XVII | THE ONE ABOVE HEAVENS
A flash of white fire split the stormy sky as Zhenyuan rose in divinity once more.
Akashic relaxed his rigid stance, his bones popping as he straightened his body. He gazed at Aegis, who faced them with narrowed white gaze and a breath of serenity.
Akashic’s lone eye glinted a smidge as his gobbled breaths rumbled the air, his form twice of human, coal rocky flesh and pale crimson skin, twin horns and an eye, stained with blood from the wounds that would not close, but he endured them as best he could, for some cuts required more effort to mend than he could spare in the heat of battle. But he felt a cold dread as he saw no mark, no sign of weariness on Aegis.
There was no other reason, Aegis was something else than human, though he was the form of one. His legs tightened as he and Zhenyuan charged at Aegis, but they barely covered a distance of ten palm leaves before ice ate them down, Aegis kicked the ground and shot back, calling forth lightning, Zhenyuan parried it with his Divine Ring and shot beams of light, each one oblivion that increased the blaze around they felt on their flesh.
What did healing matter? He was alone! Akashic ripped his voice and chest with a bellow as he appeared behind Aegis who had just gotten his arm severed with a beaming arrow. He charged it back and thrust his fiery fist of destruction but a barrier of Ice that formed in the air halted it. As Aegis’s hair rattled, he whirled around with a twist, and struck a right hook of lightning straight to his eye chest.
Akashic’s guts clenched as he crashed through two buildings and landed in a crouch his wings spread. Aegis’s arms healed as Zhenyuan, with his radiant nimbus halo crashed down with a rod of gold, as Aegis blocked it with both wrists, he pushed it away and unleashed a flash of lightning as Zhenyuan fired a beaming arrow.
A blinding light swallowed as it evaporated debris into air around them. And it was another chasm gouged into the earth. Aegis’s ice field barrier was shattered by infernal flames as he was hit and smashed through a building and landed within another. Akashic entered the second floor on the gap he ripped and lunged a fist. Aegis matched it with his left, but Aegis’s physical was inferior as his forearms were torn, he turned Akashic’s force as he spun and pivoted a right step forward, leaned down sideways, and a reverse kick landed on Akashic’s abdomen with a spark as he ripped the roof of the building, but that was not all as the furious heavens impaled him with ceaseless lightning.
Aegis’s arm mended, as his feet sensed the quake of another beaming arrow aimed at the building, he forged lightning as another devouring abyss once more.
Zhenyuan stretched and a blaze whirled on the tips of the bow, as the sky flashed endlessly over his pale gold armor, he gazed at the smoke and saw twin white flames blazing with fury. It cleared as a knee shattered his skull, and he was flung into a road, he tumbled into a flying stance as Aegis soared at him with a fist as lightning from the heavens came down on it, and another abyss was dug into the earth. This time it was vast, they plunged into dark depths, a tremor and a spark, as air rippled within and Zhenyuan was hurled out of it once more.
Aegis glanced at the edge of his eye, as the heavens of fury were lit with scarlet flame.
Far away it was only a speck of red like a crimson star from beyond plummeting to earth. Yuhong’s breath was rough as he and Li Xin were, just below the raging skies flying on Snow and Naxo.
Sect Master Li peered at the furious horizon as crimson ripped apart the earth and rattled their faces, he was atop a red and yellow winged qilin, he said in a mocking breath, “Old friend Ren, I’m not adding a trace to all of this destruction, take it as a recompense for all your lost wagers, hehe.”
Ren heard this, and his grip on falcon's feathers deepened as he felt his eyes twitch. “Old fart—what do you mean!” he said gruffly in frustration, and dropping the title of Sect Master as if they were old comrades, and they truly were. “I have only lost… ten times—no it was less, it’s hardly enough for this! Not fair!”
Though he was a master of Zeka temple he was far from wealthy, they did things honorably with no deceit at all, and Mortal Heart was the same.
So in brief, they were penniless old men and all their riches were spent on their dwellings. And surely this ruin of a city, many on assigned would seize the opportunity and use twisted clues to cast the fault partly on Aegis and as his uncle he would suffer more.
Temple Master Ren’s heart was already bleeding as he beheld the ruin, it had barely been half an hour and third of the city was already a field of abyss and leftovers of hard-headed people who stayed were decimated. The center was a vast plain of devastation from Aegis’s sun arrow, he could only damn them as why they did not shift their battles to the mountain?
Heavens flickered upon his face was twisted as Sect Master Li was in mirth stroking his long white beard.
The Blessed Daughter was quiet on rumbling skies, atop a qilin of white and blue as she paid no heed to both fools, and said, “this awakening is unlike any other.”
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“Hmmm, it is…” Sect Master Li said with another stroke of a beard, though he was Ren’s old friend, he knew nothing of the complications of Kuzin.
Temple master Ren answered with a wise voice, “heh. Of course it’s unlike any other…” He went on as another wave shook their flight, “as foreseen he’s unlike any other after all. He’s just like him!” though he felt pride within for his nephew. He was recalling the one from long ago who from Kuzin who did not wield the heavenly fury.
Akashic appeared in the sky, wielding a colossal earthen rock on his crimson clutches, crashing down upon like a meteor that ripped apart a mile of land.
The heavens rumbled in rage as the flames were swallowed, the air was distorted and lightning was struck at Akashic that shattered his form. A hundred strides from the pit of the abyss, their eyes locked, the roaring heavens, and the crackling of flames.
Akashic charged with a cry of doom, as endless rain of fire debris. Aegis lifted an arm aloft, and his palms were opened wide, the sky roared in answer, the thunder cracked, and the rain of lightning fell.
They all were drenched and the fire was quenched.
The lightning did not cease.
Akashic burst open his throat as miles and miles was filled with infernal flames.
Aegis roared as lightning fell like a torrent and the land was lit by the wrath of the heavens.
They clashed and the world was rent.
Hellfire and Heavenly Rage
A stance was broad and straight, shown by the sparks of sky that danced on him, power all of it they see, ahead and far was Akashic choking on dark red blood like a madman. But there was a grin and fire rose, Aegis looked up, and there he was, Zhenyuan.
Both arms open, as the sacred ring with triangle rotated behind him, his halo crown burning, wielding the golden rod, golden saber of fire, and golden bow, ringed edge of light.
Akashic, fueled by doom, lunged at Aegis with a rain of fire debris, but Aegis lifted an arm, palms wide open, calling forth thunder and a relentless rain of lightning.
Zhenyuan, with his radiant nimbus halo, fired beaming arrows that pierced the chaotic battlefield.
Buildings flew and crumbled as shockwaves echoed.
Aegis emerged from the black mist in a swift back roll and a leap, landing low on earth within his haunches as Akashic followed with a dashing shin immediately into a blazing fist that shook the earth. Aegis caught it with his wrist, feeling his bones shatter. He drove his knee forward, but it was stopped. His arm was seized with a fierce grip, and a flash of lightning sent Akashic flying like a broken doll as a beam of arrow pierced Aegis in the chest. Zhenyuan descended upon him from a high peak of ice. Aegis dodged and stumbled and seized a lightning spear, striking Zhenyuan in the heart with ripping crackles.
Aegis felt the earth quake as Akashic burst from beneath him with blazing jets of flame, but he was swiftly devoured by ice, and then by lightning.
Blood burst as another beam of arrow pierced through Aegis in the belly.
Aegis felt heat as a wave of flames rose. He glanced up and saw a colossal boulder falling towards him. He lunged sideways as the rock crashed ripping the ground apart, shaking the earth, and a shower of fire debris.
Aegis evaded the falling stars, advancing like a felinia with all his limbs, seizing Akashic by the throat with a freezing grasp that chilled his blood, used as a meat to fend off the beams of arrows.
Akashic was flipped over and struck his back to the ground, but Aegis was swiftly pounced and pinned down, and Akashic raised a fist and brought it down with a roar.
Aegis dug his finger into it, and a bolt of lightning shot from his fingertips, as Akashic was flung back with a crash.
A throb of his heart and Aegis felt a piercing pain in his head, he crushed his hand forward, the time for games was over.
BEND
And the heavens bended Akashic.
Akashic had just landed and he felt a crushing weight, his innards were squeezed inside, his face, shape and wings were smashed at once, it was so swift that he felt everything buzz, it was heavy, before he was only thinking it was a sensation but it truly was heavy.
Akashic Kanuo, third-born of Kanuo during Alovedra Red Flower. A man who annihilated Ximuno from Rimen singlehandedly thus “Conqueror of Rimen”, the Eater of Wings written on the second Great Scroll of Angshan Way.
They dread him as they say, a stroke of his greatblade is as fire from hell as lethal as a dragon’s dance.
He was going to perish, if only he had his weapon then maybe he would be able to match him?
He was fading, fade, fade, oh, how dreadful those words were to him, he’d failed his lord again, what else?
He had cheated death once with a scheme, but there was no such thing now, was there? And now he would face another one.
Godhood… godhood, he’d never attain it in this life, mortality, he abhor it.
He heard footsteps, but it was the tremors as the skies thundered above him, he fought to raise his head, he glimpsed him as his face lay on the ground. Aegis faced him down, and spoke with a cocksure smile, “as I have told the skies before, I am the greatest, the one above heavens.”
Lightning claimed him.