ORIGIN: Book of Ascension

"This will be the final fight." The voice resounded loudly over the clear-skied plain. It echoed as dozens of generals repeated the words. Their voices were grim and filled with determination.

Similarly, the soldiers before them were tense, scared, and resolute. They stood in uniform lines spread across the width of the plains. The army numbered in the millions, and many of them volunteered to enter the war. 

Civil workers, farmers, merchants, males, females, the fortunate, and the unfortunate. None were required to be scripted by the army. Each of them had their own story, their life, and dreams.

But joining this war, they all did for the same reason. To survive against the growing superpower of the continent, Ardaria. 

The generals delivering their speeches spoke loudly, their throats drying with each word. There were bags under their eyes and their hygiene wasn't cared for. Among them, there was one extremely aged general.

He had a long bushy white beard giving the impression of a wizard. His eyes were azure in color and his skin had deep wrinkles. He specially came out of retirement to support his country and the many that allied with them. 

The aged man had a look of sorrow, unable to bear looking at the brave soldiers who would likely not survive. Pulling his gaze away from them he turned to look over the plains. His eyes focused on the other side, the camp of the enemy.

The enemies numbered less than them, the general knew that. After all, it was the strength, of the enemy soldiers that were the problem. They were like a legion of undead, never faltering.

Their general leading the attack was The lord of Chaos and Order himself, the Crimson Emperor, Rozelle Ravenblood. A human that was not human. A figure that was already praised as 'divine'.

"It's almost time.." Allowing his heavy words to be swept by the wind Rozelle stood up. The soldiers behind him tensed, the chatter and relaxed atmosphere disappearing instantly. 

Rozelle eyed his subjects, his slightly aged face wore a stern expression. He was covered in a military uniform, much like the soldiers before him. The sides of his mouth curled up into a warm smile before he opened his mouth.

"We may be outnumbered thirty to one." He paused briefly, watching his soldiers. His smile widened when he observed they didn't react. I raised you all well he said to himself before continuing. 

"However all of you are already aware that is Irrelevant." Rozelle turned towards the distant adversary. "Because this is the fight we have been striving for." His voice boomed out, showing no signs of aging.

"When this battle is over, the world will be ours, it will belong to Ardaria!" The eyes of the soldiers sparkled, their mouths involuntarily twitching as they tried to stop a smile from creeping onto their faces.

But what could they do about it? Their ruler, The Crimson Emperor had already declared their victory. And just like every war before this, that meant they had already won. Rozelle turned back to his subjects and the smile faded from his face.

"We started this war and so we shall bring an end to it. Do not die, because I forbid it. Do not retreat, because I never granted you that privilege. And finally, march forward on my signal to victory!" 

After a brief silence, the soldiers held up their weapons, bowed to their emperor, and burst out in cries of war and cheers of victory. Their voices resounded across the plains, reaching the enemies, all of them tensed up, suppressing the instinctive fear in their hearts.

The old general saw the personification of Chaos approach the front lines. He turned away from Rozelle and looked at his army.

He glanced at the ally generals confirming that it was time. That bloodthirsty tyrant allowed the emissary to return, while it may have been unexpected, he probably judged it wouldn't matter. The general thought.

At least it gave us more time to prepare ourselves. Before the general began to speak he quelled his trembling voice. 

"Brave soldiers of the alliance. We are all that stands between the Crimson Emperor and our homelands. I will not assure you of anything. We will likely die, only a mere fraction living to tell the tale. But all of you know that! And now is the time to give up on your life and fight!"

The general felt his heart lighten, the soldiers and the generals who repeated him turning serious.

After just a moment the army began to march to battle. On the other side, Rozelle looked at them, facing away from his loyal soldiers his expression turned sorrowful, and purged his lips before he silently shook it off.

'This is all for a better world' he sealed the words in his heart. He took a heavy step and removed all the emotions from his face. Casually he raised his arm towards the sky as a huge shadow began to cover the plains.

Dense darkish clouds began to converge blocking out the sun's rays. The clouds twirled forming a spiral that descended. Streaks of lightning roared from within causing Rozelle's enemies to tremble and halt with wide eyes.

Black began to spread from Rozelle's shoulder spiralling around his arm to his raised hand. The strip of black exuded a soft shadowy black glow resembling a tentacle coming to life.

Soon the black and the spiraling clouds collided on Rozelle's fingertips. Wind danced widely, shockwaves flying off in all directions. A smile crept on the Crimson Emperor's face as the strip of black seeped out of his arm, slowly solidifying itself. 

He clenched his hand holding onto a jet-black hilt, on it there was a red gem embedded in it that gave the impression that it was alive and looking deep into your soul. 

Following the hilt was a jet-black blade, it was double-edged, and surrounding it was an ebony aura like the blade was sucking in all light that tried to touch it. He retracted his arm and his beloved sword 'Albion' and got into stance.

"I, am Roselle Ravelblood, The Lord of Chaos and Order, The Crimson Emperor, and the Ruler of the Ardarian Empire!" 

The scarlet gem released an eerie glow as Roselle swung Albion. A deep red liquid formed at the blade's edge and shot out in an arc. "Take my introduction as a souvenir to the afterlife!"

The curve of red traveled along the plain rapidly approaching the other army as the clouded sky cleared up. Those soldiers looked at the singular line of red, silently turning bigger as it approached.

Blood drained from their faces as their expressions twisted in horror, and their minds froze like rusted cogwheels. Behind the red line, the army of Ardaria was advancing towards them, with Rozelle at the forefront.

After moments that felt like they spanned over eternity, the soldiers collected themselves. An audible gulp resounded among their ranks as they finally took a step. The streak of blood red was now only a second away.

It collided with them, and without any resistance, it passed through them and their armor. The streak now visibly thinned as it crossed through arrays of soldiers before finally dissipating.

A flash of confusion spread across the soldiers on the frontline. Then suddenly they became dizzy and their pupils dilated. A squashing sound instantly spread across the frontline as a gash formed on the soldiers' bodies. 

Huh, why am I looking at the sky? A soldier silently thought. Their upper body slid down, their legs still firmly standing on the ground.

Following them a constant sound of thumbing could be heard as all the soldiers in the first few rows of the army let go of their lower body and fell, colliding with the muddy ground. Blood leaked out from the severed bodies quickly dyeing the battlefield in a deep red.

 A soldier a little further, one who had seen the red streak disappear in front of him shook wildly. Their throat felt plugged, a liquid trying to escape of out their mouth. The young soldier's mouth was filled with vomit but his lips refused to open.

The soldier's mind and that of his allies became blank, they already knew they weren't likely to survive. Their bodies began to move instinctually, they brandished their weapons. They bit their lips, opening a wound as blood trickled down their chin. 

The pain filled their minds, adrenaline pumping through their veins. "Haaaa!" They yelled, releasing the liquids in their mouth before breaking into a run as the war began. Rozelle ran through the chaos of war, nimbly avoiding the swinging blades.

His lustrous skin had turned pale. He kicked the ground forcing his run to a stop before channeling his momentum into a lunge. Albion pierced through an older soldier, its gem glimmering a reddish glow. At the same time, some luster returned to Rozelle's skin. 

The emperor swung his sword cleanly cleaving the soldier, his eyes darted to the other side before he balled his free hand into a fist and upper-cut another soldier to his side.

His face was calm, he opened his fist and grabbed the soldier by the scruff of the neck before swinging the soldier at his sword. Rozelle slightly bent his back dodging another attack and the splatters of flood that spread through the air. 

He twisted his body and slammed down the soldier's still-beating corpse against another. He then slashed with Albion cutting through another soldier.

After only moments in the chaos of the battlefield, The Crimson Emperor was surrounded by an empty sphere, filled with only corpses. His skin lustrous, his dark hair basking in the sun, and his wrinkles faded slightly. He calmly stood still and adjusted his clothes to be more comfortable. 

His cold eyes scrutinized the state of the war. As he was lost in thought he diagonally slit another approaching soldier. His eyes turned towards the freshly made corpse before his eyes contracted.

The soldier was young, too young, likely not even having become an adult yet. Rozelle bit his lips. Don't hesitate, don't contemplate, don't reconsider! He silently repeated to himself. He wiped the blood from his lips and held Albion in a stance. 

Having confirmed none of his subjects were present, he spun himself. The gem on Albion glimmered with a deep glow. Streaks of red shot out in all directions seamlessly, cutting down one soldier after another, their bodies slumping down.

Before long, pools of blood formed across the plains. The battle continued, minutes turned into hours, and soon, dusk arrived along with dark clouds carrying heavy rain. 

Droplets covered the plains, mixing with the blood of battle. A dense red mist rose, covering the fields. But the war didn't stop; soldiers were forced to continue mindlessly. They stepped over their fallen allies, sullying their corpses. They might have even attacked their allies in the chaos.

Everyone was covered in blood and sweat. And so the battle continued. Shrieks of pain and agony echoed across the plains. Nameless knights returned to the soil, fighting in a war that would be forgotten. Suddenly, the mist began to disperse. Soldiers were exhausted, and their visions blurred.

With the sudden disappearance of the mist, the soldiers became unable to hide their anxiety behind the veil of red. Their eyes searched for enemies before something became abnormally clear.

Where are the Aldarian soldiers? The sun had long settled high in the sky again. The soldiers searched before finally noticing the enemy off in the distance. They were all grouped, no longer fighting. 

Watching the Aldarians in the distance the exhausted soldiers felt disbelief. Their empty minds became confused as adrenaline began to drain from their system. Silence engulfed the booming battlefield before they heard a voice echo.

"No.. No.. Impossible!" Snapping out of their daze the soldiers looked at the source of the voice, a fellow soldier. As he looked towards the sky, his face was plastered with fear and resignation.

The soldiers who saw him turned their heads up, following them soon the entire army looked up. instantly, their faces froze, as a large shadow blocked the sun. Rozelle looked down upon the soldiers of the Zatra alliance.

Floating weightlessly in the sky he held up Albion. And at its tip blood from across the plains surged together. A spherical blob of blood formed. It was covered in veins as it pulsed and grew in size as if consuming the sky itself. 

The soldiers belonging to Zatra soon became numbed, some among them succumbing to their current states. As they watched the blob grow to its final size they gave up on running. Not that they believed their legs were capable of it.

May the world one day reach peace. Rozelle silently prayed to himself. He then steadied his vision and swung down Albion, dragging the blob of blood along and throwing it down. 

As the blob descended, threatening to consume everything Rozelle noticed everything around him slowing. His arm no longer moved the change in expressions on his subjects. Everything slowed down as if coming to a halt.

In the distance, Rozelle, The lord of Chaos and Order, The Tyrant of the Ardarian Empire, and the Crimson Emperor saw a white light. It spread like an all-engulfing wave, the mountains, forests, lakes, and cities disappeared as it approached. 

If he could move his face would contort into disbelief before reaching despair. If he could talk he wanted to ask for forgiveness for all he's done. Soon the light reached the battlefield and Rozelle was forced to watch it consume his subjects before finally engrossing him.

This happened instantly as Rozelle and any ambitions he had, were erased along with his world, leaving behind a lightless abyss.