Despite Azkcorvath's best efforts, he found himself increasingly distrusted and condemned by gods, ikons, and mortals alike. Seeking purpose amid mounting conflict and isolation, he chose Protection as his guiding principle and ultimately offered that service to Larun, the Nightfane of Algarath. Why is a question that may enter anyone's minds.
Months earlier, he had received a simple command from a voice, who he later realized was Algarath: protect His Chosen. Protect the chosen of a God. That in itself, is a grand service asked of a mortal from any divine presence. Yet what that command truly meant remained unclear to him. In his attempt to understand it, he devoted himself to becoming stronger to protect himself first, learning of the gods, the ikons, and the workings of the Decim Sphaera, the Relics, and the Prison of the Gods. Though he stood among their ranks only briefly, his path ended beneath the very hammer of the Nightfane he had sworn himself to protect.
Before his unmaking, he sent one final message to someone he still trusted and loved, sharing knowledge of the Nightfane's plans regarding the Wyrm that controls the Kitsuseiga, and the concerns that weighed upon him put into one last message to her. In doing so, he knowingly betrayed Larun, however he had first been betrayed by her as she attempted to twist his agreement to serve her own purpose. His refusal caused her to see him as unnecessary, and saw to get rid of him, and she succeeded once again in her goal supported by Algarath Himself. Azkcorvath did not deny the betrayal in his mind, nor did he flee its consequences as he had done before when seen in the wrong. Instead, he accepted them willingly, as he was in the presence of a God, believing that even a small chance to rekindle hope and inspire others to stand for protection was worth his life.
Azkcorvath was destroyed and remade through the direct intervention of Algarath, the Unmaker, God of Destruction and Oblivion. Azkcorvath's body was torn apart and his soul cast into absolute oblivion, a place devoid of sensation, thought, sound, light, and even existence itself. It was not Seir's realm, not hell by any means, and his soul was not led by Fynris. His ending was something far, far worse; his soul's unending pain and torment. Though scarcely a minute passed in the mortal world, he experienced what felt like an eternity in that oblivion.
There, his essence was deliberately reshaped, his identity altered, and his purpose rewritten. While his memories, name, skills, and fragments of his former self were restored, the being that emerged was no longer entirely the individual who had been destroyed.
Upon his reconstruction, Azkcorvath was bound to a new purpose: service to Larun, Algarath's Nightfane and Chosen. An unshakable understanding of obedience, devotion, and duty was woven into the foundation of his being. He retains knowledge of his past and those he once knew, but his priorities, instincts, and sense of self now revolve around loyalty to Larun and reverence for Algarath. To outsiders, he may appear familiar, bearing the same face, memories, and name. Yet beneath the surface, the Azkcorvath they knew is gone, replaced by something forged anew from ruin, purpose, and divine will.