Chapter 1030: The One Who Stands Above [Pt 2]

A sudden bright light radiated around Edward, swallowing him whole in it's brilliance.

Jared, who had been tightly gripping him, was sent flying away by the sheer power that began to grow from him.

The entire surroundings quaked in the presence of the power that was emerging from his very depths, materializing to form a magnificent beam of glory.

All of a sudden, Edward's long flowing white hair began glittering brighter than before, and his body turned bright pale, as if he was adorned with stars.

Several floating blades revolved around him, and he was adorned with a magnificent white robe.

"I understand now..." Edward muttered as he slowly opened his eyes, revealing a deep wisdom and revelation in his eyes that shone as bright as supernovas.

In his grasp was unfathomable power, and the simple effect of that power made all the difference.

~I represent Will and Action. All you have to do is 'will' it into existence, and it comes into effect.~

That was the power of Aries.

"Now... it is my power." He stared at Jared with a focused gaze.

With this Representation that had been bestowed upon him, Edward felt like he had the ability to reshape the very reality that he had been restricted by.

"I WILL defeat you, Jared. This fight WILL end in my victory."

At that very moment, Edward summoned an unbreakable blade to his grasp, instantly imbuing it with his will.

So long as he had an unshakeable will, he could command anything into action.

The blades that hovered around him served as an extension of himself, and even the robe he donned was a representation of his ascension.

Currently... he was invincible.

*******

"Looks like I'll have to take you more seriously, Edward." I whispered as I stared at his current form.

'He has more Aether than me, and his form diallows the effects of my current set of Arcanas.'

The battle before me just got a lot more difficult—no, practically impossible—to win.

I was tempted to call it off, considering the fact that I couldn't match the power of a Constellation in my current state.

'My Familiars are nowhere close to Aries in power, and my most powerful tools—my Arcanas—are pretty useless...'

By all representations, it would seem that I was stuck.

"Oh well..." My grin grew wider as I prepared myself for the incoming volley.

It was just like I told Kahn and pretty much anyone who brought a case of impossibility to me.

'With Magic, nothing is impossible!'

Which was why I wasn't going to surrender myself to such a concept as an absolute loss.

'Why don't we test it out right here and now?' My thoughts established firmly as I cooled my breath.

'A mere human fighting against a Constellation!'

As soon as I concluded my thought, Edward suddenly appeared in front of me.

'H-huh?!'

There was no sound or sign. He simply appeared before me in a flash.

Before I had even the slightest chance to think, a blade was already slicing off.my head and breaking away my soul.

I was going to die!

"Haaa!"

Fortunately... [The Popess] came into play, healing and restoring me back to original shape before long.

Rather unfortunately, as soon as I regained consciousness, yet another vicious blade cut through me, killing me instantly.

Of course, I was revived once again, but only to meet yet another strike that ended my life as abruptly as the last.

'Ah... I see what you're trying to do, Edward!' A grin formed on my face as blade after blade killed me over and over again.

'You want me to run out of energy and ultimately die for real...'

His plan was solid.

At my current pace, and at the rate [The Popess] was reviving me, I was going to die in the next few more tries.

'The Constellation's powers are affecting the effects of my Arcanas, so I decided to focus all my attention and Aether to [The Popess], but the Aether consumption is even more than before.'

I was going to run out of energy very soon.

'Fortunately... it's ready.'

As Edward's blade neared me, most likely resorting to killing me for the second to final time, I decided to reveal my ace.

... The ace I developed just now.

"Haaa..."

[Memoir Alert]

<Process Has Been Concluded>

What was happening was quite simple, but complex at the same time.

Using [The Moon] and [The Lovers] as a base, for extrapolating and merging—fission and fusion—I created a new function in my Grand Sage's Memoir that would allow me to perfectly synthesize Spells by perfectly merging qualities of several various spells while keeping their efficiency or even improving them

This process would be based on the Memoir's algorithm, and the incubation period would be nearly instantaneous since the calculations would be done at breakneck speed, especially if it concluded it's task in my special dimension while automatically using [The Hermit] to speed up it's process.

It took a ridiculous amount of Aether, which accounted for my rapid drain in energy after so many efforts to improve it immensely.

And so, by separating the effects of independent Arcanas and Spells already in my possession, and merging their properties... I was able to form a new Arcana.

[Original Magic: Great Sage's Memoir Arcana Synthesis Complete]

<Arcana: [Aries] concluded>

~[Aries] will be activated~

Everything was being handled by my Memoir, independent of my own actions. All I recieved was the feedback.

'Hurry up!' I cried, feeling the edge of the blade already reaching my neck, about to snuff the life out of me once more.

>VWUUUUUUUUSSSHHHHH!!!!<

It happened instantly—the effects of my Arcana.

"W-what's happening...?" Edward muttered, his eyes widening as his apparel slowly banished and his swords evaporated.

The blade he held shattered upon contact with my neck, and his glistening body returned to normal.

"[Aries] has only one function..." I smiled, watching Edward's dumbstruck expression with glee.

"... To feed you with enough despair to counteract your will."

By merging properties from [Temperance], [The Emperor], [Judgement], [Death], and [Justice], I was able to make it.

Of course, there was no way I could overwhelm a Constellation Fusion Mode Edward with my power alone, so I decided not to.

'I used [Spellcraft] to use Arie's bountiful energy as fuel for the Arcana.'

In the end, an Arcana was just a formula. Once I was able to understand and manipulate the flow of the formula to my benefit, the rest followed.

'Thankfully I already read the flow of Aries' Aether signature from our first encounter, and I also completely registered Edward's Aether, which allowed me to use [True Unknowable].'

Everything I had experienced till now aided me in my venture to disrupt and defeat Edward's Constellation's power.

"Y-you... you can't do this!" Edward shouted in both exasperation and confusion.

His widened eyes displayed nothing short of disbelief at my actions.

"Why can't I?" I smiled, narrowing my gaze on him.

Magic. Martial Arts. Aether. Nether. Mana. Miasma....

... All of these things were well documented thanks Tommy experience and discoveries.

Discoveries bred evolution, and evolution need change. These changes were constant, and they led to the very disruption of what anyone would perceive as reality.

Change was absolute, and the one who caused that change could be said to be an absolute being.

"I am the one who stands at the top. There's no limit to what I can't do."