Northern’s movements became a blur of steel and elemental fury. His blade seemed to be everywhere at once, cutting from angles that shouldn’t exist, each strike powered by combinations of abilities that the clone had never encountered together.
The creature that had adapted to every individual technique found itself helpless against their seamless fusion.
An upward diagonal slash wreathed in freezing wind opened the clone from hip to shoulder. As it staggered, Northern’s blade reversed direction, lightning and fire combining to create plasma that seared through the creature’s neck. The clone tried to counter, but Northern’s sword was already elsewhere, ice and earth creating a crushing blow that shattered its left arm.
The clone’s regeneration couldn’t keep pace. Each wound was inflicted with a different elemental combination that prevented proper healing, and the sheer speed of the assault meant new injuries appeared faster than old ones could close.
Northern’s eyes remained cold and focused as he executed the final sequence. His blade traced a complex pattern in the air as darkness entered the mix, turning the blade of the Illusion Hefter to sinister metal forged from the evil of the night itself. The sword became a conduit for power that transcended individual techniques, creating something that was both everything and nothing—the true essence of the Path of the Endless.
Even Northern could feel it for a moment—this seamless blend of combinations made so smooth because of his new soul essence.
The speed at which he could execute them was thanks to the fact that DiY was not there. This was simply just him, mixing his talent abilities as if they were in the same pool. There were no clear boundaries between his talents and their abilities. And it felt incredible.
The dread of darkness from the Eclipsing Dread made the blade viciously sharper. The more the clone grew terrified, the sharper the blade became. It connected the blade’s purpose with the intensified dread permeating the atmosphere.
And with that, the final strike came.
When it did, the entire world—at least the part they were in—was immediately plunged into dread. For a minute, the darkness that solidified and changed the blade’s color to pitch black seemed to envelop the whole atmosphere as Northern moved like a breeze, and a thin white line divided the clone from head to toe in equal halves.
Immediately Northern passed and the white line slowly faded as darkness that seemed to consume that region dissipated, the clone turned to a statue of ice. Vicious flames exploded from the line of cut, consuming it in an unforgiving torrent. Following that, the flames burst wide and exploded with an even more devastating shockwave.
Even Northern had to back away, vanishing through the air in a single leap.
As he landed, he saw something that surprised him, making him tilt his head.
[Congratulations, you have slain a Sage]
[You have slain a creature of the Echo Realm]
[You have gained +3,000 talent fragments]
Northern felt the significant surge just as quickly as the system brought up the notifications. It filled him with tremendous strength.
But that wasn’t the end.
[Congratulations, you have slain a creature of the endless]
[Omniform’s transformation is being enhanced by the creature of the endless’s core]
Northern raised his brows.
’Right... Omniform has been transforming for a while now... what’s going on?’
The system had said it was going to take a while. But he didn’t think it would take this long.
Northern sighed and exhaled.
"I can’t worry about this now... need to join that dickhead."
He could not allow himself any moment of reprieve, of course. Who knew what the Chaos Prince could be doing? At all costs, he needed to be the one that would end Kryos—which was probably dreaming too big.
But Northern did not seem to like small dreams anymore. He had tasted it in the dark continent, a dream as small as returning home. And it did not taste so good anymore.
Now, he wanted to return home with the head of an Origin.
’Yeah, that one sounds more befitting.’
He laughed at himself and shot forward with devastating speed, soon lifting off the ground and blasting through the air with immense velocity.
Meanwhile, Kryos and the Chaos Prince were locked in an intense battle—with the Chaos Prince getting beaten like a punching bag.
The Prince’s face was strangely resilient; no matter how many punches he received, how many times he doubled over and vomited blood whenever he stood up, his face always looked as fresh as when they’d started the battle.
He was also getting better at evading Kryos’s strikes, though the Origin was just getting craftier and deadlier. His strikes were like a world of torment on their own, and the Chaos Prince had to deal with his speed and ruthless precision.
And yet he was supposed to be weakened by seven thousand years of being trapped in a world that negated Chaos. But perhaps he was weak, and he’d gained a little strength after absorbing Chaos from Northern.
’So this is Northern’s fault. He’s getting an earful when he comes back!’
The Chaos Prince snarled internally at his absent partner.
He found himself frustrated beyond measure because at this point, the beating was getting excessive, and he felt so alone and unfairly treated on this battlefield.
At least if his father was wreaking havoc on both of them together, it would still feel slightly better. Misery, after all, loved company.
But he was getting none of that, and the Chaos Prince was being beaten while simultaneously sulking like a child. Or who knows—the bastard could be letting himself take those devastating beatings just to prove a point to Northern.
’My partner! Where are you?!’
He groaned internally as he received another blow that made his face fold inward, delaying the world for a fraction of a second before releasing him and making him roll away at disastrous speed.
As he flew through the air, suddenly something halted his momentum and caught him by the neckline of his cuirass. The Chaos Prince had donned another armor after the previous one was destroyed, but the bastard hadn’t covered his face.
He immediately lit up like a child who’d just gotten candy.
"My partner! You’re back!"
Northern stared at him as both of them floated in the air. He couldn’t tell whether this guy had taken a genuine beating or had been playing around.