Chapter 78: Two Tier Seven Auras
Not long after Rauk’s words, his smile slowly faded, replaced by a look of subtle awe that crept across his scar‑lined face as he watched Akasha continue forward.
Each step Akasha took became heavier, each stride more deliberate, each movement carving his presence deeper into the conceptual realm of the River of Battles.
What began as a simple walk became a slow, grinding ascent through the very essence of battle itself, and Rauk—who had watched countless beings attempt this path—found himself leaning forward, eyes narrowing as the impossible began to unfold.
Akasha did not merely reach the first tier.
No.... he completely tore through it.
Two hours passed, though time in the river flowed strangely, stretching and compressing in ways that made the concept of minutes meaningless.
Akasha fought his first battle, then his second, then his third, each one was a clash against beings who had all mastered Aura completely.
By the time he reached the sixth battle, Rauk’s awe had hardened into something closer to disbelief.
"Seven tiers..." he muttered under his breath, watching Akasha’s silhouette push through the conceptual current.
"In merely two hours, he made it all the way to the first substantial change... in a single sitting. What kind of monster..."
He stepped forward, boots sinking slightly into the river’s surface as he approached the young God Emperor who now stood at the seventh tier’s threshold.
----
Akasha’s body was a mess—wounds carved across his arms, cuts along his ribs, a deep gash across his shoulder, and scars that refused to heal inside this conceptual realm.
His breathing was steady but strained, his posture upright but undeniably battered.
And yet he had a faint, quiet smile as he looked at the figure before him—a human woman, blurry like all the others, but unmistakably poised for battle.
She stood with a spear in hand, her stance calm, her presence sharp, her intent clear.
Akasha rolled his shoulder, wincing slightly as one of the unhealed wounds tugged at his flesh.
In his previous six fights.... none of the opponents had truly overwhelmed him— as his raw combat ability far exceeded theirs.
But the river’s weight had caused mistakes, slips, and moments of hesitation. It wasn’t his enemies that drove him to the edge—it was the sheer, intangible pressure of the river itself.
Even so, he quickly realized that, despite his battle style existing within the realms of Multiversal mastery, the process was changing him.
Every step honed his movements; every clash sharpened his instincts, and every mistake chipped away at inefficiency.
His fighting style was being reshaped by the river’s weight, molded into something sleeker, colder, and utterly inevitable.
He lifted his chin slightly, meeting the woman’s blurred gaze.
"Oh, Miss Lady... you should make this one a good one for me," he said, voice low but steady, the faint smile still touching his lips.
"Because... as you see, I think I’m running low on time."
Though he couldn’t be certain how much time was actually passing, he had no intention of crossing the entire river in one stretch, as he still needed to repeat the process for the scythe.
Since this would be his final stage in this realm, he wanted to make sure it was done right, to savor the moment and ensure it was something worth remembering.
----
[Battle Affinity]
[Battle Affinity]
The moment Akasha’s words ended, the air inside the conceptual realm tightened, the River of Battles pulling inward as though acknowledging the shift in intent.
HUMMMMM!!!!
Both he and the woman activated Battle Affinity, the only conceptual power permitted here, and the river responded instantly.
In that moment... they lunged at the same time.
The woman’s spear cut forward in a long, elegant arc, her movement fluid and practiced, the kind of strike born from countless battles.
But Akasha’s battle styles—every passive, every instinct, every refinement—rose inside him like a tide.
He slipped past the spear with a movement so smooth it felt dreamlike, his body folding into the attack’s blind angle, his hand brushing lightly against her wrist as he passed.
That single touch planted an inevitable seed, a conceptual thread of lethality woven into her future movements.... they were subtle and invisible but already shaping the next exchange.
She pivoted sharply, spear sweeping low, but Akasha had already mapped her rhythm.
His body adjusted without conscious thought, his stance shifting, his motion flowing seamlessly into a counter.
BANGGGG!!!!
The impact rippled through the River of Battles, the surface beneath them shuddering as the inevitable seed took root.
The woman spun with the force of the blow, her spear carving a sharp crescent through the air as she redirected the momentum into a retaliatory strike.
HUMMMM!!!!
Akasha moved to intercept... however in that moment the river pressed down on him.
And it was not gradually... But all at once.
A conceptual weight slammed onto his entire body as a crushing pressure that forced imperfections into movements that should have been flawless.
His transition into the next step dragged by a fraction of a second... and the woman saw it instantly.
SHKKKK!!!!
Her spear snapped forward, the tip grazing his side in a clean, ruthless line that carved open a shallow wound.
The cut burned sharply, refusing to heal inside the realm, the pain threading through his body as the river pressed harder, demanding more.... demanding more refinement.
"Shit..." Akasha inhaled, the breath long and steady, but the pressure didn’t relent.
The woman stepped in again, spear whipping upward in a tight arc.
SHHHKKK!!!!!
Akasha twisted to evade, but the heavy pull of the river slowed his movement, tugging at his timing and causing another stumble.
The spear grazed his forearm, carving a sharp line of pain that burned hot against his skin.
Even so, he recovered instantly—his passive ability, Instinctive Adaptation, snapping his rhythm back together—but the river pressed on, unyielding and merciless.
The woman’s third thrust came faster; a straight, merciless line aimed at his ribs.
Akasha twisted, but the conceptual pressure forced him to rotate harder than necessary, pulling at the earlier wound on his shoulder, sending a sharp jolt of pain through his body.
In that moment, Akasha’s scythe appeared in his hand with a single thought... and instantly his passive ability Reaper’s Flow began to weave afterimages around him as he stepped into the next exchange.
Seeing this, the woman lunged first, and Akasha lunged right along with her.
In that moment right before they clashed... with just a thought, one of the seeds Akasha planted earlier ignited.
And... it was important to note that these seeds could have any effect he wanted.
BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!
And what he decided... was total detonation.
Instantly the woman’s forearm caved inward, flesh and bone collapsing in a savage crush, the shockwave tearing through her body and ripping her grip wide open.
She let out a sharp, strangled gasp, her spear dipping as her arm gave way under the sudden ruin.
She tried to rally—but Akasha was already in motion, slipping past her next move, already triggering another seed.
BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!
Her hip imploded next, her stance collapsing as her leg buckled beneath her. The force rippled up her spine, her whole frame jerking violently as she struggled to keep herself from going down.
She snarled, lunging forward with her remaining strength, spear thrusting toward his throat in a desperate, vicious swing... but Akasha’s rhythm refused to break.
BOOOOOMMMM!!!!
With a mere thought, the third seed exploded, her shoulder buckling inward, the impact sending her entire left side crumpling as her torso twisted violently to the side.
In that instant, Akasha closed the distance, scythe arcing through the air in a single, seamless swing.
Her broken arm dangled limply at her side, her shattered hip refusing to hold her up, while her collapsed shoulder pulled the rest of her frame downward.
She hung there for a brief, breathless instant, caught in the stillness between moments, her forward lunge halted as if the world itself had hit pause.
That was when Akasha made his move.
SHKKKKK!!!!!
The scythe passed through the woman’s neck in a silent arc, the motion leaving a trail of afterimages as her form dissolved into conceptual mist, the River of Battles roaring in acknowledgment of the seventh victory.
HUMMMMM!!!!
Akasha exhaled slowly, blood dripping down his arms, wounds refusing to heal... but in that moment he received a prompt.
[You have achieved Battle Aura (Tier 7)]
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