The trio had soon reached the Edge, at the graveyard where Ronin’s mother was laid to rest. This was the place where he and his archnemesis had first met in person.

Of course, as the roles they played anyway.

When they left the wagon, Ronin went first to watch the view below like he did when he was young. Cermin followed.

(He’s wearing that look again. I thought it was nervousness and apprehension, but now….)

(It felt like yearning. Like he wanted to jump there. Like he believes it’s where he belongs.)

Ronin turned to him after reading these thoughts.

He then asked out of the blue:

“Do you believe in fate, Your Highness? Or do you believe that we carve out our own destiny?”

Cermin was baffled by this question, and he didn’t like the eeriness in the way Ronin asked that either. Asking about fate…

“I want to believe that our efforts are not worthless. That there’s hope to push through things.”

Ronin made a bitter smile at this. “Hah. That’s how everybody chooses to interpret that question. But I am not asking if you feel like your actions are worthless.”

“After all, even if there is such a thing as fate….. That doesn’t mean your actions are not ‘necessary’. In fact, it just means that fate does exist, and your actions are staying true to it.”

Cermin frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Free will exists, but we have roles to play in the end. That’s why every human dies. They all reach the same end, no matter what lives they lead.” Ronin said.

“That’s why ‘fatal’ and ‘fate’ came from the same roots. It all boils down to Death. The inevitable End.”

Cermin grappled with the thought and felt that he was slowly understanding it. But what bothers him…

Was the thought of playing roles.

(What role are you playing then, Ronin?)

Ronin looked up at the bleak sky. It was also a dark expanse shaped like a diamond, this Rift. In the middle was the dying sun, the pupil of the eye.

As above, so below.

There was no difference between heaven and hell. They were both an Ending.

There was no difference in heroes and villains. They were both roles to play.

“Do you know the difference between you and I, Your Highness? You are too unaware, while I am too self-aware.” Ronin said. “And the fact that I am telling you this….”

“Means that was changing. But change still leads to the same End. For me, that is fate.”

Cermin wanted to ask him to elaborate but Ronin was done being philosophical. As Kai had said, he really was stalling.

“We don’t have any Griffons, but we have my Hounds.” He said. “They can leap and take us there, I just need to find a way to break our fall.”

Cermin remembered something else when he mentioned falling. He went to the grave that was familiar to him…..

And saw the memory of a blue-skinned brother holding a Coal child.

That was Maellan. The Daemon who called Ronin his brother.

“Ronin….. Can I ask who your parents are?” He said.

But Ronin dismissed him, going in the back of his Hounds. “Are you coming, your Highness?”

Kai was already riding one of them too, and muttered. “He’s piecing out the clues now.”

Ronin did not make any reaction to this, Because even if Cermin did find out the truth, it doesn’t matter. None of it matters.

Cermin looked at the Hounds nervously. Ronin knew that he was scared of dogs, but didn’t care about that.

Did he care about him at all?

“Let’s… just find that whip.”

It doesn’t matter. Because it was already too late. He had fully trusted Ronin to the point that whatever mistake he made would be forgiven or ignored.

Ignorance was bliss for the both of them. It was through Cermin’s ignorance that Ronin would be successful.

He mounted nervously, and Ronin used his current whip to tie Cermin up to the Hound so he wouldn’t fall. He made the whip extend itself and did the same with himself and Kai, as his whip was imbued with runes of protection.

The Hounds leapt off……

And they fell into the Abyss.

Cermin felt like he was going straight to hell as shades of dark red and black filled his eyes while they zoomed down, down, down…

BOOM!

There was a puff of dust when they hit the ground below. As it cleared…..

The Hounds were standing perfectly, landing on their feet gracefully like cats do. But unlike cats, their feet also drifted to smoke to lessen the impact.

They had easily dismounted, and as soon as they did…..

The Abyss welcomed Ronin once more. Creatures went quickly towards him, making guttural sounds and noises of joy from his arrival.

These plants and animals revered him as they walked. It was quite obvious that they regarded him as their lord.

But it doesn’t matter, because Cermin would rather believe that it was because of the Lord of Darkness possessing him. Separating the villain from his friend.

“Aurion made the same mistake.” Ronin blurted out.

Cermin turned to him. He was not making the effort to hide his true self. Ronin’s eyes were starting to become blood red, and his veins had become more prominent too.

He was completely different from the little Coal boy he once knew, yet he never paid attention to it. Because he didn’t want to.

“We just need to find that Heart of Thorns.” Ronin said. “Hopefully those three Daemons following us won’t interfere and be troublesome.”

But even if they did, Ronin was close to Level 100, to becoming Graphite. Killing them would just secure this fate for him.

And even if they don’t, there’s Cermin’s Flame. There was also the Flame of every Abyssal creature around him, who will be more than willing to serve as his last supper….

Before being reborn as Ronin Dreadborne.

“I think they’re leading us to where the Heart of Thorns is.” Kai said. “That’s pretty easy. It can even be called anticlimactic after what has happened so far.”

Ronin shrugged. “Reality is anticlimactic most of the time. Sometimes what you thought was easy is the most difficult. Sometimes what you have tried to obtain for a long time…..”

“Was actually the easiest to obtain.”

All he needed was to jump here since he was a child. Level up by eating the Flame of all the plants and animals here. Years and years of just killing his own kind and he would have been Ronin Dreadborne.

But he wasn’t fated to do that.

He needed to get through all this to learn the truth about his past, to have this relationship with Cermin, and most importantly…..

To be a villain.

A villain that was powerful yet had no personal feelings or motives was not a villain. It’s just a monster.

A villain had to be human first.

It was such an obvious concept and yet even Ronin himself had overlooked it, always focusing on getting Flames and studying to level up. But that wasn’t wasting time.

There was no such thing as wasting time.

“We’re here.” It was found so quickly, this End that he was searching for.

The Heart of Thorns stood just a few meters away from the Baptismal Grounds. It had always been there and yet he did not pay attention to it on his first visit here.

It stood in all of its glory and melancholy, the thorns stretching out all over the Abyssal Realm. Speckled and freckled with blood red dots, which were actually flowers.

“Would you do the honors, Your Highness?” Ronin asked.

“Me? What should I do?” Cermin furrowed his brows.

Ronin only said with a knowing expression.

“You already know what to do.”

Cermin stared at the large cluster of thorns that was shaped like a heart. It felt like it was beating, and the beating was pounding in his head.

No, it wasn’t the Heart of Thorns that was beating.

He touched his chest, and felt a stinging ache as he approached it closer. His Sword of Solaire appeared on his side, and the pain increased as he took it….

STAB!

He cut the first cluster of thorny vines.

STAB! STAB! STAB!

But it felt more like he was stabbing himself.

There was a sound of groaning, and it came out of his own mouth. The groan of pains increased until they were shouts, and he was screaming as he fully released the weapon within the Heart of Thorns.

Then, there was crying.

Cermin felt like he was the one crying, yet not at the same time. It was Aurion. It was Min Cheng. It was all of him and none of him at once.

Once he had completely destroyed his heart…..

He offered it in a gesture to Ronin.

“Are you satisfied?”

Ronin did not answer and just went past the scattered large thorns enough to impale someone.

There was no Whip of Illusions inside.

Instead, there was a knife.

A regular knife. A knife that holds much meaning to both Ronin and Cermin.