Kael let out a low, almost menacing growl, looking back at The Umbridge who stood behind him. The gash on his left cheek had begun to bleed again. Noticing this, he wiped away the residual blood and let out a low, sedated scoff.

  “You’re assaulting me now?” At the same time as the question, violent crimson flames burst from Kael’s palm.

  The flames erected up like a small pillar, forming into a broadsword composed entirely of flames. Within the scorching heat in Kael’s hands, an illusory handle and blade could be seen, etched with ancient patterns corresponding to the Apocalypse pathway.

  The Umbridge remained in their spot, unphased by the sudden environmental changes. The enigmatic figure gazed into the sky, watching as I began to gulp down the Order 7 potion. Seeing this, the figure let out a low, peculiar chortle.

  …

  As the warm liquid entered my mouth and ran down my throat with each gulp of the potion. It tasted salty and sweet at the same time, possessing an almost sulfuric aftertaste, mixed with something resemblant of ashes and cherries. But I didn’t care about the taste of the potions; I only cared about having power—that power—the power strong enough to even fathom hurting Kael.

  After I finished the bottle, I tucked it away in the pocket of my jacket and landed on the snowy dirt road. In an instant, a surge of nausea and cramping overwhelmed my senses, making me hunch over and clench my stomach. I watched as red and black energy emerged from nowhere, forming an illusory scroll filled with knowledge.

  The scroll unfolded, corresponding mystical symbols collapsing and converging together to form ancient, rotten-looking text.

  Order 7: Wraith

  Abilities: Short-Form Teleportation

  The ‘Wraith’ can teleport short distances, but such an act depletes much spirituality. It requires either mystical methods to quickly replenish, or physical, mental, and spiritual rest can allow the ‘Wraith’ to recover.

  Another ability formed on the scroll.

  Apocalyptic Embers

  The ‘Wraith’ can harness mystical fire composed of apocalyptic energy. These flames don’t burn the user. Both hands will produce these flames, but the hand with the corresponding ‘sigil’ will produce flames of the brightest and most effective caliber.

  Upon reading that, the Apocalypse sigil on my left palm began to buzz and vibrate. It slowly began to light up, glowing a faint crimson color. Unfortunately, my left hand wasn’t my dominant hand.

  Another line of text formed on the scroll.

  Partial Titan Body.

  The ‘Wraith’ can gain access to their partial Titan Body, a form where their physical, mental, and spiritual capabilities are greatly enhanced. Using this form depletes massive amounts of spirituality and mental power, but these determinants are erased once the user gains partial divinity through demi-god advancement.

  Once the user advances to a Hand of God or a Hand of Evil, the user can use their Titan Body whenever and wherever with no adherence to losses or drawbacks unless their given opponent possesses certain countering abilities or knowledge. At the level of an Angel or True Deity, one can constantly adapt this form and suffer no drawbacks.

  A final line formed on the illusory scroll.

  All current abilities have been enhanced. Passive calamities have been enhanced, Chaos Instinct has been refined, now stemming from any bodily location, and a ‘Wraith’ can now enter the Astral Void for longer periods of time.

  As the pieces and bits of information diffused into my mind, I felt an almost numbing coldness course through my body, making me shiver and stand up. My gaze fell on the fight currently taking place a few feet away from me.

  The Umbridge moved like a snake through the street around Kael, appearing and disappearing before the latter could land a proper hit. Watching this, I couldn’t help but feel a tad bit impressed. Seeing Kael stumble like this—even for a moment—was immensely satisfying. Kael carried his flaming sword, swinging it around and trying to hit the enigmatic entity.

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  “Elusivness isn’t always the way of a good fighter,” Kael hissed, swinging his sword in the spot where The Umbridge would spawn next. The moment the blazing flames touched the body of the Spiritual Creature, the cloaked figure burst into flames. An illusory roar seemed to echo throughout the entire village, as if echoing from the very epicenter of existence.

  The roar was deafening, making me cover my ears and clench my jaw. Even with my hands covering my ears, I could still hear the roar as if it were right beside me. At that moment, I watched as The Umbridge’s body diffused into nothingness, dissipating into crimson flames and illusory traces of ash. In the spot where The Umbridge once stood, Kael towered over the pile of semi-transparent ashes with a small smirk.

  “They’ll be out of the battle for the next few days,” Kael said proudly, looking back at me.

  “I’m alright, Kael merely destroyed my physical manifestation for a short period of time.” An illusory voice sounded in my ears.

  “Thank god.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

  In the next second, Kael’s fiery blade was already inches from my neck, preparing to slice my head clean off. I hadn’t anticipated this attack, and I was far too slow to have known when Kael had moved. The blade lodged itself into my neck, crimson blood spurting from the wound in arches.

  My vision swam as the fiery blade of the sword lodged itself deeper into my neck, tearing through layers of muscle and flesh. I let out a cry of pain, fresh tears flowing down my face. At this point, it was a miracle the latter hadn’t sliced my head clean off.

  “Tell me, Silas, look at all the chaos that started mere moments after you embraced your other self. Look at all of the chaos, disharmony, and destruction. Innocent lives are at risk because you didn’t listen to Silas. Silas knows better; Isaac… only knows pain.” Kael’s voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned in, warm breath tickling the hairs behind my ears.

  Before Kael could slice my head off, the flames on his sword suddenly extinguished, a regular, metallic blade now lodged in my neck. It was still painful, but not as painful as the flames that seared into my flesh.

  The sword began to tremble and vibrate uncontrollably before flying out of my body and landing blade-first into the wall of the nearest building.

  The gaping wound in my neck began to patch itself up, flesh weaving layer by layer as if the very fibers of my body were composed of thread used in sewing. I felt a disorienting wave of adrenaline crash over me, watching as my skin morphed from paleness, gradually darkening to an ashen gray. The horns on my head expanded, curling outwards like that of a goat.

  The muscles of my body didn’t change that much, but I did feel my body get a few inches taller than before.

  It took me half a second to realize that this was my Titan Body—or an unrefined, chaotic version of it.

  Was it triggered by an unnatural survival instinct? This change was unwarranted.

  Kael took a step back, smiling as he mused to himself. “My, my…”

  I looked down at my hands, noticing how my usually dull and trimmed fingernails had grown in length, edging towards full-on claws. The nails were ink-black with faint red tips that seemed to ebb and pulse with apocalyptic energy. The ground beneath my feet trembled slightly, fungi and detritus material sprouting from the earth.

  It was similar to what happened to the bully back in my home reality, and the dog.

  Kael extended his hand, the sword dislodging itself from the wall and flying back into his grip. He looked up at me now that I had grown a few inches taller than he was.

  “It’s widely known that powers can activate when their user is under stress or on the brink of death,” Kael began.

  His grip on his weapon tightened marginally as his gaze swept me up and down, taking in my new state. It took him another moment to continue speaking.

  “But I don’t think that’ll happen when my emperor has the pleasure of slicing your head clean off.”

  I sighed, fists clenching as crimson flames burst from them. “Maybe I’ll deliver you back to your emperor in a gift box, tagged with a note on what you’re doing here.”

  Hearing my words, Kael couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath.

  The flames on his sword reignited, burning brighter and with more ferocity this time. “I take it you’ve made your point clear on whether or not you’d join and help me in completing this ritual. I’ll merely do it myself and drag your pitiful self to the feet of the emperor."

  Kael dashed forward, raising his weapon. This time, I managed to react on time, my titan-enhanced senses having registered the attack moments before Kael could even decide to run forward. But these senses only gave me foresight, not the power or strength to necessarily stop them.

  I raised my fist, swinging it in a left hook that barely connected with Kael’s cheek. The latter ducked, sliding under my arm as he lodged his weapon into the soil, anchoring both of his hands on the hilt and propelling himself upwards, snagging the weapon back out of the earth and lowering it to my forearm.

  The hit still hurt a ton, but the blade wasn’t enough to permeate my toughened flesh. I swung my fist again to Kael’s chest, but he had already ducked and made a move to my lower abdomen.

  I made a move to weave left and dodge the attack, but to my surprise, the sword’s curved mid-strike, lodging itself right in my gut. My eyes widened as a furious amount of blood gushed from my mouth, running down my chin and pooling on the soil beneath my feet.

  How the hell did that blade curve?

  I fell to my knees, my hands moving to dislodge the weapon, but Kael had already removed it, giving the bloodied blade a sensual lick with his tongue. As my blood gathered in his mouth, a faint buzzing sensation gathered on my forehead and left palm.

  “Inevetibility is the most powerful force in the universe.” Kael smirked to himself, the sword disintegrating into crimson flames.

  He took a step forward, approaching my body. I looked down at the gaping hole in my flesh, noticing how it wasn’t self-repairing.

  What the hell is happening?