An uncomfortable silence filled the void between Shade and Phantasia as neither one moved a single inch, though it was still clear they were in completely different leagues.

Phantasia seemed uninterested in the entire prospect of a fight, however the fact that he had survived glimpsing the infinite was intriguing.

Shade on the other hand was readying himself for any outcome, he was strong… but Phantasia was beyond strength, one wrong move and this life was over, she could easily destroy this entire city just by raising her hand.

None of his spells would work either, for her resistance was comparable to that of a divine entity.

This was one fight he knew he could not win.

Out of all the opponents he’d faced she was the one who’d always claimed his life.

All he could do now was hope for a desirable outcome, he had to buy enough time for them after all.

“What are you waiting for?!” Shade shouted, forcing a brave front as he readied his blade again. “Can’t figure out what curse to use?!”

No response, only the strange melting and swirling face gazing back at him.

Then, in one fluid motion, she brings her hands together and sends one skyward while the other falls down to the earth.

Silver streaks follow her hands, magic the likes of which the world has not seen in eons being performed in this moment as reality distorts and life begins to appear where there had been none previously.

Flowers blooming all around them, grass growing taller than before, even the magic seems to purify and become easier to breathe.

Where Phantasia once stood was now a creature of similar height composed of smooth pale white flesh, bearing four arms and no face as well.

It was unmistakably a creature of chaos but it seemed different, more human than the rest.

Hesitation ran through Shade’s being as he tried to figure out what he was seeing, he’d fought everything and everyone at least once before… or so he thought.

This cycle was showing he still didn’t know enough, that deeper secrets lurked just out of reach.

And now for his arrogance he faced an unknown foe summoned by one of the biggest threats to existence itself.

Should he run? Let someone else gauge this threat? No, doing that would just further muddy this cycle.

If he wanted to stay on course he’d have to fight this himself.

He couldn’t help but feel some ounce of fear though as he kept his gaze focused upon it, for not a single support spell could tell him anything.

It was as if this creature could block all magic within its radius-

“That’s it…” Shade muttered as he drew his sword, a smirk forming on his face “That’s what this is, I never knew something like you could exist in this world.” Slowly he raised his blade, knowing this would be the ultimate test of his skill.

The faceless creature began its march over to him, each step clearing away more mana, purifying the land around it in an instant.

It wasn’t blocking the mana, it was absorbing it, cleaning it, purifying the world around it with each step… meaning any and all magic directed at it would be useless.

No spell would work on this creature, all that he could do is fight with every last ounce of strength he had.

Quiet Shade takes in a breath and looks down at his blade. “Let’s put you to the ultimate test, see if you’re truly as good as she made you out to be…” steadily he looks back up, locking onto the faceless once more before dashing in, ready to strike quickly.

Yet what his blade met with was not the creature’s midsection as he’d hoped, instead the faceless had used one of its four arms to grab the blade with ease.

Slowly it tilted its faceless head, as if to look at the weapon in question, all of its motions looking wrong, akin to stop motion that was missing frames.

Some kind of strange clear liquid dripped from its hand, it didn’t smell or look like blood but that is all Shade knew it could be.

Before Shade could even attempt to pull away one of the faceless’ fists met with his stomach, then another with his face, making him release the sword and fall to his knees.

This creature’s strength was unspeakable, its control alarming as well, for only his nose had been broken… but it struck his stomach with enough force to break the armor residing there.

It didn’t see him as a threat, no, what it was interested in was the blade that it had caught.

Cautiously the faceless grabbed the handle of the sword with one of its free hands, then let go of the blade and fully opened its palm.

It was clear that the sword had cut the faceless’ palm. Though it was impossible to tell how deep, the clear liquid did seem to be its blood but it also seemed to be healing it as, within a few seconds, the cut was gone.

Slowly it lifted the sword up above its head, tilting its own faceless head back to follow it as if trying to examine it from every angle.

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Then, without warning, it punched the blade, a loud metallic ringing echoing through the area as it does so.

Yet the blade doesn’t break, it remains intact, seemingly unaffected by the creature’s attempt to break it.

Shade struggles to stand up, forcing his aching body to rise once more.

“I’m going to need you… to hand that back…” he weakly says while still trying to gather the strength to fight back.

Yet despite his clear weakness he still wore an arrogant look of defiance on his face, his eyes burning with determination.

Something about that fire in his eyes seemed to stir the faceless before him, it tilted his head as if questioning him before casually tossing the sword onto the ground before him.

Solemnly he picked up the sword, its handle feeling all too familiar in his grip and the weight feeling right at home as if an extension of his very being.

An excited breath escapes his lips as he leans back, adjusting himself back into his usual fighting stance, the fire in his eyes burning even brighter than before.

So long as he was standing and held this blade there was nothing that could stop him forever, not even the fiercest pain would freeze him again, not now.

Shade raises his arm, pointing it at the faceless, the dark metal shining amidst the darkness.

“Come on then, show me what you’re truly capable of monster!” he yells out, ready for any attack that may come.

In a burst of blinding speed the faceless appears right in front of Shade, swinging its two right arms full force at him.

With only moments to react he used the sword to block, getting launched back by the sheer momentum of the attack, his hp dropping drastically despite blocking the attack.

Just what the hell was this thing? Despite being near endgame level he felt underleveled and underprepared for whatever this creature was.

Mentally he cursed himself out for not expecting something like this, nothing ever goes this smoothly after all.

Quickly he downed an entire scarlet potion, his health recovering and an aura of similar nature surrounding him. If he couldn’t block attacks he’d need to be faster and out damage the creature.

Taking another deep breath to steady himself, Shade positioned himself to start running, hit and run tactics would likely be the best for this fight, if his blade doesn’t get stuck again that is.

No point in thinking about that now though, the faceless was already advancing, he couldn’t waste any more time.

It was time to start the assault.

Shade burst forth, putting everything he had into his movement and burst at the faceless like a dark blur.

The faceless tried to intercept by striking him, but missed, instead a long cut had formed on its midsection, the same clear liquid oozing from the wound.

A clear blow, not a fatal one but a sign that Shade could match its pace if he tried, he simply needed to avoid being struck.

So to did their battle begin, a war of attrition to see who would wear down first, would Shade burn through his stamina or would the faceless fall to the flurry of cuts among its ever healing body?

Both seemed to be slowing down the longer the fight went on, until finally Shade went for a stronger attack, hoping to cripple his foe further.

Kicking off the ground he dashed forward, leaping high into the air and came crashing down full force on the faceless, aiming to slice clean through one of its arms.

However it did raise two to block, expecting to take the hit and repel the attacker, what it didn’t expect though was a momentary distraction from inside the city.

A pillar of pure astral magic blasting up into the sky, creating hundreds of glowing stars, illuminating the darkness around them.

An ancient energy, a powerful one, it made the faceless falter in awe for but a brief moment, just enough for Shade’s attack to cut clean through its defense, cleaving its hands clean off and delivering a devastating slash across its chest.

Quickly Shade backed up, creating some distance between him and the faceless, surprised at what had just happened, though let out a sigh of relief upon looking around.

The stars, that surge of magic, it looks like Lily had come through after all.

Now all that mattered was striking down this monster that stood before him.

Silently the faceless looked over its wounds as if trying to process what had happened, this was the first time in eons it’d been wounded this badly… perhaps it’d underestimated the paradoxes that existed in this dream..

Without remorse it tore its injured limbs from its body and reached to the stars above, letting their energy flow through it.

Suddenly its wounds healed faster and its form grew more refined, leaner but more defined muscles.

A shimmering cosmic look replaced its pale skin.

The faceless was fully healed, and ready to destroy Shade now.

Shade tried to swallow his fear as he gazed upon the cosmic creature stepping ever closer to him.

He’d already struggled before, how the hell was he supposed to kill something powered by that man’s powers?! It was impossible! He was still weakened and exhausted from earlier as well.

This was it, he was as good as dead… the cycle would begin again, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Yet right when the faceless tried to attack, a blur of white intercepted the attack, pushing the creature back before landing an attack strong enough to stagger it in one blow.

Standing before Shade was a figure he recognized well, someone he thought could never be saved, the legendary monster hunter known as Alice Wolfsbane.

Right, she was with Ryder before but they made it here ungodly fast… must’ve ran the whole way after the barrier fell..

“Can you still fight?” She asked while keeping her eyes on the monster in front of them, clearly still recovering from such a surprising attack.

Shade takes a few more deep breaths to try and get some of his energy back before responding. “Yeah, I think so…”

“Good, then you’re with me, this creature is strong but not immortal.” She speaks cooly and confidently while raising her blade, pointing it at the creature’s neck. “We remove its head and it will perish, just like all its kin.”

“Easier said than done, especially without magic to support us…” Shade mutters while readying himself to fight alongside her.

“You catch on quick, however you need to study the monsters you hunt more.” with a snap of her fingers her blade becomes covered in a chilling frost. “When they’re like that they can’t take in any more magic, it’s their final stand.”

Shade’s eyes widen as he looks at his blade once more, tracing his fingers along it the familiar aura of death imbues itself upon the blade, a sinister smirk forming upon his face.

“That means I can go all out…” he steps up to Alice’s side, his magic flaring to life as he boosts his own abilities without a word.

“Now then, shall we?” She says lightly, waiting on Shade’s signal.

“Yeah, let’s cut this bastard down for good!” He yells out, raising his sword to its usual stance, ready to end this battle once and for all.