Lioren opened his eyes to a space without light, without form, without gravity.
Only a smudged blackness, as if he were drifting within his own mind—where every memory, emotion, and sense of self had been worn away to the bone.
No sound. No time.
Only solitude.
"Lioren…"
A whisper echoed. Genderless. Sourceless.
But it carried the breath of… himself. Or of them?
Fragments of voices reverberated inside his skull.
No longer the four distinct elements.
They no longer fought, no longer vied for control.
They had become one.
A deep, raspy voice, giggling like blades carving into his brain.
"You think you can live without us? You think you can be human when I am dead? You are nothing now, Lioren. You are hollow."
He clutched his head.
Not from pain—but because he no longer knew who he was.
The self that once wielded ice—silent and domineering.
The self of fire—insane, impulsive.
The self of lightning—sarcastic and bloodthirsty.
The self of earth—heavy and suffocating.
Each had once been a part of him. Twisted, sick—but real.
And now?
No ice. No fire. No lightning. No earth.
No emotions. No laughter. No screaming.
Only void. He was alive, but a corpse.
"…No, I don't want this."
A sound escaped his throat—dry and faint like falling ashes.
But it had begun.
A crack tore open in the emptiness.
From it, familiar laughter returned:
"Cold... detached... but at least I had principles. What do you have left, huh?" – Ice, indifferent.
"The fire hasn't burned, the blood's not dry… so why are you trembling? Miss me, little one?" – Fire, mocking.
"I'm the laugh in the pain, the boom in your chest. I made you feel alive! And now? You're nothing!" – Lightning, manic.
"I tried to keep you together in a lump of living flesh… but without me, you fall apart." – Earth, through gritted teeth.
Lioren dropped to his knees, hands gripping his temples.
No tears fell—there was no water here.
But every breath was fractured, each heartbeat more torturous than any blade.
He whispered:
"I hate you… I loathe you… I…"
"…need you."
Silence.
A silence that struck like stone upon soul.
Then, for the first time, the four voices spoke together:
"So you admit it?"
"We're not the bad parts of you. We are you. To deny us is suicide."
A shape began to take form.
"I'm not the monster. I'm you… when you're brave enough to live as yourself."
Lioren looked at him.
Then slowly stood.
No tears. No trembling.
Just… acceptance.
"If I want to live, I won't kill you. I'll be you. I'll keep this mind… so that we all exist."
The four laughs blended into one—ghastly, yet oddly comforting.
And then they faded into the dark.
It seemed like the end.
It seemed like reconciliation.
But it wasn't.
A different voice spoke.
Unlike the four elements.
It bore no trace of fire, earth, ice, or lightning.
It had no shape, no melody, no rhythm—it simply was.
"Everything comes back, Lioren."
The space around him shuddered, as if even his mind could not contain this voice.
Not a scream. Not a shout.
Just a truth, spoken aloud.
...The voice chuckled softly.
Not mocking like Fire, not sardonic like Lightning, not cold like Ice, nor heavy like Earth.
It was… gentle.
Like a child playing with sand in a graveyard.
The darkness recoiled.
Shrank… and took form.
A little girl—no older than eight—stood there in the void.
Skin pale as if untouched by sunlight.
Long black hair covered her eyes.
But her pupils—there were none. No whites either.
Just two pits of abyss.
She smiled, gently, looking at Lioren's face—
A face worn, tortured, desperate for death.
"It's time, brother."
Lioren froze.
He didn't know why he was trembling.
Not from fear.
But because… something felt familiar.
Her breath. Her heartbeat. The way she stood.
The way she called him brother.
"Who… are you?" he asked, voice trembling.
"I'm the first one Father created. The first child.
The child of darkness."
"And you… you were the light he wanted to perfect.
But to let you live with those elements…
he had to take a part of me and put it into you."
She spread her arms, revealing a dim glow in the center of her chest—
Then pulled Lioren into a hug.
A hug that seemed to strip away all the weight he carried.
"A part of your soul… has been inside me since you were five.
Since the day you killed Mother."
Lioren's heart convulsed like pierced by a hundred knives.
Faded memories—nameless nightmares—rushed back:
A small boy, trembling in a pool of blood.
Hands covered in ash.
And his father whispering:
"You must be stronger… I'll keep your weakness for you."
"So… you're me?"
The girl tilted her head.
A harmless gesture—
But with those hollow eyes, it struck like a blade to the mind.
"I'm not you.
I'm what you never dared to face:
Your weakness.
Your feelings.
Your longing to be held.
Your ability to forgive."
"The four elements are madness, are masks.
I… am the last of your humanity."
Lioren screamed.
No tears flowed in the void,
but his breath shattered like glass.
He collapsed again, choked not by power—but by truth.
"Why… why does it have to be you?"
She approached, placing her hand on his chest.
A warmth spread—neither hot, nor cold.
"Because I love you.
Even if I have no right to exist.
Even if I was hidden away, locked in the dark."
"I've always been here.
Watching you wrestle with four laughs.
Watching you despair, self-destruct…
but never human enough to realize you were hurting."
Lioren gripped that small hand.
No light.
No elements.
No laughter.
Only a child—
a stolen fragment of humanity—
crying, out of love.
"Let me come back… Please…"
She nodded.
And when she dissolved into his chest,
a new light burst into the void—
not brilliant, not chaotic.
Just… life.
Lioren opened his eyes—truly opened them—
for the first time, with no elements in his mind.
No laughter.
No screaming.
Only silence and feeling.
But the darkness hadn't vanished.
Because he knew—many layers of memories still remained, sealed by his father.
---
In the real world, Lioren's dark power had spilled onto the ground, beginning to stain it black. But now, it had stopped.
Talion
"It's over."
What had poured out now returned to his chest.
Liora
"Lioren… is that really you?"
Lioren
"Yes."
A voice, clear as a chime, shattered all chains.
---
But elsewhere…
"Massive dark energy…" a strange voice.
"That's the key." the voice of an old man.
"The Demon God."
That night, across the world—
a pillar of darkness rose into the sky,
and the entire world trembled