"U-uh...?"
Kuzon felt very disoriented as he opened his eyes. His whole body felt strange, as though he had been stripped of so much power.
Everything around him felt surreal, but it wasn't until after he opened his eyes and took in his environment that everything started to make sense to him.
Or, at the very least, it cleared him of a certain confusion. Although, it gave him a new one in the process.
"Where is this place? Where am I?"
Kuzon stood—or rather, he was floating—in a completely blank void.
It was a simple white plane, with nothing around for miles and miles.
This place defied what Kuzon already knew about the world. It was just... empty.
"Welcome to the Realm Of The King. This is my Original Magic." A voice appeared from behind Kuzon, causing the boy to swiftly retreat from his position.
"No need to run." Once again, the voice came so close to Kuzon that the boy felt Kido was right behind him.
>FWOOOOOSSSHHHH<
Thankfully, he was still in his transformed state. Kuzon picked up his pace and tried to remain moving. However—
"It's pointless, really."
—no matter what he did, Kido's voice still seemed to cling to him.
'What is going on?'
"I am omnipresent and omnipotent in this world. It's literally my world."
Kuzon heard a snap of fingers, and suddenly, he felt heavier than normal.
'W-wha—?!'
The new weight of this world forced him to fall uncontrollably. He couldn't fight the crushing weight on him, and he kept descending even deeper into the pure white space.
"I can do and undo."
Suddenly, a vast grassy land appeared amid the white space.
"Wha—?!" With the speed at which he was falling and the new land that suddenly appeared beneath him, Kuzon knew he was on a direct collision course.
>BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM<
A huge crater formed on the ground, and within it was the young Midas, looking dazed and confused—but unscathed.
"Tch!" Now bursting with more golden power, Kuzon struggled to ascend despite the overwhelming weight of gravity pressing down on him.
And then, he finally succeeded.
>WHOOOOOSSSSHHHH<
Rising from the cloud of smoke and debris, Kuzon looked around him for signs of Kido, but couldn't find any sign that would help his search.
'There's so much Aether here... I can literally see the particles.'
Amazed by this world he currently occupied, the young Midas kept his guard up, trying his best to calmly analyze his situation.
'I can maintain this form for quite a while, but the problem is how to beat Kido.' Kuzon knew his options were limited.
His Arcana didn't work on Kido.
His Original Magic paled in comparison to Kido's.
His Magic prowess was flimsy compared to his opponent's.
In physical ability, Kido far outclassed him.
'He hasn't even used his Familiar yet, and he's not using Mage Mode or anything like that. This is simply how powerful Kido is...'
However, something about that bothered Kuzon. If his opponent was so powerful, why hadn't he killed him yet?
He has had multiple chances to do so already. What is he waiting for? I don't understand...
"Don't worry your pretty little head. Why don't I give you something to do?" Kido's voice echoed all around the strange new world.
In a flash, several swords began manifesting from thin air. They numbered hundreds of thousands, at the very least. Each sword contained a good amount of Aether, and Kuzon was certain that their potential of harm was greater.
'Shit. I can't use [The Emperor].'
That meant he had to rely on his battle prowess.
'At least, until...' Kuzon observed his surroundings and realized that he was surrounded.
The boy knew he was in trouble at this point.
Choosing to use [Marionette] to create counters for these weapons was a valid tactic, but he had to produce as many as the ones that surrounded him.
'I can't make so many if I want to have the same quality they have.'
That meant he had to utilize them strictly for defence.
'I'll create a strong protective layer. But what about offence?'
He had multiple spells at his disposal, but none were so large-scale that they could handle so many threats.
At this point, Kuzon decided to resort to the most optimal solution.
'Xenia, I'll need you to bail me out of this one. We'll need one of your special abilities.' He sighed.
~I thought you'd never ask. Flames Of Erasure, I'm guessing.~
'That's right. I'll handle defence, so just burn through everything.'
~You know, if you just let me loose, I could do more.~
'No... I want to kill him myself. I can't just call it quits before I even try everything within my disposal or because things have gotten tough.'
If Kuzon was being honest with himself, he had a couple of options, but those either required time or couldn't be used for too long.
>WHOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHH<
The blades descended, and Kuzon swiftly used his Marionette ability to shroud himself in the densest layer of thread he had ever created.
The sphere of protection glowed golden, preventing the incoming harm that would cause him great harm.
>CLANG!<
>CLANG!<
>CLANG!<
He felt blade after blade trying to pierce his haven, all to no avail. Like metal scraping metal, the sharp edges chipped at the walls of his thread sanctuary.
"Now, Xenia."
~Yeah, yeah!~
Kuzon's flaming wings suddenly spread outside the ball of protection, shrouding it in golden fire.
And then—
>VWUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH<
—It quickly swept through the massive realm, consuming every blade it spread to.
The Flames Of Erasure acted as their names described. They disintegrated the numerous blades that would have caused more harm and trouble.
In a flash of golden flames, the legion of swords combusted and became vaporized.
~The job is done. But, using you as a medium would have exhausted you a great deal. Are you sure you can keep going?~
At this point, Kuzon was seating within his cot of threads. His eyes seemed tired, but he was still stubbornly resolute.
'I need to spot the location of Kido's real body. Lend me your eyes, Xenia.'
~Will your body be alright? You just used Flames Of Erasure.~
'I should be fine. After all, I plan on ending this soon.'
