The only good thing was that he was not the only one in the fight with a limit. Zain was also reaching his limit. He couldn't absorb anymore power. His body had reached its limit. Things were so bad that his body was aching with every movement. Even breathing had become laborrous.
His muscles and bones were screaming out in pain every time he moved. It didn't help that he was bleeding all over.
None of the metal claws had managed to impale him, but all of the cuts on his body were leading to too much blood loss and the shallow cuts on his lungs were making it difficult for him to breathe. This was reducing his stamina and increasing the burden on his body.
Eventually he became too tired to punch. He fell to his knees while breathing heavily. The sound of his inhalations and exhalations was like a drum being struck. It was so loud that it kept Kelvin from fainting. It kept pulling him back from total blackout.
Or maybe it was Wrath's screams that kept him from fainting. He couldn't tell the difference. Everything was just too loud, and he had become too weak to move his arms. He certainly couldn't punch or fight back in any way.
Kelvin was content with lying on the ground and sleeping. He knew at the back of his mind that doing so would lead to his death, but he was just too tired to care.
He wanted peace, but Wrath wouldn't let him have peace. It kept shouting in his ear. Eventually, he recovered enough presence of mind to understand what it was saying. It was mostly because Zain had stopped punching him.
"Take his destiny. Take his destiny now."
Kelvin decided to do so. He activated the ability steal of the ring of paragon with the last bit of focus he could manage. This caused the two abilities from the ring to be deactivated and his form to revert to his true shape. He became the dark-skinned man with golden tattoos and golden eyes.
He was soon glowing with golden light, and then so was Zain. Zain groaned as a suction force entered his body. The force groped all over every inch of his body, including his eyes. It was irritating and painful, so he tried to pull away Kelvin. But he was tired, and the grip on both of his limbs was still there.
"What are you doing to me?" he asked in panic.
But Kelvin couldn't answer him even if he wanted to. All Zain got was silence. He couldn't move away, and he couldn't resist, so he had to experience the torment of having his destiny ripped away from him. It was so painful that he cried out in pain.
He seemed to understand what was happening to him. It made him plead desperately, "Please, don't."
Kelvin didn't listen, but he didn't stop pleading.
"Don't do this. This is just a test. You have won. You can go."
Kelvin didn't hear what he said, not that he cared enough to listen. Everything was too loud. Eventually he got his silence because Zain had stopped talking.
The pain came with tiredness beyond anything Zain had ever felt. He lost all his strength, his ability, and all his power. He became worse than before he awakened his ability.
He was so weak that he slumped over Kelvin. Kelvin, on the other hand, had become stronger. He had gained an ability called Juggernaut's Heart. He put it into his second slot because it couldn't fuse with his first ability, and he didn't have enough game points to complete the fusion.
Steel's physique was an ability related to matter, while Juggernaut's Heart is an ability that deals with force. The two were not compatible on a fundamental level. But they could work together.
Juggernaut's Heart is not a physical object. It is a process by which external force is absorbed and stored in the body. So the body is the foundation of this ability. The stronger and more durable the body, the more force it can store.
The stored force can then be used to increase speed and strength. As for the increase in the durability of the muscles, it is a side effect of using it to store explosive power.
This is why Zain's body is so strong and tough. But his body of flesh cannot compare to a body of steel. Steel has higher durability, so it can store more force. It also has faster conductivity, so it can absorb and transform force faster.
Zain's body had shrunk after losing his ability. His body was still toned for a normal person, but he had lost too much muscle mass as if he had been malnourished and his muscles had become soft like normal flesh. This made him lighter.
He became much lighter when Kelvin separated his head cleanly from his body with a single metal claw. This also caused blood to splash unto his face.
He didn't mind the blood. He even drank as much as he could in order to replenish his strength. Then he pushed the corpse off of his body.
He said to Wrath, "Let's go."
He would have liked to eat some of the flesh of the man because he was still weak, but he knew that the man was not alone. He doesn't know why the others are not here yet, but he doesn't plan to stick around to find out.
Besides, he has some biscuits on his hoverbike. They may be in small quantity, but they are tasty and safer to eat. He would have to manage them for the time being.
He began walking to the hoverbike. It was difficult because he was still tired, but his body didn't feel weak. His new ability was already paying dividend. It made so unless he reaches his limit, he will never feel weak.
He might become exhausted because of the lack of stamina, but he will always have strength and speed to spare. He liked that very much. It put a smile on his face as he got on his hoverbike and rode away.