"That accursed brat! Thinking he can make a fool out of me!" Korkolo rushed into the prison, jolting his head side to side looking for Avures. The layout seemed as normal as it ever was when he first arrived in the village. The only outlier in all of it was the disappearance of the zone he placed overtop.
Still, Korkolo fumed and marched his way down to the corridor leading to the stairwell. As he passed by the parallel cells, Korkolo's foot was caught on a stray chain that was laying in the middle of the floor. It was strewn out from the cell where it was supposed to be attached to the wall. He scoffed, kicking it off to the side in a huff as he traveled down the stairs. Each step echoed, signaling the coming of an inevitable battle as Korkolo grew ever closer.
"It's time for you to pay for your meddling! Worthless Kov-..." Korkolo was so blinded by rage that he threw Avures's cell door open before he had even glanced at him. But, when he did gaze upon Avures, he appeared to still be chained up like before. His head was bowed as he sat in the center of the room with all his bindings attached still.
Korkolo was dumbfounded, speechless even. Confusion set in as he began to even wonder how Avures could have pulled off the deactivation of his zone in the first place. He was utterly baffled. Scratching his head, Korkolo turned to the side and contemplated if he had let his rage get the best of him once more...
It was within that very moment that Avures decided it was time to strike. In one swift motion, several tendrils shot out from Avures's body. Three of them swirled and combined straight ahead as they crashed into Korkolo and pinned him against the brick wall. A thud rang out in the prison as the other tendrils all maneuvered their way to the locks on his restraints. By pouring Mana constantly into them, Avures was able to affix the ends of the tendrils into the shapes needed to unlock the restraints.
Just like that, Avures leapt out of his chains and came to his feet. With Korkolo still pinned to the wall, he needed to act fast before the dwarf-man was able to break free. Avures used the fused tendrils to pull Korkolo off the wall and then immediately throw him back up the stairs. Before he was able to free himself, Korkolo found himself tumbling off to the side. He landed against the cold, hard ground and rolled a few feet down the hall he had just walked through.
However, as Avures rushed up the stairs to follow through on the next phase of his plan, he was greeted by Korkolo standing up and being enveloped by the same purple and black aura he had seen before. It made sense. He was a Primordial caster... Avures knew he couldn't back down from this. He was already past step one of his idea.
Korkolo held both his arms outwards with his palms facing Avures. The dark violet aura honed in on his hands. Avures went wide-eyed and summoned up Perfect Dark. The pool of shadows sprouted outwards towards Korkolo while carefully avoiding the chains and bars so as to not have the Mana he spent drained. As soon as Perfect Dark was nearly touching Korkolo, several tendrils sprouted out towards him.
Then Korkolo unleashed his magic. A barrage of tiny black orbs with purple outlines were released towards Avures. The moment one of those orbs made contact with a tendril... It tore through Avures's magic as if it were paper. Almost instantly, Avures's assault was halted and repelled. At the same time, he was now on the back-foot. Each blip of magic soared through the air within the congested tunnel. The unwieldy fire of them caused many to crash into the walls or floor. They appeared to fizzle out when hitting the Calcianite blocks, but also ripped apart areas of his Perfect Dark when they hit the floor.
"Dang! I don't want to resort to Future Sight and Zen Mode so soon!" Avures stayed light on his feet, dancing around the onslaught of Korkolo's magic. "Think fast!"
One of the orbs made a near-hit on Avures, barely grazing past the left side of his face. It was time for him to improvise a little. He hadn't expected Korkolo's magic to simply rip apart his own magic so easily. However, Avures was still confident in his plan as Korkolo had failed to notice a sliver of Perfect Dark shift past him into the cell beside him. But he needed to act fast or else the ruse would be up.
Avures overclocked his body with Enchantment Magic, using his enhanced physicals to leap backwards down the staircase. Korkolo's shots all hit the walls behind where Avures once stood. Seeing as how he retreated backwards, Korkolo gritted his teeth and growled. His body erupted with a furious cloak of violent violet. He was about to take a step forward...
When Avures was about to land on his back down one floor, he summoned up a tendril that caught him and broke his fall. The retreat was short-lived though as the tendril wound up and launched him back up the staircase.
Korkolo was taken aback when he saw the Kovar suddenly back on the same floor. The tendril's throw had a little too much force in it, sending Avures straight towards the ceiling. But he was prepared, overflowing with Enchantment Magic once more as he maneuvered himself mid-air. His feet landed against the ceiling. And, in that same moment, Avures used it as a launch pad back to the ground in front of Korkolo.
Korkolo had no time to summon up destructive powers in order to directly counter Avures once more. The boy landed in his face and immediately swung with his left fist. Having no time to dodge either, Korkolo felt the impact of Avures's attack. He stumbled to the side, his head turning and a tooth shooting out of his mouth with a bundle of spit. At the same time, Avures pressed his advantage by activating the ability of his left hand...
With the knowledge gained within a fraction of a second, Avures went in for another swing from his right side this time. This time Korkolo was ready though. The stout man recovered quickly and grabbed Avures's fist mid swing with his left hand. Korkolo smirked as Avures struggled to free his hand. An ominous deep purple swirled overtop of Korkolo's hand, threatening to punish Avures for his costly mistake.
Avures's eyes darted around, looking for a way out of this situation. He glanced down, seeing the chain in between them and realizing that he had the ability to make it through this.
Avures took in a big breath of air... And bellowed it as a black smog overtop of Korkolo. Korkolo shielded his eyes and face with his free hand. Though Korkolo perceived it to be a diversionary tactic... It wasn't just that. Avures used his precise control to cause the cloudy smog to bundle overtop of Korkolo's left hand...
Dusk Wall: An Manipulation/Utility Technique from the Dark Element. Its primary function is to establish a wall of opaque shadows in whatever sort of proportions and size the caster desires. What makes it a "high level" technique is the on-demand versatility of the technique coupled with the high Mana Cost that comes with it.
The versatility entails being able to alter the Dusk Wall to apply certain effects to whatever is in it or passes through it. These effects are not only limited to just the Manipulation or Utility Types either. Along with that, despite being called a "wall", the technique can be manifested in any sort of shape or consistency the caster desires. The most consistent part of the technique is the murkiness present in whatever it manifests as.
Korkolo looked bewildered at his left hand as his aura struggled to stay intact, the magic within his left hand being actively dispelled by Avures's casting of Dusk Wall. However, staying ahead of his opponent, Korkolo reeled his right hand back and built up his magic in that one instead.
Avures acted fast as he pushed his and Korkolo's locked hands upwards above their heads. He then ducked down while holding that up and grabbed the chain with his free hand. Rising back up, Avures flicked his wrist in a circle repeatedly, flailing the chain around in a circle pattern between him and Korkolo.
And it happened to be just in time as Korkolo's right hand unleashed another torrent of destructive blasts. Luckily, Avures's swinging was able to outpace Korkolo's attack. Each orb made contact with the Manacite chain and was absorbed and dispersed without issue as the length of it still made contact with Calcianite bricks.
Frustrated with how Avures continually avoided him, Korkolo ceased his barrage and instead congealed his Mana into an aura shaped like a blade. At the same time, his superior strength came into play. Korkolo took his grip over Avures's wrist and made his right arm cross over to his left side. With his clear shot, Korkolo thrust his aura blade forward…
The tearing of flesh as the magic plunged into Avures reverberated in the desolate prison. Avures grunted and gritted his teeth while his body tensed up. Blood began to trickle out from his mouth as it rose up from his gullet. Avures coughed, a bound of life essence leapt from his being and onto the floor below. The tortuous pain Avures found himself in was indescribable. However, even so, he got off light... Avures had managed to nudge himself into a better spot just before the impact, causing his right side to be punctured instead of his heart.
Korkolo seemed slightly displeased, having missed his kill-shot on Avures...
Avures stumbled into Korkolo... Shoving the two of them forward an inch... Korkolo pulled his aura blade out of Avures, freeing him from the deadly attack.
"Perfect...!" Avures held firm to his resolve despite the agonizing blow he had just taken. After all, he was in the best position to kill Korkolo now.
Shaking off the pain as well as he could, Avures burst out with sudden vigor that caught Korkolo by surprise.
Immediately, far-reaching tendrils wrapped around Korkolo's wrists, ankles, and neck... The dwarf slammed against the cell bars behind him as the shadowy appendages yanked him backwards. Korkolo managed to catch a glimpse behind him, spotting a splotch of Avures's Perfect Dark against the back wall of the cell... The origin of the tendrils.
At the same time, Avures had freed himself from Korkolo's grip, and bolted ahead with the chain in hand. Korkolo was about to blast himself free with an explosion of his Primordial Magic... But found himself even more ensnared by Avures as the boy darted through the entrance of the cell and tossed the chain through the bars next to Korkolo. Avures rounded the bars, swinging off of the one at the entryway and swiftly reclaimed the chain. In one fell swoop, Avures went around where Korkolo was being restrained by the tendrils and looped the chain around him twice.
Before Korkolo had time to even break free, Avures had him doubly restrained by the Manacite chain. The magic-siphoning chain was wrapped around his collarbone and then looped through again to be wrapped over his stomach, encircling his Mana Core... Avures grabbed hold of the chain with both hands, tugging and pulling back with all the force he could muster on his own and with Enchantment Magic. He planted his feet on the bars behind Korkolo as well, further leveraging himself against the dwarf man. The Dusk Wall over Korkolo's hand dispersed as Avures had him right where he wanted him.
Korkolo fiercely struggled against the restraints, unable to circulate his Mana to any focal points to blast the tendrils or Avures away. The midnight-black constructs crushed his wrists, ankles, and neck... Movement was impossible... Breathing was impossible as well. He let out gasps and wheezes as he tried to take in any bit of air he could, but it was all for nought. Where he was only able to budge his arms and legs a few inches, there was no such freedom for his neck…
Avures continued to strain with every fiber of his being. He knew that if he even let up for a fraction of a second... Korkolo would be able to break free, and this would be all for nothing. This was the only avenue of victory he could visualize. Though he never considered taking such a serious wound in the process, everything would work out as long as he persevered...
"You already knew what we were. But it might surprise you to know that I was there for that entire ordeal."
"That same intense glare you have does remind me of her too... All with the plainness of that man with her...
"The screams your mother and sister cried out still lull me to sleep to this very day..."
"Of course, I didn't get to kill them myself... But I did watch after a brief scuffle with that wench you would call your mother."
"Soon all of your friends will perish! Then you, Avures Kovar!..."
Avures refused to let up for even a moment...
"Not like this!... Not to this scum!..." Korkolo battled with all of his might, his waning strength giving way to the grip of death slowly with each moment. His lungs desperately pleaded for air and his heart and body ached for sweet relief.
And yet, the sheer bitter and unending hatred he held for the boy refused to die down. If anything, it only continuously escalated as his life force drained out. It seemed as if the world were spinning around him. The energies of the world drained from his eyes, but resentment and pure malice remained. There was nothing Korkolo yearned more for than Avures's total annihilation... And yet, a question also remained…
Everything was working out until this night, where did it go wrong?
How did Avures break free?
It might have been a strange thing for one to hone in on in the moments of their demise, but it tortured him to no end. The idea that Avures got that one over him... The reason he was in that situation in the first place...
But as the essence of life itself danced and floated in the air around him... It all became clear to Korkolo...
"I get it now..." Korkolo's pupils widened, the answers to his question granted to him in a moment before death... Freeing knowledge...
Avures continued to choke him out as tightly as he could, not letting the sensation of Korkolo's life slipping away make him let up at all. And yet...
Korkolo's chest swirled with a vortex of violet and black. Avures was baffled, unsure of what to do. The aura grew more condensed and thickened with every moment... Then, it all exploded outwards.
Avures was forced away from the chains, blown back against that back wall of the cell with a resounding thud. Avures grunted and coughed upon the impact as he slid down onto his rear against the wall. All of his tendrils were blown away, reduced to nothingness. The chains loosened and allowed Korkolo to fall to his hands and knees. The dwarf caught his breath, gasping and wheezing as his lungs refilled with air.
After hitting the wall with an intense force blasting him back, Avures also found himself panting. A lapse of searing pain passed over him as he recoiled back. Avures put his hand over the stab wound... As he lifted his palm up, it was completely covered with a thick red ooze. The spatial appearance of his hand was unable to even be seen with how much blood resided on it now. Had he stopped to close his wound earlier, Avures wouldn't have been able to pull off his plan... But he also wouldn't have been in so much pain currently... And now it didn't seem to matter as Korkolo somehow broke free...
"Pf-Ha-Ha-Ha!... Bah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!" Korkolo's lips curled into a wicked grin as he forced himself back onto his feet. Turning back towards Avures, who could only glare back with uncertainty in his eyes, Korkolo gloated with a crazed look in his eye... The boy had somehow bypassed Focal Points for casting… A feat he now possessed as well. A Soul-Cycle had revealed it all to him and Korkolo reveled in the fact that Avures was as good as dead now. "That's a neat trick you pulled! Both in escape and just now! You won't get another chance like that though! You'll be joining your family soon enough!
"Dammit!... There's just no way... I had him!" Avures let the slight Healing Magic he was able to use close his wound. He readjusted himself to lean forward on one knee as he glared at Korkolo. As far as it went... Avures had no clue how to defeat him now.
"Die, Kovar!"
Korkolo thrust his right hand forward with his palm facing the ground. The tips of his fingers lit up with a bright purple color. In between each bar of the cell, a tall, thin line of Korkolo's magic appeared. Avures stood back up on his own two feet just in time for the next flurry of attacks. The line between the bar closest to the entrance to the cell shot out towards Avures.
Slicing through the air, it narrowly missed Avures as he rolled out to the opposite direction. Another shot out from directly in front of him. Avures hopped back up to his feet and backpedaled towards the opposite direction once more. Then another cascaded through the air, forcing him back the other direction as the rest of them all unleashed towards his position.
Avures knew he was in a horrible position. If he was unable to escape the cell, Korkolo would be able to continually wear him down. He needed to escape the trap. At the same time, he watched as Korkolo summoned dark pink flames that circled around him while simultaneously clapping his hands together upright.
However, he had more pressing issues in front of him. Avures spilled out another Perfect Dark in all directions. The shadows overtook the ground in a speeding wave all throughout the current floor the two of them stood on. Thinning out and maneuvering to not make contact with the chains or bars, Perfect Dark rested. Using another large quantity of Mana, and even delving into using Omega Arcane, Avures molded his Mana together into a front facing shield. But it wasn't just one, it was several... As many as he was able to create before the slices crashed into him.
Another glimpse at Korkolo revealed him holding his left hand on top of his right, pushing them inward until his wrists were touching. Avures began to realize that Korkolo was doing one of two things... Either he was sealing the entrance of the cell to make escape impossible... Or, from knowledge that Avures was told to leave alone, yet he researched anyways, Korkolo was channeling a Zero-Sum. The latter became confirmed the moment the swirling pink flames all combined in front of him to form a small orb comprising flowing energies of different colors.
The situation grew even more dire. The slices crashed into Avures's shields, ripping them apart indiscriminately while hardly being slowed down by them. Though it was mitigating some of the potential of those attacks, Avures knew it would be largely ineffective. He kept replacing the destroyed shields with newer ones. Avures was stuck until he could focus on the method to cast the technique to help him escape.
It was a bad match for him. Primordial Magic innately has Anti-Magic properties. No matter how he tried to defend himself with his own magic, Avures's methods were ineffective.
And unfortunately for Avures, the first wave of slices finally broke through his defenses. He closed his eyes and continued to concentrate amidst the unrelenting waves of razor-like attacks. The slices compounded and assaulted Avures. His outfit/armor provided little to no protection. Tearing through his apparel, Avures was cut, sliced, and carved all over his body. The wounds ranged from surface level to a few inches deep. The pain was nowhere near as bad as the stabbing he endured earlier, but it was starting to disturb his concentration.
He was reaching his limit. However, he managed to put together what he needed to escape. The only problem was that he had to wing it or lose it all to the slivers of Korkolo's magic threatening to cut him down. With no more time to spare as his resistances were all dispersed for good, Avures seemed to slip down into Perfect Dark and disappear altogether...
Shadow Pool: A Dark Utility Technique. The user can create a circular pool of shadows that they can slip into. It works as a sort of one-way portal, and requires another pool be created at the same time somewhere else. It is a high-level technique that requires great precision. The distance varies on how capable the caster is at projecting their stream of Mana over long distances.
However, at the same time Avures had disappeared... Korkolo chuckled as he put the finishing touches on his move...
Avures surfaced close to the exit of the prison. Not as close as he wanted to be, but it was all that he was afforded... And at the same time...
"Zero-Sum: Gravity Annihilation."
As Avures eyed the exit and wished to make a break for it... The doorway was overcome with a glimmering orb of dark light that swirled in towards itself with an absolute center. The center seemed to continue to pull in on itself as radiant beams of fuchsia and rouge splintered out in every direction. Avures raised his arms up to block out the overpowering source of light. Korkolo watched on, pleased with his own power and brilliance as the high of his Soul-Cycle continued on.
The colors finally departed and trickled away into nothingness, leaving only the black sphere once again. Avures was frozen in awe and fear... Life and death stood before him. A fully-fledged Zero-Sum... Then it seemed as if it became the center of the world, trying to pull Avures and everything else in with no stop or give to its own power. The colors returned as a vortex, threatening to feed the Kovar to the maw of ceaseless agony.
Avures was sliding towards the inevitable, even as he tried to stay on his feet. Korkolo's hands remained clasped together, holding an aura identical to the colors of the vortex.
He had just used Shadow Pool to try to escape, yet Korkolo must have sniffed out his intent and blocked out the exit. Avures knew he didn't have enough time to conjure up another casting of that technique as he wasn't proficient enough in it to do so. He used his bloody, diced up hands to search through his torn and ripped pockets and bags... But alas, nothing remained in them that could help him out.
The most worrying aspect that Avures witnessed was his Perfect Dark being ripped up from the ground and absorbed by the black hole, right out from underneath his feet. Avures needed an idea and fast...
However, there was no idea to get him out of this one. He simply needed to act. He pointed his arm backwards and unfurled a tendril from the palm of his hands. In pure desperation, Avures shot the tendril out and had it wrap around the first bar of that cell he was just stuck in. Despite the Mana drain of the Manacite, Avures took on vast quantities of Flow for Omega Arcane. The wounds on his body worsened immediately, digging deeper with a black ooze traversing his body and slicing him from the inside. Avures coughed up a bout of blood as he was ripped away from Gravity Annihilation by his tether. Zipping
past Korkolo, Avures latched onto the bar for dear life as he dispelled his tether and remaining Perfect Dark to salvage whatever Mana he could.
The bar he held onto began to give way though. And Avures was now being pulled at with such incredible force that it lifted him from the ground. Avures resolved with his wounded body and depleted strength as he managed to grab onto the next bar down, inching away from the ever-expanding Zero-Sum. One by one, with his arms burning and crying for rest by the end... Avures clung onto the far bar of that cell.
The first one he had latched onto broke off and cascaded towards the void. The bricks it was attached to rumbled as well, threatening to come loose in moments time... However, none of the others behaved in that way. As long as Avures held on... He figured he would be safe...
Korkolo watched his power drive Avures into a retreat behind him with glee and pleasure. However, he noted that it was no longer going anywhere. He put his hands up half-heartedly...
The all-consuming void shrank down bit by bit before reducing down into a collage of its basic colors. The energies remaining then returned to Korkolo's hands which continued to burn bright with those same colors, even as the Zero-Sum ceased to be.
"Zero-Sums range in levels of power that you allocate to them. Less powerful ones are easier to bring out than ones that can tear reality asunder... But for a Primordial? It makes no difference." Korkolo closed his eyes and felt the ecstasy of his own power flow throughout him. To Korkolo, it was a similar sensation to ripping away life. Though not a mindless killer by nature, his instincts leaned towards inflicting suffering. "Do you understand the situation now, Kovar?... I'm the man who put fear into the heart of the Magi... There is no escape."
"I don't have a way out now... How long could I even stall at this rate?..." Avures planted his feet back onto the ground the moment the gravitational pull let up. As he stood there, bloody and sliced all over, Avures was beginning to lament the current situation. Victory had slipped from his grasp, and escape seemed impossible. He was run dry of Mana already and Omega Arcane's excessive use of Flow had already begun to tear into him. For a moment... "I don't think I can keep this up... Can I not change the future after all?..."
"We share the same destiny, the same fate... But the difference between us is that I'm capable of inflicting the pain placed upon me tenfold unto others." Korkolo faced Avures, opening his eyes as a rush of exhilaration filled his being. "I embraced the tribulations brought on by prophetic suffering... Your struggle alone proves you aren't capable of such a feat."
"The same destiny?..." Avures clutched the side of his torso as his previous wound ached greater than before, even as he had shut it.
"Of course! Your name is a dead giveaway." Korkolo bowed his head as he found himself stifled with confident laughter. "When we tried to claim the body of your sister for ourselves, it was a plan of action predated by studying your family. Because of that, I learned about your name and knew the meaning of your name. Both you and I were born under the same star..."
"Esiasm..." Avures's glare gave out as it slowly fell to the ground in front of him. Coldness began to spread throughout his body. But even so, he still had one last trick. One last method to drag this fight out.
"Obviously, we were born several years-no, decades apart. But it should be common knowledge to all. Esiasm is a cursed star. Those born under that celestial body are destined for a lifetime of suffering. And thus, our fates were intertwined. There's just one part I don't get... Heh..." Korkolo crossed his arms as he raised his gaze once more. The collected aura of his Zero-Sum created a colorful sheen around him.
"It's time to use it." Avures covered the right side of his head as he adjusted his focus back onto Korkolo. With the way it was going, it made him think either his body would give out, or his Mana would give out first. Regardless, it was all he had left.
Avures slid the palm of his hand down the right side of his face. His hand gave way to the series of jagged and glowing cracks adorning that side of his face. Each crack ended its random and jutting paths by pouring into his eye. His right eye's white glimmered with a tinge of life, the last he had to give at this rate. At the same time, Avures was able to see it... The threads...
"Knowing all of that, how damn stupid did your dead mother have to be to name you that? I mean, really..." Korkolo held back a fit of cackles under his breath as he found it near impossible to stare at Avures. "Y-A-... Avures means star in the night sky, with the "es" being from Esiasm... Ha!... It's almost like she was rubbing it in your face!”
Avures nearly lost all his focus at once. He froze in place, listening to Korkolo hold back his laughter over Avures's name. The coldness within his vessel gave way to a rising heat, something he was unfamiliar with. His eyes grew beady as he continued to stare at the gloating dwarf.
"How idiotic! And look now, she's nowhere to be seen. No mother, no father, and no sister. They gave you that name and died before they could see how you were going to suffer. How convenient for them, huh?! If I didn't know any better, I'd say they hated you from the day you were born! Bf-Bah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Hah!" Korkolo erupted into a full fit of chortles as he continued to dig into Avures's misfortunes. Though, as he wiped a tear from his eyes and calmed down... "Having their lives stamped out in front of me was a real treat though. Watching that stupid broad die was truly cathartic. Worthless insects..."
A crack splinters out into the glass...
The way Korkolo so easily dismissed the lives of Avures's family, despite his utter lack of having ever met them, sickened the boy to his core. Korkolo had made his stance clear before... But it had never come across so violent and vindictive. The words Korkolo had spoken before were etched into Avures's memory, only to be reinforced and added upon by the dwarf again. The murderous intent expanded upon once more... Avures was reminded of the cruel fact that, should he fall here in the face of this wicked being, his friends would surely come next and suffer all the same.
There was no way around it. No thought process that was able to alleviate the sense of sheer dread originating from the idea of failure. If Avures fell, so would everyone else. Embracing the logic of the cold-blooded subhuman in front of him, Avures began to believe that this battle truly was destiny. Though Korkolo touted it as a finished bout, Avures was far from being ready to give up now. By intent or mistake, Avures Kovar was reinvigorated with absolute determination. Korkolo's hatred was matched. Though it was in a much different manner considering Avures's lack of outward emotion.
To Avures, the most insulting part of it all was malicious disregard for the truth of the matter, not that Korkolo cared. The verbal elimination of truth and love permeated the demoralization attempt. Korkolo counted on him being alone... However, Avures was anything but alone currently, nowhere close to abandoned. His friends were still out there... But more than that, Avures had his Guardian Angel. And thanks to her...
"I had all my wishes and dreams laid out."
"And everything would have went okay for our family..."
"But, it didn't go that way... It was never meant to go that way... To be that easy, huh?"
"Those dreams were never meant to be."
"My destiny was one to be ripped away from me."
“If I wasn't so naive... If I wasn't only concerned with having fun, and were a little more mature..."
"And maybe, I would still be alive, so that I could be a real big sister for you... Y-you wouldn't have had to be alone for so long..."
"It's hard to outline mom and dad by words alone. I guess if I had to say... They made me feel secure. There was never a day where I ever felt too unsure of myself without their encouragement. It was this feeling of confidence they both had that molded me into who I was. I miss them..."
"Avura...we will always love you… And we'll always be with you and your baby brother… Take the letter inside with you… Now go."
"Don't worry, Avures… I'll get you out of here."
“Mom said that three of them were out in the middle that night, so she got the brilliant idea to name you Avures. Taking the "es" part and giving it to you. Which makes you "the star in the night sky". Mom really loved the name, and dad thought it was very fitting."
"Mom would constantly hold you and coo: My little Avures is born of a star!"
"All moments and memories are but fleeting currents of time. If you don't cherish what you have now... What will you have to show for later when it's gone?"
"We all gave our lives for you, Avures..."
"I gave my life so that you could carve your own path... I'll always be cheering you on..."
His resolve was forged and emboldened. As Avures recalled all of those memories, both his own and Avura's own... He became instilled with a sense of sorrow, yet firm pride. These foreign feelings clouded his mind, yet clung to his heart. The pain of holding these things within him breached into his mindset. What he had been witnessing all along, experiencing from beyond the physical realm... Was the tender care of familial love. Avures's body tingled, the full-realization and weight of that love crawled all over his skin... His heart ached with pride that was extremely uncharacteristic for Avures. And his mind solidified its stance with one absolute purpose...
"How dare you... You speak for the slain with no remorse or understanding of their struggles... As if you weren't responsible for them being absent from this world in the first place!... You say that my mother gave me this name as a cruel joke or as a product of neglect... But I'll embrace it because I know she loved me! They all did!" Avures swiped his right arm out to the side, heaps of shadows dancing around him while bound to the floor. Thin, jagged and veil-like shadows continually sprang up from the pool around him as Avures's unadulterated abhorrence grew ever more potent. Though he himself had no idea as to why exactly he or anyone else felt love... The flash of memories' past opened up his being to what it meant and felt like to be loved. Righteous umbrage flared to the surface as Avures's eyes narrowed and fixated solely on the arrogant gaze of Korkolo.
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Self-imposed responsibility ensnared itself around Avures's being. Though he was set free long ago from the ties of his own blood, the lone Kovar had grasped onto the last connection he had. Not to desecrate and take for granted the freedom from sin and tragedy, but to honor the ones whose acts of tenderness and selflessness allowed him to live thus far. Though Avures still lacked the understanding of what it meant to be alive, the purpose of life which he had yet to accept... He was not going to allow the sacrifices of those before him to be in vain.
A true desire arose... Born of fate and destiny from the groundwork of love and sacrifice...
Vengeance...
"My name is Avures Kovar. And I... Am Born of a Star!"
Thirty seconds... That was Avures's time limit. Everything he had and beyond was needed to even get close to victory. As the shadows around him continued to swirl and jolt around from the ground upwards, Korkolo scoffed at Avures's total change in attitude.
To him, it was a meager display of false confidence and shaky resolve. After all, he had seen it all before from those on the edge of death. And Avures was no different. Korkolo was able to see the boy on his last legs with all of his wounds worsening and his Mana becoming more faint by the moment. For that boy to take pride in a dead name and a cursed star... Something that they shared which manifested as a blight upon the afflicted... Korkolo thought it foolish and disgusting. It was because of this that Korkolo decided it wasn't enough to simply kill Avures. He wanted to insult and torture the Kovar to his last moment.
"Born of a star? Don't make me laugh! Is a disease a blessing if given to you by a loved one?!" Korkolo reeled his right arm back, a swirling mass of purple and black took hold in his palm. With a wicked grin, the dwarf heaved his arm forward, the magic taking the shape of a large orb twice as wide as his own hand.
However, the storm of shadows around Avures sprang into action, all launching forward in jagged shapes towards Korkolo at breakneck speeds. Korkolo hesitated, seeing how Avures's attack would reach him first at this rate. He adjusted his aim downwards, unleashing a massive explosion that pulsed outward in all directions. The pink-wave pulse released tore apart Avures's shadows with ease moments before they would have pierced Korkolo...
But he had no reprieve from the sudden assault. Though Destruction and Artifice were far from Avures's specializations, a sharp and solid object was dangerous on its own. Avures darted from his spot, rapidly advancing towards Korkolo. The dwarf spotted a tendril turned spike rise up from behind Avures. He was also able to catch a glimpse of a shadow running under his foot. He turned his head slightly and glanced from the corner of his eye. The shadow rose up as another tendril spike. Avures was aiming to pincer him.
Korkolo planned on pushing out a burst of magic to wipe out Avures's plans... But the moment he clasped his hands together and his boundless power was about to rip outwards... He watched Avures's right eye glow. The spatial rigid lines that seemed to flow into his eye lit up bright...
"Gah!" Korkolo's body stiffened as a searing sensation ripped through his left foot and rose upwards to his body.
No matter what he tried... Korkolo was unable to move his own body. He managed to inch his gaze downwards... A shadowy spike had torn through his foot completely... Blood slid down the girth of the spike as Avures inched ever-closer...
Snaking Shadow: A Dark Element Enchantment/Manipulation Technique. Using the Dark Element's versatility, this technique allows the user to create a shadow which clings to a surface and travels at great speeds. Like most Dark Element techniques, it can act as a platform for sudden adjustments or different techniques. That is mainly because the core concept of Snaking Shadow is that the Mana is woven together in such a deliberate way that it acts as the caster directly touching whoever it reaches.
By changing the shape of Snaking Shadow, Avures was able to pierce Korkolo and bypass his aura to paralyze him. Though it wasn't a hard task for Korkolo to break free, his magic naturally overpowered other magic... Avures hadn't been aiming to keep him there forever.
Primordial magic surged to the entry point of the tendril, shredding Avures's magic and Curse into nothingness with its potent Anti-Magic properties. But by the time Korkolo had done so, Avures had already closed in on him. Though the boy wasn't close enough for a physical attack yet, Korkolo wouldn't have had the time to channel Destruction Magic. So instead, Korkolo used the lingering aura of his Zero-Sum to reinforce his body as he directed a right fist swing at Avures's destination.
"This will stop him in his tracks!" Korkolo's ego grew as his attack was on a collision course with Avures's right shoulder. Though the effects of his Zero-Sum could only manifest at around ten percent of its total capabilities when used like this... Korkolo knew that the effect would be devastating. Bones, muscles, and flesh crushed, or even his Leylines ripped apart with it...
But with the glint in his eye and the threading of red twine, Avures staggered his left shoulder back and weaved to his right. Korkolo's fist passed by in front of him, much to Korkolo's disbelief. Then the man felt the tight grip of Avures on his right wrist. Avures's own right hand had him locked in.
A tinge of frustration started to take over. Korkolo leaned in towards Avures and swung with his left fist, using their entanglement to his advantage to lower the Kovar's ability to dodge. Yet again however, Avures's reactions seemed to trump him again. He pushed Korkolo's right arm up slightly, ducking under and spinning around as he narrowly avoided the dwarf's attack. But it didn't end there.
Avures locked Korkolo's arm out wide from the backside of him. As Korkolo was still leaning into the swing, Avures used his left foot to trip Korkolo. A quick sweep to his bad position made him lose his balance. At the same time, Avures seized the opening and planted his left hand on the back of Korkolo's head. In a single fluid motion, Avures yanked on Korkolo's arm, pushed him forward from the back of his head, and then pivoted to his right at the same time.
Having spun him around to the right, Avures carried the momentum and committed to the maneuver. With a heave and an uncharacteristic shout of effort, Avures threw all of his force into his left hand and slammed Korkolo head-first into the cell bars beside them!
A deep, deafening banging sound echoed out throughout the prison. Avures let go of Korkolo's head as the both of them stumbled back. Korkolo's vision became hazy and blurred. His immediate thoughts were all bashed out of existence and filled with a dense fog. His ears rang with an intensity that set in total confusion within his body and nullified his balance. Dazed and concussed, Korkolo struggled and fought to keep his balance... But his head spun and his body wobbled…
Avures had stumbled back from his own exhaustion and excessive force that sacrificed his own balance. However, when he saw that Korkolo's aura had diminished some... The result of slamming him into the Manacite bars... Avures wasted no time in recovering, throwing caution to the wayside as he regained his footing and closed back in.
Korkolo was only able to make out a shifting outline of where Avures was. He tried to channel something... Anything... But to no avail.
Avures reeled back his arm and led with a right haymaker, knowing Korkolo couldn't stop him. With a solid crack, Avures's fist struck against the old man's cheek. The dwarf shifted from the force of the attack, leaning to the right. Avures followed up with a left swing and knocked him back the other way with another resounding strike against Korkolo's head.
But Avures wasn't finished. He grabbed Korkolo by the collar of his attire with his right hand and pulled him in. The boy held him still as he proceeded to wallop Korkolo repeatedly, pummeling him straight in the face over and over again with his left fist. The first hit cracked... The second one shattered Korkolo's nose... And the third bloodied both his face and Avures's own hand. The fourth tore open the skin on Avures's knuckles as he refused to let up. This went on for a few more hits until Avures ceased using his left hand for this endeavor. Instead, he yanked Korkolo by the collar downwards. While still holding on, Avures jerked his right knee upwards and bashed Korkolo under the chin with the most amount of force in any of his attacks yet... Keyword, yet.
Avures had let go of his collar at the same time, letting the devastating knee-attack send Korkolo stumbling back. Not finished though, Avures executed a swift spin to the left and unleashed a full-on kick to the side of Korkolo's head. The crash of Avures's foot hitting against the side of the dwarf's head reverberated throughout as Korkolo was sent out to his right and slammed into the Calcianite wall with a thud.
Korkolo was almost limp as his breathing had slowed down to a crawl. He slid down the wall with a forced exhalation while leaving a trail of blood where his head lay. The dwarf appeared unresponsive in a heap…
Avures was granted another glimpse ahead. He instantly slid feet first towards Korkolo. The dwarf suddenly sprung upward with his knees on the ground still.
"G-Graaaaaah!" Korkolo belted out a continuous burst of uncontrolled and unrefined magic from the palms of his hand towards the location Avures had been standing.
But Avures had already seen the sneak attack. As he slid under him, Avures grabbed both of Korkolo's wrists and held his weakened arms out wide. He reeled his legs back. With a swift, fluid movement, Avures yanked Korkolo's arms towards the spot he had previously been standing. He then followed up by exploding his legs outward, kicking Korkolo above him and redirecting him towards the staircase.
Korkolo spat out a mixture of saliva and blood as his focus was lost. The bright, ominous aura of Korkolo's stored Zero-Sum flickered one last time before fading out completely. He hit the ground chin first, rolling and scraping the rest of his face and outfit as he finally tumbled to a halt at the foot of the top stair.
Their positions reversed, Korkolo's vision was already diminished severely... He could feel it... The verge of blacking out. However, the idea of falling to Avures... The mere thought that the boy's resolve proved greater than his own... It was inconceivable. There was a vast difference in magical strength... And Avures's physical strength wasn't a challenge to his own either... But something had clearly changed in the past few moments. Though it seemed impossible to Korkolo that such a drastic tipping of the scales could take place in less than ten seconds. Something was amiss.
But he had no time to dwell on it. Korkolo stumbled to his feet as best as he could. The distance created between Avures and Korkolo by the former allowed him to rise back to his feet, a costly mistake... Or so he thought…
Ahead of him, Korkolo witnessed Avures closing the distance. His eyes were wide-open, his glare solely resting on Korkolo with an enduring and indomitable strength. The glint of power within Avures's right eye shone out, mocking the efforts of Korkolo thus far. A brutal reminder of Avures's ability and a haunting mistake that had been made so many years ago. The boy picked up his speed into a sprint. Each pace, each stride... It passed by in slow motion. Korkolo had been about to attempt a counter when he noticed something else.
There appeared to be another Avures, sprinting in the opposite direction towards the exit of the prison. The way both Avures' had been moving made it appear like the approaching one tried to hide the retreating one... Korkolo saw it... A costly mistake. He still had time to act.
Korkolo raised both his arms up, his ghastly purple aura swirling around his hands once again. His eyes foggy, but bloodshot, and his body faltering, but pushing through... The aura stopped in place, the movement ceasing altogether. With a final, singular kackle and his aim widened... Korkolo's hands erupted with a straight and smooth beam of black and violet. Tearing through the space itself, Korkolo's dual emissions shunted off to the side of the Avures encroaching on his position. Instead, they shot past him and redirected towards the Avures making a retreat to the door.
The velocity and speed of the beams were simply too great. Avures turned his head back, his eyes filled with dread...
"You're dead!" Korkolo gasped and wheezed as he pulled forth from his well of magic. From earlier, he knew that Avures had been trying to escape as is. The moment his initial plan failed, Korkolo noted Avures's lack of will to fight back... That was until the turnaround he displayed. Still, he had to have weakened him to the point of eventual demise. Avures didn't have the power to fight an extended battle, that much Korkolo gleamed. It was wise to use his temporary advantage to escape the battle.
But Korkolo's magic was too quick, too destructive to allow such a play.
Avures found himself unable to fend off the faster and stronger attack. Though he tried to turn his body and raise his arms in defense... One beam went low. That one tore through his left forearm and drilled into Avures's torso, slicing open his stomach and crashing into the wall behind him. The other went high. That streak of Primordial Magic overpowered Avures's right hand, piercing directly through his palm and surfacing out the other side of Avures's skull after punching through his forehead…
The dark, shifting colors of Korkolo's attack severed into a million pieces as the magic faded away on his command. Avures had been frozen there for a moment, his eyes now devoid of life and empty. The essence of life spilled out from his gut as his body shook one last time. The opening in his forehead oozed a singular strand of vital ichor before Avures's body collapsed to the ground. A final thud resounded, declaring an end to a feud sixteen years in the making. Wrongs righted, and dreams left unfulfilled...
"Tch-Ha-Bah-Ha-Ha! Join the rest of those pitiful worms! You ugly, rotten, Kovar brat!" Korkolo jerked forward as he gasped out of shock and joy. His physical reaction surprised himself, but revealed how low Avures had made his confidence go in those few seconds. As he took a sudden, deep inhale... A second wind seemed to arise in his spirit as he smiled wildly. "I'll be sending those other feeble shit-stains to you soon enough!"
Korkolo reveled in the ecstasy derived from killing the final member of a bloodline. Even though he was well-aware this had went against Meius's direct orders... If a single, final seal was the only thing needing to be undone... Then it was as good as done. In his heart, the age of Ozix was destiny, his master given life once more to roam the world and reshape creation from within its folds. Korkolo breathed freely, taking slow and rejoiceful respiration...
He had been so joyful, so happy... When he noticed the corpse of Avures started to give way to the appearance and texture of shadows... Korkolo experienced something akin to cardiac arrest. Sheer, dire panic and frustration…
But more direct and overpowering in the onset sensations... An overwhelming physical force, so dominant and potent that any sort of reaction to defend himself or counteract it was utterly impossible, was instantly imparted onto the right side of Korkolo's cheek and eye. A flickering aura of deep, dark conviction expelled a formidable might at the moment of impact, furthering the absolute pressure and power of the single strike. Korkolo's neck gave way, twisting and steering in line with the force as the bones of his face crumbled and reshaped under the command of the attack.
With his left arm fully stretched out, his hips turned, and his entire body putting his all into it... Avures's fist radiated a deep, loathing hatred all expressed in a single attack. His teeth clenched, holding tight all of the fury pressed into the punch. His face strained, only showing a slight amount of disdain, if any, apart from his usual annoyed appearance or inquisitive appearance. The struggling aura of his own magical essence propelled him forward further than he could have gone on his own, causing a spillage of blood through his gritted teeth as Omega Arcane worked overtime to fulfill his desire…
Korkolo's footing gave way to the incredible force, launching him off his feet with tremendous propulsion. The dwarf soared through the air, ending with a sudden crash against the Calcianite walls within the tall cell. The bricks caved to the hefty force, creating a slight crater in the wall as the cracking of the bricks sounded aloud. A splatter of blood in a vague Korkolo-shape painted the walls where he dented the wall. Gravity took control as he slid out of the crater and to the ground on his rear without a single utterance.
Avures watched on, slowly moving out of his post-punch stance while carefully watching Korkolo. The boy wheezed for air as his body's strain ever increased from the vast amount of power he summoned up. He glanced down at his left hand's knuckles... The spatial skin texture gave way to exposed bone and flesh... The sensation of pain hadn't set in yet. Though still, Avures grasped that hand with his right. He wasn't sure about pushing his body further with Omega Arcane... Fearing that the damage would only worsen instead of patching up. And that hesitation stemmed from Avures knowing that it wasn't over yet…
Korkolo's back was against the wall, his legs laid straight out and his head off to the side. However, despite the appearance of death or unconsciousness... Korkolo remained awake and alive. His pupils jittered around, his eyes overcome with his sheer disbelief of the situation. His body felt weak, shattered. Great amounts of agony pulsed through his body repeatedly... But it hardly even scraped the irreversible damage to his pride. If anything, the physical pain was a distraction from his decimated ego. Still, a question remained again... How did this happen?
Avures had placed a true personal investment in this battle...
"If you can show me that you can do fine on your own... That you can make your big sister proud... I'll allow you to use my power, and I'll get out of your hair for good..."
It wasn't about power... It wasn't about having Avura leave him alone... Everything Korkolo said and admitted to this point about his open hatred and crimes against his family awoke something within Avures. He only knew his sister... But to him, there would have been no greater crime than to take hold of something without understanding it. The picture became clear to Avures, even if the overall intent was blurry... His family was ripped apart by Korkolo. And though his own emotions were difficult for him to understand, Avures recognized the love imparted onto him through the recollection of his departed sister alone.
It was because of this that he embraced this for what he perceived it as. A chance to take vengeance, for Avures to become an arbiter of the future and past. To take hold of a destiny, if only for a brief time. One resolute goal... To make his sister proud, and bring justice to his small family. Kill Korkolo Dunis!...
With that in mind, Avures had already been under the mindset of a Pact. Though it was one that only prevented the use of the Magic Potential Avura left him. And, as Avures had already forgone using that magic beforehand, it provided no benefits or detriments to him. Both because Pacts provide power primarily based on sacrifice and because he never made it official. However, on deciding that he only wanted to see this through to the very end... Avures made a very real Pact.
The truth was... Had Avures wanted to escape there, he might have been able to. But he had already placed himself under very simple restrictions with the intention of fully committing to this battle.
A Pact solely on Avures that this battle would continue until one of them died. The conditions were that one of them needed to die for the Pact to be released. If Avures retreated from battle, his Pact would be broken and, due to the nature of what it gave him, would subsequently result in his death. Likewise, if Korkolo successfully retreated, Avures would be killed by his own Pact. The entire Pact was predicated off of Avures willing to do whatever it takes to kill Korkolo. And it was made in this way knowing that Korkolo wasn't going to back down.
The resulting power granted by the Pact... A culmination of Avures throwing away his caution and putting his life on the line, no retreating or backing down, and a punishment of instant death should he or even Korkolo successfully escape... The power of Flow and Mana surged through him greater than before, damaging his body even further than before, but allowing him to also burn a tiny essence of his own soul as fuel for his body, mind, and magic.
It was this that Avures utilized with the help of his Zen Mode in order to put Korkolo on the backfoot.
"No... It's not going to end like this... I won't let it end like this..." Korkolo's head swiveled to the other side with a feeble motion. His eyes steadily centered and focused onto Avures as his breathing stabilized. "I'm Ozix's chosen... His most dutiful and diligent servant... And you?... You're just a insufferable, lowlife, pitiful orphan..."
Avures's steps into the tall cell filled the silence between Korkolo's words, the old dwarf man still laying against the wall. Avures took his right hand and wiped away the blood on his face as he glared at the despicable man. As Avures stood in the middle of the room above the long chain strewn about, he positioned himself between the exit and Korkolo. He looked down upon the heap of a dwarf. Avures blinked, narrowing his eyes further on the beaten and bloodied Korkolo.
"And I won't settle for anything less... Nothing less than your utter demise..." Korkolo's body shimmered with a ghastly purple aura overtaking his body and shifting around in the air like a puff of smoke. "Limb by limb..."
Korkolo's limp body appeared to rise off the ground, the aura surrounding his body gaining a glint of black and pink added to the mix. The essence of magic and life pushed him upwards, his neck and limbs hanging downwards as he gave no effort to tense his muscles.
Avures held his right hand by his mouth as he finished clearing the stains of red from off his face. The boy grunted, his hands being reignited with messy black shadows, the last remnants of magic he could feasibly summon up without hurting himself.
"Your fingers... Your toes... Organs cut out and opened... All ripped apart and decimated..."
Korkolo continued to rise into the air, his aura's presence growing ever more solid and potent. Avures wasn't going to wait around. He honed his magic into his right hand, holding his palm out towards Korkolo as a tendril sprouted out towards him. But Korkolo's aura appeared to haunch itself back and, as the tendril reached the dwarf, it lunged out. Korkolo's magic unraveled and disintegrated Avures's tendril with ease.
"Every piece of you reduced to an indistinguishable pulp... You worthless... Insignificant... Waste of flesh!"
Korkolo's body tensed up as he pulled his neck and limbs inward. He remained mid-air as he readjusted the angle he levitated at and turned to look down upon Avures. A new fervor arose and gave a new sheen of fury to his eyes. Locked onto Avures, Korkolo summoned up a mighty and furious roar as he kicked his legs out and threw his arms out to the side. His gravely voice rang out in the prison, echoing throughout the empty chambers. At that moment, an immense pressure, born of his magic, exploded outward. Avures held his ground with his arms up in front of his face.
The burst of mana wasn't destructive, only creating a force that threatened to throw Avures off his feet. But he remained steadfast as Korkolo's shouting finally came to a stop...
"I helped kill your mother, your father, and your sister! My cultists and I slaughtered your village! You only got to live on a whim and pure luck! But now, I'm going to do what should have been done sixteen years ago! Go and join your pathetic family, Avures Kovar!"
Avures braced himself, knowing that the next few moments would not only decide whether he lives or dies, but whether his friends live or die as well. Korkolo touched the tips of his fingers on his right and left hands together in a parallel fashion. The open gap between his palms radiated with familiar colors...
"Zero-Sum! Gravity Annihilation!"
Korkolo separated his fingertips one by one until only his thumbs and index fingers were touching each other respectively. The mess of colors between his hands had disappeared in an instant.
The moment that happened, Avures heard the recognizable droning of the void from behind him. His eyes went wide as the colors drained from his face. It felt as if the ground itself was being pulled out from in front of Avures as he struggled to maintain his balance.
He glanced back, the same vortex from before had returned. Though it was much smaller than it had been before... Still, Avures needed to act fast. He was starting to slip away all too fast. And he knew why too…
From where he had punched Korkolo with his left hand so early into their battle, Avures had gleamed the nature of his Zero-Sum. He recognized it so quickly because of that... And knew of its ability as well. Anything with Mana gets dragged in towards it. And, as Avures's Pact made his Mana and Flow more active, it also meant that Gravity Annihilation had a much stronger pull over him now compared to earlier.
Thinking fast, Avures bent at his knees and pushed forward while reaching out. As he hit the ground, he barely managed to reach the chain in front of him moments before it was too late. However, he was being pulled in with greater force which seemed to multiply with each passing second. His feet were lifted up towards the center of the black hole as it continued tugging on him. But he pulled himself forward using his resolve, obtaining control over his own balance against the gravity and reclaiming his footing on the ground.
"Surprised? You shouldn't be! I told you! Zero-Sums are no big deal for Primordials! Because of that, I don't need to charge it up! I can just summon it at a low level and build it up from there! And now it's too big for you to slip by now!" Korkolo's eyes filled with excitement as he continued to pour his Mana into his kill-move.
"I can't keep this up forever!" Avures's footing held as he strained with every muscle in his body. His hair blew all around as the gravity fluctuations created a sort of wind tunnel in the room.
The vortex swelled up more and more. The entrance to the cell was nearly completely blocked off. Even if Avures wanted to, there was no getting by it without it killing him. The sheer force of destruction Korkolo had at his disposal was unlike anything Avures ever witnessed or experienced. Even Xilvas's display of Wind Magic paled in comparison. But then again, Korkolo was willing to use any amount of power to kill Avures.
Avures was way past being merely spent. He was digging into power he didn't even really have. Zen Mode was reaching its limit, and a portion of his soul was being expended to keep up. Anything further from it would cause permanent damage... But even if he pulled enough power from his soul to do something... What could he do? Avures's magic would be pulled away by the Zero-Sum the moment it was released as an attack. And Avures had no attacks that used Flow, not that he was even sure Flow was safe from Korkolo's ace.
All Avures could do was hang on. In his mind, he believed that he'd have to bet on Korkolo running out of Mana over Avures's body giving out...
But then, Avures remembered something... A small detail from earlier... When he had first escaped Korkolo's Zero-Sum...
It was the only plan of action left. Avures had to go further. But he didn't have enough power to enact it. If he pulled in more Flow to convert it into Mana... It would rip apart his body mercilessly... And his soul was already partially burned away... What else did he have?... A Pact...
There was nothing else Avures was able to immediately think of to sacrifice. It was a time-sensitive moment as is with the gravity increasing every moment... However, there was one idea. Avures could go all in on his own power. If sacrifices are needed, then he had one. The Pact to end all Pacts for him.
Pacts are sacrificial in nature, transactional in practice. That meaning, they can easily be undergone without much more effort than a single thought. But because of that, the self-imposition of a Pact is heavy. The composition of a Pact is free-form. There are some that can be willingly canceled at any moment, like Avures had done previously. But those don't provide much power... If at all. It merely changed the function of power.
A Pact that provides great power usually comes at a steep price and offering. The more detrimental the cost is, the better the reward. However, the value of one's life, who is already near death's door, is weighed lower on that scale if that is what they offer.
A mutual Pact between two people breaking results in the severing party being inflicted with a direct punishment to their soul related to the Pact in the first place. For example, if Person-A makes a Pact with Person-B not to kill Person-C... And they decide to anyway... Person-A would be inflicted with the same killing blow they dealt with irreversible direct damage to their very soul as well. That, with extremely bad karma cursing them as well (if they live).
When it comes to breaking a self-imposed Pact, unlike a mutual Pact, the power gained is turned against the user's soul. That, along with the sacrifice/price being consumed as well...
In rare cases, a broken Pact can materialize in a much worse manner for the severing party should any of the circumstances be extreme enough.
Despite the ease at which one can be enacted, the price of power is steep. But the inability to form a Pact at all would leave one unable to adapt to harsh circumstances...
Avures weighed his worries with hesitance... But if he didn't act at that moment...
He needed to take it upon himself... To shoulder a burden to save the others from Korkolo's wrath.
Avures committed. A Pact to end all Pacts.
If Avures won this battle, and was able to leave here alive, he would never be allowed to undergo another Pact ever again. The ability to sacrifice parts of himself for power would be gone forever. It would just be his own strength.
In exchange, his own Mana Pool's capacity would double... And he would receive a proportional amount of Mana weighed with his sacrifice.
Avures blinked several times in succession as he continued to hold on. A sensation of relief washed over himself as he felt slight reinvigoration. The Pact he committed to was valid... Then again, he knew it as such. Not being able to undergo a Pact ever again meant he wouldn't be able to pull off what he had done earlier from his cell ever again... Nor would he be able to gain an edge in battle like he had earlier from the other Pact. Once this was over... It was Avures's power alone holding back a wave of pain and suffering from his friends... That was how he saw it…
With a slight boost, Avures put his plan into motion. He had already locked himself in for the foreseeable future on a whim. A plan he wasn't even sure was going to work. But he had to try.
Avures's body tightened, the Mana swirling through him as he reinforced his muscles and fortified his footing. He knew that as his Mana usage increased, Korkolo's vortex would pull harder on him. However, his Enchantment Magic aided him in staying put... But his grip on the chain remained unchanged with the entire length stretched to the absolute limit. Korkolo was just below where the chain was planted. There was no way Avures was able to finagle the Manacite chain to hit Korkolo.
However, that was not the plan...
"C'mon, runt! Give me something!" Korkolo's smile spanned his entire face, his teeth were gritted with blood beginning to ooze from his gums at the pressure in his jaw. "Scream! Cry! Beg for your life!"
Korkolo's hands still poured out bounds of Mana into the Zero-Sum. It stopped growing in size, but the pull of it only seemed to exponentially increase in strength. Avures only found it unfortunate that it was a stream of magic that couldn't be intercepted…
Avures shut out all other thoughts and stimuli from his brain... Zen Mode helped to facilitate an extreme measure of concentration in his mind as Avures's eyes pierced directly through Korkolo. The dwarf found it somewhat off-putting, but did not concede his confidence to a mere glare... However, it was misplaced. Avures wasn't staring at him.
With extreme caution and patience, Avures pushed a tiny amount of Mana down his arms and into the Manacite chain. Avures's pure focus helped him track the movement of the Mana. Where it currently resided alongside the chain seemed to dictate where Avures felt the tiniest bit of slack, as if it were pulling from a different point instead. Avures took a deep breath, using a great amount of Mana to have his enhanced arm strength heave back against the chain's anchor in the wall.
It was slight and subtle... But Avures spotted it. His key to victory.
"I'll reduce your body to specks of dust! Meet your doom, Avures! Relish in the reunion you're about to have with your wench of a mother!"
The vortex's pull noticeably increased once more. Avures's footing was about to give, but he doubled down on his position. Avures used Omega Arcane again, allowing the Shade to process Flow throughout his body once more. He had Mana, but not enough to split between the process he was trying to do and holding his footing. His wounds peeled open further, blackish-red ichor gushing out as he was beginning to run low on blood.
Again, Avures pushed Mana into the chain, intent on having his own Mana siphoned even faster than before. Korkolo hadn't noticed it as it wasn't exactly visible, and he had been gloating too much to care anyways. If he had noticed, Korkolo might have also heard the scraping of stone... The building seemed to shake a little from the absolute power Korkolo had been utilizing.
Avures was able to feel it. Just a little more...
"Die-Die-Die-Die!..."
Korkolo expanded his expenditure to the absolute limit... His Zero-Sum now surpassed any previous time he had ever shown it. Though the prison was built in a way to have no traces of Mana by default, the grounds directly outside of the prison were shaking lightly. To Korkolo, it was foolproof with Avures being trapped in here. The boy clearly couldn't last much longer…
Avures's body screamed for relief. The black hole was about to overthrow his control over his own footing. But he was so close. Avures's esophagas forced up a bound of blood as he gave his final effort. The absolute last bit of Mana he had... No more from the Pact, or from Omega Arcane...
The Kovar heaved backwards one last final time, putting all of his physical efforts to a final test. The only remaining bits of Mana leapt from his body and up the length of the chain in a desperate heap... The siphoned Mana reached its final destination... The Calcianite block it was anchored to. The magical essence swirled about inside the block, it's presence slowly being whittled and ripped apart by the pseudo Anti-Magic material…
A final rumble shook the prison walls and floor. Avures's tension over the chain loosened out as if its anchor of the metal links broke apart, causing his footing to give. His body had no more energy, no magic... The chain slid out of his hands as the suction force of Korkolo's Zero Sum pulled Avures's back towards the black hole...
"I win! You're dead! Good riddance, Kovar-!" Korkolo's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull in a moment of pure bliss and excitement. Avures was slowly pulled in by his Zero-Sum in a moment of victory that seemed to last forever... But even as Avures was inches away from sheer annihilation... It seemed to Korkolo that Avures wasn't going to give him the satisfaction he wanted.
His body succumbing to exhaustion and his magic depleted, Avures had managed to give off one final thought to Korkolo before his demise. His right arm had weakly raised up, and his right hand's middle finger stuck out towards the dwarf…
Korkolo sneered, narrowing his gaze as he gritted his teeth. It was one final slight that he would have to remember Avures by... But in those moments, Korkolo's eyes captured the chain settling on the ground below him. Without Avures's grip, it slunk onto the stone floor... And on top of it…
A tremendous, massive heap pressed down on the top of Korkolo's head. The man felt his neck cave downwards a few inches before his front-facing body gave way to the burdensome weight forced upon him. The pressure and gravity from above impelled his arms and legs out wide as his descent to the cold ground was reinforced by high velocity. In the one moment Korkolo was able to process the event unfolding on him, he attempted to press his magical will onto the monolith assaulting him... To no avail.
In the final moment before the crash, Korkolo's eyes once again met the visage of Avures in front of him... His stone cold gaze, illuminated by a swirling of brilliance piercing out from the spatial texture of his skin that etched their way into his eyes, accompanied by his final wordless remark to the wretched man...
A thunderous crash drowned out all other sounds as pulverized rock and dust kicked up into the air in the cell. The whirlpool of destruction and gravity ceased altogether, merely sending Avures tumbling backwards out of the cell instead of ripping him apart into nothingness. Avures grunted and wheezed as particles invaded his lung and his body slammed against the wall opposite of the cell entrance. He fell off to his side, the black strands of his hair drooping in front of his vision as it all seemed to melt together. As he struggled to breath, more of the massive bricks collapsed from the walls of the high cell. After a few less tumultuous slams, the bottom stones of the wall cracked apart with debris tumbling off to the sides…
Dust and dirt lingered in the air, blocking the sight of the outside world... But not muting the calming sounds of rainfall. The pitter-patter of water meeting stone kept Avures's attention straight ahead, helping to maintain his consciousness.
"Is... Is it over?" Avures's thoughts floated and bounced through the thickening fog taking hold of his head as he managed to find the reserves of strength to force himself upright. Wobbling and struggling to maintain his balance, Avures found footing and leaned on the wall for support.
His vision shook, becoming fuzzy and losing detail as his head hung downwards. The etchings of his power retracted, retreating back to his right arm as his concentration and focus peeled away. In those moments, Avures felt the strings and binds holding himself together come loose. It was akin to someone driving several nails into his head at a snail's pace, one at a time.
"G-Gah! Ah!..." Avures's voice discordantly disobeyed his inner desires to hold in his agony. He clasped his left hand over the top side of his face and head as he desperately tried to detract from the overbearing pain of his Pact and Zen Mode coming undone. His eyes instinctively shut and he pushed his body against the wall as his right hand shot up to his head and pulled on his hair. His vocal cords released a droning whine, his mind fighting to hold itself together.
Avures's breaths became short and labored, wispy with a quickness as his heartbeat elevated. The worst of the trauma associated with his Pact and Zen Mode dispelling was coming to a close. Even so, it nearly made Avures want to sever his own head. What remained was a constant drone of aching torment... Workable... But he wasn't sure how long he could last.
As Avures pulled his hands down from his head, he was reminded again of the situation he was in. The staining of crimson that originated from his own body told him there was still work to be done. Avures lifted up his gaze, his head swaying as his vision blinked in and out slowly... He had to be sure first.
Avures turned his attention back to the cell, the dust finally settling and no audible noises other than rainfall making itself known to Avures. As the last bits of the dust screen faded, the boy rested his gaze onto the results…
Korkolo had been flattened... Or at least, half of him was. What remained of the old dwarf was the left side of his body. The spilling of flesh and organs lazily sat against the stone that pulverized him as it had spilled out from his remaining half. There was a far-reaching red splat with bits of red thrown about everywhere, all originating from the stone.
Avures had won…
It hadn't been easy though. At the end of it all, it was Korkolo's own Zero-Sum that had done him in. Avures knew from reading a bit of his past, and the prior experience in that battle, that Korkolo's Zero-Sum used immense gravity to suck in and destroy anything with traces of Mana. It had even tested the stability of the jail earlier... With that in mind, Avures used the Manacite chain to slowly feed bursts of Mana to the Calcianite blocks behind and above Korkolo. It was all pure circumstance... But because of that, he was able to use Gravity Annihilation to nudge one of the giant bricks out of place and collapse the ceiling on Korkolo...
The sight of his demise... Avures took a freeing breath, his body filled with the sensation of relief... The pride and accomplishment within him swelling up as, for the first time in his life, he put his heart and soul into something and saw it through to the very end, achieving victory. It wasn't just his own victory though. It was a triumph for his forgotten family who met their end at his hands... Even if Korkolo was but one of many of them as he claimed.
"Hm... It... It wasn't raining before." Avures took one last glimpse at the outside world, the rainfall continuing in the night, before stumbling ahead to the small office room.
Avures took hold of his bag and sword... Slightly remiss about how he realized that he could have used the blade in his battle if he had remembered it. Still, he wasn't going to waste anymore thoughts on it. Taking slow paces forward, rain assaulted his hair as Avures took his first steps outside for the first time in nearly two days...