The dead dwarf’s deathmist writhed in resistance, but I pressed harder, forcing my will into every fragment of its being.
I had noticed this before, while healing Steve, and again when I fought those Phantoms trapped in the realm. Natural Essence was neutral, but the Essence I generated was not. Mine carried intent. It could consume, devour, erase, if I willed it so.
And now, I willed it.
The dwarf’s body trembled as streams of deathmist were crushed and obliterated. Second by second, the mist unraveled, dissolving as though it had never been.
The armor went last, and that caught me by surprise. I had expected it to remain behind, just an empty shell. Instead, it too broke apart, reduced to nothing beneath my Essence.
When it was over, there was no dwarf, no armor, not even dust. Nothing remained to mark that it had ever existed.
[Level Up!]
[Level 295 -> Level 300]
[Initiate Rank Up?]
I looked at the notification and swiped it away. There was no time to go through the rank up here.
I turned my head toward the giant, ready to move, but before I could take a single step, the transcendent phantom vanished from sight. Not from my perception though. One of my Psynapse Fractures had been locked onto it the moment I arrived, I wasn’t foolish enough to let it out of my awareness.
I tracked the blur of its movement as it reappeared behind me, its sword already mid-swing.
A storm of deathmist erupted around its body, thick and violent, and I understood at once, it was burning its power, forcing both strength and speed to terrifying levels. The blade tore through the air with a whistle, aimed directly at my neck.
"Phantom Dive," I muttered.
My body slipped into my shadow and vanished.
In the next heartbeat, I emerged behind the giant’s massive frame. The phantom’s sword carved through the space I had just stood in, releasing a wave of condensed deathmist so sharp and heavy that it scoured the ground clean, shredding debris and flattening everything in its path.
I rose into the air in a burst, shadows peeling off me, and appeared right above the giant’s head.
My fist tightened, violet Essence roaring from my core, flooding my channels until my hand burned with unstoppable force. I brought it down, ready to crush its skull in one blow.
But just as my punch descended, the transcendent phantom flickered again, gone in an instant. My eyes widened slightly as I tracked it.
It reappeared directly behind Dante, who was still kneeling, barely able to keep himself upright. The phantom’s sword was already arcing downward, its edge howling with compressed deathmist.
"Damn it!" I twisted mid-motion, forcing my punch to halt. My body strained as I redirected my momentum, planting my foot hard on the giant’s head. The armor beneath me groaned like breaking steel, and I launched forward with explosive force.
BOOM!!!
The giant’s body was blasted behind me as in a blur I was in front of the phantom, my fist colliding against its descending blade. Violet Essence clashed against blackened steel, the impact erupting with a sound that tore the air apart.
The shockwave raced outward, but I couldn’t allow it to reach Dante. I gritted my teeth, and with a sharp pull of will, I snapped open another Psynapse Fracture. The strain cut through my skull like burning ice, but I forced it under control.
I tapped into my law of Polarity.
A dome of repulsive force expanded around Dante, pushing the shockwave back. The air shimmered with invisible resistance, scattering the deadly energy away from him.
The cost hit me instantly. The repulsion didn’t just push the wave, it pushed me and the phantom apart as well.
Our clash broke, the backlash hurling both of us backward like meteors. My boots dug deep trenches as I skidded across the ground, while the phantom twisted midair and landed heavily.
I steadied my stance, violet flames dancing around my fist. My gaze flicked toward Dante who was safe.
Then my eyes locked back onto the transcendent phantom. Its featureless face tilted ever so slightly, and though it had no expression, I could feel it staring at me with pure, seething hatred.
And one thing was clear to me, it was strong. Stronger than any opponent I had faced. It was cunning too. It had already figured out my weakness in this place, and I could not allow it to exploit that.
"Knight, come out."
Crimson mist surged from my core, and Knight emerged beside me.
"Take them to safety and keep watch," I muttered.
Knight answered with a low growl as shadows bled from his body and wrapped around Dante first.
I stepped forward, drawing in a deep breath as I activated my domain.
"Absolute Domain."
A violet ripple burst outward, colliding with the suffocating deathmist that made up the phantom’s domain. The clash sent ripples through the air, space itself shuddering.
"A domain?" Its hoarse, trembling voice carried genuine confusion.
I ignored it. My heel slammed into the ground, and Essence roared through my channels, flooding deep underground before detonating upward in a violent surge. The deathmist tendrils tore apart under the eruption.
Knight wasted no time. His shadows surged outward, enveloping the Emperor, Arkas, and the others. In an instant, they vanished, taken to the safe place where the rest were sheltered with Silver.
Finally, only three remained. Me, the giant, and the transcendent phantom.
"You can’t save them," it said, its voice steadier now. I could feel it regaining control, the tremor of rage settling down.
In response, I opened another Psynapse Fracture. Four fractures now burned in my mind, two locked onto the phantom, one tracking the giant, and one sweeping my surroundings.
"I will save them," I said, straightening my back. My hand tugged at my coat, stripping it off before tossing it aside. My chest and arms gleamed under the faint light, Essence pulsing through the carved channels. "And you will die here."
"You seem to be mistaken about something."
I cracked my neck, rolled my shoulders, and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? About what?"
The giant, still reeling from my earlier blow, lumbered back to its feet and turned its massive frame toward me.
"It looks like you don’t understand what a transcendent being truly is."
The phantom didn’t look at me when it spoke. Instead, it walked toward the giant, its mist curling tighter, its steps slow and deliberate. The phantom lifted its faceless head toward the towering creature.
"Kneel."
The word echoed like divine command. The giant’s knees buckled instantly, crashing into the ground with a thunderous impact that sent dust and stone flying.
The phantom then raised a single hand and placed it against the giant’s armored frame. Deathmist boiled out, coiling around both of them before surging upward. A black dome expanded, swallowing their forms into absolute darkness.