Return of the Fallen Volume 12 Chapter 20
After sensing the Gauntlet in the distance, Arc and the others followed Kazuki’s command without question.
As Kazuki was exposed to the horrors of Chaotic energy, his body was falling apart with each ticking second. Even as his body was wracked with excruciating pain, he endured it all with a wide grin.
Arc, Sword, and Codex had shrunk down and were sitting in Kazuki’s grasp, each one filled with concern for him but Kazuki was not ready to die.
He activated the spinning void deep within his soul world. A powerful force began to devour as much energy as it possibly could. Using this energy, Kazuki regenerated his flesh and body. This wasn’t enough though. The outside energies were ravenous in their own way and destructive at a level that could destroy Gods as if they were insignificant worms. For every piece of flesh, for every single cell he regenerated, 1000 were ripped apart by the Chaotic forces around him.
Still, even if it seemed pointless to heal himself, it bought him precious seconds. In this tiny window, he also used his sword forms along with destructive lightning. He wished to sever as much Chaotic space around him to buy himself more time but since this was not calm Chaoic space but rather an explosion that bore down upon him, the forces could not be severed and he took on the full brunt of it.
His body was torn to shreds. Threads of flesh were ripped away and then it became small bits and pieces. After these pieces, it became chunks of flesh. The pressure around him constantly rose as wave after wave of Chaotic energy washed over him. His bones could not withstand such pressure and they began to explode inside his body.
In the distance, a small glowing light began to grow bigger and brighter as the Gauntlet raced forward as fast as possible.
All of the nerves in Kazuki’s body were splintered and his organs became a paste under the intense pressure before it was all sucked out of his frame.
Kazuki instinctually curled up into a ball as his senses grew dull.
(The Pain…It is too much!)
Kazuki was tormented. For a moment he wished his body wasn’t so tough so that it could have been destroyed quicker and the pain would be long gone. At the same time, if this was so, then his body would be destroyed and his soul would be enduring this right now and within seconds he would be annihilated.
All he could do is echo the word endure inside of his head over and over again.
The light in the distance became ever brighter as it swept through Chaotic space in a way that was unburdened by this place. It became faster and faster as space seemingly bent around it.
(Endure Endure Endure Endure Endure Endure Endure Endure Endure Endure Endure Endure…)
Over and over again this word repeated until it was the only thought remaining.
His body, under the stress of this place, could no longer hold up and it was reduced to nothing. Now all that remained was his soul and now it was his soul that took on all of the agony.
Inside his soul world, Kazuki felt an ungodly pain searing and tearing, shredding and crushing, grinding and clawing at every inch of his soul. If it was only a second or two, Kazuki could take it but inside his soul world where time ran at a different rate. Each second in the outside world was equivalent to well over a billion seconds inside his soul world.
Every second that passed was over three decades of torturest pain inside. As the Gauntlet got closer, another second passed. Kazuki now not only felt the grueling unrelenting pain but his soul in fact was being destroyed. His soul tree lost its silverish glow and the branches began to blacken before turning into particles and vanishing.
Another second passed, another three decades, and Kazuki was about to be lost forever. As Kazuki was on the verge of nonexistence, finally, in his last moment, the Gauntlet arrived. The silver wings atop it vibrated and fluttered as it shot forward and swallowed Kazuki’s soul inside. At the same time, it took Arc, Sword, and Codex into its inner space.
The moment Kazuki was in a place of safety, he instantly reformed his body around his soul. There was no air inside of the Gauntlet but if there was, Kazuki would be breathing a heavy sigh of relief.
Sword, Codex, and Arc, the moment they entered the Gauntlet’s inner space, they all took up defensive positions around Kazuki. They still did not know the full story but the Gauntlet was used by the enemy the last time they encountered it. Kazuki appreciated this but waved them away.
(There’s no need, this Gauntlet is not our enemy. Take a look.)
As he said that, he pointed at something glowing in the center of the Gauntlet’s inner space. Floating in the very center, a small portion of Kazuki’s soul surrounded a small orb of light. On this orb, there were three triangles overlapping one another with a chain encompassing them all.
Arc and the others recognized it right away and called out in shock.
(A SLAVE MARK! ON AN ARTIFACT!…HOW!?)
Kazuki laughed before standing up. Just before he was going to explain, the entire place shook a sit was bombarded by Chaotic space.
(I’ll explain later, for now, I say it’s time we left this shit hole.)
Arc and the others grew excited. None of them could move inside Chaotic space. Well, Arc could but only with a good deal of Origin energy. The others though simply could not.
The Gauntlet was a different story entirely. Its main function was movement. Even in Chaotic space, it proved to be unimpeded in this place.
Kazuki’s eyes lit up and the piece of his soul that surrounded the glowing orb lit up. Following this, the slave mark responded to his soul. The wings on the gauntlet began to glow with silver light.
(Arc, if you wouldn’t mind pointing us in the right direction.)
Arc laughed.
(It would be my pleasure brat.)
Arc’s senses stretched outward in every direction as it felt the nearest tear in Chaotic space. It could sense a tear only a few thousand Realm lengths away from their current position. The distance to Arc was small but before this moment, without Origin energy or Chaotic space being severed, it would be an impossible distance for it to cover.
With Kazuki now in control of the Gauntlet, such a distance was insignificant.
The wings atop the Gauntlet fluttered and vibrated at a terrifyingly high frequency before it shot forward at blinding speed. Before one could say another word, the Gauntlet, along with everyone else inside had arrived at the tear and without hesitation, Kazuki commanded the Gauntlet to fly through it.
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Somewhere high above a cold mountain, a rift was forcefully torn asunder. The entire sky darkened momentarily as a bolt of lightning shot down and struck the world below.
*Crack Ka-BOOOOOOOOOM!*
The world shook and quaked as if it were about to break apart. Tidal waves rippled out across the globe and volcanoes erupted above the sea and below it. Hurricanes flew around the world and threatened to kill all life in this world. Before the world was destroyed, Kazuki’s aura stretched over it entirely and he sensed it.
He could sense a great deal of intelligent life on this planet and did not want to kill anyone unnecessarily. With a simple thought, Kauzki’s power stretched across the entire planet and stabilized it. The hurricanes dissipated and the winds ceased their destructive force. The volcanoes were quelled and the rising tidal waves sank back into the ocean as if they never were.
The world shook no more and all was calm.
Kazuki stood up and was in a smoldering crater filled with magma. He exuded a tremendous amount of heat. There seemed to be a smidgen of Chaotic energy still around his flesh.
Inhaling deeply, he took in the remaining Chaotic energy. With this inhale, his surroundings cooled and the temperature around him fell drastically. The molten rock beneath his feet hardened and then crumbled as he took a step out of the crater.
Kazuki could sense that his arrival in this world had caused a great disturbance. There were several billion intelligent creatures. These beings resembled humans in nearly every way except their skin was red and they had pointed ears.
He did not care about these creatures but at the same time, he had caused a great deal of panic.
(These beings, a few of them are at the 4th stage but the vast majority are below that. It seems I have arrived at a weak world.)
Kazuki took in a deep breath. His senses were incredibly sharp and he could feel no pressure in his surroundings at all. Not only that he could barely sense any Divine energy at all. With this, he knew right away.
(Looks like I’m back in a Lower Realm.)
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