CHAPTER. 145: THE END OF THE NIGHTMARE (PART 1)
Through and through, the Forgotten Places were a hellish place. A place where life wasn’t meant to survive, a hostile place that had seen the end of hundreds of civilizations, a cursed and rotten place. And it was the place I had been unfairly sent to, all in the name of a stupid mission. All because I had fought to achieve my goals…
I was sent to an accursed land, one that was unfit to even be called anything but a cemetery, one that was long ruined; and, here, here is where I was sent to fight in order to regain my freedom once more…
Here, where worlds came to die. Here, where civilizations collapsed. Here, where the great plague of the System resided…
But now, all of the struggle was going to pay off or come to an end, whatever the outcome was, everything was going to be over soon.
The nightmare was coming to its grand finale…
And I had front row seats to experience it.
The sounds of war echoed in my ears, corruption exploded all around me, cries and broken shrieks filled the atmosphere. A grand battle raged all around me, and of course, I was one of the participants.
Sol’as’ Spear tore through a Chimera of Error as its dying shriek joined the hundreds of others. Then, tensing my muscles I used [Frenzied Whirlwind] and instantly stabbed dozens of times. Corruption streaked, contaminating the air and yet, we unceasingly charged. Dozens of skills went off every single second, tearing through the ranks of the corrupted forces.
I knew it was just beginning, which is why I didn’t push myself, but I still didn’t hesitate to use skills as needed. Whether it was [Judgment of the Ice God] or [Deadly Impalement], and it was all because the armor we had all received for battle wasn’t any normal armor, but a high tier Artifact.
It was of SS Tier, and it provided the wearer a considerably increased mana regeneration, not only that but the armor itself had self-repair. It was a perfect armor to wear in this bloodied battlefield, however aside from those capabilities it had the capacity to reject the corruption to some extent. It was an armor that Asok had helped develop in these past few days, and the entirety of the army was wearing it.
Which is why, we pushed, bathed in the splashes of corruption as they slid off our armors, reveling in our mighty push. I slashed, I stabbed, I gouged through numerous enemies and by that point I was beginning to feel it; the fervent desire to win that came from the army of civilizations.
They had been corrupted for so long, and now, with a second chance at life they were going to stop at nothing to fight their fate.
We were in the Forgotten Places, we were fighting for hope where planets came to die; and in this graveyard of worlds, the army wanted to come out victorious. And so, they pushed, and I, of course followed along.
My mana, the more I used it, the more corrupted it became; and I knew that eventually, I was going to have to use arcane magic — I was going to need to breakthrough in order to be able to escape this place.
And so, following the intensity of the battle, my nervousness increased accordingly. Nevertheless, I didn’t falter, tearing through enemies — even though they would’ve given me so much trouble when I first arrived, thanks to Sol’as’ Spear, that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, they were killed in a mere exchange of blows.
The army pushed onward with an unrelenting perseverance that broke through any of the corrupted beings in the frontlines. It was a one-sided slaughter that showed no signs of stopping. It was the proof of the greatness of the past, proof of the glory that each of these civilizations once held, and now, it was shown in full splendor.
The corruption was destroyed through, the army was like an unstoppable force that showed no signs of ending. And it wouldn’t be ending, not any time soon, not until the corruption was eradicated and a new beginning came.
The morale was high, the fervent emotions ran wild, and the spirit burned bright, that was until a very deep bellow shook the land. It sounded as if it were from a primordial beast, making a ripple of tension tear through all of our spirits. And soon, the source was revealed; its gigantic figure rose as if it had been in deep slumber, except we all knew what it was.
[̸̴̷̷̶̡̤͔̗̣̏̃̄́͘?̵̴̴̷̵̵̪̘̩̻̖͉͊́͂́̀̽̃?̴̵̵̷̸̴̨̺̣̗͕̠͓̍̋̂̑̒͗?̷̵̶̴̴̵̶̢̻̺̼̭̝͉̩̒̋̓͛́͌͊͛.̴̵̸̴̸̸̨͓͓̺͇̼͇͑̽͌̂͗͝ ̷̴̷̶̷̨̗͎̼̻̒̏͂̊͠?̷̶̸̵̵̸͚̟̦̙̩̱͑̈̉̿̒̈́͜?̸̴̴̸̵̶̛͍̠̦̱͚̭̰́͌̓̈́̀?̴̶̶̶̶̷̷͎͕͔̪͚̘̗̤̿̒̒̍͑̉̇͝
:̶̵̷̶̸̵̣̙̻̫͕͚͙̐̔̇͂̀̕?̶̷̴̵̴̴̯̬̱̭̼̹͊̀̂͌̀͘͜?̴̸̸̸̵̶̱̗̺̙̞͔̑̌̓̈́̽̌̏?̵̴̵̷̷̲̰̜͉̠̾͆̌̀̽]̶̶̸̸̴̵̧̫̖̗͓̦͛̐̈̽̓͝ͅ
The [Appraisal] window flickered, struggling to even give any kind of information, but there it was: the thing that Asok had called an Eternal. A gigantic being hundreds of meters in height, and it was angry. Corruption was beginning to concentrate around it, forming circles and runes of flickering and broken magic.
Danger filled our surroundings in a single moment, the air completely stopped flowing as an oppressive aura overcame us all. A whisper-like echo lingered in the atmosphere, words of old that weren’t meant to be understood but that sentenced us all to death equally, a dangerous curse that would kill us all if it finished—
The world went white.
A thunderous clapping resounded.
And then a resounding scream ensued.
A moment later, the world cleared and I saw the flash of a lighting strike, it had been as big as a mountain and the smoke and destruction had already come before it visually struck. A shockwave swept through the battlefield as I had to stab Sol’as’ Spear on the ground to remain in the position.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Then, as the wave of wind cleared I heard a resounding chirp from the sky, it had come from Nightmarish Thunder, the SSS Tier bird. I watched it fly with its majestic wingspan as yet another smite of thunder came, hitting the Eternal once more into the ground. And with the thunderous clap, came an explosive cheer as the spirits were lifted once more.
The corruption was swept, pushed away as if it were mere trash from that point forth. It was so one-sided I had stopped using skills as anything I fought would be hit by multitudes of other skills, and that sight, even if it was for a moment, made me believe that we were going to conquer the corruption.
But fate had other plans…
It all started with bellows in the distance, ones that resounded deep in our hearts and in our minds, and soon the fear became more than just instinctual as from the horizon in every direction emerged an eternal. Creatures of corruption began to manifest in the battlefield, each stronger than the last, and that’s when the true reality finally came: The corruption was like an endless plague.
It was unending.
It was relentless.
And more importantly…
It was unfeeling.
From every direction in the horizon, corrupted beings I had been scared of appeared, Eternals following.
[̵̵̸̧̢̨̨̞̟̲̗̟͇͎̦̎͋̎͊̂̄͜͠—̴̵̧̧̥̬̺̥̰̩̳̱̈́́͑̆̊͜͠—̶̸̛̤̮̪̰̗̞̠̦̞͌̓́͂ͅ—̶̡̤͇̺̞̾̊̐̀̕.̶͓̫̖̑̿͜ͅ ̴̢͚̩͐͋̇̓͝T̸̙͉̺͖̯͌̓̒̒i̶͉͙͍͚̔̄́e̴̱̍͋́̈͗r̶̠͙̺̤̤̋͜:̸̟̥̅̈́̾͠ ̷̴̳̝̲͑̀̏͂̈́̄͘—̵͕̖͎͎͒̀͑́]̷̧̞̤͔̀̂͛͝
[̶̨̱́T̶̜̹̚_̶͍͖̐̚i̸͙͌s̷̱͍̐ẗ̶̢̓ḙ̵̆_̴̜̋̀ ̶̪̽_̶͕͛ḧ̴̢͇́̎_̶̙̤̓n̶̗͋̇͜g̷̦͉͂T̵͙̼̿i̴̻̖̔e̵̜̪̓r̶̺̽:̶̣̿͠ ̴͓͙̔N̴̮͈͊a̸̼̲͂Ṅ̶̲̓͜]̵̤̭́
[̸̴̷̷̶̡̤͔̗̣̏̃̄́͘?̵̴̴̷̵̵̪̘̩̻̖͉͊́͂́̀̽̃?̴̵̵̷̸̴̨̺̣̗͕̠͓̍̋̂̑̒͗?̷̵̶̴̴̵̶̢̻̺̼̭̝͉̩̒̋̓͛́͌͊͛.̴̵̸̴̸̸̨͓͓̺͇̼͇͑̽͌̂͗͝ ̷̴̷̶̷̨̗͎̼̻̒̏͂̊͠?̷̶̸̵̵̸͚̟̦̙̩̱͑̈̉̿̒̈́͜?̸̴̴̸̵̶̛͍̠̦̱͚̭̰́͌̓̈́̀?̴̶̶̶̶̷̷͎͕͔̪͚̘̗̤̿̒̒̍͑̉̇͝
:̶̵̷̶̸̵̣̙̻̫͕͚͙̐̔̇͂̀̕?̶̷̴̵̴̴̯̬̱̭̼̹͊̀̂͌̀͘͜?̴̸̸̸̵̶̱̗̺̙̞͔̑̌̓̈́̽̌̏?̵̴̵̷̷̲̰̜͉̠̾͆̌̀̽]̶̶̸̸̴̵̧̫̖̗͓̦͛̐̈̽̓͝ͅ
…
The clamor of the army immediately died as an eerie silence settled upon us looking at the beasts in the distance. Then, one of the Twisted Things stepped forward and black and white light gathered at its maw, concentrating in a single spot, and before anyone could react it shot.
In an instant, part of the army exploded. My heart skipped a beat and— another part of the army exploded, then another— three explosions occurred in an instant as screams of pain echoed. And just like that, the tides of battle shifted. Elsewhere, a corrupted being charged and broke through the ranks, in a different place the same thing happened, and I immediately sensed danger.
I blocked with Sol’as’ Spear and my arms trembled in pain as corruption tainted the spear— and I was sent flying across the battlefield. I broke through rocks and piles of dirt as the world spun around me, but I quickly recovered as I raised my spear. With a blur of darkness, a stomp came that hit the spear and exploded the ground around me.
I grunted finally getting to look at the corrupted being, it resembled the fully corrupted person I had seen the first day I arrived here, it resembled the thing I fought with Sol’as’ Spear, and it resembled Asok, except it was much stronger; it’s figure was a lot more malevolent, and its corruption was a lot stronger.
̸̘̂[̷̵̵̴̶̶̶̵̴̵̸̸̴̸̶̶̵̷̸̸̷̷̷̷̷̶̸̷̸̧̢̨̨̘͎̥̙̠̞͖͇̳̬̦̟̪̠̲͇̗̙̟͇͇̙̭̹̭͓̖̞̣͎̭̳̦̜̏̑̎̓͋̎̒̎͂̋͆͊́̌̀͐̾̿̋̽̂̓̈́̄͒͒̈̾̄̕͜͝͠͝—̸̴̵̶̷̶̵̴̴̵̷̵̸̷̵̶̶̶̷̴̶̷̴̧̧͖̲̫̘̼̳̗͇͇̥̜̬̥̺̤̺͇̪̥̻̰̲̩̱̳̪̱̰̩̓̃̈́̔́̏͑͛̆̋̃̎͋͂̋̃̊̅͆̆̔͊̚̚̕͜͝͠—̴̶̵̷̶̷̸̷̴̴̴̶̵̸̶̴̷̸̷̴̴̡̡̛͈͚͙͇̤͖̮̩̪̞̰̹̗̱̞̯̝̬̜̥̙̠̼̦̞͚̽͛͌̌͒̓̍̄̐̋͊̊͌́͂͗̋̃͐͠͝͝͠ͅ—̸̶̶̶̷̴̵̷̶̵̶̷̵̡̞͈͍̹̖̞̗̤̰͇͙̺͓̞͕̤͒͆̾̅̊̈́̐̀̎̌̊̕͘͘̚̚͝.̸̶̸̶̷̸̵̷̷̵̨̼̳̬̲͓͈̫̳̟̖͇́̽̑̃̿͊̓͌̀̈́͋͜ͅ ̸̴̷̷̶̶̷̵̶̸̶̢̨̡̹͉̣͓̰̣͈͚̩̭͗͒̆͐̄͋̃̇̍̓̇̈́͊͝Ṱ̸̸̸̴̶̴̶̵̶̴̸̷̡̢̖̲̲̠̫̙͉̟̺̭͖̯̯̑͂͌̏̓̀̒͆̒͛̄̌̎̅͌i̸̶̸̵̷̴̷̵̵̸͎̱̟͙̲͉͙̟͍͚̝̓̔̀̄͒́̈́͆͑̉͐͘͜͜e̵̴̸̴̶̵̶̵̸̱̖̫̮̜̪̱̠͂̈̍̈́͋͑́̈͂͗́́͜͝ṙ̴̶̶̸̶̶̴̵̵̷̡̼͓̠̬͙̲̩̺͓̤͍̤͉̈̋̋͐̍̽́́̕͜:̴̸̷̸̶̸̴̶̵̫̻̺̲͇̺̟̥̬̐̅̎̈́̓̾̅͐͐͐͘͜͠ ̸̷̴̶̴̸̷̸̷̵̷̴̶̶̶̷̴̛̯̳̖͖͍͕͇̳̪͈̫͚̞̝̝̲̺̃͑̈́̀̍̏̈͂̏̈̄́̈́̾̽̄̿̀̈̚͘͝ͅ—̴̵̷̸̶̷̵̶̷̸̵̛͖̬͙̗̭͕̰̖̯͎̗͎̰̈́̋͒̄̀̔͑́̂͌͆̌̚͜]̶̷̸̸̷̶̸̸̶̷̷̧̝͉͙̰̜̞̤͚͔͔̖̀͒̀͒̂̀͛͌̒͌̽͜͜͝͝͝
It was akin to a corrupted devil, with a tail and protruding horns, and its strength was— I felt my arms creak as I grunted—
“[Frost Lightning].”
The corrupted being looked up, and a moment later a white smite came from the sky. The whole world turned white, and I immediately used [Quick Step], disappearing from my spot in the ground. The world blurred around me, and I appeared only to see and hear destruction and desolation.
The army was already beginning to fall, strong beasts were in all of our surroundings, and my hands, Sol’as’ Spear — they were showing signs of corruption. I frowned and then, immediately used [Stasis], and [Frenzied Whirlwind] one after the other.
My mana got slightly more corrupted and the corrupted being appeared before me— it froze and was stabbed dozens of times as I sent it flying with a broken screeching sound. I relaxed for a moment but then I blocked—
A tentacle of corruption struck and drove me to the ground, I rolled and a slash of corruption narrowly missed— in a single moment danger erupted all around me, I immediately stood and had to guard as a hit of corruption struck, then I side-stepped as another slash missed, filling the air with its darkness.
In a single moment I found myself surrounded by corrupted humanoids of distinct features, all of them just as corrupted as each other, and all of them with the strength to absolutely demolish me. And they were all looking at me as if I was new-found prey.
Where had they come from—? Like fuck if I knew.
The army was struggling, screams of death resounded every second, though even then I could hear the same screeches of dying corruption accompanying them. However, I didn’t have time to worry about things, instead I stared at the group of corrupted beings and a moment later they all rushed.
All of my survival instincts told me to run— but to where?
So I gritted my teeth and made my choice, as I initiated the process of fully corrupting my mana.
“[Frost…]” Where the world became mine.
I ducked through a series of tendrils as a tide of frost swept through all of us.
“[Stasis…]” Where time stopped.
The attacks slowed as two slashes of corruption missed me.
“[Eternity…]” Where things became everlasting.
I stepped out of the way as a beam of deadly corruption narrowly missed me.
“[And a…]” Finally what connected it all…
All at once, the beings attacked but it was too late as I finished—
“[Prophecy].”
And ice exploded all around me, sending the corrupted beings flying. I felt part of my mana immediately corrupt. The atmosphere cooled as I spun Sol’as’ Spear within my hand, and then, with a smile I dug into one of the sleeves of the armor and took out a shining ice crystal.
Naturally, I had prepared for this fight, and it was finally time to put things to use.
I knew that this wave was just the beginning of what I was going to need to fight. But in the end, deep down I knew: I’d win.
Not because of confidence, but because I had to in order to return to see my friends and my only family in this world.
I had to see Ceylon again.
And I shattered the crystal as the beings showed up once more.