Vangel opened all the rifts that he had clones in and made them show up, and then made his sword absorb them. As Vangel's aura shifted and darkened to a menacing shade of purple, an air of foreboding swept across the battlefield. The very essence of darkness seemed to coalesce around him, emanating from his transformed form. His body trembled with a surge of power as the fragments of Tenebres, scattered across the realm, reunited and fused with his being.
The transformation was awe-inspiring and chilling to behold. Vangel's features underwent a drastic metamorphosis, reflecting the embodiment of Tenebres itself. His once human countenance contorted and twisted, his eyes radiating an ominous glow. His body morphed into a hybrid of man and darkness, as if the shadows had taken shape and solidified into a fearsome entity.
A shroud of darkness enveloped Vangel, billowing around him like an ethereal cloak. His stature grew taller and more imposing, his physique honed and sharpened by the dark energy coursing through his veins. His limbs elongated, his fingers ending in sharp talons, and his presence exuded an overwhelming sense of power and malevolence.
Tenebres had become his essence, his true form unbound by mortal limitations. The power of the fragments surged within him, granting him unparalleled control over Time, space, light, void, and darkness. His very presence seemed to consume the light around him, casting an eerie glow in the vicinity.
"Descendant of those who defeated me, it is time to pay for the crimes of your ancestors," Vangel said while his voice was emitting an ominous and grave sound.
"Helllooo? Is Vangel still at home?" Aion asked.
"Your descendant is a lot more playful than you, Cailena," Malon said.
"Someone raised him to be a lot more carefree than he should have," Cailena explained.
"It seems that Vangel isn't at home anymore, but I will call you… Vanebres! Perfect, right?" Aion asked.
Vanebres glared at Aion as if he was trying to kill him with his eyes alone. In the next moment, he infused a shit ton of mana into a sword, to the point that the metal aspect practically vanished and became an ethereal blue sword. Aion could hear the sound of the particles of mana vibrating agaisnt each other. That was a dangerous sword… even though he achieved that much power, the enemy now was probably two times stronger than the old Tenebres.
Vanebres swung his sword practically at light speed, and the swing created a blast that also created a rift in space that almost reached Aion. He teleported away to avoid the hit and then saw the lava and rocks around it being pulled by the rift.
"Someone doesn't care if this world ends right now…" Aion furrowed his eyebrows.
Vanebres swung his sword again and again until the entire area was filled with massive time rifts that extended for numerous kilometers. The spatial rifts acted as voracious voids, their gravitational pull growing stronger with each passing moment. Like celestial magnets, they tugged at everything in their vicinity, indiscriminately drawing objects, debris, and even pockets of air toward their dark depths.
The once stable landscape quivered and shook under the strain as if the very ground itself feared being devoured by the hungry maws of the rifts. Trees bent and swayed, their branches whipped by an unseen force. At the same time, loose objects were dragged along the ground, desperately resisting the relentless pull.
Once calm and serene, the atmosphere transformed into a tempestuous vortex of swirling winds and charged particles. The very air crackled with a charged energy, and bolts of lightning danced across the darkened sky, illuminating the chaotic scene below.
"It can't be helped… if things continue like this, all the other eras will suffer as well," Aion thought, and then he Concentrated all of his mana in his fists.
Vanebres tried to stop Aion, but he charged at the enemy and then punched his sword. Fist and metal collided, and the shockwaves created by the attacks made the entire world tremble.
As Aion and Vanebres clashed in a titanic battle, their powers clashed with such intensity that the very gravitational field of the world seemed to warp and twist under their influence. The once steady pull of gravity became erratic and unpredictable, causing massive boulders and chunks of earth to defy the natural laws and float weightlessly in the sky.
These gargantuan stones, once anchored firmly to the ground, were now suspended mid-air as if defying the force that had held them down for ages. Their colossal forms hung ominously, casting long shadows over the battlefield. At the same time, smaller rocks and debris joined in the celestial dance, swirling and spiraling in a chaotic ballet.
Aion and Vanebres attacked each other nonstop, their attacks canceling each other endlessly. No one could hear their movements; they could only see the space and the whole world vibrating thanks to the clash.
Vanebres, unfortunately, had the upper hand. The mana enveloping his sword only enhanced the natural effects that it had previously. With each strike, Aion felt his mana being sucked at a fearsome rate while the weapon also absorbed the energy in the air.
All of a sudden, Vanebres unleashed all that energy against Aion. He blocked the attack with his fists, but the sword easily cut through his mana, flesh, and bones.
Vanebres smiled in satisfaction, but then he saw Aion's smile as well. The weapon stopped piercing Aion's flesh, and its glow actually began to decrease… Vanebres felt his power decreasing as well.
"I told you I would only do what you do as well," Aion declared.
While the enemy was shocked by the confusion and tried to pull back his sword, Aion headbutted him. The attack made Vanebres lose consciousness for a moment, and he hit and sank into a pond of lava.
Before long, the whole area trembled… Vanebres woke up quite soon, and he woke up pissed since his forehead was bleeding, and that kind of attack was more annoying than anything.
Vanebres saw Aion's arms healing insanely fast… again, it wasn't Time Reversal, nor was Cailena helping him. It was Aion's potential and current powers.
"Enough," Vanebres declared, and then he raised his sword. "I' will erase you from existence.
Suddenly, Vanebres unleashed a surge of dark energy, causing countless spatial rifts to materialize all around. Each rift, like a tear in the fabric of space-time, revealed glimpses of Aion's life—moments frozen in time, both joyous and sorrowful, etched within the boundaries of these shimmering portals.
These rifts formed a swirling tapestry of memories, capturing fragments of Aion's past and presenting them in a haunting display. Each rift showcased a different moment, from tender childhood memories to fierce battles fought, from laughter shared with loved ones to heart-wrenching moments of loss and pain.
The rifts pulsed with an otherworldly glow, casting an ethereal light upon the battlefield. They seemed to beckon, inviting Aion to confront the echoes of his own past, challenging him to confront the choices he had made and the path that had led him to this moment.
"I guess he wasn't joking when he said that he was going to erase me from existence," Aion thought while looking around.
Vanebres' sword began to fire numerous dark swords toward the rifts. However, as soon as they were about to hit Aion, a magic shield enveloped them and repelled the attacks… all back to Aion in that place.
Aion protected himself numerous times in the past, but now all the image was overwhelming him… Vanebres realizing that Aion was just transferring the damage to himself, continued to attack.
The dark blades, like ravenous predators, hungrily tore into Aion's flesh, ripping apart large chunks of his body. The impact was ferocious, sending shockwaves of excruciating pain through his entire being. Yet, despite the torment inflicted upon him, Aion remained standing, his determination unwavering.
Blood spilled from his wounds, staining the ground beneath him, but Aion refused to yield. B battered and broken, his body defied the odds as he stood amidst the onslaught of Vanebres' relentless assault. Each blade that struck him only fueled his determination, igniting an indomitable fire within his soul.
All of a sudden, the atmosphere changed, and then Vanebres raised his guard… in the next moment, Aion began to punch the air; with each punch, he sent a barrage of light-blue fist-sized attacks that chased Vanebres. The enemy clicked his tongue since Aion was still doing what he was told… copying him as well.
Vanebres used his sword to absorb the attacks, but not for long… the attacks suddenly disappeared in front of him, and Aion kept firing them with a smile on his face.
"I said that I would copy you, but I am not a coward to attack you in the past," Aion declared while his body was healing. "How about I attack you in the future?"
As Vanebres stood there, his dark and malevolent aura pulsating with wicked power, his eyes widened in disbelief and astonishment. Before he could react, the very fabric of space seemed to twist and warp around him, heralding the arrival of a massive barrage of light-blue fists.
These celestial fists materialized from the time rifts, appearing from all angles, surrounding Vanebres in an inevitable onslaught. Each fist carried with it an otherworldly energy, crackling with temporal power and determination. It was as if time itself had become Aion's ally, granting him the ability to see and strike at Vanebres in the future.
Try as he might to evade or block, Vanebres found himself overwhelmed by the sheer number and relentless ferocity of the fists. They struck with the force of temporal energy, tearing through the dark shroud that surrounded him, shattering his defenses with every impact.
He used Time Dilation to defend himself, but in the end, Vanebres didn't have enough experience using it, and Aion imagined that such a thing would happen and made the fists explode, engulfing him in a maelstrom of mana that ate away his flesh.
After enduring the relentless assault of Aion's temporal fists, Vanebres stood amidst the aftermath, his once imposing figure now reduced to a disheveled mess. His dark aura flickered and wavered, a testament to the toll taken on his body and spirit.
His form was battered and broken, wounds crisscrossing his body like jagged scars. Blood seeped from his numerous injuries, staining his darkened attire. Every movement seemed to bring him excruciating pain. Yet, he refused to yield, his eyes burning with a mix of fury and desperation.
Vanebres' regal countenance had been marred, his face contorted with a mixture of anger and disbelief. His usual air of superiority had dissipated, replaced by a sense of vulnerability and weakness. He had underestimated the extent of Aion's power, and the consequences had left him in a state of disarray.
"You didn't learn a lot in those few thousand years, huh," Aion said.
Vanebres, his wounds pulsating with agony, gazed upon Aion with an unyielding fury that burned deep within his eyes. His once composed demeanor shattered, replaced by a ferocious rage that seemed to consume his very being. He could feel the tendrils of anger coiling tightly around his heart, driving him to the edge of madness.
In a defiant act, he tilted his head back, his disheveled locks cascading down his scarred face, and unleashed a primal roar that echoed through the air. The sound reverberated across the landscape, a haunting crescendo that seemed to challenge the heavens themselves.
His roar carried with it a maelstrom of emotions—frustration, bitterness, and a profound sense of loss. It was a primal cry, a release of the pent-up wrath that had simmered within him for so long. The intensity of his fury seemed to distort the very fabric of reality, sending tremors through the ground and causing the air to crackle with electric energy.
Vanebres, driven by an insatiable thirst for revenge, teleported with unparalleled speed, soaring through the atmosphere and ascending into the vast expanse of space. His movements were swift and fluid, defying the limitations of mortal bounds as he traversed the celestial realm.
In the reaches of the cosmos, surrounded by the silent beauty of the starry night, Vanebres gathered every ounce of his remaining mana, channeling it into a devastating magic cannon. The air crackled with anticipation as raw energy coalesced around him, swirling in a vortex of power.
His eyes blazed with a wicked determination, a reflection of the darkness that had consumed his very essence. With each passing moment, the intensity of his aura grew, casting an ominous glow upon his form. It was a manifestation of his twisted resolve, a testament to the depths of his malevolence.
"I should have known; they always try to bring down everything with them in the end," Aion thought while looking above. "Misery loves company."
"You can't dodge this attack; if you do, the world will be destroyed, and that will affect all the other ages… this might create another timeline, and his time will survive, but it is too high of a risk."
"I am aware of it," Aion said. "Still, he has more mana than me; I can't stop or deflect the attack…"
Aion considered his options, he might be able to fight quantity with quality, but two mana cannons of their scale would destroy the world. It was also unlikely that they would survive for long after all. Even if he could regenerate fast, it probably wasn't fast enough before he could find another hospitable one.
The mana in Vanebres' hands had become many times bigger than him, and he was about to unleash it… in the end, Aion didn't have time to be picky. He only had a single idea in mind… it was time to receive some help. Until now, Aion had done most of the things by himself by keeping secrets from others, but he couldn't keep doing that. At least one last time, he had to trust the people he met in that world because he won't be able to fight alongside anyone in his true final battle.
"Malon, explain to me how the class system works," Aion said.
"Well…" Malon said, having no idea what Aion had in mind. "They represent the knowledge, experience, and techniques of many people that I met in my journeys."
Recognizing the immense value in preserving and passing down this wealth of knowledge, Malon meticulously documented the teachings and combat styles of these warriors. He collected their wisdom, studied their techniques, and extracted the essence of their mastery.
Through a combination of ancient scrolls, codices, and personal journals, Malon compiled a vast repository of combat knowledge. These texts and artifacts became known as the Tome of Warriors, a compendium that transcends the boundaries of time and space.
When Aion attunes himself to a spiritual equipment, he taps into the immeasurable well of wisdom contained within the Tome of Warriors. The spiritual equipment acts as a conduit, channeling the collective expertise and techniques of the warriors documented within the tome.
"So, basically… you transformed the knowledge into spiritual equipment that I can equip and learn their powers freely when they are with me," Aion said.
"That is right, you can do that because your soul isn't from here; souls born in this world have a predetermined fate, unlike yours," Malon explained. "That makes you able to change your fate and equip the spiritual equipments without limitations."
"I see; in that case…" Aion said and then called everyone from his pocket dimension and then pointed his hands at them.
Malon said that he could equip all classes because he didn't have a predetermined fate in that world. So, he just had to pass his classes temporarily to others, classes that agreed with their fighting styles.
Everything made sense now; after unlocking and mastering so many classes, Aion could tell how to transfer that power to others… he could feel the spiritual equipment inside him like he was a massive vault of them. Lexus became a magic knight, armed with a blue armor and a golden sword, while Aion's sisters got magic classes.
Aion opened rifts and called his brothers as well and granted them classes as well. Lancer, Red Knight, Tank, Duelist… he called Sauros as well. Sauros' parents, all of his allies. At least the ones he considered his allies. He only had fifty of them, but they seemed powerful enough with the unsealed spiritual equipment. While Aion lost some parameters thanks to it, it was only that way that they could show their true potential.
"All right, everyone, no time for explanations…" Aion said. "I will kick Vanebres's ass, and you guys will hold back things here for a short while. It is coming."
Everyone had a lot of questions, but then they saw the sky glowing and then a massive mana cannon mixed with the abominant energy of Vanebre's essence falling on them. Aion quickly changed his build to Resistance and then flew toward it.
Aion hit the mana cannon head-on and immediately saw himself being pushed back by it… the enemy wasn't holding back. It was truly their final showdown…
Aion's advance stopped the mana cannon from destroying the world immediately, but a small part of it began to rain down on the world like beams of light. Aion's friends didn't know what to do at first, but soon they raised their weapons and blocked the attacks.
"Grit your teeth and endure it!" Lexus shouted. "The equipment will protect us before we suffer any damage; raise them to the sky and infuse them with your mana!"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Everyone shouted and then followed the command; their energy began to spread across a large area and began to block the beams of mana. Still, the world was vibrating thanks to the impact of the attacks. They had been fighting for a while, so they were at their limits already.
"I'd better make this quick," Aion thought when he saw everyone struggling.
Aion gritted his teeth and did his best to absorb all the energy of the attack. Although he could only absorb mana, the essence of Vanebres was also absorbed, thanks to the forces that he had inside him. Aion managed to push through the mana cannon, but not fast enough… his flesh… his whole body was being eaten away too fast.
"I guess it is time to compromise," Aion thought and then opened his mouth.
Aion began to literally eat away the energy as if he was some kind of monster. His mouth, his throat began to burn alongside it, but he was able to absorb the energy faster that way. His flying speed Increased, but it wasn't enough.
"I thought that you were smarter than this," Cailena said.
Aion wanted to say something sarcastic, but he couldn't… in the end, she had a point, but Aion didn't have time for any fancy plans. Still, he had an idea… using the rifts, he redirected the mana cannon toward itself and eventually propelled himself forward even faster.
"Just die!" Vanebres shouted.
The mana cannon turned into an even larger pillar of light, and the foundations of the world began to fall apart. Aion could tell the others below were collapsing through the sheer force of the attack.
"... I suppose I can no longer keep watching it," Malon said after a long sigh. "Sorry about this. This is the only solution."
A rift appeared nearby Aion's friends, and then it flew toward Aion and was absorbed by him. He could feel the presence of his mother, Of Seris, and Arlana returning to their bodies.
"Now you have a more clear reason not to lose," Malon declared.
Aion felt clicking his tongue… that kind of push was what he needed, but not what he wanted. Still, he felt that he should hurry up and finish things before they woke up.
Aion's body began to vibrate as he used all of his energy to strengthen his body. Inner Force was activated and then Inner Release… until all his powers were used to create his final technique… Timeless Force.
Aion's body began to glow in a light blue tone until it started to pierce the mana cannon. His body began to be repaired, but at a cost… his body returned to normal, but his hair grew insanely fast alongside his nails. Timeless Force let him use the power that he could only use in the future by giving him the future right now.
Vanebres panicked when Aion reached him. He didn't have any more tricks, and he couldn't think of anything else… The current Aion was way beyond what he had expected. In the end, the mana cannon stopped, and Vanebres tried to run away to the endless space. Still, Aion suddenly appeared in front of him and impaled the enemy.
"You are going to make yourself useful from here onward," Aion said and then absorbed Vanebres soul.
"Urgh, no! No!" Tenebres' voice began to echo inside Aion's mind.
"Dammit! After all that!" Vangel's voice roared inside Aion's mind.
"You will have to behave unless you two want to suffer," Aion declared.
Aion sighed in relief… he was tired, hungry, and thirsty… it felt like he didn't eat or drunk water in years. That was the price of the Timeless Force… in any case, he didn't have time to waste. He could feel some powerful presence approaching.
"Aion, they are here," Malon said.
"I know… let's just finish our business here," Aion said after a long sigh and then deactivated Timeless Force.
Aion teleported to where his father, brothers, sisters, and friends were. They celebrated the victory but soon realized that Aion had paid a high price… he looked ten years older, and that shocked them.
"Oh boy… is this the welcome that a hero deserves?" Aion asked and then brought back Artemisia, Seris, and Arlana from his pocket dimension. "Look after them for a while, okay? I will be back soon."
Everyone was confused, but then Aion made his father carry his mother, he made Sauros carry Seris and then made Henri carry Arlana. Considering his words, it seemed that Aion had unfinished business, and he wasn't planning on letting anyone help him.
"From here on out, it is uncharted territory even for me," Aion said. "You all did your job and protected the world; now I need to do what I was meant to do here."
"Son… don't take too long," Lexus said while showing a difficult expression.
"We don't know what we will say to them when they wake up, so you'd better hurry up," Henri added.
"... I suppose we can't help anymore, but I am sure you have a plan of your own," Philip said.
It looked like everyone had something to say, but Aion created a rift to teleport them back to their time. The last thing they saw were the aspects taking shape around Aion, and every single one of them, even Aion, looked like insects in front of those cosmic menaces…
This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om