Chapter 1067: The Flicker Of Hope
"I'm sorry," I whispered to the still bodies of my friends lying amongst the rubble.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
I felt a heavy sorrow knotting inside my chest, a bitter cocktail of regret, loss, and the raw, unadulterated terror of facing my own mortality.
However... more than the pain of loss I felt was the rage against the one who inflicted it on me.
"Let's see how you handle this," I muttered, my voice cracking with the strain of suppressed emotions. With a sudden surge of resolve, I activated the necklace.
"Big Bang..."
Time seemed to slow as a blinding white light erupted from the pendant, the space around me instantly disintegrating under the onslaught of raw, untamed Aether.
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!~
The cavernous chamber transformed into a maelstrom of destructive energy, the monstrous horde disappearing beneath the searing light.
My barriers crumbled almost instantly, the protective layers of magic vaporizing under the immense force of the detonation.
I felt the raw energy wash over me, burning into my skin like a thousand suns, my screams swallowed by the deafening roar of the explosion.
"ARRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The world around me was blotted out, reduced to a blank canvas of white. I could see the chamber collapsing, chunks of stone and debris disintegrating before they even reached me.
My senses were overloaded, the harsh light searing my retinas, the deafening roar of the explosion drowning out all other sounds.
My last sight was the searing white expanse of destruction I had unleashed.
'Haaa....'
In the end... did I manage to get them? Every last one of them?
Was I able to kill the creature of darkness?
The answer?
"HUUUUU...."
NO!
Reality resurfaced as the blinding light faded, leaving in its wake an eerie silence and the chilling echo of devastation.
I was lying face-down on the cold, unforgiving ground, every inch of my body aflame with agonizing pain. My barriers were obliterated, leaving me unprotected, vulnerable to the treacherous Nether that now started to seep into my system, poisoning me from the inside out.
I knew I only had a few seconds to live.
"HUUUUUU...."
It was then, through my blurred vision, that I saw it.
The black marker monster.
"HUUUUUUUUUUU..."
Still standing, unfazed by the destruction that had decimated everything else. A hot surge of regret, a bitter taste of failure welled up within me, anger flaring as I gritted my teeth.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
My breaths were ragged, uneven, each one seeming like my last. My thoughts swirled, dizzied by the overwhelming pain and the creeping darkness at the edges of my consciousness.
I could feel death's cold touch, lurking at the edge of my senses, its icy fingers reaching out for me. I was on the cusp of the abyss, teetering precariously at the precipice of nothingness. I was dying.
But as I lay there, seconds from oblivion, a sudden realization hit me. I didn't want to die.
I wanted to live.
My mind clung desperately to images of Karlia, her smile as bright as the sun, her laughter that echoed like a sweet melody in my ears. My heart ached with longing, with the unfinished promise of a future I wanted to fight for.
I thought of Larry and Drake, of Aria, their voices, their shared laughter, our bonds that were severed so abruptly, so cruelly.
I wanted to bring them back. I needed to bring them back.
The mission... our mission. It wasn't over. It couldn't be over. Not yet.
"No," I gasped, forcing the word out through clenched teeth. The determination to survive, to fight, ignited within me, a spark in the all-consuming darkness.
"I... won't... die."
As if mocking my frail attempt at defiance, the monster moved, a towering shadow that loomed over me. I couldn't move, my body was betraying me, failing me.
The fear was potent, a gut-wrenching terror that seemed to dwarf even my physical pain. But underneath it, a single thought clung stubbornly, refusing to be extinguished.
"I... will... live."
Whether it was a whispered vow to myself or a challenge to the looming specter of death, I didn't know.
All I knew was that I had to fight. For Karlia, for my friends, for the world that still needed saving.
The world blurred once again, my strength waning. The darkness was closing in, but in my heart, the spark of will remained, flickering stubbornly against the suffocating dark.
The world around me began to fade, but my resolve didn't.
I was Lewis. And I was not done yet.
And so... as the blackness threatened to consume me entirely, a strange phenomenon began to occur.
From somewhere deep within me, a brilliant light ignited, dispelling the encroaching shadows.
There was an abrupt surge of energy, an explosion that radiated outwards from my very core, stirring the lifeless particles of Nether around me into a frenzied whirlpool of raw, untamed power.
'Haaa...?'
I felt myself being lifted, like a marionette being yanked upwards by invisible strings, until I was standing, shakily, on my own two feet.
My body was enveloped in a swirling tempest of energy, a corona of seething power that danced and crackled around me.
The pain, the agonizing torment that had been gnawing at my very being, started to recede, replaced with an electrifying sensation that coursed through my veins.
My hand rose before me of its own accord, appearing pale and ghostly amidst the violent undulation of energy.
But rather than decaying under the ravages of the Nether, my flesh began to knit itself back together, healing with an astonishing rapidity that left me reeling.
"Nether..." I breathed, a sense of awe overtaking me.
I was not only withstanding the destructive force of the Nether, I was controlling it.
Manipulating it to my will, bending its chaotic nature into a beacon of restorative light.
In that moment, my mind raced, connecting dots and drawing conclusions faster than ever before.
The energy swirled around me like a tangible force, resonating with my heartbeat, synchronizing with my every thought.
I could feel it, more intimate than my own heartbeat, more intricate than the most complex of spells.
I could now channel this energy, this Nether, into Magic.
The realization struck me like a lightning bolt, sparking an exhilarating rush of anticipation that flooded my senses.
A strange serenity washed over me as the last of my injuries healed.
The corner of my mouth twitched upward, stretching into a wide, feral grin.
For the first time in a long while, amidst the wreckage and ruin, under the watchful gaze of the black marker monster, a spark of hope ignited in my heart.
My voice emerged from my throat as a whisper, yet carried a note of triumph that echoed through the cavernous chamber, reverberating against the walls and ceiling.
"Spellcraft... "
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[A/N]
Hype moment! Lewis Griffith, the Great Sage, unlocks Magic!
How and Why?
And what will he do with this newfound power?
Let's find out!