'These two are really sothing else,' I thought, studying Jack and Lucifer as we circled each other across the shattered battlefield.
As expected of the main protagonist and antagonist of the Saga of the Divine Swordsman. Both exceptional in ways that defied normal progression.
I flexed my fingers, feeling Luna's golden sigils pulse beneath my skin while Erebus's crimson armor shifted like liquid across my body. My Soul Resonance was working perfectly, giving access to powers that should have taken years to develop. Yet even with this advantage, the gap wasn't what it should be.
'I defeated Lucifer last ti easily enough, but now?' The thought troubled . 'Even with Soul Resonance, the gap between us is narrowing.'
Lucifer had grown exponentially stronger since our last encounter. He was still behind Jack and —enough to be gradually falling out of our fight—but the rate of his improvent was concerning. His God's Eyes had evolved to track our movents despite our speed, and his control over opposing elents showed a technical precision that rivaled my own.
My attention shifted to Jack, noting the grey flas dancing around his form. He was approaching sothing remarkable—the near-perfect fusion of his two Gifts. The Nirvana Flas were becoming indistinguishable from the Abyssal core he'd hidden for so long. Soon, they wouldn't be two separate powers but a single, transcendent Gift.
"Getting tired, Art?" Jack called out, the grey flas intensifying as he prepared another assault.
I didn't bother answering, focusing instead on deepening my connection with Luna's borrowed power. The golden sigils spread further across my skin, strengthening my Mythic Body adaptation.
Lucifer was on one knee across the field, blood running from his eyes, his dual-colored mana armor fractured in multiple places. His breathing was ragged, reserves critically low. Despite my grudging respect, I knew he'd reached his limit.
Ti to end this.
I directed a complex gravity manipulation toward Lucifer, planning to pin him down while I focused on Jack. The attack should have crushed him completely.
It didn't.
Instead, Lucifer raised his sword to the sky. What happened next made freeze mid-attack.
The sword began to sing.
Not taphorically—it literally emitted a pure, crystalline tone that resonated through the battlefield. The sound vibrated through my bones, through the golden sigils, even through Erebus's crimson armor. It was beautiful and terrifying.
"What the hell?" I muttered, genuine shock breaking through my usual composure.
The fractured mana armor around Lucifer reconstructed itself. His God's Eyes glead with newfound clarity despite the blood still streaming from them.
"Sword Resonance," I whispered, recognition hitting like a physical blow.
Impossible. His mana rank hadn't increased—I would have sensed it.
Yet here stood Lucifer, grinning through bloodied teeth, having skipped entire stages of the Sword Path.
"Round two?" he asked, voice steady despite his previous exhaustion.
Before I could respond, he was in motion—not just faster but fundantally different. His sword was no longer a separate entity but a true extension of himself. Each strike carried perfect efficiency, wasting no energy while delivering maximum impact.
I barely raised my defense in ti as his blade crashed against Erebus's armor. The crimson bone cracked—not just superficially but deep, structural fractures that Erebus struggled to repair.
One hit. One hit had done more damage than his entire previous assault.
Jack's reaction was more pragmatic than mine. He imdiately unleashed his grey flas in a concentrated blast, forcing Lucifer to disengage. But rather than retreat, Lucifer's sword sang a different note, and the flas parted around his blade as if encountering an invisible barrier.
They clashed again, and I found myself montarily forgotten as Lucifer and Jack exchanged blows at a speed that strained even my enhanced perception. Jack's grey flas evolved further, the Abyssal elents becoming more prominent as he pushed himself to match Lucifer's unexpected evolution.
And I—I was suddenly the one struggling to keep pace.
The realization hit with a shock of adrenaline that coursed through my system. For the first ti, I was falling behind. Soul Resonance had given a shortcut to power, borrowing strength rather than developing it organically. But borrowing had its limits. Lucifer and Jack were creating sothing new, sothing uniquely theirs.
I launched myself back into the fray, pushing Luna's borrowed Mythic Body to its absolute limit while allowing Erebus's Deepdark energy to flow more freely through the crimson armor. The combination was powerful, enough to montarily match them again, but I could feel the strain. This wasn't sustainable.
As Lucifer's singing sword clashed with my own blade, I felt the vibration travel through my weapon. There was sothing there—a path, a doorway, a possibility.
If he could achieve Sword Resonance through sheer desperate will, why couldn't I?
I had Soul Resonance. I had Lucent Harmony. I had Erebus. My potential should eclipse his.
In the midst of combat, I reached for that sa connection. My sword was already at Sword Intent, the first stage of the Sword Path. I visualized pushing beyond, forcing evolution through sheer determination as Lucifer had done.
To my shock, it worked.
One mont I was in the physical world, exchanging blows with Lucifer and Jack—the next, I stood in a misty realm of infinite swords. The Sword Path's ntal world, a place I'd only heard described in ancient texts.
Countless blades stretched into the distance, each representing a different understanding, a different potential future. My own sword hovered before , glowing with golden light from Luna's sigils and wrapped in tendrils of Deepdark energy from Erebus.
But it wasn't enough. Intent was just the beginning. I needed to push further, to reach Resonance directly as Lucifer had done.
I extended my hand toward my sword, willing it to evolve, to sing as Lucifer's did. The blade trembled, responding to my desire. Golden light intensified, pushing back the mist, creating a path forward. This was it. I was special too—special like them. I would transcend normal progression.
The sword began to hum, the first notes of what would beco its unique song.
Joy surged through . I was doing it. I was—
A foreign blade slashed through the mist, striking my sword with brutal force. The impact reverberated through the ntal landscape, shattering the fragile connection I'd established. My sword's nascent humming cut off abruptly.
I caught a glimpse of the interfering weapon—not a physical sword but a manifestation of pure will. A warning. A reminder of the proper path.
Reality crashed back around as I was ejected from the ntal world. My physical sword—just an ordinary blade again—was knocked from my grasp by Lucifer's singing weapon. I staggered backward, the golden sigils flickering as my concentration broke.
Jack seized the opening, a torrent of grey-black flas forcing to retreat further. Erebus's armor absorbed most of the damage, but I felt the heat penetrate to my skin. They were both outpacing now.
I called my sword back to my hand using gravitational manipulation, but the connection was gone. The mont lost. The shortcut closed.
As we resud our three-way battle, I found myself working twice as hard to keep up. Soul Resonance was powerful, but it wasn't the sa as natural evolution. Lucifer had found his own path. Jack was forging his through the fusion of his Gifts.
The realization settled in my gut like a cold stone as I deflected another singing strike from Lucifer.
'I had fooled myself thinking I was special like them.'
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