Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 176: Sunset
Despite the insidious nature of the battle and Morgan’s extraordinary mental fortitude, his body was slowly starting to be affected by the tyrannical will of the ancient fiend he was up against.
The corrosion slowly spread up his arm, then stopped, pushed back by the tenacity of Sarenus’ purifying flames.
Morgan let out an agonized groan, small streams of sweat running down his forehead.
In the next moment, his outstretched hand went ablaze, vivid golden flames licking at the limb.
Lucian’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight.
A collective gasp echoed, the youth staring at the unfolding phenomenon in disbelief.
"Just what is happening to him?"
Talia asked with a bewildered frown.
Cassius’ eyes narrowed, his pupils contracting and widening with eerie similarity to those of the cat.
"The flames appear to be burning fiercely around his hand, but they’re not...harming him," Cassius murmured somberly.
"How is that even possible?" Amanda muttered.
The obscure realm they knew as Tenebris had been particularly bewildering to the Talen, ted with more and more fantastical things happening.
Lucian slowly moved for, but a quiet voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Stop, Lucian..."
Lucian hesitantly turned, staring at Emily with a pained look.
The dark-haired girl was unnaturally calm.
Meeting his gaze, she spoke, her voice ringing with an impossible coolness considering their current situation.
" There’s nothing you can do in this situation. You know this..."
Turning to the monstrous wall, she let out a weary sigh, her eyes focusing on the figure kneeling at its base.
Morgan was on fire, literally on fire.
He felt an exquisite agony wash through his body, the pain grounding him.
He instinctively felt that his body, his real body, was breaking apart under the strain of enduring the harrowing battle for so long.
Despite that, the pain made everything clearer.
It kept him in the moment; every movement was precisely aimed at severing the delicate nexus and
The tenebrous giant was nigh immortal.
No matter how fast he moved, the luminous nexus moved just a bit faster than his fiery body was moving.
Azaroth’s devious plan...was working.
The ever-present darkness around the titanic vessel of the Wall of Truth was alive, moving with the colossal giant, smothering the brilliant golden flames and, in some cases, diverting them away from the vulnerable nexus at the very last second.
No matter how many times Morgan plowed through the obsidian titan, no matter how many holes he riddled it with, the massive creature simply refused to die.
"What a pest..."
It was simply unbelievable.
The brilliant golden light and the indomitable tide of darkness clashed again and again without either side gaining the upper hand.
But this fragile balance was only fleeting and would likely soon be broken.
Morgan could already feel his body buckling under the strain of keeping up the prolonged battle for so long.
And inevitably, after a while, it was.
The golden sun flickered then dimmed its radiant figure, drifting down through the dark expanse.
Morgan gasped, falling to his knees.
The golden flames surrounding his body flickered weakly, dimming in size and luminescence.
Morgan glared hatefully at the lumbering giant, each of its steps thundering through the matrix.
The obsidian giant came to a stop short distance away from him, then leaned forward.
In front of the titanic figure, he felt like an ant. He was sure the colossus regarded him as an ant.
With a casual flick of its massive hand, the creature reached down.
With a groan, Morgan rose to one knee, raising a single hand.
A barrier of golden flames surged forward, stopping the momentum of the creature’s hand.
The golden barrier blazed furiously, stopping the creature’s approach.
With an inhuman roar, Morgan rose to his feet, using every last ounce of strength he had.
" You cannot defeat me," Azaroth spoke, his voice echoing through the dark expanse.
The fiend’s voice slammed into him like a juggernaut, resonating with his entire being.
The wreath of golden flames flickered around him, the golden flames stuttering and changing between white and golden in constant flux.
Morgan groaned, gasping desperately for breath. His legs began trembling from the effort of bearing the giant’s weight.
With a shout, he fell to one knee, his eyes widening in desperation. He blinked back tears of pain, gritting his teeth in anguish.
"I can do this, I can do this..."
His eyes widened slightly in shock.
The image of the visage of the leaning giant slammed into him, shocking him to the core.
Suddenly, it was like he was seeing the tenebrous giant for the first time.
Azaroth’s massive figure loomed over him, the giant’s hand clenching around the golden shield with unyielding pressure.
Small cracks began to form in the surface of the indomitable shield.
Morgan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"I can do this...I can’t lose."
With a violent shove, he took a step back, pushing the giant back.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed forward, then paused, his eyes widening in shock.
"Just now I didn’t push Azaroth back...he moved back on his own..."
In the next moment, the giant lurched back, then swung its fist.
Morgan gasped, his eyes widening slightly in disbelief.
The massive fist hurtled down with harrowing force, distorting the slave around it.
The fist resembled an obsidian meteor plummeting through a dark matrix at a frenetic pace.
With a deafening roar, the giant fist collided with the golden dome shattered into fragments.
Morgan screamed in pain, his two arms buckling under the weight of the gigantic fist.
The space around him cracked, then shattered from the force of the blow.
An explosion of golden flames and darkness rippled outward.
A conflagration of colours lit up the matrix, the myriad flashes of light painting the dark canvas with a vivid image of a glowing sunset.
Morgan’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, his body reeling back from the force of the blow.
In that moment, the gargantuan arm wrapped around him, smothering the golden flames around him.
Azaroth slowly hoisted him into the air, the massive fingers squeezing tightly around him.
Morgan groaned, then let out a shout.
Outside, the golden flames surrounding him flickered then went out.
The darkness corroding his arm began spreading at an alarming speed, crawling up his arm at a rapid pace.
The trembling within the wall subsided, the thunderous tremors that had previously been rocking the ground coming to a stop.
Morgan’s entire body sagged, his head falling forward.
A sickening energy permeated the energy, repulsing the rest of the group.
The corrosion quickly spread, crawling up the length of his arms.
In the next moment, his arm slowly sank into the wall, its surface rippling fluidly.
The six youths watched in stunned disbelief, then sprang into action.
Lucian burst forward, unsheathing his blades in a flash. Within moments, he’d covered half the distance, his figure blurring through the air.
Frost bloomed on the ground, quickly spreading towards him.
Behind him, a shadowy figure swiftly followed.
Emily’s eyes glowed with ethereal green light, her ability freezing the air around them.
Icy blue flakes of snow crystallized in the air, slowly dropping to the ground.
Lucian threw her a furtive glance out of the corner of his eye, then leapt forward, aiming for Morgan’s arms.
A flurry of icicles flashed through the air, spiralling towards him.
Almost like he had eyes in the back of his head, Lucian reacted, sensing the danger within moments.
He redirected the momentum of his jump, twisting around in the air and blocking the barrage of icicles.
"What do you think you’re doing?" he yelled angrily, snarling at the dark-haired girl.
Talia burst forward as well, her form blurring through the air.
She swiftly unsheathed her long blade, her gaze shifting between the two youths.
"I’m protecting Morgan," Emily calmly said, the determination in her eyes not wavering even in the slightest.
Lucian’s eyes narrowed, his face darkening.
" How is this supposed to be protecting him? That thing is eating him alive, and you want us to stand by and simply watch?"
Talia pointed her blade at Emily.
" Much as I hate to agree with him, Lucian is right. We can’t let that thing devour him. Besides, how do we know it’s not Azaroth that’s controlling you? How do we know you’re truly free of its control?"
Emily pierced both of them with an icy gaze.
" And you think cutting off his hands will help him? And as for your question...I guess you’ll just have to trust me."
Closing her eyes, she let out a weary sigh.
" I’ve seen him do the impossible so many times, and I know he’ll be able to do it again once more. He told me he wouldn’t die."
Turning back to Lucian, she locked eyes with him.
" Is this all the trust you have in him? What happens if, after you sever his arm, his consciousness remains trapped in that vile thing? What happens if he’s still fighting? What then? You would have killed him yourself."
Lucian’s expression darkened, his eyes blazing with unbridled fury.
" I trust Morgan," he bit out, grinding his teeth with every word.
" But I won’t watch my friend die. I won’t let him die. "
Turning to the dark-haired girl, he pointed his blade at her.
"Even if it means that I have to go through you."
The two youths locked eyes, a palpable tension hanging in the air.
𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
