Abyssal Awakening

As the light faded away, Ria and Luke finally saw the reality of Nyzel's realm.

A fractured sky split into three violet cracks.

The heavens tore apart like shattered glass, revealing the cosmic swirl of ominous energy flowing behind the cracks. A jagged spiral of lightning flickered through the gaps and struck against the tall obsidian pillars around them.

The ground cracked beneath their feet with floating pieces of debris crackling with electricity.

It felt like the first boundary they had to traverse but far far worse.

At the centre of this maelstrom, Nyzel stood. There was now a gaping hole in her chest but she paid it no mind. Instead, her energy continued to soar while being in this environment. The lightning that arced across the sky brought her satisfaction.

This was how it was always meant to be.

She was always meant to be the bringer of destruction. The icon of slaughter. The Sky Sovereign that brought terror to all who saw her.

Raising her hand, she narrowed her gaze.

"Five fold lightning."

At that moment, Ria felt the realm cry out around them as lightning converged towards their location.

"!!!"

Gritting her teeth, Ria mustered all of her energy in one split moment and slammed her hand down!

A cage erupted around the two, forming a network of pathways where the lightning could travel away from them.

Shocked by the speed of the cage's deployment, Ria glanced down at her hands and forced herself to smile.

This environment wasn't beneficial to just Nyzel. With her being also focused on lightning, this realm was helping her accumulate the charge she needed.

Of course, the benefits she received couldn't be compared to what Nyzel receives but it was better than nothing.

"I won't be able to use castling too much since I'm focusing on making sure she doesn't just kill us." Luke reminded. In a clash of two personal realms, he had to make sure his doesn't collapse.

Once it does, Nyzel will be able to freely manipulate this realm as she pleases.

"Got it!"

Creating several lightning nodes, Ria shot them towards Nyzel as her figure began to teleport through the nodes.

Seeing this, Nyzel snapped her finger and created a halo of lightning behind her.

Immediately, the clouds around them began to rumble with flashes of lightning striking towards Ria.

Lightning grid!

Creating a network of nodes, Ria's eyes darted around her as she nimbly dodged every single strike.

Unfortunately, Nyzel was harder to trick as she appeared above Ria.

Lightning coiled around her weapon as she slashed down.

"Five fold lightning."

Five after images manifested behind her strike as Ria didn't hesitate to use her heel to kick the side of the weapon, knocking it off course.

*BANG!!!

As the five after images descended onto the weapon, the realm was cleaved in half before repairing itself.

Cold sweat dripped down Ria's back as she understood that even with her life steal, there was no chance of her surviving if she took the full brunt of that attack.

An absolute one hit one kill.

"The child over there doesn't seem to have a full grasp of the realm around him." Nyzel suddenly spoke, locking weapons with Ria.

Furrowing her brows, Ria's pupils constricted as she wanted to break free but Nyzel refused to budge.

The halo behind her began to spin rapidly as lightning flickered in the clouds.

The entire realm was reacting to Nyzel's actions!

"LUKE! DODGE!" Ria shouted, detonating a lightning node in Nyzel's face but Nyzel blocked it with her own lightning.

In an instant, countless lightning strikes crashed against Luke's board as cracks appeared across the surface.

*BANG!!!!

Seeing the explosion where Luke was standing, veins bulged on Ria's neck as she clenched her fist.

Forming a knife hand, coils of lightning manifested along her arm.

Shinsei Raikiri!

Slashing up with her hand, Ria could feel her muscles tearing apart as her body screamed out in pain.

The torrent of lightning channelling through her flesh and bones before arcing towards Nyzel destroyed everything in its path.

Pushing herself away from Nyzel, Ria rushed towards Luke.

Thankfully, the smoke cleared and he was there, unharmed with several broken pieces around him.

"Don't worry about me, I'm holding back the realm but that doesn't mean I'm not aware of my surroundings." Luke's panted.

The Visionary!

He knew that he was the weak link right now despite giving Ria buffs.

Therefore, he understood that Nyzel would no doubt target him.

The instant Nyzel locked weapons with Ria, something that she hadn't done before, Luke felt that something was off.

He immediately activated his second resonance piece and saw the grim future ahead of him!

In order to counter this future, he assigned two bishop pieces and multiplied them using the Queen piece. Having the spectre of Alice create four Void Fluxes, he then overlayed the inner defence with a mix of Knights and Paladins.

However, this also meant that the buffs that he could give Ria were now beginning to run out.

If they don't end this fight soon, he'll have nothing that he can give. Once that happens, Ria will lose the buffs that are letting her keep up with Nyzel.

Seeing the unspoken warning, Ria understood that time was short.

She had to end this fast!

###

I see the panic in their eyes. Their desperation. Their window of victory disappearing slowly with each attack.

Wounded I may be, but this child in front of me is more tenacious than most.

Had it been in the past, I would've praised her openly. Proclaimed her a warrior.

But this is not the past. My mind is on the verge of crumbling. Around her, I see the shadow of my enemies. The targets of my vengeance.

I see their shadow overlapping her.

I see a sea of flames.

I see a crumbling ruin.

I see my muddied and blood soaked hands burying my family one by one, carving out their memories onto stone.

How vile.

This realm of mine.

The thunderous roars of my rage and sorrow, how unpleasant.

Ah. . . Venaris, would you mock my current predicament? Hah. . . I can do nought else but laugh.

Halric, what would you have done?

I raise my arm and summon the call of lightning. Each attack, each strike, I watch as the child in front of me begin her counterattack.

She learns, she adapts. She finds the gaps in my defence.

I see her desperation as she clung to life, knowing that her failure meant the death of them both.

Perhaps this was what I lacked.

In my rage having seen Venaris's death, I neglected the defence of my home. Instead, I sought out the fires of vengeance, killing everything and anything in my vicinity.

Had I gone back, had I not lost myself in sorrow, perhaps there would still be something for me to protect. If I had gone back in time, Halric might still be alive.

And even if my home was fated to fall, I would've died alongside it.

Instead of this vile existence that I am now. A wandering ghost of the past. . .

The only survivor.

". . ."

I see the shadows of Venaris and Halric. I feel their pitiful gazes. They weep for what I have become.

I had all the chances to rebuild and take that step forward.

. . .

But I couldn't. I couldn't leave them behind. I could not find the strength in me to rebuild.

So perhaps this was a long time coming.

I live yet I am not alive. My heart beats yet I feel no love.

Only cold survival.

Lonely, desolate, devoid of warmth that you brought me.

I feel the strength disappearing from my limbs little by little.

I see the distant shore. . .

But I cannot go yet.

I will end things on my own terms.

So watch carefully child of man.

If my fall is destined to be by your hand, observe the final flight of the Sky Sovereign.

Hear the roars of my lightning and bear witness to my majesty.

###

Pushing Ria away, Nyzel looked at the sky and a wild smile appeared on her face.

Behind her, lightning wings manifested as she soared into the sky.

The entire realm flashed with countless arcs of lightning as Ria felt the goosebumps on her skin.

Hidden by the shroud of darkened clouds, Nyzel's silhouette unfurled her wings, blocking out the sky.

"Six fold lightning." Her voice echoed out in eerie calmness.

With a single, final flash of light, the clouds parted to reveal a spear of raw energy descending towards them.

Six silhouettes flashed behind the spear as it collided in an instant!

There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. This was unavoidable.

Is this where she falls?

Ria felt the urge to drop her weapon.

However, she knew that Alice would mock her if she were to give up at this stage.

If she were to die, she'll die fighting!

"LUKE! EVERYTHING ONCE MORE!"

Ria shouted as she began to stack charge after charge of lightning on her weapon.

With all of her Sigils now burning at full power, Ria felt cracks spread along her body with Luke's pieces infusing themselves into her.

The flow of energy that amplified with each second.

Designating the falling spear as her target, marks began to manifest around the weapon.

Turning herself into a stream of lightning, Ria lunged towards the weapon.

"ARGGGG!!!" Letting out a shout, Ria slashed with everything she got.

Shinsei Raikiri!

*RUMBLE!!!

The pain that Ria was anticipating never came. Or perhaps death was too fast for her to feel it.

But as she opened her eyes, she found herself in a field of flowers where the gravestones were.

The spear had disappeared and her weapon was embedded deep into Nyzel's chest.

She stood in front of Ria, a gentle smile with blood flowing down the corners of her lips.

She wanted to curse her killer, to make them carry out the vengeance she wanted fulfilled.

But perhaps that's a fate too cruel for her.

It was this vengeance that caused her to neglect her home after all.

This time. . .

This time she'll simply rest.

Stumbling backwards, she collapsed in front of her own gravestone.

Her vision began to blur as strength left her body. Blood poured from her wound, soaking the flowers and grass around her.

She felt life slipping away from her fingertips but she did not fear.

After all, beside her was her family.

'Ah. . .Venaris. . . Halric. . .'

I'm home.