Chapter 114 – "Judgment of the Void"
Zarion stood with arms crossed, a cold smile on his lips:
> "Oblivion Strike, huh? Not bad.
But how do you plan to defeat me with that? Hahaha."
Ivan's eyes gleamed with arrogance:
> "Are you blinded by fear?
You were two breaths from death after my last strike."
Zarion raised an eyebrow:
> "Don't flatter yourself.
I was never going to die to a weakling like you.
Especially one who spams the same move like a glitched NPC."
Ivan vanished in a burst of shadow.
He reappeared in front of Zarion:
> "Oblivion Strike — Multiple!"
Dozens of strikes rained down on Zarion.
But he coated his body in his own energy, crossed his arms in a defensive stance, absorbed the blows…
Then, with a fluid motion, delivered a kick:
> "Oblivion Kick."
The impact sent Zarion flying through several dimensional pillars.
Ivan caught him mid-air, grabbed his foot, and slammed him violently into the ground.
— Not so cocky now, huh?
He tried to crush him again, but Zarion teleported backward using the Void. His eyes turned completely black.
Then, with a glance:
> "Eyes of the Void: Rupture."
A slicing wave —
A blade of pure void —
Split space itself.
Ivan was cleaved in two.
But his body regenerated instantly.
> "Ah… so you still have tricks left."
Zarion, calm, his eyes glowing with abyssal black, stared at Ivan.
With a single look, he teleported him into his grasp.
He seized Ivan by the throat, lifted him, and whispered:
> "You thought you could do something… against the Prince of the Primordial.
Even sealed, I'm leagues above you. Hahaha."
His blade sliced the air, chopping Ivan into neat slices. Plop. Plop. Plop.
Zarion blew on his blade, satisfied.
The pieces hit the ground, sizzling.
Zarion rubbed his eye, smiling:
> "You should thank the plot for letting you monologue this long."
But a murderous aura surged behind him.
Ivan… already regenerated.
> "You thought you could defeat me like that?
Pathetic."
Zarion, without turning:
> "I'm certain I nullified your regeneration and powers the moment I touched you."
Ivan chuckled darkly:
> "That's what you thought.
But you understand nothing.
You're playing a game whose rules you don't even know."
— Hahaha… poor fool, Ivan sneered. You don't get it. You can't seal or cut Oblivion. You can seal what you comprehend. But Oblivion… is what you cannot reach.
Zarion, eyes half-closed:
> "All you've done is spam Oblivion Strike, Oblivion this, Oblivion that.
You're afraid of being consumed by Vael, aren't you?
I knew it.
Even if you received the powers of the strongest gods…
You wouldn't know what to do with them.
You're too weak.
You're the pathetic one."
Ivan, enraged:
> "Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!"
Zarion, smirking:
> "I do.
And judging by your face… I know I'm right."
Ivan vanished again, reappeared before Zarion.
But Zarion tracked him with his activated Eyes of the Void.
Ivan launched another Oblivion Strike.
Zarion blocked it with his arm coated in Primordial Void.
> "Alright… I've played with you long enough.
And the others are probably worried. I don't need Nova giving me another lecture about 'reckless risk-taking.'"
He delivered a kick charged with Primordial Void energy, sending Ivan flying.
Then coated his blade in the same energy — the void around them recoiled from its presence — and slashed without restraint.
Ivan screamed.
Zarion stepped forward, placing a foot on his head:
> "You're screaming?
Your body can't handle Vael's power.
You were just a vessel… and even that, you failed at."
Ivan writhed.
His body began to mutate — unstable, cracked, as if imploding from within.
Zarion leapt back, arms crossed, watching the scene:
> "There.
Now you look like what you truly are: a cosmic draft."
Chapter 115 — Ivan's Metamorphosis
The ground trembled.
No — it groaned, as if the earth itself refused to witness what was happening.
The air vibrated, then twisted, like someone was tugging on the invisible threads of reality.
Zarion watched the scene, arms crossed, a vaguely bored expression on his face.
— Well… either you evolve, or you explode. Either way, works for me.
In front of him, Ivan's body convulsed.
His limbs bent at impossible angles, his skin cracked, releasing fragments of infinite black.
It looked like he was trying to contain an ocean… in a shot glass.
His hair turned white in an instant, as if time had aged him just for fun.
His veins darkened, forming circuits of pure darkness.
His aura became… something that wasn't an aura.
Not energy.
Not pressure.
A chasm.
A call from the void.
Then a distorted, multi-layered voice vibrated through the air:
— Oblivion Form… Incomplete Awakening…
A wave of energy exploded like a black tide.
Zarion was thrown backward, sliding several meters.
He stabilized by planting his sword into the ground, the stone screeching like a scream.
— Oh. That's a bit more interesting, he admitted.
He raised a finger.
— Just a bit, though.
Ivan lifted his head.
His pupils were gone — replaced by a multicolored spiral that devoured light itself.
— I… remember…
Zarion: — Remember what?
Ivan, in a breath that vibrated like a low note across all worlds:
— What Vael… gave me…
Zarion cracked his neck, ready to go again.
— This is gonna be a circus, I can feel it.
---
At HQ — Panic Level 12 (or 13, according to Valor)
Lya frowned.
— Ivan's aura just spiked. And not a little bump — an Olympic leap. I'm not even sure that's legal.
Valor stared at the screens.
— What is that energy spike?! It's like a nuclear bomb on espresso!
Ryn, arms crossed:
— Zarion's gonna come back with pieces of the universe stuck in his hair… again.
Elyon raised his hands:
— So what do we do? Watch? Commentate? Make popcorn?
Liora sighed, visibly tired of existence.
— Yes. We watch. Because intervening there is basically getting erased before you can scream "help."
(And mentally: Even the hunters aren't strong enough. Not yet.)
Valen inhaled deeply, like before an existential crisis.
— No but… that's literally the same aura from my nightmares when Vael slaughtered gods! Ivan's touching something he shouldn't—
A small mental voice interrupted:
— Valen… you ARE an incarnation of Vael. You should be used to these disasters by now.
Valen mentally exploded:
— USED TO IT?! Me?! I didn't sign up for anything! I'm not even getting paid!
Nova slammed the table with his fist.
— Does anyone know what Zarion's doing? Why isn't he responding?
Liora swallowed.
— Because he's literally fighting a guy boosted by Vael.
She clenched her teeth.
— It's already a miracle he's still in one piece. A statistically improbable miracle, even.
---
Back to the Fight — Zarion vs Ivan (Phase2)
The ground beneath Ivan fractured, as if the earth was retreating to avoid touching him.
Then he moved.
No. He vanished.
Zarion instantly activated the Eyes of the Void.
The universe slowed around him.
— I see. You've gained speed. Good for you.
Ivan reappeared above him, hand coated in unstable, pulsing energy.
— Oblivion Collapse!
— Oh yeah, a new move, Zarion noted.
The impact erased color itself.
The world turned gray.
Then black.
Then… nothing.
Zarion reappeared, one knee on the ground.
His left arm was burned, smoking, the skin cracked like glass.
He calmly examined his arm.
— Oh… you actually hurt me.
He sighed.
— You're borrowing WAY too much power. Didn't Vael warn you? Oblivion can be consumed… but it also digests you.
Ivan screamed, his aura growing unstable.
— I MUST… HOLD IT! I CANNOT… DISAPPEAR!
Zarion stood.
His gaze turned cold — like stellar void.
A heavy, ancient energy enveloped him.
An energy he'd kept sealed from the beginning.
The air tore around him.
— Alright. If you want to play with that… then I'll release one seal. Just one.
He smiled joylessly.
— You're getting annoying, Ivan.
His hair turned white — like the ash of destroyed worlds.
But his eyes remained… black.
Not normal black.
Abyssal. Bottomless.
Ivan instinctively shivered.
— You… you hadn't used your true power…?
Zarion replied calmly:
— No. Because I didn't want to kill you.
He stepped forward.
Reality cracked beneath his foot.
— But now… I've changed my mind.
He raised his blade.
A massive invisible fissure tore through space, disturbing even light itself.
— Primordial Void: Local Collapse.
Even Ivan's Oblivion recoiled.
Ivan growled, his form distorting.
— I WILL NOT… YIELD TO YOU!
Zarion smiled — too calmly.
— Who said you had a choice?
They lunged at each other.
And the blast that followed… wasn't an explosion.
It was reality… too weak to withstand them.
Chapter 116 — "Void Overload"
The explosion was so violent that even the sky seemed to… blink.
A shockwave swept across the horizon, erasing colors for miles before they hesitantly returned, as if traumatized.
Finally, the dust settled, revealing two figures in the center of a massive crater:
Zarion — standing, calm, not even ruffled.
Ivan — on his knees, trembling, his power on the verge of detonating inside him.
Ivan gasped, panting:
— This… this is impossible…
Zarion raised a finger:
— No, you're just terrible at energy management. Not everyone's born with a manual.
Ivan shook:
— YOU'RE… TOO WEAK TO SAY THAT!
Zarion:
— Oh? Interesting. A new stage of denial.
Yet you're the one on the ground.
Ivan lifted his head, furious:
— SHUT UP!
His body began to vibrate.
Black filaments of light — like living fractures — escaped his skin.
Vael's power… was devouring him from within.
Zarion cracked his shoulders, as if this was just a failed warm-up.
— Told you: borrowed power isn't mastered with grimaces and shonen screams.
Ivan let out a muffled scream.
His legs gave out.
The ground beneath him melted like a miniature sun was burning below.
— I WILL… NOT… DISAPPEAR!
Zarion replied flatly:
— That's what they all say. Right before they vanish.
Ivan's aura suddenly exploded, a titanic wave sweeping across his domain.
Rocks disintegrated.
Mountains crumbled.
Reality itself wavered.
Zarion narrowed his eyes.
A single glance compressed the blast…
Then he crushed it with a backhand.
— Still trying to cause chaos… Honestly, it's exhausting.
Ivan stood up.
Or something that resembled Ivan.
His body was half-crystallized, fractured by the Void.
His face was an unstable mosaic of Oblivion and flesh.
His hair floated in nonexistent gravity.
And his eyes…
No longer eyes.
Just two spirals devouring the light around them.
— …Vael… gave me… this power… and I… will use it…
Zarion rubbed his temples.
— First of all, Vael doesn't "give" anything. He's not Santa Claus. He's a psychotic tester.
Ivan screamed:
— I WILL DISINTEGRATE YOU!
He teleported instantly in front of Zarion, hand charged with cataclysmic energy.
— Oblivion Implosion!
Space folded in on itself, a black point was born… then died instantly.
Zarion?
Gone.
Silence.
Half a second.
Then a voice behind Ivan:
— Cute attempt. But using Oblivion against me is like trying to teach me my own signature.
He paused.
— Even if Oblivion is different from the Void… it's still my playground.
Ivan turned his head.
Horrified.
Zarion stood behind him. Unscathed.
Not even a speck of dust.
— Impossible…
Zarion raised his hand.
— Primordial Void: Return to Origin.
Ivan's arm disintegrated, vanishing into a rain of particles that no longer existed.
— AAAAAHHHH!
— Yeah, it stings, Zarion confirmed. Told you.
Ivan tried to regenerate…
But this time, it took an eternity.
A disturbingly slow process.
Zarion raised an eyebrow, stepped forward, and calmly placed his foot on Ivan's face.
— Your body's rejecting the power, huh? You hit your limit ten minutes ago.
Ivan attempted a desperate attack.
Zarion dodged without moving.
Just a slight lean.
The air around Ivan compressed, choking his motion.
— You can't touch me anymore, Zarion declared. This fight… ended long ago.
He tapped Ivan's chest with a single finger.
Ivan's aura deflated like a punctured balloon.
His body slammed into the ground.
He coughed up blood… or rather, a sticky black liquid that shouldn't exist.
— Are you… going to kill me…? Ivan whispered, voice broken.
Zarion crouched beside him.
— No. That's not why I'm here.
He placed his hand on Ivan's chest.
— But I DO have to stop you from doing anything stupid again.
A black mark formed.
A primitive seal.
— There. No more infinite regeneration. No more random boosts. No more uncontrolled supernova mode.
He shrugged.
— You're back to… almost normal. With a "fragile" bonus.
Ivan tried to stand, but his body collapsed instantly.
— You… traitor…
Zarion stood, sheathing his sword.
— If telling the truth is betrayal, then yeah. I'll own it.
He took a step.
Then froze.
Because an aura had just appeared behind him.
Even the particles around them shivered.
A soft, sarcastic, familiar voice:
— Having fun without me? Did I miss an episode?
Zarion slowly turned his head, like a man watching his worst migraine materialize.
An elegant figure stood in the crater:
Long black hair tied back,
an impossible presence,
multicolored eyes that defied logic.
**Vael.**
Zarion exhaled:
— Oh no… not him…
Ivan, on the ground, turned pale:
— M… Master… Vael…
Vael observed the scene like he was judging a very mediocre performance.
— I step away for five minutes.
He raised a finger.
— Just five minutes.
He pointed at Ivan.
— And I come back: you've turned into a living glitch… and Zarion sliced you like failed sashimi. Seriously, what is this circus?
Zarion sighed:
— Honestly… why are you here? Didn't you have something better to do? Massacre a pantheon? Scare minor gods?
Vael smiled, too calmly:
— I came to retrieve what's mine. And also…
He nodded toward Ivan.
— You touched my toy without permission.
Zarion remained silent.
— …your WHAT?
Vael tilted his head:
— My toy. Are you jealous?
Zarion:
— I'm going to throw up.
Chapter 117 — "The Toy of Nothingness"
Vael was still smiling — a smile so arrogant it could have started a war on its own.
— Feeling nauseous, Zarion? Or… are you just jealous of my toy?
Zarion exhaled, eyes rolling skyward.
— Spare me your delusions. I don't need toys.
But admit it… you never intended to help him, did you?
Vael raised a finger, as if about to proclaim some grand cosmic truth.
— I crossed ALL this distance to save MY toy… and you think I wasn't sincere?
If I weren't, I'd have just asked Death to do the job for me.
I left my Palace of Nothingness, walked through your noisy, bright world, endured the smell…
I call that effort.
Zarion narrowed his eyes.
— Fine… you're sincere.
But somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better.
Vael's smile vanished for a moment. A heavy silence fell.
Then he placed a hand on Zarion's shoulder.
The pressure of the void made the air tremble.
And in a voice so cold it could extinguish a sun, he whispered:
— Never compare that wretch to me again.
Understood?
Zarion shivered despite himself.
Vael continued, his tone still soft but razor-sharp:
— Just because he couldn't defeat you with Oblivion…
doesn't mean I couldn't erase you in a blink.
And you can call your parents, your grandparents, your dog, your entire bloodline —
they too would taste Nothingness before me.
Zarion stepped back slightly.
— Okay. Message received.
Vael vanished and reappeared before Ivan, who was still kneeling, trembling.
— Master Vael! You're here! Help me!
The multicolored gaze of the God of Nothingness fell on him.
A gaze… empty.
No affection.
No anger.
Just… absolute indifference.
Zarion exclaimed:
— Wait. You're not seriously going to—
Too late.
Vael placed a hand on Ivan's throat.
— I gave you a fragment of my power… and you were so weak, you nearly got consumed by it.
So I think I can do without you.
Ivan's eyes widened.
A ray of oblivion burst from Vael's gaze.
Ivan screamed.
— NO! Master Vael! You said you didn't want anything from me!
Vael burst into a laugh so joyful it was terrifying.
— Of course not.
I just wanted to test something. Hahaha.
Ivan was erased.
Clean.
No trace.
No echo.
The silence that followed could have killed the dead.
Vael patted Zarion's shoulder as if nothing had happened.
— Bye bye, dear Prince.
And he vanished.
---
Back at HQ
Zarion reappeared at HQ, still a little pale.
Nova rushed over.
— You're back! Looks like you made it out okay… well, on the surface.
Zarion nodded.
— Yeah. I'm going to take a bath. After that, I'll talk to Liora.
And… we'll see if we need an emergency meeting or an exorcism of HQ. I'm not sure yet.
Nova blinked.
— So it was really that bad, huh?
Zarion replied while walking:
— If you only knew the pressure I felt…
It was like he could erase me with a snap of his fingers.
And I'm being generous.
---
In the Palace of Nothingness
The Palace of Nothingness pulsed like a sick cosmic heart.
Vael sat on his throne, stretching his fingers like a pianist who had just completed an artistic massacre.
Death appeared behind him, arms crossed.
— I knew you had something planned. But to erase him like that…
You could've let him die to Zarion. Why bring him back… just to erase him?
Vael chuckled softly.
— What can I say?
He was too weak.
Death sighed.
— You said you didn't want anything from him.
So his level shouldn't have bothered you.
Vael smiled — a smile that could make a demon tremble.
— Did you REALLY believe… I brought him back to be nice?
Valt, leaning against the wall, looked up.
— Let's be honest: we've known from the start you were planning something.
Vael shrugged.
— Exactly. So it doesn't bother you, right?
Nyxa, her voice soft but dangerous, replied:
— Erasing things doesn't bother us.
But breaking someone's hope just for fun…
That's different.
Vael turned his throne toward them, his eyes glowing with infinite black.
— Then let's have even more fun.
Even Nothingness shivered.