defeating beings stronger than them, yet when the warrior in front of them had equal or greater skill, what advantage did she have?

  Without any doubt that they would slow her down, she continued step by step, cutting through the silence of the darkness like a hammer. The shadows that had previously hesitated to approach soon gathered, filling her heart with growing fervor.

  Around her, the motionless warriors seemed to react to the change. Like a tidal surge, each one parted in perfect synchrony, opening a path between the towering knight and the defiant Saint.

  The hitherto indifferent knight finally turned to face her. Head slightly tilted, his eyes glowed crimson.

  Wordlessly, their swords were drawn.

  Saint was not using that steel sword obtained from the Forgotten Shore, but his prized Cracked Stone Sword. At his feet, Sunny's shadow wrapped around his body, granting him power beyond his rank. The shadows trembled and the darkness seemed to creak.

  With a loud crack, their swords met in an instant, shattering the earth and driving back the wind. But almost immediately, the superiority of his enemy's power was evident.

  Saint's feet slid back along the ground. His guard, broken, barely had a chance to recover to block a heavy blow aimed at his head. His sword creaked, struggling to withstand the monstrous attack.

  Saint fell to the ground, rolling to escape a stomp that split the rock. Spinning his sword instantly, he attacked with all his might, but his attack was thwarted by a simple movement from the tall knight.

  One after another, the exchange of blows escated. Relying on his greater agility and the enhancements given by his attributes, Saint managed to survive, escaping the most mortal wounds and receiving the less horrific ones for a chance to counterattack. Her stone shield had long since fallen, discarded in favor of a much more aggressive combat style. Her mind, always calm, was now like a storm, racing to try and follow the flow of the battle. But in the end, it all seemed futile.

  With overwhelming grace, the bck knight deflected the sword's bde, smmed his elbow into her, destabilizing her, and connected with a headbutt that shattered her helmet.

  The beautiful image of her face was uncovered, sending cascading reddish dust tumbling down. The darkness, seeming concerned, tried to envelop her more tightly, closing her wounds. But in the end, it was like trying to stem a river with your hands.

  Without waiting another moment, the bck knight attacked once more. His thrust, intended to impale Saint with his sword, struck like a lightning bolt, but the result was ineffective. Piercing the dense cloud of darkness and shadows, the knight stopped dead in his tracks, twisting his sword to slice the cloud in two. But the entity moved with impossible movements, shing out with a spiraling ssh.

  The knight didn't flinch when the sword's bde sliced through his neck... only for his entire figure to vanish into deep darkness. Like a swirling mist, the two beings cshed once more. Engaged in an inhuman struggle that more closely resembled a hurricane.

  'Think...' Saint said bitterly to himself. The taste of his own blood permeated his mouth. Something he wasn't even aware he was capable of.

  She fought, she shed out with all her strength, all her intelligence, and even then, it wasn't enough. Faster than she expected, she was dying.

  The bck knight, who had previously seemed to fight with a hint of interest, now regarded her with a hint of contempt, causing her attacks to become even more deadly.

  Saint understood this; she had been aware of it long before engaging in that suicidal battle. No matter how hard she tried or what card she used, in a direct fight she would lose. But still, she challenged him, because it was necessary. Not for the purpose she was given at birth, but for something simpler: her desire.

  She wanted to grow, she wanted to become stronger. She didn't want to simply be a statue waiting for someone to come and give her a purpose. She wanted to burn with a force that could change the world or destroy it... just like Changing Star.

  In the deadly dance between the bck knight's darkness and Saint's own, the shadows swirling around them grew weaker with each exchange; overwhelmed by exposure to the darkness, they were slowly excluded so that Saint's own darkness could take its pce. But just as the st vestiges of these ancient shadows were about to disappear, a force set them abze. In the shadows of the hollow mountains, facing the stone army, an impossibility was taking shape.