Darian felt his consciousness stabilize. At the same time, a wave of pain surged through his entire body. His heart was pounding like crazy — he wasn't dead. Then, he opened his eyes.
A violet sky, magical and glowing under the rays of a sun, was the first thing he saw.
His body felt like shattered glass — a stronger breeze could probably tear him apart completely. Not a single bone seemed intact, but with just one thought, a warm and soothing energy wrapped around him.
He got up suddenly, looking around in panic.
His eyes shook. He was standing at the center of a colossal crater. The entire castle above the underground chamber had been wiped out. What kind of power could do something like that?
Desperately, he looked around... but didn't see any sign of his allies.
The only thing in sight was a pile of rocks about two meters tall — the legs of that Primitive Beast were sticking out from underneath it.
It was still alive, for now — Darian could feel it. Maybe because of its ridiculous body… or because Nayara had died and her blessing had been deactivated, the creature had managed to survive. But his dagger was still inside it, and it would die on its own.
His eyes trembled. Was he the only one who survived?
Then, he felt a gaze on his back.
When he turned around, he saw that ethereal, sacred silhouette floating just a few inches off the ground.
Rage filled his chest. A bloody thirst for revenge made his whole body shake.
The soft, feminine voice sounded indifferent: "...weak, so weak... and also a coward."
"YOU! Why did you attack us?!" Darian shouted, clenching his fists.
"Because I can. The weak don't get to demand anything." The voice snapped back coldly, then she waved her hand.
Suddenly, the whole planet started shaking.
Darian stumbled, stunned. Was she really going to blow up the whole planet now?
The sound of the ground splitting into massive cracks echoed from all directions. On the horizon, he saw intense violet light rising from inside the fissures in the earth, shooting up into the sky like beams.
The silhouette let out a quiet sigh. Then her hand stretched forward...
*Whooosh!*
Space-time seemed to twist. It was like a black hole sucking everything toward her hand. But only the violet light moved.
In seconds, everything stopped.
Darian saw a five-meter-wide violet sphere form in front of the silhouette. He could hear heartbeat-like sounds — it was pulsing like a heart, and it left him stunned.
"The law core of this universe?" he muttered. That Primitive Beast must've hidden it inside the planet. So this silhouette had come to take it?
He watched the sphere pulse faster, then quickly shrink down to the size of a fist. The silhouette then turned her face toward him.
Darian felt his soul and body freeze. It was a cold sensation — death surrounding him.
"Don't worry." The emotionless female voice spoke again. "You won't be alone. I'll head to Earth soon. Everyone there will disappear... and reunite in another life."
Darian clenched his fists.
His brothers, his home... he had to go back, had to protect them. He couldn't let this happen. He had to do something.
He regained control of his body — all fear vanished.
"What do you want? Why are you doing all this?" he tried to speak seriously.
"Oh?" He felt her gaze shift. Was that... mockery?
"Guess intelligence isn't really your thing. Well... I like fun, just like my father. If you manage to surprise me even a little, I might answer your question."
Darian's eyes widened. Something felt off. Was he not thinking straight again? What had he missed? He stared at the silhouette, then looked again at the two marks on his wrists.
"I'll be fair." She waved lightly, and a mix of white and black light appeared in front of her, merging together.
Soon, a human figure identical to Darian formed. It looked completely physical and solid — like a real clone of him.
"It has the exact same power and intelligence... maybe not... actually, I think it's a little smarter. I'll tone down its strength just a bit, to be fair."
Darian saw some of the light leave the clone. It has the same power?
He scoffed and waved his hand, making eleven flying daggers appear around him.
With another gesture, black lines flowed out of his body and coated the daggers. It wasn't much, but it was all the black power he had.
As for his white power, he still had enough to fully heal himself three times. Darian looked at his opponent with a faint smile — a clone couldn't handle him.
"Die!" — right in the middle of his thoughts, the clone roared and rushed toward him.
Was he really planning to use his fists? Darian thought, stunned. How could this thing have the same power...?
His body froze. A black aura flared up around the clone's whole body.
"Fuck!"
Darian activated the daggers; ten of them shot forward, surrounding the target from all directions.
One stayed in his hand, and he moved to the side.
But the clone just smiled, and his eyes lit up with a white glow.
The daggers closed in, but with a single smooth motion, a white barrier erased all the black power. It didn't just nullify the power — the spatial energy that moved the daggers also vanished.
The clone turned toward Darian and slammed his feet into the ground. Then he leapt forward like a black bolt of lightning, vanishing in a blur.
'WHAT?! How does this thing have the same power!?'
He didn't even have time to be shocked that the clone was using his powers — the worst part was that it clearly knew how to use them in ways Darian had never figured out.
Darian focused, then stepped aside.
The figure zipped past him, hitting only air.
"Oh? At least you've learned how to sense danger. What a waste." — the female voice wasn't emotionless anymore; now it openly mocked him without mercy.
She knew about the curse? Darian thought the obvious, but didn't have time to dwell on it.
The clone moved right after missing. His feet hit the ground and launched him back again.
This time, Darian could see more clearly — his awakened senses were in full effect. He could feel the black power inside the clone, just like he'd sensed it in the Risen and that Primitive Beast.
Darian dodged again.
Then...
*BANG!*
There was no third dodge.
The clone was way too fast and, worse, instantly changed its attack patterns and fighting style. So much so that, even though Darian could sense where the hit was coming from, he still couldn't avoid it.
Darian felt his face cave in. He was sent flying and crashed hard into the ground. His bones cracked, his organs twisted.
But he got up in a second, healing himself.
The first thing he saw...
Was a black fist inches from his face.
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
This time, it wasn't as strong, but it was fast and brutal, hitting him over and over, not letting him pull away.
This clone knew about his magical regeneration. It wasn't dumb enough to go all-out, knowing Darian could just heal afterward. Instead, it struck continuously with minimal force, not giving him a second to recover.
Darian tried to heal in desperation, but the hits kept coming. Each one landed in precise spots to cause the most pain and fractures.
It messed with his focus. His healing slowed. The wounds came faster than he could recover.
He felt his world quickly go dark...
"Hey... this is getting kinda ridiculous, huh?"
The voice came again, and then the clone stopped attacking.
Darian dropped to his knees, coughing up a ton of blood, feeling his life slipping away.
"Ugh... now I actually feel a little bad."
The voice echoed, and the clone waved with a twisted expression. A white light flowed toward Darian, healing him completely.
Darian stood up, eyes filled with confusion. Then he turned to the silhouette. What the hell did she want?
"It's just a bonus round... even though you've technically died twice already... oh well, whatever." she said thoughtfully, then shouted, "Focus on the damn target, idiot!"
Darian turned to the front, startled.
*BANG!*
His face was smashed by a punch like a sledgehammer.
"Jeez... what a moron, but... he's got some willpower." the voice muttered, sounding a bit surprised.
Meanwhile, Darian flew back, crashing into the two-meter pile of rocks nearby.