The high-noon sun shone down on the blood-stained battlefield. The piled bodies of deceased Shinobi glowed crimson as the salty liquid pooled beneath them. The smell of smoke filled the atmosphere and the chunks of scorched rocks dotted the wasteland as a result of Ace’s last meteor strike. Black silhouettes spawned on the horizon as the second wave of allied forces approached him. Ace drew his enchanted Katana, The Mirror of Deception, which had a jet black blade, red writing engraved into it, and highly reflective panels lining it. His girlfriend Snowflake, deep, ocean-blue eyes widened with shock at the sight and drew up her crimson katanas. Her black robe and cape blew in the wind as dark clouds swirled above. Her white, emo-styled hair was blowing down into her face, and she put up her hood to stop it. Ace handed her the white and blue fox mask she had given to him the day they met. She put it on and sighed.
“Are we seriously going to do this?” she asked hesitantly.
Ace flexed his red eyes, causing them to glow. “We have no choice. The Allies wanted a war, and now they’ve got one.”
“No! Don’t do this! There has to be another way! It hurts to think that we’re going to be killing more people!” Snowflake cried.
The dark anti-hero glanced at her. “Sacrifice is part of the game we call war. You must fall in order to grow. You must hurt in order to know. And you must lose in order to gain…” he paused for a moment… “…because Life’s greatest lessons are learned through PAIN.”
Snowflake sighed and readied herself. “Okay.” She said, “But I still don’t want to do this.”
Ace wrapped his cape around himself and formed it into a black and red hood. He shut his eyes and sighed. “Forgive me…but we have no choice…and this is pain with purpose…”

After an agonizingly long five minutes, the entire alliance had finally gathered beneath Ace and Snowflake’s pillar. The leader and Ace’s prime target Ash stepped forward. He wore a red leather jacket, studded belt, biker boots, and studded bracelets. His spiky, white hair stood straight up in the wind. His gold eyes shone like a cat’s.
“Ace, just let it go! The past is the past! It doesn’t matter anymore!” He shouted up to his former best friend.
Ace glared with blazing scarlet eyes. “I will never forgive you! You killed her! She was the only thing that mattered to me! I LOVED HER!!!!” the dark hooded figure cried. “Do you know what that’s like? To have your entire world crushed before your own eyes?”
“No…I don’t…and I’m sorry. But if you carry out this war, we will both die.”
“At least I’ll be with her!”
The alliance stirred at the last remark. All the ninjas looked to their leader. Ash closed his eyes and began  to become invisible.
“I can see there’s no talking you out of this…then so be it…” he sighed as he faded completely.
Ace and Snowflake hopped down from the rock. The Alliance drew up their weapons. Ace placed his thumbs on his canines and pressed until he bled. The blood streamed down and as soon as it hit the ground, a large, black circle formed under him. The symbol inside was the Unknown Clan’s symbol, his family crest. Snowflake backed away from him, knowing what came next. The whites of Ace’s eyes turned black.
“It’s the hour of judgement.” he said in a doubled voice.
“Good luck handling him now.” Snowflake said in an deceivingly innocent tone, as she backed away slowly.
The entire Alliance rushed forward shouting, their battle cries deafening. Ace lunged into the chaos and one after another, killed them. The ninjas were leaping and bounding around with their katanas flying through the air. Ace deflected their attacks easily, ducking and blitzing through the crowd. His reflective katana blinded his opponents when the sunlight would peak through the dark clouds overhead. Snowflake dashed in behind him with her crimson sword trailing flames behind her. Her eyes began to glow blue, and a ball of wind expanded around her, blowing everyone within fifty feet of her sailing through the air. A Shinobi in black samurai armor and a black greatsword Stepped forward after the blast. Snowflake’s eyes widened at the sight of the ten foot blade, and its eight foot wielder. That armor must’ve weighed a ton, yet he dashed with ease. She placed two finger tips at her mouth’s height. A small flame waved on them. He breathed the flame in, and blew. A massive fireball exploded from her mouth, incinerating the Ebony Warrior. She turned around at the sound of more footsteps, and was thrown onto the ground by an identical man, only his armor was red. He leapt at her with his greatsword in the air. Snowflake closed one eye. Blood streamed down her cheek from her closed eye. She opened it slowly and the sound of a banshee howling could be heard as it turned ghostly purple. The warrior froze in the air, two inches away from her face. Her right eye glowed as strings of the warrior’s soul was reaped from his body. Her eye seemed to absorb it, and her wounds were healed nearly instantly.
Across the battlefield, Ace was flinging the Allies into the air. Suddenly, he grabbed his wrist, causing a ball of blue electricity to form around his hand. One unlucky ninja charged him from behind and received Ace’s hand through his heart. The ninja jolted and thrashed, before his sparking body was disintegrated. As Ace pulled his hand away, he felt a throbbing pain in his chest. He looked down and saw a katana sticking out of his chest through his back.
“It’s all over now, Ace!” the shinobi chuckled.
Ace looked over his shoulder grinning, blood trickling down the sides of his mouth.
“Heh, is that so?...”
His body turned slowly began to turn completely black as his human figure turned into a thousand crows. They flew around, swarming the ninja knocking him down and breaking his legs. They then flew together forming Ace, unwounded. He walked over and grabbed his katana off the ground. he looked into the ninja’s eyes.
“You’re right…” he said, “It’s all over.”
SLICE!
Ace turned around and looked at the bodies, piled up and messy, sparking and burning, shredded and crimson. There were thousands. Snowflake bounded over to him.
“Are we done yet?” she said, panting.
Ace kept a blank stare and a slight grin off into the distance. Snowflake looked at what he was staring at. There it was, the tall, red figure with spiky white hair and a long crusader sword. Snowflake sheathed her katana.
“This is what we’ve been fighting for. Go get him...If you really have to…” She sighed.
Ace went jet black and a thousand crows flew over to Ash on the other side of the battlefield. They landed and formed Ace back together.
“So, this is it…” he smiled slightly. “This is where the road ends for one of us…”
Ash closed his eyes.
“I guess so” he sighed. Ace rushed forward and swung his katana. Ash, despite having his eyes closed, blocked all his attacks perfectly, ducking and dodging with perfect timing. Ace clapped his hands together. The sky darkened as a massive ball of rock hurtled towards the ground. Ash raised his hand and snapped his fingers, causing a lightning bolt to strike the rock, shattering it into oblivion. Ash growled and a black flame erupted around his body. His eyes turned black with red irises. He teeth turned to fangs, and his hair lengthened down his back in long, black spikes. His sword gained a purple, plasma-like blade. He lunged at Ash and swung his katana again. Ash raised his sword, and it was sliced in half by Ace’s blade. He bounded back and placed a hand over his mouth. He blew, and a ball of flames shot from his mouth. Ace did the same. The fireballs pushed each other back and forth. Ash was winning. Ace closed one eye. After a moment, blood trickled down his cheek from it. He opened it, causing a shockwave throughout his body. A white flame burst to life on Ash’s fire, putting it out.
“How did you...I-I just... How…?” Ash stuttered in fear.
Ace grinned.
“That is Solaris, the God’s flame.” he snickered. “It doesn’t stop until it’s target is erased from existence, even if that target happens to be other fire!”
Ash scowled.
“I didn’t want to use this, but I guess I have no choice.” He sighed. His eyes glowed violet and the black marks under his eyes shone red. He bolted forward with flaming hands. Ace copied with his katana. The scourged for the longest time, until Ash grabbed Ace’s sword and turned it on him. Ace had no time to react and ended up with a katana through his chest, again. Ash placed a hand two fingers on Ace’s head and all the dark figure’s energy was ripped out of his body. His body returned to its normal state.
“Forgive me.” Ash muttered. Ace couldn’t summon his crows. He had no energy left. Snowflake dashed over with tears in her eyes.
“Ace, NO!” she cried. She raised her katana and leaped at Ash, pinning him on his back. She turned her eyes purple the way she did with the juggernauts. It had no effect on Ash while he was in this state. Snowflake reached to her side and pulled a kunai out of her weapon pack. She held it up to his throat.
“This is for all that you’ve caused.”
SLICE!
Ash’s eyes returned to normal and his marks stopped glowing. Snowflake sheathed her katana as she knelt down beside Ace. The dark warrior looked at her with one eye closed.
“Well, I guess...this is it…” he coughed.
“No, it isn’t! I can still save you!” Snowflake cried.
“Heh, we did it...that’s all that matters. Problem is, Ash was right, we both died.”  The dark warrior chuckled with a grin. He coughed, spitting up blood. “Snowflake, I want you to know something…” he coughed.
Snowflake’s ocean eyes were streaming with tears.
“What is it?” she whimpered.
Ace closed his eyes.
“This war was started, so I could avenge my best friend…” He said, slowly. “The, I met you...and halfway through, I changed my mind. Truth is, I finished this war...to protect you…It’s all my fault this happened, and you mean more to me than Frost ever did...Now, here on my deathbed, I realize that…” he whispered, blood streaming down the sides of his mouth.
Snowflake gasped in shock. Was all this true? What did he mean...protect her? Ace pressed his index and middle finger against her forehead. He gazed into her eyes for the last time.
“Honestly,...If I had just told you from the beginning, this war wouldn't have ended this way...If I hadn’t been so stupid, none of this would’ve happened, and I want you to know...I’m not asking you to forgive me, and no matter what you decide to do from here on out, know that...I will always...love...you…” He spoke the truth in his final breath. Now, his once blazing eyes were staring into space, looking at everything, yet seeing nothing. The red irises faded to pink, then to white. His pupils dilated, and his mouth changed into a slight grin. His arm fell from Snowflake’s face and coincidentally, landed over his heart. Snowflake ran her hand over his face for the last time, closing his eyes forever. As she slowly walked through the bloody battlefield, an echo could be heard, whispering through the wasteland.
“I love you, too…”