More time passed.
Nick kept pushing.
By now, the Aductress had joined the room and watched Nick just like the Scribe.
They were entering unprecedented territory.
The most anyone had ever managed to survive against a Peak Elder was six weeks.
That was the record.
And today, Nick cracked that record.
The Aductress needed to make sure that no accidents would occur.
Nick just kept pushing against his copy.
It looked like nothing had changed within the last six weeks.
Except for one thing…
Nick's hands had been pushed back by three centimeters.
That was not a lot, but these three centimeters were impossible to get back.
Nick's hands hadn't been able to push forward for even a micrometer for the past six weeks.
The Specter was perfect.
There were no mistakes.
There were no openings.
It was flawless.
Nick had believed that he could win against the Specter.
However, the last six weeks proved one thing.
He was focused to an unreasonable and supernatural degree, but he was not flawless.
He was not perfect.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been pushed back by three centimeters.
The Consumption was a battle of will, and it was impossible to further optimize such a battle.
There were no tricks one could employ.
Well, at least none that everyone could use or ones that worked.
There was one thing that Nick could try.
It was a backup plan he had come up with before starting his Consumption.
If this were only a battle of wills, Nick might not have had the confidence to attempt it.
However, there was something about him that made him different than normal people, and if it came down to it, he would make use of it.
But the chances of success were low, and he would only use it if there was nothing left he could do.
So, he kept on pushing.
The Aductress looked at Nick.
Two additional weeks had passed, and Nick was still just lying there.
If Nick had lost, his body would give off Zephyx of a human nature, and he would slowly start transforming into the Dark Cloud.
If Nick won, his body would give off Zephyx of a Specter nature, and he would slowly wake up.
If both of them died, Nick would just die.
However, Nick was still alive, and he did not give off any kind of Zephyx.
This meant that he was still battling the Specter, which was unreal.
It had been eight weeks.
'16 weeks is the theoretical maximum,' the Aductress thought as she looked at Nick. 'No matter how much willpower you have, you will not be able to stop yourself from dying when 16 weeks have passed.'
The Aductress narrowed her eyes.
'That will also be when the Specter will die.'
Nick kept on pushing.
More time passed.
The Specter just continued to stare at him with its dead eyes.
It didn't think about winning or about the fact that it was in the lead.
Its goal was not to win but to not die.
It did not feel any happiness, smugness, or excitement.
It just kept pushing with perfect efficiency.
And it would continue to do so until the very end.
It was impossible for it to lose.
More time passed.
Nick had been looking at the Specter in front of him for ten weeks.
For ten weeks, it hadn't made any mistakes or shown any bit of weakness.
It was like Nick was trying to push an immovable object.
The pressure was mounting.
Nick was desperately searching for a glimmer of hope, but there was none.
Nick started to consider that he might lose.
More time passed.
It had been twelve weeks.
Nick had been pushed back by half a meter already.
He was losing his concentration more and more frequently.
Most of the time, his mind was in a state of complete confusion and delirium.
He was forgetting himself, and the most horrifying part was that Nick knew that this was not just a temporary effect.
No, this was permanent.
Nick's mind was straining so hard that he was suffering permanent brain damage.
He was forgetting things, and he knew that these things would not return, even if he won.
This was the cost of sacrificing oneself.
Nick's memories were burning away.
Of course, the same thing was happening to the Specter.
The only difference was that it didn't care about its memories.
It only cared about not dying.
Even if it lost 90% of all of its memories, it would continue pushing with perfect efficiency since the will to survive was in its very core.
Meanwhile, if Nick lost 90% of his memories, he would have long since collapsed since he wouldn't even know who he was or what he was doing.
Nick couldn't get through.
He couldn't win.
It was truly impossible.
A Peak Expert could not win against a Peak Elder in a duel of wills.
'I can't win,' Nick realized in a moment of clarity. 'I have to try my backup plan.'
At that moment, Nick was slowly being pushed back.
That was because Nick was focusing on something else.
He was focusing on his past.
He was thinking about the image of the burning building.
He was thinking about what had happened before then.
What happened before he woke up in front of the burning building?
Nick was trying his best.
The blackness around Nick transformed into images.
His memories.
In the real world, the Aductress noticed that something was starting to push out of Nick's throat.
This was a sign that the Specter's Core was winning the battle.
She narrowed her eyes.
The images around Nick started to morph as the burning building came and went.
Shadows appeared.
Shadows vanished.
Fire appeared around Nick.
A little boy carried something in his hand.
The little boy focused on the hallway.
"I met the Null," Nick spoke as his eyes focused on his copy. "I forgot everything about it."
The Specter didn't show any reaction.
It just kept pushing Nick backward very slowly.
"If I regain my memories, I will know what the Null looks like, and you will know as well."
"I don't think the Null cares whether or not you are a Specter. If you know anything about it, you will die."
"What will it be?"
"Will we both die completely?"
"Or are you willing to just lose part of yourself and survive?"
This was Nick's backup plan.
If he managed to remember the Null, it would come and kill both of them.
Remembering the Null represented a 100% chance at 100% death.
Meanwhile, conceding to Nick would only be a 100% chance at 99% death.
After all, part of the Specter would still survive.
If one thought back to the minions of the Sea King, could one truly say that nothing of them had remained back then?
They might not have had their souls and minds, but their bodies and abilities still persisted.
Weren't bodies and abilities still part of one's self?
Something like this would never work on a human.
After all, they would feel so angry and hopeless that they would prefer both of them dying than giving the other side all of the benefits.
But Nick wasn't fighting a human.
He was fighting a Specter.
And Specters were very different.
The images were distorting more and more.
The inside of the house seemed to change.
Nick felt like something inside the house was moving.
There was something else inside the house.
That could have only been the Null.
Nick's eyes were narrowed and focused on his copy in front of him.
"Time is ticking. What's your choice?" Nick asked.
The Specter did not show any reaction.
It just kept pushing.
"You will die if you continue!" Nick shouted. "I have already shown you my willpower! You think I wouldn't go through with committing suicide if that means ending your existence as well?!"
"In the end, I am also just human, and I would much rather kill us both than let you continue living!"
The Specter looked at Nick.
Nick knew for a fact that the Specter understood him.
They were not communicating via words.
They were communicating via concepts and thoughts.
Everything that Nick had said registered in the Specter's mind.
He was sure of it.
Yet, it showed no reaction.
None.
It just kept pushing Nick backward.
Nick became nervous.
It wasn't giving up!
It wasn't stopping!
"Fine!" Nick shouted.
Then, he focused on his past with all of his power.
The images surrounding him became clearer.
Nick felt like he was back inside the house.
He could feel it.
There was something foreign inside the house.
Something that shouldn't exist.
The little child turned its head towards a hallway.
It knew that the thing would come from there.
The child waited.
And then…
BANG!
The images broke into pieces around Nick, and his eyes widened.
He quickly tried to resummon the images.
They reappeared, and he found himself inside the house again.
BANG!
The images exploded again.
He tried again.
BANG!
Nick's eyes opened widely in horror.
'I can't remember…'
'It's impossible!'
'No matter how hard I try, I can't remember the Null!'
'Everything always breaks apart before it appears!'
Nick looked with horror at the Specter in front of him, which just looked back with a neutral expression.
Yes, Nick had been right.
One option was a 100% chance of 100% death, while the other was a 100% chance of 99% death.
A Specter would choose the second one.
Yet, Nick based his hypothesis on a faulty foundation.
In truth, the first option was not a 100% chance of 100% death.
It was actually a 90% chance of a 100% chance of 100% death.
After all, there was a chance that Nick might not be able to remember.
The Specter had seen that, and it found these odds to be more in its favor than the other one.