Book 1: Chapter 20

Cyil watch as he got up. He watch as he stood in front of Betsy’s murderer and extend his pale hand towards the terrified man’s face.

“You are called the Lightning Emperor, correct?” Cyil watch himself tease the man who was struggling to escape. “That’s such a presumptuous name. But very well, today an Emperor will fall.”

The Lightning Emperor widen his eye in disbelief as he exerted all his force. The boy in front of him was no longer the crybaby he previously saw. This boy was dangerous and every cell in the Lightning Emperor’s body was screaming for him to run.

Cyil watch his body laugh then snicker at the Lightning Emperor. “Don’t bother. Let me tell you a secret. This boy is not only a Death Saint but he is also a Time and Space Saint. You’ve messed with the wrong person. Though, I do have to thank you for setting me free so I’ll make your death a quick one!”

Cyil watch himself gently reach towards the Lightning Emperor’s bunched up face.

Death God’s Blessing

The moment the palm touch the Lightning Emperor’s face, Cyil saw the Lightning Emperor’s body twitch, then begin to quickly froth at the mouth with his eyes losing focus and finally closing forever. The dead body drops onto the ground with a thump and Cyil watch himself sighing: “Too weak too weak. You don’t deserve my blessing. Oh well, at least you have some junk I can use to strengthen myself.” Cyil watch himself strip the rigid Lightning Emperor of everything he had.

Cyil watch the Lightning Emperor’s corpse then he thought about Betsy’s soot and he didn’t feel satisfied.

***

“Arghhh!” The Lightning Emperor began to scream in agony through his constricted throat. The moment the little boy’s palm touch his face, it began to decay. His flesh was withering away to reveal muscles then bones then even the bones were gone. All of the Lightning Emperor’s defensive magical equipment had their energy sucked out of them and crumble into dust. They didn’t even help one bit. Even his life saving method of warping and dispersing into streaks of lightning bolts wasn’t working.

The Lightning Emperor couldn’t believe what was happening because he couldn’t move or scream and the pain of having his flesh melt off seem to last for eternity. Even Death Saints shouldn’t be so strong! Stricken by fear and his inexperience with Saints, the Lightning Emperor fail to realize that his current experience was simply an illusion. It was a really realistic illusion but it was still just something conjured up into his mind and soul.

What went through his mind was that one moment where he was about to land his finishing blow and the next he felt like he was being eaten alive by millions of ants. He was dying; the pain began from his face then slowly spread to the rest of his body. The Lightning Emperor didn’t have a chance to experience all of the Death God’s Blessing because halfway through the decaying process the unimaginable pain had already destroyed his consciousness.

The Lightning Emperor had fail to persist through the Death God’s Blessing, which was simultaneously a spiritual and mental attack. If the Lightning Emperor had survived, then his mental and spiritual prowess would have been greatly strengthened. Not only that but he would have been able to level up as a mage and at a quicker pace, too. He would even have had a chance to reach a rank 9 mage and possibly beyond! The spell was not call a ‘blessing’ for no reason. Alas, spiritual attacks were rare on Nakrul and the combination of a spiritual and mental attack was even rarer. No one really prepares themselves for defending against these sorts of attacks because not many knew of its terrifying power.

***

“I’ve used up nearly all of my energy just dealing with that muscle brain but luckily he was a little dumb….This body needs more strength. I’ll have to train for at least a decade to reach rank 9. Dammit.” Cyil watch himself cough up a mouthful of blood and casually wipe it away to reveal a sinister grin. Next, he saw himself don the Lightning Emperor’s magical equipments; then Cyil saw himself crouch down to the naked Lightning Emperor’s body, press his palm against the man’s chest, and absorb the man’s life force.

“A clone?” Cyil watch himself raise an eyebrow halfway through the absorbing process. “What a lucky fella. Too bad his clone’s consciousness won’t be intact to relay what happened here.”

After the absorption was complete, the Lightning Emperor had become a bag of rotted bones. When Cyil saw the decrepit body he felt a jolt of satisfaction form which sadness quickly followed. He was not sad for the Lightning Emperor’s gruesome death but he was sad that even with his death, Betsy would not return. With this realization Cyil became despondent; his young mind slowly began growing, maturing even, under his concurrent experiences.

As Cyil began to zone out he saw himself glare at himself, as if he had known Cyil was there all along. “Keep quiet and just sleep forever.”

Cyil did not respond and only gave himself a lifeless look. When Cyil look into the two completely gray coloured eyes he saw within them hate, so much hate and anger that it eclipses all other viable emotions. Cyil did know why but he felt bad for himself. “I, I,” Cyil began but he couldn’t finish he sentence before a blanket of darkness enveloped him.

***

Far far away on the western edge of Nakrul sat a man near the peak of a mountain top piercing the clouds. Here, lightning struck the man continuously but they did not bother him. He even seem to be enjoying bathing in the lightning that congregated onto him. A pleased look was on the man’s face as he sat still as a statue with closed eyes.

Then, abruptly, the man’s eyes shot open. “Clone 1 died. Hmmm, his consciousness was shattered. Which old monster did he mess with for this to happen?” Shaking his head in disbelief the man said: “nothing to be done against someone this strong. A shame a shame.” After this brief interruption the man closes his eyes and continue bathing in the lightning bolts.

From afar, one could see that this man was almost identical to the Lightning Emperor who had died.

***

Baccaus kept on flying towards the source of the shockwave but he hadn’t anticipated it to be so far away. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed but it must have been over a month, or perhaps it was a week. Time felt different in this darkspace. Even so, Baccaus kept his clam. Baccaus guessed that whoever or whatever brought him to this dimension must be quite powerful, so Baccaus no longer tried anything rash even though he was worried sick about Cyil.

Baccaus was flying along the darkness when far ahead he saw a golden glowing figure standing there. The golden glowing figure felt familiar and its aura was warm and full of energy.

Baccaus didn’t know what the golden figure was but he was curious about its appearance. “What’s that? Another person trapped in this godforsaken place? Or is it an enemy and native of this realm?” Baccaus asked himself these questions and choose to verify them himself. He was at least confident enough to escape should the golden glowing figure have malicious intent.

Not deviating in his path and confident in his resolve, Baccaus increased his speed. When Baccaus was close enough to see the golden glowing figure’s face he gasped, stopped and stared. “Could it really be?”

Baccaus blinked hard once, then again but the face of the golden figure remained unchanged. This was a face he was much familiar with. It was a face he thought he’d never see again. This was his beloved.

Baccaus didn’t care anymore if the golden glowing figure was a trap or illusion of some kind; his flying speed instantly burst outwards propelling him to the figure in practically an instant.

Standing in front of the golden glowing figure, whose face was flawless in every way, Baccaus shuttered. “Kara, is it really you?”

The golden figure did not immediately respond but instead glance at the disheveled old man in front of her. She carefully observed every part of Baccaus, pausing the stare at Baccaus' flailing empty sleeve then finally gazing into Baccaus' eyes.

With a single tear drop rolling down her cheek the golden glowing figure replied with a sunny smile that lit up the darkspace. “Baccaus, you’ve suffered.”