When Max finally opened his eyes he found himself at a very familiar place that he did not expect to land at.
' Is this the real heaven after people die? Was the mirror world where I train actually a heavenly place? ' Max wondered as he concluded that he was in the mirror world where often he and Drax would train against each other.
This time around there was no clone for him to fight against, instead a very calm looking man stood across him, inspecting him with eyes full of doubt.
" I expected him to be at least tier6 Drax, I thought I had made a provision for anyone mortal who touched it to die of mana poisoning" the man said as he spoke while looking at Max's feet
From the way the man talked, Max had an assumption regarding his real identity, however before he could confirm it he was stunned by the sight of Drax standing beside him in full butler suit and sharp looking features that looked absolutely human-like.
His entire aura had changed and he now shared the same blood red eyes that Max did.
" Master, at the time when he retrieved the first piece of the Agni-Astra, he was a manaless trash. The only individual who would not die from mana poisoning even if he did bind with the Astra forcefully.
Back then I had no other options but to either bond with him or self-destruct to kill him with me and I took the chance to bind with him after inspecting some of his memories.
After spending countless years with him, I'm sure that the decision I had made back then was the right one.
Although he is a mortal, he is quite a resourceful one " Drax said as he referred to the man standing against him and Max as ' Master ' which could only mean that it was the late great fire god Agni himself.
Listening to Drax's explanation, Agni once again re-inspected Max with an eyebrow raised as he sighed and accepted the fact that he would need to give Max time before he could reach the strength necessary to exact his revenge.
" Drax, show the boy the final battle in the ancient battlefield, how that bastard god of knowledge and wisdom double-crossed me and caused my downfall " Agni commanded as Drax immediately nodded and waved his hands to reconstruct the mirror world as seconds later Max found himself standing in the heart of an ancient battlefield. The air there was thick with the scent of smouldering earth, scorched steel, and magic. The sky was a battlefield itself, painted in strokes of fire and celestial light.
In the centre of this chaotic panorama stood two towering figures.
One Max recognised as Agni, the god of fire that currently stood beside him, his body flickering with wild, uncontrollable flames that danced and crackled menacingly.
His eyes were blood-red orbs of fury, piercing through the battlefield, locked onto the figure across him.
Opposite to him stood a serene figure. Maya, the god of knowledge and wisdom. His appearance was starkly contrasting to Agni's fiery form. He stood tall and calm, his aura cool and composed. His eyes glowed with a soft, yet daunting, luminescence.
Max had some knowledge about their past, abou how Maya tricked the last few primordial god's into a void before sealing them off there to die forever.
Drax had told him about the tragic circumstances under which Agni had to make such a desperate choice and reforge his soul into a weapon, since it was the only way he could escape Maya's trap and still hope for revenge, however, he had never seen the specific circumstances of their battle firsthand.
As Max watched, Agni roared and lunged at Maya. Fire, the symbol of his power, erupting from his fingertips, transforming the space around them into a sea of flames.
The flames danced and twisted into shapes of mythical beasts the size of a 100 storey building charging towards Maya with such speed and power that they could probably have gone through the surface of a planet if used on its crust.
Max watched in astonishment as Maya, unperturbed, waved his hand, and a strong gust of wind extinguished the beasts, before countering with a tide of torrential water as he displayed his understanding of the elements.
Their battle was fierce and brutal, echoing throughout the battlefield. It was a spectacle of raw power and intelligence, a clash of fire and wisdom, creating a dance of light and shadow that cast a hauntingly beautiful glow across the war-torn land.
Since the battle was not slowed like Angakok's memory fragment there were various bits where all that Max saw were the afters shadows of the collision of big moves as his eyes could not keep up with the monstrous speed at which the two goliaths fought against each other.
For a long time it seemed nobody had the upper hand but as the battle wore on, Max noticed a change. The fire in Agni's eyes dimmed, his movements became sluggish, and his flames less vigorous. Maya, meanwhile, remained unscathed, his aura untouched, his strength undiminished.
It was only then that Max began to notice that there was a sort of poisoning plaguing Agni's mana viens, that Agni had been lured into a trap, drained of his strength by Maya's cunning tactics.
The more that the fire god tried to mobilise his mana and fight back, the faster the poison spread as slowly but surely he lost his ability to keep up with Maya.
Max watched as Maya landed a devastating lightning blow on Agni, sending the fire god sprawling onto the scorched earth. Agni tried to rise, his body flickering weakly, but he was clearly on the verge of defeat.
But as Maya approached the fallen god, an intense light erupted from Agni's form. Max shielded his eyes from the brilliance, and when he looked again, he saw Agni standing tall once more. His body, a ball of searing white flame, radiated a powerful heat wave across the battlefield.
He recognised this scene from the 3 images that Hazriel had shown him during his reincarnation, the moment where the fire god Agni split his soul into 3 and sealed all his powers into an ultimate weapon the Agni-Astra!
Max watched as Agni, with the last of his energy, forced all of his fire and soul into the weapon. He then split it into three parts, each piece glowing brightly before shooting off in different directions, disappearing into the vast universe.
As the light died down, the battlefield was left with a gaping void where Agni once stood. Maya looked at the spot, a flicker of surprise in his otherwise calm gaze. The trap had been evaded. Max looked at the scene, his heart pounding with a strange mix of dread and awe.
Once the battle-scene was over, their surroundings were once again restored to normal as the fire god looked at Max and said " I have no other requirements from you mortal but you need to exact my revenge for me when you are capable enough for it.
The poison that plagued me, shall plague you too should you not make good on that promise and it will eat you inside out irrespective of your divinity should you achieve it.
You want my power? You want my very soul to aid you in your journey to the top of the food chain?
Take it!
Take everything! But remember that there is a cost attached behind this power and should you not pay your debts it will be the reason behind your undoing "
Agni made his threat before once again dissolving into a mass of flames as the entire mirror world turned ablaze sending a searing pain through Max's head in the real life as he felt the sockets behind his eyes hurt as he opened his eyes in the real world where he was currently incubating within the fire's of the dying star itself, his body reforged as it truly became one with the full power of the divine weapon the Agni-Astra!
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/// A/N- Alright guys, we needed the GT and all of you have delivered sealing our spot with a comfortable lead at number 10.
You all are awesome!
Special Shoutout to Cervantez91 for his contribution to this cause with 3 super gifts that will total to 9 bonus chapters.
5 chapters will be released today
6 chapters will be released tomorrow to complete the bonus trench alongside one daily normal chapter ///