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Hey guys, the second last chapter, and boy is it long. Since some of you probably don't want to read 17 pages worth of story, I'm going to tell you that the yiff is at the very end. However, I believe that there is so much in this chapter that it is just a shame to read the yiff and wait for the next chapter. In fact, if you don't read this one, you most likely won't even understand the final chapter. Anyway, expect to see the final chapter of the Illian Series sometime next week.

Too many images filled Markus's unused mind as he tried to recover from the final curse Valecruiz bestowed upon the Evizil when he finally destroyed the Blood Oath pendant. The images were almost a slideshow of his entire life, from his first memory at the age of two to the spine crushing pain of yesterday. Yet, every now and then the images would stop at a point in time that was important to Markus; the first being the last Blood Moon he and Felix enjoyed with their father, Turin Fireheart. Markus wasn't quite sure what impact on his life this day had for him, for Turin had left him, Felix and his mother a week afterwards without so much as a wave goodbye. As he found himself walking the grounds of Arcanus 9 years past, Markus couldn't help but smile as he recalled all of the events that would soon fall so many places of his childhood. Staring up at a large, blue house with two stories, a triangularly pointed roof and windows that seemed to be made of pure obsidian, Markus laughed and said "Ah, I remember you old friend. Eon, Jessica and I would always go into your basement and plan our next greatest feat for all of the GoldenCity to see. But in 2 years, Jessica will die, I'll realize how stupid it was to mess with others like we did and in the end, you'll become unused and eventually torn down." Patting the cold blue brick that made its structure, Markus almost jumped back as his hand phased right through the solid material. Quickly taking his hand back, Markus shivered once and said "Ah, this way I can't interfere...just my luck." Looking at the whole house once again, Markus quickly turned away and continued down the long gravel road. As he drifted from the house and found his way to the Castle District, Markus walked into the CastlePlaza and said "And here was our last and greatest stunt we ever pulled, The Boy of A Thousand Elements." Suddenly, a ghostly world materialized around him and in the centre of the Plaza, two boys and a small girl with bright brown hair stood on a large box and tried to gather the attention of an audience. While the figures made no noise, Markus remembered word for word what each of them said.

The center boy, a 10 year old with pure white hair, steady silver eyes and an expression of excitement and joy spread across his face waved to the audience and began to mouth "Here here, ladies and gentlemen, gather around for an event the likes of which you have never seen before. All the way from the darkest, coldest depths of the SpinechillerCaves, deep into the foreign lands of the east, we proudly bring you...The Boy of a Thousand Elements!!" With that, the boy next to him, who was concealing himself with a large black cloak that Markus remembered belonged to his father, spun around and pulled down the cloak's hood to reveal a growing mane of jet black hair, ice-blue eyes and 5'3'' body.

Bowing once, the boy said with a poorly done tone of a grown-up "Thank you my friend, now what you all are about to witness is a spectacle of awe and mystery. Through my will, I will become the very elements themselves. Now, let's start off with a fan favorite...FIRE!!" Markus remembered that behind his back, the young boy had formed a class 4 seal and had whispered the words "Body Shift: Fire", causing the young Markus to morph into a large, roaring flame. While no one was looking at first, this sudden change caught the attention of everyone in the Plaza. Bawling with laughter, Markus remembered that before he had even changed from that form of fire, Jessica had taken her place behind the crackling flame, drew another class 4 seal and had whispered "Body Shift: Earth" and touched the very tip of the fire that was her friend. The moment she touched him, the large flame began to glow a brown, earthy color as the ashes that now lay beneath him rose up and started to cling to the flame. When they were held firmly in place, the ashes began to grown and cover the flame until it had become one large ball of ash. As the sphere of black was finished, it condensed down into the shape of a square, turned brown and literally became soil. At this, the whole Plaza let out a gasp as they saw the magic happen right before their eyes. Many began to whisper to themselves, but a single hooded figure clad in a suite of crimson only stared and shook his head. Watching the figure for a moment, the ghostly Markus tried to figure out who this person was before they did the unthinkable, he had turned his attention from the spectacle to the Evizil. Shocked, Markus looked behind him, only to see that not even a dog or small animal inhabited that space. Turning back towards the figure, it only smiled once through the opening in its hood and began to make its way down the street on the other side of the Plaza.

Not sure how to process what had happened, Markus quietly said to himself "He saw me...but...how? Who else is sharing my memories?" Deciding he had overstayed his visit in this recollection of the past, the white coated Evizil began to take the same road the hooded figure had taken, knowing full well it lead to the Evizil District of the GoldenCity. Looking behind him, Markus saw the world of ghosts slowly fade away, leaving the Plaza to become a land of wind and dust. Shaking his head, Markus turned his attention to whatever lied ahead of him as he continued on. Walking the street slowly, Markus began to see tiny fragments of the ghost world rekindle as certain memories flared into his mind. In some cases they were just recollections of games he and his friends would play, but others were filled with dark emotions; like the day Eon's parents finally fell to an illness. Standing outside of a small, one story house with grey brick exterior and two pointed windows on each side of the door, another piece of the mirror world came to life. On the small yard next to the decently sized rounded door that served as the front entrance, one small body was found crumpled into a ball weeping as if the whole world was about to end while another body knelt over him with a small arm wrapped around his chest. Again, Markus couldn't hear the figures, but he remembered this day sharply enough to know what they were saying. As the crying body curled himself into a ball, the other body patted the tiny, weeping creature and mouthed "Eon...you have to get up, shedding tears will not bring them back."

In between sobs, the young Eon replied "Markus...they're dead...I had the cure and they're dead..." In his left hand, the older Markus could see a small bag that was ripped on the bottom, revealing a collection of oddly shaped leaves and an assortment of other herbal remedies.

In response, the younger Markus shook his head and said "I know Eon; the gods have played a vicious joke today, but giving up and weeping the world away will not save you."

Angry now, the young Eon threw the bag away and said "Oh...why do yo...you care? You...sti...still have...your parents."

"Because I still need you as a friend and a cohort in mischief. I cannot take back what death has grasped for himself, but I'll be damned if I can't help you now."

Shocked and confused, the young Eon stopped crying and asked stiffly "What...what do you mean Markus?"

With a light smile, the younger Markus answered "I mean me and Jessica will help raise you." As if the whole thing had been settled there, the younger Markus stood up, clasped his hands together and continued to say "The first thing you need is a house. Now don't expect a fancy schmancy house, or even one like this for that matter, but it will at least serve as a home..."

Breaking into the younger Markus's talk, the young Eon stood up and said "Why would you do all this for me? Your dad will kill you if he found out you were even considering buying a house."

"I'm helping you because if you stay here, the Silver Guard will definitely catch you and send you away. As for my father, let him tie his undies in a bunch, your wellbeing is much more important than a scolding." With that, the younger Markus patted the young Eon on the shoulder once and started into a run down the street. Not being able to do anything but smile, the young Eon started to walk in the same direction the younger Markus was and mouthed "I'll never forget this Markus...thank you." With that, the fragment faded away, leaving the older Markus standing in front of the small grey house with a smile wide across his face.

Following the road again, Markus chuckled and said "I bet the little bugger forgot by now, but who cares." Finally, after what seemed like hours traveling down the long, spiraling street surrounded by houses, Markus made his way upon the large arching bridge that stood proudly above the main street of the Evizil district; where the main fragment around this whole dream started. Leaning against the back end of the bridge with his back against the rail of the bridge, the Evizil saw three shapes materialize, a tall, muscular man in the center with two boys on either side of him. Unlike before, this fragment suddenly became filled with a world of color and sound, surprising Markus as he began to hear shouts and gadgets all around him. Turning his attention towards the three on the bridge with him, Markus let his mouth hang open as he recognized this memory; this was the day his father left him!! Having the feeling that he still just a spectator to this whole ordeal, Markus held back the temptation to fling the boy to his left off of the bridge when he realized he was a younger version of his brother, Felix. While he remembered how evil his brother would become later on, the Evizil couldn't help but feel a pang of pity ring throughout his soul as the two boys laughed giddily as fireworks shot off into the night sky. Behind him, large floats blared their instruments or their noisemakers, causing Markus to tense as he realized the moment had come.

Proving this true, the tall man in front of him turned to the boy on his right, knelt down beside him, put his hands on the boy's shoulders and said "Markus, will you and Felix promise me one thing?" Not sure how to reply, the two boys just nodded with confusion riddled all over their faces. Seriousness spread across his face, Turin began to say to the now 12 year old Markus "Markus, do you swear to become the ultimate symbol of hope for the broken, the beaten and the damned? To one day stand up to the evils of this world make it more perfect?" Now absolutely lost, the young, naive Markus nodded once again, except as he did, the older Markus saw something he didn't remember seeing when this event actually took place. Turin's hands suddenly began to glow with a bright, black light and as they bathed the young boy's shoulders in their light, runes began to trace their way along the young boy's body and converge at his chest.

Stunned, the older Markus looked down at himself, saw the Augment appear on his body once and disappear as he said "What in the hells...Uru put this thing inside me?"

Suddenly, a voice next to him said "No, he made it better." Surprised by the new voice, the older Markus shivered once and turned his attention to the direction of the new guest. Standing next to him, the hooded figure he had seen before smiled once again as he laid back against the railing. Before Markus could say anything, the figure continued to say "This is when he brought Valecruiz back onto Illian and nestled him deep inside your soul. You never mentioned it to anyone, but this was when you started hearing his voice in your head. And a few months later, Jessica laid dead by his...your hands."

Amazed at all of the information released to him, the older Markus shook his head once and said "How in the hells of Rea do you know all of this? Who ARE you?"

His smile widening, the hooded figure simply said "Someone who knows you better than you do, so it seems. Markus don't forget, you still have a world to save here. You don't really have the time to sit here and enjoy the past."

Now more upset than surprised, the older Markus replied "Oh leave me alone, besides, I'm not the one who decided to venture into my own memories, you can thank Valecruiz for that..." Before he could continue, Turin, known now to the older Markus as Uru, smiled as the Augment in the younger Markus finished glowing.

Turning to Felix, the memory played out by him grabbing Felix's shoulders and saying "Felix, do you swear to cast away the demons and the non-believers of this world, to take the powers you rightfully deserve and make your beliefs known to all of Illian?" Just as confused as the younger Markus was, the blonde haired boy simply smiled and nodded once, not noticing the trails of yellow runes pouring onto his body through his father's grip. Not believing that both he and his brother never saw any trace of magic enter their bodies when their father had asked that of his two sons so long ago, the older Markus was about to ask the hooded figure something before he noticed that the odd man has vanished.

Looking at the spot where the hooded figure once stood, Markus saw a small note on the railing of the bridge. Picking it up, Markus flipped the note over to where something was written and read aloud "Markus, today I'm going to ask something of you that no one should ever have to ask of anyone. While I know you enjoy these dreams, you can't stay here, so once you finish reading this note, you're going to wake up. Please forgive me." Confused, Markus was only able to say "What does he..." before the whole dream world started to collapse around him. Instantly, the scene on the bridge evaporated, buildings and architecture started to collapse within themselves and the world was covered in an inky veil of nonexistence. Now standing alone in a pitch black world, Markus freely yelled out "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!?"

A cold, genderless monotone voice replied softly "To save Illian." With that, the dark veil that covered Markus's world was lifted, revealing the true, waking world of Illian, as well as Kia's concerned face, in front of him. With a mew of excitement, Kia bent down and wrapped her arms around Markus as best as she could; and by the way she tried, Markus realized he was still lying down. Patting his mate once on the back, Markus asked groggily "What day is it?"

A cute, happy laugh from Kia as a response, she finally answered "You've only been out for a few hours Markus, it's exactly twilight now." Tilting his head back, Markus could see that he was still in the spot where he had destroyed the Blood Oath Pendant, allowing him to watch the ever lazy sun crawl into the depths of the horizon. Hugging him even harder, Kia rubbed her face against his as she said "Markus, promise me you'll never do something like that again? This is the second time you've collapsed like that."

Only concentrating half-heartedly on what she was saying, Markus replied "Second?"

'Yeah, first time being after you first fought your brother, don't you remember?"

A shiver crawling down his spine at the mention of the day his Augment finally broke through as well as the awakening of his purpose as a weapon, Markus coldly said in response "Oh yeah...how could I forget?" Letting the grey weak grass rub against the back of his neck and Kia's body press against his, Markus suddenly chimed in "I have to kill him."

"Huh?"

"Uru, I can't let him escape. We have to get there tonight."

"That may be so my little wolf boy, but we still haven't heard from Eon or Oz, they haven't sent anything detailing their progress."

Sighing, Markus wrapped his arms around Kia's body, sat up, kept his mate pressed against him and said in response "I know they're all right, those two wouldn't let themselves get killed or captured. Look, I'm alright, honestly; even the pain in my neck is gone. I'm going to get everyone ready; we have to reach the Tower of Bone and Skin by tonight." Standing up, Markus was about to give the order to pick up camp until he noticed that everyone was ready and waiting.

With a smile, Kia said behind him "It's actually quite easy to give orders when you're the mate of the Alpha Captain." Turning around, Markus smiled in return, picked Kia up by her waist and held her as if she were a pile of logs. Turning back towards the men he let Kia bark out "Everyone, we're off to Bilamarsh." Nodding and cheering in agreement, the army shouldered their belongings and filed into formation. Still holding Kia, Markus stood in front of the army and lead them as they marched towards their final destination; the BloodCity.

What they found waiting for them scared everyone, including Markus himself, to their very core. Not a single house or hut was spotted from the outside of the city, only large barracks, armories, storage buildings and the Tower of Bone and Skin itself. Made from pure black obsidian, the oval barracks were roofed with ashen colored tile and each barrack had three large pointed chimneys that seemed to reach out towards the sky and rip out the sun from its domain. The armories were soot colored white, and upon inspecting them further, Markus could tell that these buildings had been made from actual bone, but the filth and ash that rose up from the nearby forges tainted their appearance. On top of each door of each armory a large Evizil skull could be found with its jaw bone positioned to make it appear as if the last thing the werewolf did was scream in terror, which was most likely the case for many of these poor souls. The supply buildings were rectangular in shape and were surprisingly the most normal looking buildings here because they were made from bricks the color of blood, a few windows made from bone and doors made from Ebonwood covered with a tanned material Markus soon learned was skin. Yet, while all of this was enough to send the white coated Evizil in a blind rage, the hundreds of thousands of creatures standing in the large city with their eyes locked onto his army kept him where he was. Carefully examining the city, Markus and Kia found that this city was now comprised of Malar, Millar, Nexus Stalkers, Ifrits, Behemoths, goblins, the rat-race known as Vicen, and an unknown race Markus named "Enders." These Enders were blue, at least 9'5'', wielded giant axes, swords, maces, spears or staves and seemed to be a bastard combination of lions and Evizil. Shuddering, Markus took one look at these Enders and said "How cruel...the Evizil that were forced to mate to create...these." With the surprise of their arrival to the Races of Lights' advantage, the city did not attack just yet. Unsheathing Velar, Markus quickly summoned the Gree Armor and waited for the attack. Yet, no attack came, not even a charge by a foolish goblin or wayward Vicen.

Gripping Velar tightly, Markus said to everyone in the army "Get ready ladies and gentlemen, the battle we've been waiting for is finally at hand. It's been a damn well pleasure working with you, and I am sorry it took me this long to finally rid us of the curse that was Valecruiz. Now then, shall we take these bastards into hell with us?" Responded by a cheer from everyone, Markus raised his sword as a signal to charge just as he felt a light, furry hand touch his arm.

Staring at him with fear in her eyes, Kia asked "We have to wait for Eon and Oz, right?"

Sharing her concern, Markus lowered the blue longsword, turned to Kia and answered "They will be here, but let's clear out as many of these devil spawn as we can before they arrive. Oz will bite my ass for this, but it will be worth it." Smiling as he said this, Markus noticed the concern wash away from Kia's face as she drew forth two small throwing knives from her red satin robe and prepared for battle. Hearing the sound of steel being released from leather, arrows being notched onto bows and dwarven hammers hitting the ground in anticipation, Markus lifted Velar once again and pointed it towards the enemy as he released a battle howl. Charging straight towards the enemy, Markus did not need to look behind himself to know his army had followed, the way the ground shook beneath him told him enough. Not realizing what was actually happening to them, the whole city didn't have the chance to raise their weapons before the blades of vengeance bit through their flesh. Yet, as soon as they were ready, the Races of Darkness rushed at Markus and his army like a tsunami of malice and might. With the sounds of hammers crushing bone, arrows piercing necks and swords ripping skin surrounding him, Markus felt the back of his neck prickle in excitement as he began to tear through the enemy. Crouching slightly, Markus swung around in a full 360 and let his longsword of wrath disembowel at least five nearby creatures. Instantly recovering from his tactic, Markus leapt towards a group of Vicen and stabbed the leader through the gut, letting remnants of the rat's innards cover his blade as he released it from the fleshy sheath. Overjoyed by the rush, Markus freely let his bloodlust consume him as he severed limbs, heads and torsos' from these unworthy creatures. As he finished cutting a Malar who looked too much like Felix in half with a diagonal swing, Markus decided to look back on Kia to make sure she was doing alright.

Honing her Mindbender abilities, Kia quickly made work of some goblins and Vicen by influencing one of the Enders to suddenly turn on the Races of Darkness and start sweeping through his own ranks. Wielding his large battle axe with joy, the Ender was severing bodies and heads as if he were cutting the buds off of weeds or simply clearing a patch of grass. Finally, the Ender was confronted by a Behemoth wielding a large tree and was left with no choice but to kill himself as well as the Behemoth by letting the tree rip through his stomach as he sliced the giant's head clean off its neck. Regaining concentration, Kia flicked her arms and revealed two more throwing knives, which soon found their homes in the necks or foreheads of unarmored goblins, Vicen or Millar. When her arms grew tired, Kia simply put her hands together with one hand facing the ground and the other facing the sky, creating the class 2 seal, connected her arms by her wrists, aimed towards a large crowd of Vicen and yelled "SHATTER MIND!!" Instantly, at least 10 or 15 of the Vicen emitted a loud pop and sank to their knees as blood poured from their ears, nose and mouth. Smiling deeply to herself, Kia proceeded to use this spell at least two more times before she finally felt her well of magic deplete. Dropping to one knee in fatigue, Kia almost found herself stabbed by a Malar sword, but was saved by a young black dog with a smile on his face. As the Malar fell to the ground, the dog said to Kia "Thank Markus for me, me and Hollen owe him a lot." Just like that, the dog found the young boy who was his partner and jumped into the fray once again. Smirking, Kia stood up resumed fighting, but stopped as a giant shadow appeared above her. In the sky, a large blue dragon hovered five feet above them as a man clad in leather and a fine ashen bow jumped from his back. Hitting the ground, Eon smiled, drew forth three arrows, held his bow in a horizontal position and pierced four unsuspecting goblins in the head. And without a word, the two had just finished a long welcoming conversation. Hearing a loud gut wrenching noise to her left, Kia looked over and screamed.

Skewering and decapitating goblins, Vicen, Malar and Millar alike, Markus found himself slowly making his way towards one of the countless armories in the BloodCity. Sheathing Velar, Markus traced a pentagon in the air with his left index finger, hit the ground with his palms and shouted "PAIN OF ILLIAN!!" From the spot where his palms hit the ground a large crack in the ground trailed its way to the unholy stockade of weaponry. When it reached the armory, the ground stopped cracking and for a moment, it appeared as if nothing had happened. That soon changed as seconds later, the dirt beneath the armory collapsed and the building found itself hurled into a chasm that lead to the very core of Illian. Smiling to himself, Markus jumped over the large hole where the armory once stood and continued to slaughter the Races of Darkness. Dissecting, disemboweling and decapitating every enemy that got in his way, Markus soon found himself against one of the walls of the city with his sword halfway through a kneeling Behemoth's neck. Suddenly, the large shadows of Cyn, Fyn and the blue dragon cast above him and let him defenseless as he smiled in joy. Letting his down guard for only a second, Markus had given a nearby Ender the time he needed to inflict the Evizil with a stunning blow. Wielding a staff that encompassed Markus's entire chest and stomach, the blue demon simply gripped his weapon like a spear and stabbed it straight through the Evizil. When the staff ripped its way out of his back, Markus could feel part of his spine being carried away with the staff as it anchored itself into the wall. Taking by complete and utter surprise, it took Markus a second to realize that he was about to die. Relying on the Augment in the same manner Felix did nearly three years ago, Markus started to try and remove the staff when he heard Kia scream. Looking to where it was coming from, Markus saw Kia's large feline eyes staring back at him with a shock deeper than his own. Wishing he could speak, Markus found that nothing came out of his mouth but blood and vomit. Weakly looking back at the Ender, he found the demon smiling as the Evizil died slowly and finding itself to say "White Wolf, you've displeased Uru for the last time" before it headed into the battle once again. Turning his full attention to the staff piercing his body, Markus's shock finally ebbed away, causing a searing pain not even the seven hells of Rea could bring forth to fill his body. Now madly pulling at the staff, Markus left puddles of blood and vomit on the staff as he tried to open his muzzle to scream. When the pain became too great, Markus slumped onto the staff and rested his head in one of the puddles he had left as the Augment kept him alive for as long as it could.

Fully enjoying the flight from Brimble to Bilamarsh, Oz made sure Kane was left in the company of Kia's friend from the GoldenCity before heading back with Eon and the blue dragon. Along the way, Cyn, Fyn and the rest of the dragons had joined the group of three and told them they were all heading to Bilamarsh to finish off Uru once and for all. As they easily spotted Markus's army already in the city, Oz and the others raced towards the city and finally stopped when they were right above the battle. Viewing the roaring clash beneath him, Oz never noticed Eon jumping off the back of the blue dragon and fighting along side Kia. What did catch his attention, as well as the attention of Fyn, was a loud vomit-inducing sound followed seconds later by a howl of pain that seemed to tear away at the very fabrics of reality. Turning his attention towards the noise, Oz witnessed something that shook him entirely. On the western wall of Bilamarsh, Markus was found impaled through his torso by a massive wooden staff. Not believing what he was seeing, Oz saw the black runes of the Augment shining brightly from the Evizil and realized it was the only thing keeping him from death's hands. Crying freely, Oz shouted "MAAARRKKUUSS!!" Now holding the attention of every dragon there, they each looked to where Oz was watching his friend slowly die and gasped in horror. Fyn, now cascading with anger and sadness, dove down towards the fight and began to ignite every creature in the Races of Darkness in her path to Markus. Oz, on the other hand, felt something start to grow within him. Feeling Cyn enter his mind, she thought to him 'Oz, this is it. Let the dragon within you hatch and wreak its fury upon those that have hurt your friend.' Easily doing just that, Oz curled himself in a ball and began to emit a glow as green as a forest as his body changed. His body began to expand to the size of two massive buildings and mold itself into a figure that resembled a reptile's body. His arms and legs shrank and thickened as his hands and feet grew into large claws. His head grew to the length of a quarterstaff and expanded to the width of an entire longsword. From the tip of his anus a large, spiked tail at least 8 feet long sprouted and unfurled itself. As the transformation completed, Oz released his wings that now covered a 20 foot wingspan and released himself from his ball position. Realizing what he had become, Oz released a large breath onto a crowd of Malar and when he expected flame to spew forth, acid strong enough to melt through Crystal Tyrs came instead. Melting away slowly, the Malar and a foolish Ender caught with them, screamed in agony. With Markus still in his mind, the green dragon dived straight towards the ground, releasing his acid onto any creatures of the Races of Darkness in his path. Making an area of bodies large enough for him to land, Oz quickly lowered himself to the ground, folded his wings and stared at his dying friend. The Evizil's coat was drenched in crusting blood, vomit and spit as well as other substances that Oz couldn't, and didn't want to, understand. When he saw Markus lift his head from the staff, Oz cried out in his now gravely voice "Markus stop, you'll kill yourself. Look...look...we'll...we'll slowly pull out the staff and...and...and mend whatever was pierced as we do so." Right now, thinking of a plan was the hardest thing Oz had ever done in his life with his student and most respected friend leaving the mortal plane slowly and painfully.

Behind him, Fyn and Cyn cleared more bodies and said together "And in the process you'll kill him."

Frustrated, Oz turned back to them and said "Then what do you want to do, WAIT FOR HIM TO DIE?!?"

Getting closer, Fyn transformed into her broodling form, sidestepped a puddle of blood that had accumulated below the staff and began to stroke Markus's left cheek softly as she whispered "Markus...I'm sorry for what I did to you. Please Markus...forgive me."

Smiling, a drip of blood came from his mouth as he weakly replied "It's...just...a...flesh...wound."

Racing in between everyone, Kia frantically pushed Fyn away from Markus and she collapsed into his left arm and wept. So many memories were shared between the two, even the birth of a child, and here she was about to lose the main component of those memories. Kia had always known she could have chosen any man in Illian to be her mate because of her looks, but Markus saw through her sleek body and her glorious features and found the true Kia. For that reason, among many others, the feline had known he would be the only mate for her. And now he was dying, leaving her and Kane behind, faster and faster with every passing moment. Bawling in his large wolfish arm, Kia tried to say "Markus MarKUS MARKUS...please...please...PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME. I...I...I...I can't...how can you...expect...me to live...without you?!? Oh gods...why...why didn't I...I stay...by you?"

Feeling a hot, hairy hand pet her head weakly, Kia heard Markus reply "It's...my...fault...Kia...I...love...you..." With that, Markus's hand dropped to his side limply and his head fell back onto the staff, eyes beginning to turn glassy and without expression. Knowing he had died even without watching him do so, Kia surprisingly stopped crying. Instead, her body shook, and then began to shake furiously as she let her rage intensify. Her love, her life, her mate, her counterpart had found peace in the Rift Beyond and had been forced to leave her behind. Hugging Markus once, Kia reached up his back, grabbed Velar by its grip and unsheathed it from the back of her dead mate. When she pulled it out, the feline was surprised to see that it was still whole, in fact only a scratch was found across the entire blade. Looking back towards her mate, she noticed that the staff curved at one point; letting her realize that the sword had tried saving itself and its master by trying to lead the opposing weapon away from any vital organs. Eyes glazed in rage, Kia readied the weapon without complaint of its unusual weight and yelled "YOU...WILL...PAY" before breaking away from the group and charging head first into a group of Malar. Left and right she swung, gutting, maiming and rending any in her path. As the limbs and bodies of any that stood in her way fell to the floor, Kia began to feel that she was avenging her fallen mate. Dissecting a heart straight out of a Vicen's chest, Kia saw an Ender without a weapon, unusual since every Ender they had spotted had a weapon of some sort, and realized she found Markus's killer. Screaming, she jumped up, aimed the blade at the unsuspecting Ender and found her world turning black as she felt Velar cut the giant blue creature's body in half.

Shortly after Kia ran off, Eon arrived with a face of joy across his face as he said to the others "Hey Oz, I'm beating you by 8 kills..." before he saw Markus's limp body impaled into the wall. Horror hitting him in an instant, Eon began to shake as tears filled his eyes and his bow dropped to the ground. Feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of him twice over, Eon meekly whispered "He can't be...he wouldn't be...how could he..."

Cyn turned her head to him and said gravely "He's dead Eon...Kia ran off with Velar to avenge him. A Behemoth or an Ender must have caught him by surprise."

Looking for someone to blame, Eon suddenly realized "Like the point YOU ALL GOT HERE!!"

Lost, Oz turned his head to him as well and said "What do you mean?"

Going mad, Eon began to say "Don't you get it? WE were up ABOVE, casting a SHADOW on HIM. WE took HIM by SURPRISE. ENDER came...took HIS chance and now HIS LIFE!! You...you...YOU DID this to HIM...YOU hurt HIM...WHY...HE helped ME...saved ME...but now...YOU...YOU...YOU TOOK HIM AWAY!! WWHHYYY!!" As he rambled, Eon's silver eyes began to dilate, his hands started to become twitchy and uncontrollable, and his face forever lost the meaning of a smile. Now lost in his own world, Eon quickly picked up his bow and began to ramble again "YOU won't take THIS from ME...oh no. THIS is MINE...MINE...MINE. I won't let it GO like HIM...Why HIM? Did you plan HIM to die? Yes...I bet that's IT. YOU all forced HIM to DIE...but WHY? I'LL find out. I'LL make HIM happy. I'LL find out WHY you hurt HIM, took HIM away from ME...HE helped ME. Saved ME, gave ME a home, raised ME with HER, but NO, now THEY are BOTH gone. I KNOW...YOU KILLED THEM!! Both of THEM! WHY?" Finally letting go all sanity, Eon darted backwards into the fray and headed towards the gates of Bilamarsh.

Sinking his head low, Oz mumbled "Maybe Eon's right after all, maybe we did give the Ender his chance. What if we really did kill Markus?" As he said this, Oz saw a large red blur fill his vision as a sharp pain began to flare in his cheeks.

Bringing her tail back around, Cyn said hotly "If that IS the truth, then it won't bring Markus back, now will it? Look, do you want to kill the bastard responsible for this or just sit here and whine like a bitch? I, for one, am going to enjoy feeling that Ender's neck snap between my teeth." Turning around, the red dragon, accompanied by Cyn, marched towards the encompassing battle and unleashed the fury and might of their ancient race.

Turning to another point in the battle, Oz said to the dead body behind him "I'm so sorry Markus; I will make sure you receive the best funeral in Illian when this is over." With that, the large, dark green dragon lifted himself into the air and began tearing and melting away the Races of Darkness in frustration and sadness.

Oz had turned away too quickly to notice one thing wrong about Markus's body, something was moving. As slight as it was, the Evizil's left hand twitched once as a force more ancient than Uru himself filled the corpse of the fallen hero. Carrying Markus's soul with it, the force placed the wayward spirit back inside its body, allowing the Evizil to feel something he had never felt before. While he couldn't move, speak, hear, see, touch or react to anything in the outside world, he was well alive inside his body. Suddenly, Markus felt a torrent of equilibrium, a feeling that felt oddly similar to Izilan, fill his corpse as well. This balance was so great, all emotions Markus knew and felt became irrelevant. Shaking the head of his spirit self, Markus yelled into the dark abyss that was now his dead soul "Where am I?"

As if on cue, a deep, indistinguishable, monotone voice replied "Back where you belong, Markus Snow."

Not understanding, Markus tried to sigh and responded with "A whole lot that will do me now that I'm dead."

Ignoring the Evizil, the voice chimed in again and said "All around you, your friends are falling apart. Eon has lost his mind, Kia has lost her love, Oz has lost his will, and soon they will all die because they lost the one thing holding them together, you."

Somehow sensing that the voice wasn't lying to him, Markus furiously yelled back "No, don't make them suffer for my mistake. Please voice, help them, PLEASE!!"

Still holding no emotion in his tone, the voice replied "Markus, I am going to ask something of you no one should ever ask of anyone. I am going to ask that you give up your identity, the life as you knew it, in order to become my Weapon on Illian in order to destroy your father and save the broken, the weak and the damned. Markus, I am asking you to fulfill your Augment and truly become the last Sinan."

"Last Sinan? But I thought the Trinity Prophesy was a fake, the only thing that came from it was Valecruiz."

"But yet you still hold the blood of the three Greater Races inside you, do you not? Markus, your Augment was never made to spy on you or control you, it was meant to allow you to become the Final Sinan, and through that gain powers none of the others ever had."

Knowing his time was running thin, Markus quickly said "Alright, I'll do it, just please, promise me Kia and the others will live." Hearing no such reply, Markus simply felt an experience no word has ever been able to describe; he was brought back from the dead. Opening his eyes, Markus's still pierced lungs burned as they took in air once again, his eyes adjusted to the light of the living world, and the pain that had killed him before spread throughout his body. But just as he was about to scream, the Augment flared again as the large staff that pinned him to the wall suddenly shot out of his torso. Feeling part of his spine float into his back and return to its original place, Markus twitched slightly as it mended itself back to the rest of his spinal column. Looking down, Markus saw his innards regenerate the parts they had lost when he was first stabbed, including his skin. When his back and his front were returned to normal, the Evizil let out a long winded sigh just before the Augment began to change. Glowing brighter than they ever had before, the runes of Relsinger began to shift from a dark, inky hue to the color of absolute white. As the symbols began to appear underneath his clothing, Markus yelled out "What's happening to me?"

Once again the voice arrived and said "Forgive me, Markus." Suddenly, every part of his body began to itch and burn as he transformed from an Evizil to the Ultimate Weapon, the Final Sinan. At first growing until he was nine feet tall, Markus began to subconsciously worry that the voice had just been Valecruiz retaking control; but as the rest of him changed, that thought escaped him. The runes covered him and sank into his coat, turning it into a color of white that seemed to physically radiate light; his claws grew bigger, his fangs became sharper, large glyphs appeared on both of his palms and the odd familiarity of wings bursting through his upper back was felt. Unfurling his wings, Markus saw that instead of dark, menacing bat-like wings, he had been endowed with the very wings of the gods themselves. Each of the Evizil's wings was covered in skin protected by hundreds and hundreds of large, white feathers that seemed to absorb the nearby light and reflect it in a much more brilliant manner. Inside, however, Markus began to feel himself become a soulless, emotionless puppet of the gods. Finally the day had come, who he was, his goals, his love, his hatred, his friendships, all became irrelevant. Trying to fight back what was happening, only one thing managed to escape his muzzle. Lifting his head towards the air, Markus shed a final tear as he released a howl so full of anger, woe, confusion and betrayal, the glass of every building shattered and weak spots in the ground began to give way. Though no voice was needed, the howl spoke five words "I Accept What I've Become."

Deep beyond the realm of the Void, Gree sat in his might throne and watched as a single being chose to accept the responsibilities not even his own daughter would take. As Markus Snow finally completed his transformation, what he had thought was a simple howl became so much more to the Ultimate Force. Through the Maw he used to look upon the world of Illian, the howl breached his mighty halls and stirred the giant god in a way nothing ever had. Immediately afterwards, something odd began to grow inside the Arch-God, something the mortals across the Void named an emotion. The emotion was sadness. Perplexed and aroused by the sudden urge to shed tears and wish the world away, Gree held onto the emotion tightly until it was replaced by a second emotion, one the mortals called "pity." Now, he looked through the Maw and understood what this emotion was telling him. Gree understood that to a being with feelings and cares, giving up your identity was, in fact, a sacrifice worse than death. While he had told Markus this before, he had only said it because Izilan had said it was the truth; and with her being the closest being to him with feelings, he agreed with her. But now his entire motive had been put into perspective and he realized what he had done. Unfortunately, Gree knew that once one became The Weapon, it could never be undone, not even through the strongest powers of the inventor of life and death. Thinking hard, he knew this sacrifice had to be known by all who lived on Illian and so he did something he had only done once before; he carried a voice throughout the world. Just like the howl his dearest Izilan had shouted when she lost her son by the hands of her own daughter, Gree took the very essence of Markus's cry and sent it through HowlValley; a place unreachable by mortals that takes any voice sent through it and shares that voice with Illian. The moment the winds of HowlValley carried away Markus's cry, Illian began to change. Smiling to himself, Gree sat back and watched as he held on to a third and final emotion given to him by the noble Evizil; happiness.

****

Deep in the farm fields just north of Coppice Vale, an old feline with light orange fur found himself rocking blissfully on his patio watching the starry night sky as he heard The Cry. A howl that brought forth the true meaning of sacrifice assaulted the old man's pointed ears and immediately sent him weeping. He had no idea why, but the old cat knew that whoever had released the howl of this magnitude had given up something so important, doing so was about to alter the Illian he had lived in. Still letting the tears flow freely from his eyes, the old man sat up, pulled out his cane and began walking out into the fields as he said "Whoever you are, thank you." Turning around, he saw his lifetime mate standing in the doorway bawling in tears and nodding as he pointed into the air at The Cry. Tasting the saltiness of his tears through his smile, the old man looked towards the sky once again and said "Under this howl, the whole world is together Kia, remember that."

****

East of Bilamarsh, in a small town known as Grizzlefang, Galin (Gale-in), a Vicen who had resorted to pickpocketing his way through life, found himself in a tiny inn about to steal someone's coin purse when The Cry struck. Immediately, the rat began to shed tear after tear as pity, sadness and thankfulness filled him. Confused, Galin began to think 'Why should I feel thankful? What in the hell is this, some trap put on the coin purse? Oh man...if anyone sees me crying, I'm a goner for sure.' But as he looked up, his saddened face turning into a visage of utter shock. Everyone in the inn, Vicen, Millar, Malar and Goblin alike, was shuddering as they drenched the floor with tears. Forgetting entirely about the coin purse, Galin found himself handed an ale by the very Millar he was trying to rob as the inn drank and cried the night away in honor of the mysterious friend that had brought them together.

****

Along the shore of the RezOcean, Jessica Wyrmheart had been absentmindedly collecting seashells when the howl struck. Yet, because she had already abandoned her physical emotions long ago, she could not find it within herself to cry. Taking a moment to listen to The Cry wholly, Jessica smiled as she said "Markus, you did it, you've finally accepted what you were meant to be." Dropping her basket of shells, Jessica turned and started heading back towards the ghostly vision of the Church of the High Father as she and the large church found peace and vanished from Illian once and for all.

****

As The Cry finished spreading across Illian and uniting everyone under one emotion, one concept, it completed its magic by covering the moon in its sadness. Enwrapped in the force of Markus's sacrifice, its rocky surface turned a dark blue as the moon itself began to cry for the noble Evizil. Looking towards the newly altered moon, Izilan smiled as she said from the open castle in Scycrain "Markus, no matter how much you fought against The Augment, you chose to become what you despised the most in order to save Illian. My son, this day, you have united the world in a sadness that brings no evil with it. From this point onward, you will always have the Crying Moon to symbolize the true worth of your sacrifice." As tears poured from her own eyes, the beautiful Wolf Goddess laughed as she recalled how many times Uru had said that Markus and Felix would always amount to nothing. "Oh loving mate, I hope you find yourself shedding tears right now as you realize that your son has become your death."

****

Finally completing his transformation, Markus's cry slowly dwindled away until it became the nothingness in which it once was. Around him, the fight had completely come to a halt; no blade was swung, no arrow was notched and no hammer bent bone. Every eye was now focused on the strange, god-like figure that had shattered the windows and the ground around them. Closely examining the silent, expressionless giant, Oz immediately spotted the similarities between this figure and his dead friend and whispered "You're kidding me..." Either rightfully scared or foolishly stupid, a Malar that was quivering in his own soiled garments and shaking boots broke from the silence and charged at the now angelic figure with his blade raised high. Before the vampire could even take a second step towards him, Markus was glaring down at him with no expression face-to-face. Grabbing the frightened Malar by the neck, no hint of disgust was found on Markus's face or body as the vampire soiled himself once again. Bringing the creature about eye-level, Markus forced the young Malar to stare into both of his ice-blue eyes. The Sinan's eyes had no pupils and no irises, just singular orbs of expressionless anger. As he tightened his grip around the Malar's neck, everyone around him saw a small, square shaped glyph of white appear on the young man's forehead. Instantly afterwards, the Malar popped into thousands of fragments of dust before he was even able to comprehend that death had found him. Lowering his arm without a single trace of emotion within him, Markus examined the area and appeared to be thinking. Without a second's notice, Oz suddenly heard in his mind "Run, NOW" and looked over to everyone near him. Fear flared into their eyes and their faces and Oz realized they had all been given this odd, intrusive message. Not needing to be asked again by his newly morphed friend, Oz opened his wings and launched himself into the air and smiled as he saw every other dragon accompany him. As the dragons ran to the sky, the Races of Light ran across the ground to the city entrance as they decided to heed the odd, foreboding message. Yet, one person, a feline drenched in blood and lost too deeply in her sadness and her thought heard nothing and remained behind to weep for her fallen mate.

When the last traces of the army was behind the city gates, Markus knelt down, placed his palms gently on the gritty, unpaved surface and enabled his plan. The moment his hands touched the ground, the floor beneath the entire city flared a white color brighter than Markus's coat and became engraved with a massive octagon that covered the whole city. Wishing he could smile, Markus couldn't let old habits die as he thought to himself "Pillars of the Last Hope!!" As if on cue, every hint of matter within the octagon, and the city, was bathed in one massive rising pillar brighter than the sun itself. While no one could tell what was going on inside, the sky became a ballad of the screams of dying Vicen, Millar, Malar and any other Races of Darkness that was in the city. If anyone had been given the extraordinary power to see what was going on inside the pillar, they would have seen the skin literally sliding off the bodies of the now damned monsters. For minutes the wails of death and the blinding light of The Weapon pierced the night sky with all of their fascinating horror. When not even a single voice could be heard, everyone peered inside to find that the ground had become layered with the dust of hundreds of thousands of bodies. Yet, not a single building had been damaged and the whole city of Bilamarsh was filled with the cries of a breezing wind as the Tower of Bone and Skin radiated a black barrier thick with malignance. Only two people remained untouched outside, the now crouching white coated giant and a crumpled up figure of a young feline crying to herself.

Removing his palms from the surface of Illian, Markus stood up, silently made his way over to the feline, picked her up and put her into a standing position. Finally realizing something was actually happening around her, Kia looked up to see a nine foot Sinan with his god-like wings fully unfurled and no hint of emotion on his body whatsoever. Taking a deeper look into his ice-blue orbs, Kia gasped and said afterwards "M...Mm...Markus?"

An image of what he looked like before the transformation flooded her mind and through some eerie way her mind processed the words 'Hello Kia, death does strange things to a man.'

Letting out a cry, Kia jumped into his large, white coated stomach and muttered with her head in his hair "What happened to you? Why can't you talk?"

This time, a picture of him impaled upon the wall brushed its way into her head and through that she heard 'Kia, I've become The Weapon, the final Sinan to be seen on Illian. Because I am Gree's hand in this world, I cannot have or show emotion. Through speech, emotion is created, and emotion will only cloud my judgment.'

Staring up at him with shock, Kia asked "Do you honestly believe that?"

Inserting a picture of his old self with a smile, the words 'Hell no, but because I'm basically Gree's bitch, I can't talk or show emotion. While that is true, they can't get rid of my soul that easily and so I can still express emotion in my thoughts. And before you ask, I've no idea why my thoughts are always sent through images...it's just something I really can't stop' floated along with it.

Letting out a scream of delight, Kia hugged her now giant mate around his waist and said "I don't care Markus, I really don't care. Just don't ever, EVER think about leaving me like that again."

A small image of two hands shaking appeared as the words 'Deal' started to float in her mind.

As the horizon began to give birth to the dawn, the Races of Light had fully taken over all of Bilamarsh, save for the Tower of Bone and Skin. Many of the armories had been stripped bare of their weapons and equipment and transformed into sleeping quarters for many of the men. Some of the barracks were used as final resting places of the dead before they were to be buried; while others simply had no use and were gladly torn down. By Markus's command, the supply buildings were left as they were, for even though he wanted to kill his father, it was against his interests to completely annihilate every Race of Darkness. Since the battle had come to its stunning finish, Markus, Kia and Oz began informing each other what happened while Oz and Eon were gone, as well as the sudden maddening of Markus's best friend. While he still showed no emotion, Kia's abilities as a Mindbender allowed her to see the pain wracking Markus deep down inside. When the four began walking around the dead city, Cyn flew down in front of them, specifically taking interest in Oz. With a large smile she said "Mind if I borrow my mate for a while?"

Responding with a monotonous nod, Markus told Kia to say to them "Alright you two just don't forget that you're clearing out of here by tomorrow."

Confused, Oz replied "Clearing out? But what about you?"

Kia responded for Markus "This is something only I can do, and something I won't ask any of you to join me in. I mean no offense, but you will only get in the way. I'm still trying to cope with the fact that today I will be killing my own father. So please, do this for me, old friend."

With his casual snort, Oz said "As you wish, oh Weapon. And Markus, I'm truly sorry about Eon, if I had taken how your death would have impacted him into account he may still be here..."

Staring straight into Oz's forest green eyes, Markus had Kia reply with "Oz, it's not your fault. I was the only thing left Eon ever had in his life. Jessica died, I killed Tasha, his parents succumbed to an illness and so it's only natural that my death was the last straw. What you should be more concerned with is if his madness will cause him to betray us."

Just as Oz was about to reply, Cyn nudged him on the shoulder with her head and said "Come on, you can talk later today, but I need you now." With that, she unfurled her large, scaled wings and took off towards a large forest near the very northern end of Illian. With a laugh, Oz followed suit and found her in a large opening in the center of the forest. As he landed next to her, he was rewarded with a passionate kiss and a tail being wrapped around his own. Breaking from the kiss, Cyn said to him "You did it, my little Oz; you took the final step towards becoming a dragon. I thank you for taking this step, even though it means you can never consider yourself even a sliver of being human."

Bending his head down and looking at her with a playful smile, Oz replied "My dear, I merely have a heart of a human, but a shell of a dragon. The life I have lived after I retired from the Church of the High Father is one that I have enjoyed every moment. But the life I lived before that will always be apart of me. Those were the days when life seemed so much easier and filled with so much hope..."

"And now?"

"Heh. Now I feel like I'm living some sort of fairy tale. Here I am, a human turned dragon about to show my mate how much I truly love her, my most treasured student has willingly sacrificed who he is to save the entire world, and we've come face to face with death more times than I can count. But now...as you stated before, you need to be attended to." Uncurling his tail from hers, Oz tilted his body to the side so that his tail swept Cyn off her feat and causing her to land roughly on her back. Taken by surprise, the red dragon had no time to react as her dark green mate began tracing up and down her scaly stomach with his forked tongue. Every time he would go down her stomach, Oz would get closer and closer to her sex until his tongue finally started to massage her clit. Releasing a combination of a snort and a moan, Cyn finally relaxed her muscles and gave in to her mate's plans. Smiling, Oz knew just how to satisfy, as well as surprise, Cyn in a single trick. Taking his tongue away from her now moistened clit, Oz trailed all the way up his mate's stomach, past her flat scaly chest and to her muzzle. Engaging her in another passionate kiss, Oz waited for his large manhood to pull itself from its sheath before entering her while still kissing her. Shivering in reply, Cyn broke away from him and began to snort heavily as she adjusted to his foot long manhood. Pulling back and entering her with full force, Oz grunted and said "Sneaky little...bastard aren't I?"

Moaning, Cyn replied as Oz continued to pull away and refill her "Ohhhhh...hussshhhh...my....litttttlllee....Ozzzz." Laughing once, Oz increased the strength he used to fill her with his manhood, causing her back to sink into the ground as it tore away the topsoil. Too deep in the throes of pleasure to care about the slight pain, Cyn let her tongue slither out slightly as her mate's manhood continue to explore parts of her sex that had never been touched by dragon or broodling alike. Wishing her dragon form had breasts like her broodling form, Cyn began to try reaching for her chest, but found only disappointment when her thick front legs couldn't bend that far. Hissing, the red dragon said "Coommmeee Oooonnnn Ozzzzzyyy...LOOOVVVEEEE MMMEEEE." Snorting in response, Oz stood on both back legs, hunched himself so that he wouldn't fall over and grabbed his mate's waist as he filled her upside-down. Snorting and moaning at the same time, Cyn found her body screaming in bliss as the dark green dragon's manhood began to furiously rub against her clit each time he refilled her. Feeling his limit approaching fast, Oz roared as his increased the speed and strength in which he filled his mate, causing her to reach her limit first and cover his manhood with her fluids. Feelings the sticky sea rub against the inner skin of her sex as well as his manhood, Oz finally released a torrent of seed that broke through her juices and traveled deep into her sex.

Pleasured in such magnitudes they had never experienced before, neither Oz nor Cyn could complain that they had only reached orgasm once. Pulling out of her, Oz began to feel his satisfied manhood retreat into his sheath as he helped his mate back up by rolling her the way a turtle does to get off of its shell. When she was back on her feet, Cyn looked at him and said "So today the fate of Illian rests on the shoulders of one man?"

Smiling, Oz replied "No my dear, the fate of Illian has always rested on his shoulders. Today he finally lets go."