Chapter 125: Martial Arts
"HAHAHAHAHA... and who is going to stop me from saying all this... you?" he shouted, his eyes burning blood red as he pointed an accusing finger right at Ash.
"YOU, WHO BECAME AS DOCILE AS A CAT THE MOMENT YOU HEAR HER VOICE."
"ARE YOU HUMAN, OR ARE YOU JUST AN ANIMAL?"
"EVEN CALLING YOU AN ANIMAL FEELS LIKE AN INSULT TO ANIMALS."
"AND DON’T YOU DARE FEEL SYMPATHY FOR ME. I CAN READ YOUR THOUGHTS LOUD AND CLEAR."
"I DO NOT NEED YOUR SYMPATHY. NOT NOW. NOT EVER."
He spat out the last words like venom, then without warning, his fist shot forward with terrifying speed, striking Ash so fast and hard that Ash couldn’t even blink.
The punch slammed against Ash’s face, and he stumbled back, the impact sending ripples racing outward across the dark water beneath them, warping and shattering the reflection like broken glass.
Too fast... Ash thought, struggling to regain balance as he stepped back carefully, pain flaring in his mind and Soul.
"Do you have any idea what I did to survive? What I forced myself to do to silence the relentless flood of emotions that haunted me? How I desperately tried to distract myself from the endless torment?"
The Dark Ash’s voice echoed through the soul space, cold and heavy like a dark thunderstorm.
Then, like a shadow flickering, he disappeared, only to appear instantly right beside Ash.
The water’s surface didn’t ripple or even move — it was as if he’d always been there, waiting.
Before Ash could react, the Dark Ash’s palm connected with his cheek in a sharp slap, this time with full force.
Ash was sent flying, his body skidding hard across the black water’s surface, leaving a trail of chaotic waves behind him.
What is this place? Ash thought, struggling to summon his mana to cast a spell, but nothing stirred within him.
"Don’t waste your efforts. Mana? This is your soul, not your body. There is no mana here. Your magic simply cannot manifest."
He sighed, voice heavy with years of torment. "For six hundred years I was trapped. The first decade broke me so completely that I forgot who I was. The next ten years crushed any will to live I had left. But death... death never came. I was chained to this prison, cursed beyond reason."
He paused, the weight of his words hanging thick.
"For a hundred years, all I did was wail and curse the heavens, begging for mercy that never came."
As he spoke, the Dark Ash vanished and reappeared again, delivering a vicious kick just as Ash was struggling to his feet.
Ash barely managed to block it by crossing his arms, but the Dark Ash wasn’t done.
"Then, after that endless century, I learned to adapt. I tried breaking the walls around me, but nothing worked. I had no weapons, no powers — only my fists. So I used them. I kept punching, again and again, hitting the walls as if my life depended on it."
"I kept going. Swinging my fists like a madman. Fighting to pull myself out of drowning in your never-ending pain. For how long? I don’t know. Time lost all meaning."
His gaze locked onto Ash’s eyes, burning with raw, fierce determination. "Do you know what it felt like? Even when I couldn’t see the outside world, I still received your memories — the books you read, the lessons in mana, the training you endured at the academy."
"As a restless soul feeding on your energy in this place, I stayed awake for five hundred more years, sharpening my martial arts. And do you want to know what came from that endless suffering?"
BAAM!!!
The Dark Ash’s hands shot out, locking Ash’s crossed arms tight with crushing strength.
"I created a martial art that doesn’t rely on mana or magic, but on pure raw emotion — the darkest, most destructive parts of you."
"It’s the product of my broken, hollow heart. My devotion poured into a weapon forged from despair."
"And you, Ash, you will be the first to face the full force of it."
DIVINE ART OF ETERNAL SILENCE
FIRST FORM: Art of Relentless Despair.
The Dark Ash pulled Ash closer with a cruel, silent force. His fists vanished in an instant, moving so fast Ash could barely track them.
Then, like an unstoppable tide crashing ashore, punches rained down on Ash’s face in an endless, relentless storm.
The speed was beyond anything Ash had ever felt — so furious that his body lifted off the ground, suspended midair by invisible chains of force.
Behind him, the water that had always been still began to bend and curve, warping into a strange, dark semicircle, as if even the soul space itself recoiled at the assault.
But the punches didn’t stop. They came without pause, as if the Dark Ash wanted Ash to drown in the pure, crushing despair of being helpless — unable to fight back or even breathe.
Yet, through the chaos, Ash whispered inside his mind, Omni Thought...
The moment the skill flickered to life, the Dark Ash suddenly stepped back, breaking the onslaught.
"Omni Thought... clever," the Dark Ash sneered, voice dripping with scorn. "Using your biggest trump card when all I’ve done is unleash only the First Form of my martial art."
His laughter echoed like shadows twisting in the dark space.
"KEKEHKHKEKEEK, Ash, you’re weak. How do you expect to protect Elysi—oh, forgive me—your dear Nancy? HAHAHA."
His voice dripped with mockery, cruel and cutting.
But Ash stayed silent. His mind was overflowing, drowning in a sea of countless thoughts, all searching desperately for any possible way out.
He slowly raised his hand, and Eclipse shimmered into existence, resting gently in his palm like it had always belonged there.
This is my soul space...
That means only things directly connected to my soul can exist or function here... and Eclipse, my soul weapon, fits that perfectly.
As he gripped the hilt, his eyes caught a glimpse of his reflection.
Hairline fractures spread across his face like shattered glass.
They weren’t wounds on his physical body but fractures on his very soul.
No blood flowed, yet the lines were deep and spreading.
There were so many cracks now that it looked like he might shatter completely with even the lightest touch.
But what truly frightened him was that the cracks weren’t healing.
Why isn’t it regenerating?
The moment that thought passed through his mind, the Dark Ash’s voice echoed with cruel amusement.
"Of course it won’t heal. What you’re seeing is not your body breaking—it’s your soul that’s falling apart."
"Regeneration only works on your physical form. But here, in this space, if your soul dies... then you will face true death. Not even a fragment of you will remain."
His mocking voice echoed deeper this time.
"Even your Rune of Death won’t be able to save you. And when you’re gone—completely and utterly erased—I will take over your body."
He took a step forward, his tone darkening with cruel delight.
"And do you know what I’ll do first after that? I’ll kill Elysia."
Ash’s eyes widened slightly, but he said nothing.
"No... maybe I shouldn’t kill her immediately. That would be too easy, too painless. First, I’ll heal her completely, make sure she’s full of life and hope again. And then... when she looks into the eyes of the person she trusts the most... I’ll make her watch as you—no, as I—end her life."
The Dark Ash chuckled cruelly.
"Won’t she fall into despair, knowing the person she loved the most was the one who ended her life with his own hands?"
The moment those words reached Ash, something snapped inside him.
Even though mana manipulation wasn’t possible in this space, Ash realized that his soul-body had the same strength as his real one. That was all he needed.
Without hesitation, he dashed forward at full speed.
In less than a second, he appeared right in front of the Dark Ash, moving faster than thought, with Eclipse slicing through the air like the whisper of a blade in morning fog—aiming straight for his enemy’s throat.
But the moment seemed to freeze.
"Too slow," the Dark Ash said in a calm, disappointed voice.
DIVINE ART OF ETERNAL SILENCE
THIRD FORM: Art of Crippling Regret.
The Dark Ash didn’t move much, but the air around him shifted. The atmosphere grew heavy and absolute, as if nothing in the world could disturb him now.
"Absorb," he whispered calmly.
He caught Eclipse effortlessly with his bare hand—but strangely, his skin didn’t get cut or damaged. His fingers moved like liquid across the blade, redirecting the strike to the side with flawless precision.
Then he muttered, "Rebound."
A devastating palm strike hit Ash square in the chest. The impact was so strong that it knocked the air completely out of him, sending him flying backwards through the space like a leaf caught in a hurricane.
"Oh, Ash. If it were outside, it would have been far too difficult to harm you, but in here... this place is just perfect," the Dark Ash said with a slow, deliberate grin that sent a chill down Ash’s spine.
Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it...
If this keeps going on, I’m really going to die here.
Ash screamed inwardly, a silent panic gripping his heart, but he knew there was nothing he could do at this moment.
He had thought his sword arts could wait, that mastering the runes and understanding runic magic was more important right now.
But in chasing knowledge, he had let his blade rust.
Sure, he trained it, he practiced... but was that really enough? Could simply swinging a blade every day, without focused intention, without devotion—truly sharpen a warrior’s edge?
The Dark Ash was different.
He had done nothing but swing his fists, without food, without sleep, for centuries. He had devoted everything to his hunger.
But Ash? He only practiced a few hours each day, and most of that was basic repetition.
The difference between them was obvious.
It was undeniable.
He hadn’t studied or practiced any of his sword arts seriously because he believed mana amplification, enhancement spells, and versatile combat techniques would always be enough.
He had faced strong opponents before and prevailed with just that.
But now, standing on the edge of defeat, he realized it had all been arrogance. Blind confidence. And now, as the truth hit him like a wave, he couldn’t help but regret it all.
This is the price of my arrogance...
Just as the weight of his regret began to crush him, something unexpected happened.
A warmth began to spread. Slowly, steadily, his wounds started to close.
The Dark Ash’s eyes widened, his voice laced with disbelief. "Wait... how is that even possible?"
Ash blinked and turned his focus outward, just as the Dark Ash did.
That’s when they saw it.
The soul essence, which had previously been gently nourishing Ash’s soul to support him, was now shifting its purpose—it was no longer nourishing but actively healing his damaged soul instead.
"Oh... so that’s how it is," the Dark Ash muttered, understanding finally dawning in his voice.
"Well, that’s fine too. After all... judging by how quickly it’s being consumed, it’ll be completely used up in about five minutes of real time. And in this place, five minutes out there is the same as five days in here."
He paused for a moment and gave a twisted smile.
"And five whole days is more than enough time for me to break you apart piece by piece, while enjoying every second of it."
But Ash wasn’t listening anymore. His focus had shifted completely, because he noticed something strange—something useful.
While Omni Thought was active, the Dark Ash was unable to read his thoughts.
To test it, Ash purposely imagined himself launching an attack, and carefully observed the reaction.
There was none.
He didn’t hear it...
Maybe it was because the number of thoughts rushing through Ash’s mind had become too overwhelming—like a hundred rivers crashing into each other all at once.
So, he took that chance and began flooding his mind with as many thoughts as possible.
He thought about random things, memories, spells, battle theories, even nonsense—and then, hidden among that chaotic stream, he placed his real thoughts carefully, like wrapping a needle in layers of silk.
And unbelievably, it worked.
This is why I love Omni Thought...At this pace, even I can barely follow my own thoughts...
The Dark Ash clicked his tongue, visibly irritated now.
"Tsk. Looks like you’ve found a loophole," he said coldly, narrowing his eyes at Ash.
"But it’s pointless in the end... because none of this matters if you still can’t stop me."
***