NOVEL NEXT Ch. 57
As if he had sensed the subtle change in the players' formation, the Scorpion king stopped his attack and looked at Zyrus in amusement.
“Yeah, there’s no way you wouldn’t notice,” Zyrus clicked his tongue and placed his trusted spear back into the inventory.
Shi kun and Pouka also arrived at that time. They stood in front of Zyrus while glaring at the opposite side. Neither Zyrus nor the scorpion king moved, as if whatever was happening on the battlefield didn’t matter to them.
They knew that there was only one existence that was able to harm them, and it was the opponent that stood in front of them.
[In the name of thy king, Heed my call]
A deep voice resounded across the colosseum as the Scorpion King raised his sword to the sky. A jet-black aura manifested around him, almost forcing all players to kneel down on the bloody ground.
The terracotta warriors didn’t miss this opportunity and launched a barrage of attacks. However, this was the least of the players' worries.
“Don’t tell me...”
“Motherfu-”
[COME FORTH AT ONCE]
CRAAACKLE
The entire colosseum trembled under the weight of the king’s authority. The broken and shattered pieces of terracotta warriors became whole once again.
That wasn’t the end.
The players who had died rose again as terracotta warriors. Their remaining flesh calcified whereas the broken parts were fixed with pitch-black energy. This harrowing transformation struck deep fear into the player’s psyche.
“What do we do-” Shi kun was forced to cut his words short as he looked behind him.
More than one emperor was fighting in this battle. Zyrus was studying laws and concepts without sparing a moment. How could it be possible that he, as an archmage, didn’t have a few cards up his sleeve?
He stood on the same position with his arms spread wide. Dark blue sparks flashed out from his palms while clangs of metal resounded across the colosseum.
Zyrus knew that he wouldn’t be able to win this war with the skills he had. From the subtle hints Aurora had given during their conversation and from his enemy’s skills, he had long since figured out the hidden meaning behind her words.
Aurora had said that the Eternals were busy, and that was enough for him.
At this moment, he no longer had to hide his powers on the sanctuary. The concepts he had comprehended bloomed in reality. Even with the pitiful mana he possessed, he was still the void monarch who had once conquered the sanctuary.
‘So, I’ll show them.’
[SHACKLES OF NIHILITY]
‘I’ll show them the power that made the immortals tremble in fear.’
Time ceased to a halt in Zyrus’s perception. For the second time, he was pulled back to his source of existence. The records of his life played out on the crystalline path.
…
A long... long time ago, a time when he had yet to set foot in the sanctuary, Zyrus Wymar was an ordinary kid. Just like others his age, he too was fascinated by the brilliant sky that lay beyond the confines of the Arc of Noah.
It was an age when knowledge thrived. Humans focused all of their efforts on understanding the workings of space. One of the topics that caught the kid’s eye was the concept of Void. The words spoken by his favorite teacher were engraved deep into the child’s memories.
According to olden theories, even the vacuums are filled with virtual particles that pop in and out of existence>
The kid was fascinated by the knowledge. It inspired him to learn more and more about the topic.
Time passed by and the kid became a man. The weight of responsibility vanquished his thirst for knowledge and curiosity. When he turned 16, he had lost his one and only family when his grandpa died.
He no longer cared for the space and the universe.
He didn't have a goal or a desire. He lived just for the sake of it. Sometimes, he wished that he could just vanish and get rid of this emptiness.
Perhaps the universe was moved by his plea, as his wish was granted. On his nineteenth birthday, it was announced that the Arc of Noah had gathered enough fuel for their final voyage. While others were excited at the thought of reaching their new home, the man was relieved at the prospect of a cryogenic sleep.
The land of dreams welcomed him, but alas, that too wasn’t meant to last. Along with the rest of humanity, he woke up in a world where they could die at every step.
But every time he stood at the edge of life and death, he wasn’t able to accept his fate. He recalled the last words of his grandfather which made him try his hardest to survive.
He didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. He managed to survive every time and became stronger than before. A century had passed just like that.
He was no longer alone. Millions of people rallied behind him as he fought for humanity with his comrades. In this unforgiving world, he had once again found a reason for his existence.
That was when he met her.
A woman whose very eyes held the brilliant cosmos, the same cosmos that fascinated him at a time he no longer recalled.
The river of time never stopped flowing. The two became closer with each passing year, and then one day, the man became a king.
Humans became one of the most renowned species under his rule. They were famed and feared across the many rings of sanctuary. None worried about survival as his kingdom prospered in the peaceful domain of Argonaut.
However, this paradise that he had built was a mistake. The man only realized it when it was too late.
The peace he had earned with his strength became the target of the greed and envy of others. Even the ones who followed him found his presence a hindrance to their ambitions.
The king was betrayed and his kingdom fell. His loyal comrades died in the hands of traitors. The woman he loved forever closed her eyes that shone brighter than the nebulae.
That day when Zyrus Wymar lost everything, he had another understanding of Void.
Nothingness.
…
Blue shackles bound by black chains erupted from the ground as memories of his past life passed by Zyrus’s eyes. They bound the terracotta warriors and denied their very existence.
He still remembered that day when he cried tears of blood. Those feelings and emotions were what made him the void emperor.
That was the first aspect that connected him with the laws of ‘Void’.
For him, Void was the lack of something. What would that something be? Humans, elves, spirits, castles, land and mountains, oceans and sky, space and time… everything could be erased by the power of void.
This was the concept of Nihility and Erasure.
“Did you create a new skill?” Jacob walked over while looking at Zyrus in awe.
“Yes, it’s similar to a debuff,” Zyrus replied with a smile as he was all too familiar with this expression. He had also looked at other arcanists with the same awe and wonder whenever they showed their magic.
“That’s a bit too much for a debuff,” Jacob pointed his finger at the terracotta warriors.
Some had their limbs missing while others had their weapons chipped in half. Not a single warrior was left intact on the battlefield. If the world was a canvas, then the blue shackles were brushes that removed all colors. What many wouldn't notice was the fact that even the canvas itself was starting to be erased.
"Well, this is a curse spell imbued with the power of void," Zyrus explained as he surveyed the Colosseum.
It was almost impossible to teach the intricacies behind concepts to a newbie like Jacob. But even if he conveyed a tenth of his knowledge, Jacob's strength would soar by leaps and bounds.
Unlike his fight against Nidraxis Zyrus had only used a fraction of the power of his origin. What came as a surprise was that he had comprehended a new abstract concept.
‘Even I'm not sure if this is the result of the fusion between two concepts or a singular entity…’
The tide of war had changed due to his attack. The scorpion king was still resurrecting the terracotta warriors; however, they were no longer an issue since Zyrus’s concept had engulfed hundreds of enemies.
“Ignore the rest and smash the injured ones to pieces.” Ria’s cold voice was conveyed to all players. With her intelligence, it wasn't hard for her to find the weakness behind the Scorpion King's power of resurrection.
‘Now only he is left…’
Zyrus shifted his gaze to the Scorpion King. He was certain about one thing. If he used his full power with this spell then even the scorpion king would be erased from existence.
But that wasn’t his goal.
He needed a tremendous amount of energy to use the power of the origin, and he couldn't just faint after defeating his enemy.
He had to remain standing and see the battles to the end. It was his role as a leader, and the only way for him to survive in the sanctuary’s unpredictable environment.