How long has it been?
Skyler didn't know.
How many days had passed?
He lost count in the middle.
He was famished, utterly depleted, and on the very precipice of unconsciousness, his body filled with injuries, his clothes soaked and stained crimson with his own blood as he battled against the creatures of Evol.
Yet, no matter how many creatures he annihilated and shattered into fragments, the relentless onslaught never ceased.
And he knew why.
The creatures were made of Evol, their forms similar to flickering, colorful flames.
So, whenever he got rid of one, two more would quickly form from its remnants.
Around him, there were wyverns, dragons, serpents, drakes, lindworms, and even dual or triple-headed entities that Skyler couldn't identify, their forms shifting and swirling.
The air was heavy with the scent of decay and the metallic taste of blood. Through it all, his master's voice never stopped ringing in his ears, as he imparted knowledge that sounded like utter nonsense to him.
What, in the name of everything that is holy, was the calamity even trying to teach him?
That blasted bastard!
If only he could punch him once!
Skyler swung the spear in his hand, quickly unleashing a torrent of light spears towards the creatures behind him. Upon impact, the spears shattered, harming all in their path.
His breathing was exceedingly ragged, as he staggered, nearly losing his balance.
It was at that very moment, with his mind in a haze, that he unconsciously tried to float on his own to leave the pit he was tossed into.
Being a 10-star, he could do that.
He just didn't know the process.
His tired eyes lit up momentarily when his feet suddenly lifted from the ground, and he desperately tried to leave the pit.
Skyler nearly cried tears of joy when his fingers finally grasped the edge of the pit.
His sore muscles screamed in protest as he cloaked his body in the Shadow Shroud, a spell that enveloped his body in a barrier of shadows, and kicked at the creatures of Evol, who tried to drag him back down.
The dark barrier absorbed all the attacks coming at him, turning them into dark Evol, which he then unleashed in a blast, sending all the creatures within his radius away.
"H-haha... take that, bitches!"
Just as he was about to heave himself out of the pit, his eyes met the familiar pair of eyes, reaching out to pry his fingers loose.
Skyler's eyes widened in shock.
"No, no, no! Master! Please!"
Despite his pleading, the calamity simply hummed softly. Then, with its other hand, it flickered him back into the pit, followed by a calm yet slightly disappointed voice.
"You still haven't learned anything yet."
Skyler finally couldn't take anymore and snapped, veins bulging on his forehead.
"How am I supposed to learn when I don't understand anything? It's been ages since I have been fighting creatures that are twice my size! Can't you see my battered state?!"
The calamity raised a skeptical brow.
"The creatures you are facing are weaker than you. I made sure of that. And it's only been like three days. Dramatic much?"
Skyler gritted his teeth in anger and forced himself to parry the attacks coming at him. His head was throbbing. Still, he focused on the words escaping the calamity.
He still didn't understand anything.
One more day passed with him struggling to survive inside the pit. But on the fifth day, he finally grasped the meaning of the words the calamity was trying to teach him.
Skyler froze, rooted to the spot.
As if a dam had opened, a torrent of unknown knowledge flooded his mind.
Seeing him in a trance and the dazed look on his face, the calamity fell silent. With a mere wave of its hand, all the creatures of Evol around Skyler stilled in their places.
He stood there for a long time. Then, like a faint whisper, two words escaped his lips.
"Cataclysmic Thunderclap...?"
Just as he uttered the words, all the Evol in his lightning elemental crystal disappeared, and he lost consciousness, failing to watch the destruction those words caused.
With his unconscious body at the center, a storm of silver lightning, accompanied by a sound of thunderclap, erupted, obliterating every single creature of Evol in sight. Even the pit quivered, its sturdy walls crumbling.
Ultimately, around his unconscious form, only tiny sparks of silver lightning danced, amidst a landscape reduced to utter ruins.
The calamity chuckled and jumped into the pit, landing next to his unconscious body.
"Good job. It took me a year to learn this skill. Yet you learned it in just five days? Hmm, you are indeed very different."
It lowered itself slightly, and with a flick of its wrist, healed all of Skyler's injuries as if the young man had never been injured and also replenished his elemental crystals.
Skyler's lightning elemental crystal was slightly cracked when every bit of Evol was sucked dry from it when he suddenly used such a powerful skill; however, it, too, was mended swiftly, becoming even stronger.
The calamity let him sleep for a while.
A regretful sigh escaped its lips.
"A pity, truly, that you lack the power to unleash the true potential of this skill."
The four pairs of massive wings resting on its back shifted as it sensed the presence of another powerful entity in its vicinity.
"Hmmm? The owner of the tomb?"
Its indifferent eyes narrowed. Unlike Skyler, who had believed the calamity was trapped, it was not. It had inadvertently crossed over here while fighting the Queen of Spirits, who had blatantly refused to submit to it.
Who could have predicted that time in this tomb was still, and it would meet Skyler?
The calamity vanished from its place and appeared before the presence it had felt. It was a cloud of divinity that looked angry. It raised a surprised and amused eyebrow.
"A fallen god...? Well, I was wondering how the time in this place could contact so many timelines. So it was because of you."
The cloud of divinity before him bristled in rage, an oppressive voice leaving its form.
"How dare you destroy my tomb? I ignored you when you trespassed in this place and even fell asleep here for countless years...! Yet, you destroyed it while my attention was elsewhere? Do you comprehend the harm you've inflicted upon my recovering form?"
The calamity appeared unfazed.
"You are noisy. Just a fallen god trying to oppress me? Do you even know who I am?"
A smirk played on its lips as the gleaming golden and blue scales, which had encased its whole form like armor, finally dissolved, revealing a handsome, yet familiar face.
A tall man who appeared to be in his late twenties. The four pairs of wings behind his back fluttered, confirming his divine nature.
If Skyler could see him now, his jaw would have dropped, witnessing his own face. It's just this person looked older and was way taller than his small stature. His hair was more gray without the faint hint of brown.
The cloud of divinity was stunned by the transformation. No, no, it was even more dumbfounded when the man before him finally revealed his concealed strength.
His aura was so strong it felt like dust.
It stuttered, looking to flee the place.
"You... You!! What's an angel doing here?? No, you are not an angel! A spirit?? Wait a second, you have my race's blood in your veins as well... how?? And that divinity... What in the world are you actually??"
The blue-eyed man simply chuckled, sending dreadful chills down its spine.
"I don't know. A mix, perhaps?"
The cloud of divinity tried to flee.
It was a half-human who had once been one of the gods of time, under the heaven, only to fall when it angered some angels.
From then on, it had remained inside this tomb it had created when it was a mortal, attempting to recover its strength and rise. It never thought it would encounter a being so powerful! A being who seemed to have affinity with one of the 3,000 Thrones!
However, how could it flee when the blue eyes were fixed upon its form?
The man simply waved his hand, and the cloud of divinity cried out as its form was consumed by a fissure, just like the entire tomb. Vanishing into oblivion forever.
The man straightened his silver clothes.
"A fallen god of time, yet so weak. It didn't increase my divine power at all."
Shaking his head with a sigh, he vanished toward Skyler's location, the gold and blue scales once again concealing his face.
"Now no one would disturb us. Well, not until the Spirits come looking for me."
He mused. How funny.
He was calling him Skyler.
Then, what about him?
"Did my time end? How? Who ended it? Those two in his subconscious seemed to not know me, even when they sensed me."
His voice turned completely empty.
"Or is it that I ceased to exist?"