The Judge and the Reaper

Underground | Seira City | Cathedral of Atlant

Inside the cathedral, She came to an abrupt stop.

Before her stood two enormous statues.

One depicted her.

The other depicted the blue-haired woman from the vision—the warrior with wings of water. Her giant greatsword was embedded in the ground before the statue like a monument to a forgotten legend.

Broken chains lay scattered across the floor.

Nameless slowly stepped forward and looked up at the statues.

Then his eyes changed.

The darkness within them deepened, turning into a hollow, endless black.

The mermaid turned toward him, her expression twisting into anger.

“What are you?!”

Nameless opened his mouth.

But the voice that answered was not his alone.

Behind him, She saw it—

A blue silhouette.

The warrior woman from before had appeared like a phantom at his back, her lips moving in sync with his.

“I am (Atlant’s) the Nameless Reaper.”

Her body trembled.

Her blue eyes widened, overflowing with shock as she swam upward toward the ceiling of the cathedral.

“That’s impossible!” she cried. “She’s dead! Then who are you?!”

Smoke began to rise around Nameless.

“She was freeing herself from the chains, but I think in this state you don't want to talk…”

His voice deepened.

“Absolute Zero.”

His skin turned snow-white, glowing.

The temperature inside the cathedral plummeted in an instant, and frost began spreading across the floor and pillars. Even the insides of his eyes glowed white.

He looked up at her.

“I am the Nameless Reaper,” he said coldly. “And I will break your chains. So tell me your name, depressed maniac.”

Her face twisted with rage.

The mermaid's white hair darkened into a deeper blue, and water gathered in her hands, taking shape.

A trident formed—azure blue, adorned with flowing white insignias.

“I AM THE JUDGE OF ATLANT!” she shouted.

Cracks began to form in the air itself.

“MY NAME IS AVARIL—”

The atmosphere shattered further, splitting into streams of cascading water.

“THE LAST MERMAID!”

Waterfalls exploded around them, flooding the cathedral.

Avaril fixed her eyes on Nameless.

Silence.

Not even the crashing of water could be heard anymore.

She raised her trident.
Then a deep voice.

“Hasrah—”

A beam of light burst around Nameless’s right hand.

A greatsword of pure radiance materialized instantly.

His teeth sharpened into fangs.

Then he swung.

Cracks in the air.

Silence.

Light.

And in the next instant—

An explosion so overwhelming it crushed the soul.

The cathedral was blown apart into millions of fragments.

When the light faded, only an open field remained. Petals drifted through the air around them like the remains of a ruined prayer.

Avaril stood frozen.

She looked down at her body.

Not a single wound.

No injury.

No pain.

Then she looked at Nameless.

The smoke surrounding him was fading. The greatsword of light dissolved into nothingness, and he reached behind his back, taking the blade from his sword bag.

He unsheathed it.

The dark color faded from the blade, revealing only shining silver.

Nameless lowered the tip toward the ground.

“Feel free to vent,” he said. “I’ll fight you.”

Avaril’s face twisted.

Anger.

Sorrow.

Rage.

All of it collapsed into one emotion as tears filled her eyes.

“What is your goal?!”

“I’m doing this for a friend…”

Avaril gritted her teeth.

Behind Nameless, she could see it again—the blue silhouette of that woman.

She tightened her grip on her trident.

Then she lunged.

Water spiraled around her body as she rushed at him with the force of a tidal wave. The flood surged forward—but the instant it reached Nameless, it froze solid.

Avaril did not stop.

She broke away from the frozen water, launched herself into the sky, spun through the air, and brought the trident crashing down toward him.

Nameless met the attack effortlessly.

A perfect parry.

And in the next instant, he was behind her.

Blood splashed onto the ground.

Avaril staggered.

“IMPOSSIBLE!”

With a furious scream, she attacked again.

And again.

And again.

Each strike was faster, heavier, more desperate than the last.

Nameless was slowly pushed back—

Yet he parried every single attack.

“JUST KILL ME!” Avaril screamed. “DON’T MAKE FUN OF ME!”

Nameless grinned faintly.

“I don’t kill the dead. Never have.”

He looked at her calmly, almost gently.

“To be honest… now I understand why she loved you, Avaril.”

Avaril froze.

“She…?”

Her breath caught in her throat.

“Why…? She’s dead. I saw her die in my arms.”

She attacks Nameless again, and yet again he parries.

Avaril kneels overwhelmed and closing her eyes, in distant memories.

Atlant | Last Days

Inside the cathedral, the Reaper of Atlant leaned against her own statue. Her greatsword rested on the ground beside her.

Avaril stood nearby, staring at the engraving carved into the stone.

Then she sighed and turned her gaze toward the city outside.

Through the cathedral’s opening, Atlant stretched into the horizon.

Its buildings were lined with shield emblems. Soldiers and civilians alike moved through the streets, armed with weapons both magical and mechanical.

“People are willing to fight…” Avaril said quietly.

“They always are,” the Reaper replied. “But the High Council is dead. The Shades are too strong, and the military is already struggling to protect our gates.”

She lowered her eyes.

“It’s a lost cause.”

“Don’t be so negative,” Avaril said, trying to smile. “We’ve beaten greater threats before.”

The Reaper looked at her sadly.

“You know as well as I do,” she murmured. “They attack every civilization that reaches a certain point.”

Her voice grew quieter.

“And now, we’re next.”

Avaril floated closer to her.

“Look up.”

The Reaper did.

Avaril leaned in, looked deep into her eyes—

And kissed her.

Avaril pulled back only slightly, her voice resolute.

“Even if this is our end, our history will never be forgotten.”

She placed a hand on the Reaper’s cheek.

“And I refuse to disappear without a fight.”

Her eyes burned with determination.

“So let’s save Atlant.”

The Reaper smiled.

“I’ll do my best.”

Atlant | Judgment Day

Avaril soared through the sky.

Above Atlant, Shades and monstrous beasts swarmed in endless numbers. Beneath them, the citizens fought with everything they had left.

It was a final struggle.

A desperate resistance.

But the enemy was infinite.

And slowly, the city began to burn.

Avaril descended, her heart pounding.

Then she saw her.

A woman wearing an advanced exosuit.

Long blonde hair flowed from behind the helmet, and engraved at her waist were the words:

Project Nimbus

The Reaper of Atlant stood before her.

“AGAIN!” the Reaper shouted. “I’LL FIGHT YOU OVER AND OVER!”

The blonde woman merely snapped her fingers.

Shades emerged from all directions.

In that instant, Avaril dove at full speed and slammed her trident into the woman with all her might.

A crack appeared across the helmet.

“Avaril!” the Reaper cried out.

“THESE ARE OUR PEOPLE!” Avaril screamed.

Then—

Yellow light.

Avaril crashed to the ground, gravely wounded.

Blood spilled from her lips.

“I’LL KILL YOU…” the reaper rasped.

The Reaper burst forward in a fury, rushing the woman with everything she had left.

The woman in the exosuit pointed her arm toward her.

“You broke the rules,” she said coldly. “So I will erase your civilization.”

Her voice is cold.

“Nobody will remember it. It will be just a foolish story in the long history of the world.” she mocks.

Blue wings spread from the Reaper’s back as she launched herself into the sky, flames of azure racing across the battlefield.

The woman watched her approach with mild interest.

“Someone from the old civilization…” she said. “Those wings… interesting.”

Avaril forced herself back to her feet.

She raised her trident.

The Reaper manifested her greatsword.

And together, the two of them attacked the woman in the exosuit.

Atlant | Aftermath

The city was gone.

Atlant had been reduced to ruin.

With the last of her strength, Avaril swam toward City Hall. As she moved, she looked back one final time at the streets filled with the dead—

At the citizens who had lost their lives—

And at the center of the city, where the Reaper had fallen.

Her body was fading.

Avaril reached the throne room at the heart of City Hall.

Slowly, she sat down upon the throne.

She looked out over the city one last time.

Rage and sorrow burned together in her chest.

“I will end this tragedy… my people…”

And there, upon the throne, Avaril died.

Seira City | Underground | Atlant | Cathedral

Avaril’s eyes snapped open.

Reality returned.

She was back in the present.

Back before Nameless.

“The Reaper…” she whispered. “She’s alive.”

Nameless nodded.

“But she can’t enter the city,” he said. “I am her messenger.”

Avaril stared at him for a moment—

Then suddenly laughed.

A heavy, broken laugh.

Tears streamed down her face.

“So the safeguards I created with my death…” she murmured. “They kept her from ever returning to this city.”

Her smile trembled.

“What a tragedy.”

Nameless stepped closer.

“I am not your enemy,” he said. “And I’m not here for information, allies, or your technology.”

He stopped in front of her.

“I’m only a curious messenger. So tell me—what do you want me to say to her?”

Avaril broke down, her face hitting nearly the ground.
Nameless caught her as she collapsed and held her gently in his arms. Her hands trembled as she buried her face against him, crying uncontrollably.

“Can you tell her…” she whispered, her voice shaking, “that none of it was her fault…?”

Nameless silently nodded.

“Tell her… I was waiting for her return,” Avaril said. “I protected everything I could… everything that remained after she died.”

Behind them, the illusionary city began to collapse again.

The final moments of Atlant replayed around them.

Shades swarmed across the broken streets.

The citizens resisted—

But they were no longer strong enough.

“Tell her… that I’m sorry…”

Avaril’s heartbeat weakened.

Nameless looked down at her.

She was beginning to fade.

“And…” she whispered.

Her body became translucent.

“Tell her… that Avaril loved her until the very end.”

The city shattered.

At that same moment, Nameless cut through the air with his blade.

The illusion split apart in blue light.

Then—

He opened his eyes.

He was sitting once more upon the glass throne inside the ruined chapel.

And before him stood Avaril.

Not whole.

Not alive.

But fading.

“That explains why you could enter,” she said softly. “You can cut through the boundaries… You crushed my perfect Illusion...”

She looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Promise me you’ll tell her everything. ”

Her voice became smaller.

“And please… don’t let a tragedy like this happen again.”

Nameless stood and gently patted her head.

“I’ll tell her,” he said. “And Avaril…”

He looked at her quietly.

“She loved you deeply. Even now, Atlant remains part of her soul.”

Avaril’s expression softened.

“So you can rest in peace.”

A tearful smile appeared on her face.

“Nameless…”

Her voice trembled.

“Thank you. It was a good dream today...”

Then she faded away.

Only faint remnants of blue light remained.

The illusion broke completely.

The chapel was ruined.

Weapons lay scattered across the broken ground.

Then Nameless’s phone rang.

He answered.

“So?” came Maya’s voice from the other end. “Did anyone survive?”

“Only the remnants of the past,” Nameless replied.

He began walking toward the gate.

“Do you want to research this city?” Maya asked. “We’re talking about Atlant.”

“Maya,” Nameless said calmly, “you’ll have to ask her. Our business here is done.”

Maya sighed.

“And… is anything still intact?”

Nameless stepped through the gate.

“The city was broken long ago,” he said. “But I heard a story…”

He looked up.

Above him, fish swam through the suspended water, yet not a single drop fell from the sky.

A faint smile crossed his face.

“…about someone who kept fighting the darkness, even while protecting a city that had already been destroyed.”

And with that, Nameless walked on.