Sleep…

Slifer's vision darkened as a voice, soft and gentle like a whisper, echoed seductively in his mind. You've endured so much these past weeks, my love. It's... it's okay to close your eyes...just for a little while.

I can't... not now, Slifer resisted, his thoughts cloudy. I'm…trapped…insi-…no…I’m in… battle…

But aren't you tired? the voice cooed. Just a moment of peace, my dear. Let go of your burdens, even heroes need to rest.

Just a brief rest, then.... Slifer finally gave in. His eyelids grew heavy, and the world around him seemed to fade into the background, the voice becoming his entire focus.

Yesss…sleeeep…

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Zack didn’t know what was going on, his mind was a mess.

One moment, he was vaguely aware of standing within a pagoda, doing something important, what it was, he had no clue, but what he did know, was that his life depended on it.

But now, he found himself back on his couch, a half-eaten pie in his hands, preparing for the upcoming pie-eating competition.

What is going on? he wondered, trying to make sense of the strange sensation of being somewhere else. After a few moments of confusion, he shrugged it off as just another one of his vivid daydreams, he was certain if his life depended on something then he would definitely remember. And when did I even last go outside? he laughed at the absurdity of it, after all, it wasn’t easy for a man of his…large stature to strut around just for the fun of it.

His focus shifted back to the present, to the more pressing matter at hand - the pie-eating competition.

The competition was no small feat, even for someone like him who had a natural affinity for pies. Last year's top five competitors had all managed around thirty pies in ten minutes, with the champion devouring an astounding thirty-nine. Who knew that there were others who not only shared the same hobby as him, but excelled in it!

Only in America, Zack thought with a bitter smile.

He glanced down at the pie in his hand. This is number twenty-nine, not bad, but not enough. If he was going to win and prove to his parents that he wasn’t the failure that everyone accused him of being, he needed at least forty.

The competition was only a week away, he didn’t have time to waste and sit around like this. With narrowed eyes, Zack raised the half-eaten pie and shoved it into his mouth, chewing furiously.

I'll show them all. I'll win, even if it kills me... well, maybe not literally. I do want to enjoy that $50,000 prize money.

Caught up in his daydream of showing his parents that they were all wrong about him, Zack carelessly swallowed a chunk of pie that definitely required more chewing. His face turned a frightening shade of red as his eyes bulged, he desperately clawed at his throat, struggling for air. His vision blurred as oxygen deprivation took its toll.

In a frantic attempt to get help, he tried to stand, aiming for the door, but his pudgy feet betrayed him, and he slipped backwards, his flabby back hitting the wall with a thud.

Ptui

A loud spit echoed in the room as the offending piece of pie flew out of his mouth. The colour of his face slowly returned to normal, and he exhaled a heavy sigh of relief.

Who knew a pie could kill a man!

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Ding! Mental Attack Detected Attack At The Immortal Level Passive Skill Void Being Aura Activated Attack Potency Decreased By 33%

Slifer's mind snapped back to reality, his vision sharpening as he found himself a few feet away from Grand Elder Darius. It didn’t take him a second to realise what had transpired.

This guy just tried to fuck with my mind! Slifer's face darkened with anger. He had been willing to spare Darius before, but a mind attack was a different story. He was lucky that his willpower stat was sufficient to defend against the remainder of the attack, otherwise, he would have ended up as a puppet, or whatever it was the amulet was aiming to do. Unforgivable.

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Darius’ face contorted in shock seeing Slifer effortlessly shrug off the mental attack. The amulet should have worked! How could he...? His thought was cut short as Slifer opened his mouth, forming a ball of fire.

Firebreath!

Even if it is only at the Nascent Soul stage, this will end him, Slifer thought, eyeing the severely wounded Grand Elder. The body of an Ascendant Realm expert was just like any other below the Immortal Realm, only at the peak of the Body Tempering stage.

"No, don-" Darius began, but his plea was drowned out by the growing intensity of the fire in Slifer's mouth. Desperation painted Darius' face. Unlike his disciples who could rely on him to give them life-saving treasures, he didn’t have anyone, all he had was his halberd, a weapon as much a part of him as his own soul.

"Come forth, Ignispike!" Darius bellowed with great difficulty.

The halberd, which he had won in his youth in a trial left behind by an Immortal senior, materialized beside him. It was a majestic weapon, its shaft decorated with intricate patterns and its blade shimmering with a deadly gleam.

Like those sword cultivators he so detested, Darius had bonded with his weapon. The path of the halberd was less glorified, but no less powerful, and he would kill anyone who dared say otherwise.

Darius would never admit it but every encounter with a sword cultivator left him feeling inadequate, there was something about them, the air they carried around them, as though they were superior due to their use of the sword. The sword strike from Slifer a few weeks ago had only reignited those insecurities.

I will never lose to a sword cultivator! Darius channeled the last remnants of his qi into the halberd, causing fire to dance along its edge.

A last stand, huh? Slifer's expression remained cold and unmoved. Well, it won't change your fate.

Tightening his grip on the halberd, Darius swung his right arm. It wasn't his strongest blow—far from it, given his current state, impaled by spikes. This is all I can manage, he thought grimly. As the halberd moved, his arm tore painfully at the wounds caused by the spikes, sending jolts of agony through his body.

The fiery halberd clashed against Slifer, who didn’t seem the least concerned, his focus fully on the fireball in his mouth which only continued to grow larger.

Darius let out a slight smirk when he felt the strike land, however, the smirk turned into a grimace when he noticed that annoying barrier technique spring to life.

Damn it! Darius hadn’t expected Slifer to be capable of simultaneously using that blasted formation technique along with the fireball.

“Aaah.” The force of the impact, coupled with Darius' weakened state, was too much for him to handle, his grip faltered, and the halberd slipped from his hands, clattering to the ground.

In that same moment, Slifer spat out the fireball, engulfing the Grand Elder in flames.

A fleeting look of regret crossed Darius' face as he burned. I didn't plan to kill him... just to humble him. If Slifer had died in the process, well, then Darius couldn’t be blamed. It is not my fault if he is too weak... But now, it was clear he had miscalculated. Or perhaps, been manipulated.

"Wyatt!" he screamed, realizing too late the true orchestrator of his death.

In a final, desperate act, he shattered his Ascendant Crystal. The crystal, the very core of his cultivation, cracked with a resounding echo. The impending explosion was a last-ditch effort, a vengeful attempt to drag the others down with him.

Seeing the suicidal attack by the madman in front of him, a single thought raced through Slifer’s mind: Shit.

He didn’t have any Critical Block cards left, a situation like this was the very reason he had initially planned to spare the Grand Elder, but then the fool had to try and fuck with his mind.

The explosion erupted with a deafening roar, an immense force that tore through the pagoda, reducing it to rubble. The ground shook violently, and a wave of heat and light engulfed everything in its vicinity.

Up above, Grand Elder Wyatt, seeing the explosion heading towards him, swiftly activated a formation.

A shimmering barrier sprang up around him and the disciples, protecting them from the remnants of the explosion. The shield glowed with a faint blue hue, vibrating as the shockwaves battered against it, however, each shockwave made the barrier falter, it seemed it would give out any second.

"Hold on!" Wyatt yelled, his voice barely audible over the din.

The disciples below, wide-eyed and terrified, huddled together, feeling the heat and shockwaves around them.

"Thank heavens for the barrier..." one of them muttered, awe-struck at the devastation before them. Even the remnants of the explosion were sufficient to snuff out their fragile lives.

When the shockwaves stopped, they let out a collective sigh of relief.

"W-what happened to the Supreme Elder?"