Xavier, mounted on Kaelan's back due to his immobility, observed the moderate growth of the white light in the distance. "I don't feel any threatening power from it," he informed Kaelan, who had been jumping from building to building in order to catch back up with his comrades. In the past few minutes, the entire vibe of the streets had changed - now, the uncontrollable ruckus had settled down by a tremendous amount. Xavier took a second to dig his fingers into Kaelan's stained, blue shirt and glanced down at the quiet streets. "What the hell is going on!?" he shouted out loud, his voice echoing through the streets. He looked at the unconscious bodies lying throughout the street, reminding him of the protests that were at their peak just minutes before. "Pyron's power…" he muttered to Kaelan, who had been fighting between the option of looking down or continuing through the city. "Could this be part of the extraction!?"
The entity held its hand straight towards Ralph, expecting his cooperation in returning Pyron's power to its rightful owner. Kevin closely observed his untrustworthy smile, growing even stronger after they both shook hands. "Entity hunters are fame-craving imbeciles who shall be humbled!" Ralph shouted, activating the firepower injected inside of him. "He's absorbing your power!" Kevin shouted, rushing straight over to the scene.
"I'll conquer Pyron's power, no matter what obstacles stand ahead of me!" Ralph boldly claimed, slamming Kevin's chest with a monstrous punch that blew him back onto the ground. "Damage Control, no, the entire world will face my wrath!"
The cloud symbolizing Pyron slowly faded into thin air following the full extraction, leaving just Ralph, Kevin, and the swirling flames that slowly drew closer in their direction. A puddle of blood poured straight from Kevin's chest, each drip slowly drifting him closer to unconsciousness. "I'll stop the growth of fake entity hunters across the world by publicizing YOUR murder!" he continued. Ralph turned in the opposite direction in which they had approached from, creating miniature, controllable flames on both his palms. "There's something else I have to do," he muttered, quickly turning his head back towards Kevin. "Fake entity hunters such as you will ALL BE HUMBLED!"
---
Ray, still immobilized due to the severity of Ralph's attacks, lay against the ground of the partially-collapsed building. Questions sieged his mind over and over - who was the boy who followed Ralph into the beam of light? The quiet thought process was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind that soared through the streets, symbolizing the return of the burning smell created from excessive use of fire. "It's finally coming!" Ralph, who used his momentum to soar across the streets screamed excitedly. He halted in the air for a second before launching himself up into the clouds with an echoing laugh of hysteria.
"If Ralph is making a move, that means something happened to the kid who followed him…" he noticed, observing the power still standing within the blinding beam of light.
"There isn't any life force inside the beam. Don't tell me Ralph's lust for power is this strong…"
Volume 13, Chapter 42 - Will of Freedom
"Before you continue, there is something that we need to talk about," a distant voice sounded. Still unable to open his eyes, Kevin resorted to his hearing in order to grasp understanding of the current situation. He closely listened to the loudening footsteps that seemed to be approaching him, coming to a complete stop after a few seconds. He then felt a warm, gentle touch over the wound Ralph had inflicted, following a slow, relaxing crystal-like sound that drained out the silence. Another ten seconds had passed, and Kevin regained the ability to open his eyes. "Who… are you?" he continued, reminding himself of earlier links he had shared with this unknown individual. "I could ask you the same," he joked, following a slight chuckle. "My name's Tamar, a proud student of the Realm God."
Kevin leaped straight up, examining Tamar from top to bottom. "The Realm God!?" he shouted in complete shock. "Another question, why is a student sealed inside his teacher's power?"
Tamar nervously laughed, repeatedly scratching his head. "I wouldn't say I'm sealed inside this power - instead, my spirit is. The orbs of the Realm God symbolize the powers of his past students, which is why I remained within here even after my death. However, I had not the slightest idea that someone else would be coming through these parts."
"Hm?" Kevin responded, tilting his head. "What do you mean by someone else?"
"There was a past wielder to Will of Freedom that came through here about 20 years ago - ever since then, I was certain that my job had been complete. It seems like my predictions weren't true."
The "Will of Freedom" described by Tamar was a power used by the Realm God many years ago - it was intertwined in legends alongside Thirst for Despair, an opposing power wielded by the Sky Splitter. Despite the fame of the two Ancient Symbols' rivalry, these two powers had been completely overshadowed by historians. Tamar shook his head, reaching towards Kevin's second orb. "This is a power I call Time Manipulation," he informed Kevin with a slight smile. Upon Tamar's touch, the orb turned from a dark, void-like color to a vibrant shade of blue.
"Wait, so you're saying I can time travel now!?" Kevin shouted, excitedly rocking Tamar back and forth. "Not exactly," he replied, holding out both his palms. "This power can be used for things such as healing recent wounds and instinct enhancement. With it, I believe you can contain the stolen firepower spreading within the city." His body began to undergo gut-wrenching glitches, forcing him onto the ground. "I don't think I have much more time…" he informed Kevin, who worriedly picked him up off the ground.
"Kevin…" Tamar began yet again. "Complete Will of Freedom's everlasting goal, at all costs." Before Kevin could ask for elaboration on the current topic, Tamar had completely disappeared from sight.
From background knowledge influenced by his studies as a kid, Kevin already had a firm grasp over Will of Freedom's goal - to save the world from all evil, creating another indefinite golden age. However, if it had returned to the world after thousands of years, wouldn't it also mean Thirst for Despair had returned as well?