The Aura Ascendant: A Knight's Unbroken Path - Chapter 5: One Solution

“I am Bianca Valestra, Witch of the Frozen Night, an enemy of Humanity. By choosing to follow me, you will be fighting not just humans—but the entire world. I no longer wish to lie to you, Elian. If you wish to walk away or choose another path, I will let you.”Yet the boy shook his head and laid his hand gently over hers.“I am no longer human. I just committed what I think to be genocide. I am not afraid. For you—the one who saved me, gave me purpose, and my only desire—I will fight. I do not care how many come. I will kill them all.”___In the year 2030, everything changed.Portals to other dimensions appeared without warning.We called them dungeons.And from them came monsters that knew only destruction.But in humanity’s darkest hour, a sliver of hope emerged.People began awakening strange abilities—Talents—to fight back.Years passed. A fragile normal returned.Our story begins with Elian Reeds, a teenage student born in this new world—without a Talent.A Defect, they called him. Useless. Broken.That is, until he meets her.A fallen villainess whose name still strikes fear and reverence alike:Bianca Valestra—divine in beauty, and colder than death.This is the tale of their meeting.The chronicle of their journey.And the legacy of their triumph.

As he woke up, Wei Xuan realized he returned to the day when the apocalypse had just begun. Wei Xuan, who had a second chance at life, immediately decided: not to go to a survivor base, and not to return to human society, instead, there is only one thing he wants to do now. Find the half-zombie Du Hang, and live with him in the city full of zombies, farming and living together until old age. Wei Xuan, who stayed in the zombie city after being reborn, unexpectedly found out that zombies are not as terrible as humans think…

- Description from Novelupdates

Four years ago, the first-ever Armageddon Class Anima appeared on Earth, destroying everything that it touched and threatening the lives of the entire world's population! But along with it came Superhumans that had the blessing of mana. They rose up to fight against the Armageddon, and leading them was the strongest Superhuman, KING.After two days and three nights of nonstop battle, KING gave his life to stop the Armageddon and give the Superhumans a fighting chance against the invading Anima, and everyone in the world remembers his good deeds and sacrifice!...Mark was just an average Superhuman living in City A. His daily routine was skipping classes and hanging out with his only two friends while hunting for Anima in secret whenever he could. But this easy life was not going to last for long as the hidden power he sacrificed a long time ago began to awaken once more![Initializing Superhuman System...][Recognizing Host... Host Recognized.][Parsing Constitution. Host Fully Healed. No Traces Of Residual Damage.]“Hello once again, Mark Vanitas. Has it already been four years?”

“Evil God of the Universe, You are in every space and time. Present in every dimension of reality and govern the darkness of our world.Oh, almighty Atticus! Hear our plea and grant us your presence tonight, awaken my Lord!”The rain had completely stopped and the strong gale had subsided into the fading raindrops. The night had turned eerily silent and only the sizzling and cackling of the fire entered their ears.Suddenly, they all felt like floating from their feet despite setting foot on the watery, hard ground, as if they were traversing into space. The darkness of the night gradually turned darker, enveloping them, morphing into everyone, like a void eating them slowly. Sequentially, their breathing turned oddly slower. Despite exaggeratedly inhaling air to breathe, it was to no avail, as if a higher entity was limiting them from breathing.Nolan felt his throat and tried to open his mouth to gasp more air but failed. Everyone but him was in a state of indignation and panic as they struggled to breathe to fill their lungs with air. Nolan tried to calm his heart. He closed his eyes and stopped inhaling air in pure panic, instead, he put his heartbeat and breathing into a rhythm. It was hard at first, but after a minute, he found his breathing gradually went stable.His whole being was in pure anticipation of what was going to happen next.After a couple more minutes, the storm completely subsided, the night turned to normal. Nolan remained standing, taking in his surroundings with his eyes closed. Everything turned silent. The eerie atmosphere and the crackling of the fire from the hay figure didn’t even enter his ears. Nolan waited for a couple more minutes, his breathing turning normal. He was reluctant to open his eyes, afraid he might ruin their ritual.“It’s alright now, Young Master. You can open your eyes now.”Nolan’s breathing hitched. He jolted on his feet as he fluttered his eyes open.“Atticus? W-why are you here?”The butler, standing in front of him, a raincoat hung on his arm, smiled. “I am everywhere, Young Master, in order to best serve you.”****Atticus, a demi-god from the underworld, was cast out of his parents' realm and banished to the human world. The reason? He had yet to give them any grandchildren.Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction and is purely the product of my imagination. Any resemblance to real people, events, or beliefs is entirely coincidental. The intention is not to disrespect or diminish any faith or tradition, but rather to explore ideas within a fictional context. Reader discretion is advised.