Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 1065: Reaper’s Descent

Gin dashed through the air. His scythe twisted in his hands as he parried strike after strike from Theron.He could tell by this point.

His old friend had stopped holding back.

This was no longer a spar, no longer a conversation between two people.

This was a fight to the death.

Even so... he found it hard to accept.

How many years had they spent side by side? How many memories had they shared with one another?

How many drinks, how many woes. Going their separate ways was one thing.

But to end the life of a brother?

Gin found it difficult to do so.

But his hesitation meant little in front of Theron.

Flicking his wrist, Oblivion wrapped around his blade for a split instant as Gin quickly fell back and prepared to parry.

But it was in fact a feint as the Slayer burst forth with blistering speed and appeared behind the Lord of Death.

*CLANG!!!

Their blades clashed and Gin parried without even looking around.

This was a move that Theron often followed up with after a feint.

"Still hesitating? Is your resolve that weak?" Theron asked, pushing Gin back.

Tracing his finger along his weapon, the blade started to vibrate and let out a high pitched ring.

Little by little, the weapon started to duplicate as multiple versions appeared floating around him.

He wasn’t afraid of Allura or anyone else intervening in this situation.

And even if they did, he had ways out.

Right now, his focus should be on his own mission and on Gin.

"When Alice killed Bella, I thought my life was over. The one to whom I dedicated everything is gone. What else is left for me?" Theron spoke as he took a step forward.

Adjusting his footwork, his actions were slow yet his speed was fast.

"!!!"

Widening his eyes, Gin tried to parry but Theron was faster.

His palm sank into Gin’s stomach as the Lord of Death held back a cough.

Without letting his prey fly backwards, Theron grabbed him by the collar and twisted his body.

He unleashed two punches followed by a kick, throwing Gin into the ground as a crater formed from the impact.

"But the Zenia family extended a hand to me. They offered me a way out." Theron took a deep breath.

Oblivion wrapped around his blade as his mind became calm.

With a twist of his body, he unleashed a single vertical slash that rushed towards Gin’s location.

Clenching his teeth, Gin slammed his palm down as dark mist erupted around him.

From this mist, a single bony hand tore its way out and caught the slash. Its bones started to crack but it managed to stall the attack.

Even with Oblivion infused into the attack, the Reaper’s hand still managed to hold back the slash long enough for Gin to get out of the way.

"You know the things that the Zenias have done. So why do you still help them?!"

Theron shook his head.

"I’m not asking you to understand me, Gin. I’m telling you to either kill me or get killed by me. Or do you need a bit of motivation? To force your hand and make you do your job as the Lord of Death?" Theron smiled as Gin’s pupils constricted.

What did it mean to be a Lord of Death?

The authority to dictate who lives and who dies? The power to guide souls? To kill immortality?

Some perceived it as the manifestation of inevitability. Everything comes to an end at some point and the Lord of Death is simply the one who executes that moment for all living beings.

Others understood it as judgment. To be the executioner’s blade for those who violate the Reaper’s rules.

Those who look down on the sanctity of life. The heretical ones who lay down judgment in death’s place.

Scholars even tried to understand it on a deeper level. A conceptual level. One that sat at the very foundation of mortal existence. A set of Laws that is used to maintain the realm.

But once you become the Lord of Death, it is only then that you perceive what it actually means.

It means becoming a weapon, a proxy, a servant of the Reaper. You become an extension of their will and they become your patron.

So if Theron wanted him to do his job as the Lord of Death, that could only mean—

"I plan on resurrecting Bella. It doesn’t matter how many lives I have to sacrifice to make it work. Having seen what I’ve seen, I’m rather confident that the Reaper cannot do anything about it, for it doesn’t violate any rules once it’s carried out. But between now and then, it’s a bit of a grey zone, you see." Theron provoked as Gin creased his brows.

The black mist around him started to tremble with agitation.

The Reaper was annoyed.

Gin scratched his hair in annoyance.

The Sigils across his body lit up one by one. Dark clouds loomed overhead and Gin finally let out a deep sigh.

"I don’t know what you’re playing at, Theron. But..." He clenched his fist and glared at his old friend.

"I see it clearly now. You’re too far gone. If I don’t give you a good smack then... who will?"

*BANG!!!

Slamming his scythe into the ground, a dark aura erupted from Gin’s body as a tattered rope wrapped around him.

With a single flick of his finger, a line was drawn in the sky. Space was cut apart as a pair of fingers dug their way out before ripping a gap for themselves.

*SHATTER!!!

Theron tilted his head back and observed the giant skeletal being glaring down at the world.

Grass started to wither around Gin as a white mask was placed over his face.

With Theron pushing things to this stage, he had to do his job as the Lord of Death.

*RUMBLE!!!

Theron smirked.

"Finally."

This was his goal from the beginning.

Facing Gin, seeing Allura again, these were all bonuses.

The main objective was to force the descent of the Reaper. To make him manifest in his true form within the mortal realm.

If they had all attacked him at once, this would’ve been difficult to accomplish as taunting Gin and the Reaper would’ve been much harder with several Lords trying to claim his life, even with everything that had been given to him.

But thanks to Gin wanting to make this a one on one, his life was made much easier.

"Finally?" Gin frowned.

A bad feeling crept into his chest as a tether was formed between him and the avatar.

With the Reaper now anchored momentarily to this realm through Gin, it was time for Theron to act.

Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed a single orb and tossed it into the sky.

*BANG!!!

An eruption of black and gold energy spread across the skies with countless fissures manifesting one after another.

Fissures large enough for people to step through.

Allura frowned.

"Karya, Alice, I think it’s time for us to make a move." Allura unfolded her arms.

But before they could do anything, a cage formed around the group. One that froze their bodies in place.

"Save your energy. There’s only one reason why we’re here today and it’s not you." A familiar voice echoed out.

"!!!" Alice’s eyes snapped to the right.

A single man stepped through a fissure. Behind him followed two figures.

One with Eldritch energy overflowing from his body, enough to put even Zal-Ka’Rith to shame and the other...

"My, don’t glare at me so much. I’ll be more than happy to fight you and see how far you’ve come, but sadly I don’t believe that would be allowed. There are much bigger fish to fry than you right now." The Doctor shrugged helplessly.

"Nyer." Allura narrowed her eyes.

"Lua." Nyer nodded.

He could see the Lords preparing to break out of the cage but it was of no importance.

After all...

*BANG!!!

The crushing pressure of divinity slammed into their bodies as they were forced onto their knees, including Alice.

Looking up at the sky, Nyer stared Death in the eyes and smiled.

"The Reaper, one that governs life and death. The hand that takes and the hand that gives..."

Raising his finger, chains dropped down through the fissures and hooked themselves against the Reaper’s body. It tried to break free and yet... it felt as though every drop of its power was being sucked away before it could manifest.

Fury roared in the Reaper’s eyes and before it could make a move, a giant stake was stabbed through the Reaper’s chest. These were chains fashioned after the bindings that had kept the Old Lords sealed all this time.

While it was simply a stopgap measure at best for now, one that wouldn’t hold the Reaper forever, it was sufficient.

All he needed to do was occupy the Reaper long enough while it was still anchored through Gin.

And this anchor... could only be broken by the Reaper. It wasn’t one that Gin could cancel on a whim.

Clenching his fist, energy converged into a pair of giant hands that dropped down from the fissures. They grabbed the Reaper by its limbs and started to drag it through the portals.

"Our clash is inevitable. That much is for sure. However, one must decorate a house properly when welcoming guests. Struggle, fight. Show me your tenacious will. Show me that you are worthy of becoming Velouria’s vessel." Nyer gave Alice a side glance before turning around.

With the Reaper slowly being dragged away and everyone forced onto their knees,

They could only watch in silence until—

*CRACK!!!

A fracture rippled across the cage placed around the group.

"Who the f*ck said you can just come and go as you please?" Alice’s voice rang out.

Floating in her hands was Ruinous Void, working its damn hardest to erase the prison placed around them.

The three Abyssal Relics hummed as violet flames crawled across Alice’s body.

With two sources of energy working in tandem to break the prison, it didn’t take long for the walls to break as four Lords rushed into action.