"It still burns bright in my memory." Two High Grades, Commander and Enoris, were tasked with conquering a Granian colony within the Granians’ half of Akrina. The chosen planet was mostly made of ice, its landmass consisting of nothing but thick permafrost, icebergs, and snow. With cold temperatures, strong winds, and long daylight hours, the planet was perfect for the growth of minerals and resources highly sought after throughout the galaxy. For that reason, the Ethisians took it upon themselves to add this planet to their cluster of colonies, a task given to the two High Grades well-known for conquering whatever they set their eyes on. It took some time and struggle, but finally, High Grades Commander and Enoris successfully took over the planet, its resources, and its inhabitants, who were given a small portion to live separate from the Ethisians. For months, the Ethisians mined constantly, ensuring they left nothing behind. The longer they stayed on the planet, the higher the chances of attack from the Granians, since the planet they had stolen was of high value. And just as they expected, the planet was attacked again by Granian soldiers. At that time, the Ethisians weren’t keen on accepting the existence of the Blood Mutant warriors belonging to the Granians. They thought their enemy was using some sort of fear tactic to get into the heads of their soldiers—a tactic that didn’t work on them, obviously. However, that all changed the day Commander, Enoris, and all the Elite and Upper Grade Warrior classes found themselves face-to-face with the Granians and three Humans—Ace, Cherry, and Skyler. Accompanied by a sizable army of Granian soldiers, the Humans confronted the Ethisians, with Ace emitting such malevolent energy that the High Grades shuddered in fear—fear that made them think the Humans had learned Eneraflux. To their dismay, the energy the young man emitted was in no way related to Eneraflux, yet it had somewhat similar properties. Nonetheless, the Ethisians weren’t going to let a simple surge of energy scare them. In fact, they used it as encouragement to push them to fight until the Humans were taken down...and it worked. "The Elites, Enoris, and I were given charge over managed to drain the male Human’s energy," Commander reported to their superior, who listened intently. "Once his energy was drained, he passed out, and his unconscious body was brought to our post, where we chained him and prepared to hand him over to the High Ruler. However..." Commander, at that time, felt the same malevolent energy pierce through his consciousness, followed by the scent of Ethisian blood flooding his senses. Looking back, he noticed the Human’s body levitating in the air. In front of him lay the bodies of the Elites who brought the Human to the High Grades, none with their heads attached to their bodies anymore. That same energy he felt earlier was now three times stronger, stronger than what the Blood Mutant standing before him was emitting. "His strength was unlike anything I’d ever seen. I felt bloodlust escaping from his body as he fought and slaughtered every last one of my soldiers," Commander continued to report, his countenance shifting from horror to anger. "This Blood Mutant moved faster than anything I’ve ever seen, killed my soldiers quicker than any weapon ever could, and did the unthinkable." The Ethisian stood to his feet and began to slowly raise his arms in imitation of what the Blood Mutant had done. He looked at the man standing before him with anger on his face as he said, "That Blood Mutant raised his hands and uttered some words which I didn’t hear, but in an instant, I saw the bodies of my fallen comrades turn into versions of themselves made entirely out of blood. "It’s like they came back to life but didn’t at the same time. I could tell they were my soldiers, but they no longer followed my or Enoris’ commands. They followed him and did as he commanded." "Interesting," the man muttered, his interest piqued at this point as he urged the Ethisian to continue with his account. "Go on, what else happened? If you survived, I’m guessing you managed to defeat him, right?" "Far from it," Commander answered quickly, his eyes burning with fury as the memory continued to haunt him. "My army was decimated. The ice field we stood on was covered with nothing but blood, towering spikes of blood, dead bodies, and my soldiers who were as red as the blood of beasts. "Enoris and I were the last to go...well, she was the last to go." Recomposing himself for a moment, Commander remained quiet until he was able to speak without letting his emotions get the best of him. He looked at the man, then Elenor, then Enor before continuing. "She and I fought side-by-side and we managed to hold our own against him. Her strength and mine managed to cause a few injuries to the Human, but it did something worse to both of us..." "You became cocky," Enor whispered, as he too remembered how the man standing before him had done something similar. "It seems Humans have a habit of letting their enemies think they’re winning." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚·𝔫𝔢𝔱 "Continue, Ethisian. Finish your account." "As the High Ruler said, we became cocky, and our overconfidence blinded us to the Mutant’s real strength. The Mutant had enough and killed Enoris first. He then..." The Ethisian choked on his own words, tears of bitterness and anger running down his face. "...he turned her into a blood version of herself and made her fight me. My own colleague, a soldier I fought many wars with, was turned against me and used to beat me to a pulp. "When I thought it couldn’t get any worse, the Human spared my life but then placed a condition on me. He said something along the lines of, ’You are to tell me everything the Ethisians are planning, or else the poison in your blood will kill you.’ That is what I have been carrying until you took it away from me. That is my account of what I experienced." "This brings me to my question," Enor, having waited for Commander to finish his account, looked at the man again and asked, "What can we do to this Human to weaken him or, better yet, kill him and the others?"