Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely

Zareth froze in place as the weight of [Doom] struck him.

His entire body stiffened, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Sam's heart pounded as he confirmed the thing he had wondered about.

He had always known his [Gaze of the Primordial] wouldn't work against beings like this.

Bosses, powerful awakeners, or entities beyond were supposed to be untouchable by most status effects.

Even something as absolute as [Doom] was normally useless against them, because their resistance bordered on complete immunity.

And yet, when Sam had felt himself slowed by [Corruption Freeze] despite being immune, he realized the truth.

It wasn't that these beings couldn't be affected at all.

It was that their physical bodies resisted everything thrown at them.

But if he directed the effect at their very soul instead of their flesh…

'That's it,' Sam thought, his crimson spiraled eyes glinting with sharp realization.

He had been hit because his own soul was struck directly. That was the key.

If it could work on him, then it could work on Zareth too.

Sam turned his focus inward, pouring every bit of control into the technique, then pushed the status effect with all his willpower straight into the core of Zareth's existence.

'I can't move…' Zareth's pupils shook violently as the truth set in, 'This… this can't be possible…'

A system prompt flickered within his vision.

[Your soul has been hit with the "Doom" status effect.]

Zareth's world dimmed even further than the eternal darkness of the sub-layer, and the only thing he could see was the outline of Sam moving toward him.

That outline burned with aura, the air trembling as crimson spirals danced in Sam's eyes.

Every step Sam took carried the weight of raw primordial energy, each pulse of power pressing down with suffocating intensity.

'I knew it,' Sam thought as he watched Zareth's body freeze in place, unable to lift a finger, 'Hitting the soul works. He's vulnerable… though it still won't last long.'

His lips curled into a grin.

The [Doom] effect would only last for three seconds, but even three seconds could be more than enough against an opponent like this.

What startled him even more was the revelation hidden in this exchange.

The fact that he himself could be stunned proved how fragile the soul truly was.

If such a weakness existed within him, then it meant his soul was far more important than he had given it credit for.

'I need to train my soul to endure,' he thought, determination flashing behind his crimson spirals, 'If not, the next time I face something overwhelming, I might die.'

He gripped his primordial sword tighter and advanced.

Zareth's body trembled despite his willpower.

"Y-You… learn fast," Zareth stammered, his pupils still quivering with fear.

His voice shook, but he forced out a laugh.

"H-Haha… but that w-won't… c-change anything—"

To Sam, the fact that Zareth could even speak while under [Doom] was proof of his strength.

Most beings would crumble in silence, yet Zareth was resisting even now.

Maybe his soul had been tempered, hardened by his endless time here.

But tempered or not, it wasn't enough.

Fwish!

Sam vanished forward and his primordial sword blazed with power.

SLASH STORM!

The storm of blades erupted in an instant.

Dozens of slashes carved through the air, all converging directly onto Zareth's body.

Each strike landed mercilessly, enhanced by Sam's aura and the suffocating fear of the [Doom] status.

Zareth's heart twisted.

His fear had been amplified a hundredfold, and for the first time in his existence, he felt true dread.

Even when imprisoned by the other primordials, all he felt was hatred, but now...

'What… what is this feeling…?' he thought, watching the blade storm descend.

SLASH!

Two of his arms were severed at once, the ones clutching the abyssal sword spear and Jevil's scythe.

Blood burst out as they hit the ground.

'Even the other primordials, no matter how vile they were, never inspired this…'

Fwish! SLASH!

Another swing tore through his form, severing two more arms, the one wielding Asmodeus' trident, and the one warped by abyssal claws.

Zareth staggered back, though his body could barely respond.

'My weapons, my skills, my strength, my speed,' Zareth thought as his teeth clenched behind Jevil's mask.

The eye of corruption embedded in his form shook with fury.

'Everything I've built, all of it… overpowered by his sheer determination? This is absurd.'

SLASH!

The final two arms fell, one that had wielded the Roaring Titan's star before it was destroyed, and the other strengthened by the [Black Sun] orb.

All six of Zareth's arms were gone, torn away in a storm of power.

He could no longer hold a weapon, could no longer defend himself.

And yet, even stripped bare, the weight of [Doom] crushed his heart.

His gaze remained locked on Sam, who did not hesitate for even a moment.

SLASH!

Sam's blade severed Zareth's legs.

Another strike tore his wings apart, sending him crashing down onto the corrupted ground of the seventh sub-layer.

Sam stood over him, his primordial sword dripping with aura and blood, the crimson spirals of his eyes burning hotter than ever.

He pointed the sword directly at Zareth's neck.

"Tell me," Sam said coldly.

Zareth coughed blood that seeped through the cracks of Jevil's mask.

"What do you know about them."

At that moment, the three seconds of [Doom] expired.

Yet even freed from its grasp, Zareth still trembled.

The fear had sunk too deep to vanish.

"…What do you wish to know…" Zareth forced out between coughs, blood bubbling in his throat.

"This [Upper] realm," Sam pressed, "How many missions does it have? What were the primordials? Why are they feared and hated so much, and how were they killed?"

Sam could end him with a single swing, but knowledge was more valuable than a corpse.

Zareth chuckled weakly, his corrupted eye glowing faintly.

"You think I'll tell you—"

SLASH!

Sam's sword cut a deep wound across his chest, blood spraying across the ground.

Zareth's expression didn't change.

"I've been stuck here for too long," he laughed bitterly, "That pain doesn't even register. I won't tell you… anything."

SLASH!

Sam cut him again, but he could already sense the futility.

These beings never revealed information, no matter how hopeless their situation.

It was as if speaking a single truth was a fate worse than death itself.

"But…" Zareth's tone shifted, his aura dimming with each passing second, "I can sense it. You're different from them."

"…?"

"You think you're the hero," Zareth wheezed, blood dripping from his lips, "Killing monsters. Saving realms…"

Sam's face stayed blank, his spirals unflinching.

Zareth laughed darkly, the sound echoing with bitterness.

"…But you're wrong. You and your kind… are evil itself. The only difference is… you hold all that determination."

His voice grew fainter, his aura flickering like a dying flame.

Sam raised his blade.

"Is that all?" he said coldly, "All this time in this prison… only to spout this?"

His sword glowed, ready to strike the final blow.

But then Zareth's voice rasped again.

"Seven."

Sam's brows furrowed.

"…Hm?"

"There are seven… missions," Zareth whispered, "Each harder than the last… and when you reach the end… you will…"

He coughed, his words faltering.

But before he could finish—

"Oh," Zareth muttered, his corrupted eye flaring one last time, "They are here."

"…?" Sam narrowed his eyes.

Fwish! FWASH!

A blade of pure malice, forged of hatred itself, tore through the void above and descended.

Before Sam could react, it cleaved cleanly through Zareth's neck.

His head flew, and the aura around him collapsed in silence.

"What?" Sam's eyes widened as he stepped back, looking upward into the void.

The blade dissolved into a haze of darkness, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

Zareth's body lay still.

Sam was alone in the seventh sub-layer.

Then—

Ding!

[Congratulations to the "Primordial" for being the first being in history to complete the "Seventh Layer" and killing the Layer Boss: Zareth, The Forgotten One.]