Chapter 247 – Floor 46: Part 1

  ‘Ding.’

  Mathew placed the Wrathful Blade back in his inventory as the notification sound rang out, signalling his victory over Vanguard. He watched the Hero retreat, his figure a blur of red and gold as he flew across the sky.

  He had to admit that Vanguard would have done well in the Tower. He was physically stronger than Mercy, and if it hadn’t been for Mathew’s use of the Words of Power to enhance his physical abilities, close-quarters combat would have been unthinkable.

  Ignoring the notification from his silver wristband, Mathew pulled out a few potions from his inventory, popped the corks from the glass vials and downed the contents. He could immediately feel his bruises and cut heal as the familiar burning sensation spread throughout his body.

  Mathew wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as the last drop of the potion took effect, sealing a deep gash on his side. The pain subsided, replaced by a rush of vitality that left him slightly light-headed and his skin flushed.

  As he gazed at the fading form of Vanguard, the Hero’s trajectory altered as he returned to the League HQ. Even after his defeat, it seemed Vanguard refused to leave the City.

  ‘He’s fast.’ Mathew thought, impressed with the Hero’s ability to fly effortlessly through the air at extreme speeds. Despite having just fought with him, Mathew didn’t hold a grudge. Vanguard was just trying to protect his world.

  Mathew would have done the same if their situations had been reversed.

  ‘Besides, he gave me a good fight.’ It had been ages since he had fought without the worry of either side killing each other. Mathew knew that if Vanguard won, the consequences would be the destruction of the Tower, but Mathew himself would have survived.

  And Vanguard had probably sensed that Mathew didn’t intend to kill the Hero either. Instead, it became an opportunity for both sides to push themselves to their limits and see who was stronger.

  Mathew glanced around the battlefield, now eerily quiet. The park, once vibrant and filled with life, was scarred by their clash. Trees had been uprooted, and craters dotted the grass where blows had landed.

  He sighed, a pang of guilt creeping into his chest now that the thrill of battle had worn off. This wasn’t the first time that his fights had left a place in ruins, but at least now he had the means to fix it.

  “Mend.” Mathew invoked the Word of Power; his voice resonated with authority as the Word of Power activated. A faint, yellowish-green glow spread from his outstretched hand, rippling through the air like the aftershock of an earthquake.

  The light seeped into the broken earth, the cracked and crushed bark of the trees and the shattered fragments of stone. The park responded instantly.

  Grass sprouted from the churned and battered soil, vibrant and green. The ground shifted to fill the craters, and flowers grew to hide any trace of their existence. Fallen trees righted themselves; their roots plunged back into the soil as if time itself had reversed.

  The paved pathways were restored, and even the lampposts that lined them, bent and twisted by the force of the impacts between Mathew and Vanguard, straightened with a groan of metal.

  Mathew lowered his hand as he watched the scenery transform around him. It never ceased to amaze him how the Words of Power could effortlessly reshape the world. But there was a cost to work this magic, a physical and mental drain that left a weariness behind.

  “You can come out now.” Mathew said, turning to look toward the door of the Tower where Lumina had been sheltered behind a barrier. She hadn’t been in danger, and neither he nor Vanguard would truly lose control and risk hurting an innocent bystander, but he had still placed a ‘Sanctuary’ shield to prevent any accidents.

  With tentative footsteps, Lumina warily approached him. Mathew let out another sigh after seeing how she looked at him. There was a fear in her eyes that hadn’t been present before.

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  “We should finish our talk.”

  Page Break

  The void was neither light nor dark, neither solid nor empty. It was a realm untethered from reality, where rules dissolved and reformed like momentary thoughts. Shifting environments merged and unravelled without warning.

  In one moment, a dense forest of crystalline trees gave way to a searing desert of liquid fire. That blazing inferno condensed into an endless ocean of stars suspended in darkness.

  Colours bled and blended, defying comprehension. Shimmering hues of emerald and gold swirled together before fracturing into prismatic shards that spun into storms of pigment. An aurora of light and impossible shades leapt across the sky, its shape suggesting forms only witnessed in dreams.

  The air in this place was alive with sensations. Frigid winds roared and vanished into smothering calm. The scent of rain was abruptly replaced by the overpowering, perfume sweetness of flowers. Time itself seemed to shudder in fits and starts. Each moment stretched endlessly, then collapsed in an instant.

  In the center of this chaotic expanse, a stillness formed. It was a nexus of balance, a formation of reality that refused to budge or change. Two figures emerged from the kaleidoscope of colours, their presence tangible but impossible to define.

  If Mathew were here, he would recognize one of the figures immediately. Unyielding Declaration seemed to float across the ground, his alien features expressionless in the manner typical of the Celestials.

  His divine power hung around him like a mantle, a physical thing that held reality in its grip. There was a faint music in the distance where his Demesne was located, the Song of Creation that only the Celestials could hear.

  Unyielding Declaration stopped just on the edge of his territory; the boundary between him and the other was as clear as if a line had been drawn on the ground.

  On the other side was another deity, as alien to Unyielding Declaration as a Celestial was to a Human.

  Its shape was humanoid, but it carried traces of its true nature. Its skin shimmered with a faint sheen, a slightly oily covering over pale flesh. Its limbs were long and slightly fluid, its movement graceful but overpoweringly alien.

  Everything about it seemed slightly wrong. Its arms were lopsided and of different lengths; its left hand had seven fingers, while its right only had three. Its face was a mask that mimicked a human but lacked a quality that made it realistic.

  It was like the face of a corpse, stiff and unmoving while being neither male nor female but some amalgamation that contained features of both and neither. Unlike Unyielding Declaration’s expressionless appearance, this one was twisted into a grimace.

  Around its head, a faint halo of darkness hovered. If a mortal were to gaze at it, they would catch a glimpse of something monstrous inside, a hint of this being’s true appearance.

  The two deities regarded each other in silence, their forms untouched and unbothered by the ever-changing chaos around them. This place was the intersection between their two realms, where neither held an advantage.

  Unyielding Declaration was the first to speak, his voice resonating with a calm authority that came from the Song of Creation. It was a voice that could move mountains or still oceans with a single word.

  “You wear that form poorly.” Unyielding Declaration commented, his tone lacking any intonation. It was an observation, not a judgment.

  “A necessity forced by sacrifice. Like you, my entry into godhood was…problematic.” The god’s voice was a jarring dissonance, a choir of overlapping whispers and roars that was at odds with everything around it.

  Unyielding Declaration nearly winced as the Song of Creation recoiled at the sound.

  “Indeed. We are both outsiders.” Unyielding Declaration stated, the sound of his voice pushing back the dissonance and calming the Song of Creation. Now that he was aware of the effect this deity had on the Song, he would not allow its influence to spread beyond the border.

  “As outsiders, we should not be opposed. Your Apostle bested mine; the matter is settled.” The Deity replied; the bestial roar inside its voice grew louder while Its limbs twitched for a moment before stilling once more.

  “Agreed. The matter is settled. Why have you called me to this place?” Unyielding Declaration asked. The request for a meeting between them had come as a surprise.

  They had been at odds previously, and Mischievous Depravity had a reputation for being quarrelsome and holding grudges.

  “You still carry the ‘provisional’ title of a god. Your Demesne is fragile and weak. Others watch with hunger, circling like vultures, and when they come, you will find that your Song will falter and be silenced.”

  Unyielding Declaration stood immobile, unfazed by Mischievous Depravity’s words.

  “Speak plainly.” Unyielding Declaration said, his voice steady.

  “I come to you with an offer.” Mischievous Depravity’s face twisted further into a grimace. The chaotic tones of its voice grew more out of line, the softly spoken words echoed by the thunderous roars of a monster.

  “Mutual assistance. We will both rise together, outsiders against those who would seek to stop us.”

  “And what price do you demand for such assistance?” Unyielding Declaration asked as he considered the offer. It was true that things had been difficult, both as a newly ascended god and one that was from a race that lacked the support others had.

  The Celestials were powerful, and their connection to the Song of Creation was unrivalled, but in the end, he was the only Celestial that had obtained godhood.

  Mischievous Depravity was dangerous and untrustworthy by nature, but there were ways to ensure temporary cooperation.

  “Your Apostle.”