CHAPTER 52 Fall of Three Powers and Rise of the Void

The huge chamber of Void Peak had stopped breathing. The molecules of air had surrendered, becoming still and heavy, as if dipped in black ink. The flame burning in Agni eyes was no longer just red. It had turned into that deep red of revenge which appears when metal is on the verge of melting. He swung Jwala in the air, sparks scattering from the swords edge, and let out a roar that shook the stone walls.

Nirag, today your arrogance will burn in this fire. Your every breath, your every heartbeat, your every memory will turn to ash in this flame.

Agni jumped up with lightning speed. His body turned into a swirling ball of fire in the air. A cyclone of orange, white, and red colors. He released a huge fire circle from Jwala, which spread through the air and began to surround Nirag from all sides. Flames hit the walls and returned, forming a burning cage around Nirag.

The entire area around Nirag began to burn. A wave of heat ran through the air, stone walls turning red and dripping. But Nirag just stretched his hand forward.

His palm opened. And from it came not fire, not lightning. Just a void. A small black dot, floating in the air.

As soon as Agni burning fire reached near that black dot, it went out. No, it was absorbed. The flames disappeared into that black dot, like water soaking into sand. The whole fire circle, the whole fire, everything dissolved into that one small black dot.

Nirag began to laugh. A laugh without sound. Just his shoulders shaking, lips lifted.

Seeing this, Agni gripped his sword Jwala even tighter. The veins on his hand popped out, his jawbone visible under the skin.

Just then Akshansh raised his sword Nakshatra toward the sky. Blue lightning coiled around the sword. Hungry serpents, hissing at their prey. The sharp smell of ozone spread in the air.

Nakshatra, throw the thunder of the sky. Destroy this sinner.

With an ear splitting crack, blue lightning descended tearing through the ceiling. It was not just lightning. It was the wrath of the sky, the entire sky condensed into one point.

The lightning struck directly above Nirag.

And his body was submerged in blinding light for a moment. Millions of branches of lightning appeared coming out of his body, tearing him, burning him. Black and blue lines appeared on his skin, as if someone had drawn a map of lightning on him.

But at the same time, his body began to heal again. A black smoke like substance began to fill those lines, the skin became smooth again, the burnt marks disappeared.

Agni saw this and shook his head, bitterness in his voice. This can reattach his body. I also cut his body, but he is able to reattach it. This is not ordinary regeneration. This is reconstruction by the void.

Anvay looked at Agni. A question in his eyes, and behind that question, a fear.

At that moment Anvay punched the ground.

The floor cracked. The earth groaned in response. Cracks spread, and two huge stone hands emerged from the ground. Each hand ten feet long, fingers closed into fists. There were mud marks on the hands, small stones stuck, as if the earth had gathered all its strength in these hands.

The hands moved toward Nirag, to crush him between them.

Nirag used his dark power. Black thread like energy came from his hands, moving toward the stone hands. As soon as those black threads touched the hands, the stone began to turn black, then began to break. Scattered like dust. And the breaking stones sank back into the ground, as if they had never come out.

Anvay used his air element. He condensed the air, turned it into an invisible hand, and began to lift Nirag into the air.

Nirag began to fly. He started hitting the walls of the cave. Thud. Thud. Thud. With each hit, cracks appeared on the wall, pieces of stone falling. A storm started in the cave, dust and stone fragments swirling in the air.

Then he jumped down again. And opened his mouth.

No sound came from his mouth. Just a void came out. A swirling black tornado, which began to pull the dust and stones floating in the air into itself.

The tornado grew faster. The sound of the wind began to roar. And then, in a single moment, Nirag took that tornado into his mouth. All the dust, all the stones, all the air. Everything disappeared inside him.

Silence fell in the cave.

Agni, Anvay, and Akshansh looked at each other. No words in their eyes. Just a resolve. Together.

The three attacked together.

Agni released a column of blazing fire. A mix of red, white, orange colors, moving toward Nirag burning the air.

Akshansh threw a thunderbolt from above. Blue, bright, deafening.

Anvay raised mountains of stone from below. Huge, crushing, pressing.

The three powers struck one point. Above Nirag, below, around.

And then.

Boom.

The sound was so loud that the whole Void Peak trembled. Large stones fell from the ceiling, walls began to shake. Such a cloud of smoke and dust rose that nothing was visible. Just orange, blue, and brown glowing energy, mixing into each other.

One minute passed. Then two.

The smoke slowly began to clear.

First Agni figure appeared. He was on his knees, breathing heavily. Then Akshansh. He was standing against the wall, dust and blood marks on his face. Then Anvay. He was sitting on the ground, his hands trembling.

And in the middle.

Nirag stood.

Around him was a black void shield. Transparent, but black. It looked as if he had made a black glass ball around himself. And touching that shield, Agni fire was turning into black smoke. Lightning rays were dissolving into it. Pieces of stone turned to sand on contact and fell.

The same cold, terrifying smile was on Nirag face. His eyes were completely black now, no shine, no emotion.

Is this all, his voice sounded as if thousands of dead souls were speaking together. Every voice in a different pitch, with a different pain. Three great powers. Three great warriors. And your combined power in front of my void is just air.

He just raised one finger. The finger joint was black, as if painted with coal.

He tapped lightly in the air with his finger.

And a black wave came out.

This was not a wave. It was the end of existence. A power that did not destroy things, but erased the fact of their existence. The wave began to spread through the air, and wherever it passed, the air disappeared, light disappeared, sound disappeared.

Move, Agni shouted, putting his sword Jwala in front.

But it was too late.

That black wave hit the three.

Akshansh body flew like a toy in the air. He went ten feet back and hit a stone wall. Thud. The sound of his ribs breaking came. He fell down, a stream of blood pouring from his mouth.

Anvay stone hands, which were still in the air, scattered like dust. He himself fell to the ground, blood dripping from his hands, as if his bones had been crushed inside.

Agni tried to stop the wave with Jwala. The flames of the sword moved forward, but as soon as they touched the black wave, they went out. The sword blade turned black, then shattered into pieces. Agni fell to his knees on the ground, a stream of blood coming from his mouth, which turned black as soon as it hit the ground.

Your powers are like the buzz of a mosquito in front of this void, Nirag slowly began to move toward them. Each step left a black mark on the ground. A mark as if the ground had burned, but not burning, just emptiness.

Agni tried to get up, staggering. His eyes fell on Varunya standing nearby.

Varunya stood there, pressing that black liquid energy in her fist that Nirag had given her. Her eyes were on Agni. But there was no recognition in them, no emotion. Just an empty, cold gaze, as if she was looking at a stranger.

Varunya, Agni voice was broken, blood bubbling from his throat with every word. Why. Why did you do this.

Varunya did not answer. She just looked away and began looking at Nirag, as if waiting for him.

Nirag raised his hands in the air.

Black, smoke like chains came out from the walls. Those chains were like living snakes. Crawling, waving, finding their way. They moved toward Agni, Akshansh, and Anvay.

Akshansh tried to release his lightning. Blue sparks came from his fingers, but they went out as soon as they touched the chains. The chains wrapped around his wrist. Cold, sticky, like living mud.

Acharya, Akshansh shouted, a childlike fear in his voice. My power is not working. These chains are absorbing our magical energy.

The chains began to wrap around their necks, hands, and feet. With every touch of the chain, a faint glow came from their bodies and dissolved into the chain. Their power, their energy, their life force.

Nirag dragged them with a jerk.

Their bodies dragged on the ground toward a dark corner of the cave. There was a void prison there. Not iron bars. Bars of black energy, floating in the air, in the shape of a cube.

Nirag threw them into that cube.

The bars closed by themselves. Creeeak. Click.

Agni lay helpless behind the bars. He saw. The bars were transparent, but black. A faint haze was rising from them, absorbing their power into the air. He tried to raise his sword. But his hand did not move. His body felt heavy, as if someone was burying him in cement.

He saw Nirag moving toward the altar. On the altar, that child still lay, his eyes open, but no life in them.

The game has just begun, father, Nirag said, a strange softness in his voice, which sounded even more terrifying. Right in front of your eyes, I will end this kingdom. Turn every living being into void, one by one. And you will just keep watching. Because this is your punishment. To keep living, and keep watching how everything you have gets destroyed.

The darkness grew deeper. A strange echo came from the walls of the prison. The sobs of thousands of souls, swallowing their last remaining hope.

No, Andhak Void. Do not do this, Agni began to shout. He tried to lift the prison bars, but the bars slipped from his grip, as if they were oily.

Nirag came near Agni laughing. Agni, how you flutter alone. Like a mosquito caught in a spiders web flutters. It feels great to see you suffer like this. I wish I could keep watching you suffer like this.

Agni attacked Nirag with his fire power. Flames came from his eyes, but nothing happened to Nirag. The flames disappeared as they reached near his face.

Nirag laughed. Agni, how you flutter alone. Like a mosquito caught in a spiders web flutters.

He looked at Akshansh and smiled. What happened, Akshansh. You were desperate to end me. What happened now. Lost to me.

Akshansh looked at Nirag with anger. You killed my parents, Nirag. That is a great sin. And you will surely get the punishment for that sin.

Nirag began to laugh. How. How will you get it. Who will give you that punishment. You. Or Agni. Or Anvay.

He began to laugh again, the laugh echoing in the chamber.

Anvay, injured, looked at Nirag. There were no tears in his eyes. Just a deep, hopeless emptiness.

Nirag looked at him and said, What happened, Anvay. Today you will not say anything.

Just then a hand came out of the earth and pulled Nirag inside.

Nirag came out breaking the ground. Mud was on his clothes, but not a scratch on him. You have this much courage, he said, and attacked Anvay with dark energy.

But a shield of stones formed in front of Anvay. The black attack touched the shield, and the shield turned black, but did not break.

Nirag shouted in anger. Ahhhh. Then began to laugh. Never mind. Your end will happen in some time anyway. See this black energy. It has started absorbing your elemental power. And then all your powers will become mine.

Nirag laughed and began to leave from there. Varunya also began to follow him, that black energy still pressed in her fist.

And the two left the cave.

Agni, Akshansh, Anvay kept watching them. Behind the black bars of the prison, the same expression was in their eyes. Defeat, hopelessness, and a fear that was no longer turning into hope.

And in the cave, only the echo of that dark energy remained, slowly absorbing their powers, their hopes, their existence.

Chapter 195 - CHAPTER 52 Fall of Three Powers and Rise of the Void