"I've had enough of your bullshit... Ice age!" he bellowed, a thunderous declaration that reverberated through the cave. With an authoritative command, he harnessed the elements at his disposal—water, wind, and ice—manipulating them to their very limits.
In a display of power, he rapidly pushed the freezing point to its extreme, unleashing an overwhelming surge of cold energy.
The cave and the lake transformed in the blink of an eye as the chilling wave rippled through, ice crystals forming and spreading like a furious storm. This time, the black liquid faltered, its ability to redirect the attack rendered useless in the face of his freezing ability.
"Did it work?" he whispered to himself, as his gaze swept across the expanse of the frozen wasteland that now lay before him.
But his small break was cut short as a sudden shift in the air caught his attention. His eyes narrowed as he watched the pristine ice beneath his hovering body, the once crystalline surface turning an ominous shade of black.
Then, a menacing shockwave surged through the blackened ice.
In a matter of seconds, the very ground beneath him erupted into a flurry of motion.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Sharp, obsidian shards burst forth from the ice, hurtling towards him from all directions.
SWOOOOSH! SWOOOOSH!
Instinct kicked in, and he leaped into action. His power and reflexes, served him well as he dodged and weaved through the onslaught.
The shards, each as dangerous as a blade, whizzed past him.
Recognizing the need for distance, he flew higher into the air, his powers surging as he soared away from the blackened ice.
His movements was fluid and controlled as he sought to gain an advantage by putting space between himself and this unknown creature. Yet, to his astonishment, the black liquid proved unrelenting.
It clung to him like a shadow, refusing to be shaken off. Like a heat-seeking missile, it surged after him.
"What the hell is this thing?" he muttered, frustration tainting his tone.
Although he wasn't scared of this confrontation and had plenty of energy to keep fighting, he still felt annoyed.
No matter how hard he tried, this thing kept chasing him. He had thought about absorbing the entity into his own domain, a tactic that would let him fully use his power. But then, a sudden realization hit him.
If he were to draw this thing into his domain, it could also amplify in strength due to the limitations imposed by fate vanishing .
His power was a double-edged sword. While it enabled him to swiftly defeat those who were weaker, it could also amplify the strength of a more formidable opponent. Therefore, attempting to bring this entity into his realm without accurately gauging its true strength could prove deadly for him.
SLASH!
SLASH!
SLASH!
He swiftly flick his hand, conjuring sharp gusts of wind that sliced through the air.
These Wind Slashes struck the sharp black shards, causing them to burst upon contact. He was cautious, mindful of the two types of attacks he needed to defend against. One was the ever-shifting black liquid, and the other was the fast-moving, sharp dark shards.
The black liquid surged forward, attempting to trap him, but Vincent's wind element kept him out of its reach.
However, the rapid dark shards posed a unique challenge. Their incredible speed demanded split-second decisions. Vincent relied on his sharp reflexes to avoid the deadly projectiles, his body moving with exceptional speed as he navigated the onslaught.
His irritation deepened. The challenge at hand was more complex than he had initially realized, and he needed to devise a strategy that accounted for this thing abilities while also exploiting any potential weaknesses.
Frustrated by his failed attempts, he pondered on how to stop its advance. He contemplated the vulnerabilities of liquids. Freezing it had proved ineffective, as the entity adapted and turned his ice against him, intensifying its assault further.
"I've put so much effort into perfecting attack base techniques, but it seems like none of them are useful right now." he muttered in frustration.
His array of skills seemed inconsequential in this fight. Even his powerful laser beam, his strongest attack skill, would likely be absorbed by the entity before him.
After this battle concluded, he reminded himself to develop a new set of attack skills specifically designed to combat this type of enemy.
[Come to me ]
The voice echoed once more. He attempted to calm his emotions, but frustration lingered as he grappled with the inability to vanquish this adversary definitively.
[Come to me]
The voice's frequency intensified, and he found himself caught between the demands of the battle and the need to concentrate.
The black tendrils persisted incessantly.
While not formidable on their own, they proved to be a very difficult challenge. Regardless of how many he managed to eliminate, they seemed to multiply – for every one he destroyed, two more emerged. It was as if the act of fighting only fueled their replication, an ability that posed a significant threat.
However, the assault abruptly ceased, leaving him puzzled. Suspended in mid-air, he questioned, "What's going on? Why did the attack stop?"
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the entire expanse of the black lake erupted like a torrential flood. No longer composed of mere tendrils, it transformed into a deluge of black liquid hurtling in all directions, resembling a devastating tsunami.
"Not good," he exclaimed in alarm.
"Domain!" he roared, attempting to unleash his domain, but to his dismay, it failed to activate. As the surroundings began to freeze, the onrushing black liquid surged forward.
With no other options, he hastily conjured a barrier of wind around himself. The black substance fully engulfed him, but the persistent wind shield safeguarded him.
In an effort to break free, he employed the power of the wind to propel himself, yet the black liquid exhibited an unusual heaviness, rendering it akin to struggling through dense mud rather than a liquid.
Trapped within the suffocating grip of the viscous black liquid, Vincent's mind raced. He needed a way out – and fast.
.
.
.
For a full hour, he struggled in the grip of the dense black liquid. His protective wind barrier, which he had kept up was slowly shrinking.
The force and weight of the black liquid were draining his energy rapidly. Every minute that passed took a hefty 10% chunk of his energy reserves. Luckily, his new core was helping him regenerate energy, which was the only reason he had managed to hold on for so long.
But he knew that his energy consumption was getting worse, and it was just a matter of time before he couldn't regenerate energy as fast as he was spending it.
"I don't have much time, " he sighed.
[Come to me ]
The echoing sound repeated once more.
Then an absurd idea entered his mind. This entity was incredibly formidable, acting as the guardian of the last remaining fragment.
But despite having collected all other fragments, he remained powerless against this one – it seemed invincible. Could it be that this entity was never meant to be defeated in the first place?
He found it hard to believe that Elizabeth had placed this thing here just for it to kill him.
"I must admit, this idea is quite insane, but I don't have an option either way ," he chuckled softly.
The pressure from the black liquid had already begun to exceed his regenerative abilities. It devoured his energy at a rate of 15% per minute, leaving him with just a few minutes before he would be completely consumed by the engulfing substance.
He closed his eyes, a sense of resignation washing over him as the relentless black liquid continued to encroach upon his being.
As the liquid surged around him, he could feel it seeping into every pore, mingling with his essence.
Strangely, instead of the anticipated suffocation, he felt a peculiar connection forming – a bridge between him and the enigmatic entity. His mind began to drift, memories and thoughts swirling like mist.
He recalled the journey that had led him to this point – the quest for the scattered fragments, the battles fought, the alliances forged, and the sacrifices made.
The fragments, he realized, weren't just physical pieces to complete like a puzzle; they were reflections of his own growth, his strengths and weaknesses, his victories and failures.
And this last fragment, guarded by an apparently unbeatable force, represented something even more profound. It was a test, a trial that required him to transcend his previous limitations and tap into new depths of understanding.
Images flashed before his closed eyes – faces of friends, mentors, and adversaries. Elizabeth's cryptic words in the past echoed in his mind:
"To overcome the insurmountable, one must transform into something greater than their former selves."
Vincent's mental resistance began to waver. He allowed himself to become immersed in the experience, to embrace the consuming darkness rather than fighting it. It was then that he sensed a shift in the entity's presence.
The black liquid, instead of pushing against him, seemed to merge with his body.
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