And when I looked into its eyes I saw...
The nature of eternity within its gaping maw...
A thousand worlds yet to be seen...
A million possibilities that none could have foreseen...
And a billion realities that could have been...
All of this I witnessed as a snake slithered in its endless cycle...
Unbothered, unfazed, and undaunted, as I screamed forever in joy eternal...
________________________________________
200 years... No, perhaps 300... or 400... or 500... Maybe even a hundred or more... She lost count a long time ago, and her mind had already gone insane from the endless darkness that surrounded her to no end.
In her thoughts, she only had herself to blame for this cruel fate she suffered: the loss of the ones she cared about, as well as her entrapment within this eternity of suffering in a dark, merciless void...
She loathed that day when they slew the man she loved in front of him. The very memory of that event had traumatised her mind severely, and the mere act of even remembering it was enough to set her into a mindless rage... Alas, there was nothing she could do about it, as each and every one of these tragedies was all in the past now, and there was nothing she could do to change any of them.
If there was one thing she wished to do, then it was to at least have the chance to save her loved ones. She didn't even care if she had to bring terrible risks upon herself, as she would gladly do anything to once more see the face of the man she cared for so deeply.
Every passing second and minute, her weak, yet desperate voice would plead to the darkness for a redemption, a deliverance from the pain of loss that tormented her without respite, and by now, she would willingly do anything to have that second chance she desired so much...
Inevitably however, her cries of anguish would finally be met with a response: a powerful voice that held a great authority within its tone, and yet the way it spoke was incredibly gentle and soothing, and it was as if it were the voice of a parent whenever they were speaking softly to their child who had become distressed.
"Do not fear my presence. I have come here not to harm you, but to provide you the guidance you desperately need."
A powerful, golden light began emanating through the cold, dark void, and the woman could feel herself being relieved from all those decades of cold and numbness. Simultaneously though, she could directly feel just how powerful this being was by simply hearing how he made his speech.
"... Who are you?" she asked, her mind still staggered by the voice that spoke to her from out of nowhere.
"I am that I am... I am the one who created the heavens and the earth, life and death, and all that has ever existed..."
She had already heard that phrase before... It was from an ancient book she read a long time ago, a forgotten collection of stories belonging to a faith that once held an incredible number of believers. As soon as that realisation formed within her thoughts though, the woman could only feel herself become further amazed as to who exactly this voice truly was.
"Ah... You're what many people would call 'god', huh? Ahaha... I appreciate that you've heard my pleas, but it seems that you've come too late..." the woman replied as she chuckled despondently.
"... Not quite. Your true desires... It is not freedom from this everlasting purgatory, but rather... To allow the ones you love to live once again, especially that man who you had been betrothed to..."
"...?"
"... You are an admirable woman, I must say. Even though you are not truly human by nature, your body has a heart that is just like theirs. To care more for your loved ones than your own life... That is a most admirable quality that I do not wish to see being wasted like this."
A faint hope sparked within her as she heard those last words... Was this being truly going to help her have that second chance she was so desperate for? She could only hope that it was, as this was her only real chance of being able to do such a previously impossible thing...
"... Wait... Will you be helping me...?"
"Indeed, I will. I will give to you an enlightenment that will increase your already significant abilities. You will be able to utilise a portion of my eternal power, and not only will you earn your freedom from this place, but you will also be able to save all those loved ones you had previously lost."
Ah, it was truly real... It was as evident as the darkness that once surrounded her, and now there was no way she was ever going to refuse such a beautiful thing; alas though, the woman knew that there was a reason as to why this powerful being had chosen to help her, and there might even be a cost to it that she currently wasn't aware of.
"... I am thankful that you chose to help me in my direst time of need. However, I want to know... Is there something you want in return? Is there a reason why you chose to help me now?"
"The man who you call your 'husband'... He is the one who must save this world from the terrible calamities that are to come... Although, in your case, you have already witnessed these tragedies..."
"Y-you mean... Novus?"
"Yes. He was not supposed to meet his end this way. It was all because of the tamperings that the ones beneath have made... As such, the only thing I require you to do in exchange is to change the terrible fate that has befallen your beloved."
"But... How exactly am I supposed to achieve this? Even with such an incredible power... I can't..."
"The power of eternity is an ability that many beings in existence would kill to obtain. With its conceptual power, you will be able to impose order upon the most chaotic disasters, make changes in time to alter the weaving threads of destiny, and do many other things that your mind would currently not be able to understand."
"I see... You want me to change everything... And see to it that Novus lives a different life from his cruel and previous one..."
"Yes... By doing that, you will not only ensure that he lives, but the very existence of the world you live in will also be saved." the voice confirmed. "Now then, before I give you your enlightenment, I will ask one important question..."
"... Please ask away then." the woman answered without any sense of hesitation nor fear.
"Very well then. Now, for my vital query..." the voice paused for a moment in silence, as it would then speak up again after only a few seconds passed by...
"My power... It is not meant to be wielded by beings other than me... The moment I give you the knowledge to use it, you will put severe risks upon your own existence with every second you continue to use it... And you may possibly even perish in the end, a true death that no amount of miracles would be able to save you..."
"Knowing those incredible dangers... Will you still choose to accept what I wish to give you?"
This was it, a moment of no return, a pivotal moment that would determine if she would have her second chance, and of course, there was no way that she'd refuse to accept it.
"Of course I do. Even if I were to meet a permanent demise in the end... As long as I can give them a second chance at living, then I will gladly do it."
Hearing her brave, unhesitant confirmation, the voice would seem both impressed and satisfied with her answer.
"... Truly, such an admirable being. My decision to save you from this terrible fate has definitely been worth the effort."
...
...
Their great battle quickly began in earnest, and everything around them would immediately be pulled into the chaos as the 2 fought against each other with their own lives on the line.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Multiple, imperceptibly swift cuts from the warrior's radiant sword would come towards her again, and each of them possessed the potency to leave gaping wounds on her body with ease– granted, while she could easily patch herself up with her ability to rewind time, the brief moment where she would be left vulnerable was not something she could afford to take place in this terribly quick-paced battle of speed.
As such, Amenophis was forced to rely on a completely different form of magick entirely, one that was directly related to her innate ability to manipulate time: absolute precognition, an arcane skill that allowed her to see almost every event that would take place in the next few seconds and minutes, with its only limitation being that it was a power that could only be used in a purely defensive manner.
It was a shame though, that she couldn't utilize her precognitive power to its fullest: with the limited time she had to avoid the invisible slashes he kept throwing at her, she could only view the possible events of the future for only a few seconds, even though she was currently able to view entire days' worth of possibilities with her amplified magick power.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
With each thundering slash that came, Amenophis would manage to move her body at the last moment every time, narrowly avoiding the swift attacks by seeing visions of her future self being cut down by those horrid blows, allowing her to envision the perfect angle of movement where she wouldn't be struck by the invisible slashes. Of course however, with the invisible cuts all failing to land upon her skin, they would instead befall upon the cold ground beneath, tearing the dirt apart as both sand and stone were split and scattered all throughout the sky.
[Astral Bombardment.]
[Radiant Lightstorm.]
[Spell of Greater Levitation.]
The man had suddenly halted his assault, and Amenophis quickly wasted no time to go on the offensive: her body began hovering into the air in defiance against gravity as a rain of lightbeams emerged from the several, magick circles in front of her. Following this attack however, was a series of powerful explosions that tore the ground apart with their explosively powerful energies.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Despite the sheer volume of the attacks that came down upon him, none of them would score even a single hit upon the speeding warrior, as the man sped around and dodged every single beam and explosion with an untraceable agility– even Amenophis' eyes couldn't keep up with the speeds he was moving in, though what she could notice that he was rapidly closing in on her to make another deadly slash with his sword.
"I won't let you get close to me with that dangerous blade of yours!"
In anticipation of his terribly fast approach, Amenophis would cast a mighty barrier with multiple layers stacked upon each other, an ultimate form of defence that was backed up by the earth itself forming a massive wall as another barrier– it was practically an incredibly durable wall of barriers, and the empress was absolutely sure to herself that it wouldn't allow that man to come closer to her, and even if they did fail to endure, it would still have given her enough time to launch several new attacks from her spellcasting staff...
However, much to her surprise...
SLAASSHHHH!!!
The warrior's radiant, purple blade grew ever brighter, as he then used its luminous edge to make a downward cut, cleaving through all the defences that Amenophis had set up with her magicks, and the massive, open gap that resulted from their destruction allowed him to quickly zip through and instantly get to her for another attack.
SLAASSHHHH!!!
[Lesser Translocation.]
"... That was too close..."
There was no proper angle where she could avoid that attack, as she could see every future version of her being cut down, save for one: before the sword could cut through her flesh once more, Amenophis managed to cast a short-ranged translocation spell upon herself, teleporting her away to a nearby space that allowed her to narrowly avoid being dismantled by the warrior's powerful blade of light. As the spell achieved its duty and successfully brought her to safety though, a scowl formed on her face as she continued to remain bewildered by this man's defiant might.
"This is impossible... Who are you, really? How did you come to possess such a terrifying strength?"
"Like I said. That doesn't matter, not to you, or to me, especially since we're fighting each other with everything we have. I've come here to achieve one thing only."
"... And what is that purpose, I wonder? Have you come here to stop me as well?"
"Indeed I have, actually. Although, that's not the only reason..."
This bastard... Amenophis couldn't see through his intent at all, and she had always been proud of being able to know the thoughts and intentions of others by observing their actions. It was incredibly bothersome how she couldn't see through this man at all, and it was almost like she was talking to a solid wall that couldn't be moved nor read through.
"What may be your 'other reason' then?"
"With great power comes equally great... Limitations. The same can be said for the one I'm currently wielding." the man began explaining. "The moment I wielded this blade, I can see and know everything that has, is, and will be with these eyes of mine... From the very origins of the world itself, to even the humble beginnings of the desert that surrounds us."
She quickly understood what the man was saying to her; in simple terms, this man, through the power of the radiant blade he wielded, was being bestowed with a near-endless amount of knowledge about the world itself, and although the extent of it was something she couldn't surmise, what she could observe was that it was allowing him to predict what her next actions would be, which easily explained how easily he avoided all those barrages of attacks she unleashed against him earlier.
"However, among the countless things I can see before me... What I've taken the greatest notice of... Is you." he continued, pointing the index finger of his free hand towards her as he did. "Your name is Neferet Amenophis, the empress of this impressive nation that has endured the scorching heat of these deserts for hundreds of years. Not only that, but you also possess an incredible power yourself, even though you're reliant on magick to use most of it."
It didn't take long for Amenophis to become surprised with how much he knew already, though her stern, unmoving face wouldn't reveal the light burst of emotion that emerged within her... This man, just how much was he able to know exactly?
"... Did you come here just to gloat about magick like that stubborn woman?"
The man chuckled slightly from her remark. "No, no I didn't. But my interest in you nevertheless remains strong. You're a good parent, twisted by the necessity of saving your child. You remind me of myself... In fact, I probably would've ended up like you under similar circumstances."
"Ah... So your second reason for coming here is to pity me? What a pathetic excuse... Your words won't stop me, and you probably know that yourself already."
"Sadly, yes... I know that I won't be able to convince you with reason. I just feel that it's such a shame for you to end up like this. Which is why I'm planning to conclude this fight of ours in a different way."
"Sigh... And how do you plan to end our battle?"
"I'll make you see the error of your ways. I'll stop you from opening that damn gateway to damnation, and I'll save you from the corruption that's slowly eating away at both you and your daughter."
Her eyes widened for a moment as she heard what he said, and it was almost as if she felt a bit of regret for seeing this man come too late– indeed, with the power he held, saving her from the twisted deal she had been entrapped in was definitely a possibility; however, allowing him to do it was not something she could allow to happen.
On the other hand though… If what he was saying was something he could truly achieve, then... Maybe he could truly do it perhaps...?
No, she couldn't. Breaking her part of the deal would endanger her daughter's life... As such, the only thing she could do was to leave things up to fate, and only the victor of their battle would be the one to decide what happens next.
"... Hmph. If you truly want to achieve that, then... Come at me with everything you can muster."
"Alright... Let's go at it again, shall we?"
________________________________________
There were 4 techniques he mastered after his stay in the other world, each of which was already powerful enough to allow him to bring destruction throughout the earth whenever he pleased...
The first skill he fully learned amidst his training... 'The Slash That Transcends Causality', a skill that allowed him to make a powerful slash that could violate the concept of causality and land before the blade could even move through the air: the only evident sign that it was being used was when it had already cut through the area where it was meant to cleave through, and only those who had the ability to see the future could hope to avoid being struck by its fatal blow.
The second skill he mastered was another form of a cutting slash, and while it was vastly lesser than the speed of his first skill, its raw power alone far surpassed it in terms of strength... the 'All Dismantling Cleave', an attack that could cut through anything it struck with only one swift motion, though one disadvantage to its use was that it would often destroy the weapon that had been used to unleash its might. Thankfully however, his new blade could handle its incredible power, though the radiance it emitted would become far more luminous as a result of the skill's intense might.
The third skill, the 'Revenant Blade Reversal', a technique that allowed the deflection of any form of attack made against him by changing their trajectories with his blade while sending them back with twice the power: while it held no power of its own and was offensively weaker when compared to the first 2 skills, the 3rd skill was incredibly effective in blocking, especially against long-ranged attacks where he couldn't immediately reach his enemies with his blade.
Last of all was the fourth and final skill, the greatest yet the most taxing among all of his mastered techniques– the 'Infinite Severance', a powerful skill formed from the combination of both his first and second techniques, where he could unleash an endless amount of slashes until everything in front of him had been reduced to mere dust, with the slashes being as infinitely fast as the first technique while having the penetrative ability to cleave through anything just like the second technique. Its greatest limitation however, was that he couldn't use it often due to the tremendous amount of energy it would drain upon its utilisation.
These were the skills that Novus had learned amidst his hellish training, and even if he was equipped with a dull, ordinary blade, he would still be able to perform most of these techniques with utmost efficiency. However, because of the radiant, conceptual energies stored within the radiant blade he was currently wielding, his techniques were not only being amplified by the sword's power, but they were also being complemented by the various abilities that the sword was providing to him in abundance.
The ability to cut through any form of defence in front of him, even if they twisted the laws of reality itself to bring about their ultimate protection... The ability to shift the tides of fields of gravity to either propel himself towards his foes or to repel his enemies with violent, undefiable forces... The ability to resist any form of magick cast against him and adapt to their esoteric effects... The ability to break through his mortal frailty and transcend the limitations that keep even the strongest men in line... And the ability to become knowledgeable of the nature of both his allies and enemies, allowing him to develop an understanding of their true natures and predict the next courses of action that they may take...
In truth though, while Novus himself had already reached the greatest heights that his mortal body could hope to reach, the limitless array of abilities he could use with the sword's help were still limited due to only having been able to use it in his current situation: the more time he was given to hold the radiant blade, the warrior would steadily become more powerful, and he would eventually reach the point where not even the strongest of the ancient draconians could match him in direct battle.
This was the extent of the training he underwent in the realm that 'Whitlea' manifested, and the pitiful, corrupted empress would be the first among many to lay witness to the incredible power he had reached after his 100 years of endless, self-improvement...
...
...
No words were uttered as the warrior unleashed one of his techniques– an all-cleaving slash that came seven-fold, slicing through everything that stood in its path, and even though its speeds were vastly inferior to his first technique, they were still moving with an agility that appeared like speeding blurs.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
The blade emitted no light, nor could its movements be traced or predicted in any way– the attacks came too fast for Amenophis to perceive even with her advanced precognition, and she would quickly be swept in the storm that engulfed her, as the slashes brutally ripped her apart at speeds faster than the blink of an eye...
It would've already been the end of her had things concluded right then and there, though fortunately for her, her golden staff had an emergency protocol in the unlikely event where both it and its user had been destroyed in an instant.
[Chronovial Restoration.]
It was a spell that would activate whenever she or her staff met an untimely demise, and it immediately performed its sole function the moment Amenophis perished: the region of space where the remnants of her body remained had its time rewound by a significant proportion, and eventually, the empress' body would reform and return from the complete annihilation it previously suffered from.
"It's futile. Even if your sword is that powerful, you'll never be able to cut me down for good." Amenophis stated bluntly, confident that none of his attacks would do any meaningful damage to her. "My control over time will simply heal whatever injury you inflict on me. It would be best for you to give up."
"I already know that though? My aim isn't to strike you down as quickly as possible, no..." the warrior responded. "My real aim is to tire you out until you can't use any magick anymore. You can't keep casting those spells of yours forever."
Tire her out? Such an overly ambitious goal... With the vast mana reserves she had, and thanks to the incredible mana efficiency of her perfect, golden stave, achieving such a thing would most likely be impossible in the first place, and even if it was, she would definitely be able to outlast him in a battle of endurance. After all, with her current level of mana and magick power, even if Amenophis were to repeatedly cast the strongest of her spells in quick successions, it would take an entire week for her to reach a critically low level of mana reserves, and as of now she wasn't even utilising most of the potent magicks in her arsenal.
"Hmph. We'll see if you can do it then, you tenacious bastard."
[Entropic Bombardment.]
[Primeval Mana Storm.]
[Greater Sand Golem Army.]
Crimson, arcane-formed meteorites fell down from the sky, their mana-forged bodies falling down onto the earth with tremendous impacts, as the time-frozen air itself would be torn apart by terrible, arcane winds that blew throughout the deserts with their powerful forces. Simultaneously however, from the ravaged sand dunes rose towering constructs of hardened sandstone, their mighty bodies unaffected by the ongoing magick-borne calamities as they slowly trudged towards the warrior that beset their summoner.
"Hahaha... Is that all you can do with that magick of yours?"
Not a single sign came before the skill was unleashed, as everything in front of him would be torn apart in a moment shorter than a single millisecond: a storm of invisible, cleaving strikes cut through all the magicks that Amenophis manifested, and all of them would be destroyed and reduced to dust, leaving the empress completely bewildered once again by the terrible display of might that she had just witnessed.
"!!!"
The warrior followed up with an attack as he charged towards her, quickly managing to get near the empress as he swerved his blade.
SLAASSHHHH!!!
Almost immediately, an imperceptibly fast cleaving-strike would cut through her body with ease and split it equally in half, though such an opportunity didn't come without some form of risk, as Amenophis managed to cast several magicks before the blade reached to slice her in half, and each of the arcane attacks would land upon the warrior in multiple, successive hits.
[Radiant Lightstorm.]
"You fell for my trap... It's over for you!"
It was all a ruse in the first place, as the spells that Amenophis previously cast were meant to draw him closer and allow her to blast him point-black with one of her powerful light spells; though she had been heavily injured by the attack he had just made on her, he was close enough to the spell that the empress wad about to unleash, and unless he had a speed faster than light, there definitely wasn't a way for him to avoid it.
[Radical Lightstorm.]
The beams of light arrived without delay, each of which came incredibly close to him in an instant, to the point that it was practically impossible for them to be dodged, even with the incredible speed that the warrior had... It seemed that she had finally managed to deal a fatal blow to this man, and there was no way for him to block nor avoid those beams of light she cast against him, no matter how fast he could move and swing that blade of his...
SLAASSHHHH!!!
"!!!"
As Amenophis' time-rewinding spell began rapidly healing her terrible wounds, another attack would come at her without warning, and it came in the form of the same beams of arcane light she fired upon the warrior: the bastard had somehow managed to deflect the light-speed attacks she threw at him, as they all sped back towards Amenophis and struck her without fail, further worsening the injuries she'd already sustained from the previous attack.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The reflected beams struck her body, their impacts producing potent explosions that tore her body apart and smothered what remained of it in a thick fog of blackened smoke. Of course, the time reversal magick of her staff would immediately bring the empress back to life and begin restoring her to full health, though the fact that the man had somehow managed to deflect her lightspeed spell at point-blank range, it was something that completely defied any sense of logic whatsoever.
"... Cough... Your speed... It's effectively faster than light itself... How is that even possible... Even I can't achieve something like that with my time manipulation... Ho-"
Her words were cut off by a barrage of rapid slices, and her still-regenerating body would only suffer more grievous wounds as it continuously got cleaved through by the rain of sword blows that struck her endlessly... The warrior wasn't even giving her any time to recover at all, and Amenophis quickly found herself stuck in a dangerous situation where she currently only had one method to escape from.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASG! SLASH!
"Get away from me...!"
[Lesser Translocation.]
The spell would shift her location to another place, halting his assault for only a single second– unfortunately though, the warrior would take notice of her sudden teleportation, and it wouldn't take long for him to move towards her and lock onto her position once more.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
[Greater Translocation.]
The empress cast another teleportation spell upon herself, and this time she would be brought to a more distant place from where he kept cutting her down with his blade; to her dismay though, the warrior would only take a short moment to get close to her again and begin slicing her up relentlessly.
"... How are you so damn fast...?!"
Teleporting was of no use, as he would only manage to quickly track her down again... Even if she used a more long-ranged version of the translation spell, it wouldn't be of any use because the speed he possessed would ultimately make it futile. She had to think of a way to stop this man, as her regeneration wasn't able to keep up with the speed at which he was slicing her up; if she didn't act now, her body would inevitably be reduced to a minuscule amount of particles that not even her time rewinding spell could hope to restore from, and she had to find a way out of this disaster as soon as possible.
... There was only one way to push him back and stop his onslaught, and it was through one of her strongest spells that could ravage the entire continent if it ever got out of her control– on the other hand though, it was also a powerful spell that could still function and unleash its devastation in the stopped flow of time, so long as she was able to supply it with a steady amount of her own mana.
"..."
There was no time to decide if it was the best course of action or not, as any more time wasted would lead to her complete defeat– with a single spellcast from her golden stave, a massive, magick circle would form from the skies, allowing the manifestation of one of the most powerful magicks she could unleash with her might.
[Black Hole.]
The jet-black, gravitational monstrosity immediately took form up in the air... Normally, it wouldn't have been able to exert its monstrous power upon everything within its vicinity due to the stopped time, though the excessive, streaming mana coming from the empress' golden staff allowed it to function normally in the halted flow of causality.
"This is it... I don't care if I die because of this... As long as I take you down with me, all is well..."
The sudden phenomenon had momentarily shifted the warrior's attention away from her, and those brief seconds were what allowed Amenophis to quickly reform her ravaged body: alas though, while she did manage to fully restore herself, the terribly powerful spell she had cast would begin its indiscriminating rampage of gravitational destruction, and not even she would be spared from its irresistible terror.
"... You crazy woman..." the warrior stopped his assault, astounded by the self-destructive gambit that Amenophis had taken. "Aren't you aware that you might get killed as well with what you just unleashed?"
"None of that matters to me... As long as I stop you from disrupting the gateway's materialisation, I'm content with dying here right now." Amenophis shot back with her tremendous determination to die for her daughter's sake. "Now then, let fate decide what happens next..."
"Let's see if you can survive this, you loathsome menace!"
...
...
All of a sudden, time seemed to pass slowly in his line-of-thought as 'Whitlea' whispered into his mind...
"Are you sure you can handle that? That thing she summoned seems rather dangerous from afar..."
"It's nothing I can't cut down. The real problem is that we need to hurry up and stop that gateway from opening..."
'Whitlea' had already taken the time to explain to him just what exactly that gateway was, which was why he too was at a rush to conclude things as quickly as possible– the gateway, it was both a forbidden entrance and an exit to a place of torment and damnation, a place that imprisoned hellish beings who could not only put up a fight against 'Whitlea' herself in terms of strength, but also possessed a senseless cruelty that far transcended even the most wicked of men and women...
To allow the portal to fully materialise was to sentence the entire earth to another ceaseless era of war and suffering, and this time, it would be certain that mankind would be wiped out for good.
This was why Novus knew that she had a point with what she said, and he couldn't afford to extend their battle any longer; the more time he spent locked in combat with the empress, the less time he had to prevent that world-ending calamity from occurring...
He needed to defeat her as soon as possible, and it was hard to come up with an method to do so with how difficult it was to put her down for good.
"Indeed. Speaking of hurrying though... You're running out of time, dearest. About 6 minutes more, that gateway will be opening up to its fullest..."
"I'm already quite aware, Whitlea. No need to remind me of that."
"... I have an idea... It's a bit, hm... How should I put this... Risky. Although, given the current situation you're in, you don't really have any other choices left."
"Sigh... Sure, go ahead. What is it?"
If 'Whitlea' herself had stated that her idea was quite dangerous, then it was definitely going to be a risky choice the moment he chose to listen to it. Regardless though, there wasn't any other idea coming up within Novus' mind, and he had to end this battle with Amenophis as soon as possible in order to put a stop to the portal's manifestation...
"My power... I'll use all of it at once. I'll infuse every ounce of strength I have into this blade-form of mine, and the moment I do, I want you to stab it into the ground and let it flow throughout the earth."
"... What? But that would destroy everything! The entire planet would be destroyed from the blast alone!"
Her power was the very conceptual nature of eternity itself: if she decided to channel all of it at once onto the very surface of the earth, then it would not only disintegrate the entire world and reduce it to nothingness, but the entirety of existence would also feel the dreadful might of her unleashed power. Was it truly the only way they could win this battle? Or was there another decision they could make that would be far less destructive?
"I know, but... Trust me. You've reached this far with my help, right?" 'Whitlea' reasoned with him. "We need to find a way to overwhelm that automatic resurrection ability she has... The moment we do, you'll have the chance to stop her for good."
"... I don't know about this..."
"Believe me, I don't want to do this too, but among the several possibilities I can visualise, doing this is the only path where I can see you winning..." 'Whitlea' would urge. "So, please... Will you trust me again, dear?"
What exactly was this insane woman thinking anyway? Blowing up everything around him for the sake of victory... He'd be no different from the other, crazier woman who Novus was battling with right now, and the mere thought of the collateral damage it would bring caused him to severely rethink the possible choices...
Alas though, Novus only had a few moments' worth of time in his thoughts, he had no more time left to waste. The only thing he could do instead was to trust Whitlea's words, just like he had always done when he trained under her guidance for the past 100 years.
"... Alright then. I'll trust you again this time. I can only hope this plan you made will work..."
The temporarily slowed flow of time in his thoughts would be dispelled, and he immediately began executing the plan they hastily made– the luminous blade in his hands began radiating with an ever-intense light, reaching a luminosity that could blot out even the sun's rays from shining, as Novus then thrust the sword deep into the very ground he stood on, allowing its terrifying power to surge into the earth and bring about the end of their battle.
'In the beginning the Lord created the heavens and the earth. Now, the earth was formless and empty... Darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters...'
'And the Lord said...'
"Let there be light."
All of her power would surge into the real world, an infinite point of both density and temperature formed beneath the earth he punctured with his sword, bringing forth a wave of unstoppable chaos that would destroy everything around them, even the monstrous blackhole that the empress summoned with one of her spells.
BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!
The world began anew, as the full, conceptual might of eternity brought about the same calamity that kickstarted the universe's mightily expansive beginning...
________________________________________
What on earth was that attack just now? If one could even call that an 'attack', that is...
A mesmerising, lilac radiance, followed by the immediate destruction of everything that had ever existed: a radiant explosion of impossible energies that were far different from the likes of magick, its power levelling the very foundations of the universe itself as reality screamed and fell apart from the fearsome eruption.
Amenophis wouldn't even have a millisecond to process the attack though, as her body was immediately erased from existence as soon as she got caught in the powerful blast; on the other hand however, the automatic resurrection spell would manage to survive the disaster, and it immediately began executing its main function the moment the empress instantly perished due to the impossible attack.
[Chronovial Restoration.]
...
[Chronovial Restoration.]
...
[Chronovial Restoration.]
...
It would've managed to succeed in its mission if only the planet itself had been destroyed, however, that was not the case of what had just transpired: the functional laws that defined the universe itself have melted away, with the spacial fabrics of reality having been torn and shattered until not a single semblance of the old world remained.
There was no air... No ground, no shining sun, or even a single particle of bacteria left in the explosion's wake, and all that remained was the boundless heat and endless stream of primaeval particles that resulted from the chaos. Because of this, the automated spell found itself unable to resurrect its user in a world where no amount of magickal intervention could keep her body alive in such a dangerously hostile environment.
[Chronovial Restoration.]
...
[Chronovial Restoration.]
...
[Chronovial Restoration.]
...
...
...
[Chronovial Restoration... Maxima.]
The spell forced itself every step of the way, yet it would again find no success in restoring the life of its caster... Eventually, it would be forcef to exert its functions to its very fullest, heavily straining its arcane mechanisms to their limits as it performed a miracle that could only be sustained due to Amenophis' incredibly vast mana.
If it could not reverse the region of time and space from where its user once stood to bring her back, then it would rewind the chronological flow of the world itself to achieve its objective: the dreadful conclusion of the world-ending eruption would be undone, as the very event of the powerful explosion would slowly be reversed by the universal-scale reversal of time.
[... Chronovia Incantana: World Reversion...]
The chronological flow of the world's time itself was forcibly turned back, allowing Amenophis another chance of survival...
...
...
A single thought remained rampant in her thoughts as her body gradually reformed upon the world's reversal: 'It was impossible to defeat this man', an absolute truth that was already quite apparent to her after her relatively few minutes of fighting him in their chaotic duel.
That bright radiant light, followed by an instant death that nearly claimed her life if it weren't for the time-restorative function of her golden staff... As soon as her body was fully restored from the reversed flow of time, she had to do everything she could to maintain her distance and prevent him from getting close to her...
Her only goal now was to prolong their battle and stall for time, as her victory would arrive the moment the gateway managed to fully take form– it was only going to be a couple more minutes, and all she had to do was to delay him for as much as she could.
"You resilient bastard... I'll have to give it to you... If you just had more time, you definitely could eventually defeat me..."
Time had fully rewound back to the moment where he began raising his sword for the final thrust, though unfortunately, something new immediately took place as the world's chronological flow fully turned back: her eyes looked above the horizon, and the massive black hole she summoned, which could only operate in the stopped time due to her now-drained mana reserves, now remained as still and unmoving as the rest of the frozen matter around her.
... Indeed, this was a bit of a setback, as not only did the massive, area of effect spell she cast became useless, but the momentous effort it took for her spell to reverse the universal calamity had taken a toll on her golden staff, and Amenophis slowly realised that it would become even harder from now on to stall him for longer.
"... Wait... Shit... Where the hell is he... He couldn't have...?"
Her vision shifted away from the now frozen spatial rip, and as they focused upon where the lone warrior was supposed to be with his sword, the empress would instead find him nowhere to be seen... As expected, she should have known that the reversal of time wouldn't have affected him in the slightest, since he could already easily move through the confines of stopped time.
Alas, if she could have asked another question before another imperceptible slash reached her again, it would only be a lone, yet simple query: if he was able to move through the halted flow of time and hadn't been affected by the chronological reversal at all, then how exactly did he survive the devastatingly explosive attack he made? He was the closest to its vicinity after all, and even with the powerful, mysterious nature of the blade he wielded, he should've at least been gravely injured by the suicidal explosion he unleashed...
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
"... You cunning bastard...!"
A four-fold cut came at her to her right, a series of blows that struck not the skin of her warm flesh, but the gold-metallic structure of her arcane stave, and the attack cleaved her magnificent tool into several broken fragments that could no longer be used to properly channel Amenophis' spells.
[Chronovial Restoration.]
The staff would still manage to restore itself thanks to its time-restorative, automatic mechanism, though the few seconds it took to automatically execute this left another open opportunity where the warrior could attack: Amenophis would have been able to drive him away again with a spell or two, but her current reliance on the momentarily broken stave to cast her spells had provided a brief moment of weakness that could be exploited again.
SLAASSHHHH!!!
Her right arm, which was carrying her magick tool, was severed in an instant, and the cleaving blow would only be followed by another fatal attack that struck her faster than what she could perceive...
STAABBB!!!
The next and final attack came, one where the emanating sword of her opponent would puncture through her abdomen in a swift, piercing motion, making her cough a notable amount of blood from her mouth as a deep sensation of pain began flooding her entire body.
"Well done sweetie, you can leave the rest to me now."
Amenophis could hear the sword whispering to the man she was fighting against, all while her mind remained defiant against the possibility of defeat that had finally turned into reality: her defeat was nigh now, and there was nothing else she could do to stop it from happening...
Simultaneously however, the stopped flow of time would finally be put to an end, as it would then finally reach a normal state and allow everything else to move normally...
________________________________________
THUD...
Amenophis collapsed back-first onto the ground as the sword remained painfully lodged in her abdomen... She couldn't put up a fight any longer, as not only was the pain of being stabbed keeping her unable to focus her thoughts, but for some reason, the blade plunged into her chest was suppressing a necessary function of Amenophis' body, one that would've rendered her as weak as an ordinary mortal if it were to disappear from her completely.
Her magick, the very talent she had been proud of throughout her decades of living as a prodigious mage, the radiant sword was preventing her from using it with even the smallest, most minuscule efforts she could make, and she had now been effectively neutralised into a totally helpless state as a result.
"You were pretty strong, you know? If you fought anyone else other than me... You definitely could have won against them, to say the least."
"... Just kill me already... Stop talking and finish what you came here for..."
Alas, the empress' defeat had finally come, and although their battle had transpired in only 3 minutes, Amenophis had proven to be a difficult opponent for Novus to take down– the only thing she could do now was to await whatever fate this man had in store for her.
"Hm? Didn't I tell you that I'd show you the error of your ways? Killing you won't help me do that at all."
"Then... Why are you standing there so uselessly? Do what you wish to me without delay... I no longer care what happens to me..."
"Don't worry, I'll be doing just that in a moment. For now, let Whitlea remove that corruptive influence inside you."
"... What do you mean?"
The intense, nerve-racking pain of the stab-wound she suffered was suddenly converted into an unfamiliar sensation, one that felt as if she was being soothed by a fire that both scorched and purified her viscera; the feeling of it was somewhat similar to ingesting a terrible-tasting medicine after a day's worth of suffering from a dreadful illness, and it quickly became evident that there were more changes that would come as the radiant blade remained lodged in her bleeding stomach-area.
"What.. What is happening to me?"
"Purification... Or at least, that's the way I can tell you what's happening without bringing confusion."
The draconic mana plaguing her body slowly began withering away due to the sword's power, and the other physiological effects induced upon her would also begin to revert as well: her lengthened ears returned to their normal sizes, and both her snow-white hair and crimson-iris eyes shifted back into their usual, brown colours, all while Amenophis' state of mind gradually began returning to a state of undisturbed normality.
"... Ah, there we go, now it's done. I guess I can pull you out now, right, Whitlea?"
In only a minute did it take for Amenophis' body to return to normal, as Novus then pulled out the sword he had stabbed into the empress' abdomen. To her even greater surprise though, as the sword escaped the warm confines of her flesh, the gaping wound that should have been left behind rapidly began healing as well, to the point that it became as if she had never been pierced by the blade at all.
"... You... You truly are a strange man, to be able to rid me of those soul-corrupting energies... Why do this though? Am I not supposed to be your enemy?"
"You WERE my enemy, yes, but... I did tell you that we're quite the similar individuals, right? I can understand why you ended up the way you were..." Novus answered. "And besides... After years of training in that hellish void, I've begun to realise something important."
"... Important?"
"Yes... Important." Novus nodded as he let go of his blade by stabbing it into the ground. "Life is a fleeting thing... It comes by and goes by in mere moments, but the value it holds is incredibly special. For as much as life is capable of evil, it is also just as capable of doing good."
"....?"
The slightly confused expression on Amenophis' face would convince him to further explain what he meant.
"Hm... Well, to make it simple... Each and every form of life, especially that of humans, has value, and there's beauty in preserving that value and allowing them to strive and become the best individuals they can be." Novus added. "I strongly believe that we were all born with good in us. It's only due to the world's cruelty that we end up becoming evil in nature."
"I see..."
"... Unless of course, if they're hopelessly evil and have no chance of redemption." the warrior continued. "There are times when some people have committed deeds so terrible, that they can never turn their lives around ever again, even if they really desired to... In those situations, it would be better to put them out of their misery, to save the rest from the destruction they'll bring... Or might've brought already."
She couldn't help but feel that he was directing those words toward a certain person: while she knew that he wasn't talking about her directly, it felt like he was trying to refer to someone he met in the past... If only she knew who exactly this individual was...
"You look worried though... Don't be, you're definitely someone who can still be saved. I just did so after all." Novus reassured her. "Although, speaking of saving... Let's talk about something else, shall we?"
The warrior then picked up his blade and raised it into the air to point its tip toward the still-manifesting gateway that Amenophis had cast just moments before their battle.
"I need you to close that gateway. I can cut it down myself, but it would be better to cut it off from the source to effectively stop its formation." he requested. "I'm sure you'll be able to remove it, since you're the one who created it in the first place."
She had no choice but to oblige his request: she was the one who lost their short-lived duel after all, and there was no way she could contest against him again since she would only be defeated for a second time... Despite this however, there was a strong hesitation inside the empress due to her concern for Amunet's life, and she felt the need to voice it out due to the worry that began building up in her heart.
"But... I made a deal with those bastards... I'm sure you're aware of it already, right? If I don't fulfill my end of it, my daughter will die from her illness... I-I don't want that to happen..."
"Ah, about that... Like I mentioned earlier..." Novus responded. "I... Ahem, we, will cure her instead. If you don't believe me, well... Why don't I just show you something to convince you otherwise?"
Novus would suddenly raise his sword again, this time high into the air as he pointed it towards the skies.
"Whitlea, I'll need your help with this one."
The blade immediately whispered to him as 'Whitlea' made her reply. "Definitely, dear~ I wouldn't want to make you look lame in front of her now, would I?"
A luminous beam of light poured out from the blade and soared upwards, inevitably enveloping everything within its vicinity with its violet radiance as it shone upon everything within its vicinity: these wouldn't be the only things that the blade would cause though, as Amenophis would quickly lay witness to the other, several miracles it would bring.
The endless darkness of the skies became normal once again... The toxic, crimson ichor that flowed through the Naelah River returned to its normal, pristine waters, and the several other disasters that Anastasia had brought about make the Dynastium bend the knee... Each and every one of these cataclysms would disappear and revert the destruction they wrought as the violet radiance shone upon them, and eventually, the lands of the Dynastium seemed as if not even a single disaster had swept throughout their lands for the past couple of days...
Of course, upon seeing all of these miracles happen before her very eyes, the empress was immediately convinced that the man before her could definitely alleviate her suffering daughter from the terrible illness that was tormenting her– after all, if he managed to do all this with only the power of that mysterious sword of his, then surely he'd be able to help save her daughter's life.
"... I'll do what you want, but please... Save Amunet, cure her of her illness... That's all I wish in return..."
"I'll indeed do that. But first... The portal, if you may..."
Amenophis sighed weakly in relief, as with the life of her daughter ensured, she no longer had any hesitation in fulfilling the request he made to her.
"I'll do so at once..."
The empress raised her right arm, and an impressively-sized magick circle formed above the still-forming gateway– although she no longer had her golden staff to efficiently utilise her arcane power, Amenophis herself was still an incredibly proficient magick caster by herself, and she was definitely able to stop the portal's materialisation with only a single spell.
[Dimensional Gateway... Release.]
Her hand clenched into a fist, and the gateway would immediately cease receiving the continuous flow of mana it was receiving from her body. Now, with its source of power firmly cut off from its ethereal structure, it no longer had the means to maintain its existence any longer, and it would thus begin fading away into nothingness.
"... Is there anything else you'd like me to do?"
"It's a bit strange hearing you ask that, but... Yes, I have one more request that I want you to do."
Well, as long as it wasn't too difficult to do, or so did Amenophis think to herself... She owed him her daughter's life after all, and there was no way she was going to refuse his second request of his.
"... What do you wish for me to do then?"
"I'm sure you've heard it from Ana. You probably don't know it yet, but... You see, I'm the son she was referring to during your previous conversation with her."
Ah, that man who had the ridiculous dream of conquering the world... She would've thought it to be impossible to achieve in the past, especially by someone she hadn't even heard of, but after seeing how powerful this man truly was, it was definitely possible for him to achieve such a tall ambition...
"Ah, I see it now... You wish for me and my nation... To yield to you, is that what this is?"
"Indeed, you're correct. Your nation can prove beneficial to the plans I have, and I'd really like to have someone as great as you working with me."
"Unlike that vile reptile though, I won't be using your daughter's life as leverage, and I'll ultimately leave the choice up to you." Novus continued. "So... What will it be then? You don't have to answer immediately; I'll let you take your time, and I'll respect whatever decision you choose to make."
Truly, this man in front of her was such a strange one: to be so compassionate and understanding, all while still being an incredibly scheming and conniving individual at the same time... Amenophis found it quite amusing that there was a person who could transcend her in terms of wits, and it made her feel as if it wouldn't be too terrible to submit to him.
... In truth however, Amenophis' pride as a ruler didn't matter to her at all in her current situation, for as long as he kept his promise of curing Amunet's terrible disease, she would gladly do anything he would request her to do.
"... What if I were to deny this request of yours? What if I choose to defy you still, hm?"
Novus would find it a bit funny as he heard this, as it was quite evident that she was merely joking, and that she was perfectly willing to formally offer her surrender; instead, Novus decided to play along with her little jest by responding back to her with an equally confident tone of voice.
"Well, while I did say that I would respect your decision..." the warrior answered. "That doesn't mean that I won't try to 'strongly urge you to reconsider' anyway, right?"
In a well-timed turn of events, 2 figures descended from the air and landed beside Novus in a hurrying fashion– it was Speranza and Anastasia, who could finally move after the flow of time had returned to normal, and as they finally entered into the fray, they immediately readied themselves for another showdown with the Dynastium empress, not knowing that she had just been restored to a sane state of mind thanks to Whitlea's power.
"You've returned, you silly child of mine... I take it that your time there with Whitlea's done now?"
"Master, while I don't know why you're here and what happened between you and that crazy woman... Know that I'm ready to help you fight her the moment you command me to."
An array of turrets formed behind the combat maid's deceptively fragile body and began taking aim at the helpless Amenophis, all while the signature range radiances began emanating from Anastasia's eyes: although Novus wouldn't actually let the both of them attack the currently defenceless empress, the sight of their threatening appearances was enough to make her take back her joke and relent immediately.
"... A-Ahaha... I suppose I don't get to choose in this matter at all, huh? Very well then..." Amenophis chuckled nervously.
"I give you my word that I, as well as the entirety of the Mizraean Dynastium, yield to you, you terrifying monstrosity of a man."
Hearing this, a smile formed on Novus' face as he extended his free arm towards the empress, to which Amenophis responded in kind by reaching out her hand as well.
"Is that so? That's good to hear..." the warrior said as he shook the empress' hand. "You made the right choice this time..."
"Welcome to the team then, High Empress Amenophis. I hope you enjoy your stay with us."