Return of the Fallen Volume 10 Chapter 131
Trilia cut Kazuki off from activating the spinning void within his soul world. With her mysterious abilities surrounding souls, even though Kazuki outmatched her in both magical prowess and physical might, she could perfectly deal with his soul. He could do nothing to block the overwhelming amount of magic that flooded his soul world in a single instant.
Kazuki could feel his body rejecting such an amount and could feel the very fiber of his being start to break down. The energy…it was simply too much. He could not take it all. Before he could try anything else, Trilia was already a step ahead of him, and she cut him off from his ki as well as all of his magic. He could do nothing to prevent this.
In desperation, he called out to Arc.
(ARC!!! DO SOMETHING!)
To this call for help. there was only silence before Arc said.
(There’s no need, she is not threatening you.)
Kazuki was shocked. How was this no threat? His cells were literally dying. The pure magical energy that flowed into him was like poison to his flesh and soul. Even his regenerative capability was being drowned out. It could not keep up with the incoming damage, he was rotting.
He had to leave, if he could just escape this world, escape from Trilia, he could expel this energy and he would be safe.
Kazuki tried to exit his soul world but once more he was blocked by Trilia. His connection to his body, something that had become one with his mind and soul, had been severed by Trilia.
(Kazuki! Stop trying to flee and focus. I’m not going to kill you and I won’t let you die. So calm your breathing and focus on the energy. Let it take you, let it overwhelm you, and accept it.)
Kazuki was not going to listen to her. He felt death edging closer and lost all trust. At the same time though he could do nothing. It was then that Arc spoke to him once more.
(Kazuki, trust her. I sense no harm or ill will from her. Your body is dying but look at your soul.)
Kazuki, who was panicking, looked at his soul tree, and to his shock, it was glowing with lines of silver and gold, crimson red, and saphire blue. Swirls of light-colored black and green swirled around his soul tree rapidly before sinking in and out of his soul tree.
It was like a river of colors dancing around him. Arc was trying to say something to him but the colors dancing and swaying in his soul world somehow stole all of his attention and it was like he was in a trance.
He could feel every hair on his skin stand on end as a current traveled across the surface of his body.
It was a strange yet calming feeling.
At the same time, Trilia waved her hand and grabbed at an invisible force. The magic circle beneath them changed once again. Many inscriptions folded and linked and unlinked all at once before a powerful force began to drag all of the energy out of Kazuki.
Kazuki once more felt that intangible feeling. As if he was on the verge of grasping something. As the energy was drained out of him, his body quickly recovered, but not a second later the magic circle reversed, and all the energy that was pulled out of him shot back into him at full force.
Once more, he felt indescribable pain but this time it was slightly lessened. Even with stacking pain and a rotting body, he never lost focus for a second. In fact, his mind was starting to go deeper and deeper as he felt not one element but every single one he’d ever encountered. Light, darkness, fire, water, wind, stone, time, space. He felt every single one in a way he never encountered before.
The circle reversed again and the energy was drawn out before it changed direction and flowed back in. Again, the pain was lessened and Kazuki descended further into the elements.
Very soon the element of time vanished and he could no longer feel it at all. After that, the element of space disappeared, followed by light, wind, water, stone, and eventually, even fire was no more.
Now Kazuki felt as if he was surrounded by nothingness. No light, no dark just absolute nothingness. Kazuki lost all self-awareness and was empty in the void. His thoughts lingered and then they too were no more. He was nothing, he is nothing.
Kazuki’s soul tree continued to glow but the elements had vanished from him. His body no longer had magical energy. His body no longer had ki. Kazuki’s breathing in the outside world became shallow and his blood began to slow along with his beating heart.
*Ba bump Ba bump…Ba bump…ba bump…………ba….*
His heart came to a stop and he breathed no more.
Arc now became worried, but just as he was contemplating making a move, Trilia smiled.
“This is where the excitement starts.”
A light…colored in nothing, appeared in the void.
(T…this is, my soul.)
The small light seemed as if it were a flame ready to be snuffed out at any moment. Kazuki held out a hand, and a hand appeared, then he held out another and his other hand appeared. As he surrounded the light with his hands, he felt his soul on the tips of his fingers. His soul then circled around him and revealed the rest of his body before the tiny soul grew and grew. It grew so fast and so rapidly that it was the size of Kazuki in an instant but it did not stop there.
Stronger, bigger, power. Expanding and encompassing him entirely. Bigger than a planet, bigger than the stars themselves, nothing stood in its way. His soul rejoiced and rejoined with him and it felt like an explosion resounded within his mind, body, and soul. All at once he could feel them as one again and his heart banged like a thunderous drum.
*BA BUMP BA BUMP BA BUMP!*
His heart was so loud that it caused the air around him to explode. With it, his blood flowed once again and he suddenly took in a huge breath of air.
*SSHHWHOOOOOOO!*
The air around the world diminished at a terrifying rate. The moment his lungs were filled, Kazuki released a Realm-shattering roar.
*OHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!*
Trilia opened a rift that surrounded Kazuki’s entire roar and this roar was emptied out of this Realm and into another one.
That Realm was unfortunate and received the entirety of this mighty roar. As a result, it was shattered right then and there, becoming fragments of the past and nothing more.
Outside, Kazuki was a problem but inside, something incredible was happening. His magic and ki returned in full but more than that, there was a qualitative change to his soul. He could now sense his soul as if it were the back of his hand. Every instance, every nook, and cranny. This wasn’t just something he felt and knew; it was much more. His soul itself, he himself understood he had damage in his soul. Just like his body could heal without him thinking or doing anything about it, his soul was now repairing the second fracture in his soul.
His soul was slowly repairing itself and because of this, his powers were growing with every passing second. The more his soul was repaired, the more his all strengthened.
Kazuki’s eyes snapped open and a soft glow remained as if he had a perpetual small ring of fire around his eyes. This light, this change in his eye, he knew what it was right away. Looking at a smiling Trilia in front of him, he could see her soul. His looked like a colorless flame but hers appeared like a lake. Hers changed color from time to time. Without even trying, he could sense she was happy.
Without looking at Nevius or Nara, Kazuki could still see their souls. Nevius was shaped like a small rock, and Nara’s was shaped like a leaf. Kazuki could tell Nara was happy as well, and Nevius was nervous but thrilled. That though was obvious, as Nevius always seemed nervous.
Things did not stop there. Kazuki was already sensing several other souls in this world and beyond.
Kazuki knew his powers had grown and was curious as to how much. With a thought, his aura expanded and stretched out in every direction. To his absolute shock, its range had become ridiculously far and wide. He could now sense a third of the entire realm in its entirety. Every life and every breath, every rock and tree, every planet and star, and every soul in this third of the realm. Beyond that. He could even sense all of the Origin energy in the many stars in this third of the Realm as clear as day.
Kazuki could sense Asuna and everyone else.
Looking down at his hands, he couldn’t believe how much power he had.
Holding a palm open he thought about a flame.
*FWHOSHHHHHHHH*
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