The Last Dainv

Chapter 229

Thus began the dance of the last scion against the majestic nightmare demon.

From above the tower, an eye poked through the clouds, witnessing the battle that transcended mere combat. The tower itself trembled and sang with each exchange. Frequencies unheard of rang at the cadence of the fight. A rhythmic ebb and flow. An exchange of bone and claw against will and metal.

The last embodiment of Cev and the Dreaded One clashed. Fear against Courage. Resignation against Will. Each impact sent shockwaves across the platform that rippled outward, and the arena accepted the ripple's will, creating waves in the metal flooring.

In the clouds above where the eye observed, arcs of lightning leapt from atom to atom. Thunder roared after lightning far above struck down at the arena, splitting into four, meeting the tower's prongs. The energies cast the battlefield in shifting light that transformed the fighters into mere silhouettes under the mad sky.

Black blood splattered. Red blood mixed in. The arena painted with their life. The scion's waning sanity ignored the plight of his body, yet his mind did not yield.

Whenever the space between the scion and the nightmare demon lengthened, the space folded, compressing the distance into nothing. What should have been 30 metres became none in an instant. What should have been a fatal surprise was met with a smile and a blade.

The compression of space was understood just as a mere party trick by the lowly being of the void. His blade mirrored the movements of the nightmare demon as if the dance was telegraphed to him eons before.

Space no longer mattered. The space between always infinitely vast and infinitely close.

The Last Child of Cev fought with valour not seen in his fights before.

[Max Load Breached: 1200/150]

The metal beneath them ceased behaving as solid matter. Platforms rose and fell just as their dance slowed and quickened.

Glances at the etchings of the metal revealed more of the past as the sanity waned further into the abyss. It told a story of courage against the tide.

Before the Collapse, the Dainvs of Aurumn, Asain, Vianne, and lastly, Cev all fought at the frontier. Upon their arrival back, instead of a victory march, they were met with guns and swords.

The eye above dropped a tear. A droplet fell onto the centre of the arena. But before it could hit the metal, an arc of lightning vaporized it. Once again, the dance continued.

The guardian compressed space again and again, each time appearing with attacks that should have ended the contest in an instant. Yet the scion was there already, Weber's edge finding flesh at the exact moment talon found armour. They wounded each other in mutual language, neither gaining advantage, both bleeding essence into the watching void.

The tower's prongs bent further inward, now almost forming a cage above the combatants. Energy arced between them continuously, creating a dome of light that pulsed with each exchange below. This canopy of power reflected in the eyes of both fighters.

And still they fought. The battle was no longer a challenge. It was old against new. Human against the symbol of what was supposed to be Dainv. Does fear truly have no place amongst the children of Cev?

A flash of lightning arced across the four prongs once again. Too bright, painting the whole world white.

When the flash faded, what was left was Gale on top of the nightmare demon. Weber was nowhere to be seen, dropped into the flesh mountains below.

He looked down on Arad, fist held up high, clenching tight. His fist repeatedly beat on the minotaur's head.

Again. And again. And again.

For a second, he stopped.

Arad's majestic form faded back into its grotesque self as did Breath of the Void's tendrils receding from Gale's form. Its crown of eyes stared directly at Gale. Somehow, all three heads were smiling, snickering even.

"Master Gale," Arad said from below, seemingly smiling. "If you wish to kill me, now is the time. Take me into your Origin and we will become one."

No.

He did not want to kill this pet. Arad didn't deserve it. A lifelong servitude fit him more. This thing below him was no enemy.

Gale hurled his fist to the Minotaur's face one more time. Black blood splattered across the metal floor. Gathering the blood in his mouth, he spat it out to the side and spoke.

"EVERYONE WANTS ME TO LEAD. WELL YOU KNOW WHAT? I WILL LEAD WITH KINDNESS. I WILL CARVE MY OWN PATH."

"Hahahahaha." Arad let out a low rumble of a laugh escaping from all three heads. The arcs of lightning on the four prongs grew more excited.

Gale stood up and jumped off Arad's body. He kicked the large body away, and Arad skidded to just the edge of the arena.

His eyes set on the centre of the arena where the sword of Cev was lodged. Walking up to it, Gale felt all his hairs stand up; goosebumps prickled at every millimetre of his skin.

Draw me.

That was what Erebus whispered.

His right hand clasped at the hilt, and the sword revealed itself. Flowing lines and edges, a sword made of pure darkness. It held the form of mist, darkness, and metal all at the same time. At the centre of its hilt held a gem, and the familiar trace of void's breadth was at its centre.

With one strong pull, the sword dislodged from the arena. A mist swirled around Gale, forming an eye that looked him up and down. It smiled as if satisfied and then melded into his spine.

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[Erebus]

[Type: Origin Unique Relic]

[Owner: Gale Hathie]

[Description: The armament of darkness and void.]

[Maker: Cev]

[Wielder requirements: Cev Blood]

[Function 0: Allows wielder to learn "One Step".]

[Innate Function: Formless Mist] [Description: Allows user to form Erebus into any desired weapon]

[Function 1: Grants "Dark Mist"] [Req: Resonant]

[Function 2: Grants "Meld"] [Req: Harmonic]

[Function 3: Grants "Divide"] [Req: Origin Awakened]

[Function 4: Grants "Hollow"] [Req: Origin Resonant]

[Function 5: Grants "He Who Looks Back"] [Req: Origin Formation]

[Function 6: ???] [Req: Genesis Weaver]

The sword was in his hands, and a plethora of notifications lit up. But there was no time to waste on examining his new sword. Arad's wheezing came from behind him, the nightmare demon was still alive.

Turning around, Gale walked towards Arad. He looked down on the creature and said, "There are more swords, is that correct?"

Arad took a deep breath, struggling to take a gasp. "There are 7 more."

Gale waited. The answer was too simple to have come out of this creature. There should be more, but the thing wasn't talking. It couldn't be that simple. Lifting his foot up, he drove it down onto the creature's lion legs and crushed it just enough to get a response.

"That's really all I know," Arad laughed as his bones crunched under Gale's foot. "Seven swords scattered through the cosmos... that's all I know. I swear."

Gale didn't ease the pressure on Arad's leg. Too short of an answer for what he wanted. Or maybe he just wanted to let off some steam.

"Those eyes are finally looking down on me," Arad said suddenly. "Not since Master Lucid has given me those kinds of eyes. It's exhilarating."

Great. A masochist. Not to mention, the system told him this thing could become a subject. Now that was a dilemma. Capture a transcendent masochist or kill it and extract its Origin?

"Kill me," Arad said. "Extract my Origin. My death will fuel your valour. In that future, I cull the corruption in spirit!"

"No," Gale said, lifting his foot from the crushed leg.

"No?" Arad's voice cracked, pushing himself up and standing upright. "Kill me or I'll throw myself from this tower!"

Gale slapped the flat of Erebus, causing the chimera to fall flat on the arena once again.

"Why spare me?" Arad asked.

Gale hesitated on what to say. It's not like he wanted to keep this thing or anything. If he could put it inside of Manifest, then it was another soldier he could use against the tide in the future.

Probably anyways.

"It's my choice," he said finally.

Arad snickered. "The stench of fear still clings to the air around you."

"So what?"

"Nothing. It no longer matters. You've shown valour far beyond what I expected from a Dainv of barely 2 Se old. A mere Attuned defeating me as well is unheard of."

True. Gale wasn't even 20 years old yet. Well, technically, Earth said he was closer to 30, but that's beside the point.

"All the Dainvs would laugh if they heard of this tale." He shook his head. "Yet the exhilaration I felt was real. The battle was glorious. The only thing left for me is death."

"Death is something you don't deserve."

"Oh, but why?" Arad genuinely asked. "Out goes the old. In comes the young, isn't that what they say?"

"That's not what I mean," Gale sighed, wiping blood from his lips. "I am a Dainv. But… I am also human."

Arad stood back up again, lowering its posture to have its head be lower than Gale's. "A Dainv calling himself human. It is indeed strange times."

"I cry," Gale continued. "I laugh. I love. Most importantly, I fear."

Arad opened his mouth but closed it. Its crown of eyes seemed to look like they were thinking of something, but it stayed silent, intently listening on what he had to say.

"My fear keeps me sharp. I fear losing the people I care about." Gale stared directly into Arad's eyes. "That's a flaw, and a flaw I preciously keep. I accept my own flaws because they make me strong."

Arad nodded while Erebus pulsed in Gale's hand. Snickers from the shadow echoed across the arena as more lightning arced around the prongs.

"And because I fear," Gale continued, "I'll be fierce to the enemies I fear. And to those I care for, I'll be the goddamn kindest person they will follow."

"Kindness…" Arad laughed. "These are truly strange times that make for strange meetings. I never expected to serve one who speaks of kindness and fear in the same breath as courage and valour."

The three forms of Arad separated once again, all of them barely as tall as Gale. All three knelt before him, heads bowing at the same time.

"Master Gale," they said in unison. "Accept me and we will bathe in the glory of battle."

[Arad the Dreaded One]

[Accept subject?]

Gale pressed accept.

[Subject accepted]

[Name: Arad]

[Alias: The Dreaded One]

[Description: A chimera born of perversion in the deepest depths of the Void. He was captured by Master Lucid as a pet, enslaved to servitude for billions of years. Yet he did not rebel. He revelled in his goal and purpose to keep invaders at bay.]

[Active Ability 1: Voidal Shortening][Description: Using Distort and Alter, Arad squeezes space to make the distance to the target shorter.]

[Active Ability 2: Strike Them Down][Description: His claws carve at space, creating a void that shreds anything in its path.]

[Active Ability 3: Three Body Chaos][Description: Arad's chimeric form splits into its 3 entities.]

[Passive Ability 0: Revel in Pain][Description: Due to Master Lucid's constant beatings, Arad likes pain.]

[Passive summon is disabled for Arad. Active summon cost is 100x due to subject's quality.]

100 times more, which would mean it would cost him 2500 essence per second to even summon Arad. Looking down on the still bowing chimera in front of him, that means after he unsummons this subject, he won't see this chimera for a long time; unless he dives into the void to just talk, but that would be meaningless.

"Your job now is to tell me, how do I use Erebus?"

Arad formed into one once again and smiled. Not the arrogant smile he wore before, but one of genuine sincerity. "As an Attuned, I believe you can only use the function 0's of the sword, right?"

"Right."

"First, try to change its form. Just like you will your abilities, you will the sword to the shape you desire."

Gale held up his sword in front of him and closed his eyes. Picturing the image of a halberd, he willed the image onto the sword. The halberd he imagined was that of Lu Bu's Fangtian Huaji.

Alter activated on its own, but there was no resistance when he felt the sword change. It was instant even. When he opened his eyes, what he saw was an exact replica of the weapon he imagined, except in colours of mist, darkness, and black metal.

That was fine. A bit disappointing, but damn, it still felt nice. Weber only had two forms. A spear and a sword. He didn't know how else to transform it as he needed the intention to shape the sword with Alter.

Erebus was technically formless. Its default was that of a sword. But it could be anything.

"And One Step. What is that?" Gale asked.

"One Step is the sword's bread and butter skill. You'd need to use Distort and Alter to bend the space in front of you and strike," Arad said proudly as all three heads' nostrils flared. "The sword does not give you the skill. You must learn it."

"And how do I learn it?"

"You will the sword. Tell it you want to learn One Step. From there, you will understand the intent on how to use Distort and Alter."

"How do you know all of this?"

"You learn a thing or two after being stuck with this stupid sword and its whispers after a couple of million years."

"Right…" Gale said. Closing his eyes once again, he asked the sword, Teach me One Step.

Suddenly, a flood of information flowed into Gale's brain. The intent of One Step was two ingredients. Distort is a distortion of space while Alter is the changing of the space that the matter occupies. Combine it to distort physical space to punch a hole in reality through which distance is pulled and shortened. After which, a strike needs to be made to complete the movement. And there’s a catch. All must be made in the same breath.

Compress and shorten space. One step forward. Strike.

[Skill formation detected...]

[One Step Lv. 0 unlocked.]

[Cost: 50 (1200) Essence]