The skies were dyed black.
The clouds parted ways to showcase the void that lay beyond.
'Focus.'
The Heavens shattered, abandoning those on the earth.
A cataclysm turned all life into ash.
'Focus.'
A man looked on with indifferent eyes.
But deep within his pupils, there was a hint of morbid realization.
This place…this was not—
'FOCUS!'
Zara's mind moved in and out of reality. She could hardly perceive what was real or fake.
Her mental state was the exact same as the Nox she was influencing. In fact, despite the rest of the squad's assumption that she was purposefully aiding them, it was more coincidence than anything else.
Zara stood submerged in black ink. She was cut off from the outside atmosphere completely, even unaware of the battle situation,
Everything was being handled autonomously. The connection between her mind and the black ink sea reached an unprecedented level.
Zara couldn't focus on the battle in her current state, anyway,
Perhaps, if she joined the battle…
A cold and damp environment. A familiar environment.
A woman unlike any other, a woman with abyssal black hair.
And next to her…
'Focus!'
Zara snapped back to reality. Her head felt strange, she couldn't fight the wooziness overcoming her, but she did her best to contribute.
'Those guys…doing good.'
Her thoughts were strained, but she was at least able to comprehend reality a little after waking up. Her hands moved deftly to control the black ink around her, using it to play a more active role in supporting the genius trio.
The combination of the black ink and the titan warrior was deadly. Compared to their previous dominance, the Higher Nox currently weren't able to elicit the same fear.
After all, they were separated.
The main reason for their fearsomeness was their number. Their power itself wasn't high.
Despite their bodies being as strong as a high-level 4th class, their power output was still only at the mid-levels, similar to Tyler and the girls.
With Tyler, Synth, and Ash combining their individual advantages to create an exponentially stronger being…
How could these Higher Nox resist without their numbers?
Zara smiled and withdrew her control over the ink. All she needed to do was contain the Higher Nox and force them into a confused state so they couldn't regroup.
The actual battle could be left for those who were in dire need of experience.
Besides, didn't she reap benefits either way?
A strange lullaby, eerie and desolate.
It was the only thing that could cut through the blackness.
What existed before creation?
And what allowed creation to exist?
A man walked alone through the ruined halls. His cape fluttered behind his back to bring sound to the pregnant silence around him.
He looked up into the sky and wished for stars.
He wondered when the madness would end.
Why was his memory…so filled with war?
A planet the size of a universe, a world unlike any other.
It was too appealing to stop.
A World Core draped in blackness…
…was swallowed by the void.
A hand of jagged claws slashed through the air, painting the waters in black blood.
Zara's eyes refocused.
In her hand, she found a mutilated head that was slowly transitioning into ink.
Her mind was a mess.
She wanted to collapse and pass out to rid herself of the immense confusion in her memories.
It would've been fine if the memories were coherent, but they were nothing of the sort. Countless fragments that lasted a mere few seconds would merge into one long compilation of nonsense that Zara couldn't understand no matter how hard she tried.
And each one of these fragments held some sort of importance.
She could feel it in her blood, in her veins, in the very core of her being.
If she was able to piece together what she saw, it wouldn't only be her origins that she'd learn…
She'd gain access to something game-changing.
'Just…focus…'
Zara's mind was almost literally splitting into multiple pieces. It wouldn't be odd if she went insane as this feeling continued.
"Ah…"
Just when…?
When did her hands become stained in blood?
Zara looked down at her shaking hands in confusion.
The last time she checked, she was within the confines of a black ink field, protected from the outside world.
Just when did she make her way to the battlefield…?
And just how many had she killed…?
'What…'
Before everything, there was only darkness.
However, this darkness was not darkness. It was the brightest light, the darkest darkness, the world itself, and a reflection of its inexistence.
From this darkness emerged a creature, and from this light emerged a creature.
Upon their first meeting, all things were born.
Zara finally realized it.
'The Nox…don't bleed red.'
***
The suicidal war that the Stargazer Squad waged against the Nox finally seemed to be headed in a positive direction.
After countless twists and turns, the Higher Nox were finally isolated and kept as prey on the chopping block for Tyler, Synth, and Ash to slowly kill.
However, this was only on the surface.
'We don't have enough mana to continue for long.'
40 minutes, that's how long had passed.
With 20 minutes remaining until reinforcements arrived, Tyler knew they were in a far tighter situation than it seemed.
'This marks 300. The number has gone down significantly, but it doesn't matter. 700 of them can easily kill us the second we drop our guard.'
Currently, they had Zara's support in isolating the Nox, but how long would that last? Even Zara wasn't an unlimited tank of mana. The strain that came along with such a wide-scale liquid domain was likely insane.
'We just have to do what we can while the odds are in our favor and then hope, I guess…'
Tyler's nonexistent eyes hardened as he spread his awareness into the world. He saw the group of Higher Nox that'd just died turning into ink and dissolving into the domain.
'Ash's mana is almost dry. She won't be able to maintain her berserker form for longer than 5 more minutes. As for me…'
Tyler could feel the dredges of his mana pool scraping through his veins so he could use them. He didn't even know how he was still maintaining his armor state, but he was certain that he didn't have the energy to do anything else anymore.
'Synth is probably the best off since she built her machines with the ability to gather their own mana…it looks like we'll have to rely on her for now.'
In their current form, Tyler and Ash were essentially connected at the hip. Only Synth had freedom of movement as someone who was working remotely.
At the same time, she didn't need as much mana as her comrades to survive.
If she used her machines to inject mana into Tyler and Ash, they'd likely gain the sustenance to last for another 10 or so minutes.
'Everything is on track for now. Let's hope that—'
Slash!
The water…didn't cut.
It was too clean, to the point where the passing attack didn't disturb the surrounding water at all.
However, it did dye the water red.
"A-ah…"
A slight exclamation leaked into the air.
Tyler spread his awareness with a look of horror on his face.
The armor he'd transformed into was sliced into three equal sections.
From within, a thick trail of blood leaked.
'That's not a light wound…'
Tyler spread his awareness further. Before anything else, he needed to identify the assailant. It wasn't a hard task since she stood silently not far away, staring into her blood-stained hands.
Tyler's mind shook.
Why…?
Just why was Zara attacking them?
