Chapter 273 – Floor 60: Part 3

  The grand palace formed from bones trembled as Mathew and Serana faced each other in its vast, hollowed halls. Towering pillars of rib-like ivory stretched toward a ceiling of woven vertebrae, and their unnatural forms shifted at Serana’s command.

  Mathew stood firm; his hands gripped the Godslaying Blade of Wrath tightly. Divine fire seethed along the length of the weapon, flickering and flaring brightly in the dim light. Opposite him, Serana bared her fangs into a smile, and her clawed hands flexed as the bone walls twisted and the ground cracked beneath her feet.

  With a flick of her wrist, the palace around them surged to life. Spines shot from the walls, and thousands of projectiles raced toward him with the aim of skewing Mathew where he stood. He dashed forward, carving through them with a single, blazing arc from his sword. The impact sent fiery embers cascading through the air.

  When he was near enough to her, Serana met his advance head on, and her talons clashed against god-slaying steel. Spark erupted as they exchanged blows. Mathew’s raw strength that could shatter bone met Serana’s monstrous speed, which kept her just beyond the reach of his wrath.

  The palace groaned and shifted as a result of their battle. Serana leapt onto a rising platform of bone, and her twisting fingers commanded the walls to bend toward them. A massive, rib-like spear shot downward and forced Mathew to roll aside as it impaled the floor and split the ground apart.

  Mathew retaliated with a sweeping crescent of divine fire. The sheer force of his strike carved a flaming gouge through the living architecture. Serana hissed as she leapt off of her platform and crashed through the inferno. Her talons raked their way across Mathew’s chest, drawing lines of blood that quickly healed.

  Mathew’s eyes burned with fury, and with a mighty swing, he cleaved a towering pillar of bone in two as he tried to strike her, sending slabs of bone crashing down. Serana snarled and raised a barrier of spines to shield herself from the debris.

  Seizing the opportunity, Mathew pressed forward, and the Wrathful Blade carved through her defences like parchment. The palace buckled, and entire sections of the structure collapsed under the strain of their battle.

  Serana extended her arms, and dozens of sharpened bone lances erupted from the floor. Mathew leapt skyward as the throne room disintegrated around them. As he landed, Mathew drove his blade into the ground and unleashed a shockwave of mana and divine energy that shattered the remaining walls of the palace.

  Battered but defiant, Serana emerged from the wreckage. Her body mended itself as jagged spikes protruded from her shoulders. With a furious roar, she called upon the last remnants of the palace. The debris rose into the air, a tempest of fragments that swept forward toward Mathew.

  For what felt like an eternity, Mathew and Serana clashed within the collapsing Palace of Bone. Every strike of Mathew’s Godslaying Blade of Wrath shattered bones and sent cascades of debris tumbling to the ground. Every motion of Serana’s clawed hands used the palatial remnants as weapons against him.

  Their power reshaped the world around them with each exchange until the very air trembled under the force of their blows.

  As the hours passed, the palace was reduced to ruin, and the once grand structure was shattered. The sheer scale of their combat cracked the earth beyond its walls. Entire canyons split open, and the sky above was choked with dust and embers.

  Mathew’s clothing was shredded, and his body was streaked with wounds where Serana’s talon had managed to pierce his flesh. Summoning the last of his mana, he unleashed a final, devastating strike. The Godslaying Blade finally carved its way through Serana’s monstrous form.

  Fire and divine wrath surged through her body, and an explosion ripped through the earth, leaving nothing but ruin in its wake.

  Serana stagged, her body riddled with wounds as dark blood spilled onto the broken ground. She let out a ragged breath and then collapsed. The power sustaining her gave way, and her form began to crumble. The bones that had been both her weapon and shield disintegrated into ash.

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  Her body collapsed in upon itself, breaking apart piece by piece until nothing remained but dust that was carried away by the wind.

  In the silence that followed, the red sky above darkened and dimmed as the clouds rolled back and the stars were finally revealed. A surge of Aether erupted from where she had once stood. Raw and untamed, it twisted through the air in a blue wave as it sought a new vessel.

  Mathew barely had time to react before the Aether rushed toward him. The power coiled around his battered form and began to mend him. His wounds sealed, and newfound strength entered his limbs. His vision was filled with blinding light as the remnants of Serana’s essence were drawn into him.

  The storm of energy finally settled after a few minutes, and Mathew was left standing alone amidst the ruins, breathing heavily. The land around him was devastated, and no trace of Serana or her palace remained.

  The silence was broken by the sound of a ‘Ding’, and a familiar elevator appeared next to him. The doors slowly opened, and white light spilled out onto the ground.

  Page Break

  Adelaide paced back and forth in her office, the soft click of her heels against the polished floor the only sound in the dimly lit room. The floor-to-ceiling windows of the Clan Exaltis building framed the glittering New York skyline.

  But Adelaide barely noticed.

  Her mind raced, and her pacing was matched by curling her hands into fists before smoothing them out again, over and over. It was a nervous habit that she couldn’t suppress. The battle against Eryn had ended, and Mathew had entered a portal to another realm, but he hadn’t returned.

  There were no reports. No calls. Nothing. The unknown gnawed at her stomach, twisting it into knots.

  “You’re going to wear a path into the floor if you keep going like that.” Lila said, her voice not as silky smooth as it normally was. She was sat on a chair in front of Adelaide’s desk, watching the Elder pace near the windows.

  Despite her calm appearance, the Grand Elder was filled with unease. After Mathew’s earlier appearance and what Adelaide had told her of him, Lila wasn’t sure what to think about the strange young man who had suddenly entered their lives.

  Adeliade turned sharply, ready to reply to Lila, when suddenly, Mathew was there. A startled gasp left her lips, drawing Lila’s attention.

  Mathew stood in the middle of the room as if he had just stepped out of thin air. But it wasn’t just his sudden appearance that made her breath catch. He looked different.

  Gone was the unnatural glow that clung to him like an aura of power. His almost inhuman handsomeness had faded away and had returned to how it had been before his transformation. His piercing, otherworldly blue eyes had been replaced by a darker and more mundane shade.

  Adelaide stared at him with her heart hammering against her ribs.

  “Mathew?” She asked tentatively, unsure of how she should act around him. This was the person who had faced a Primogenitor and left her to fight two more.

  Despite how normal he looked, was he still human?

  Mathew didn’t answer right away. He just watched her, his expression unreadable. The weight of something unspoken hung heavy in the space between them, and tension began to permeate the room.

  Then, like a dam bursting, the tension drained away. Mathew suddenly looked older, haggard and exhausted. He let out a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his hair before speaking.

  “It’s done. I came to say goodbye.” Mathew said simply.

  Adelaide knew that this would be the result if Mathew succeeded in achieving his objective on this ‘Floor.’ It still boggled her mind that he wasn’t from her world, that he didn’t belong here. But it didn’t make it any easier.

  Still, hearing him say goodbye was like a knife twisting in her chest.

  “You’re going back.” She swallowed hard and forced her voice to remain steady. Mathew nodded, and there was no hesitation in his movements.

  “I’ve done all that I needed to do.” Mathew replied. Adelaide exhaled sharply and shook her head.

  “I knew this was going to happen. You told me this was going to happen. But I still hoped….” Her voice wavered, and she had to clench her hands into fists to push down the rising emotions.

  “I know that you aren’t mine, that you aren’t my Scion. But I’m still your Elder. I’m still responsible for you.” Adelaide said, Mathew’s expression softened a touch, but he didn’t approach her any closer.

  “Thank you. Things would have been much harder if I didn’t have your help.” Mathew stated softly. For a long moment, neither of them spoke and the air between them felt heavy. It was only when Lila spoke that the atmosphere returned to normal.

  “Well, this is depressing.” Lila commented as she stood from her chair and walked toward Mathew. The Grand Elder’s aura and presence had no effect on him now, and he was unfazed when she stopped right in front of him.

  “You could stay.” Lila offered, and Mathew shook his head again.

  “I don’t have a choice.” He replied.

  “You always have a choice, Mathew. You don’t need to worry about anything, if you want to stay, I’ll look after you.” Lila proposed, and her hand reached up to brush against his face.

  “You’re still handsome, after all.”

  Mathew let out a quiet chuckle as he gently grabbed her hand and lowered it from his face.

  “Take care of yourselves.”

  With that, he was gone. One moment he stood in front of them, and the next, he had disappeared in the same manner as he had arrived.