CHAPTER 24: DEFYING HEAVEN'S WILL

Noticing Hermes' exuberant demeanor, Ming Xue squinted his eyes in disbelief.

"Interesting..."

Panting heavily from the blow to his ribs, Hermes scrunched up and straightened his back. Holding the gunblade over his right shoulder, its gleaming meter-long blade caught the light of the room, refracting it into a mesmerizing dance of prismatic brilliance.

With the large obsidian black revolver cylinder next to his face, Hermes smiled.

"What's interesting?"

"You are the first cadet to ever show such a carefree expression when facing me. I find it admirable..."

Before Hermes could even acknowledge the compliment, Ming Xue disappeared from his sight, leaving behind afterimages reminiscent of a fleeting desert mirage. Without a moment's pause, Hermes smoothly arced the gunblade over his shoulder in a vertical strike.

-Ting!

"Yet, that expression still irks me," Ming Xue muttered with hints of bloodlust.

Sparks erupted from the collision once again. Gritting his teeth, Hermes exerted every ounce of strength, striving to overpower the immensely formidable opponent before him.

His struggle yielded no advantage, for in mere moments, Ming's Tang Dao blade succumbed once again to the encroaching darkness. The Mandarin symbols transformed into the texture of an abyss, spelling out 'Retribution' for whatever perceived transgression Ming believed Hermes deserved to atone for.

"Ahhhh!" Agony seared through his muscles, blood oozing from his pores. His grip on the weapon weakened, slipping like water through his fingers. Not wanting to relent, he clenched his fist harder against the gun handle while the other supported the blade's spine.

Suddenly, Ming's sword seemed to gain weight, bearing down on Hermes until he dropped to his knee, locked in a relentless clash of two distinct forms of swordsmanship.

"Kneel."

The word hung heavy in the air, casting shadows of despair that echoed through every alleyway of Hermes' body. He looked up, meeting a face of unyielding indifference reflected in those deep, abyssal eyes. Ming was not just a regular opponent; he was a Sovereign. A Venerable Monarch that stands at the top of everything. The radiating chasm devoid of any emotion caused every ounce of Hermes' body to want to truly kneel and beg for forgiveness.

Noticing the upheaval in his emotions, Anger swelled inside him. The turbulence of a volcano had met a powerful catalyst and was now on the brink of eruption.

How can he kneel and surrender in despair in front of him? How can he just let go of all the vows he had made to himself? Didn't he swear to never be helpless again? Was everything he said just empty words? Is this the kind of man Ariana wanted for a husband? A coward? No. He couldn't allow it to happen!

A gale of cosmic force burst forth from his body, clashing against the darkness that was slowly invading his vision. Waterfalls of blood gushed out in every direction from his body as he gritted his teeth and continued to clash against Ming's sword. With every portion of his spirit, he let out a guttural roar!

"F*CK OFF!"

-Boom!

Shock waves echoed across the fortified walls. The whole facility quaked as if marking the beginning of an impending cataclysm. Lightning rained from the sky in a grandiose display of color as the Tang Dao sword and Gunblade rattled each other to the core. A clash of wills over who holds supreme continued perpetually.

Observing his defiance against the will of heaven, Ming Xue's lips curled up into a smile. In a single sleek motion, he parried Hermes' attack and flash stepped back to his original position instantaneously. The darkness he exerted had dissipated slowly as if being cleansed by the light.

At the same time, Hermes dropped to his knees holding onto the gunblade for support. Every ounce of Cosmic Force was forcefully expelled from within his body, his wrath had shaken the safeguarded room close to its breaking point. Cracks of all shapes and sizes formed across the heavily plated walls. Not even his own gunblade was spared from the damage.

With one knee kissing the cold metal floor, Hermes' vision blurred and twisted, turning into pastel colors. His breathing became more visceral and desperate. Besides the state of his clothing, his skin was violently corrupted in a shade of dark red. His hearing was in an even worse state as it constantly rang viciously. A pool of boiling blood revolved around him.

Ming Xue looked away from him and onto the arm holding his blade. A texture of flesh lined itself across his skin, blood seeping out continuously like a well with infinite refreshments.

"So that's his true dimensionality. Interesting..."

Arthur who had been spectating the entire battle nodded his head.

"Yes. It is like I mentioned before. It seems his Original dimensionality is higher than both of ours combined. There is a clash of wills occurring in his astral projection, causing the suppression. His willpower alone managed to awaken it momentarily."

A smile presented itself on Ming Xue's face. One filled with anticipation and joy.

"His spirit is truly admirable. Let alone the Voidseekers, he will give Vel'kus a run for his money once he unlocks his true potential. You were correct in selecting him as your pupil."

After saying his piece, Ming Xue sheathed his blade and turned around to face the exit, his coat fluttered in the wind due to his smooth transition. Turning his head one last time to face Arthur, his expression once more became indifferent as his voice became emotionless.

"I am going to go back into training. I can't let a cadet surpass me. Tell them to prepare the Stage 8 Elysian Monolith in 2 months." He swiftly walked out of the now chaotic facility.

Looking back at Hermes who was on the brink of death, Arthur began to walk slowly toward the dilapidated cadet. Shaking his head, a hint of melancholy emerged from his throat in waves.

"I wonder what kind of turmoil caused you to steel your heart this much? What sort of suffering are you secretly harboring?"

...

['Help... me...']

['Please... Save me...']

'It's that pitiful voice again... Please, whoever you are! Tell me how I can help you!'

['Father... Mother... I am sorry... I beseech thee... Leave me not in solitude!']

'Reply to me! I can't help you if you don't answer me!'

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

['Mayhap... I am unworthy... of salvation...']

'... She can't hear my replies? What should I do... My heart is aching... Her voice feels so familiar to me... Where?...'

['Nay... I must press forth... I must not forsake the hope... Astrid hath bestowed upon me...']

'Astrid... I... I know him... Who?...'

sounds of effeminate crying echoed out into the empty void as he continued to swim with the current. It was unknown where he was headed.

['Hkh, hkh... H-he... He swore... He... He will rescue me... I must cry out to him...']

Like a sledgehammer striking itself across a mirror, the deep abyss shattered into pieces. His vision slowly encroached upon him with luminosity. A canvas of colors slowly took form.

Above his head, visages of mahogany came into view, the wooden panels revolved around the room. The light of the sun bathed and mixed into the textured wooden walls, giving warmth to the inhabitants.

Getting up from the soft leather sofa he had been sleeping on, Hermes rubbed his temples to ease his migraine.

"... Where am I?"

"You're awake."

Turning to the source of the sound, a wooden desk with papers and monitors organized in an elegant formation peered into view, a man with grey hair and skin that's akin to dry clothes that hadn't been ironed became apparent. Past the visible wrinkles and his trimmed grey beard, a vertical ravine pierced through his left eye. Arthur in his normal stoic expression was staring at the young man who just stumbled out of his slumber.

The moment Arthur's figure reflected in his eyes, flashes of the past swept him like a current. He was able to recall everything that had happened. Tilting his head down, a smile appeared on his face.

"I see... So I lost, huh?"

Arthur nodded his head, "It wasn't even close."

"Pfff, you didn't really need to say that part."

Hermes sighed. He had already expected to lose from the start. This was a battle between a stage 1 inexperienced cadet and a battalion commander at stage 7. This was a conflict between an ant and an elephant, there was no comparison...

However, Hermes had still hoped to land at least one hit on him. The clash that happened at the end shattered his delusions. Even with all the strength inside him, Ming Xue casually countered everything thrown his way, and even pressured him down to the floor while holding the sword nonchalantly in one hand.

Throwing cold water over his already frozen body, Arthur spoke once more.

"Ming only limited himself to 10% of his cosmic force. Not only that, but he also chose to only use the dark element. If he had incorporated the space element in his attacks, you would have died without knowing it."

"..."

Clearing his throat, Hermes looked up at Arthur and voiced his concerns openly.

"What the hell was that even about anyway? Battalion Commander Ming didn't hold back at all, If I was only slightly more careless, I really would have died..."

"Do you think the Mutants will care about how you feel before engaging you in battle? Will they hold back for you to grow stronger?"

"... No."

"You do not need to worry. You aren't the only one with [Augmented-Comprehension]. His control over it is far better than mine. During those split seconds before the attack, hundreds of thousands of calculations and simulations of your actions played in his mind. He knew exactly with how much force to attack with to obtain the best result."

"... I see. But what was that thing he said about the exams not being over?"

"The Knowledge portion of the exam not only encompasses your judgment, strategy, comprehension, wisdom, and pattern recognition. It also encompasses your talents and skill in Martial and Mystic arts and combat adaptability."

"Usually, after we pick the cadets, we take them to the respected areas to test their abilities with those in mind. This is to make sure we have an idea of what kind of archetype or aspect they would awaken before taking the Elysian Monolith challenge."

"However your situation was different. You were already a Celestial and your Aspect is already known. That's why Ming pulled you out of the crowd when you first came in. It would be unfair to the other cadets if they continue being compared to you when you are ahead of them already."

"Instead of testing your Aspect, we decided to test your combat judgment and your adaptability. How fast you can control your abilities; how good are you at judging your opponent."

Seeing Hermes paying close attention, Arthur continued lecturing in his husky voice.

"Not only were you able to grasp another way to utilize [Sensory-Boost] without us telling you how to do it, but your capacity to immediately shift your mindset to survive was very phenomenal. You did well, be proud of your result."

Hermes scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He decided to change the subject.

"These abilities, you said have something to do with dimensionality. What did you mean back then?"

"Good question. When we say that dimensionality allows you to truly own the cosmic force in your body, we mean having the authority to use your archetype or aspect skills."

"When you first become a Celestial, your dimensionality remains the same. Only by increasing it can we unlock our archetype and aspect skills."

"For example, at 0.5 dimensionality, Mystics will unlock [Augmented-Comprehension] and Martial Masters will unlock [Sensory-Boost]. Since you are an Enchanted Striker, your dimensionality increasing means unlocking skills from both archetypes."

"The same thing occurs at 1.0 dimensionality. Mystics will have a chance at unlocking [Lesser-Lexicon], however, it is very rare. Martial Masters on the other hand will unlock [Martial-Study]."

"Since you are already a 1-dimensional being, you already had all four unlocked."

Hermes nodded his head in understanding. One thing that confused him however was why he didn't know about the abilities even though they were always a part of him. He was able to use them subconsciously only and he didn't even know he had a skill like [Martial-Study] at all. It's like a human forgetting how to walk or breathe, it completely puzzled him.

Over the past week, weird sensations had come to him from time to time that left him with more questions about who he was than answers. From feeling sadness over a quote, to the cries of a maiden asking for help. He couldn't wrap his head around the changes at all.

Distracting him from his thoughts was a question he had not been expecting from Arthur.

"During that battle against Ming, why did you start smiling when facing him?"

Hermes looked down at the floor in confusion. 'Why did I feel such a sense of freedom when fighting him? Did I go insane from the pressure?' Even he had no idea why. The more he thought about it, the more he felt off about himself. It was as if he was slowly losing himself without even realizing it. Lifting his head, Hermes looked directly into Arthur's eyes as he began remembering why such a sensation overwhelmed him when battling against the abyss itself.

"At that time, I was relishing in the idea of beating a Battalion Commander as a rookie. Such a feat would have been exciting to obtain..."

Arthur stroked his trimmed beard as he began to ponder over his words. "Interesting..."

Hermes continued. "I'm not sure what happened, but it was like a switch had been flicked and suddenly all the fear I had disappeared, replacing it was excitement."

Arthur decided to forward his hypothesis. "Maybe it is because of the pressure of facing such an insanely strong opponent that you began to find it comical?"

Hermes looked down at the floor in thought. "Maybe..." He decided to ponder about these subjects alone and use this opportunity to ask for more information regarding Celestials.

"By the way, I never learned about what my affinities are with the elements. I'm sure the test results during the Cosmic Force portion of the exams told you, did it not?"

Arthur shook his head slowly from side to side.

"No. The Stellar Artifact we used only tested what type of cosmic force your body held, not your elemental affinity. Cosmic Force Types and Elemental Affinities are not the same thing."

"They aren't?"

"Indeed. Take Death-Type Cosmic Force for example. It belongs to the Death domain. The corruption, dark, and soul elements have a relationship with the Death-type cosmic force, but they are not the same thing."

"This is because Cosmic Force is the lifeblood of the universe. The elements on the other hand have to do with Ethyria, a substance that is mostly related to the Spirit World when we talk about it in the context of the Knowledge Domain."

"Spirit World? Ethyria?"

Arthur nodded his head slowly.

"Indeed. There is a layer to our reality that no one can see, one that is omnipresent but we cannot perceive it with normal means."

END OF CHAPTER