Allen walked through the park until he reached a bench. He sat down, lifted his gaze to the pitch-black sky, and opened his hands: five gray stones in the left, the onyx in the right.
"Emotion…"
"You do not need it."
The voice echoed through his mind, sharp and dismissive.
"Passion…"
"No one is worthy of whatever you call "passion""
Each time the voice spoke, the onyx flickered—responding, resonating.
"Honesty…"
"What purpose does honesty serve, when no one else will ever be honest with you?"
Allen exhaled. Three of the gray stones—prism, ruby, sapphire—rose into the air.
"Truth…"
"Everyone lies. I need not say more, do I?"
The emerald joined the others in midair. Allen stared at the final stone: the topaz.
"And willpower… humanity's greatest stupidity. Knowing when to surrender is a virtue."
The topaz floated up with the rest.
The onyx's black glow enveloped all five stones, restoring their colors—but in deeper, altered tones.
"Thomas was a fool. HA! That is why he earned the title of "Zodiac Berserker." Ten remain for you to kill, Allen. And among those who came after you, Sagittarius may be the dangerous one."
"Lektor, the Zodiac Archer… I doubt Aegis would unleash him unless forced."
A black mist rose around Allen, swallowing him whole. When it cleared, he was using the Sorrowful Knight Style, the scythe of black flame materializing behind his back.
He turned—and faced two hooded figures.
One was bald, his face crisscrossed with scars.
The other was a small boy with blue hair.
"Greetings to both of you—Zack, Nick."
Allen bowed with noble formality, surprising them both.
"You aren't being controlled by the darkness?" Zack asked.
Allen tilted his head, letting a bleak, crooked smile spread across his face.
"Controlled? No, Zack. I simply allow myself to feel."
"It is the same thing. The crystallized power of darkness is consuming you, Allen. Weren't you the one who used to insist you would be different from everyone else?"
Allen's smile vanished. He glanced sideways at Nick—the scarred, bald man.
"And I am. I was. Better than Aegis… or so I believed."
"Allen, I speak on behalf of everyone: you should abandon this pointless resistance and return to Lord Aegis's side."
Allen raised his right hand. The scythe snapped into existence, and his eyes darkened completely—iris turning crimson.
"You're hardly the one to advise me, crab. If I recall, you were among those who allowed Calibur to begin Phase Two… the reason Seira lost control and died."
Nick shook his head. His eyes turned pitch-black.
"You should already know this: Lord Aegis possesses the highest Growth Level. His power rivals the planet itself. To defy him is to choose death."
"Death…?"
Allen grinned. Black streaks leaked from his eyes, sliding down to his jaw. He lifted himself slowly above the ground.
"That's exactly what awaits you."
Zack quietly stepped backward, then retreated entirely—fleeing into the distance.
Nick, however, stood firm as a film of water wrapped around his body.
"Allen… you once defended your ideals with everything you had. Now you're just a shadow of what you used to be. What do you think will happen when you meet the Perfection subjects closest to Aegis in your current state?"
"I do not care. I will kill them all.
And Aegis will be the final course."
Nick exhaled inside the growing water shell.
"You still do not understand. Would you believe me if I told you Aegis has been watching you this entire time?"
Allen sighed and shook his head.
"Are you going to fight, or continue rambling?"
Nick fell silent.
The water sphere expanded rapidly—soon reaching the size of a three-story building, stretching out over several dozen meters.
When the water finally fell away, Nick had transformed into a massive hermit-crab creature: black carapace, black legs, enormous red pincers.
"That's more like it, old hermit."
Allen dropped toward him, scythe held forward. The blade clashed against the creature's shell, sparking violently.
---
From afar, Archibald observed with a satisfied smile. Zack and Elisse stood beside him.
"Nick possesses the ability of a hermit crab. If Allen pushes him to a life-or-death state, Nick can abandon his body and steal someone else's place."
Zack watched with cold detachment.
Elisse, however, stared at Archibald as though he were a monster himself.
"What do you think will happen when Lord Aegis discovers what you're doing, Archibald?"
"I care very little. All I want is for Allen to evolve. To do that, he must master the darkness element. Once he does, he will command five elements. Only one will remain, and then…"
Archibald's wrinkles deepened as he smiled—though his expression darkened almost immediately.
"But for Allen to obtain the final element, many conditions must be met.
He must abandon the Onyx's influence.
He must unite the four primary elements.
And lastly… he must face a truly catastrophic threat."
He turned toward Elisse and smiled again.
She shivered.