On the other side, there was a man riding a mighty war horse with lush black fur and demonic armor that exuded a savage grey qi. By all metrics, he should have been emboldened and confident to cut Dyon down where he stood.
Yet… He was trembling in fear.
Unlike the previous Famine's, he didn't allow his balance scale to hover before him. Instead, he gripped onto it tightly, his eyes practically leaking with tears.
He clearly wanted no part of this battle, but some invisible power was forcing his hand. He had no choice.
"Are you going to attack? Or are you just going to stay there?"
Despite his appearance, Dyon's voice hadn't lost its strength. It might have been a bit hoarse, but the underlying power hadn't faded at all.
"If you really are just going to stand there, do you mind handing over your satiation qi? I'm in quite a sorry state as you can see."
Not wanting to continue watching Famine try his best to respond, Dyon threw out another line.
"D… d-don't kill me."
Hearing this voice, Dyon immediately realized who it was. This was the only voice who had disagreed with the other two who wanted to kill Dyon. It seemed that the other two were like War and Conquest, then. Or, rather, the true War and Conquest and not like those previous iterations that couldn't even speak like Famine was now.
Dyon raised an eyebrow. Well, it seemed like he did, anyway. All anyone else would have seen was the rain of blood down his face curve and flatten.
"Why is it that you fear me so much?"
Famine trembled. "I-I don't dare to say. Definitely don't dare to say."
What a joke. If this version of himself didn't understand, that means that version of himself didn't want him to know yet. In that case, who was he to step in. Wouldn't that be asking to die?
Dyon couldn't be bothered to care about this answer. Or rather, he seemed to not care. It was impossible to tell whether these were his true feelings, or if something else was influencing him to react like this.
"Then just give me your balance scale and leave." Dyon decided to say.
"I… I can't do that either…"
Famine had no idea where Dyon got the strength. But one moment, he was standing more than ten meters away from him. But in the next, he was sitting atop his horse's head, facing him directly.
Famine could only cry as his balance scale was snatched from his hands.
"You… How…" Famine really sounded like he was sobbing. Dyon almost felt bad for him.
Dyon shrugged. "I just happened to realize that void will happens to be universal… [Devour]."
Famine watched as his long-time companion was greedily swallowed by Dyon. The balance scale was basically no different from his flesh and blood. Dyon had no idea when he started, but he soon realized after Famine began to scream in agony.
"Oh…" Dyon stopped for a moment. But the damage was pretty severe, he had already absorbed at least 50% of the white qi within the scale, and his comprehension of the Concept of Balance deepened by several levels.
"… Your weapon refinement is different as well. It's no wonder why I felt your craftsmanship is a level above even the dwarves. It isn't that you're actually more skilled, it's that the techniques you use are a level higher. How magical…"
Dyon remembered that when he saw the golden doors etched in battles of the past, his immediate reaction was that they were far more beautiful than even the weapons forged by the dwarves. It seemed that he wasn't entirely wrong, but he wasn't entirely correct either.
If the dwarves could use this technique… Maybe the greatest treasures to ever grace the cosmos would be created…
"Sorry about that." Dyon patted Famine's shoulder.
What made the technique of this world so amazing was that much like its special qis, their craftsmanship was imbued with a sort of 'faith' as well. Famine qi encompassed the emotional trauma of hunger rather than just simulating hunger. Likewise, these treasures embodied wills of their own as well.
For Famine's balance scale, its core essence was that of apocalypse Famine. This made this weapon incredibly powerful. However, at the same time, the tradeoff was its connection to Famine's life as well.
As a result, when Dyon began to devour the balance scale, Famine felt as though it was he, himself being devoured.
It was no wonder Dyon didn't notice this earlier. The previous iterations of Famine, War and Conquest were basically nothing but cheap imitations and puppets. They didn't speak, nor did they cry out in pain. Only Conquest showed the slightest bit of emotion, and that was contempt. Though that contempt didn't last very long.
Dyon tossed the balance scale back to Famine. Since he had tried to protect Dyon before he felt this 'fear' of him, Dyon didn't feel right killing him just for a bit of power. He was close to perfecting his Eternity's Balance even without it.
"You can go now."
Famine was stunned. "You… You're really letting me go…?"
"Yea." Dyon responded plainly, hopping off of Famine's steed's head. It seemed the poor horse hadn't dared to move either.
"… But…"
Famine was completely stunned. This wasn't a man known for his mercy. What was going on?
Unfortunately, much like others in his position, Famine had too little understanding of Dyon. If no one wronged him first, he had no reason to retaliate.
"… AGGHH!"
Dyon's brow furrowed, his neck snapping back toward Famine. But what he found were the etchings glowing beneath his feet even as Famine was swallowed by the ground below just like those who came before him.
It seemed that even if Dyon let him go, the trial grounds had no intention of doing so.
"… If this was going to happen anyway… I would have just absorbed it all…"
Dyon knew that he was quite a soft-hearted individual. It was very rare for him lash out against those who were undeserving, even when not doing so was a bit detrimental to him. However this had to be the most direct punishment being soft had gotten him.
