The world screamed.

And safe in her cave, Talia couldn’t help but cower before its cry. Her reaction only lasted a few moments, but in that time, a bevy of emotions tore through her mind. Fear – primal and unknowable – was the most prevalent, but it was accompanied by so many others that the totality could only be described via one word: horror.

It wasn’t long before Talia took control of those emotions, though. After everything she had experienced – both before and after her ascension – she was accustomed to the discomfort it brought with it. Often, the difference between survival and ceasing to exist could be found in how one reacted to sheer and incomprehensible terror. So, as the world seemed to tear itself apart, Talia marshaled her courage and focused on what was happening.

The good thing was that whatever it was took place a good distance away. She knew the source, too. Zeke had always had an enormous capacity for destruction, and it seemed that his increased power had accentuated that talent. She’d expected that. What she hadn’t anticipated was the degree to which he’d improved.

Often, she had been praised for her own quick progression. In a scant couple of years, Talia had gone from a broken girl, fresh off of her ascension, to one of the more powerful people within the city of Darukar. Certainly, stronger people existed in El’kireth, and plenty of them. However, she was already a cut above the commoners, and with her other gifts – like her seemingly unique tolerance for vitality – had established her as a future elite.

But Zeke was different.

Already, he was knocking on the door of the threshold to true power, and his levels only told a tiny portion of the story of his might. Back in the Mortal Realm, he’d been strong. But here? He was even further ahead of everyone else, and that gap would only widen going forward. It had been all Talia could do to keep up with him as they slaughtered their way through the jungle.

And for all her own gifts, she’d still failed.

The memory of her own weakness, of how she’d been incapable of withstanding that insidious draining effect, had highlighted the differences between herself and a true powerhouse like Zeke.

That was what had driven Abby to betrayal. Talia understood the other woman’s distress, even if she didn’t excuse her actions in the Radiant Isles. However, unlike that traitor, Talia would not react by trying to tear someone else down. Instead, she intended to work even harder. And if she never achieved the same degree of power her friend enjoyed, then so be it. She would be happy for him.

Because she didn’t need to compare herself to others in order to feel like her life was worthwhile. She was her own person, with her own goals, and with an entire world stretching out before her.

Talia pushed those thoughts from her mind as she took stock of her situation. In seconds, the volume of the world’s scream had increased tenfold, turning into a portentous roar. She knew it wouldn’t stop, either. She wasn’t safe.

So, harnessing her incredible agility, which was augmented by [Unliving Speed], which was an upgrade of [Alacrity of Undeath], she raced away from the cave – or more importantly, in the opposite direction of that horrific roar. Behind her, the air rushed inward, and when she glanced back, she saw a black sun wreathed in white fire. It was a sphere of pure destruction.

A moment later, the air stilled. The roar abruptly ceased. Talia slowed to a stop, confused.

And then she felt it.

An explosion of force and devastation swept across the jungle, destroying anything in its path. Talia ran, dodging trees as she rushed past fleeing beasts and monsters that, from her perspective, seemed to be running in slow motion. But behind her, the wave of destruction gained a little with each passing moment. It was going to catch her.

So, she used [Through the Afterlife], phasing into a gray and frozen mirror world. To outsiders, the skill would look like teleportation, but in reality, it was more like briefly stepping into an alternate dimension where time flowed differently than it did in the real world. It only lasted a few seconds before she was spat back into normality, but Talia could cover quite a lot of ground in that span of time. As a result, when she returned to the real world, she did so nearly a mile away.

But to her horror, she hadn’t left the explosion far behind. Indeed, she’d barely gained a little ground. So, she continued to run, using [Through the Afterlife] as often as she could. It required an exorbitant amount of mana, which meant that she couldn’t chain it, back-to-back, but if she was willing to use all the energy at her disposal, she could still use it often enough.

Like that, Talia continued to run until, at last, just before the explosion caught up to her, it lost its momentum and came to a stop. Talia did the same, turning to watch the roiling fire and force retreat, where it rejoined the black sun only seconds later. Then, even that winked out of existence.

And that’s when Talia saw the aftermath. She stood there, miles away, aghast at the sight. If she was awed by Zeke’s power before, then there were no words for how she felt about him after seeing what he’d done to the jungle.

Often, the beings that stood at the top of the Ethereal Realm – like Oberon or the Sun Goddess – were often referred to as gods. They weren’t. Talia knew that as well as anyone. Yet, that level of power was still worthy of the name. That was what she felt when looking upon the devastation Zeke had wrought.

He was a true god of destruction.

And that fact was both terrifying and exciting, both in equal measure. To Talia, though, it could be interpreted via a single word: hope. He wasn’t just strong. He was the sort of person who could completely unbalance the Eternal Realm. And Talia, for one, was eager to see what that meant.

But more than anything, she knew he had the strength to help her save her friend. That, for now, was the most important thing on her mind.

* * *

“You really need to get better at this,” Eveline remarked from behind [Bulwark of the Triumvirate]. It wasn’t enough to completely protect her from [Wrath of Annihilation], but he’d been far enough away from that black sun that his mental skill did the job well enough. The same could not be said for his body, which was pockmarked with small craters and cracks.

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“Sorry to disappoint you,” he groaned, climbing to all fours. Even with all his precautions, he’d still been thrown miles away from the explosion. Fortunately, other than superficial physical damage, his body was in decent shape. His Will hadn’t left him crippled, at least, though he knew he’d need a little time to recover if he wanted to return to perfect condition.

“How much did you use?” asked Eveline, obviously referring to his Will. Most of the time, he only unleashed a trickle, but in this instance, he’d used quite a bit more.

“About a third,” he said. “Maybe as much as forty percent.”

Indeed, he’d packed far more of his Will into the skill than he’d ever used before. And the results were far more destructive – befitting his path – than he’d expected, increasing the blast radius by a significant degree. Fortunately, he’d been extremely cautious with his preparations, setting himself up much further away than he had in previous uses of the skill.

He’d still paid the price, though it wasn’t nearly as debilitating as the first time.

“I hope Talia’s okay,” Zeke said. She was still alive – he could tell that much via [Mark of Companionship] – but her condition was unknown. She also had the benefit of [Avatar of the Colossus], which increased her strength and endurance. He normally didn’t even consider the skill, simply using it on all of his allies by reflex, but he’d made a special point to ensure that it was active before he’d used [Wrath of Annihilation]. Hopefully, that, as well as her distance, would prove enough to shield her from any damage.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Eveline said, dismissing his concern. “That girl is a survivor. Besides, the fight’s not over.”

Indeed, when Zeke looked across the landscape, which had been stripped clean of foliage, allowing him a clear view, he saw that, while his skill had been very effective, it had not killed the goliathan.

But it was clearly injured.

The black sun of his skill had been positioned directly over the creature’s shell, so the surface had been completely scoured of all life. The city that had stood atop the turtle was completely gone, and the tortoloids who lived there had been killed. However, the shell had protected the monster from the worst of the effects, though a huge crater stood in its center.

Zeke hoped that it had gone all the way through, though he was skeptical he could be that lucky.

He pulsed [Cambion’s Awakening] for a few seconds, healing the superficial damage he’d incurred. Then, he loped forward, descending into the much larger crater that had appeared where the jungle had once stood. The ambient mana levels were incredibly low, and with each step, they continued to drop until Zeke felt as if he were being deprived of oxygen.

He could survive, but it was still uncomfortable.

“If it’s this bad for you, think about what it must feel like for others. Of course, they’re all dead,” Eveline said. “Except the big guy, and he’s probably wishing he’d died.”

That much was true.

The Goliathan had emerged from its shell, but it merely lay there, looking like a fish out of water. Zeke felt the thin mana in the air stir, indicating that the creature was trying to engage some sort of skill. That lit a fire under him, so he rushed forward, covering the intervening ground as quickly as he could.

When he reached the creature, he leaped high into the air before latching onto its shell. From afar, it had looked smooth, yet from up close, it had plenty of ridges that acted as handholds. Zeke used them to vault ever higher, climbing the mountainous turtle with incredible speed. Soon enough, he’d reached the summit, though by that point, the ambient mana had begun to recover. Instinct told him that if the Goliathan wasn’t dead before it returned to normal, his task would prove impossible.

So, he poured on the speed, racing across the crown of the shell until he reached the crater. It descended nearly a thousand feet, ending in a slurry of blood, minced flesh, and shards of shell. Zeke leaped in, splashing down a second or two later. His feet hit something solid, and when the gore came crashing back in, it was waist high.

“Gross,” Zeke said in disgust.

From experience, he knew that his best bet of killing such a large monster wasn’t attacking it from without. Instead, he needed to do so from within. So, he hefted his hammer, swung it around, and brought it down in a thunderous overhead blow that sent gore splashing against the wall.

However, the bone he’d hit didn’t give.

Instead, it seemed just as solid as before.

He hit it again.

And again after that.

“This isn’t working,” Eveline remarked.

“You think?” growled Zeke in response. He’d rarely come up against anything that could resist his full-power swings. Even the cyclops, which was one of the most durable creatures he’d ever fought, had given in after a while. But the turtle seemed to have been made of sterner stuff.

Just before Zeke hit it again, something else splashed down into the crater. He wheeled around, expecting to find one of the tortoloids. But he brought his responding attack up short as he recognized Talia.

“Hello,” she said, scraping a bit of stringy flesh from her hair. “What are we going.”

“Uh…I’m trying to get through this bone, but it’s proving a little uncooperative,” Zeke answered. “I’ll get through, though. It’s only a matter of time.”

“I don’t think we have much time,” guessed Talia.

“She’s not wrong,” remarked Eveline.

“I’m doing the best I can,” Zeke said with a hint of frustration.

Talia blinked. “May I?” she asked after a second.

“Be my guest,” Zeke said.

Then, Talia embraced a skill, aimed at the exposed bone, and let loose with a concentrated beam of black rot. At first, it did nothing, but after a few seconds, Zeke saw the evidence of decay. Over the next half-minute, it spread – gradually at first, but speeding up toward the end – until Talia gasped. The beam dissipated, and she began to fall. Zeke caught her before she collapsed.

“Sorry,” she muttered. “I might have overextended myself.”

“Do you need one of your potions?”

“Won’t help. Just need…time. Hopefully it will be enough,” she mumbled, nodding at the blackened bone.

Zeke helped her to the edge of the crater, settling her down so she could rest. Then, he returned to the site of the rot, hefted his hammer once again, then brought it down with yet another herculean strike. The first attack hit with a shower of bone shards, and the next sent cracks spreading across the surface. The third shattered the first layer.

He kept going, one attack after another in a furious barrage. He knew just how short on time he was, and he didn’t want to see what sort of attacks – or defenses – the Goliathan could bring to bear, given enough opportunity. Each blow dug further into the bone until, at last, he broke through to yet more flesh. After that, his efforts were much more efficient, and within a couple of minutes, he was so deep that he’d lost sight of Talia.

And after a few more moments, he found his first organ.

Zeke was no expert in turtle anatomy, but he didn’t need to be. Instead, all he really needed to know was that it was something important, and that its loss would bring the turtle even closer to death. So, he stomped down, sending a wave of destructing tearing across the organ until [Hell Geyser] erupted in a pillar of fiery destruction.

Then, he did it again.

The turtle bucked, its first sign of movement, but by that point, they were far too ensconced to be dislodged. So, Zeke continued on, and over the next hour, he dug his way to various organs, destroying them along the way. It was a gruesome, bloody task that left him coated in gore, but he kept at it all the same.

Until, at last, when he burst what he thought might’ve been the monster’s pancreas, he finally received a flood of kill energy, sending him past level seventy-five. And seventy-six. His rise didn’t stop until he reached level seventy-seven. A lot of it had probably come from killing every single living creature in what Zeke estimated was a ten mile radius, but he knew from recent experience that the Framework tended to take difficulty into account when awarding kill energy.

And there was no way anyone should have expected to be able to kill the Goliathan at his level. That suggested that the bulk of his kill energy had been awarded based on that act alone. Hopefully, it also meant that Talia would get her fair share as well, because without her efforts, he would not have been successful.

“Damn,” he gasped. “That was a lot of experience.”

“It was,” Eveline agreed. “Now, can we get out of here? I might be a demon, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy being covered in gore.”

“Yes, ma’am.”