Part 1

"Sixty years ago, after the creation of the crystal for the second-generation The First's Heart, it disappeared from what would be called our reality. When I started the project, the resources and subjects I had were limited, and no matter how hard I tried, I had always reached a dead end with the portal between worlds closed. That was until it came here through the portal."

"The First's Heart came through the portal; how? If what you say is true, then The First's Heart is nothing more than a large mass of pure energy; it would be impossible to move."

"But if it was inside of a person," Raziel said as he lifted a finger.

"Inside of a person, you say, according to you, every person who came in contact with The First Heart, whether directly or indirectly, has a small fragment of the power that is passed down generation to generation. That power was pure energy itself; that kind of raw power would destroy the host."

Raziel looked at the man.

"Do you really think that in the almost 5000 years you have been alive, the population of your home world did not evolve? You closed yourself off to both worlds, stepping out, realizing you could achieve god-like power, only to find out that the world has left you behind."

Raziel was cut off as he dodged the sword strike that came towards the left side of his body.

"I touched a nerve, did I?"

"No, I just find your rambling a bit insufferable," Nereus said in an annoyed tone.

Raziel landed on the floor.

"I’m sorry you feel that way."

Nereus rushed the man again, causing their weapons to clash. Multiple shockwaves broke out as their weapons clashed repeatedly.

He thrust his sword towards the man's head, causing him to duck. As he ducked, Nereus attempted to kick him.

Raziel moved the staff to block the strike. As his leg came into contact with his staff, he was pushed back, sliding across the floor.

Nereus dashed towards the man, and as he got closer to the man, Raziel raised his staff.

(Perhaps despite everything I have done, we really are doomed.)

A thought.

But it was enough for him to momentarily lose concentration.

He moved his head a second too late, as the staff lightly grazed the left side of his head. As he dodged the attack, he swung his arm upward to hit the man once again, causing him to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.

Once again, both men were separated by a couple of feet.

As Nereus stood there, he felt something wet and warm pouring from the side of his head. With a second thought, he swiped his thumb over his left eyebrow and looked at his thumb.

Blood.

It was a small smudge of blood.

"It seems that your mind is elsewhere. Doubt maybe?"

Nereus lowered his hand.

"No, of course not."

(Why did I have that thought now?) Nereus thought as he gripped the handle of the sword tightly.

A dark blue energy began to surround the man.

Raziel looked on with disappointment on his face.

"You’re going to try this same old method again?"

Not answering the man's question, he rushed towards the man again, dragging the sword on the floor. He swiped the sword upwards, which caused Raziel to sidestep out of the way.

As he dodged, he brought the staff downward. Nereus blocked the strike with his left forearm.

Nereus stabbed the sword into the ground. With both hands, he grabbed Raziel's right arm and threw him across the room, sliding onto the floor.

He yanked his sword out of the ground as Raziel picked himself up off the floor. The sword began to glow with energy. Nereus slashed his sword from left to right in the air in front of him.

Dark blue energy flew off the blade toward Raziel.

As the energy furiously made its way to Raziel, he held out the staff in his left arm, pointing it towards the wave of energy.

The energy hit the staff, causing the man's bare feet to be pushed into the ground.

After a few seconds, the wave of energy shattered.

The room was silent.

With unnatural speed, Nereus crouched in front of Raziel and slashed his sword upwards to hit the right side of his body.

Raziel moved the spear to block the strike.

Both men stared at each other as sparks flew in the air.

Nereus dragged the blade down along the shaft of the staff.

"Aethr Motus (Aether Movement.)" Raziel calmly spoke out.

As the sword hit his forearm, light began to surround his body, and he disappeared.

The sword hit the ground, creating a large crater.

Nereus looked at the ground.

There was a soft, dripping noise coming from the sword.

He glanced over at the sword and smirked.

Blood.

"It would seem that even if you cancel out my energy, I can still strike you with the physical part of my sword."

There was a white light that appeared in the room behind him, taking on a life-size shape.

Nereus turned around.

The light began peeling off the man, revealing Raziel.

"So, it seems," Raziel said as he looked at his right forearm.

A small trickle of blood was dripping down from it.

A bleeding cut

"It may not seem that much to someone like you, but now I know how to get past that weapon and, in turn, finally end you where you stand."

Raziel looked up at the man.

"Knowing a strategy and implementing said strategy are two different things; even you know that, unless you are holding back."

"Of course, I needed to figure out the limitations of that weapon."

"If you were holding back, as you say, it would be possible that I was holding back too."

"It seems that you and I are at a stalemate."

Raziel smirked.

"Like a hypothetical game of chess, all we did was set up traps to figure each other out and watch how each other would react; every move we make sets up for a final move, our checkmate. The only thing that matters now is whose strategy will prevail, and you will be standing."

Nereus smirked.

"Let’s find out, shall we?"

With that statement, both men rushed toward each other, and both weapons collided with each other.

The sound echoed throughout the room.

_____________________________________________________________________

"You’re…."

On a red steel bridge, a voice broke out.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" A female voice spoke out.

The man took a few steps forward, stopping just a few meters away from the woman.

"I am just a regular doctor, and I kindly ask that you don’t assault my patients."

Elora looked at the man in the white coat.

From her perspective, the man in the white coat didn’t look like anything special, but he still got through a triple-layer barrier spell.

Haruko stared at the man as his coat flailed in the wind behind him.

"What are you doing here?"

Antonio glanced over at the teen kneeling on the floor.

"I was getting some late-night snacks, but that aside, I should be asking you tha-"

Antonio was cut off as he moved his head to dodge a spear thrust. He quickly jumped aside as the woman passed by him.

She now stood in between Haruko and Antonio.

She glanced over to Antonio. Now, the man wasn’t her target, but-

Elora quickly moved to swing the spear toward Haruko, dragging the tip across the floor.

Haruko noticed and anchored himself to the ground. With the strength of her attacks and where he was positioned, he would get blown off the bridge.

As she raised the spear in his direction, she was stopped when Antonio grabbed the spear, stopping the attack and creating a huge shockwave of wind that spread out.

She looked at him.

"I believed that I kindly asked you not to assault my patients," Antonio said in a serious tone.

Elora yanked the spear from his hand and quickly turned around, swinging the spear to hit the man, but the spear hit nothing as the tip cut through the air.

The man had vanished.

"What the..."

"Where the hell did he go?" Haruko asked as he watched on.

The man was nowhere to be found.

Haruko's ears twitched as they picked up a plastic rustling sound. He turned his head to see Antonio a few feet behind her.

She turned to face him, and as she did, she couldn’t help but feel that he was toying with her.

Elora effortlessly slashed the spear across, creating a gust of wind that blasted towards Antonio.

The gust of wind enveloped that area of the bridge.

Haruko and Elora watched on as the wind began to die down.

Once again, the man was nowhere to be found.

Haruko looked on.

(What is up with his speed? Just before her attack hit, he could move very fast. I missed it earlier because of how close you were. But just then, a faint light came from his body. (What the hell kind of speed was that?)

"Are you okay, Mr. Matsumoto?"

A voice spoke out behind Haruko, which caused him to shriek out in terror. Elora turned around at the sound of the voice. She paused when she saw the man kneeling next to Haruko.

"Please don’t do that," Haruko said in an exhausted tone.

Antonio looked at him.

"Are you hurt anywhere? No fractures or contusions anywhere."

Haruko looked at the man.

"With the way my body is, it's hard to tell."

The two individuals were interrupted when Elora slammed the butt of her spear into the ground, causing both to turn their attention to her.

"You’re really going to do this?" Haruko asked. "She is ridiculously strong, and that weapon of hers is really broken."

Elora smirked.

"Your speed might be able to help, but I’m not sure by how much."

Antonio looked puzzled at Haruko.

"You were able to follow my speed the instant I used my aura step."

“Yeah, why wouldn't I be able to follo…..." Haruko paused. "What the hell is aura step?"

"You're beaten and busied, yet you still find time to care about others."

"Eh"

"One would think that you should worry about yourself, given your predicament."

"I can do both!" Haruko loudly exclaimed.

"But do not worry; I’ll end this conflict with her." Antonio said as he turned his attention to the woman.

"So, all you are going to do is run away?"

"I’m not trying to run away; I took a Hippocratic oath to do no harm."

Elora got angry.

"What a total load of crap! This is a life-or-death battle; there is no other way to end it since you brought yourself into it. No other path exists in front of you."

She held the spear in front of her, with the tip pointing toward the man in the white coat.

"I see, but if I don’t physically hit you, then I should be good. Can you hold this for a little bit, Mr. Matsumoto?" He handed his plastic bag to Haruko, which he grabbed.

The man began to rise and dust his knees.

"I have a lot of paperwork to go over, and I believe that you are looking for a fight worth fighting, so please forgive me if I end this conflict a little early."

That statement irked Elora.

Not giving the man a response, she swung the spear down with all her might, but before the spear could be fully brought down, something had grabbed the spear.

Whatever it was that stopped her in her tracks, she looked up and saw Antonio holding the spear with his left hand.

"This bridge is the only route my bus takes after a long train ride to work, so I would appreciate it if you did not damage it."

"What?" Elora shouted out.

"What the hell? I was barely able to see him move," Haruko said as he watched on. He noticed that Antonio's right hand was starting to glow a whiteish color. As quickly as the light appeared, it seemed to be absorbed into the hand.

As both Antonio and Elora stood there, he yanked the spear back and pulled her forward. When she came closer, he raised his right hand and flicked her forehead.

Although the attack was something to scoff at, that attack knocked her back several meters, sliding across the ground.

(Did he just flick her away? My god, that is so lame.)

Elora was wobbly as she struggled to pick herself up.

Antonio watched on.

(How was he able to push me back like this?)

She lost her balance and felt her knees. She could feel something drip from her forehead. Elora quickly wiped her forehead with her palm.

Blood, just a small smudge.

That is what she was looking at.

"I am sorry; I meant to hold back more, but a man in my profession tends to forget just how fickle the body truly is."

Elora became irate.

"No…no… I won’t be defeated here by the likes of you," Elora shouted out.

With that statement, she slammed the tip of the spear down into the ground with a loud grunt.

The wind began to spiral around the tip of the spear as it was on the ground.

She was silent as she began to stand up. As she did, the spiraling wind began to grow more intense and rise. The wind began to pick up around the area and started circling her.

The violent air was attempting to push both Haruko and Antonio away.

With one arm, Haruko grabbed the bridge rails near him for an anchor, with the other hand holding the bag to his chest. He quickly glanced at the head doctor a few feet from him.

He just stood there, unaffected by the current elements before him.

He looked at the woman and saw that she was in a violent tornado.

Antonio looked on.

"I’m assuming that this is, as the kids call it, a final attack.

Elora raised the spear overhead, and a huge shockwave broke out as the violent tornado disappeared, which surprised the two men.

There was no sound.

"Where the hell did all the wind go?" Haruko said as he looked around.

Elora swung the spear into the ground, and suddenly there was a loud, high-pitched scream as a large blast of wind emerged from the spear, pointing toward Haruko and Antonio in the shape of a tornado.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

The blast had spread across the entire lane of the bridge, spitting on the ground. As the blast quickly approached the two, Antonio's body began to illuminate.

Antonio pulled his fist back and took a step forward. With his foot slamming into the ground, he thrust his fist forward into the air in front of him.

A huge gust of wind emerged from his fist, which had blown past the vortex of wind approaching them.

(What?) Elora thought as the gust of wind quickly approached her. She moved the spear to shield her from the oncoming attack, but it was of no use.

Suddenly, she was hit by the force of what she thought were about a hundred brick walls. She was blown off her feet and into the air. She didn’t have time to react as she was knocked unconscious.

Her body fell to the floor and rolled several times before coming to a complete stop.

Haruko let go of the railing.

The wind that her attack manipulated completely disappeared.

There was a light noise as her spear rolled on the floor.

(Not even the punch itself, but the shockwave of it—he was able to rip through her attack as if it were nothing and still hit her.)

"I believe we wrapped up here, don’t you think, Mr. Matsumoto? Now I believe you can help me out with something."

Haruko looked at the man.

(What the hell is this guy?) Haruko wondered.

_____________________________________________________________________

(If we are doomed, then what do we do?)

There was a glass-shattering sound as the blade of Nereus's sword broke as he brought it down on Raziel's staff.

Both men stared at each other.

The debris from the sword slowly floated in the air.

Nereus put his foot on the staff and pushed himself back off the staff, separating both men, his feet sliding on the floor.

As he landed himself on the ground, he glanced over at his sword.

It was broken and completely useless to him now.

"It would seem that your weapon is now completely useless."

"It may appear that way to you."

Dark blue began to form a new blade on the handle to replace what was once lost.

"Another blade, only with energy this time, but with no foundation to stand on, the moment that very energy blade comes into contact with my staff, it will collapse. Repeated efforts will only bring in the same results, no matter how much you change them."

"I’ll finish you off before then."

Nereus then rushed toward Raziel and swung his sword upward diagonally, causing the founder to duck.

He spun around and kicked Raziel into the air.

As Raziel was kicked into the air, Nereus jumped in the air to follow suit. He switched the sword from his right hand to his left to swipe the sword in front of him.

Raziel stopped the attack by hitting Nereus left forearm with the staff.

As they both stared at each other, Nereus, with his left forearm, pushed both of Raziel's arms away, and with his right hand, he grabbed his throat. Both men crashed to the floor, creating a crater in the ground.

Raziel was pinned down on the ground, trying to remove Nereus forearm from his throat. Raziel attempted to swing his staff, but with his left hand, Nereus grabbed the staff and slammed it to the ground.

He raised his sword as Raziel looked on.

"Farewell, false king" Nereus said in a calm tone.

With a quick motion, he brought the sword into Raziel's chest.

As a loud sound echoed out in the room, Nereus closed his eyes as a feeling of relief washed over him as debris floated in the air.

(There was a reason I chose warriors to receive this power.)

The founder did not move.

There was silence in the room.

"It seems that you have a habit of counting your chickens before they hatch."

Nereus quickly opened his eyes and saw Raziel's eyes peeking through his bangs.

"How…..?"

"Did you forget?"

The blade of energy that was on the sword began to crack.

"The moment you come into contact with my staff, I can collapse the very energy you possess; you’re still holding on to my staff."

With that statement, the energy blade broke off the sword.

Nereus slowly backed up, letting go of the staff on the ground.

The staff began to illuminate.

Raziel swung the staff, hitting Nereus with a blast of energy at close range.

There was a thunderous sound as the energy engulfed the crater.

As the blast raged on, a black mass of smoke flew out and landed on the floor with a hard thud, cracking the floor under its weight.

Nereus waved the smoke off. The sound of his heavy breathing filled the room, and he watched on as the energy in the crater began to disappear. His left arm is heavily damaged now.

The room was silent.

(You’re probably wondering why you, of all people, have that power.)

Nereus calmed his breathing. He was waiting for Raziel to show himself.

There was a distortion sound that rang out in the room, which caught his attention.

(It is the same reason why we as a species have survived for so long.)

A white light appeared behind Nereus; he turned around but was blown away across the room by a strike from a staff.

Nereus stopped himself and looked at the figure of light in the room. He watched as the light began to flake off him, spreading into the air.

There stood the founder of this city, a man named Raziel.

(Kings and rulers do not understand this basic concept—the struggle of life to push forward.)

Nereus put his hands together in a prayer motion. With a loud yell, he pulled his hands apart, creating a solid spear of dark blue energy.

He threw the spear at Raziel as he stood there.

The spear ripped through the air like a bullet.

With an expressionless look on his face, he effortlessly swatted the spear away with his staff as if it were paper.

Raziel paused.

"That one was weaker than the others; have you finally reached your limit?"

Raziel said as he began walking towards Nereus.

"No more weapons, no more tricks..."

It was like a creeping feeling slowly washing over Nereus.

"So, what will you do now?"

Nereus watched and slammed his palm on the floor.

Raziel stood there as the floor began to illuminate with energy. The energy crept up the walls and ceiling of the room.

Raziel began looking around the room.

"Valkyrie est penetrablie iecit" (Valkyrie Piercing Shot.)

Across the four walls, blue energy began shooting at him in the shape of small thorns. Spikes came down from the ceiling towards the founder.

Nereus started forming energy in his hand.

One shot.

That was all that he needed; an attack on all sides would leave him open long enough if he could get past that staff. The cut on his arm proved it.

One shot.

Raziel exhaled and raised the staff overhead with both hands; suddenly, the staff began to light up.

"Expandi Manus (Spread across.)"

Suddenly, white branches emerged from the staff, spreading out across the room. There was a glass-breaking sound as the dark blue energy broke off the floor and walls and disappeared.

Nereus looked at the energy he had formed in his hand. It was flame-like and started to flicker before breaking apart. The particles of energy had spread out in the air before being absorbed into the branches.

He tried to generate energy in his palm, but he couldn’t.

"I told you that the main purpose of this staff was to analyze and disrupt, but you never once figured out what the next step was. The moment I brought this staff out, it was always analyzing your energy signature; the more energy you casually threw around, the faster the process was."

Raziel yanked the staff free from the branches that emerged, causing the branches to intertwine with each other and forging a huge, thick tree trunk above him. Several branches emerged from the top of the tree trunk, sprouting bright white leaves.

"The next step after those are complete is the complete removal of the ability to generate that energy within the confines of this tree.

The staff in his hands was illuminated in dark blue.

"Now, with the energy I collected from you earlier, I believe this was how you performed your trick earlier," Raziel said as he placed his palm on the floor.

The floor began to light up with dark blue energy.

Nereus attempted to jump off the floor but couldn’t. His energy had trapped him on the floor, preventing him from moving.

"What is this?"

"Nothing," Raziel calmly stated.

It was an answer he wasn’t expecting.

"What do you mean?"

"It is just exactly as I said: nothing. Nigrum Inanis (Black Void.)"

Four small black spheres appeared around Nereus in the four cardinal directions. As he watched, the small spheres began to expand towards him.

Since he couldn’t move his feet, he decided to swat the sphere in front of him away. As he did, he paused when his fingers came into contact with the black spear.

Nothing.

Neither hot nor cold.

He felt nothing.

The sphere began to swallow his hand.

He watched as the black expanded up to his elbow, but still he felt nothing. He was sure, with his own eyes, that half his arm was in the sphere. He tried moving his fingers in the sphere, but he could not feel anything.

There was no warmth or cold from inside the sphere as it crept up his arm. The other three spheres began advancing on his body.

The spheres began expanding to his back, both of his arms, and his chest, causing him to perceive no feeling in each.

Nereus turned to Raziel as he stood there.

"A numbing agent, that's what this is?" Nereus shouted out.

"No, your mind can’t perceive something if it doesn’t exist. Right now, those limbs of yours that have been swallowed by the spheres don’t exist anymore, not in this reality."

Nereus eyes widen in shock.

"What do you mean?" Nereus asked as he tried to free himself as the spheres reached his knees and started to spread downward to his feet.

Still, he felt nothing.

Raziel pointed to the man.

"When those four spears fully envelop you, you will be sealed in a black void. A space where your senses will be of no use to you. You will perceive nothing; you will feel nothing as you drift into the abyss of nothingness, an empty black void, unable to perceive space, time, or anything. After which the sphere will shrink into nothing."

Nereus looked at the man in horror. Such a thing shouldn’t be possible.

He was struggling as the black spheres began creeping up his neck. He couldn’t tell if he was moving his body because he couldn’t feel anything.

The spheres began engulfing the back of his head and his ears.

Nothing.

He heard nothing, not even his own voice, as he yelled out.

The sphere in the back began to creep over his head, covering his eyes. The last thing he saw was Raziel holding out his hand before everything went black, and he saw nothing.

The sphere in front slowly crept up his chin.

Raziel clapped his hands.

"Nigrum Inanis: Finis (Black Void: End.)"

Nereus let out a yell as the four spheres merged. Raziel watched as his voice was drowned out by a shockwave that was created when the four spheres merged together into one giant sphere.

The room was silent.

The battle was over.

Raziel began walking toward the black sphere.

He stood in front of the object and placed his left palm on the sphere.

The giant sphere began to shrink.

"For anything resembling last words, that was pathetic for a man of your caliber. There seem to be a few of your rats scattering about; it's best to deal with them now before this situation gets out of hand."

Soon, Raziel began walking away.

As the sphere continued shrinking, it began to vibrate.

"It would seem that you made a huge miscalculation on your part."

A voice boomed out.

Raziel paused.

(What?)

The voice surprised Raziel as it came from inside the sphere.

Raziel's eyes widen as he turned around.

There was a loud sound that rang out as something cracked through the black sphere and stabbed his body.

It was a new feeling for him.

Pain.

A sword.

Blood started pouring out of his mouth and from the wound on his chest. He looked down at the object that was currently piercing his body. It was white and had no distinctive features.

Suddenly, the sword began to crack in his hand.

"What is this, energy? But you shouldn’t have been able to generate energy."

Cracks began appearing on the black sphere.

"It is not energy."

Nereus distorted voice spoke through the sphere.

The weapon disappeared from his chest, breaking apart, causing Raziel to cough up blood as he placed his palm on the open bleeding wound on his chest.

"How?" Raziel asked angrily, watching the sphere break away.

There was a loud step that landed on the ground.

"Isn’t it obvious?"

Raziel readied himself.

"You said that the staff in your hand was able to disrupt energy at a core level, knowing that would mean all my attacks that used even an ounce of my energy would be useless against you."

Nereus gripped the handle of the sword.

"The problem with becoming fixated on something is that the more you do it, the more you overlook everything else. You were not wrong in creating that weapon; in my position, I would have done the same. The ability to disrupt energy is a magnificent way to do battle, rendering an opponent completely helpless, but if I attack with another method, then all that comes crashing down, rendering that very same weapon useless."

The sphere broke with a loud sound, completely crashing on the floor.

There he stood, Nereus.

Another sword formed in his hand.

Nereus was holding a white sword, if it could be called a sword. The sword was nothing more than an outline of a sword; it had no detailed features, but he held it proudly.

"To build that weapon, you studied after the population of my old world integrated the use of energy into their lives. In that infinite intelligence of yours, you never once bothered to understand how we were able to survive long before The First showed up and graced us with his power."

Nereus stabbed the white sword into the ground in front of him and placed his hand on top of the handle.

"This is my soul, and it is what I’ll use to cut you down, pretender king."