GREY
"Law! Law! Are you there... Law?"
At that moment, he knew he was alone. But not totally —
because he had company.
THE
ENCOUNTER
The figure in front of me walked towards me with confidence.
His name flashed by, per the system's notification: Govark, the Black Knight.
He moved like a shadow bound in steel, a towering figure clad in jagged black
obsidian armor that seemed to be forged in the heart of a dying star by an
ancient Valhalla or ruin tribe. Each step he took echoed with a deep, metallic
weight — as if the earth itself recoiled beneath him. His cloak, thick and
tattered like the wings of a fallen beast, swung around, breezing through the
gust accompanying him. He stood tall, over eight feet, and his blade — as tall
as me — was scrawled in aura. A mystified, ethereal glow flowed through his
blade, like a ghost blade. Wind trailed him as if shielding others from the
aura he could barely contain.
From his helmet, two piercing lights glowed — bright,
unnatural, and unblinking. His eyes... they were warnings. Flares of dominance
and dread that could turn a hardened warrior's will into ash. The helm he wore
was jagged and ancient, forged with runes that pulsed faintly, barely managing
to seal away the monstrous presence within. It couldn't even hide his piercing
gaze that was trying to tear right through me. I could feel him staring at my
very essence.
But even sealed, his aura leaked — a suffocating pressure
like the edge of a blade resting against the soul. I stood across from him,
feeling the pressure; it was like being crushed from the inside out, like
invisible claws scraping against my mind, my instincts screaming to run. He was
not human. Not truly. He was a Monsternoid Knight, a fusion of armored terror
and inhuman power, bound only by will and purpose.
And when he raised his blade — long, serrated, and humming
with dark energy — it was clear. He wasn't a servant of darkness. He was its
embodiment.
Without wasting any time, I brought Ieva out. I was still in
my Zone state, but it felt different — more attuned and powerful. There was
black and red lightning around me; my hair glimmered with a dark glow.
"Phew. I feel confident," I muttered.
As we walked towards each other, the sun dawned in our
midst, revealing the black of both of us as our shadows widened.
Then, with a gravelly, spine-rippling voice:
"Oh, do you?" the Monsternoid spat.
He could talk! With that brief moment of surprise that kept
me frozen in place, his aura filled the entire zone. The cliff we stood on
crumbled; the river beneath the cliff boiled. He stepped forward. To my
unawareness, he was already in front of me. How didn't I notice that?!
I jumped backwards as he hit his sword against mine. The
force at which he swung his blade sent pressure through my arms. He kept
planking and planking at me. In an instant, he raised me up with a clearing
kick. He stuck his sword to the ground and smashed me up and down with his
gauntleted fists. I snapped with a nasal scream.
He closed my mouth as he palmed me to the ground. 'Shut up.'
I choked on my blood as I laid flat, looking up at him. He
picked up his sword, raised it into the air, and slashed at me. Me, continuing
to grip my sword, blocked the attack with a furious attempt at survival. The
cliff was split in half — boulders came crashing down as I was sent flying
straight into the water, with an enormous explosion of gust. I exploded off the
impact, bouncing around on the surface of the river.
I steadily got a hold of myself and stood on the surface of
the water. I wiped the blood from my face. The river shook and divided. I
looked forward, my eyes matching his gaze, as he was suspended in the air,
slightly hovering above the river.
"Oh no, this monster's level of aura... it's at the
resonance plane," I whispered.
"Get up. I don't want my armor in water," he
demanded.
I stood up straighter, charging my aura, which seemed to
have reached the Emotional Aura Plane. My emotion widened as a bright white
aura resonated from my body. Lightning spread, zapping through the water. Some
shards of lightning zapped towards the Monsternoid Knight, but he slapped them
away like nothing. Golden-flamed chains wrapped my hands and sword like
gauntlets. I teleported at him. As I tried to catch him off guard, he blocked
without even looking at me. He grabbed hold of my hair.
"Here, let me dry you up."
He tossed me into the air. I stopped myself so I wouldn't
lose track of him. 'Agh! This is getting dangerous.'
I tried finding him, but I lost sight of him. I felt a
strange presence behind me. I... is this killing intent?! Before I could do
anything, I was sent down to the ground. I landed in the forest, but before I
could notice, I was kicked into a mountain. The terrain changed constantly from
my point of view; it was as if time itself had stopped for me and the terrain
was the only thing moving. He slammed me up and down. I was all over the place.
Even when I thought to hide, it was of no use. He didn't give me any time for
resting. I didn't even have the strength.
He smashed me away to a distance and slashed at me with his
sword. I fell into a state of unconsciousness. The slashes cut me into a mess.
I was forcefully woken up by the agonizing pain I felt all over my body.
'Aghaaah... h-haah.' My cries could be heard from afar. As I woke up in
surprise, I stared at the empty spot my left arm and right leg used to be. I
screamed even more as I bled out, laid back against a wall.
SYSTEM
ALERT
SYSTEM: "Player is about to die! A one-chance safety
measure has been activated."
SYSTEM WINDOW:
STATES:
·
ZONE: BLACK ZONE
·
COSMIC FORM — 200G
·
ELFRIAN — 150G
·
DIVINE BURST — 1,000G
·
SUPER NOVA — 500G
Please select a form to use.
The Cosmic Form felt fairly familiar to me. I think I should
go for it. As I was about to select it, the Monsternoid came at me and repeated
his earlier process, sending even double the number of slashes at me. I touched
the Cosmic Form. Time dilation was activated. I stood up as my severed limbs
healed and grew back. I moved in and dodged all the slashes as they warped past
me slowly, hitting the empty, bloody wall and exploding. I then released all
the explosive cosmic energy inside me. It spread all through the forest,
pushing the Monsternoid away.
My body strengthened as it was covered in a cosmic glow. The
color of my hair was emanating a universal blue charge, leaving small traces of
my natural black hair, which was now darkened by my new Zone. My clothes
hovered through my universal blue aura.
My system window alerted me of my current state.
SYSTEM
WINDOW
·
NAME: GREY LUCAS, RANKED C
·
LEVEL: 50
·
POINTS: 3,000 GOLD
·
TITLES: MONSTER SLAYER
·
CLASSES: SWORDSMAN (D), NINJA (E), WARRIOR (B),
MAGE (E)
·
AURA: EMOTIONAL PLANE
·
EKRIN: 2ND CORE
·
STATS: STR: 70–90, VIT: 66–82, AGI: 58–78, SPE:
85–100, INT: 62–88, STA: 67–80, DUR: 77–95
·
ELEMENTS: WIND, FIRE–LIGHTNING, SPARKS,
WATER–ICE, EARTH–GRAVITY
·
AUTHORITIES: ART'S WORK, RULER'S TOUCH
·
SKILLS: EMPEROR'S CHAINS, FIRE HEART, INSTANT
MOVEMENTS, LUMINOUS SHIELD, AURORA'S HEART, SOLAR BLESSING, LIGHT SPEED,
PRISMATIC AURA, HEALING RADIANCE, DAZZLING DISPLAY — ALL OTHERS HAVE BEEN
UNLOCKED
·
SHOP / INVENTORY
·
TRAINING REGIMEN
·
WORLDS: SYSTEM REALM
·
STATES: ZONE: BLACK ZONE — IN USE
·
COSMIC FORM — IN USE
·
ELFRIAN — 150G
·
DIVINE BURST — 1,000G
·
SUPER NOVA — 500G
COSMIC FORM
So this is cosmic energy. It feels like I've reached a new
level of calmness. I feel... untouchable.
"Have you ever beaten up an Emperor?" I asked the
Monsternoid.
"W-what... an Emperor? How do you know of such a
being?" the Monsternoid said, his voice cracking behind his helmet.
"Wow! Well, now you are about to know how it feels to
get your ass kicked by someone who's defeated one."
"You can try, but you won't even leave a scratch on my
armor," the Monsternoid said, nonchalant.
"Well, let's find out."
I lunged forward at him. He wasn't fast enough to go after
me. In a battle of speed, I far surpassed his vision. But for some reason, his
eyes — those neon-glowing eyes — felt like they never lost trace of me, even as
I was moving at an abnormal rate. In reaching him, I sliced his back, but his
armor deflected it.
I bounced back openly. In an insane stance, he turned at me.
The ground beneath him spaced and shattered, as if he'd been storing up power
in his feet. He tried to catch me. I shocked and disappeared like a gust from
the tip of his fingers, using Mirage Steps.
"Wow! What a swordsman," I complimented him.
But no joke, this guy is the real deal. He's at least at the
Astral Plane of aura manipulation. Even if he can't follow me, he still has a
whole arsenal of moves. As I thought to myself, he ignited his neon-black aura,
sending beams of blast all over the place.
I moved upwards. The thing I like about cosmic energy is
that it's an ancient, primordial force that flows through the fabric of reality
— stars, void, time, space, and life itself.
Cosmic Aura — Energy radiates off the body, increasing
strength, speed, and perception to superhuman levels.
Gravity Bending — It can allow me to bend gravity, giving me
a gravitational pull I can use for flight, dodging, and crushing attacks.
Star Strike — Channels a fragment of star energy into a
single explosive punch or slash.
Cosmic Sight — Can allow me to perceive energy flow. I can
see the cosmos, weak points, and even glimpses into the future with these
cosmic pearl eyes (limited precognition). I know I can reach a more advanced
state of this form, but this is all I can manage for now.
Blasts hovered above me as if they were sent to bury me. I
used Gravity Pulse and pulled them towards their conjurer. A loud bang shocked
my ears. The moon shone at its peaks. Shattered black mist swords jutted from
the earth like something brought out of nightmares. Wind howled, carrying the
scent of blood.
I landed, just floating above the ground, my eyes glowing
with the intensity of stars. My body was outlined in radiant whitish-blue
energy, like a silhouette against the void.
The knight came out of the debris. His eyes looked to mine,
staring straight at me. His armor glowed like something forged from nightmares:
twisted iron plates fused with ancient emblems. He raised his sword in one
clawed hand. The ground beneath him cracked; a crater appeared where he was
standing as he charged towards me, with all his ancient swords coming from the
ground.
I raised a hand. 'Gravity Field.'
Air warped around the knight mid-leap. His charge slowed;
his mist swords dissipated out of pressure. In a blink, I vanished — then
reappeared above him, fist blazing with compressed starlight.
"Star Strike: Nova Fana!"
My punch connected with the knight's shoulder, his stomach,
ribs, face as he was hit to different locations, detonating in a sphere of
energy. I transferred it all to him through a crushing blow, as a burst of
white-hot plasma covered him and exploded him into the ground. Smoke and dust
swallowed the valley.
"Payback," I snarled.
GORVAK, THE
BLACK KNIGHT
What was that light... it's burning me... seeping through my
armor, as it melts it.
I roared, the sound more beast than man. Pain lanced through
me as his cosmic flames devoured most of my body. Ever since this human entered
that state, his movements, attack patterns — they've all changed. Not to forget
that radiating energy. What is that?
I know I've been acting as though I don't feel pain, but I'm
still a living thing. Even though I've been trapped here for years and been
fighting other monsters, I still feel my material body — my soul is still
enclosed in it.
"I won't lose to you, human!!"
The pain fueled me. I slammed my sword into the ground. The
impact shattered the Gravity Field that was still holding me down, causing the
sky itself to pulse. I rose from the crater, molten armor re-forming.
"Cosmic energy... You reek of that cursed star
fire," I snarled in a gurgling growl.
I smirked. "But things are about to go down," I
spat.
"I AM FORGED FROM THE VOID. IT ENCLOSES ME, AND IT
FILLS ME! VOID CANNON LINK — BLACK GATE!"
The atmosphere changed. Countless black beams surged,
launching spirally at the human who hovered in the air cockily.
"Too slow," Grey said nonchalantly.
He twisted and teleported in a blink of starlight. He
reappeared behind me mid-blast. His aura shimmered — dense, white-hot. Hands
glowing. I couldn't see him. He uttered only one word.
"Stellar Breaker!"
He drove both fists, which were covered in cosmic energy,
into my spine. The impact cracked my armor, and a shockwave rolled across the
land. I staggered, stumbling forward, but did not fall.
"How are you still standing...?"
He thinks I'll fall? I yelled out, 'I've slain dangerous
monsters on worse days... Yo... you are nothing.'
I grinned under my helm, bleeding black blood. 'Human, do
you think you are a god?' I dashed towards him.
"My name is Gorvak, the Black Knight."
A bright light shined from him. I couldn't see what it was.
GREY
I'm no god... Me getting beaten up by you made me realize
how weak I am. But with cosmic energy, I can beco— No, I will become stronger.
I infused my cosmic aura into Ieva. The sword changed. What is this... is this
the true power of Ieva? It morphed its shape in assistance to my form.
Cosmos! With this power, I can see my potential moves and
future prowess. Oh! Whoa — Ieva pulled me in for the kill with starlight. I cut
down the knight, slicing his armor cleanly as I split him in half through his
torso.
* * *
The scene ended. The
fight was over.
Grey stood victorious. His aura dimmed — it turned off
instantly as he breathed down heavily.
"Huff, huff..."
"Huff, huff..."
Huffs and puffs. Though his body had healed up completely,
his aura, Ekrin, and stamina were drained.