Chapter 57:

A shiver ran down the well-dressed man’s spine as he witnessed Rine lift what seemed to be an inconspicuous orb up. The orb was incomparably smaller than the pillars of fire keeping Rine in check, yet the well-dressed man’s heart was still uneasy.

Most concerning of all was the fact that the orb, or rather the thing within it, felt familiar and as he clutched the lower part of his stomach, he couldn’t help but whisper “Just what the fuck is that?” A feeling of immense loss suddenly bore down on him; it was as if someone took something from him.

Suddenly, a quiet shattering sound spread throughout the battlefield, seeping into the minds of all who heard it and dying their souls with inexplicable fear.

Just as everyone stopped in their tracks, the pillars of fire holding Rine began to collapse. Only rather than seep back into the earth, the Origin began to gather once more toward the spark Rine held aloft. In shock, the well-dressed man could do nothing but watch, mouth agape, as his spell was being unraveled.

“Ow!” he exclaimed as he felt a sudden blow to his head. Turning to his side, he could see the expressionless face of the masked woman.

“...”

“You’re right!” The well-dressed man said as his face flickered with realization. Immediately he tried to dispel his attack, hoping to jam the momentum of whatever the hell was happening. However, to his horror, he realized that he no longer had control over his own spell. Even the pillars surrounding him began to gather toward Rine.

“...”

“Shut up! You do somethi-” But before he could continue, the woman disappeared from her spot.

“Tsk!”

…………………………………………

“Is he….breaking through?” Clint asked in a hushed voice as he watched the swirling mass of Origin gathering around Rine.

“Hahahaha!” Borris laughed, however, his eyes betrayed his true thoughts. He looked toward Rine with greed but kept that in check when Facing Clint.

"But there's something odd about his methods of Core formation," Clint said, stroking his chin.

"I agree, normally he'd have to accumulate a large amount of Origin before compressing it so tightly it turns solid, only then would one be ready for Core Formation, but this kid..."

"It's like he already had a core."

"Yes, furthermore, I don't know why but that Core is familiar."

"Familiar?"

"Yes, I feel like I've seen it before," A thoughtful look unbefitting his crass nature flickered on his face as he looked between the well-dressed man's figure and Rine's. "Very familiar."

After divulging their thoughts the two men remained silent, choosing to focus entirely on the spectacle before them.

Borris had thoughts of calling his people back and preventing them from disturbing Rine, but for now, he chose to merely observe.

In their interest over Rine breaking through, the two had begun to neglect the various other battles going on.

…………………………………………

Watching the blade pass inches away from his face, Cort’s eyes began to grow sore. He had been using his abilities for the entire duration of the fight, and now he was feeling the effects of over-taxing it. Truthfully almost everything about him was reaching their limit.

‘Just a bit more…’ He thought as he expertly switched the hand with which he held his sword, throwing the old warrior off.

Barely blocking one of the old warrior’s attacks with his sword, he took a half-step back and braced himself while his sword shattered into multiple pieces. But even as he lost his sword, he already began taking a new one out of his ring while simultaneously dodging another attack with great difficulty.

The scene repeated itself multiple times but by the fourth sword, the warrior grew impatient, and, alongside his attack, he kicked wildly at Cort’s abdomen.

Having no time to dodge, Cort strengthened his core and braced himself as best he could in hopes of mitigating the damage done.

Nevertheless, he was blown back and the warrior gathered his Aura around his sword, intending to follow through. Yet as he raised his sword overhead, he was met with a throwing knife aimed at his eye. Clicking his tongue, the warrior dodged to the side, forgoing his attack only to be met with a boot to his face; the kick did little damage-wise but it did affect the warrior's temper.

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Angered by the cheap shot, he began to attack more rashly and in quicker intervals. Cort’s weapons were being destroyed rapidly, and soon wounds began appearing all over his body.

However, instead of growing desperate, Cort was still calm; he even had a slight smile on his face. For the first time since Ratson, Cort had met his physical match; the warrior before him, though lacking in skill, had enough power to end his life in seconds. Even touching the man’s sword for the briefest of moments could prove fatal to Cort but he did not mind.

By now he had begun to lose himself to the fight. His mind, which was filled with schemes at the beginning, was growing clearer with each step he took and attack issued. Eventually, he lost all semblance of thought and fully immersed himself into the ebb and flow of the battle. All while Studying how the old warrior’s flame-like aura seemed to seethe rhythmically.

He doubted whether he'd achieve a breakthrough similar to his fight with Ratson, but that didn’t matter much.

“Soon, it will end,” He muttered, watching as another knife broke apart.

…………………………………………

Riley was beginning to grow nervous.

He went all out, assuming that the battle would end in a flash, and yet here he was, still slashing away at the mysterious youth who danced around his attacks with eerie precision. It was as if the young men knew everything about him; from when he’d planned to attack to how and why, Riley felt as if his thoughts were being transmitted directly to his opponent.

Shaking away the coldness in his heart, Riley gritted his teeth and came to a decision. He had to kill the youth before him, subduing him was beyond his reach. He would have considered calling for backup but that would mean forgoing his pride as a warrior, something he was unwilling to do.

Concentrating on the Aura around him, Riley began to forcefully absorb it into his body. The result was an explosive increase in all physical capabilities.

Riley smiled as he watched the opponent’s shocked expression before disappearing from his spot and reappearing behind him, sword aimed at his back.

‘Success!’ He thought triumphantly as he felt his sword plunged itself deep into the young man’s back, piercing the spot his heart should have been in.

Suddenly his triumphant expression froze and confusion flickered in his eyes. ‘What is that?’ He thought as he saw a dark flicker of light coat the young man’s knife.

“Aura!” He realized, a bit too late. By now the knife was barreling toward him at an insane speed, far outstripping what the boy could perform minutes prior. The knife even seemed sharper as a hazy black mist was covering it.

In a slight panic, Riley tried dodging backward but was shocked to discover that his sword was stuck. Looking over, his mind reeled as he saw the young man desperately holding onto the sword that exited from his front chest, effectively pinning the two men together.

Hairs standing on end and in a panicked frenzy, Riley’s expression hardened and he let go of his sword. Thankfully he was just barely quick enough to avoid the dagger’s edge but just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he saw something that shocked him to no end. A crescent-moon-shaped slash of hazy black Aura was expelled from the knife and it immediately darted for his neck at speeds far outstripping anything that Riley was capable of dodging.

Powerless to dodge, Riley could only lament his misfortune. He had truly bitten off more than he could chew with this one. From the moment Riley saw the young man’s Aura, he realized that he was in trouble.

Ordinarily, the first time that a warrior would manifest Aura, it would be of limited use as it would be too unstable for a fight. It took months of training to stabilize one’s Aura and years for it to become truly life-like. If that wasn’t enough the young man’s Aura was not only relatively stable it was also unique, highlighting his latent potential.

‘A genius…’ Riley thought as he looked toward his daughter, another so-called genius. He did not get to look for long as soon his world flipped to the side and kept rotating before coming to a stop as his decapitated head landed on the ground.

During the last moments of his life, his eyes remained locked-on toward Vanessa, his expression one of deep guilt.

…………………………………………

Moments before Cort awakened his Aura.

Using every bit of strength he had left, Cort barely shifted a few centimeters to the side, allowing the blade to pierce the entire width of his body without puncturing his heart. Despite the immense pain, his face was still expressionless.

Even though he avoided death momentarily he was still relatively certain his life would end soon. With no strength left over, he pushed his eyes to their limit, slowing the world down further, perhaps in some vain attempt to extend his life’s duration.

‘Why though?’ He thought abruptly as he watched the surrounding Origin flowing in and out of everything around him.

Now with time on his hands, he couldn’t help but reflect on everything that happened to him since coming to this world and doing so he was shocked to discover that not much had changed. He was still just as lost now as he was then.

Why was he listening to Carter?

Why was he protecting Rine?

Why was he so eager to unlock Aura?

Why did he still want to live if there was no meaning in doing so?

Why, why, why? Back in Root, he did not have the luxury to contemplate these whys but now, alone and left behind, he did.

Stewing in his own thoughts, his eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of something peculiar. A good portion of the surrounding Origin was being absorbed and redirected and its destination was…

‘Rine…’ He thought to himself as he recalled the naive and overly righteous child. He was then reminded of the look of betrayal on the boy’s face when he killed William who was by all definitions their enemy.

Afterward, he recalled the talk he had with him a dozen nights ago. That night Cort firmly insisted that Rine did not, in any shape or form, want to become like him. But the truth was that Cort wanted that even less.

‘Does there have to be a why?’ He thought as he brought his attention back to his dagger and more specifically the Origin inundating it.

Aura was simply the act of forcefully utilizing the Origin around him using nothing but will.

Recalling the way the old warrior would forcefully bestill his seething Aura, Cort realized that even that had a pattern to its movement. One he recognized.

Suddenly the Origin surrounding his dagger began writhing as if attempting to escape whatever seized it, but Cort wouldn’t let it. With frightening amounts of will, he compressed the Aura to such an extent that it turned black; eventually, his dagger looked as if he had coated it in black mist.

‘This should be enough for now,’ He thought to himself as he looked over at the distance to where Rine was supposed to be.

‘I’ll be there in a few minutes, fool.’