YOU WIN
The Primordial Terror was nothing but a hamster that had grown strong enough to step out of its wheel. It saw the world for what it truly was, and it was because it did that it knew that there was no escape. It thought by becoming strong enough, it would be able to escape its fate, only to realize that it had bound itself even more firmly to it. Now, the Northern Star took him to be the only arbitrator of Destruction, the main cog. Even if he wanted to die, he couldn't. The thoughts never stopped, and they only grew stronger. Destroy. Destroy. Destroy. Leonel looked up into the skies because it was the only thing he could look at. He coughed again and his soul dispersed some more. By this point, he had already tried several times to get up, but nothing he did worked. His body was broken down to practically ash. [Instant Recovery] was rumbling, but it was too diluted, focused on trying to recover a soul that couldn't seem to be recovered no matter how hard it tried. I promised…
The words echoed in his ears again and again, and he couldn't seem to hear the words of the Primordial Terror at all. He didn't care about its sob story. He didn't care whether the Northern Star had picked him or not. He just wanted to get up. He just wanted to do what he said he would do.
Tears fell from Aina's cheeks in droplets. Each one seemed to contain a hidden, reflective crimson that vanished the instant you stared too closely. She could feel Leonel's thoughts more clearly than anyone else. Although he had shut out all distracting thoughts in order to focus and didn't feel hers as clearly, she had no such qualms. Every single attempt to get up was like another dagger through her. She covered her mouth with a hand, trying to prevent herself from convulsing into a mess. Even the three God corpses that were littered around her didn't make her feel even the slightest bit better. Even if it had been the corpses of the Brazinger family laying around her, it wouldn't have mattered. She had realized the moment she took Leonel's last name that nothing mattered to her more than he did. She had once said that she would only change her name the moment the Brazingers most wanted her to keep it. But she forgot all about it the moment Leonel proposed. It was like anything she went through would be fine so long as she was by his side. Their problems of the past felt so insignificant, and there were many decisions that she had made then that she would never make now. But now, none of it seemed to matter. She bit her lip so hard that more blood fell, rolling down her chin and falling to the ground. Her gaze was entirely crimson and she seemed to have sworn something in her heart. If Leonel died, then there was nothing else that mattered anyway.
Leonel coughed again. What must have been at least half his soul was gone. He wasn't used to his soul feeling so weak. It was his greatest strength. And yet…
"You need me."
The voice echoed in Leonel's head, but it certainly wasn't the Primordial Terror this time. Leonel continued looking into the skies as though he hadn't heard it at all. The sound of rattling chains echoed in his mind and a hidden crimson reflected in his pupils. Content © 2024.
"So stubborn. I guess you haven't changed as much as you thought."
Leonel turned a deaf ear. His mind was too focused. He needed a way out, and he needed it now. He was the beating heart of his group, he couldn't die now. He had too much to do, too many people to support, too much revenge to claim.
"Look at that. Your little wife is crying. She looks like she's ready to do something pretty crazy. What do you think would happen if she took the Brazinger Heirloom's soul into her body?"
Leonel still didn't respond.
"Your brothers are holding up pretty well. How long do you think they'd last without you, though?"
The skies seemed to swirl with crimson colors as time slowed to a crawl. Every breath felt like it took years. Even as Leonel's thinking speed slowed with the injuries to his soul, it was still incomparably fast compared to everything else.
"Think about it. They have Incomplete Worlds to bolster them now, but how much energy is it going to take them to improve now? Without a resource bank like you, this will probably be as far as they go in their lives. And now, thanks to you, they've gone and offended practically the entire world. They can't improve, they're stuck at this strength, and they've offended everybody. You've really gone and screwed them over, huh?"
A hollow chuckle rang out.
"Then what about your little wife? The moment you die, she's definitely going to lose her mind. But she doesn't have the necessary strength either. She's the only one even remotely close to as talented as you, but you didn't give her the chance to grow either. "She was right, you know. You keep jumping into danger. And somehow, you've regressed back to your old self. You want to play hero and hold back with your current strength? Who do you think you are? "I guess when you're dead, you won't have to be there to witness your little wife become a breeding tool for the Invalids. I'm sure they'll treat her well and pamper her more than you ever have."
The skies turned entirely crimson in Leonel's eyes. At the moment, his expression was as calm as water.
"I guess I haven't changed at all, huh…?" he said to himself.
"Alright, you win."
His voice echoed with even more reverberating power than the Primordial Terror. However… it didn't seem like he was speaking to the earlier voice at all. At that moment, the chains rattling in Leonel's ear shattered.
BOOM!
A strong violet Force rushed out in all directions. Leonel's aura began to soar by leaps and bounds, his collapsing soul solidifying in a single instant. A roar filled the skies. The last time this aura appeared, Leonel had wiped out three races of beings. Today, he was going to show the Primordial Terror what true Destruction was.
The aura of a Dream Asura rose in a violent vortex, shattering the dome of the skies.