Tyler roared like a cornered wild beast.
His eyes were red, bloodshot.
He charged forward like a raging storm, tearing apart the distance between him and Ascil in an instant.
Tyler raised his hand to the sky —
BAM!
From the sky, countless jet-black scythes rose like a rain of death, shooting straight at Ascil.
Ascil growled, tightening his grip on Muramasa.
He swung his sword like a tornado, each scythe that touched the sword shattered into ashes.
A deafening sound echoed throughout the arena.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
Ascil seemed to have successfully defended against it, when —
Whoosh!
Tyler suddenly dashed forward, shooting into the air like a bolt of lightning.
From that height, he looked down at Ascil —
his eyes were cold like a god of judgment.
At that moment,
Ascil felt a chill down his spine.
For the first time, he felt… "death" approaching.
Before he could react,
Ascil's entire body, from his flesh to his bones, suddenly cracked open —
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Hundreds of sharp scythes — grew straight from his body,
tearing apart his flesh, tendons, and blood splattered everywhere!
Ascil didn't have time to scream.
He only had time to open his eyes wide,
feeling every nerve being torn apart,
feeling his own blood dyeing the surrounding space red.
Ascil's body was shredded into countless pieces, floating in the air like crimson petals…
Above, Tyler landed on the ground.
He quietly retracted his scythe,
his icy eyes without a trace of mercy.
Blood, body parts, all that was left of Ascil was scattered in the air, like the broken pieces of a battle with no way out. But, in the vast darkness of death, something strange began to happen.
The remaining cells from his body, though small and weak, gradually began to return.
As if attracted by an invisible force, each piece of Ascil's body merged together, reconnecting each broken cell. Blood from the small pieces gathered, pulled back, flowing out from the healed wounds. The crushed muscles and bones now regenerated in a strange rhythm, as if there was an invisible force that resisted death.
The entire arena suddenly fell silent, only the murmur of the regenerating cells and Ascil's heavy breathing could be heard. In a painful but miraculous way, he opened his eyes. The vitality in his body began to recover.
"Even if my soul is destroyed... I can still be resurrected..."
Ascil gasped, smirking, as he felt each part of his body return to its original state. "Is it a blessing or a curse... that Muramasa has placed upon me..."
Muramasa — the cursed sword. It was not only a weapon of war, but also a part of Ascil's soul. Every time he died, a part of his soul would be lost. But Muramasa never left, not even a small piece, it would always revive him, not leaving him lying there forever.
Ascil stood up, his wounds healed, but his body still ached from what he had just experienced. He looked at Tyler, the one who had put him in this state, but now, a new wave of power surged through his body.
"You think you can destroy me like that?" Ascil said, his voice full of challenge.
Tyler stood still, his eyes wide with surprise. He couldn't believe that someone who had been torn to pieces like that could stand up again. But Ascil's eyes, now, shone with an unbreakable tenacity.
"This is the beginning," Ascil whispered.
Ascil paused in the silence, his eyes no longer filled with anger, but instead with an unusual calmness. He faced Tyler, a slight light flashing in his eyes, as if he was about to impart a secret that not everyone could understand.
"Hey, you... do you know what the nature of a name is?"
"No." Tyler replied, his voice filled with doubt and exhaustion.
Ascil smiled slightly, then looked straight into Tyler's eyes with the determination and calmness of a warrior who had experienced countless battles.
"A being's name is more than just an identifier — it is the root of its being, the fundamental information structure that anchors its existence in reality. Once the name is removed, every aspect of that being — from reason, existence, to the entire causal flow and associated memories — collapses, causing the being to be expelled from the plane of existence and fall into a state of absolute nothingness."
Ascil paused for a moment, as if to draw attention, to make Tyler listen to every word he said.
"The name also carries the story, history, and meaning of the being's existence in the stream of reality. For example, Napoleon — that name anchors the authority, achievements, and great history of France. If that name were to disappear, the entire story of a great Napoleon would also be removed from the information flow of the universe."
Tyler stood still, eyes wide with surprise, unable to believe what Ascil had just said. In that moment, he felt something vast and vague touching the depths of his mind.
Ascil looked at him with a sharp gaze, as if wanting him to understand that the name he bore was not just a way to distinguish himself but a life, an existence in an infinitely vast universe. "Your name, though it may be forgotten, will determine your fate, whether you live or die, you will always be a part of this universe — unless you erase your name from the timeline."
Tyler, despite hearing Ascil's words, could not control his anger. He gripped his scythe tightly, his eyes filled with determination. "What does that have to do with me?" he roared, and like a threatened wild animal, he charged at Ascil, the scythe brandished.
Ascil did not rush, he just stood there, calm as one who had reached the end of patience and understanding. In that moment, time seemed to freeze. The movements around him slowed down, as if everything was being pushed into a silent space where only thoughts and feelings remained.
Ascil did not feel anxious. On the contrary, he felt something new, a power that he had never tapped into before. A power that transcended all reason, that transcended every element of the universe. "The Miracle."
"This power..." Ascil said to himself. He had reached another limit of his being, a state that even Muramasa could not easily understand. "The so-called miracle... is when everything around you stops and you become the only one moving. Reality becomes blurry, and everything is in your hands."
Tyler was still charging towards Ascil, the scythe sweeping across, but Ascil only needed a slight wave of his hand, and everything around him slowed down. Tyler's every move suddenly became like an old movie, where the speed was adjusted to the lowest level, slow as if he was sinking into another world.
Ascil reached out, his eyes shining as if he could see through everything in this reality. In that moment, he saw every movement of Tyler, from the movement of his hand to the change in the air around him. Everything was clear, nothing was beyond his control.
"This is 'The Miracle'… the power to see and control the flow of all things, all phenomena in the universe." Ascil thought to himself, his eyes following Tyler's every move, every single detail that he had not been able to notice before.
Tyler, still unaware of what was happening, continued to charge towards Ascil, but his speed was now like a gentle breeze compared to the slowness Ascil was feeling. Ascil raised his sword, and in the moment of a decisive blow, all that remained was the silent space that enveloped him, only Ascil's existence and his strong will.
He didn't need to rush. "This power… I have awakened."
In a nearby observation room, far from the battle but full of attention, a god with a mischievous demeanor and a child-like personality was jumping up and down, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Uow! He really achieved a miracle! Did you see that?!" The god shouted, his eyes sparkling with joy as if he had just discovered something extremely interesting. His hands waved as if to break the tense atmosphere around him, and it was clear that the energy waves in the room began to vibrate slightly, reflecting the god's emotions.
The people around the observation room were silent, looking at each other in surprise. Some were pensive, some were shaking their heads, and some couldn't help but worry about the dangerous level Ascil was starting to show.
The god, still not satisfied with his excitement, looked outside as if he wanted to reach out and intervene in the battle. "I want to fight him so much!" he exclaimed, his voice childish and full of excitement. He didn't bother to restrain himself even though he knew that, after all, this battle was part of a big game that the "people above" had set up. But at this moment, he couldn't resist the temptation of a potential opponent like Ascil.
"It's really unbelievable..." he couldn't help but exclaim as he watched Ascil's development. From the moment he entered this game, until now, he had proven to be a miracle - an existence that surpassed their imagination.
The god couldn't sit still at this moment, pacing back and forth in the observation room, his eyes still fixed on the projection screen. Ascil's every move made him more and more interested. But in the end, he had to stop, looking at his allies around him, a mischievous smile on his lips:
"Something's about to happen. Keep an eye on him. He'll be the most interesting game ever."
Ascil's every move was no longer just an act of battle; it was a change in the very nature of the world around him. As the magical power of The Miracle awakened within him, everything shifted to a new frequency. It was like being a director in control of an entire movie, a universe running according to a script that he could influence at any moment.
Ascil noticed that Tyler's every movement, every movement, seemed to be slowed down, like a movie being played at extremely low speed. He could see every minute detail of the battle: from Tyler's hateful gaze, to the sweat dripping from his forehead, to the viciousness in each swing of his scythe. His every breath seemed to be magnified, so clearly that it could almost be counted.
With this control, Ascil stepped closer. As he touched Tyler, a flash of light burst before his eyes, and suddenly, a story began to form. Or perhaps it was a movie, a story that Tyler had lived through. Every scene, every moment of Tyler's life appeared like a short film, with memories, emotions, pain, and hope.
Ascil realized that, now, he could manipulate and edit anything in that story. As if he had the power to interfere with Tyler's existence, to change anything he wanted. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind.
He didn't just want to end this war. He wanted to end Tyler's story in a way that he couldn't change.
Ascil smiled, and seemingly without doing anything else, a scene began to form in his mind. Tyler stood there, as if facing his own doom. He held a scythe, looking down at himself. His trembling hand gripped the hilt of the weapon, but instead of attacking Ascil, he brought it towards his heart.
The scene was perfectly staged in Ascil's mind. In that moment, Tyler ended his own story. He stabbed himself in the heart with the scythe, and all the pain, hatred, and everything he had experienced disappeared in a single sharp stab.
Ascil watched this scene without changing his expression. He did not regret interfering with Tyler's fate. In fact, he felt a strange sense of calm and peace. Not because he was an enemy, but because the end of this story was what Tyler needed.
Entering a world where he could manipulate it like that, Ascil realized one thing: fate was not immutable. It could be changed, rewritten, and even erased, if one had the power to do so.