At the end of his life, Augustus was consumed by hatred, he would have rather died on a battlefield far from here, back in the past when his glory was in bloom and the world was at his feet.

He would have chosen to die a more painful death if the child he rescued had been given a space to survive, and although the Rune Ship did not want to choose her body, Lamia had insisted, because it would slow down its recovery.

Augustus had begged for her life due to many reasons, but he could not forget the moment, towards the end, when the child had called him father. Lamia had enjoyed his pain.

There was a time when that word was meaningless to him, as worthless as everything a mortal touches. The years of pain had taught him something different, and this once mighty general who thought he was a monster, knew that in the coldness of the universe, he was nothing but a clown in the face of true evil.

“I will kill you….”

A stab to his heart through his back made him shudder but he did not stop his actions, the Champion frowned and with a snap of his finger, the wound in Augustus’ back exploded, nearly cutting him in two and it finally pushed him away, his body rolled on the ground for several dozen feet before coming to a stop.

He turned his weary head, gasping for breath as his life began to leave his wretched body, it was amazing how life clung to his body despite all the torture he had gone through. 𝘦𝑎.𝒸ℴ

Augustus could see the last of the Abominations falling, their bodies turned to trees, ‘fitting,’ he thought, ‘they gave life in the end. I envy them for I created no life in my time, I only took it.”

Feeling a surge of heat beside him he strained to turn and saw the air rippling as if it was steaming and a figure revealed itself.

He traced his eyes up black boots and a long toned leg, up to a beautiful face with green eyes that was looking down at him with anger and disgust,

“I know you don’t I?” Augustus whispered.

His only reply would be Maeve stepping on his head and turning it to mush.

Augustus’ body did not turn into a tree, perhaps his bodily essence was too weak, instead, he turned into hundreds of tiny red flowers that resembled dandelions.

A passing wind blew past and swept the flowers away, and for a brief moment, the flower seemed to take the shape of a man with a girl beside it. The girl was holding on to the jacket of the man before the breeze dispersed that image, and the flowers flew into the sky before vanishing forever.

Absomet was the only one who noticed this phenomenon, and she felt a slight sense of loss, after all, Augustus was once a mighty General who had control of her weapons and armies at one time.

He was a genius of the Tiberius bloodline, one of the very rare individuals to have access to multiple Incarnations, a feat that Absomet had never seen repeated by any Dominator even after a million years.

‘If you did not fall you would have made a mighty warrior. Your name would have been remembered in the halls of your father.’

This was truly a genius, yet he passed away with barely any notice. No one would remember him, no one would sing a song in his name. His quest for power and glory had ended in madness and sadness.

At the root of all this pain was someone clad in red, whose lust for bloodshed knew no bounds.

‘Tiberius I hate you. But most of all, I hate what you make of us your children. You have no plan for the future. You bring nothing but death. Hahaha, what was I thinking, of course, he is the God of War, he craves nothing but a battle without end.’

®

“You stupid bitch… you think you have won?” Lamia’s head screamed, her unearthly vitality still kept blood oozing from her head in steady streams.

Maeve swung her hand, and an air blade sliced off the lower part of Lamia’s jaw leaving her tongue flapping like a fish out of water inside a jawbone no longer connected to the head.

Maeve walked to the Abomination Champion who knelt on a single knee, his head bowed while presenting his blade to her,

She was silent for a while before she brought her hand and pushed the head of the Abomination so she could look at him more closely, observing his features she frowned before asking in surprise,

“Regolf?… Is that you?”

The shoulders of the Champion shook, before he shook his head side to side, “I was Regolf, a loyal son… I was Steisa, a beloved sister… I was Rose, a caring mother, but now I’m not, but I did not forget my oath. I greet the Handmaiden of the Lord and I submit my weapon to your care, to wield as you see fit.”

Maeve was silent before asking, ”

Why did you go against your creator?”

“She lost her hold over me, her Core had been taken, and this shadow no longer has the power to control me. I am here to seek refuge and to pay for the sins I have committed.”

“Who took her Core, the Gods of Trion?”

Absomet coughed, “I should be able to answer that question far better than he can, you see, for I was there.”

“Oh, who are you?”

“Who am I? Well, how can I say this, young woman, you should have heard my name in every corner of the Empire,”

Absomet cleared her throat, “Before you stands the Spear of Destruction, the Iron Rain, Widowmaker, Scourge of the Universe, and many more that would take hours to recite, but I can do so, if you want to hear it all… all fantastic titles if I do say so myself, and let’s not forget my favorite, Baddest Metal Boss Chick, a mouthful, I know, but I was young. Okay, your eyes are changing, and you are about to attack… Here stands Absomet, the Greatest Rune Ship ever created.”

“I have not heard of you,” Maeve looked away from her, “Bind them, and bring them with us… including that… thing, bring her lower jawbone with you for when she needs to speak.” Looking back at the Champion, her eyes softened a bit, “I trust you would not fight against this.”

“My life is yours, Handmaiden.”

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮