SHK CH 729; Sol vs Asura (End) (Patreon)

As Sol grew in power and reached the threshold of the Demigod rank, he started looking back into himself and the power system of the world. 

Out of all the ranks, the Duke rank particularly intrigued Sol because it seemed to have limitless potential. 

The Zone

It was bringing one’s inner world and truth into reality.

It was not something that beings at a high rank would usually do. King rank and beyond had no more need for their Zone.

It was nothing special. When one reached a high rank, they were busy altering the laws of the world and incorporating them.

But as a Dimensional mage, Sol saw things differently. 

A zone could be, in many ways, a world entirely on its own. 

***

“Do you know, an ideal world requires harmony to function. A Fine Balance.”

A world was the harmony of all its elements: the earth, the wind, water, fire, and everything else. They were all different things when viewed separately, but together, they formed a complete world. 

A world needed harmony to function, even if that harmony was chaotic.

“And do you know what happens when that balance is distorted?”

Four lights of different colors shone on Sol's fingertip before fusing in a perfect white light, and he pointed his finger at Asura as if he held a gun.

He mouthed, “Destruction.”

<<Mini Light of Destruction>>

Now that Sol had greater mastery over his power, it was possible to use the Light of Destruction in such a way. Each attack lacked overwelming power but he needed no charging time.

At first, only one light ray was fired, but soon, a dozen more followed, and Sol, now akin to a Machine gun, never let Asura leave his sight.

Booom!!

A massive explosion erupted. 

Thousands of Light of Destruction detonated at once, distorting, shattering, and tearing apart the space itself. 

At the spot where the mountain once stood, nothing but a giant crater remained. Everything within a few miles was absolutely erased. 

Well…Nearly everything.

“Still alive?”

The answer came not in words but in steel. 

Space itself was sliced apart. Sol swiftly stepped back, and the sword strike tore through the place where he previously stood.

Hovering over the hair, he looked down at the bloodied Oni.

“So you also survived that?”

Asura’s eyes burned fiercely, ignoring his wounds, he asked, “I thought you would show me the true might of your Name? If this is all, I will be truly disappointed.”

 Asura launched his own attack, his six swords all moving simultaneously in a massive omnidirectional slash. He had no name for this technique. He needed no name for it either. 

Sol snapped his finger, hundreds of Light of Destruction detonated, intercepting the attack of Asura and dispersing it instantly, and rushing at him.

Asura did not stop. A series of chaotic, twisting, and erratic slashes. A gleam of ecstasy flickered across Asura’s face, and then he burst into joyous laughter.

“Continue!“Hahaha!”

Crack~!

Space fractured like cracked glass. A powerful sword technique and yet no philosophy held in it.

He was not a swordman. 

He was nothing but a madman who happened to swing a sword.

Using a slight gap he noticed, Sol launched two projectiles at extreme speed toward his chest.

With a sickening sound, a hole opened in Asura’s chest, burning his internal organs and reducing them to nothing. 

“Gotcha!” Asura screamed, using this momentary pause, he swung his sword. Two of his arms elongated and traced a dizzying arc. 

Sparks flew as they came into contact with Sol’s scales. One blade grazed the side of his head. Strands of severed hair were scattered in the air. The other bit into his arm, cutting his flesh and severing his arm.

Asura snickered, “You are truly strong. But you are still too young. Sadly, you will have no chance to learn from your mistake. You should never have defied a god.”

“Is that so?”

Sol looked at the arm flying in the air and the blood flowing from his body. The pain registered, but he was able to control it. This was simply a minor wound. Though Asura’s divine power seemed to hinder his healing factor, his arm would grow back. 

Holding his bleeding stump, he spoke, “Since you so graciously gave me a lesson. Let me share one with you as well. My greatest strength is not my body.”

Speaking so, he gave one look at Wukong and Lilith, who were watching the combat far in the distance and gave them only two orders.

Close your eyes and flee.

 The two immediately flew away at their highest speed. They did not know why Sol gave them such an order, but their instinct was screaming at them that they truly did not want to know.

…This was perhaps the best decision of their lives.

Asura noticed the two fleeing, and a bad feeling started to grow in his mind, but it was already too late.

“...My greatest strength is my soul.”

And so, Sol shed his mortal body and showed his divine soul. A giant of light that seemed to cover heaven and earth took his first step in the world, a thousand eyes covering his body, witnessing the past, present, and future. 

Deus. 

The power and stature of a god and the price of looking at the true form of a god were something worse than death. 

From Asura’s seven orifices, blood started to burst.

This was something that should never be described. Something that should never be witnessed.

But he saw it. Heard it. Felt it. 

–And in that moment, he tried to understand what he was looking at,

His mind screamed and twisted and tore. 

Once a god, he was now nothing but a mortal, and a mortal could not understand divinity.

Eyes? Mouth? Holes? They stared at him. They whispered, screamed, and sang. A mixture of young and old, men and women. A litany with no end.

“Arghhh!!!”

Asura screamed and trashed wildly. The man who had laughed even as a hole pierced his chest was now reduced to a crying mess. A pain beyond anything he had ever felt was tearing his soul apart.

Had he been a simple mortal, his own existence would have already been extinguished, granting him the sweet release of death. But as a god, his soul was sadly strong enough not to collapse immediately.

The price of laying his eye on Sol’s soul in such a direct way was simple: His soul began to melt. 

***

Deus watched the one called Asura. There was no joy, no sorrow, no interest. Only complete and absolute indifference.

Deus knew. Though he was now weak, that punny thing was once a divine entity, and given enough time, the shock of witnessing his true form might calm down. 

But all Deus would never give him that time.

Though ‘He’ did not remember why ‘He’ was fighting Asura. It did not matter. 

A punny entity dared to defy ‘Him’. 

Erasing his existence was only fitting. 

The white light started to turn black. Deus’ giant palm fell on the Asura, covering him, devouring him, absorbing him. 

That thing screamed. Even with the power of the End being used, it managed to survive for some time. 

That was only because Deus was still inexperienced. 

But the consciousness of Asura, now submerged in the power of End and the body of Deus, saw something. 

Within the endless abyss of Balance, he witnessed countless truths that transcended the very Boundaries of this world. 

At the very end of it all, he saw something that could not be described. Something that came from nothing and yet was the Origin of all things.  

It was not something a fledgling demigod could possibly withstand. In a desperate attempt to survive, he locked himself in his own mindscape and yet this was still not enough.

They said Knowledge was power. 

But too much knowledge was poison.

And now that very poison was devouring his soul inside while his body was getting devoured by the power of the End outside.

Deus continued to bombard Asura with an infinity of information. 

Asura’s awareness screamed. He severed his memories and dissolved his ego, and only after halting his thoughts and dissolving his self was he finally able to escape the pain and suffering Deus was inflicting on him.

In that very moment, in a last flash of lucidity, Asura understood.  The one he was facing was related to Adam or was Adam himself.

Fear and regret filled his heart when he understood that the best thing he could have done was to never involve himself with Sol.

Sadly for Asura, it was too late. 

And so died Asura, the God of Struggle. 

His ego shattered, his divinity devoured, and his existence erased. 

There would be no third chance for him.