“A-Are you alright, Aether?” Aria asked, her voice trembling with concern. She glanced at Aether, who seemed mildly disoriented before he shook his head and frowned. “What… happened?” he muttered. The last thing he remembered was his vision suddenly blinding and then feeling dizzy, similar to when he used the teleportation…
“Teleported?” Aether asked, doubt creeping into his voice. Aria sighed in relief and nodded. She was immensely grateful she had leapt towards him with all her might when she noticed the teleportation circle forming around the carriage.
Aether took a deep breath and patted Aria reassuringly before getting up. He looked around, taking in the surreal landscape that surrounded them. It was a vast, empty plain, and…
“End of the world…” Aria mumbled, her eyes widening as she saw the edge.
A thin line marked the boundary where the ground ceased to exist, giving way to a dizzying void that seemed to swallow all light and sound. It wasn’t a cliff or a drop-off but a seamless transition into the void.
The void looked like a deep black canvas showing the outside endless universe, shimmering with stars. As they looked up, the universe slowly dispersed like a gradient, revealing a normal blue sky from that point.
The transition happened above the ground, where the vast blackness of space blended smoothly into the familiar blue sky, creating a stunning and surreal horizon, covering the world in a familiar hue.
[Author’s Note: I apologize if my explanation is unclear. Imagine the world as flat, but only up to a certain height, about 380 feet—where the outside universe remains plainly visible. Beyond that point, it transitions into a gradient-like mixture, where the normal blue sky begins to cover the world. I hope this clarifies it!]
Crack
Suddenly, both Aria and Aether flinched, snapping out of their mesmerized state. They turned to see a hooded figure appearing out of nowhere.
Aria frowned and stepped forward, aiming her bow at the figure. “Who are you?” she demanded. Her stance was firm, showing no hint of mercy for anyone who might harm her beloved.
The hooded figure didn’t answer. Instead, in a blink, it moved faster than Aether could react and brutally bent one of Aria’s arms backwards without mercy.
“What–”
Crack!!
“ARRRHHH!!” Aria screamed in agony. Aether’s eyes widened in horror, and he immediately leapt to help her.
Yet,
BOOM!!
A soft yet devastating punch landed on Aether’s gut, almost piercing his stomach. Blood and saliva poured from his mouth.
“A-Aether!” Ignoring her pain, Aria tried to reach him, but—
Slap!
A single slap from the figure sent her flying several meters away like a broken doll. She landed on the ground, motionless. The figure then turned its attention back to Aether, whose eyes were now red with pain and fury.
“F-Fucker!” Aether cursed, blasting flames at the figure’s face.
“Bang!”
The figure effortlessly waved his hand, dissipating the flames…. like a mere candle!
“What the…?” Aether was stunned but refocused himself. He threw a straight punch, which the figure blocked easily. Undeterred, Aether twisted his body, using his hand as an anchor, and kicked the figure’s head. Though slightly off balance, the figure blocked it without much effort.
Aether was taken aback, ‘He’s stronger…’ he thought, before snapping his fingers… A blast of compressed air hit the figure’s face.
BOOM!
The figure was pushed back, but there wasn’t a single wound on its body… not even its hood was torn.
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“I don’t think we’ve angered someone as strong as you?” Aether asked, frowning. He glanced at Aria, still lying motionless, then back at the figure.
“Anger? If I were truly angry, there wouldn’t be anything left of you two,” the figure replied with an amused expression, sensing Aether’s attempt to buy time.
Aether’s expression turned cold. “…. Jack Sparrow?” he asked, for some reason, the figure’s actions and mannerisms felt oddly familiar, yet he couldn’t place them.
“Jack Sparrow? Who?” The hooded figure’s voice dripped with amusement as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, numerous spears, each crafted from compressed air, materialized around him. With a haughty tone, he taunted, “Can he do this?”
Aether’s eyes widened as he glanced at the spears before…. telepathic message, /Please do it, Sel and Celes./ Then he whispered to himself,
‘Increase Level’
!~Ding~!
[You have Levelled up!!]
Aether barely had time to react as a spear whizzed past his arm, narrowly missing his heart. The assault continued, with spears raining down on him. He twisted and turned, doing his best to dodge the deadly projectiles while hurling fireballs at the hooded figure.
Sssshhh
However, his fireballs were effortlessly dispersed. Even with his increased level, Aether couldn’t even hurt that figure, ‘Who is it?’ he wondered.
Aether’s body bore numerous cuts and scratches from the spears that had grazed him, though none had struck deeply.
“Not bad,” the figure mumbled, observing Aether’s panting form. Aether’s breathing was heavy, his chest heaving from the exertion. Then, without warning, Aether smirked.
BOOM!
Aether’s fist slammed into the figure’s gut. He had moved so quickly that the figure was taken aback, barely able to register the attack. As the figure began to recover and swat him away like a nuisance—
BOOM!
Aether channelled his firepower into his fist, causing an explosion that forced the figure to step back. Aether’s smile widened as he taunted, “Fucker!” He launched another attack, not giving the figure any time to recover.
But this time, the figure caught Aether’s hand mid-punch. “Do you think punching me will work now?” it asked, still shocked by Aether’s sudden increase in strength but confident it could handle him.
“Nah, I wasn’t planning on just punching,” Aether said with a grin before whispering, “Increase.”
[You have Levelled up!!]
BOOM!”
The figure staggered, surprised by Aether’s growing power. Determined to stop him, it tried to counter, but Aether was relentless.
“Increase”
[You have Levelled up!!]
BOOM!”
“Increase”
[You have Levelled up!!]
BOOM!”
“Increase”
[You have Levelled up!!]
BOOM!
“Increase”
[Warning: Any more increase in attributes will most likely break your body permanently and might not be healed… Do you wish to continue?]
Suddenly, the figure caught Aether’s hand and delivered a brutal punch to his face, causing blood to spew from his mouth and nose. Despite the pain, Aether’s face twisted into a defiant smile.
“Increase”
[You have Levelled up!!]
BOOM!”
Crack
Aether’s body trembled as he felt something crack inside him. The searing pain coursed through his veins, but he didn’t care. This man was determined to end them, and with Aria lying motionless, Aether knew he couldn’t afford to hesitate.
“N-Not bad!” The figure said, finally managing to hold Aether, who seemed more exhausted than before, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. With an amused expression, it continued, “Look at you, trying so hard… a pitiful being.”
Aether simply grinned, blood staining his teeth. “Fucker!” he spat, his words dripping with defiance. The figure’s face, hidden inside the hood, twitched with irritation. It was just about to break Aether’s limbs when—
SSsssssssssshhhhhhhhhh
A black arrow pierced the figure’s shoulder. “AAAAARRRRHHHH!!” it screamed in pain.
“Hoo sss tt?” == “How is it?” Aria’s voice was strained but resolute. She held her bow with one hand while pulling the string with her mouth, releasing another ominous black arrow aimed at the figure’s hands.
Before the arrow could hit, the figure threw Aether aside and narrowly escaped the arrow’s path, landing a few meters away, clutching its shoulder where the arrow had struck. It glared at Aria with a mix of pain and rage.
“What the hell is this!” the figure shouted, a look of shock and horror crossing its face as it felt something foreign entering its body, the flesh on its shoulder suddenly decaying.
Aria, with a haughty smile, pulled her bowstring with her mouth and loosed another black arrow towards the figure. The figure barely managed to dodge the arrow when Aether appeared before it, his eyes blazing with determination. He delivered a powerful kick to the figure’s chest, channelling his arcane energy to his feet and…
BOOM!!