I look at Opal for a moment, her gaze fixed on me. "I suppose it's only fair that I tell my side of the story," I say, taking a deep breath to steady myself. "My summoning was a fluke. I wasn't meant to be the hero, and the gods knew it. It's why they stripped me of my divine powers when they became aware of my existence. Why they gave me an ultimatum."

"An ultimatum?" Opal repeats, her brow furrowing.

I nod. "Quite simple, actually. To kill all the demons. If I could do that, they'd forgive me for my past and assure me that when my time comes, I'd be reborn with their highest blessings each cycle." 

"I always suspected that was the case... But why?" Opal asks.

"They dislike pawns they cannot toy with." I laugh under my breath. "It goes against everything a "god" is." I return to where I left off. "And no, killing the demons wasn't what they'd forgive me for. They would forgive me for what they described as 'tainted love'." I grit my teeth, my gaze falling to the floor as the memory fills me with familiar rage. "I lived in a world without gods, even though there was a point I desperately wished one existed. But no matter how much I prayed and pleaded, no one answered."

I lift my eyes back to Opal's. "I spat in their faces. God didn't exist when I needed him most, so why would I give a shit about what these gods desired? Why would I let them corrupt the love I had?"

Opal is silent for a long moment, clearly struggling to process my revelations. "Why did you wish for a god? What made you hate them with such intensity? What is your goal?" she finally asks, her voice soft.

"Before I can answer that, there's one thing you have to know. I was never summoned from my world. I was pulled from Purgatory, years after I killed myself."

Shadow could only watch as the battle raged on, the valiant efforts of Alex's companions slowly crumbling in the face of Azure's relentless onslaught. He moved his minions with grim efficiency, shielding the others from debris whenever he could. But as the minutes ticked by, it became all too clear that this was a losing battle. Everyone fighting was nearing their limits, bloodied and bruised, their mana reserves sputtering dangerously low. If nothing changed, Shadow knew they would all be dead within moments.

He glanced over his shoulder at Jessy, who knelt in tense concentration. 

"Any change?" he asked, not daring to hope.

Jessy shook her head, teeth gritted in frustration. She had been scouring the astral plane for any trace of Alex, using his lifeless body as a tether, but something - some strange, immensely powerful presence - kept forcing her back each time she drew close. This level of manipulation was beyond any mage she knew of, living or dead. Which left only one chilling possibility.

"The gods are keeping him from us. For what reason, I cannot say." Jessy pushed herself to her feet, a steely glint in her eye. "There's nothing we can do but wait. So it's about time I play my part."

"What do you plan on doing?"

Jessy's gaze landed on Princess. "I don't know why, but I believe she'll make better use of my mana than me."

Before Shadow could respond, Jessy laid a hand on Princess's shoulder. In the span of a heartbeat, a massive explosion rocked the battlefield, waves of searing black flames pouring off of Princess's form as Jessy collapsed. Shadow lunged forward, catching Jessy and cradling her limp body.

"Are you alright?"

Jessy managed a weak nod. "I-I'm not much use on the battlefield, but at least I have a large mana pool."

An understatement if Shadow had ever heard one. For Princess to wield black flames of that magnitude, Jessy must have siphoned mana equivalent to hundreds of souls. It dwarfed the power Princess had drawn from him, and though it paled in comparison to the legends of old, Shadow found himself in reluctant awe of these humans' dedication to Alex. Their love for him burned every bit as fiercely as his own.

And what had he done? Played the part of a glorified spectator. Shadow sighed heavily as he lowered Jessy to the ground, ensuring she was stable before rising to his full height. He turned to face Azure just as her wild, rage-filled eyes locked onto Princess - even in her feral state; she recognized the threat that had just emerged. Azure let out a bone-chilling roar and charged at Princess, murder in every line of her powerful body.

Alex's companions threw themselves in her path, desperate to buy Princess even a few seconds more, but Azure barreled through them like a juggernaut. Only a few precious yards separated Azure from her target when Shadow made his decision, he was born with this mixing of breeds, and he'd damn well use it. He reached deep within himself, concentrating every ounce of mana in his body, and unleashed an attack he had never dared attempt before - a technique that could only be performed here, on this blood-soaked field littered with centuries of restless dead.

Lifting his hands, Shadow made a circle with his fingers and peered through it at Azure's oncoming form.

"Endless grief," he muttered, his voice echoing with ancient power.

A massive dragon skull materialized out of thin air and clamped its jaws around Azure's neck, slamming her to the ground with a sickening crunch. Azure thrashed and clawed at the skull with savage fury, her talons raking jagged furrows through the bone - but no sooner had it cracked than the damage erased itself. The skull pulsed with malevolent energy as a skeletal body coalesced around it, barbed claws pinning Azure to the blood-slicked earth.

"Shadow, how did you summon a dragon?" Lacey demanded, her eyes wide with disbelief as she and the other generals gathered around him. "And how is it as strong as Azure?"

Shadow's face was a grim mask, his gaze never leaving the battlefield. "Take a closer look."

Lacey squinted at the dragon, nausea rising in her throat as realization slowly dawned. At first glance, the creature appeared to be no more than a skeletal mockery of Azure herself. But there was something profoundly unnatural about it, a wrongness that went beyond the obvious. The texture of its bones seemed to ripple and shift, ancient hatred oozing from every pore. And in a single awful flash of clarity, the terrible truth hit her.

"T-They're the dragon clan," Lacey whispered, her face ashen. "Aren't they?"

"The fear, the hate they hold for Azure - it's the only thing that will hold her, but not for long." Shadow turned to Princess, his expression dark with urgency. "We're out of time. If any of you have mana left to spare, give it to her. Now."

"So why do any of this?" Opal asked, struggling to comprehend the enormity of what I'd revealed. "If not to return to your world, then what?"

I look off into the distance. "I was hoping to kill the gods."

"Alex, you must know that's impossible. They're gods." Opal's voice was gentle but insistent.

"Maybe, but since I had no other reason to live, I decided to let my hate guide me. But you were right; as I began to get to know everyone, doubt began to eat away at me. How could I drag them into a fight I knew they would never survive?" I swallowed hard. "Originally, burning out my soul was meant to be my trump card. But after finding Bane's family, I… I couldn't go through with it." 

"What do you mean, trump card?"

"Emotion is the core of what makes us living beings. It's a vast, complex spectrum, and those who learn to harness its power can turn the simplest spells into world-shattering cataclysms." I draw in a shaky breath, my heart hammering against my ribs. "And of all those emotions, hate burns the hottest. Hate so pure, so all-consuming, that it warps the very fabric of existence. When you pour your entire being into a single purpose, fueled by that kind of loathing… there's little beyond your reach."

Opal's eyes widen, a flicker of fear sparking in their depths as my intent becomes clear. "You were going to turn yourself into a monster?"

"In a manner of speaking," I agree heavily. "But as I said… I couldn't keep my distance. Not in the end."

I let my eyes slip shut, surrendering to the flood of bittersweet memories. The way something deep within me had begun to stir the moment I met Shadow, a flicker of warmth in the numbing cold, like the first tentative notes of a melody I'd thought forever lost. The slow, inevitable unfurling of a love I'd believed long withered and dead, coaxed back to life by Princess's steady presence, by the fierce, unwavering loyalty that burned at her core. 

The startling rush of joy, achingly unfamiliar, as Lilith and I sparred and bantered, the sheer delight of finding a kindred spirit where I'd least expected it. Lacey's quiet strength, the purity of her devotion to her world and its people, was so profound that it stole my breath. And Bane… the shadows that clung to him, the weight of impossible choices and unimaginable sacrifices, an all-too-familiar darkness that resonated in my bones.

"I love them," I whisper, the words tearing themselves from someplace deep and raw inside me, a confession and a revelation all at once. "All of them, in their own ways." I swallow past the sudden tightness in my throat, forcing myself to continue. "And Azure…" My voice breaks, a shard of glass lodged in my chest. "I miss her," I breathe, the admission burning like acid on my tongue. 

I can feel Opal's gaze on me, but I can't bring myself to meet it. 

"Isn't that pathetic? Even with all the hate festering inside me, poisoning me from within… none of it seemed to matter when we fought. When we danced between life and death, I felt more alive than I had in decades." I swallow hard, my throat tight with emotion. "Even when I approached her with my plan, seeing the way she reacted to my compliments, the flush on her cheeks, the light in her eyes… I didn't realize how much I cherished those moments. How much I lived for them, even though I hated myself for it."

My thoughts begin to drift, my gaze turning inward. "And that look of disappointment on her face when I told her she was beautiful in her true form…" I trail off, a bitter smile tugging at my lips. "Out of everything I may have lied about, every truth I twisted… that was the one time I was completely and utterly honest."

I release a long, shuddering breath, feeling a weight lift from my shoulders - a burden I hadn't even realized I'd been carrying. "Funny, isn't it?" I muse, more to myself than to Opal. "I can't seem to do anything right. Not even this."

The sharp crack of Opal's palm against my cheek snaps me back to the present. I stare at her, stunned, as tears stream down her face.

"You're right that hate can bend reality," she says fiercely, her voice rough with emotion. "But so can love, Alex. So can hope, and faith, and the unbreakable bonds we forge with one another." 

Before I can react, she pulls me into her arms, crushing me against her chest as if she can somehow shield me from the darkness through sheer force of will. I stiffened for a moment, startled by the sudden contact - but as her warmth seeps into me, I feel something deep within me begin to crumble.

"Save them," Opal whispers, her breath hot against my ear. "Save the world that's become your home, the people who've brought light back into your life. Become the hero I know you were always meant to be."

A harsh, humorless laugh scrapes its way out of my throat. "Even if I wanted to, it doesn't change the fact that I'm stuck here," I remind her, my voice muffled by the fabric of her shirt.

Opal pulled back just enough to catch my gaze, her eyes blazing with conviction. "Didn't you hear me before?" She leaned in until our foreheads touched, her breath mingling with mine. "I will support you with my entire being, Alex. No matter what comes, I'll be with you. Always."

With an earth-shattering crack, Azure exploded out of the bone dragon's remains, her eyes wild and feral as they fixed on Princess with single-minded intensity. The others were struggling now, pushed to the brink of collapse, having poured every last drop of mana they possessed into Princess. She stood firm amidst the chaos, power still coalescing around her, Shadow a grim-faced sentinel at her back.

"It's time," he said, his voice rough with strain.

Princess let out a breath, mana burning in her lungs like dragonfire. She met Azure's murderous gaze head-on, unflinching in the face of her all-consuming rage.

"I thought I taught you better manners than this, Azure," she called out, a mirthless smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "It's rude to make an old dog work." 

Azure roared, the sound like a thousand damned souls shrieking in unison and charged. The ground shook with each thunderous impact of her claws, the air crackling with the force of her fury.

"Get back, all of you," Princess commanded, her voice ringing with authority. "I can't promise you'll survive if you stay too close."

"Then we won't overstay our welcome." Lilith grabs Jessy and Alex as she quickly leaps away.

The other generals and Alex's companions followed suit, scattering like leaves before a hurricane as they fled the epicenter of the impending cataclysm. Princess watched them go, a flicker of pride sparking in her chest despite the direness of their situation. They had fought bravely, all of them - but this final battle was hers to face alone.

All she could hope, like before, a miracle would show itself when all seemed lost. But before that could happen, she had to do but one thing. Gritting her teeth so hard she tasted blood, Princess seized her right wrist with her left hand, pouring every ounce of her formidable will into the simple act of raising her arm. It was a feat that would have been trivial in her prime - but now, with her older body and this outpouring of mana, it took a herculean effort just to force her trembling limbs into a semblance of a fighting stance.

Each step Azure makes is closing the gap in fractions of a second, but time feels as if it's crawling in this moment. Even as Azure opens her mouth, prepared to swallow Princess whole, every second extends almost indefinitely in Princess' eyes. It wasn't until the light of day became a shadow in her maw that Princess took her swing.

"Lie down." Is all Princess said just as her fist was about to connect with the inner jaw of Azure.