The moment Anyael activated—or tried to activate—the Plague of the Ascended Monarch, his vision began to pixelate, and suddenly, everything disappeared.
—"Seriously, this again?" —Anyael thought…
Suddenly, he saw a boy with light brown skin, intense crimson-red eyes, and black hair with red streaks, staring at him intensely.
—Hello, Grayray —the boy said, extending his hand.
—Who's Grayray? —Anyael asked, confused.
—Ah, right… you still don't know…
—Know what?! —Anyael exclaimed, starting to get annoyed.
The boy began explaining who he was.
—The only thing you need to know about me is that they call me God of Nothing.
—Uh-huh… and what do you want from me, God of Nothing? —Anyael asked, beginning to grow bored.
—Well, I really just want to give you a warning: don't let yourself be consumed by your Binding entirely, because that would ruin my plans.
Anyael, confused, wondered what plans the mysterious young man was talking about.
—Anyway, to make sure that doesn't happen, I'll give you a kind of semi-transformation that will help you a bit… And for that entity tied to you, hmm… well…
—What entity? —Anyael asked, starting to get nervous.
—That thing bound to your soul —said God of Nothing—. I hope you have fun, READER, you'll be very important to me…
—Rea… Reader?! —was all Anyael could say before reality snapped back.
Watching Kael fight that beast, he shouted, "Plague of the Ascended Monarch!" but something was off.
His ability didn't activate normally; no. Now only the crown appeared on his head, and his eyes went through the usual transformation, but nothing else happened.
He didn't think much of it and charged at the Mother of Shadows, as he called the Divergent Beast of Ghoul rank.
Quickly, he noticed the difference between this state and the previous one: while in this state, adaptation is gradual and physical enhancement isn't as high, in the other state, his adaptation is almost instantaneous, and physical improvement grows with adaptation. Because of these differences, he decided to call this state Divergent Flow.
While Kael cut through the beast's membranes with Marea, Anyael distracted the creature so Kael could focus on dealing damage. In a sudden twist, the Mother of Shadows aimed at Kael. Kael quickly threw Marea to Anyael so he could use it. Anyael had watched how Kael wielded it and, without being told, had already learned how its powers functioned.
He then took advantage of the blade's repelling and pressure abilities, along with its property to turn liquid, and launched the liquid blade as a ranged attack, highly effective against the enemy's defenses.
Kael was shocked, as she hadn't thought of using Marea's abilities in that way.
Just when it seemed they could win, reality struck: the beast on the ground, a result of that attack, got up and started fighting seriously. With just one strike of its paw, it destroyed the left side of Anyael's lower torso.
Kael, seeing this, ran to him, grabbed Marea, lifted him, and began running, praying for a miracle.
As if something had heard her, something appeared: a giant centipede, about 320 meters long. With one bite, it tore off a leg from the Mother of Shadows, and the two began to fight.
Judging by the Mother of Shadows' reaction, such conflicts were apparently common, and Kael and Anyael were able to escape.
Hours later, Anyael woke up, confused.
—What happened?! KAEL! —he shouted, desperate for his friend.
—I'm here, idiot…
—Thank God you're alive! —After saying this, Anyael hugged her.
—Yes, yes, very cheesy… now let go.
—And… where are we, Kael?
—By some miracle, we escaped that thing, and now we're taking refuge in an old house.
—House? I thought Niviro was a desolate place —Anyael asked, confused.
—Well, it's a long story, but in short: yes, there were living beings in Niviro long, long ago. And Niviro is also used to imprison Sinners who exceed Umbra rank.
—Umbra rank?
—Yes, there are eight ranks for both Saints and Sinners, but those who surpass Umbra and don't belong to the Trascendent Guardians are confined here. Haven't you noticed there are very few Sinners in the organization?
—Well, no, I've only met you guys, but that makes sense. So… what rank are we?
—Last time I checked with the Analyzer, I was Abyssal.
—What's the Analyzer?
—A device used to analyze people and objects.
—Oh… and what rank am I?
—It's unknown, but according to Elara's estimates, you were at least Umbra, which is impressive for someone who Ascended just a few days ago.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the semi-ruined house.