Nephis was climbing up the tree. She had finally accepted the thought that Sunny had gone up there but had not come back for such a long time. She was worried.
'First that guy and now Sunny...'
Nephis frowned as she kept climbing.
'That guy? Who's that guy?'
She shook her head as she continued to ascend the tree.
Eventually, she noticed a large nest. It felt as though she had been to this nest before, but she couldn't remember when.
Nephis then climbed into the nest. It was a giant spherical nest. And in the center of it stood a white-haired man.
She widened her eyes as she noticed Sunny beside him, looking somewhat disturbed.
Nephis grimaced as she summoned her longsword.
***
Leon stared at Nephis for a while. As she summoned her longsword, he narrowed his eyes.
'Not good. I don't even have a weapon right now.'
He glanced at Sunny without turning his head. Even Sunny was thinking about how to deal with Nephis in her enthralled state right now.
"Welcome, dear child," Leon spoke in a calm tone.
Nephis kept staring at him without answering. Sunny glanced at Leon without making an expression.
Leon chuckled. "What? Don't recognize me?"
He smiled as he tossed one of the fruits lying nearby.
Nephis caught the fruit and examined it.
"I speak through many vessels."
Sunny's mouth slowly fell open.
Nephis widened her eyes as she slowly lowered her sword.
"You... do?"
Leon slowly nodded.
"This one here is lost, so I am healing him." He looked at Sunny.
Nephis narrowed her eyes.
"How do I know you speak the will of the Great Tree?"
Leon turned back to Nephis. "Silly child."
His tone remained patient.
"You have been eating my fruits for so long... and you still cannot feel my presence?"
Nephis frowned as she continued to stare at Leon.
Noah stood close to Nephis as he examined her.
"Something's wrong, Leon. The tree's enthrallment shouldn't be this powerful."
Leon's eyes twitched.
Noah turned back.
"It took a month to somewhat make her obedient in the original. This is wrong."
Leon's thoughts raced.
'Just...need to buy time...'
As soon as Aurelia had weakened the two creatures, he would be able to take action.
Nephis finally lowered her sword.
"I see. I must have been mistaken, Lord Tree. Forgive my foolishness."
Sunny had been standing quietly the entire time, watching Leon's performance unfold. For a moment, he had managed to keep his face perfectly straight.
But as Nephis addressed Leon as 'Lord Tree', Sunny's mouth twitched, just slightly.
Unfortunately, Nephis had caught that small slip-up. Her eyes narrowed.
"Why are you smiling, Sunny?"
Sunny froze immediately. Leon slowly turned his head toward Sunny. His expression screamed, 'You moron!'
"I am smiling because..."
Sunny tried to think of something, but his flaw forced him to reply sooner.
"That was painfully stupid."
She continued to stare at him with an expressionless face.
'You're joking...' Leon thought as he let out a low breath, closing his eye in defeat.
Sunny let out a sharp breath.
"Burn it quick," he said, immediately summoning the Midnight Shard and moving toward Leon.
Nephis lunged forward and clashed blades with him.
"Why are you protecting this imposter, Sunny?" Nephis asked.
Sunny didn't answer.
"Hold her off. I'll deal with the tree," Leon said as he ran toward the nest's exit.
Nephis saw this and tried to stop him, but Sunny intercepted her.
She frowned. "Don't do this, Sunny."
Sunny did not answer as he gripped the Midnight Shard tighter.
Right before Leon moved further away, he shouted,
"Sunny! Promise me that we will save them! That we'll kill the tree!"
Sunny gritted his teeth as his muscles tensed from the sheer force of holding back Neph's sword. He did not understand what Leon was trying to do at such a crucial moment.
Unable to think further, he said in a hurried tone,
"I promise!"
At that moment, Sunny's entire body burst with strength. The weight of her sword seemed to vanish as he slightly widened his eyes.
Oathbound had activated.
***
Leon rushed down the tree, messing up many of his steps. Moving with one eye was proving to be difficult. Combined with the constant soul damage he received, even Leon was puzzled by how he was still moving.
Although the oath had given him the strength to push his body forward, Leon could feel thoughts grow sluggish.
'Can't fight like this. Not yet.'
Eventually, he crashed into the ground as he summoned the Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn near the tree's trunk.
"Nephis?" he heard a sweet voice say.
He saw Cassie sitting right by the tree.
'Great. Just what I needed right now.'
His thoughts were muddy and frantic due to the constant pain he was in. He still pushed himself with the small boost Oathbound had provided him.
"Hello, Cassia." He said as the egg materialized near the tree.
Cassie seemed to sense the egg as she jolted her head toward the tree.
Leon narrowed his eyes as the Crown of Ember materialized on his head.
"I suggest you get away from the tree."
Cassie snapped her head back as she realized what Leon was trying to do. She stood up and covered the tree with her body as she screamed,
"Get away from the tree!"
"Don't make this difficul—"
Leon froze as he sensed something. He immediately turned back, but it was too late.
A large bone scythe slammed into the side of his ribs, sending him flying.
Leon hit the ground and rolled away. He groaned in pain as he looked up.
Carapace Centurion.
He also noticed a burn mark near its eye, as it stared at him with some form of relentless fury.
'You again...'
This Centurion was the same one Sunny and Leon had faced near the broken knight's statue.
The Centurion gnashed its teeth together and dropped several soul shards onto the ground. The ground immediately absorbed all the soul shards. The creature was feeding the tree...and being fed in return.
'This is just great.'
Sunny was holding off Nephis. Cassie guarded the tree, preventing him from simply covering it in flames. And a Carapace Centurion stood between Leon and his objective.
'No weapon either...'
The Centurion didn't move at first. It stared at Leon, observing his battered state and missing eye. It clashed its bone scythes against each other, taunting him.
'This little shit...'
He looked at the Centurion, which was much different from before. Although most of its features remained unchanged, it was as if the Centurion had grown in size. It almost resembled the Carapace Demon.
'It's evolving?'
Leon stared at the Centurion. He frowned and muttered under his breath.
"It seems everyone wants to fight me today."
Summoning the Ember Crown on top of his head, Leon healed his body as much as he could.
"I'll make you wish you had run away."
Right then, the Centurion lunged its scythe forward as Leon barely managed to jump over it. His movements were clumsy, as he still wasn't used to fighting with one eye.
Leon gritted his teeth as he rushed forward at the Centurion. The Centurion simply continued pummeling him with its scythes. There was no way he could dodge all of them. So he looked at the two scythes and calculated the strike that would land him near the tree.
He dodged a few strikes, but then one of them hit him again. The scythe caused the armor he wore to cave inward as he was thrown right toward the tree, exactly where he wanted. Leon spat out blood as he felt several of his bones getting crushed inside his body.
The [Radiant Kinetic Diffusion] enchantment on his armor protected him from severe damage.
Ember Charge: [280/1000]
Ember Charge: [260/1000]
He healed himself as he stood up and ran toward the tree. The Centurion followed after him.
Making sure he did not spend too much ember — since Aurelia would need it in the soul battle — he did not heal himself completely.
Leon barely had a few seconds before the huge monster would catch up to him. But right in front of him stood Cassie.
'Sorry about this, Cassie.'
He then stepped forward and threw a punch at her face. Leon expected it to buy him a few seconds to deal with the Centurion.
But to his foolishness, Cassie simply dodged.
'Huh?'
Cassie moved again. Her hand shot forward and struck his chest. Leon was thrown back. His feet lost balance as he fell to the ground.
There was no hesitation in her movement.
Leon had severely underestimated Cassie's ability to defend herself. After absorbing so many soul shards, her punches were deadly for someone as weak as Leon.
For a split second, he remembered standing in that empty dojo, watching her head the world she couldn't see. He called it progress back then, now it just hurt.
She had been able to sense him coming toward her. He had miscalculated everything.
The Centurion was right upon him as it shot its scythe at him. Leon couldn't move. He saw the large bony thing falling down at him.
'Ah...it's over...'
He wasn't afraid. He was just tired. His body was not healed enough to fight, he did not have a weapon, and the situation felt hopeless.
But right then, something fell on the Centurion with a loud bang.
The Centurion swayed as it lost its balance for a second. Its scythe deviated from its course and fell right next to Leon rather than smashing his face open.
Sunny dropped down from the tree and landed right beside Leon. He grabbed Leon's arm.
[You have received a Memory. Azure Scythe.]
Leon immediately stood up as he saw Nephis on top of the Centurion, shakily standing up.
Sunny punched himself in the face as he grimaced.
"We have a few minutes at most before we are enthralled."
Sunny then lunged at the Centurion as he clashed with one of its scythes. Leon sucked in a breath as he activated the Crown.
He saw Nephis about to jump toward Sunny, but right before she could, Leon exploded the space in front of her, pushing her back.
With the Crown now ascended, his control over where he could detonate explosions and the intensity of them had increased exponentially.
Leon then turned back only to find a fist flying at his face. He ducked down as he tackled Cassie onto the ground.
Even if Cassie was physically strong, her fighting skills were lacking, so she had not balanced herself properly before throwing that fist. Leon slammed her into the ground and rolled forward.
Summoning the azure scythe, he got up and threw it at Nephis, who was regaining her balance. He used an explosion to boost it further as the scythe flew at Nephis, spinning violently.
Leon did not bother checking if the scythe hit her as he rushed toward the tree.
Cassie grabbed one of his legs, which made him fall down. He kicked her away and regained his balance before activating the crown and trying to resummon his scythe.
Ember Charge: [140/1000]
Ember Charge: [130/1000]
Ember Charge: [120/1000]
Flames flared up near the trunk of the tree. He took a quick glance at the egg.
The giant grey egg suddenly cracked open. Countless cracks opened up like roots to a tree, covering the entirety of the egg. Red light burst out from the cracks, which soon turned orange bright as even more flames enveloped the tree.
The egg had absorbed and amplified the flames.
Leon then turned back before he was met with a blow to his jaw. Nephis had closed the distance instantly.
His entire body was forcibly turned away as he flew backwards. He slammed into the ground, the impact knocking the air out of his lungs. Trying his best to stand, Leon summoned the Azure Scythe.
Nephis shot her blade toward Leon as he clashed with her. Cassie ran toward Leon, and in her hand was a small blade made of bone.
He wanted to push Nephis's blade away, but his arms were already under immense pressure just from trying to keep her blade still.
Positioning himself, the scythe then lost all its strength as Leon let it vanish into white sparks. Turning back, he then dashed toward the tree as Neph's blade fell down in an arc, missing him by an inch.
Nephis frowned as she stepped forward toward Leon.
But right then, Leon immediately changed directions again.
His foot pinned down hers.
Leon activated [Echo of Spell].
Suddenly, white flames covered Leon's fist as he shot it at her face.
Leon had copied Neph's Aspect and augmented his fist with it. His fist smashed into her nose.
Cassie's blade immediately pierced Leon's stomach. She had somehow gone for the one point on his armor that had been severely dented by the Centurion's attacks.
There was no hesitation or pause in her movements. Her face was contorted with anger and fear.
Leon grimaced in pain as his hand was still near Neph's face. He clenched his fist and struck Cassie's face with the back of his palm with the same augmentation.
Cassie's body twisted unnaturally as she fell down.
Soon after, his hand burned in the same flames that augmented him. The blinding white flames enveloped his hand like a starving beast, finally sinking its teeth into flesh.
The heat was indescribable — not the dull burn of ordinary fire, but something far sharper, as though countless heated needles were driving straight through his skin and into the bones beneath.
Leon felt them crawling along his nerves, scorching their way through his palm as if trying to climb his arm and reach his very soul. But as he stopped trying to mimic Neph's Aspect, the fire vanished, and the burn marks remained.
Leon then grabbed the knife near his stomach and pulled it out violently.
He then lunged it at Nephis.
Nephis immediately batted the knife away and kicked Leon. He rolled away as a sharp pain pierced his stomach.
"Aghh!" He screamed in pain.
Nephis was winning by a great margin. But her movements seemed to dull more and more as they fought. It was as though she hesitated to strike him with every passing second. The influence of the tree had begun to grow weaker.
Blood dripped down from Neph's nose as she lunged forward at Leon.
The Azure Scythe materialized again in his hand as he slashed at her.
Nephis clashed it against her longsword. She used most of her strength, and the scythe was thrown away from Leon's hand.
'I can't use augmentation again...'
Leon clenched his jaw.
His Aspect was at its limit. His body screamed in pain — his soul was still a battlefield. Nephis was too powerful.
Leon even worried for Sunny. Even if Sunny was powerful, he was still fighting a Carapace Centurion, one that was closer to a Demon...
The longsword shot down at him, almost piercing his shoulder. But before it dug deep into his flesh, the blade stopped an inch away. Nephis had hesitated.
Her blade was then batted away by a dark tachi. Sunny had reached Leon. He looked bloodied and battered everywhere. His hand shook as he kicked Nephis away from Leon.
Leon immediately got up and continued to add flames to the tree.
The Centurion rushed back toward the two. One of its scythes was missing. It looked like it was limping because most of its legs had been cut off.
Although the Centurion had avoided fighting Nephis or Cassie, it was now even more furious — and the whole brunt of its fury was directed right at Leon and Sunny.
Ember Charge: [12/1000]
Ember Charge: [1/1000]
The centurion exploded as it halted in its steps. Sparks materialized in Leon's hands as he summoned the azure scythe again and swung it at Nephis.
Nephis looked unfazed as she countered both his and Sunny's blades with ease.
Orange bright flames danced around the tree. The flames only grew larger with each second, enveloping the entire tree.
The entire island was enveloped in a blazing inferno. The heat increased rapidly, as sweat poured from everyone's faces.
The sun had just set that time as the dark sea rose again, causing the huge desolate land to become a tiny island once more. This would undoubtably attract the monsters underwater again. This time, they could not protect themselves.
For a second — everything slowed.
Leon looked at the situation with cold clarity. The pain had kept him awake the entire time. Adrenaline rushed through his body, further increasing his lucidity. He observed the entire situation and...laughed.
Leon snickered, then burst into loud laughter. The situation was simply absurd.
A three-way battle inside his Soul Sea. A 2v4 against his own friends, an Awakened Monster and a Terror. This was the most insane thing that had ever happened in Leon's life.
And he felt exhilarated. His lack of fear, his continuous exposure to pain for the past week, had finally made him embrace his madness. He felt alive right now.
The centurion screeched loudly, reacting to Leon's laughter.
The flames devoured the colossal trunk like a pillar of sun. The sky above the island turned orange, and sparks drifted through the air like a storm of fireflies.
The air turned thick and bitter. Every breath tasted like charcoal.
The giant trunk groaned like a dying mountain. It wasn't just wood breaking, it sounded like something alive was dying. Then the tree split with a thunderous crack and began to fall.
Leon pushed himself with the last of his strength and moved toward Cassie, who was on the ground.
[You have killed an Awakened Terror Soul Devouring Tree.]
[You have received a Memory.]
[A new pattern has bee—
Leon immediately commanded the egg mentally to absorb all the flames. The flames danced around and changed their direction. All the flames rushed toward the egg and entered it through its cracks like a giant whirlpool. The egg absorbed all the flames within seconds.
Leon slowly got up, his body burning from the heat. His breath was hoarse and weak. Oathbound had lost its effect after the oath was fulfilled, and his body grew weaker.
Sunny and Leon both rushed toward the Centurion without wasting a second.
The Centurion's body was completely burnt, but it still moved. Seemingly unfazed by the death of the tree, it shot its remaining bone scythe at the two.
Leon narrowed his eyes. He used the last charge on his crown and shot upward.
The Centurion looked up, changed the trajectory of its scythe, and shot it at Leon, who was still midair. He had no way of dodging this.
But that was his plan all along.
Sunny wrapped his body with his shadow, increased his speed, and shot toward the Centurion. The Centurion's scythe nearly hit Leon, but a blade clashed against its scythe.
Nephis had analyzed the situation and immediately thrown her longsword at the bone scythe. The blade hit the Centurion's scythe, halting it in its path. She immediately let the sword vanish.
Leon continued to fall downward as the scythe materialized in his hand. He had only planned on playing bait, but now he had a chance to end the Centurion himself.
Sunny had slid right below the centurion as he wrapped the Midnight Shard with his shadow.
The two simultaneously slashed at the Centurion's neck.
The Azure Scythe and Midnight Shard bit deep from opposite sides, their edges crossing inside the creature's thick neck instead of slicing clean through.
The Centurion's head seemed to be chopped off, and yet it wasn't enough. The head wasn't completely severed, which allowed the Centurion to still move.
Sunny widened his eyes as he saw the bone scythe coming toward them.
Nephis covered her entire body in white flames as she gripped the longsword in her hand. She used all her strength and threw the sword at the Centurion's head, or at least guessed because of how dark it was.
The sword flew forward and pierced the Centurion's head right in the center. The bone scythe froze right before it hit Sunny. Leon fell down along with the Centurion's lifeless body.
Everything fell silent. The only sound left after the loud thud was the waves of the dark sea.
They had won.
As the tree collapsed outside, the battle inside Leon's Soul Sea reached its climax.
***
Bright orange flames danced everywhere. Fragments of tree bark shattered all around the empty space.
"Why go so far?" The creature asked.
Its body was covered in countless wounds, and most of its flesh was charred. Yet this was not a physical battle, so the importance of such wounds was unknown.
Aurelia breathed deeply. Her flames always depended on the ember charge. Now the charge had just been emptied.
Her face looked tense.
"Tell me...princess." The creature tilted its grotesque head.
"Why fight for the man that betrayed you?"
Aurelia straightened her back.
"Corrupted like you would never understand."
The creature chuckled.
"That is correct. Creatures like me simply move to devour the flames of desire."
"But now your strength is gone."
Aurelia frowned.
"Your will was magnificent. Now die—"
But before the creature could end its sentence, the entire soul sea shook violently.
Both Aurelia and the creature froze. The sea rumbled as though something had just invaded its vicinity.
They turned their heads up simultaneously. At the top of Leon's Soul Sea, something seemed to be falling down at a rapid pace.
The object dropped down almost instantly right in front of the two. So quickly that their eyes couldn't even keep up with its pace.
Aurelia looked down and...
The fog creature was gone.
She instinctively took a step back. The amalgamation of flesh she had been fighting was now simply gone. There was no trace of the creature anywhere.
And in its place, right ahead of her, stood a figure. It was a beautiful lady, whose posture looked strong, her presence unfaltering and domineering. Her presence felt strangely warm, even to the princess of flame. The lady turned around and faced Aurelia.
She then smiled. Her smile looked bright and radiant. Almost as if it was of the heavens.
"Who are you?" Aurelia asked, her voice still tense.
The lady remained quiet for a while. Her smile then widened.
"Take care of him for me."
With that, the lady vanished into the air. Or perhaps her speed was so great that Aurelia couldn't comprehend it.
***
Leon breathed in and out continuously as he gripped his stomach.
He felt dizzy.
He suddenly felt a warm hand touch his cheek as he looked up. Silver flames covered his entire body.
Leon exhaled a deep breath as he leaned back onto the Centurion's corpse. His eyes felt heavy as the warmth permeated his body.
Nephis grimaced as she continued healing him. Leon did not complain, as he was too tired to even speak. But right then, his body underwent another rush of soul damage.
Leon coughed violently as he felt his entire body tighten.
Feeling something rushing through his head, Leon clutched his head and groaned. Suddenly, something burst through the hole in his right eye.
Something akin to a worm, had forced its way out of his eye and landed outside his body. Before anyone could react, however, the worm immediately moved.
Leon summoned his scythe and shot it at the worm that sprawled on the ground.
The creature shrieked. It managed to gather the last of its strength and release a wave of soul damage all around it.
All four of them clutched their chests and grimaced in pain. It then fled back into the dark ocean, not wanting to deal with the unknowns dwelling in the souls of these humans.
Unable to see in the dark, Leon frowned. He used the last bits of his strength to stand up, used his innate ability one more time to copy Sunny's, and moved toward the fog creature.
The creature sensed this, and even though it looked too small to have a mouth or a head, it still spoke.
"I do not know how you have a Spirit protecting your soul, Dreamspawn, but I will return." It said as it laughed hoarsely.
Leon felt pain surge through his mind. He stepped forward, but the creature was already too close to the sea.
Nephis immediately grabbed his arms, preventing him from chasing the creature in the vastness of the dark sea.
Leon shouted. "Get back here!"
He continued shouting at the dark sea, as Nephis struggled to hold him back.
"I'll kill you! You hear me?!"
But soon, some semblance of clarity hit Leon again, as he felt his body finally give in to the immense pain.
His vision blurred, the world tilted. Everything went dark.