What is the most powerful and painful betrayal? Could it be from a close friend? A family member? Or from a lover? Yeah, all of these can be called real tragedies, but there is another level above. 

What if someone has been betrayed by the whole world, and their beliefs about something sacredly important to them turned out to be false?

After that, there are only two choices, either to fall into unrestrained rage and desire revenge or to plunge into the abyss of sadness and desire only justice, and Sacrificial Knight was one of those who happened it.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Sacrificial Knight's body trembled while trickles of blood flowed from his wounds. His gaze had completely changed, he was now looking at Zayne not as an adversary but as his nemesis. He wanted to kill Zayne and was willing to do anything.

"What's going on...? Are you really connected to Chaos...?" Zayne assumed, though he had not seen such a reaction even from Enar, who was an Apostle and a direct enemy of the Fate.

Sacrificial Knight's pupils narrowed as he muttered, "Chaos...? No... All my life I've been solely loyal to Fate, perhaps I should have chosen the other side right away..."

"What... Would you like to be a follower of the Chaos...?" Zayne asked in a daze as his eyes went wide.

Sacrificial Knight remained silent until in a muffled voice he said, "Perhaps... I suppose... Anyway, it's too late for me to think about it... However, you should ponder a few things if you don't want to be in my place someday...?"

Zayne stared at Sacrificial Knight, he didn't know why, but he felt he had to hear it, by all means.

Sacrificial Knight took a deep sigh filled with sadness and muttered, "You're still young and obviously think everything in our world is clear, Fate is good, Chaos is evil, I used to think so too... However... Even the sun has spots, and even into the black holes, light tries to enter... The world really is a complicated thing, too bad I realized it too late."

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Drops of blood fell on the spear, turning it crimson and making it much longer and more powerful. Spikes emerged on the hilt, digging into Sacrificial Knight's hand, but he didn't pay attention to it.

"Originally, I didn't want to fight against you and was going to resist the curse as hard as I could... but now things have changed... If you are like her... Then I should kill you before you ruin hundreds of lives."

Zayne was puzzled, "What...? What the hell are you talking about?!"

Whooooooooooooosh.

Sacrificial Knight didn't answer, instead, he sprinted forward, cutting the distance between them at breakneck speed. Before Zayne could blink, the crimson spear came crashing down on him from top to bottom with terrifying might.

Zayne's pupils narrowed as he put out a block, the spear fell on his sword, and a wave of recoil ran through his body. The ground beneath Zayne broke from the pressure while his hands trembled violently, struggling to handle the massive weight.

"Not bad... An ordinary man would not have been able to withstand this attack... Fate has actually endowed you with power... However... It is not enough." Sacrificial Knight's hand turned into a blur, in a heartbeat, his fist slammed into Zayne's face.

'What...? Why didn't I have time to react...?!' Zayne inwardly exclaimed since he didn't even realize what had happened.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Blood gushed from Sacrificial Knight's arm as the impact knocked Zayne aside, to the other side of the arena.

Zayne smashed through several stone pillars with his back before stopping under a pile of rubble. Sacrificial Knight acted without hesitation, and before the cloud of dust could settle, he appeared nearby and plunged his spear into the ground.

Whooooooooooooooosh.

Zayne, at the last moment, like a shadow, jumped aside, disappearing from his attack radius. The Crimson spear slammed into the ground, covering everything around it with thick cracks.

"You're fast and agile... But, how are you going to beat me...?" Sacrificial Knight muttered in a muffled tone before twisting his spear.

The ground trembled as red energy emerged from the cracks, quickly transforming into a multitude of bloody ghosts. With jaws wide open, they headed toward Zayne, intent on tearing him apart.

"Your power is greater than mine, I admit..." Zayne said calmly, then with an absolutely confident look, stepped forward, "However, unlike you, I haven't used my skills yet."

Two scarlet wings opened behind Zayne, like his faithful companions, as his gaze became sharp as blades.

The ground crackled as Zayne's silhouette blurred, disappearing faster than thought speed. All the ghosts were ripped as Zayne emerged to the left of the Sacrificial Knight, while his sword sliced through the wounded flesh.

A stream of blood gushed out as a few drops fell onto Zayne's face, quickly evaporating due to the immense heat that contrasted with his ice-cold blue eyes.

"Argh...!" Sacrificial Knight cried out in pain, pressing his palm against his wound.

Zayne stepped aside, knocked the blood off his sword, and turned around, "What next? You've already lost, not because you're weak, but because you don't know whether you want to fight or not."

Sacrificial Knight was silent, he just stared at the blue moon with a sad look. A bitter smile appeared on his face, hidden beneath his helmet, but it was clear from his gaze.

"Well, I'll just keep fighting, get ready." Sacrificial Knight muttered, before disappearing.

Whoooooooooooooosh.

He showed up behind Zayne, as their weapons collided, throwing off sparks, then it happened again and again.

They moved like two shadows across the battlefield, clashing many times, tossing each other aside to lunge forward once more. Neither of their attacks had any meaningful result, however, Sacrificial Knight was gradually coming to his limit.

Tap.

Sacrificial Knight and Zayne stood against each other, hesitant to attack for the first time in a long distance.

"You're dying." Zayne said confidently, staring at the blood trails that filled the entire battlefield, and that blood belonged only to Sacrificial Knight.

"Hah... Is it really that obvious? What do you think I should do, anyway? Just fight." Sacrificial Knight smirked, accepting his imminent end.

Zayne nodded as he lowered his sword, "I don't know what happened to you in the past, but I want to show you something one last time."

"Hmm...?" Sacrificial Knight gave him a questioning expression.

Zayne took a deep breath, "I agree with you that the world is not black and white, and I have something special for you. I'll present to you that even Apostle can experience fear, and the flames can be as cold as ancient ice."

Whoooooooooooooooooosh.

With a flash of azure flame, a book covered in streams of blue fire appeared in Zayne's hand.

"What is this...?" Sacrificial Knight muttered with wide eyes. He felt an unusual aura from this book that, for some reason, was unlike anything else.

"This is what I got after defeating Apostle, the one who, in the last moments of his life, between Fate and Chaos, chose Fear." Zayne said majestically as the book shattered into tiny pieces, entering his mind.