Zephyr got transported back into the void realm, but this time, the realm had gotten stronger, much stronger. Zephyr felt like he was being ripped apart as his skin started to rip off his body from the winds, the coldness freezing his body, and the void made him sink deeper and deeper into the black mud.
It was pain beyond anything Zephyr experienced. The lower he sank, the more hopeless he became.
As Zephyr sank deeper and deeper, countless memories flashed by. Memories of his past lives, the journey he went through with his comrades, and every death he experienced. But then he thought about the goddess's face. The face that brought him here time and time, and time again. The face he wanted to smash with his fist and keep pounding until it never regenerated.
There is no way in hell I am going back to see that wenches face again.
Zephyr's mind started racing. What abilities did he have, what powers could he use to escape this situation? He couldn't use qi since he hadn't learned any cultist's sword arts and would most likely still be useless since he couldn't use any of the abilities he'd already learned from his past lives. But then it clicked. He remembered what happened after he absorbed the divine energy stone.
Wait, the divine energy stone! It gave me so much divine energy!
Zephyr still didn't know what this mysterious black energy was, but using divine energy was his only option. Closing his eyes, he felt a hot energy radiating through his abdomen. Zephyr tried his best to envelop himself in this energy until a yellow aura completely encapsulated his entire body. With this power, his skin started healing, he started to feel warmer, and the black liquid started pushing him upwards as if it was rejecting the energy around him.
When Zephyr got to the surface, it was nothing like what he had pictured. Three massive pillars on both sides extended way past his vision. A faint light appeared above a throne that just barely allowed him to see in the dark abyss. Right in front of him lay a massive throne, a throne that was inhabited by a massive giant wearing a dark, eerie black robe.
Even if I were as strong as I was in my last life, could I beat it?
After giving it some thought, he shook his head. Being as experienced as he was, he instinctively gauged how large the power gap between them was. And the gap of power between him and the giant was beyond anything he'd ever seen.
Zephyr's body instinctively stepped back, but he forced himself to move towards the giant.
"HAHAHA, how amusing," the giant's voice echoed through the void, his hand slapping the armrest of the throne, "Using the divine energy you obtained from the divine energy stone saved you, hm? Looks like the Goddess's 'blessing' unintentionally saved you. Looks like you're not as helpless as you look, hm?"
Zephyr was going to ask who the giant was, but felt that something was a little odd in this dimension. Zephyr felt like he was there, but wasn't at the same time.
"Can the goddess see us in this place?" Zephyr asks.
"No, this is my plane of existence; besides, I would never let that wench spy on me."
After a long pause, Zephyr asked, "Am I... really, here?"
The giant's smile disappeared, ignoring the question, and instead replied, "It seems that we have the same ideals, Zephyr, so I'm going to be frank with you. Give me your body and I will relieve you from your suffering."
Zephyr already knew the giant's real intentions. He wasn't going to save the world; after he gets rid of the goddess, he'll just take the world for himself, and Zephyr wasn't going to let that happen. Zephyr had no way of beating such a monster, but he was going to need to do something, and he had already guessed one of the secrets to this dimension.
Pretending to look submissive, he let his head go down and slowly approached the giant. As soon as he was at a hair's breadth from the giant's foot, he channeled as much qi as possible to the soles of his feet and leaped, unsheathing his sword and aiming to slice the giant's head in half.
"HAHAHA, how bold of you, Zephyr, knowing you can't beat me, yet you leap, aiming for my head!" A smile crept onto the giant's face as he stared at Zephyr without even moving a muscle.
As soon as Zephyr's blade was an inch away from the giant's throat, the giant suddenly felt a tingle on his neck and instinctively flashed his hand up from his armrest to protect his neck. Instead of the giant's neck, a chunk of the giant's index finger fell, splashing into the muddy abyss.
Earlier...
Am I really here? Zephyr wondered, feeling that this was most likely an illusion.
Based on the Giant's reaction, Zephyr was correct; it was a place occurring in his mind, and the Giant was trying to take control of it.
Well, if this is all in my mind... I can win.
In his mind, he could obtain everything he had and more. He was no longer limited in power, only in knowledge and his soul's condition. As long as he held on and didn't give in, he would be able to win; he just couldn't break.
So he slowly began walking to the Giant, channeling all his abilities. He imagined himself with an infinite amount of divine energy, dark energy, qi, and mana. The sword in his scabbard turned into his most powerful weapon, the Kurogane.
Divine fortification, Divine steps, Aetherbrand, Strings of the Divine
Rune of swiftness, Chroma flux
Burning Soul Blade, verse 10
Zephyr's blade began to grow warm.
Windborn grace
All right, it's time.
Zephyr leaped, feeling the influx of power, and appeared at the giant's neck in a split second, aiming to decapitate the giant's head in one strike. Failing to do so, he activated Verdant Shroud and disappeared into the abyss.
"So... you've figured it out, haven't you? No matter, someone like you would've figured it out sooner or later anyway. But if you thought that because you now know my secret, that you'll have the upper hand, you'll be sorely mistaken. All I have to do is destroy your spirit; it's as easy as that," the giant said with a wide grin on his face.
Zephyr hid behind one of the pillars, catching his breath. In the split second that the finger fell, a dark thread had instantly shot out from one of the fingers, piercing his shoulder. But because he was in his mind, the injury healed almost instantly, but the pain still lingered.
"You can't hide from me, Zephyr. Even though you are using that sect's abilities, it is still my domain," the giant said as a thick black tendril punched Zephyr's side, flinging him back to the center of the stage. Zephyr clutched the side of his stomach, coughing up blood, as his ribs regenerated, the pain stacking with every hit.
The giant, keeping his elbows on the armrest, raised his hands, beckoning Zephyr.
"So Zephyr, tell me, how long do you think you'll last in my domain?!"
Five silver tendrils shot out of the bottom of the throne, dripping with black liquid, flying straight towards Zephyr's body.
Ashen Mirage Slash, verse 10
Zephyr's body started glitching as ten Zephyrs suddenly appeared, running straight towards the tendrils. Five of them got stabbed, causing them to disappear, and the tendrils reaimed their target at the other Zephyrs. The real Zephyr slashed one of the tendrils and immobilized it by chaining it with divine energy. The Giant then summoned a block of abyss towering above Zephyr, ready to crush his body at his command. Zephyr activated his divine steps, creating small platforms of divine energy as he ran straight at the giant.
Lumenweave
Thousands of yellow strings appeared in Zephyr's left hand and shot up at the block, wrapping it in the yellow strings. A hundred black spears manifested in front of the giant and were directly pointed to pierce Zephyr's body. Zephyr pulled the string, and the block shattered into tiny small dark shapes that Zephyr used to fling into the giant and his spears using his strings. Meanwhile, Zephyr conjured up a thick mana shield that he hoped would be able to defend himself against those spears, but also covered himself in an aura of qi just in case the mana shield wouldn't be enough.
The spears started firing towards Zephyr as he also began to fling the rocks into the Spears to counter them. One of the spears had gotten through the barrage and came into contact with Zephyr's mana field when it suddenly just shattered. Zephyr dodged to the side as the blade came flying into Zephyr's flank, tearing a chunk of flesh right out of his body.
Shit, what is this spear made out of? And why can't I use more divine energy? It's almost like there's a maximum amount of power I can use in here, and the rest of it is blocked or something. Or maybe...
Tempest Dance
Zephyr stopped using mana and just focused on his divine energy and qi. He used Tempest Dance to gain unimaginable speeds, and, combined with Divine steps, he was able to counter the spears with the chunks of abyss he was throwing, and his speed allowed him to dodge whatever slipped through.
The silver tendrils had finished dealing with clones and redirected their target back to the Zephyr, dodging every spear.
Goddamn it, now I'm going to have to dodge these stupid tendrils on top of the spears.
The giant, growing exasperated, exploded a force of abyssal energy, forcing everything away and sending Zephyr flying down at mach speeds. Zephyr crashed down into the abyss, sending a loud boom echoing across the expanse. Zephyr tried to get up, but it was no use; every fiber of his body was destroyed, and it would take a while for it all to heal back. Moreover, his consciousness was fading whilst his body was beginning to feel numb. Determined to stay alive, Zephyr stabbed himself in the leg, his eyes gaining back focus.
"Enough of the show, just give me your body!"
Zephyr slowly stood up, realizing his arms had taken the brunt of the force and were now unusable.
"Getting desperate to finish this quickly, am I right?" Zephyr screamed.
I won't be able to win with just this; it looks like I'll need to use dark energy. I didn't want to do this, but I have no choice. I'll need to buy as much time as possible if I want my gamble to pay off.
Zephyr activated all of his prior abilities yet again, but added one key addition.
Mindrender
"Come at me, Zephyr! With your weak body, how long do you think you'll last this round?" The giant exclaimed with a grin on his face.
Zephyr fought to keep this ability in control, but with how much dark energy he used to supply this ability, it was hard for his own mind to overpower his bloodlust. Eventually, he had no choice but to give in because of the endless assault of spears. He picked up the hilt of his sword from the ground using his teeth and dashed straight towards the flying spears. All Zephyr could think about was to kill the giant, nothing less and nothing more. He dodged every spear flying in his direction, deflecting them with his sword at ludicrous speeds.
Shocking the giant, he sent not just the five silver tendrils, but twenty more flying straight into Zephyr's direction. Zephyr tried slashing some of the tendrils, but it was seemingly indestructible and just came back flying at him. Zephyr, in his berserk state, didn't even think about trying to use the divine energy to stop the tendrils, and besides, he was focusing on something else during his berserk state, something much more important to winning this battle. Zephyr stepped on the tendrils as they flew upwards to him, using each one as a stepping stone to get closer to the giant.
A hundred meters away, Zephyr made his move. Knowing that the arrogant Giant wouldn't expect Zephyr to be able to appear from Zephyr's position to the Giant's position in one second, he did exactly that. Zephyr combined every movement ability he had into one leap from one of the tendrils and appeared at the Giant's nape, slashing his blade right into it. Instead of the blade cutting through, it stopped right in the middle; his head had been disconnected from his body.
Zephyr's berserk state disappeared, and the way he died in his past life flashed in his mind yet again. How he was helpless in front of a being that shouldn't exist.
I- I'm not dead yet, relax, Zephyr. This won't be a repeat of your last life. The pain may be unbearable, but it will not break you.
The Giant raised his hand and grabbed Zephyr's head with his thumb and index finger. He raised his Zephyr's head in front of the Giant's head, taking a good look at it.
"Nice try, Zephyr, it really was. You almost got me there, I'll admit it. But it wasn't enough, Zephyr. Let me show you the true extent of my abilities, shall we?"
The giant grabbed Zephyr's body from the ground and attached it back onto Zephyr, and threw him back down. Staggered, Zephyr got up and was immediately brought back down to his knees.
Finally, the Giant decided to stand up.
The Giant's voice boomed, "ZEPHYR. DESPAIR AT THE GAP OF OUR POWER."
The Giant took a step, forcing Zephyr back down yet again under the pressure.
"I CAN FIX THIS WORLD, ZEPHYR, DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU LACK COMPARED TO ME?"
The Giant took another step, this time breaking all the bones in Zephyr's body.
I need to just survive a little bit more, come on.
The Giant pointed the palm of his hand directly at Zephyr and shot five spears that all pierced Zephyr's body. His arms and legs dangled over his body as he stared at the behemoth above him. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he clenched his teeth and used his arms to drag himself out of the spears, collapsing next to them as the holes in his body started to fill.
"You know, I can see why the Goddess picked you, Zephyr. Your tenacity is very entertaining, to say the least. But it's time to stop struggling. You've seen the limits of your power; it's time to let me take the reins."
"I- I," Zephyr coughed, gasping for breath, and continued, trying to stand up, "I can't let someone like you take over this planet."
"Tch, so be it. You've made your choice."
A spike of abyssal energy flew towards Zephyr at lightning speed, nearly hitting Zephyr square in the skull.
This isn't his normal attack. I recognize this technique. It's an attack used from dark energy, where a ludicrous amount of dark energy is concentrated into one attack and is fired towards one enemy, not to kill them but to cause them to despair, to experience pain indescribable from normal means. He wants me to break.
Zephyr ran straight towards one of the pillars as concentrated abyssal energy was being shot at him every five seconds. The pillar wasn't sturdy enough to block the attacks from the Giant, but it brought him enough time to get his head straight. A couple of minutes was all he needed to win this fight. Leaping from the pillar, Zephyr channeled the rest of the qi into these last two techniques.
Verdant Shroud
Using an ability from the Verdant Sky Pavilion, he leaped from pillar to pillar, using the strongest cloaking technique known to man.
A couple of bullets were close to hitting his head, but those that he wasn't able to dodge, he moved his body just enough so that they would hit a different area. It hurt like hell, but it was his only choice if he wanted to survive.
Flamefang Thrust, verse 10
Leaping as close as he could to the giant with the Verdant Shroud, he disabled it, putting as much qi as he could into the Flamefang Thrust, unleashing a ten-foot-long fire-shaped blade as sharp as obliviron, a metal that could cut through almost anything.
The tip of the blade started to pierce the giant's throat, but in a millisecond, Zephyr could no longer feel below his torso.
Fuck
The Giant grabbed Zephyr's upper body with his left hand and pointed his right index finger at Zephyr's body.
"As I've said before, Zephyr, it's useless. Just face it, you can't beat me. I suppose you'll watch me conquer this world in the afterlife."
Hah, I just needed fifteen more seconds.
The giant shot a concentrated bullet of abyssal energy into Zephyr's skull, and his vision went dark.
Zephyr woke up in a dark room, tied to a chair. His mouth was taped, and he couldn't scream. His comrades suddenly appeared in front of him, and he screamed for them to help him, but it was helpless. All he could do was stare as he watched them leave him, while his comrades were being chopped to pieces one by one by an unknown entity for what felt like eons.
Zephyr appeared back in the abyss, crying and gasping for breath, knowing he was only there for a few seconds, even if it felt like an eternity.
"So, are you ready to give me your body, Zephyr? You know you can't save them yourself." The Giant leaned down next to Zephyr's ear and whispered, "You need me."
Without a response, the Giant replied to the silence, "Well, I suppose it's time for round two."
Should I just give up? I was so close to making my plan succeed, but it looks like it was all for naught; it didn't even affect him at all.
Just when the thought set in, the Giant fell back, grasping his head in pain.
"Ahhh, so that's how it's going to be then, Zephyr. Ok then, let's see who breaks first, then, what do you say?!" The Giant yelled.
Wait, it works! I can't give up now. I have to keep moving.
The Giant pointed his finger at Zephyr again and shot another bullet.
Zephyr dodged by a hair's breadth and started limping to the nearest pillar. If he wanted to live, he had to move. The Giant, disoriented, couldn't land a clean shot at Zephyr and instead decided to just focus on getting up. His head was spinning, and knowing his domain was going to collapse soon, he stood up and used his pressure to force Zephyr down, but it was too late.
Alright, one last time: Verdant shroud
He hid behind one of the pillars and masked his presence as well as he could. Zephyr was forced down by the Giant's pressure and couldn't move, but knew that because of the Giant's disoriented state, he wouldn't be able to locate Zephyr's exact position.
The Giant's voice boomed across the expanse, "WHERE ARE YOU, ZEPHYR? THERE ARE ONLY THREE PILLARS HERE, AND ONE OF THEM WILL HAVE YOU BEHIND IT."
The Giant concentrated a block of abyssal energy over the pillar to Zephyr's left and crashed it down, crushing everything in its path. Another wave of pain hit the Giant's head again, and he fell back down into his throne, letting his pressure weaken a little.
"Haaa, Zephyr, you're an annoying piece of shit, you know that? Just stop hiding and come out, would you?!" The Giant screamed.
Zephyr held his breath, hoping that the next pillar wouldn't be his. Another pillar came crashing down, and thankfully, it wasn't his.
Alright, come on, all I need is thirty seconds, shit, what do I do, what do I do.
Using every last bit of his energy, he threw himself over to the center of the room right before the block crashed down on him.
Another wave of pain hit the Giant, causing his vision to blur.
Just twenty seconds, Zephyr, just twenty seconds.
Zephyr slowly started limping towards the Giant, grabbing his sword.
"There you are, you rat!" The Giant exclaimed as he shot spears in Zephyr's direction.
Zephyr easily dodged them with the Giant's poor aim due to his poor vision, but because of Zephyr's poor condition, it was inevitable that he would get a couple of scratches here and there.
Just ten seconds, please!
"Alright, you know what, Zephyr, if I can't get rid of your will to live, then I'll just force your soul to break. I know it's close to breaking, Zephyr, so how long can you hold on?!"
A shell of abyssal energy formed around him, and he could feel his consciousness fading.
Shit, all I need is five seconds, I need to stay awake!
In an act of desperation, he imbued his sword with flames and stabbed himself in the abdomen. In that moment of unbearable pain, he sent all the remaining amount of divine energy to his head and felt the forces weaken around him.
Zephyr, now out of the shell that encapsulated him, saw the giant's ghastly form still present, and in an act of desperation, the Giant sent tendrils aimed straight at Zephyr's head.
"If I lose, I'll at least take your soul with me!"
But it was too late. A smile crept onto Zephyr's lips as he lay back, knowing he won.
checkmate
The "dimension" started to crack as the tendrils rapidly approached Zephyr's head. But it was too late for the giant; Zephyr had returned to his residence. Zephyr, falling backward, instinctively touched his neck and torso, making sure they were still intact. He had done it, he had gambled it all and escaped the void's grasp.