Jake’s Pride of the Malefic Viper pressed Ell’Hakan as he managed to force the nahoom back by unleashing a blast of arcane mana, and using that opening, Jake rapidly charged and loosed an Arcane Powershot.
More flesh and blood were torn off as Ell’Hakan was sent spinning, but he stabilized in mid-air, only to unleash a crescent wave of starlight that tore apart the tower Jake had quickly dodged behind.
Nocking another arrow, Jake barely stepped down in time to teleport away as a beam of moonlight struck where he had just been standing, giving him just enough time to shoot another arrow.
A flash of sunlight from above sent another laser of pure fiery destruction down, the energy mixing with the moonlight as Jake felt the attempt to slow down his movements once more, but with Pride, he managed to resist and avoid the beam.
The heat still singed him, and it put Jake in a bad position as Ell’Hakan used his movement skill to close in again. Jake was forced to take a nasty cut to avoid lethal damage, his movements not as fast as he would like to as even if Pride allowed him to avoid much of the double domain’s effect, he wasn’t entirely immune.
Still, Jake got in a good hit in return, stabbing Ell’Hakan in the chest and tearing out another piece of flesh. By now, the nahoom barely looked like a nahoom anymore. Most of the skin and flesh on his chest had been sheared away little by little, only to be replaced by starlight. He also only had a single leg left, with even that being partly replaced with the same celestial energy.
It was evident he was out of vital energy to regenerate his actual physical body and that he was just doing stopgaps to keep himself moving. The limits of Willpower truly shocked Jake, as he wasn’t sure if anyone else could have kept going in the current state that Ell’Hakan was in.
Jake would compare the current Ell’Hakan to a leaking faucet... no, a faucet that was filled with holes while still being turned on. Usually, this faucet would be connected to a water tank – the soul and his resource pools – and needless to say, having the faucet be this fucked up would empty it out pretty damn quickly.
However, Ell’Hakan kept himself going by constantly filling up his water tank. He’d effectively placed a waterfall of faith energy right above his water tank, pouring in energy constantly to keep him going.
Even as Jake began to poke holes in the tank itself, making it leak all over the place, Ell’Hakan kept filling it up constantly. The waterfall just kept pouring... and while he, in his extreme delusion, believed he would survive once it stopped, Jake was certain of the opposite.The moment he ran out of his constant torrential supply of faith energy, his water tank would empty within seconds, resulting in his death. Of course, there was one more way to kill him before that happened... to destroy enough of the water tank to make its structural integrity break down entirely.
With the cracks showing even on his physical body, Jake knew the nahoom wasn’t far off from collapse. The Willpower of Ell’Hakan was not only actively controlling the waterfall pouring in faith energy, but the duct tape making the current water tank not fragment and break, and at some point, the nahoom would simply not be able to keep up anymore.
Of course, Jake couldn’t say his own body was in a good state, either. He’d been under the constant exposure of domains for most of this fight, slowly whittling away at his resource pools as he had to fight it off. Not to mention the fact he had to replace his scales many times over, had to keep Presence active for much of the fight, and all the hits he’d taken to avoid more serious ones.
It all added up, and contrary to Ell’Hakan, Jake didn’t have an endless supply of energy... not that he would want to enter a state similar to Ell’Hakan’s, as the second he’d done so, he was already a dead man walking. His soul had taken damage beyond repair a long time ago, and he was realistically just waiting for death right now.
Jake’s own soul was also already pretty damn strained, having kept Arcane Awakening fully active for a while now. His skin was slowly peeling from the overflowing arcane energy running through his body, and his internals had taken some damage from both the arcane energy and celestial energy battling inside of him. He hadn’t lost any limbs yet, true, but only because he’d avoided those kinds of injuries at all costs to avoid a decrease in combat ability. Due to the current state of Ell’Hakan, trading blows simply wasn’t worth it most of the time, so even if Jake could bisect Ell’Hakan in trade for an arm, he wouldn’t do it.
That was the case despite all the chances Ell’Hakan gave Jake to do so, and even when they clashed once more, and Jake got a great chance to cut off the nahoom’s one remaining limb, he refused as he didn’t wanna risk losing his hand in return. Instead, he just landed a light stab before getting away, avoiding taking an injury himself.
“You fight with fear,” the Celestial Child said, giving pursuit. “Why? Do you not trust in your own will and desire to live like I do? Where there is will, there is a way. I believe, no, I know my soul is one with the stars and that I am eternal no matter what happens to any of my vessels. You cannot kill me... but it appears as if you believe I can kill you. That’s why this isn’t a battle you can win. You don’t believe in yourself enough.”
Jake ignored him entirely, as quite frankly, responding was a fool’s errand. What was the saying again? Never argue with delusional people because they’ll drag you down to their level and beat you with just how bloody out of touch with reality they are? Okay, Jake definitely got that one wrong, but the point still stood.
Besides, Jake needed to focus all he could on the fight, as he planned on walking away from it alive, unlike the looney he was facing.
As another half a minute passed, Ell’Hakan’s state only got worse and worse, only with Jake landing what few blows he could. No, the real cause of damage was the poison in the nahoom’s body, rotting away what little flesh he had left, resulting in nearly the entire remaining leg now also being made of starlight.
Soon, only a bit of his upper chest and head would remain flesh and blood, the rest nothing but energy. This extreme soul damage would naturally result in Ell’Hakan dying, but to Jake’s surprise, the deteriorating state of Ell’Hakan’s soul integrity also led to something else before that happened...
Because, right as the two of them clashed again, Jake felt something react. Ell’Hakan also clearly noticed as the two of them made distance from each other. Right then, the entire Void Sphere Dimension also began to shake violently as tears in reality disrupted space itself as the shortcomings of the item Arnold had created in a few months now showed themselves. Then again, perhaps it was unfair to put anything on Arnold as it was questionable how many items for C-grades could handle what was happening.
“You...” the Celestial Child said, staring at Jake as space shuddered all around him.
Jake just answered with a light smile and a shrug. “It’s your fault that the connection became too unstable.”
Because it looks like even the system considers you close to already dead, Jake added mentally as he saw the notification explaining what was happening.
Divine Bargain of the Malefic Viper successfully completed.
It was only a guess, but Jake assumed that with Ell’Hakan’s deteriorating state, his connection to the Planetary Pylon had indeed become too damaged, allowing the Divine Bargain to go through pretty quickly. At least it was faster than Jake expected it to be if he was being completely honest. Ꞧ𝒶ΝöᛒËŝ
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Which did make him ask two things... first of all, what was his reward for the Divine Bargain?
And secondly... what was happening to the planet as a result of the bargain?
--
Moments ago, the Planetary Pylon was pulsing, struggling, as it fought off the snakes wrapped around it as they only got tighter and tighter. Then, suddenly, a green glow appeared as the eyes of the snakes opened all at once, a hiss sounding out that sent a subtle wave of energy pulsing out from the Planetary Core before fading away slowly.
In the wake of this fading light, the snakes were gone... along with the entire Planetary Pylon that appeared as if it had just been whisked out of existence entirely.
Only a second passed before the entire core room began to shake, the walls cracking before crumbling, with the entire thing collapsing in upon itself, making the core room no more. This destruction only began to spread as soon everyone would know what happened to a planet that had it’s Planetary Pylon taken away in the most literal sense of the word.
“What the hell do you need a random Planetary Pylon for? What’s more, with it separated from its planet...” Duskleaf asked as he stared up at the Planetary Pylon that was already cracking and breaking apart. Having been disconnected from the planet, it would soon crumble to dust, making it entirely useless.
“Hey, be nice,” the Viper said with crossed arms in a faux offended tone. “This was a gift from my dear Chosen. One that he expects something in return for, sure, making it a bit more transactional than I would have liked, but isn’t it only polite to always give gifts in return when receiving one? Also, more than anything, it’s the thought that counts, and I can only appreciate the thought behind this one.”
Duskleaf frowned as he realized. “Wait... if Jake gave it to you... and considering the aura of the Pylon... did he?”
“That’s right,” Vilastromoz said, wiping a tear from his eye. “I’m just so proud. Jake finally destroyed his very first planet... oh, how they grow up so fast.”
As the Void Sphere Dimension was soon approaching collapse, two things happened at once. Firstly, right after Jake thought about what he would get for the Divine Bargain, a small item appeared right in front of him. He didn’t even have time to Identify it before it simply disappeared and entered his storage.
Probably for the best, too, as Ell’Hakan charged at him right then, trident held high. The moon and sunlight got refracted by the tears in space, but Jake and the nahoom were unaffected even as the world around them was seemingly falling apart. Jake was pressured back, going on the defensive, and soon enough, the entire Void Sphere Dimension shattered like a mirror.
The two of them returned to the real world immediately, where it was quickly made clear why the poor Void Sphere Dimension had been destabilized. Right as they appeared back in reality, Jake had to dodge to the side as a torrent of lava erupted from below, enveloping Ell’Hakan as a geyser of lava several kilometers tall shot up from a fissure in the ground below.
After the Void Sphere Dimension had been broken, they’d also returned to the desert they originally entered it from, but that desert had now rapidly changed. Massive earthquakes powerful enough to move entire continents had opened up fissures in the ground for all the sand to fall down, lava spat up in different places, and the sky was filled with thunderstorms as even the atmosphere was rapidly unraveling.
“You have broken my world,” the Celestial Child said, his voice cold. “For that, I shall break you in kind.”
The nahoom’s power suddenly intensified even more as a newfound stream of faith energy fueled him. For a second, Jake was confused about where it came from, but he soon understood.
Not everyone had sacrificed themselves the first time around, but now that the world was ending, they, too, had given their lives to help support their god.
His increased level of power instantly put pressure on Jake as he was repeatedly forced back. The nahoom had no regard for defense anymore – not that he had a lot to begin with – and his increased speed made him even more dangerous as he tried to end Jake’s life then and there.
Jake thought quickly as he dove into one of the newly opened fissures in the ground, barely avoiding a spout of lava and rock fragments being thrown up. Ell’Hakan gave chase, sending a large crescent wave of starlight forth that tore the sides of the fissure apart and opened a path through the lava spouts.
Focusing on his Sphere of Perception and danger sense, Jake purposefully dove toward an area where the entire side of the fissure was cracking and falling apart. Right as Ell’Hakan reached Jake again, he turned around and blocked, the shockwave from their clash sending Jake flying back while also breaking the already cracked rocks apart right beside them.
A mountain-sized slab of rock instantly tumbled down on Ell’Hakan, giving Jake a moment to retreat further as he, this time, took to the sky. An explosion behind him let him know that Ell’Hakan was hot on his trail. Jake looked up and saw the thunderclouds hanging far lower than usual, and the layers of the sky had already fallen apart as the energy of the planet was rampant.
Constant thunderbolts with enough power to injure even Jake struck down on the ground, creating massive craters all around, as it felt like the entire planet was trying to exert whatever energy it had left. The chaotic environment made simply existing there a hazard... or, in Jake’s case, an opportunity.
As Ell’Hakan approached again, Jake purposefully flew to where he felt a sense of danger. Ell’Hakan reached him right as Jake dodged out of the way of a lightning bolt that instead struck the nahoom, blasting him down toward the ground.
A beam of light shot up toward Jake from the newly created crater, a smoking Ell’Hakan flying up a moment later. Jake kept retreating, making use of the environment whenever he could to strike at Ell’Hakan while avoiding taking too much damage himself.
However, even if Jake had an environmental advantage, Ell’Hakan still managed to get in his fair share of attacks. One of his legs was nearly severed as he was stabbed by the trident right as it exploded, Jake barely hanging on to the limb because of the bones.
The collapse of the world also only accelerated, happening far more swiftly than Jake could have ever expected. As the fissures grew, entire landmasses were raised due to the shifting plates, the stone not made for such rapid change as it cracked and broke apart, entire country-sized slabs of rock breaking apart down the middle, only making the destruction worse as their split caused pressure elsewhere, accelerating the collapse.
Jake and Ell’Hakan were approaching one of these massive slabs of raised land that looked like a giant wall stretching as far as the eye could see. The two of them exchanged several blows before Jake dodged out of the way, making Ell’Hakan’s trident release a blast of energy into the giant slab of raised rock.
Within this rock, a large magma chamber resided, and as the land had been compressed as it was raised, the magma had been under extreme pressure... right as a trident stabbed a hole into the chamber, making the entire thing expand outwards.
An explosion of magma and stone erupted from the side of the mountain, covering Jake and Ell’Hakan in the liquid molten rock in an instant. The magma itself couldn’t do any damage to either of them, but what it did do was blind them momentarily.
Ell’Hakan quickly reacted as he swept away the lava as best he could, glimpsing Jake, who was coming straight for him. Without any hesitation, the nahoom stabbed through the lava and found purchase as he struck Jake right in his chest, piercing the heart.
For a brief moment, an expression of pleasant surprise flashed across Ell’Hakan’s face before quickly vanishing as the Jake he’d just stabbed dissolved into black smoke right as an Arcane Powershot pierced through the smoke and struck the unprepared Ell’Hakan straight in the neck.
The power of the attack, combined with the poison having rotted much of the neck already, resulted in a head flying into the air as Ell’Hakan was decapitated by the arrow. Jake didn’t celebrate, though, as even with the head gone, there was no notification.
What he saw instead was the nahoom stumbling back for a single step... only for a new head of pure energy to appear. However, right as it did, Ell’Hakan’s entire body looked like it flickered as if he was losing his form. Cracks began to visibly grow as he mimicked his planet by rapidly approaching collapse.
Yet, even in this state... the delusion persisted. The form of Ell’Hakan appeared to stabilize for a moment as he regarded Jake.
“This vessel is nearing its end... and so is my world. Both shall be buried here, and this part of the galaxy shall become a memorial, but do not forget my promise. You shall be buried alongside this vessel and planet both.”
Jake knew with certainty whatever was about to come as the Celestial Child’s final attack. One that would consume whatever he had left, alongside all the remaining faith energy.
Preparing himself, Jake took a defensive stance as Ell’Hakan raised his trident toward the sky. Lighting was still striking all around him, the shaking of the world from the planet’s collapse deafening... yet as he raised that trident, the world seemed to relax.
Far above, the sun and twin moons began to glow brighter than before... and then they moved. The two moons began to slowly move in front of the sun, a blanket of darkness falling over the world as they did so, and Jake’s eyes opened wide as he felt that what was about to come wasn’t something he was confident in surviving. This realization came right as the Celestial Child spoke what would more likely than not be the last word at least one of them would hear:
“Eclipse.”