Chapter 904: Erosion
"So you are THE Rey..."
The voice was deep and gentle, almost calm if one ignored the tinge of hatred that echoed subtly with every word that was spoken.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." He said with a smile.
The person who stood before Rey... who had Alicia in his grasp... was someone that Rey recognized. He had seen him once-during the Exchange, after the introduction of the
Dragon Emperor.
He was famed to be the most powerful Dragon-second only to the supreme Emperor of the Empire.
-The Great Old Dragon Lord.
"My name is S'ith, and I am the personal emissary of the Dragon Emperor, ruler of—"
"Let her go."
Rey's entire body was emanating a dangerous aura, one that materialized in the atmosphere as a dense covering of pure energy.
His eyes shone with pure bloodlust as he clenched his fist and prepared to step forward.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." The Old S'ith said with a cruel grin. "Take another step and she dies."
Rey was at crossroads once he heard those words.
'He's fast! I'm sure his Stats are higher than mine, and even with my passive skills active, he was able to get Alicia before I could even react.' Rey thought to himself nervously as he struggled to decide what to do.
His clashing emotions, coupled with their suppression, caused his mind to get overwhelmed with too much at the same time.
Unfortunately for him, this slight moment of hesitation would cost him.
... Very dearly.
"On second thought, I think I'll just skip the threats altogether."
The moment the Great Old Dragon Lord said this, Alicia's trembling body was suddenly pierced from behind by his fist, causing her body to turn limp and her tear-filled eyes to bulge as she made her last whisper.
"R-Rey... I..."
At that point, her face grew pale as the life swiftly drained from her body.
However-
~BOOOOOOOOMMM!!!~
-A swift eruption of power sent the entire Chamber of Ancients into an irreparable quake, and the sound of a loud explosion loudly pervaded the hall.
It all happened within the smallest fraction of a moment, but Rey's exploding speed thrust him forward, pushing away the Great Old Dragon Lord with his strongest punch as he reached out for Alicia's corpse.
~WHUUUUUM!~
Instantly, he coated himself in all of his power and did his best to activate as many skills as he held her in his hands.
"[Divine Weapon Creation]."
He created a garment around Alicia which had healing-no, rejuvenating properties.
No results.
"[Perfect Divine Magic]. [Divine Power Ascension]. [Perfect Domain Of The Divine]. [Perfect Divine Defense]. [Perfect Divine Appraisal]. [Divine Magic Interference]. [Tempora]. [Divine Persona]."
Useful or not, he threw every single skill he could into the mix.
No results.
He couldn't even use [Tempora] to reverse her situation because she was already dead.
"[Perfect Wish Fulfillment]"
He wished with all of his heart that Alicia would be well!
That the damage would be gone!
[SYSTEM ERROR!!!]
<Skill Usage Failed>
{Reasons: Task unable to register target as merely dead}
"[It Is Written]!" Rey screamed, trying to overturn the existing rules of his skills in order to accommodate this new change.
[SYSTEM ERROR!!!]
<Skill Usage Failed>
{Reason: Authority is insufficient to make such a change}
"[Command Code]. [Status Interference]. [Grand Luck]...!!!"
It went on and on.
"Please work! Anything work! Please just fucking work!"
Nothing was effective. Rey tried every single trick in the book, but none of it was effective in
the slightest.
Whatever death had been inflicted on Alicia... it was permanent.
"You're probably wondering why you can't revive her..." The same voice as before echoed in the hall almost amusedly.
Old Lord S'ith appeared, perfectly unscathed by the attack that had earlier been rendered on him by Rey. It almost seemed like he was brand new.
"You're strong, and you have a LOT of skills, but none of them are going to be effective here, Rey." The Lord smiled, his wrinkled face displaying even more of his cruelty. "The reason is
simple."
S'ith pointed at the corpse and increased his grin.
"That girl no longer exists."
As Rey's tear-filled eyes looked at the diminishing body of Alicia, watching as it crumbled into dust-no, nothingness-he felt seething emotions consume him.
"It's too late to save her, because there was no 'her' to begin with. The reason she is still here is because all time has been stopped in the immediate vicinity, and the moment a single moment elapses... she will completely disappear."
"A-Alicia... Alicia... no..." Rey mumbled to himself as he stubbornly held her, fighting off the words that were ringing in his ears.
"Even then, the change will eventually acclimate to the current paused time and whether you like it or not... you will see what the world has already accepted."
Once Rey blinked and opened his eyes... she was no more.
The same girl who was in his arms, who had kissed him and loved him... she was no longer
present.
"The girl is no more, boy!"
||
"Time to forget all about Alicia, and-"
"DON'T SAY HER NAME!" Rey screamed, tears gushing down his face as he screamed with so
much vigor, displaying every pathetic facet of himself to the enemy.
"Pfft! Or what?" The Old Dragon smiled, taking another step forward. "What can you possibly
do when you're about to join her?"
""
"Poor, poor Alicia. She chose a man who couldn't protect her in the end."
~ZZZTTZZ~
"It's a shame, really..."
[SYSTEM WARNING!]
<Erosion Rate Is Rapidly Increasing>
[SYSTEM WARNING!!]
<Erosion Rate's Increase Is Rising Beyond Previous Estimations>
[SYSTEM WARNING!!!]
<Erosion Is Nearly Complete>
[SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!]
[SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!] [SYSTEM WARNING!!!]
At this point, everything went silent.
The whole world became quiet as time resumed, and Rey rose to his feet, his face down and
his body completely still.
Slowly, he raised his head and stared at the Old Dragon Lord with empty eyes.
"I'm going to kill you."
*
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and... well... I reserve my comments.