Chapter 344: The Despair of the Void
The five Titans surged forward in perfect coordination, each one attacking from a different angle. Adam’s wings snapped open, carrying him backward as he placed himself directly between the charging monsters and Alice’s cocoon.
"[Abyssal Claw]!"
He slashed across the bestial Titan’s face, dark energy raking through its shadowy flesh. The creature recoiled, but the obsidian-armored Titan was already there, its massive mace sweeping toward Adam’s ribs. Adam twisted, the weapon grazing his side, and he retaliated with a kick that sent the armored Titan stumbling back.
But the lean Titan flickered in and out of existence, its twin daggers carving shallow lines across Adam’s scales. He gritted his teeth, Abyssal Step carrying him through a patch of shadow, emerging behind the flickering figure.
SLASH!
The golden blade carved through the Titan’s back, and the creature dissolved into shadow.
But the mage Titan had already raised its staff. A wave of purple energy erupted from its skeletal fingers, slamming into Adam’s chest and hurling him backward. He crashed into the invisible ground, skidding to a halt.
’They’re too coordinated,’ Adam thought, his internal voice sharp with frustration. ’Every time I focus on one, the others attack. If this keeps up, I’ll be overwhelmed.’
He looked up at the sphere of darkness where Alice was suspended. The cocoon pulsed gently, oblivious to the chaos around it.
’I need to draw them away from her.’
Adam’s body began to shift. Scales rippled across his skin, bones cracking and reforming, his form growing larger and more serpentine. Within moments, the Ouroboros Progenitor stood in his full draconic glory, his silver-veined scales gleaming in the void.
The Titans hesitated for just a moment, and Adam used the opening.
"[Fire Breath]!"
A torrent of searing flame erupted from his jaws, engulfing the bestial Titan. The creature screeched, its shadowy form flickering as the flames consumed it. Adam didn’t wait. His massive tail swept around, slamming into the obsidian-armored Titan and sending it crashing into the mage Titan.
But the fifth Titan, the one with the cold, ancient eyes moved.
It didn’t attack Adam. It moved past him, heading straight for Alice’s cocoon.
Adam’s draconic eyes blazed. He lunged, his massive jaws closing around the Titan’s torso.
"[Ouroboros Coils]!"
His serpentine body coiled around the fifth Titan, squeezing with crushing force. The creature struggled, but Adam held on, his coils tightening until the Titan’s form began to flicker.
"I won’t let you touch her!"
The Void Manifest’s voice echoed through the void, cold and distant.
"Fascinating. You protect her even as your own body breaks."
Adam’s coils tightened further. The fifth Titan convulsed once, then dissolved into shadow.
Adam released the remains and turned, his massive form positioning itself between Alice’s cocoon and the remaining Titans. His draconic voice rumbled through the void.
"Try that again. I dare you."
The Void Manifest’s hollow, black eyes stared at Adam with an emptiness that seemed to stretch beyond the void itself. Its voice came out flat, utterly devoid of emotion.
"Fool."
The ground beneath Adam erupted.
Massive pillars of condensed void energy shot up from the darkness, slamming into Adam’s draconic form from every direction. One struck his chest, another his side, a third his throat. The force of the impact drove him downward, crashing him into the invisible ground with brutal force.
"Ghh—!"
Adam’s massive body convulsed as the pillars pinned him in place, their weight pressing down on him like a mountain. He struggled, his claws scraping against the void, but the pillars held firm.
The Void Manifest drifted toward him, its movements slow and deliberate. It stopped before him, looking down at his pinned form with those empty, hollow eyes.
"You resist," it said, its voice carrying no emotion, only cold observation. "But resistance is futile. The seal will break. The Void will be free. And the Bloom will be consumed."
Adam’s crimson-gold eyes blazed, burning with hatred and defiance. His voice came out low, a growl that rumbled through his chest.
"I won’t let you hurt her again."
His muscles surged. The pillars of void energy cracked under the pressure of his draconic strength, dark fissures spreading across their surface.
"ROOOOAAARRR—!"
Adam’s roar tore through the void as he shattered the pillars around him, sending fragments of void energy scattering in all directions. He lunged forward, his massive jaws closing around the Void Manifest’s torso, and he hurled it across the chamber.
The Void Manifest tumbled through the void, its form flickering before it caught itself, hovering in the darkness. Adam landed in a crouch, his wings spreading wide, his eyes blazing.
"Where’s that madness from before?!" His voice boomed across the void. "Where’s all that insane chanting?! You were so eager to take the Bloom—what happened?!"
The Void Manifest floated in the void, its form flickering as if caught between this world and the next. Its hollow black eyes fixed on Adam, and for a moment, it was silent.
Then its head tilted.
"You wish to see madness?"
Its voice changed. The hollow emptiness twisted into something sharp.The single jagged horn on its temple pulsed, and the core in its forehead blazed with deep crimson light.
"Very well."
The void around it rippled. Shadows began to writhe and twist, forming faces, forms, shapes that had no right to exist. The echoes of a hundred thousand forgotten souls swirled around it, their whispers overlapping into a maddening chorus.
"GIVE! GIVE! GIVE! GIVE IT TO ME!"
"CONSUME! CONSUME! CONSUME! DEVOUR! DEVOUR!"
"BREAK! BREAK! BREAK THE CHAINS! BREAK THEM ALL!"
"WRITHE! WRITHE IN AGONY! LET THE VOID CONSUME YOU!"
"SCREAM! SCREAM! SCREAM FOR THE VOID! LET US HEAR YOUR PAIN!"
"WE ARE THE VOID! WE ARE THE VOID! WE ARE THE VOID!"
"TASTE! TASTE! TASTE YOUR DESPAIR!"
"YES! YES! YES! FEAR! FEAR! FEAR US!"
"CONSUME! CONSUME! CONSUME THE LIGHT! CONSUME THE HOPE!"
"FEAR! FEAR! FEAR THE VOID! FEAR THE ABYSS!"
"RELEASE! RELEASE! RELEASE THE VOID! RELEASE THE VOID!"
Adam’s eyes widened as the Void Manifest’s form swelled, its limbs elongating, its body warping into something far less humanoid and far more monstrous. A massive, shadowy figure loomed before him, its head brushing against the roof of the void.
"You want to see madness?" Its voice had become a chorus, layered and discordant, echoing from a thousand directions. "Then witness the despair of the Void!"
Adam’s draconic jaws tightened, his claws flexing as he prepared to fight. His voice came out cold and sharp.
"Bring it on."
