2195 Face the Darkness (Part 1)

The bond between Lith and War had protected the Abomination from the blade and the blade from the Chaos that was now harmlessly coating it.

Lith had never learned how to safely wave Chaos spells but he had discovered a few things back in Urgamakka during his battle against Vareen.

His body was partly made of Chaos and once extracted, he only needed Domination to weave it into any form he wanted. The black droplets on the surface of the blade grew in size and power as Lith's black eye lit with purple mana.

Jormun saw the barrage of tier four Chaos spells, Howling Void, and hurled the Origin Flames as fast as he could. The black spears were as thick as a small tree and as fast as a bullet, piercing through the wall of mystical fire like it was paper.

They lost part of their power, but they still struck with enough force to lift Jormun off the ground. Regular Adamant equipment would have been turned into Swiss cheese but the Kingslayer armor was comprised of tons of compressed metal.

Between the hardness of the purified Adamant and the Spirit Barrier imbued in it, the armor held. Several centimeters-deep dents formed on its surface, making Jormun kneel to the ground while coughing out blood.

The two men stared at each other with respect, the fight was probably the hardest they had ever had. Not just because of the power of the opponent, but because neither of them had any killing intent toward the other.

There was no grudge between them nor any ill feelings.

They were both fighting to protect their family and the people they loved. Every time they looked at each other, they saw their own determination shining in the opponent's eyes, refusing to back down.

Jormun, Lith, and everyone else in the room could see that they were one the distorted mirror image of the other.

The emerald aura of the Dragon rose as he took another deep breath just like the black aura of the Abomination burst forward as he prepared another volley of Chaos spells.

They were both violet cored Awakened so with every move they made and with every beat of their cores they weaved one spell after the other.

'Order and Chaos, Leegaain, what have you done?' Kalla knew how important her role was, especially now that the repeated destruction of Hystar's body had sped up the Eyes' scan again.

Yet she couldn't help but turn around from time to time. All the fights taking place in the Headmaster's office were equally savage but the one between Jormun and Lith reminded her of the conflicting primordial forces.

The elements of creations backed the Emerald Dragon while those of destruction empowered Lith's every move. If one incarnated life the other was the embodiment of death.

'I would love to add another element to Chaos and try tier five spells, but I can't afford the risk. Not now!' Lith could feel Solus' pain through their bond and knew that it was only a matter of time before the Annihilation ran dry.

He unleashed more Howling Voids and hurled a jet stream of Void Flames. Each one of them was aimed to kill or at least maim. Even though Lith didn't hate Jormun, he couldn't afford to let him live either.

The Emerald Dragon felt the same toward his little brother, but it wasn't reason enough to hold his punches. Jormun hurled a volley of Immortal Flames, hiding them behind his tier five Spirit Spell, Dragon Wall.

An emerald construct intercepted the black spears, using its light element to revert Chaos into darkness and then fight it with its own.

Jormun flooded the surface of the Wall with light element while using the earth aspect to make it sturdy, fire to dissipate the kinetic energy in heat, and water to neutralize it.

Dragon Wall wasn't enough to stop the Chaos, but it bought Jormun the time to unleash the Immortal Flames. The emerald flames ate at the weakened spells, destroying the Void Flames as well before hunting Lith down.

They wouldn't stop chasing their prey until they hit or the energy comprising them was dispersed. Lith had barely the time to take another breath and emit Origin Flames from all over his body before the emerald tide was upon him.

The violet and the green flames struggled like angry beasts battling for dominance. The conflict lasted solely for a split second before they exploded. Jormun's Immortal Flames had been weakened by the Chaos but his mastery over them was leaps and bounds above Lith's so the clash ended up in a draw.

Alas, Lith was the one surrounded by mystical flames and took the full brunt of the explosion with no defense except for the Spirit Barrier of the Voidwalker armor and by boosting the Adamant with mana.

His equipment had already taken many blows and his core was weakened by the ever-growing hunger of the Abomination. The barrier shattered and the Voidwalker armor cracked as the blast sent him sprawling on the ground.

"I'm really sorry, little brother." Jormun panted more than spoke, dragging his feet while he walked toward Lith, lifting his blade to give him the death blow. "I wish there was another way but there is not. I'm doing this for my son."

'Your life force is in disarray and your body is battered.' The Void said. 'You have done everything you could, now it's time you let me out.'

Lith faced Derek in their Mindspace, the time slowing down until Mogar seemed to stop around them.

This time there was no rage or contempt in Derek's expression.

He didn't mock Lith for his failure nor did the Void belittle his efforts. He was simply resigned to losing everything once again. To turn into an Eldritch if that meant going back to his family and at least telling them goodbye.

The Void offered Lith his hand in an affectionate gesture and sighed in sadness when he took it.

'No. I'm not going to let you out. I'm going to let you in.' Lith pulled the Void with so much willpower that he fell forward, making the two figures overlap. In the Mindscape, the strength of the muscles was irrelevant, only that of the mind mattered.

'I may not know what you or even I exactly are, but one thing I know. I have no multiple personalities. You are just a part of me so I'm going to borrow your power.'

Lith had already experienced a similar pain before back when he had fought against the Odi in Kulah or the Void in the Hogum mansion, but never like this. The Chaos of the Void was now running through his veins, trying to replace the darkness.

A black pillar erupted from the ground and Lith's shadow body started to change despite his best efforts. Chaos and darkness fought as the pillar expanded. Unlike those that accompanied the birth of an Emperor Beast or a Guardian, it contained no world energy nor did it push Jormun away.

The black pillar wasn't a sign of Mogar's blessing but that of a being that was cutting its ties with the planet. Its color was due to the complete absence of world energy, the Void creating a literal void that demanded to be filled.