★129
ASTERI'S POV
With every blow, the gap between us became undeniable. I wasn't just losing, I was being dismantled.
There's something fundamentally wrong about that pitch-black spear. It radiates such an overwhelming destructive force highly superior to my saturated void.
I lost count of how many Mystic Class weapons I've summoned not in defence but in desperation, just to buy a heartbeat of escape. And even then, they shatter like brittle sticks the moment they make contact.
Additionally, I was surprised my defensive arts weren't responding, but I couldn't sense a magic nullification skill or barrier. Even though I'm in Paradis, my laws and arts aren't responding. All because an unconcealed Dark Star has occupied the space.
The spear aside, his sword was another problem. Despite lacking in terms of strength compared to the spare, he often used it for attacking, and I'll be grateful he didn't use the spare instead. I was losing, but i was also paying attention to how he fights.
Without observation, I'll definitely lose when I've already lost. This is the biggest mismatch of the decade. Inception had no intention of killing me. Even if she does, I didn't.
I wanted to use her to fight against Magos. But this guy...
'Is a monster.'
Antares admitted.
'He's not all flashy and uncontrolled like Modryth.'
Entares followed, observing Magos dominate Asteri.
'A controlled monster will always be ahead of a rampaging beast. That's what's makes Magos a formidable foe.'
The higher authority were busy having a chitchat. If only one of them could properly lend me a hand, I'd have at least one percent chance of winning.
I was in a pinch, I needed a break, a second worth of break would suffice, and as if we shared the same thoughts, Magos backed off. He stopped, giving me the air to breath. But I wasn't going to 'breath'.
I descended swiftly to a nearby planet, landing atop one of its mountains. He followed.
I could feel him approaching the world at a calm, deliberate pace. Moments later, he came into view—hovering in silence above me, gazing down as though I were already beneath him.
He was completely unscathed. I, however, bore burning red wounds that were only just beginning to regenerate because I'm 'breathing'.
"Break the vessel,"
He said, his voice low with expectation.
"And entertain me."
'He knows a vessel will never be enough. But that'll be his biggest mistake.'
"So it's now a show for you, ai?"
I tilted my head slightly, a grin tugging at my lips as I met his gaze.
"I'm sorry, I can't do that. This vessel will be more than enough."
'I'll trust in Antares's plan and fight till the end.'
My faith in Antares is unimaginable. To be able to cast my pride and rely on an external force, that's not my way of doing things.
'I need them now, Enta.'
'Switch.'
He pressed, eager to test the Nebula Tier.
'You know I won't go back on my words.'
'I know. But just know that I'll force my way out if you lose.'
He replied, grinning. So he does have the power to take over at will.
My aura dimmed, all light vanishing as it deepened into pure black. The writhing emptiness stretched and twisted, shaping itself into a blade—a void blade, precisely crafted, for Entares is capable of moulding it at will.
It was the first time I held a weapon forged entirely from energy—or rather, void. The emptiness aura instantly replaced my dark grey aura and the result was immediate.
My regeneration accelerated, all injuries closing before I could even register the act. A thin shroud of empty energy enveloped my body, shielding me from harm.
"Still resulting in cheap tricks."
He mocked, but I stayed calm and took a different route.
Space carried me behind him, positioning me to strike with my void blade—but he was ready. With the slightest tilt of his head, my attack missed by mere inches. That wasn't all. Before I could bring my blade down, a strange, unsettling sensation rippled through me—something was wrong.
I felt a sharp, searing pain erupted in my chest. I looked down. His sword had already found its mark, plunged between my ribs, its edge buried deep in my heart.
The effect was instant. Red veins ignited across my skin, crawling like roots, pulsating with life and pain. Still skewered, I moved in unison with Energy, appearing simultaneously behind and above him.
Yes. This was the technique I had learned on my very first day training with Zhou—allowing me to bind with the natural Energy and manifest in multiple spaces at once. Accuracy falters when using it through a vessel, of course, but it was now or never.
I saw the shock in his eyes as he was unable to identify the real one from the fake, which isn't the case. I have two swords he has a void spare, it's two to one, and I can win. I thrust with maxed speed simultaneously form both directions.
"I see. An improvement, of course."
He whispered to himself, and the void spear reshaped into a whip.
With a single, devastating lash, the figure above was cleaved in two. I looked up, stunned and confused, as life slipped away, no residue of Asteri left. In that instant, my presence vanished entirely—erased from all sense and sight.
He tried to withdraw his sword, but it would not budge. I gripped it with both hands, channelling energy to amplify my strength and endurance. I wasn't going to let this moment slip.
I failed to understand why he didn't attack with the whip again. Was there a time limit, or was he just testing me? I don't care because I can end this now.
I thrust my void blade into his back, expecting it to pierce through completely—but it corroded the moment it met his armour.
I froze. My prediction had been correct, but I hadn't fully accounted for the consequences.
"V… void…"
I whispered, faltering.
Before I could react further, jagged black spikes erupted from the void armour like a porcupine, shredding through flesh and bone.
They tore holes in my body as if I were nothing but paper. The fourth Asteri crumpled to his knees, gasping, each breath searing with the pain I could still feel from using Aether Move.
"You don't stand a chance."
He turned, looking down at the pathetic existence hail as the Anomaly.
"You never did. You're just a child with awakened godly powers."
He spoke as he descended slowly, coming to a stop midair, his gaze fixed steadily upon me.
'How can I be so overpowered even with the void?'
For someone to push me this far with a Dark Art, he's strong.
'Should I switch?'
At this rate, I might end up switching with Enta. But...
'No. I need to do this to keep my word.'
I coughed and forced myself upright, the black blade still clenched in my grip.
'I can't use my True Body even if I had to convert Paradis into energy and absorb it. There's only one thing left to do...'
II closed my eyes for a moment. When they opened again, the gold faded—turning a pale, icy blue as power surged through me. Ninety per cent.
"The enemy calling me a god?
I exhaled, a crooked grin forming.
"You're so screwed."
Space and time twisted violently, flinging me in front of him.
I swung my blade upward, but he leaned back with inhuman grace, his weapons already poised to split me in two. It happened again. I vanished and reappeared behind him, driving an uppercut into the back of his head that launched him through the void.
He glitched mid‑flight and re‑manifested directly in front of me, his twin weapons already converging like a collapsing guillotine.
'I've used Space-Time Art frequently. I can't use it anymore. I can't take the risk of being easily predictable, not in this fight. I have no choice.'
The sword dissolved and cloaked my fist which I used to block the chaotic weapons.
'I won't help you regenerate this time.'
"I never asked you to!"
I roared, opening my mouth to unleash the pulsar beam. It carried no sound and lacked focus, a swirling blue explosion filling my mouth before shooting straight at his face—right as he cast a spell.
He endured it, taking the full force of the beam, all while refusing to release his weapons.
Instead, he tightened his grip, channelling raw nihilistic energy into both. The sword howled with a red aura, burning the flesh off my hand in seconds.
The void spear pulsed its anti-energy unravelling everything it touched. Cells, bones, flesh, and energy were reduced to nothing, the corruption spreading up my arm like wildfire, eating me up slowly.
He broke free and moved to attack. I couldn't counter or dodge, not at this range. The dimension twisted violently, hurling me into a different universe—but before I could even draw a breath, he sliced through space itself with his bare hands and tore out of the rift after me.
"Cheap tricks won't work. You can't hide from me."
He spoke, his face already healing before my eyes.
I weighed my next move, but for now, there was no choice—I had to prolong the fight.
"Tell me why my Arts aren't working?"
I asked, buying time.
"Buying time, are we?"
He spoke, a barely noticeable grin on his face.
"Very well… I'll play your game."
He replied.
'Lightless… I'm busted.'
"The answer is obvious,"
He continued.
"The presence of this spear deactivates any Mega Art that tries to manifest—physical or otherwise."
I feigned confusion, but before I could even protest, he crossed his weapons and swung. I didn't flinch—i didn't plan to. But the universe did.
A rupture erupted into existence beside me where his blades struck. Space fractured, time convulsed, and the laws of my universe screamed as they were torn apart.
The aftermath was more than mere void—it was a howling abyss where logic died, where existence collapsed into raw, unfiltered nothingness. Yet amid the chaos, I remained unfazed, my gaze locked firmly onto his.
'To easily destroy universes in a Hypeworld. As expected of a Nebula.'
"You wield void, yes. But not to this extent.'
He spoke, as if such a destructive feat alone could place him above me.
He descended like a comet, and my azure eyes blinked—halting time itself.
"Time is null in void fool! This is the—"
He froze, caught completely off guard, eyes wide with shock as he hovered suspended in the void. Seizing the moment, I lunged, sword aimed straight for his head.
From his armour, an arm-like appendage shot out, snatching the spear from his grip just in time to barely deflect my strike. For a heartbeat, I faltered, stunned by the speed and precision.
Then he moved again, breaking free from the time-stopped space as if nothing had held him at all.
"I don't understand,"
He growled, teeth clenched, voice trembling with frustration and disbelief.
"Major and Minor concepts don't exist in the void. The force needed… it shouldn't even be possible to stop time. Why?"
He ignored the severed horn jutting from his head, rage and confusion burning in his eyes
"It's simple—"
<
"I simply recreated it. From the void."
I shrugged, letting the motion speak for me.
"Zero to One. That's impossible for beings like us. But you're different."
One of my perks of being a Star with both Mega Arts and Dark Arts. I'm unpredictable.
"I'll be sure to take it from you once I'm done with you."
He levelled his sword, its edge glow deepening to a furious red with each passing second.
I activated Babylon, cloaking each weapon with Enta's void and fired—but he did not respond himself. As if it had a mind of its own, the spear hovered between us, rotating effortlessly to deflect every strike.
Solar Flare and other beams proved futile, though I already knew they would be. The spear was buying him time for his next move, and no matter what I unleashed, my attacks simply weren't working.
'If only I can use Energy once more."
I grit my teeth, knowing I'm completely powerless against what he's about to do.
The spear froze for a moment, and I already knew what was coming. It shot toward me, slicing through the artificial time I'd created to slow it—completely useless, as I expected.
I snapped my fingers, warping space to redirect it, but that too failed. Everything hinged on the Deva's Light barrier, which shattered before it could fully form. The spear hurtled past, disappearing from sight, my left arm barely keeping pace with its destructive path.
I wanted to scream, but my nerves refused to obey as the red light washed over the void, filling every corner with its burning intensity.
"Abyss Cutter."
He swung, and the moment I looked up, the void was consumed by a torrent of crimson flames, so vast they seemed to swallow non-existence itself.
This was no mere light—it was a ravenous force, devouring darkness and twisting it into something far worse, a blaze that gnawed at the very essence of reality.
'Mega Arts, no. All Arts and Skills are completely useless when facing absence...'
"However, I'm not alone."
I seized Enta's void and wrapped it around myself, letting it seep into my armour, thickening it, hardening it. Blades formed at my back, hovering in a slow orbit as I pushed forward into the descending chaos of red.
'You're insane. What are you doing?'
"Attacking head-on, of course."
I replied, far too calmly for someone staring death in the face.
'Pull back, idiot, you'll—'
I leapt into the absence, angling my sword horizontally to meet his vertical strike.
Suddenly, I stopped mid-air—frozen, startled, and speechless. Something was wrong. This feeling… I had known it before. My instincts screamed nothing, and that was the problem. They had failed me completely..
Entares called out to me. For the first time, there was no mockery in his voice—only urgency, only concern. He truly cared.
But by then, it was already too late.
"I'm…"
I tried but the word never finished.
My body—no, my existence—split apart with the void itself. There was no pain, no sound, just a clean, absolute rupture. Even the darkness behind my eyelids fractured and scattered, erased like a dream that had never been dreamt.
Is this what it feels like… to be nonexistent?
The thought tried to form, but it couldn't hold. It unravelled and slipped away before it could become anything at all. Even the idea of me was fading, dissolving into a silence deeper than oblivion.
...
..
.
To be continued...