[System scans show an increase in death energy inside Host's body.
Reinitiating Ascension protocol…..
Analysis complete.....
All the best, Host.]
This was the last thing Karna saw before he fell unconscious.
The moment he entered the sphere filled with death energy, his body began absorbing the energy in a rapid manner until finally he felt the same thing he had felt a year ago on Tenrou Island.
But unlike last time, this time there was no one alive around him, so he had no reason to stop this process at all.
As the seconds passed, he felt his consciousness slowly disappear, but he did not fight against it. He knew this step was required to complete the process.
After some time, he opened his eyes to find that he was in an entirely new world.
The entire world seemed to be built with murky darkness that stretched till the horizon. Karna looked at the sky and found out that it was filled with the same darkness as well.
Yet even with all that darkness, everything was crystal clear. Every shape the black smoke took when it rose from the ground. Every ripple that his movements made in his surroundings.
He even felt like he could see all around him without even turning around.
He then looked at himself.
"Woah, that's some MHA kind of shit," he spoke in surprise as he looked exactly like Deku did when he entered One For All for the first time.
The darkness seemed to cover his entire body like it did Deku's when he was inside One For All.
"Let me try it this way," Karna muttered as he focussed on the energy covering him and successfully removed the death energy from sticking to his body. Now he looked exactly like he did when he entered the sphere filled with death energy.
He then began moving forward as he felt standing there would not give him any answers. While moving, he tried to access the system but was unsuccessful.
"That explains the 'all the best' message at the end. Looks like I have to do this one on my own," he muttered to himself as he tried to control the darkness around him.
He was surprised at the ease with which he was able to control it.
"This is spectacular. All that power, and I can control this much with ease. It's many times stronger than what I was able to do before. Is this what it means to ascend?" he thought as he began analysing the limits of the energy he could control.
And within a few minutes, he found the problem.
He was surely controlling a large volume of energy compared to before his ascension, but the finesse and affinity he felt with the death energy were lacking compared to when he used his own magic to generate it. Even when he created a devil's heart using death energy, he was still able to control it even better.
He also reached the answer to the question as well.
"The death energy I used to control was made with my magic, so it was completely under my control. But this domain is not under my control. It's currently ownerless. What I am doing right now is borrowing a part of it to use for my own needs," he thought as he kept on manipulating the energy present near his body. "But even that is limited because I am not the only one in control. Am I right?"
He said this as he turned towards his right. For a moment, there was no reply, as if he was mistaken, but Karna did not turn back and kept staring at the same point.
Finally, the place he was looking at began to separate, and a person stepped out from the separated reality. The man was of average height, the clothes he wore were pure black, and his face was ashy pale. Karna felt like he was meeting the male version of DC's Death. But unlike that Death, who had kindness in her eyes, this one looked like it was filled with overflowing resentment.
"It took me decades before my senses were attuned to the Domain of Death. But you managed to achieve the same within minutes of entering the dimension. Geniuses are unfair, no matter the era," he muttered, with venom in his voice at the end.
"I don't think so at all. If I didn't have the support of the people around me, who were kind enough to teach me the knowledge they had gained throughout their lives, I wouldn't have grown this much," Karna replied.
"Hmm. Humble, I see, but it does not change how this is going to end at all, does it?" he said as he looked straight at Karna. "If you are worried about me taking revenge later on, I can promise you not to do it. Can you stay out of my way if I swear on my magic?"
"I would have if it were before. But the moment I entered the domain and gained control of the energy, I realised something," he said as he looked at the death energy in his hand. "You could have attained complete control over this domain without Lumen Histoire, right? It would have taken a few thousand years, but all you had to do was wait to consolidate enough energy and control. But you didn't, did you?
You were impatient and did not want to wait, and that's why you tortured both Mavis and Zeref for centuries so that you could gain enough energy through one of their creations.
You had no idea about Lumen Histoire at all. You just knew that if you tortured them for a few centuries, they might create something that would help speed up your ascension. Not to even mention the thousands you killed by channelling the death energy through them and making them believe that they were the cause of all those deaths," Karna looked straight into Ankhseram's eyes as he replied, "A man like you cannot be trusted with control over the Domain of Death."
"Are you really taking away the chance to have a peaceful conclusion, child? Is your pride so great that you can speak like this?" Ankhseram asked with anger. "Didn't I promise to swear on my magic?"
"Stop with your righteous bravado and anger. The oath you make with magic is meaningless because the moment you gain control over the Domain of Death, even if you lose your magic, it will make no difference to the strength of your powers.
Plus, with the look you are giving me, I can see that you have no intention of leaving my family in peace."
The angered expression on Ankhseram's face changed into a sneer.
"As I said before," he said as he channelled death energy around him, "Geniuses are unfair."
A/N- Hope you like it.