Thanatos’ shadow summon landed gracefully before Typhaon’s Core.
The bird, a massive creature formed of shifting, liquid-like shadows, dissolved seamlessly into his shadow as he stepped onto the barren ground.
The air itself began to tremble.
Waves of invisible energy rippled outward as Typhaon stirred.
Its aura caused the space around it to distort.
The giant tree at the center of the wasteland groaned and creaked and its massive roots pulsated with pale light as it prepared to strike.
Space twisted unnaturally, stretching the distance between Thanatos and Typhaon’s Core to near-infinite.
But….
“It’s useless,” Thanatos said.
He killed the warped space with a casual snap of his fingers.
It snapped back to normal and the distortion vanished as if the had never existed.
“Stretching space is like stretching a ribbon,” he muttered,. “It only makes it easier to tear.”
The giant tree shuddered violently.
The tremors caused cracks to form in the dry, brittle ground.
“Why are you even trying to fight? You, of all beings, should know it’s impossible for you to defeat me,” Thanatos said.
The immense tree seemed to recoil.
Its branches curled inward as if the words had struck a nerve and made it recall unpleasant memories.
For decades, Typhaon had focused on a singular goal: defeating Neo.
After Neo’s Concept of Eternal Sleep had forced it into prolonged slumber, Typhaon had dedicated all its strength to breaking free.
Its roots had burrowed deep into the earth, absorbing the planet’s energy to accelerate its growth.
With this newfound power, it had reduced its forced slumber from 30 years to just 8—a feat that once filled it with hope and pride.
Yet, each time it awoke, Neo returned to force it back into slumber.
The cycle had repeated for decades.
The air trembled again, but this time, it carried Typhaon’s Intent—a raw, furious energy that lashed out like a storm.
You dare come here again!
The voice was not heard but it resonated in the minds of all present.
Its tone was dripped with murderous rage.
Have you not done enough by humiliating me again and again? Why do you persist? It’s not as if you can kill me!
“It’s not like I can’t kill you…?”
Thanatos tilted his head.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Wait, I think there’s been some confusion.”
Typhaon’s branches quivered violently, its rage boiling over.
What are you trying to say, spawn of Death?
“I haven’t killed you because I wasn’t sure if your death wouldn’t cause irreversible damage to the Earth, not because I couldn’t.”
Typhaon froze.
For the first time, it had no words.
Its roots had not only been its lifeline but also the source of its power.
They had formed a parasitic link with the World’s Core, allowing Typhaon to draw energy directly from the planet.
The reason Gaia had been increasing the synchronization with the World Core hastily was to cut Typhaon’s link with it.
W-what?
Thanatos ignored Typhaon’s confusion and glanced at the device strapped to his wrist.
“It’s a message from Gaia. Looks like she has cut your link with the World’s Core.”
Panic surged through Typhaon’s branches.
No! Typhaon roared. I’ve gained resistance to Death itself after decades of your relentless tyranny! You cannot—
Thanatos placed his palm the tree’s trunk.
“Darkness….”
The True Darkness hidden with Thanatos’ shadow bloomed.
“Devour.”
Black ink-like tendrils erupted and crawled up Typhaon’s trunk with terrifying speed.
Typhaon’s desperate attempts to resist were useless.
Monstrous creatures spawned from its bark.
They tried to attack Thanatos, but the Darkness swallowed them all like a tsunami.
As the inky tendrils climbed higher, Typhaon let out a hysterical, grating laugh.
It’s all according to the memories!
It screeched in a voice filled with manic glee.
I saw it in the Child of Mana’s mind! I knew I would lose! It didn’t matter if you were here or not!
I could never win! The memories showed me my future!
Typhaon’s voice, filled with a mix of anguish and triumph, echoed.
But!
You won’t win either!
I’ve made sure you can’t win!
The Father laughed.
Its Intent was filled with unshakable confidence.
I did it long ago! Now, there is no way you can win!
You will die!
Thanatos’ expression hardened.
The Darkness finished devouring the tree, letting out a deep, almost human-like burp before retreating into Thanatos’ shadow.
A series of notifications flashed.
[Agility +1]
[Strength +1]
[Mental Resistance +1]
[Right Hand Magic Circuit +1]
[Partial Memories Acquired]
“I gained a whole lot of nothing.”
Thanatos shook his head in disappointment.
Despite Typhaon’s overwhelming strength, the disparity between them had been immense.
“Well, let’s check the memories—!?”
A sharp pain tore through Thanatos’ head as he attempted to access the fragments of Typhaon’s mind and was rejected.
A spiritual barrier, thick and impenetrable, blocked him.
He gritted his teeth, forcing his will against it.
His expression grew strained.
Finally he shattered the seal.
“Dammit,” he muttered as he saw the memories. “The seal was there to buy time.”
The memories were gone. Destroyed.
Typhaon had left behind a spiritual parasite that consumed the memories the moment Neo killed him.
Worse, the parasite turned its focus on Thanatos, attempting to invade his mind after eating Typhaon’s memories.
“Don’t overestimate yourself.”
Thanatos obliterated the parasite with a single thought.
After ensuring it was truly dead, he opened his quest window.
[Time remaining until world’s end: 19 hours, 37 minutes, 46 seconds.]
His jaw tightened.
The world would end in 20 hours.
Despite all their efforts, the countdown hadn’t slowed.
Thanatos had meticulously covered every possible threat:
Zeus was convincing the moon to remain in orbit.
Thanatos had dealt with Typhaon.
Gaia was calming the World Core.
The Titans were sealing the Bermuda Triangle.
Ares and Athena were purging the Five Emperors.
“No matter what we do, the countdown still goes on…” Thanatos muttered, frustration evident in his voice.
Suddenly, he froze.
A ripple of distortion in the air caught his attention.
His eyes darted upward.
“Thanatos, get back!” Emma’s voice rang out.
She was sprinting toward him with a panicked expression.
The air above them shattered like glass, revealing a massive sphere of compressed energy.
The sheer density of it made the space around it shimmer unnaturally.
Thanatos’ face twisted.
“That thing looks like it could put a hole in Ireland’s map.”
The sphere had been hidden within a subspace maintained by Typhaon.
With Typhaon’s death, the subspace collapsed, and the deadly energy ball was unleashed.
As if on cue, the sphere detonated, releasing an explosion of catastrophic magnitude.
Thanatos, standing closest, had no time to dodge.
Even if he’d been farther away, escape from its massive range would’ve been impossible.
“Dammit,” he muttered as the searing heat began to melt his body. “I should’ve given some Defensive Intent to this body.”
….
B-6, Basement, Awakener Association Headquarters (New), Turkey
Neo was in deep meditation.
Suddenly, his brows twitched.
His eyes snapped open and a spark of irritation flashed within them.
“That bastard Typhaon left behind a nasty gift,” he said.
A cold metal of a coffee can touched his neck and he heard a familiar voice.
“Here, take this,” Gaia said casually, placing the coffee can next to him before sitting across from him.
Neo glanced at her.
He frowned as his eyes swept over Gaia, who was lounging comfortably in a baggy shirt that barely reached her thighs and wore nothing else.
“You can wear something proper when I come here,” he said.
“I’ll wear whatever I want in my house.”
Gaia scratched her belly with a yawn.
Neo shook his head.
The esteemed Gaia, the paragon of elegance and composure to the outside world, was a completely different person in the privacy of her home.
“Anyway,” Gaia said, flopping down onto the couch with a slight bounce, “what happened with Typhaon?”
“My Intent defeated him,” Neo replied. “But the monster had left behind a powerful bomb.”
“Were there casualties?” she asked with slight furrowed brows.
“No,” Neo assured her. “I sacrificed my Intent to absorb the explosion.”
He had used Thanatos—his Intent ‘clone’—to devour the explosion with its Darkness.
However, the Intent had overexerted itself and perished as a result.
“I still don’t understand how that technique works. How can you create physical, tangible bodies with Intent? Only Zeus and Athena can use Intent, and even they can use it just for telepathy.”
It was a huge praise coming from Gaia who was responsible for creating almost all techniques used by Association.
Even she was not able to comprehend the mechanism behind Intent.
Neo’s eyes lit up as if he’d been waiting for this question.
Gaia froze mid-sip of her coffee, realizing her mistake.
“Oh no,” she muttered, already regretting her curiosity. Read exclusive adventures at empire
Neo leaned forward.
The air demeanor shifted into that of an enthusiastic teacher.
“It’s normal. After all, I’ve created this technique myself.
“You see, Gaia, it’s all about Intent compression and manipulation. Normally, we funnel pure Willpower into a specific form which creates Intent and fill them with thoughts. But if you fill the Intent with techniques instead of normal thoughts—”
“Stop. Stop right there.” Gaia held up a hand in a borderline pleading tone. “I’m too tired for one of your lectures right now.”
“But—”
“No buts,” she cut him off, sinking deeper into the couch. “Just tell me, have you managed to break the barrier separating our World and Underworld?”
“Not yet.”
He clicked his tongue when her words reminded of his current predicament.
“No matter what I do I can’t go to the Underworld anymore.”
He looked around, noticing dead souls only he could see.
“It’s not just me. No one can enter Underworld. Dead souls, spiritual monsters, and….. Grim Reapers too,” he muttered while holding the black badge in his hands.