The devastating collision between my golden fists and Adrian's ancestral guardian created a blinding explosion that flooded the room with light. For a mont, everything froze—Adrian's confident smirk, the looming shadow figure above , the crackling energy between us.
Then reality fractured.
The phantom ancestor shattered like glass, its dark essence dispersing into wisps of smoke that faded into nothingness. The shockwave knocked Adrian backward, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Impossible!" he gasped, stumbling to regain his footing. "No one has ever broken through the ancestral phantom technique!"
I stood tall, golden light still emanating from my body. Each breath I took seed to make the glow pulse brighter, casting harsh shadows across Adrian's increasingly desperate face.
"Your ancestor's strength is impressive," I admitted, flexing my fingers. "But it's not enough."
From the doorway, Conrad watched with astonishnt. "How is this happening?" he whispered. "Liam is only at the Sixth Layer Master realm. Adrian's cultivation is far superior."
Adrian composed himself, straightening his robes with a forced calmness. "An interesting trick, Knight. But breaking my technique once doesn't an victory."
He spread his arms wide, dark energy swirling around him again. "I can regenerate endlessly in this chamber. Every wound heals. Every technique replenishes. You'll exhaust yourself long before you defeat ."
I studied him carefully, noting how the room had already repaired itself from our clash. His strategy was clear—wear down until I could no longer fight.
"Ti is on my side," Adrian continued, conjuring another, smaller phantom behind him. "Let's see how long your chaotic body can maintain that impressive output."
He sent the phantom rushing toward . I sidestepped easily, countering with a palm strike that dissolved it instantly.
"Your problem isn't ti," I said, moving toward him with deliberate steps. "It's understanding."
Adrian launched a barrage of shadow spears that whistled through the air. I deflected each one, never breaking stride.
"Understanding what?" he scoffed, backing away. "That you've stumbled into a trap you can't escape?"
I caught the last spear in mid-air, crushing it in my fist. "No. Understanding that immortality has its price."
Fear flickered across his face for the first ti. He quickened his attacks, summoning spectral chains that sought to bind my limbs. I shattered them with casual swipes of my hands, the golden light making short work of his dark constructs.
"You speak nonsense!" Adrian snarled, his composure slipping. "My body's regeneration is flawless. I cannot be killed here!"
I was close enough now to see the sweat beading on his forehead. "Tell , Adrian Bauer of the Earth Fiend Valley—do you fear pain?"
The question caught him off guard. "What?"
"Pain," I repeated softly. "You can heal from any wound, but does the pain diminish? Or do you feel every excruciating mont of it?"
His eyes widened slightly—enough confirmation for .
"That's what I thought," I said. This соpy wаs gеnеrаtеd frоm соntеnt аt
Before he could respond, I moved with blinding speed, driving my fist straight through his chest. Blood sprayed from the wound, splattering against my face and clothes. Adrian gasped, his body jerking violently.
I pulled my hand free, watching as the wound began to close almost imdiately. Adrian panted, his face contorted in agony despite the healing.
"You see," I continued conversationally, "immortality doesn't an invulnerability. You feel everything. And that's your weakness."
Adrian staggered backward, pressing a hand to his now-healed chest. "You—you can't win. I'll regenerate from anything you do."
"I don't need to win," I replied. "I just need to break your will."
With that, I lunged forward again. This ti, I grabbed his head between my hands and twisted sharply. The crack of his neck breaking echoed through the chamber. His body went limp, eyes rolling back.
I let him drop to the floor, watching dispassionately as his body twitched and jerked, the bones realigning themselves, tissues knitting back together.
When he gasped back to life, terror had replaced arrogance in his eyes.
"That's one," I said quietly. "How many tis do you think you can endure that before your mind shatters?"
"You're insane!" Adrian scrambled backward, his movents panicked. "This—this won't work!"
I followed unhurriedly. "Let's find out."
For the next several minutes, I thodically broke every finger on his hands, one by one, waiting for each to heal before moving to the next. Adrian's screams bounced off the walls, his pleas growing increasingly desperate.
"Stop! Please stop!" he begged after I'd reset and broken his neck for the fifth ti.
Conrad watched from the doorway, his face pale but resolute. I could see understanding in his eyes—this wasn't cruelty for its own sake. This was the only way to defeat an opponent who couldn't die.
"Your regeneration is remarkable," I acknowledged, snapping Adrian's wrist with clinical precision. "But your mind is still human. How much more can it take?"
Tears stread down Adrian's face as his wrist repaired itself. "I—I surrender! Take whatever you want!"
"What I want," I said, kneeling beside him, "is for you to understand sothing fundantal about power."
I grabbed his throat, squeezing just enough to restrict his breathing without cutting it off completely. "True strength isn't about being unkillable. It's about having the resolve to endure what others cannot."
Adrian's eyes darted frantically around the room, seeking escape. Finding none, they returned to , filled with dawning horror as he realized his predicant. His supposedly perfect trap had beco his perfect prison.
"Your body may be immortal here," I continued, "but your mind is breaking. How long before you go mad from the endless cycle of pain?"
To demonstrate my point, I drove my fist into his sternum, feeling the bones crack under the impact. Adrian howled, his back arching off the floor.
"Every ti you heal," I explained as he gasped for breath, "the pain resets. Fresh. Intense. Undiminished."
I stood, looking down at him with cold calculation. "You trapped yourself in here with , Adrian. Not the other way around."
His face, once smugly confident, now reflected pure terror. I saw the mont his will began to crumble—his eyes lost focus, his breathing beca erratic, his limbs trembled uncontrollably.
"Please," he whispered, voice hoarse from screaming. "I'll do anything."
I crouched beside him again, my voice dropping to match his whisper. "It seems you've misunderstood the situation. I trapped you, not the other way around."
Reviews
All reviews (0)