★283
At first, our coordination was perfect, each of us moving like parts of a single will, striking whenever the smallest opening appeared. The assaults landed, yet he endured them all with frightening ease.
Then came his byzantium energy, a corruptive force unlike anything I'd ever seen. Every strike that touched it was met with annihilation. Even the O-Class combatants suffered grievous wounds from mere contact.
Mors, wielding the Scythe of Unwritten, carved through the void with sweeping arcs of raw Yuánlì, each strike unpredictable, a storm of fatal trajectories. Recognising the danger they posed to us as well, I divided my consciousness into multiple threads, guiding and diverting every arc, ensuring they only tore through Quantum Quake and nothing else.
Algol, with his God's Wrath, was unrivalled; aside from myself, he was the only one reckless enough to charge the monster head-on, relying purely on brute strength and void-born resilience.
I had taken the time to roughly analyse the way he manipulated his blooming anti-essence. At first, it was an even balance, fifty for attack & fifty for regeneration. But as the battle dragged on, that balance began to shift.
While his non-existence fluctuated on the brink of true non-being, Algol diverted most of his void toward regeneration, afraid that another strike from Quantum Quake could erase him completely before his anti-essence could reform.
As much as I hate to admit it, with Algol temporarily out of the picture, it only meant more burden, more "food" on my plate.
Unlike Algol, Kenos was merely a vessel, an echo tied to the Abyss itself. His destruction was never permanent; each time he fell, the Abyss birthed him anew. Not to mention his revival through his shadows. With every resurrection, his attacks grew sharper and stronger, his powers slowly approaching Nihiliths level of collapse.
Belenos, armed with God's Mercy, was the only one who could survive direct contact with Quake's byzantium blasts. I watched as she was erased in her entirety, body, Eidolynths, Essereos only to reconstruct herself from a single surviving hair strand thanks to Ontospheres holding her very Identity.
For a moment, she channelled the Light Fragrance of the Great Holy Spirit of Light itself. Those weren't mere fragments she used; they were pure essence (Essereos) of the Holy Spirit incarnate. Lucentis at its peak.
The cost, however, was tremendous. A single beam drained every ounce of her stamina, reducing her to a whisper of herself. But with God's Mercy amplifying her vitality and Elara's aid reinforcing her life force, her limits were shattered. She could now wield the beam more frequently, though each strike was still a desperate gamble.
Elara and Phoenix weren't the battle type, so I instructed them to be our support in charge of replenishing and healing. But out of all, Belenos alone required help.
With myself at last joining the frontlines, the balance shifted.
Through God's Will, I duplicated God's Wrath within my own body, amplifying my physical power to near-divine levels. My energy, Aurether, the fusion of Yuánlì, Essereos & Ontospheres, burned brighter than ever, its potency transcending the conventional boundaries of force and form.
(Just like Antares's energy is Essen, Acamar's own is called Aurether.)
With my mastery over Aurether manipulation, my duty became clear: protect Elara and Phoenix, the two most vulnerable among us, who, despite their brilliance, could not withstand the monster's direct strikes.
Every movement was calculated, and each pulse of Aurether was shaped to counter the incomprehensible pressure of Quantum Quake's presence.
In short, we were finally leading the battle. But even then, one question haunted us all: How do you kill something that defies the very Notion of Destruction?
I lost count of the Drops we obliterated in our wake, billions of them fading from existence as we tore through the Pond, a sea of sacrificed worlds.
Quantum Quake's body was mangled, riddled with damage from Aurether, Black Void, and Light, its once-stable form now fracturing with every pulse. It staggered, and for the first time, it released its aura. Sometimes, that completely dwarfs the byzantium force.
My heart rammed once. Things are about to get more intense.
A deep indigo radiance erupted from its core, flooding reality in waves that bent perception itself. And I, standing within Etherium, where Existence and Non-Existence blend as one, I could only stare in absolute disbelief.
"I... indigo? It can't be. How can another variation exist?"
This marks the second time fear truly gripped me. A primal certainty that we were facing something beyond victory, beyond understanding.
"Indigo what?"
Belenos asked, her form radiant with sacred brilliance, light spilling from every pore of her being. She stood apart from us, defiant, but even her glow faltered.
"Indigo Void... this is bad. It's extremely bad."
Elara's tone was grave, her voice shaking, not from weakness, but from the weight of recognition. If anyone among us could comprehend what we faced, it was her.
She was a higher existence, one whose awareness extended past the normal limitations of Planes. If even she spoke with fear, then what we faced was not just a variation. It was an anomaly that shouldn't exist.
"Erekayla, what about it?"
"It.."
Before she could respond, Quantum Quake unleashed its Indigo Void, and the Pond itself seemed to convulse.
(Just because the void in Indigo Void & Black Void is Void doesn't make it Void. I'm only capitalising it to make it look nice.)
Instinct took over. I summoned Aurether, weaving vortexes and barriers in rapid succession to shield my comrades. Every ounce of focus went into preserving them, I ignored the trillions of Drops being erased in that single, catastrophic surge.
The Indigo Void collapsed inward, yet its overflowing essence still poured into reality. My barriers shattered instantly, but the vortexes held barely, diverting a massive portion of the void's power into Unknown Space, while the rest I forcibly absorbed into myself. I expected the worst, but the boundless light within me nullified them completely.
I had questions, but I can't be gluttonous taking in this Indigo Void.
When the chaos finally stilled, the sight before me froze my breath. The background of Etherium, normally clear and transcendent, was now awash in a vast, pulsing indigo expanse, stretching endlessly across existence. It wasn't just destruction. It was corruption given form.
'The normal void wee are accustomed to is nonexistent. But Línglì is responsible for giving it the non-existent state thoroughly.'
Even in Etherium, Black Voids don't exist, but the information about their nihil status does. So, one who masters Divine Línglì properly can interact with that information, leading to interaction with the voids.
'But this is completely different. It is on a plane of its own. A perfect transcendence of nothingness to the point that the Meta of Nothingness is inapplicable. Void steps to Nihilglyphs. Anti-Being beyond Meta, beyond Layers, beyond Existence, beyond Yuánlì.'
I estimated based on my knowledge. And the truth hits hard. The Quantum Quake wasn't form this Reality. At worst, I suspect it to be a spawn of an Ancient One.
"Erekayla, what did you say?"
I asked.
"This information isn't available in this vessel. I'll have to ascend and get the sealed information.."
"Too risky! We don't have time for that?"
Belenos intervened.
"We can't lose a hand at a time like this!"
"It'll be worth it."
Kenos noted.
"We'll be dead before she comes back."
"At least we'll have a way to defeat it."
Cold, but the Emperor stated facts.
"Elara, go. The six of us will handle it. The burdens will all fall under you, Phoenix."
I said.
"I can't ascend physically, so my vessel will remain. Phoenix, protect my body and don't try anything funny."
He giggled.
"I have a lot on my hands, so don't worry about anything funny."
Even in a desperate situation, he never changes.
With this, she drew a magic circle and lay down, closing her eyes. Phoenix stood closer, his magic circle extending under Elara for protection.
"Well, we can do this."
I said before we charged towards it simultaneously.
To be continued...