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With his hand extended, a surge of dark matter flooded out, forming a needle-like spear. The spear began to rotate rapidly like a drill before it shot out towards the attack. It had taken only an instant before both attacks met head on. When Avrin’s attack collided with her’s, the tip distorted and pressed against the sphere of Qi, causing it to push inwards before it popped like a balloon, releasing a massive explosion. The shockwave hit everyone, but at their level, a shockwave like this was minuscule.
“huh?!...” the transformed girl was stunned. Her attack had so easily been dispersed, and by the casual look of Avrin standing there, it seemed as if he hadn't had trouble.
“Who the hell are you!!” her deep, ape-like voice roared out, baring her large fangs. “This isn't your fight, begone!” a beam of white light hit the ape creature's side, blowing her several dozen kilometers away, sending her spinning like a disc. In the spot where she had been, the young man in cracked armor had his fist outstretched.
“Now then…” he turned towards Avrin before revealing a crude smile. Avrin glanced back. He also wanted to fight this person. Before it had been on uneven grounds, with him having to limit himself, but this time, he felt fine because the second time he shifted to the Spectral Domain, it only used up a small percentage of his dark matter reserves. The first time had been messy and wasteful due to the breakthrough.
“This is my first and final warning to you. It won't be like last time where I had to run off.” Avrin’s voice carried no threatening tone or aura, it was a simple sentence. The young man looked at Avrin and snorted before laughing. “I think you seem to misunderstand something. You have quite a few unique abilities, but in the end, you definitely won't be running away. I'll make sure of it. As for you lot, keep away from this or I'll kill you all.” when he turned to look at them his aura surged out, which caused them all to twitch and shudder slightly. All except the cloaked individual, who showed no real reaction.
“Now then...” he grinned. He didn't need to hold back with his abilities because everyone here knew that he was an Inheritor but kept it quiet due to agreements between their families. The young man’s eyes grew heavy before he roared out. “STRIDE BALANCE!!!” In a flash, his body transformed into a beam that instantly shot behind Avrin. The young man, who was now behind Avrin, raised both his hands and assumed a combat stance. “Rain Drop Blitz.” Everyone who trained in Qi would always know superior combat techniques from the rest of the universes. This attack was like rain, his fists formed after images as they bombarded towards Avrin’s back.
Of course, he seemed to have underestimated Avrin. “-Void Step…-” he thought, and in that same instant, before any of the fists landed on him, he had teleported behind the young man, who had in that moment of time fired off at least one-hundred or so strikes, but he quickly noticed Avrin vanish before any of his strikes landed on him. He clenched his teeth as his strikes sent beam-like shockwaves in the direction they were punched in. He swept his right leg towards Avrin, who was now the one behind him. The kick itself was strong and he had no intention of showing mercy.
Avrin himself knew he had to be careful. They were most likely on the same level, but his own advantage was his ability to create. “Phantom Pulse…” a heavy shift of gravity pushed against the young man’s leg, slowing it down greatly, which gave Avrin enough time to attack. Avrin gave a single punch forward, yet this punch contained a lot of what he knew. Before the punch landed, an afterimage appeared that showed the attack already connecting to the young man. Soon after, more and more after-images appeared and began to follow that direction, forming a complete image identical to how he used a tomahawk to behead one of Orochi’s heads.
The space around the young man seemed to ripple, almost as if he couldn't escape. He quickly shouted out. “Balan-!” but he was suddenly unable to speak as Avrin’s fist finally connected with his chest. The amount of power contained was intense. A heavy shock wave slammed against him, causing his armor to break even more. Behind him, cracks in the Spectral Domain appeared but quickly healed themselves. The young man, on the other hand, was flying backward, his eyes white and his mouth opened as the punch was so powerful it made him lose focus.
Avrin frowned a little as he moved his fist back. It was throbbing slightly. “-Ten percent of my strength for a blow like that….-” he smiled to himself. Landing a good hit in, made him feel incredibly good. Of course, just as the young man was about to vanish in the distance, his focus returned and a menacing look appeared on his face as his footing returned. One could see that the armor and clothing on his skin had been shredded, revealing a large bruise on his toned body.
“-How is he so powerful… that punch was crazy… I won't let him best me… NO!-” the young man’s face darkened as he shot towards Avrin again. This time, he was even faster. Avrin knew what he wanted to do and grinned. “An exchange? Ok, let's see who’s faster!” Avrin blurred as he also shot towards the young man.
As they approached, both of them threw fist attacks. The young man's punches contained Qi that was influenced by some strange laws whilst Avrin's punches contained dark matter and distortion. As the fists collided, they caused a spherical, mist-like energy to form. More cracks appeared in the Spectral Domain before nearly instantly healing. The attack was constantly sending ripples as both their fists pressed against the other for dominance, looks of tension appearing.
“To think someone is giving him a run for his money…” the young girl with drills uttered curiously, though the young man with a straight expression replied. “No... he hasn’t gotten serious yet. Once he enters his Fragment form it will end quickly. It doesn't matter what rank of power he is at, he is surely invincible within it. Ruagia is truly an idiot to think she could have harmed him.”
The young man had a frustrated look. His personality was one of pride. A number of scenes flashed through his mind of when he was younger. He had been a prodigy in martial arts, defeating anyone within his age group and even many a level higher than him. He showed great talent, especially for one born in a super clan.
He was a rising star, and by the age of fifteen, it was decided that he would be reborn using the Fragment of God's Soul. The agreement was that his brothers would marry girls of the other clans and he himself would marry another so called prodigy from another clan, this way the bond would strengthen. It was the only way to handle matters left behind by the past Inheritor of God's Soul.
“You're strong but...” as Avrin spoke these words he gave a sly smile. His fist suddenly distorted as it seemingly bent around the young man’s fist, yet even though this happened, it was as if the fist was still there. In the next moment, the young man’s eyes widened. He remembered when he fought a rival who trash talked him in a tournament. The rival was very strong and gave him a tough battle, yet in the end,it was decided in one exchange. The young man’s fist was faster and more skillful but only barely. He managed to knock out his rival with a punch to the cheek.
Right now, the young man’s face was tilted as Avrin’s fist had collided with his shocked face, causing small ripples to appear in the air. In the next moment, the young man flew out again like a discus for several hundred meters before regaining his footing. He looked quite shocked. He glanced at Avrin somewhat stunned.
“This isn't any fun at all…” Avrin said, frowning as he brought his fist back. Even though they were fighting it didn't seem like anything was on the line. ”Fun? This isn't meant to be fun….” suddenly, a tyrannical aura surged around the young man. A black Qi and a white Qi melding together shot out as his hair began to sway as if a strong wind was blowing. His body began to glisten with light as two horns began to form on his head, one a glowing black and the other a glowing white. His pupils also shifted, showing perfect yin-yang symbols in both eyes. His armor suddenly turned to ash as his body was covered in a melded light of black and white. On his back, a large disc formed. This disc was attached to his back but was in the form of a yin-yang symbol. His power had greatly increased.
Avrin, looking at him, felt his heart beat quickly. His Qi suddenly jumped to incredibly scary levels, he knew he had to be very careful. “Hiding tricks?” Avrin uttered out before he raised his right hand. He had decided to take it more seriously. In a moment, several thousand void spheres had formed from the mana in the Spectral Domain.
The individuals watching from the side frowned a bit. “It's gotten dangerous, let’s move back.” the cloaked individual spoke, which caused the other two nearby to feel it was most likely as the soft feminine voice said. The three shot back at a quick pace to escape the battle.
Avrin pointed his index finger towards the young man before speaking. “Go..” the void spheres all trembled before they shot towards him. Each one was incredibly powerful, which were more than enough to disperse the ape creature's attack from before.
The void spheres were like a swarm that shot towards the young man, who glanced expressionlessly. “Pitiful…” he uttered before his eyes gave a simple pulse of light. This not only engulfed the void spheres but also Avrin. The void spheres all trembled as if under a foreign influence before a perfect amount of them collided with the other half, causing masses of dark matter energy to pop up everywhere in the space between Avrin and the young man.
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Avrin felt his body grow heavy and his particles ripple slightly. When this happened, his dark matter heart gave its own pulse of light which instantly dispersed the effect. “Strange….let’s test a bit more..” Avrin grew excited before he made a series of Void Steps, but not before forming a void spear in his hands. He appeared above the young man and with immense strength threw the spear towards him five meters from point blank range.
The young man glanced indifferently before raising his left hand towards the spear. However, when the spear hit his hand, his expression twitched for only a moment. The spear seemed to have a will of its own, but under the young man’s strength it couldn't go further, yet it was rotating like a drill, trying to penetrate through his palm, causing sparks of white and black light to fly everywhere.
“Heavenly Balance….” in that moment, the spear shook violently. The dark purple void spear pulsed before it was revealed that it was now a jade-like white that glistened like moonlight on water.
“-Where did the dark matter go?-” Avrin was stunned. The spear was no longer made of dark matter but made from the strange Qi of the young man. The young man lowered his hand and looked at his palm. He could see a trace amount of his blood and this left him interested. “You’re indeed powerful. No one has ever been able to injure me in this from within the level of New Deity.” twirling his right hand’s index finger, the spear rotated around before it shot towards Avrin much faster than when he threw it at him.
Avrin was stunned and quickly tried to move out of the way, but he was only a half second too slow. When he Void Stepped away he was left with a hole in his stomach with his blue blood that quickly turned red seeping out for a few moments before dark matter covered the wound. Avrin was fascinated by this young man’s ability, in fact, he was confused. This was because he wondered why his father didn't use this form on his grandfather. “-Did he not want to hurt him?-”
Avrin stood up whilst glancing at the young man. He raised his left hand up as a void greatsword began to from, but just as he blinked the young man was gone. Avrin quickly felt his left hand tighten up as if he couldn't move it at all. He turned to his side to see the young man gripping his left hand incredibly tightly. “Truly a defiled one...though no more games. I have questions for you to answ-” unable to finish, Avrin punched towards his abdomen with incredible strength. The young man’s eyes narrowed as he raised his right knee up and hit towards Avrin. The knee attack was much faster and the moment it collided with Avrin’s abdomen he was shot back. Avrin felt his organs ripple and as he coughed up blood his consciousness swayed for a moment. When he gained his balance he looked to his side to see his left arm was gone. As he glanced down at the young man he saw he was still clutching his left hand with the half formed void greatsword.
“Give up, you're not going to win this…” the young man spoke. The ape creature, which looked beaten, flew back towards the group and reverted back to the young female with dreadlocks. She remained quiet, yet her face was pale with anger and a bit of nervousness. As she glanced at avrin and the young man, she knew they really were more than she could handle. “Don't feel down. After all, he has a Fragment and was considered a prodigy even before his rebirth. This is over anyway.” the young girl with drills uttered out as if she wasn't surprised.
Avrin looked at the young man with a somewhat complacent look. He felt he had seen enough. “-The Fragment focuses on balance and halfs. It is not creative like mine, but it's tricky. Incredibly tricky. There should be one way to finish this though-” Avrin eased up as he glanced at the young man. “Well, what's your decision?”
As he spoke out with a prideful tone, Nebula Mist surged out from Avrin’s stump where his arm had been, and in a few moments, his arm had healed completely. This left them all shocked.
“Decision?” Avrin said, and a powerful surge of dark matter exploded from him. His body began to shift and turn. Sarcanus, which was hidden away, engulfed him, yet Avrin’s skin began to darken and his hair began to sway and grow a bit longer. The tips of his hair were incredibly sharp, enough so that they actually pierced into a minuscule part of space of their own. His arms grew slightly longer and his hands became claw-like. His skin, a dark purple with glowing black veins.
His pupils became a glowing blue, and a moment later, as Sarcanus covered him, his surging dark matter eased up. Avrin raised his right hand and Astaroth appeared. He had augmented his body largely while keeping it under control so he wouldn't look monstrous like he did fighting Orphelium, and with Sarcanus and Astaroth in hand, he was now a force to be reckoned with.
The young man glanced at Avrin, and as he saw him and his face which no longer had a mask, a sense of dread bathed over him. “-It seems this is a fire that will be difficult to put out…-” he thought to himself before he surged his Qi. He raised his hands and clapped them together before bringing them apart. A long sword that glistened like a sun appeared, with the hilt being like a dragon with its mouth opened where the long, shining blade appeared.
“Sovereign Weapon Zion…” the cloaked individual uttered with surprise. To this person, Sovereign Weapons were reserved for only the strongest of the bunch. It didn't matter what universe they were in, only a handful of Primordial Entities could proclaim they had Sovereign level weapons. “Isn't that...Shra'zar’s weapon? To think the Imperial clan would give him their most powerful sword!” the young girl spoke with shock and a bit of greed jealousy could be seen in her eyes.
“To push me this far…I thank you for teaching me that I need to broade-” as the young man closed his eyes for only a moment to speak these words, his heart shuddered and he opened his eyes quickly to see Avrin was a couple of feet away from him with Astaroth raised, held only by his right hand. “YOU DAMNED..!! GUARD BALANCE!!” this certain balance ability of his would Double his defensive strength, which was all he could accomplish right now. He quickly raised the Sovereign level weapon to block Avrin’s attack, yet when he glanced at Astaroth he felt a strong fear.
Astaroth was then brought down with one hand by Avrin. The scythe let out a terrifying screech as it slashed down and collided with the young man’s blade. Despite his balance ability, how could it compare to a weapon forged from the essence of two Cosmic Entities. The blade held out for only a moment before it began to crack and chip. In the next moment, it was cut through. The slash force of Astaroth was immense and it sent a ripple of sharp energy that collided against the young man, cleaving across his chest. “-Life Balance!...-”
he thought with urgency. In that moment, the attack which could have killed him simply left a large gash across his chest with blood spewing out. The Life Balance was one of his most valuable trump cards. With it, he could make himself immortal for only a few moments. Another was Death Balance, which allowed him to revive himself if he died once for a heavy price.
Despite this, the cost to have both abilities was immense. He had to perform certain deeds for the Life Balance. He needed to sacrifice Qi to it every day to fill up a gauge visible only to him and he needed to kill the wicked. As for the Death Balance, it was much trickier. It was also the reason why he needed defiled ones’ spirits. Because they resonated with death, they could be used to fill up the large Death Balance requirement.
With the shattered Sovereign blade and the large gash on his chest, the young man was left stunned. He wasn't sure what to think. Avrin’s movements didn't stop. Compared to Orphelium, this man was nothing special even though he was like him. Astaroth circled around like a glistening half moon, the curved end moving around the man’s neck and going still. Avrin could behead him at any time. “Where I come from originally, we have a saying that’s quite old but still true. It goes ‘don't bring a knife to a gunfight’. Then again, it can't be helped.”
The young man remained silent and still as he looked carefully at Avrin. He didn't feel fear for dying, but more so if he did die, then he would bring much trouble to his clan and family. “Indeed, it seems I underestimated you again greatly this time….though..” he looked carefully at Astaroth and Sarcanus, which radiated an equally powerful aura. “To think that within five universes….two Fragment Inheritors would meet. You must possess the Fragment God's Heart, am I correct?” the young man spoke with a sly grin. His words were only loud enough for Avrin to hear. Avrin’s expression twisted slightly. “Since you know, I have even more reason to kill you. I’m not sure what dumb luck I have to have met you, but at least I will be rid of a future obstacle!.” just as Avrin was about to attack, the young man’s eyes flashed. “Heavenly Order Destiny Balance!” the moment the words left his lips, the split in half Sovereign Weapon and the shards fizzled up into ash as if they were sacrificed.
Avrin and the young man both trembled violently. Avrin stumbled back a bit as his mind was reeling slightly. “What...did you do?!” he spoke out. The young man took a deep breath and frowned. “You want to kill me?!... Not in this life my friend!. You made me use a very special ability of my Fragment. Heavenly Order Destiny Balance is a way to perfectly keep order between two individuals. If I die under any circumstance within your influence, then you will suffer a destiny equal to my death.
Whether it be bad luck or the scene of what I discovered to do with you being planted within the memories of many powerful individuals, you may as well be running your entire life. Kill me and your fate will be just as terrible. You made me sacrifice a Sovereign level item. Although broken, the materials are priceless!...this should last a good one-million years.”
Avrin felt his temper rise. He really did plan to kill the young man and then use his Fragment to invoke the cycle and ask a favor from God or even possibly save it for later. The way Avrin saw it before was a win win, but now it was a pointless situation. “Heavenly….Destiny Order Balance, huh… I take it you are also under the same circumstance?”
As Avrin said, this the young man’s smile toned down and he frowned. “So you know? Correct, our fates with each other are now linked for one-million years. If I have any influence over you being attacked, chased, or tell anyone what I discovered, then I will suffer a fate equal to the one you will face.”
Avrin felt somewhat at ease. He had one more question for the young man. “How did you find out?“ Avrin felt things were quite unfair on his side. He really wanted to find out how. “Simple, my dear friend. Your weapon and armor radiate an energy similar to the Fragment of God Essence my clan has in their possession, and between those with power it's no secret that only the Fragment Inheritor of God's Heart can forge it. It’s no surprise that you so easily destroyed my weapon. That scythe and armor of yours may as well be Cosmic grade enough to start a universal conflict.”
Avrin turned around and casually began to leave. He was done with this man and felt irritated. He didn't want to spend any more time around him or the others. The onlookers were stunned and left speechless, their faces were all pale with fright. Even the young man was astounded. “To have broken a Sovereign Weapon, what's going on!!?” he wasn't sure what to think of the situation.
“We…we need to report this back, this is important!” the girl with dreadlocks spoke out in a somewhat quiet tone. The young girl with drills was also thinking deeply. “The Shra'zar clan has just lost their most powerful piece of equipment. One might as well say their power has just decreased greatly.” she grinned. The cloaked individual spoke out as well. “The matters here are to only be discussed during the conclave of clans. Anyone wanting to tilt power will be executed beforehand.” the individual spoke soundly. The three hearing this felt their hearts beat quickly. They knew this person was much more powerful than them and tasked by a great organization with keeping fair balance. This organization was trusted and even had the backing of all the clans to keep order between them.
As Avrin made his way towards Seleria, he dispersed his augmented form and put away Sarcanus and Astaroth as Nebula Mist tidied him up. He saw the young man shoot up towards him before flying to his side. “Brother, I can finally see where you are going now. To think a planet was hidden here, incredible! I don't think even the Gatekeeper would be capable of this.”
Avrin looked to his side to see the young man having reverted back to his normal form, yet he looked a bit ragged as he was left with rag-like clothing from his transformation earlier. “You can see it?!” Avrin was stunned and worry crept over him. The young man blinked and spoke. “Of course I can. Don't forget, we are connected by destiny! I'm not sure who hid this, but since you can see it I can see it as wel-”
Avrin’s face twisted a little. “Leave already!” as he punched towards the young man. The moment the punch landed on his cheek he was blown away, but Avrin felt a surge of pain on his own cheek. He was also blown back at the same time, both of them being thrown several dozens of meters away.
Avrin was stunned as he reached up to touch his cheek. He glanced back at the young man who was frowning. He then saw him give a crude smirk. “hehe...What's wrong, friend?”
Avrin finally realized the circumstances he was in. “-Fragment of God's Soul, such a shitty thing to encounter-”