Immortality is a power many people would give anything to possess. Myths and legends have been woven around countless places and objects, which supposedly grant their visitor or possessor the gift of eternal life. But what no myth had ever mentioned is that while certain individuals may indeed obtain such incredible power, it never comes in its purest form. Immortality will always have a flaw. That is simply the nature of things. Just as nobody can truly construct a perpetual machine, similarly, there is not a single existing being that would be able to obtain truly infinite life. Sometimes, it does not protect a person from severed limbs, eventually leaving its possessor as only a head without a body or appendages to move around. Other times, its weakness is something like total disintegration and destruction of essentially every cell in the immortal's body. However, to truly be immortal AND indestructible? Nobody, not even the highest of beings have ever managed to achieve that. Across all worlds and realms, true immortality remains a fairy tale.
"Your own power is immortality, is it not?" Jack asked Ifrit with an expression similar to that of a parent who had just found out where had their child been hiding their sweets.
"I see, you've figured it out. I suppose that leaves you in a difficult situation then. How do you plan on killing me if I can't die?"
"Well, you may be immortal, but you are not indestructible. I have watched you VERY carefully, you see? Those bandages around your hands and legs are there for a reason, right? And surely it is for much more than just hiding those unpleasant glowing cracks on your skin. Truth is, they are holding your appendages attached, right? Two bracelets and two anklets, each imbued with elemental power. I am pretty sure they work as catalysts through which you can use the more advanced magical books floating behind you. That is a remarkable setup. Truly, you are a god-like creature. Control over all elements, ability to generate them, all combined with immortality? That is one powerful mix. But perhaps too powerful for one person to handle."
"You don't know anything. I can handle this power just fine, and once I turn in the remaining bits of the Divine Creativity you stole, I will become a truly perfect being, capable of transcending even different planes of existence!"
"Disappointed, that is what you will become. I understand why you feel like you are in control. The Divine Creativity you picked up after Edward came to this world granted you superhuman regeneration, practically immortality, just like it granted me the control of time. Do you not understand? It is just a gift from Divine Creativity. You are not actually immortal. Especially now, when you have traded away the fragments. What you have is just a leftover sliver of divine power. Using all those artefacts is breaking you. The only reason you can still survive is due to your ability. But each time you use it to walk back across that threshold of death, the less stable your body becomes."
"Is there a point in this? Did you come here just to tell me some fucked up bedtime stories about my health?"
"No. I just somehow believe that if you knew what was going on in your body, you would realize just how pointless your struggle is. Any more power and you will literally fall apart. No transcending will ever happen. If you follow this path, Farvis, you will..."
Hearing his real name coming from a man like Jack irritated Ifrit. As much as he'd hate to admit it, he wasn't a perfect being. His emotions were still present, making it clear to him that they are not going anywhere anytime soon. And so, angered by the old man's lecturing, he opened one of his magical grimoires. In the next moment, three small bullets made of lightning flew right out of it, aiming for Jack's head, heart, and stomach. However, despite their nearly unperceivable speed, they missed their target. Barely a meter from him, they stopped and stayed as if frozen in place, surrounded merely by a strange transparent aura, which seemed to slightly warp the light passing through it, making it look like it was swaying from side to side.
"Oh come on, do not interrupt me, that is so rude," Jack said and clenched his fist. The magical bullets popped into a bunch of sparks, which then quickly disappeared completely.
Ifrit could not understand just how much stronger Jack had gotten. All he knew was that now he had even better control over his force generation ability. He'd most likely even be able to manipulate time, in a similar way he could before, but since everything in their vicinity was either touched by the Divine Creativity or came from the void, such power would not have any effect here. But that did not matter. The force manipulation seemed threatening enough. For that reason, Ifrit decided to go all out with his powers. No more holding back and no more games. The flaming blades that were floating in the sky, generating several smaller shields, turned their pointy ends towards the city and started raining down in a hail of swords.
Jack grabbed his cane in one hand and raised the other one to the sky. The blades suddenly started slowing down, eventually even stopping as the strange warping aura surrounded every single one of them. But that was not the end. Jack's force squeezed the blades, forcing the magic that created them to erupt, yet containing that eruption in a series of perfectly round fireballs, which seemed like many smaller suns, due to the visual warping effect.
"You will regret that," Jack threw a few words at Ifrit before doing the same with the floating stars. Several of them hit the sharp edges of the ruined buildings on their way down. From these few projectiles that had "missed," Ifrit could see just how destructive they were. The massive explosions they created nearly deafened him. He had to act fast to survive. Another one of his stronger spells had begun to move. The colossal ice dragon, whose body was previously catching any meteors coming from the sky, turned its attention to the fight below. Then, as quickly as his master could command him, he swallowed every one of the condensed explosions he could and popped the rest. Then, once Ifrit was definitely out of harm's way, the magical reptile turned to Jack and rushed at him at a terrifying pace. Jack merely firmly grabbed his cane, and just before he could be swallowed by all that animated ice magic, he swung his wooden weapon up to the sky. An immense wave of force flew out of it, tearing through the gigantic dragon as if it was a mere balloon. As that happened, all the ice energy got released, sending shards of ice flying in all directions. Each such shrapnel was about the size of a pickup truck.
The two men handled the sudden storm of frozen rocks differently. Jack put his cane under his armpit and clapped, releasing a shockwave that threw all the shards away from him. Ifrit, on the other hand, decided to use them to his advantage. Out of the layer of water that still hadn't evaporated from the ground, many liquid tentacles sprung up. Each of them started catching any rubble that might have a chance at injuring Ifrit and threw it back at Jack, who either destroyed or deflected them with a few powered-up punches.
Since Ifrit noticed that he can't even scratch Jack with such a simple attack, he decided to step up his game a bit. While the ice was still being thrown at his enemy, he opened up a different book. Jack soon found himself facing not only a rain of ice shards but also a massive wave of flames heading towards him, engulfing everything in its way. He smiled. Deep inside, he hoped that Ifrit would pull out some sort of a surprise like this and that this whole struggle wouldn't be so boring. Jack threw his cane aside. There was no need for it anymore. He braced himself and started throwing one punch after another towards the flame wave. The force that each thrown fist produced would send a bus flying. When Ifrit saw the sudden increase in Jack's resistance, he grinned as well. Finally, he made him take this seriously. In an attempt to overpower him, Ifrit threw more and more flames at the old man. The city was shaking. Sparks were flying left and right. Jack's attacks were tossing the rubble around like there was no tomorrow, while all the stray flame of Ifrit's magic flooded the street and all the nearby buildings, filling each and every crevice. This went on for a solid minute before they both stopped. Sparks finally started to die out and the dust slowly settled down.
They watched each other for a moment, both slightly crouched with hands held up and ready to fight and defend themselves against the other's attack. Jack was the one who moved first. This time, he used his force manipulation to throw himself at Ifrit, ready to punch him with all his power and most likely take off more than just his head. At the very last second, Ifrit stepped away, using his lightning magic to carry him aside way faster than he normally would be able to. He saw the attack that was supposed to kill him as it tore through the ruins of a nearby building, creating a new, rather massive entrance point to it. Although that scared him, there was no time to waste. Any single second he'd spend not fighting back was another chance he'd give Jack to kill him. Another batch of the water tentacles grew out of the ground, while the book with the water symbol on its cover started pouring gallons and gallons of cold water onto the street, letting Ifrit's spells use it as fuel. Each of the tentacles then started shooting water out of its tip, but with immense pressure. It was similar to the single attack that nearly killed Shade back then. Only this time, there were eight different beams of water using it.
Jack danced between the liquid blades with an odd elegance. Not for a moment did he seem to be lost, confused, or scared. When the water attack was coming his way, he dodged it. If he couldn't dodge, he'd disrupt the flow with his force magic. Watching it must've been a spectacle like no other.
But Ifrit had no time to stare in awe at the physical prowess of his enemy. While it may have been true that he had Jack mostly cornered, the old man still managed to use a wave of immense pressure as a counterattack every once in a while. Therefore, Ifrit had to stay on his guard. While the water tentacles would handle the offensive, his job was to simply stay alive and block or dodge anything Jack would throw at him in a desperate attempt to end the fight.
One such wave approached Ifrit from almost a blind angle. If it wasn't for his quick reflexes, he would've been crushed by the force right then and there. Fortunately for him, he could block these attacks by releasing a burst of wind powerful enough to counter the force behind Jack's attack. However, that was not the problematic part. What Ifrit struggled with was seeing the attacks in the first place. Unlike other types of magic, force manipulation did not have any specific visual aspects to it. It was simply an invisible projectile the size of a car and the power of a speeding train. The only way to notice them was to feel them. As the waves were approaching, they were pushing air in front of them, creating an unexpected breeze. Other than that, one could notice them by looking closely at the slight warping effect they created as light passed through them, but in the middle of a battle, spotting such a minor detail was nearly impossible.
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Ifrit managed to counter one of the stray waves without much trouble and got ready for the next one when suddenly, he felt wind gently blowing through the hair on the very top of his head. "Above me?!" flew through his mind. With a hasty lightning spell, he was able to shove himself out of the way, just in time to see the place where he was previously standing get crushed by the immense pressure.
A few stray lightning bolts flew off of his body before the spell's effect disappeared. While it granted him great speed, it was incredibly ineffective to use. His eyes were not used to moving at such velocity, so whenever he'd stop, he would start to feel slightly dizzy, not to mention that each time he used it, the electricity created by the spell ran wild through his body, damaging it. While it was no problem for him to regenerate, the pain that came with these quick movements was no laughing matter.
As Ifrit was dealing with his own issues, Jack figured out a way to stop the endless water attack. On the palms of both of his hands, he created a small yet very powerful source of force, pulling all the liquid from the water tentacles to him, before dispersing it, scattering the water across the whole street.
Ifrit saw this and immediately knew he had to attack again. If he'd allow Jack to go on the offensive, he'd die. But the recent pain caused by the lightning step gave him an idea. While he might not be able to withstand such magic, perhaps he could create something that would. His ice magic was perfect for this. It was surprisingly easy to shape and manipulate, and so, just as he created the semi-transparent blue dragon before, now he summoned several humanoid figurines. They looked like a very early stage of statue making process, lacking most bodily features, or even basics such as wrists or ankles, but there was no time to care about the design. All they needed was a quick enchantment with lightning magic and they were ready. One after another, the ice dolls rushed towards Jack at enormous speed. Their attacks, however, were not difficult to dodge. They may have been fast, but they lacked any sort of faster thinking, so their paths and patterns were predictable. However, that does not mean they could be underestimated. Ifrit was producing them one after another, just as fast as Jack was managing to destroy them. Countless icy heads were shattered or torn off, with numerous frozen bodies scattered across the street. Jack could not move towards Ifrit without great caution. He just kept on approaching one step at a time, killing any ice puppet that would come flying his way. Ifrit saw this and started backing away, but he knew far too well that he was at a disadvantage. Sooner or later, he'd back into a pile of rubble behind him and he could not float away while performing such a complicated spell like the ice dolls. He was stuck literally between a crazy Englishman and a pile of rocks.
An incredible amount of thoughts was going though Ifrit's head. He was running out of ideas. Jack's power was not something that could be used very creatively. Push, pull, or crush. That was it. Three core principles behind his every attack. But Ifrit's powers were complex - six different elements that were, however, too weak to handle such a powerful opponent on their own. What he needed was a creative combination of them that would be able to somehow withstand anything Jack could toss at it. However, even the ice dolls and their lightning speed have proven to be ineffective. Their movements were fast but too dull, and making something smarter would require time, which Ifrit didn't have. And so he had an idea. An idea so primitive yet so perfect - to simply use everything.
Many of the books behind him flew open all at once. The last ice puppets have left their master's side. It was now or never. He had no time to worry about the shape, form, or effect. All he needed was an unparalleled destructive power. He kept on condensing more and more fire into a single large flaming ball in front of him. He was pumping it full of lightning magic to make it faster than any bullet. The ground around him started to melt into magma, pouring into this "final spell". A concoction of the most dangerous elements.
Jack noticed the calamity in the making and although he would not admit it, it frightened him. A spell like that would already be powerful enough to clear out the whole street and it just kept growing in power. He had to stop it, no matter what. This, however, required some creativity, which was not exactly his strongest feature. At least not under such pressure. Therefore, he decided to simply do the same as Ifrit, and instead of inventing a new technique, he'd only pile all the spells he knows on top of each other. He started with a massive attractive force in the centre, working almost like a black hole, only the size of a van. Then he surrounded all that with a bubble of an aura that would try to negate any other force, making sure that the black hole would not get too overwhelmed. Then, to top it all off, he created several more such magical bubbles, but much smaller, which were orbiting around the bigger one, disrupting any incoming attack even before it would reach the centre of the spell. He wanted to further develop it, but there was no time. Ifrit's magic was changing, growing alarmingly powerful. If he was to hold his attack any longer, he might not have a chance to use it. Therefore, he simply sent it flying towards the false god, hoping for the best.
Ifrit's magic was getting out of control. At first, the brightness of the fireball he was creating grew, until it looked like one giant light bulb. But when he crossed this threshold, for some reason, the flames started to darken. They got orange first, then red, crimson, and eventually, they blackened completely, absorbing light instead of producing it. The lightning that surrounded the fireball did the same. From almost cartoonish-yellow, it was now dark grey. The only thing that did not change too much was the magma surrounding the spell. It could potentially grow even stronger, however, Ifrit simply had no more time. The moment he saw something big and swirling moving towards him, he released the spell, not willing to risk being hit by some sort of Jack's trump card. The fireball flew out of his hand, briefly forming into a shape of a massive serpent before crashing into Jack's counterattack.
The tons of smaller black holes started to pick up random pieces of rubble, tossing them around. The lava that had been poured into Ifrit's spell erupted along the path of his attack, flowing like a river down the street. Jack had to constantly keep pushing the molten rocks and flying rubble out of the way unless he wanted to be burned alive or crushed and smeared across the pavement. Ifrit did a similar thing, blowing any incoming danger away with air magic.
"There we go, just a tiny bit more," said a very distant voice.
The flaming serpent bit into the massive black hole, while the smaller ones were ripping its body to shreds, throwing embers of black flames all over the whole block, setting fire to anything they touched. No matter if it could naturally burn or not, the dark flames consumed all, spreading without a sign of stopping.
"Come on... I can almost see the light."
As the serpent was biting into the massive orb, the raw force magic only grew stronger, tearing the snake apart once and for all. As it happened, dark bolts of lightning started shooting out in all directions. Wherever they landed, they caused a small explosion and almost a total disintegration of any matter that stood in their way.
The city literally turned into a hellscape. Molten magma flowed down the street, rocks, and rubble flew around, lightning demolished whatever it touched, and black fire rotted away anything that managed to survive. It was utter and complete destruction. And amidst all this fighting and madness, dark doors somewhere not too far away flew open wide.
Loud noise and a blinding flash of light filled the entire block. Jack could feel something throwing him backwards, but he couldn't tell what it was. Then, before his vision could return to normal, something stabbed him in his hands and feet, holding him suspended mid-air. Ifrit didn't feel any better. He too flew away as the explosion occurred and quickly found himself surrounded by... something. There was a layer of something rough yet malleable slithering and wrapping around his body, like many stone snakes. He couldn't move, no matter how hard he tried.
"Ah, what a lovely sight." Something was talking. For a while, neither of the two men knew what the hell was going on, until the moment their eyes recovered from the bright flash.
Their spells were all gone and along with it, all signs of the hellish realm they'd created. Where once was fire and magma now stood many massive spikes, made out of a strange black rock. But the most unusual thing was the creature in the middle of all this mess. Where the burning serpent once bit the massive black hole, there was now a small crater, and inside stood... something. It looked like a humanoid creature, although resembling one only loosely. As if its entire body was perfectly black, not reflecting any light whatsoever. Dark smoke was coming from the body of the being, giving it a look similar to Soul's. Its arms, shoulders, and whole back were covered with countless spikes of various sizes. Long claws then only made the crazy look seem worse. Its legs could not be seen. Instead, it only looked like it was wearing some long robe reaching all the way to the ground, yet for some reason, it seemed to be a part of its body, instead of clothing. But the worst of all was the face. Spiked head as well, with absolutely no facial features and only two brightly glowing eyeballs.
"Oh by the emptiness of the Void, this was perfect! If we were in a theatre, I'd give you a flower. Well, I could make you one even now, but it would most likely make you release some... bodily fluids. And I want you both to be functional. At least for now," the creature spoke. Its voice was no different than that of a regular human, yet a hint of a higher pitch could be heard in it, making the being sound happy or even excited.
"What... What the hell are you?" Jack finally managed to get something out of his mouth. He didn't know why, but just looking at the creature made him feel uneasy. Like he was standing alone on a tiny island in a vast and endless ocean. No one coming to save him, nobody there to listen to his cries for help. He felt true and overwhelming loneliness.
"Hmm... Good question! You're the smart one. I'm gonna call you Smartie. Well, it's hard to really say what I am. You know, I used to be called a Void Resident, but now I'm no longer in the Void, so... I'm a Resident of... What is this place even called?"
"I-It's Everstar."
"Everstar? Like a... star that shines forever? That's dumb. Is it because of that thing up there? That looks like a star." The creature pointed to the massive ball of fire in the sky that was created when I set fire to my books and which was slowly engulfing the whole world in flames.
"No. That is... that is destroying this world."
"Really? Shit! I can't have something just destroy my new toy. I only got here! Okay, let me fix it." The Resident reached towards the sky with one hand, as if he wanted to grab the flaming orb, and then clenched his fist. Within the next second, there was no more orb of fire. Massive stone spikes and tendrils flew out of it, like some sort of a cosmic horror hatching from an egg. The flames then disappeared and just like that, they were gone. The unbearable heat, along with the world-ending event was over.
"Alright, that would take care of that. So, what else can I play with here?"