Against The True Gods

The field of black stone on which they battled was desolate. The world around them was eerily silent, broken only by the echoes of their strikes and their labored grunts.

They fought on a primal level—fists, kicks, bites, headbutts, and more. Caine used every part of his body with savage intent and the incarnation returned everything with primal precision.

Their qi manipulation was on full display. Though Caine lagged behind the Incarnation at first, with every brutal exchange, he inched closer to matching its prowess.

He seemed indifferent to the state of his body or the severity of his injuries. All he cared about was equivalence.

For every blow the Incarnation landed on him, he forced himself to retaliate. Even if his counter lacked power, even if it left him open to further attacks—even if it worsened his wounds—he struck back.

All he cared about was balance.

A fist suddenly crashed across Caine's face, tearing several teeth from his jaw. But he ignored the pain. Blood qi surged through his arm as he retaliated with a punch. His fist barely grazed the Incarnation's face, leaving a faint bruise.

The creature lashed out with a savage kick, but Caine dodged. He swept its leg out from under it, seized its arm, and spun. With a thunderous BANG, he hurled the Incarnation onto the cold stone ground.

Still gripping its arm, Caine tightened his hold and twisted. With a sickening CRUNCH, he tore the limb from its socket.

"EEEEEEEKKKK!"

A banshee-like scream tore from the Incarnation as golden blood spurted from the gaping wound, the pain surging through its form.

BANG!

Caine's fist, cloaked in chaotic blood qi, slammed into the creature's chest, shattering its bones. He grabbed its leg and flung it into the air like a rag doll.

A savage glint flickered in Caine's eyes. His will bloomed like an inferno, and he seized control of the surrounding atmospheric qi.

Countless platforms of qi formed in the air, creating a path that Caine sprinted across in the blink of an eye. He reached the airborne Incarnation in mere moments.

WHOOSH!

The Incarnation twisted midair, landing on a qi platform behind it. But no sooner had it done so than the surrounding platforms converged, forming a solid cube of atmospheric qi around it.

Caine waved his hand, and the cube plummeted toward the ground. With another wave, the remaining platforms transformed into sharp spears of qi, hurtling toward the falling prison.

Panic overtook the Incarnation. The battle had turned too quickly. Before it could react, the cube imploded just as it hit the ground, sending a shockwave through the air.

In the next instant, a storm of qi spears descended upon it.

It all happened too fast.

BOOOM!

Caine dove into the chaotic cloud of energy, unaffected by the unstable arcs of qi that tore at his flesh. His hand shot forward, grabbing hold of the Incarnation within the storm.

With a brutal pull, he tore its remaining arm from its body. Golden blood drenched his face as he drove his forehead into the creature's, shattering its features.

Caine's bones erupted with power, radiating a force that oppressed the Incarnation's qi flow. Its inner energy reversed violently, and it spat out a mouthful of blood. 

Its veins ruptured, flesh tore and bones quaked as its own qi seemed to act as poison to its being, something inconceivable.

Staggering backward, it impaled itself further on one of the many qi spears embedded in its body.

Caine's flesh resonated with the atmospheric qi around him as his crown bloomed majestically over his head. He concentrated the surrounding qi into his fist—a singularity of pure, liquid energy.

He aimed for the Incarnation's head.

With a roar that shredded his vocal cords, he summoned his nine rings. His will erupted in cascading waves, silver qi flooding his eyes.

He gathered all his remaining strength.

"DIE."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The earth trembled and splintered beneath the impact. Air churned into violent tornadoes, and the natural flow of qi was thrown into chaos.

"Huff… huff… huff…"

Caine's arm was gone, vaporized by the immense strain of his final attack. His body was riddled with strained veins, his internal organs gravely damaged. His heart struggled to pump blood through his depleted frame, and his reserves of blood qi were utterly exhausted.

Yet none of it seemed to matter.

"Ha… haha… haha…"

The Incarnation's head was obliterated, reduced to nothing by the force of his strike.

Caine collapsed onto his back, gasping for air as his lungs filled with blood. His vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges.

A ferocious headache pounded in his skull, and his entire body screamed in agony. He felt as though he had been plunged into an abyss of unrelenting pain.

The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was the blurred figure of a middle-aged man, rushing toward him with impossible speed, leaving afterimages in his wake.

The man had black hair, piercing blue eyes, and—

Caine passed out.

***

In a grand and luxurious room, a figure lay in a bed, swathed in bandages and connected to countless machines and formations. The person appeared to be teetering on the edge of life and death.

Beside the bed sat another figure. With slicked-back black hair, radiant blue eyes hidden behind thick glasses, and a tightly fitted changpao, it could only be Zao.

It had been days since he had found Caine's body. To say the young man had been on the brink of death was an understatement. Had Zao been a minute later, Caine would have succumbed to his injuries.

But thankfully, Zao had arrived in time. With the help of the Timeless Alliance's finest specialists, they had managed to regrow Caine's arm and restore his body to perfection.

Now, all that remained was to wait.

'Hm?'

Zao looked up as Caine's eyelids fluttered.

His pupils twitched and moved until, at last, they opened slowly.

He didn't move much, simply staring at the ceiling, his gaze even and his heartbeat steady. His head slowly turned and he looked at his uncle.

"I survived."