Chapter 5 — Gruelling failure

Snowflakes drifted gently across a small elven village while a young boy stood before a practice target. He was barely ten years old with pale hair that glowed like moonlight as magic circles swirled around his hands. He shouted the words Ice Spear and the spell shot forward to pierce clean through the wooden dummy.

​A tall human approached from behind while clapping proudly. The teacher smiled warmly and told Eldrin that he had done well because his control was exceptional. The pointed ears of the boy twitched with excitement as he asked if his teacher really thought he could be strong. The man laughed and said that at this rate Eldrin would surpass even the Seven Heroes one day. He crouched down to look the boy in the eyes and suggested that he might become strong enough that even the Death God would not stand a chance against him.

​The eyes of young Eldrin widened because the idea of being that powerful felt intoxicating. The world suddenly faded and then returned in a vision of fire twenty years later. Screams and blood filled the air while the earth shattered under the shadow of a colossal throne carved into the mountain.

​Eldrin was older and scarred as he stood trembling beside the Seven Heroes. Before them the Death God towered like a living nightmare while wreathed in darkness that devoured light itself. One of the heroes shouted that they would end it there before they all charged forward as one with glowing blades and spinning magic circles. Eldrin stayed back and gathered mana until his vision began to blur.

​Runes spiraled around him while burning white-hot as he called upon the mighty gods. Mana surged up his arms and scorched him while he prayed for the power to exterminate the monsters from the mortal realm. The ground split beneath him as he unleashed the Conflagration Sphere. All seven heroes leapt away when they heard Eldrin shout.

​A sun made of fire erupted and a wall of infernos swallowed the Death God whole. Five hundred advanced-tier flame detonations rained from the heavens and turned the battlefield into a sea of roaring destruction. Eldrin fell to his knees while exhausted and sweating as a small smile formed on his face. He breathed that it was finally over until the flames parted.

​Eldrin froze as the Death God walked out of the inferno. His flesh wove itself back together and his armor remained untouched except for a faint scorch mark on his shoulder. One of the heroes grabbed Eldrin and dragged him back just as black tendrils lashed toward them. Another hero shouted for them to get him out because Eldrin was their only chance in the next cycle.

​The eyes of Eldrin widened as he heard the mention of a next cycle. He was thrown into a teleportation circle while the six remaining heroes charged the Death God with battle cries that quickly turned into screams. Light swallowed him and the battlefield vanished.