He could feel it, the unnerving wriggling sensation overtaking his body. It was alien, but also felt incredibly familiar.
It reminded him of a time in the past.
The Saint Emperor stood above him, his hand to his chest. His grasp was strong and rough, and the feeling of the mana he pushed into his chest felt just as unnerving as this.
That was the day he awakened Void Manifestation. He would never forget it.
It felt like his body was going to disintegrate. His ego reached the pinnacle of death and surpassed it, barely glimpsing the visage of an even darker darkness.
But in return, he gained something that made him strong.
Pain was power. That was a lesson instilled in him ever since that day.
The torture he endured would make him stronger, and nothing else mattered.
Nothing else mattered at all.
Nothing else was supposed to matter.
"GODDAMNIT!"
He roared in frustration. His fists swung wildly, and throughout the course of this battle, his techniques had seen a major improvement.
A left hook followed by an uppercut, a feint that hid the twisting path of his left arm that slammed into his enemy's chest.
Despite his worn body, filled with unsavory mana and torn by a variety of universal forces, he pushed forward and disallowed his enemy any time to counter.
His fists were not just laced with Abyssal Mana, but drenched in it. The universe could not contain his aura any longer.
The ruptured space could not heal. The chaotic void separating it from pure chaos was strained, almost unable to keep the two combatants away from certain death.
However, he didn't stop.
Abyssal Mana became stronger the more he used it. There was a cost, but it wasn't enough to keep him from utilizing it to its full potential, especially at a time like this.
The universe's Spacetime was put under his control, the cycle of Samsara halted due to his influence. The Laws his enemy focused on, these laws were completely rid from the surrounding space.
"Khhh…!"
Damien gritted his teeth and retreated, regaining his balance and making distance.
He was covered in blood from head to toe. Transcendent Regeneration was still unable to break through the shackles Bai Yumo designed just for it.
Damien felt a feeling he almost forgot, the feeling of physical fatigue. His body was heavy and his movements were slowed. When he had to face close combat, he was at a great disadvantage.
The battle completely flipped in the time they'd been fighting. While it started with Damien's advantage in hand-to-hand and Bai Yumo's advantage in range, the Saint King currently held both in his grasp.
It was a surprising turnaround that none were expecting, including Damien himself.
'I need to be aggressive.'
He sensed it well. Bai Yumo was also winding down. He looked fine only because of his Nox Physique.
The Void had been corroding his mana system since almost an hour ago. It was likely his mind and internal body were also in the process of degrading at the moment.
'It's almost over.'
Damien glanced to the side for a second and frowned.
Shaking his head, he gave up.
Pitch-black mana surrounded his fists, creating what was an invisible air of incomprehension to onlookers around his body.
Bang!
He shot forward like a speeding comet.
World Force and Universal Law entered his dominion, and Damien did something unheard of.
He defied the universe itself.
VOOOOOM!
A tsunami of mana spread from his body. No, Damien connected his mana to the universe's and took control of it.
He turned the universe itself into his plaything!
Flash!
His body took less than an instant to appear beside Bai Yumo.
His fist crashed into the Nox genius' face with a dull cracking sound and threw him deeper into the chaotic void.
Damien followed, expanding his influence further and setting up a domain.
The Space-Time River reappeared, however, there was something different about it this time.
Damien materialized behind Bai Yumo and grabbed him by the back of his head, slamming it down.
"GUUUUH…!"
A strange sound came out of Bai Yumo's mouth.
He was being drowned in a river of space and time.
Now wasn't the time for him to be reminiscing.
But it was similar.
There, on Al'Katra, there was a river like this one. It did not shine in iridescent blue, but an ominous grey color.
Bai Yumo remembered it, the feeling of getting his head slammed into that river, the feeling of its water filling his lungs and destroying him.
"Puah…!"
His surroundings resurfaced, the bleak chaotic void swirling with vortexes of spatial distortion.
Damien's grip on the back of his head strengthened. He felt heat from the man's hand that reached the level of lava in a few instants.
BOOOOOOM!
A forceful impact like a tank round sent him spiraling through the void.
He was dizzy.
He could barely distinguish the past from reality.
The figures of Damien and the Saint Emperor overlapped in his doubling vision.
This scene was too familiar.
Why was it so familiar?
Why was Damien eviscerating him like this?
In all reality, the mana he sent into his body was enough.
The more it ate his own mana and body, the more it grew. Bai Yumo was doubtful if even a portion of the mana in his body was still his.
'Just like that time…'
At that time, the Saint Emperor abused him like this. His mana was suppressed and his body was worn down, but he kept fighting with spirit alone.
Yet, what was it?
Why were these memories coming back?
They were killing it. His spirit, that was
He wanted to fight, but the longer Damien's figure overlapped with the Saint Emperor, the more his will to fight diminished.
Because that man was impossible to overcome.
'No…'
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three more hits to his skull. His brain was being juggled, making his perception of reality hazier.
What was he supposed to be doing?
'No…'
BANG!
He lost control over his mana. Damien regained the power of space and immediately summoned Mirage, bringing it up and slashing with Horizon Break.
'No…'
He was been thrown out of the chaotic void and back into Grand Heavens Boundary.
The pure mana of the universe seemed to clear his head somewhat.
He was tens of thousands of kilometers away from Damien. The past combination of attacks utterly disarmed him and forced him onto the execution block.
Looking at Damien's approaching figure, Bai Yumo's eyes regained just a hint of clarity.
'No…he is not him!'
That was not the wall he always saw.
This was the wall he had to overcome in order to face that one with confidence!
BANG!
Bai Yumo was tossed again like a lifeless rag doll.
He didn't retaliate. He conserved and stored his mana, preparing and using his newfound clarity to think of a way out.
Damien was using the universe itself to fight against him. It was hard to speak of its significance as someone not from the universe in the first place, but with such grandiosity supporting his attacks, Damien became something Bai Yumo's Abyssal Mana couldn't contain.
This was just like…
'He is not him.'
He reminded himself of this fact.
Damien was not the Saint Emperor.
There was something he could do even in this seemingly hopeless situation.
He clutched his chest with madness in his eyes.
He had to use a card he hoped he'd never have to use in this life.
