Chapter 2178: Baptism
As his fist surged down, the destructive resonance of the Yin and Yang vibrations shifted to constructive resonance. The immense power of the dual vibrations of the Yin-Yang Spear technique was poured into the Muspelheim domain as his fist struck the earth. In an instant, the power of one grade-ten technique supercharged another grade-ten technique. Yet, the effect of this far surpassed his estimations; the two techniques possessed an even greater synergy than he had ever expected from them.
Their combination led to a monstrous outcome that surpassed the sum of the parts.
BOOOOOM!!!
A tremendous explosion roared across the battlefield as what might as well have been a supernova erupted from the domain's epicenter.
A white-hot fireball of pure destruction spread.
It swallowed Rui in an instant.
Yet, it didn't stop there.
No.
It erupted, consuming Master Uma in a split second before consuming her storm effortlessly. Before an inferno of such immense magnitude, before the ungodly fusion of two extraordinary grade-ten techniques, even her storms were no more than a paltry breeze.
Yet, even as the heat consumed her, she only felt a single emotion.
Love.
She gazed at Rui with loving eyes filled with devotion and reverence.
He gazed back at her with hatred, rage, and pain.
His entire body was set ablaze, turning his visage into that of a fiery force of nature in her eyes.
"Truly, you are the Antithesis." Her voice grew euphoric as the flames eroded her away. "It's been an honor serving you."
She worshiped him as her God as well as her own child whom she had helped raise into the man he was today.
She laid bare her emotions to him.
Her love. Her devotion. Her reverence. Yet they only evoked disgust from him.
As he gazed at her, his urge grew stronger.
He knew that he ought not to do it.
As he gazed at her, his urge grew stronger.
He knew that he ought not to do it.
Every rational part of his mind pleaded with him not to do it.
Yet, as he beheld her eyes through the storm of fire that consumed them, his body moved on its own, driven by his desire to kill her for all the torment she had inflicted on him. It did not seem to care that it had been set on fire.
It did not seem to care about the ocean of pain coursing through his nervous system at the moment.
No.
At that moment, his body moved on its own, surging forward.
It was only when his dying body triggered a second Yin-Yang Spear, supercharging his Muspelheim to astronomical levels of power a second time, that he finally gained a fragment of enlightenment.
'Ah...' Time slowed down to a crawl in his eyes as they lit up with understanding. '...I see.'
A single truth had become clear to him.
'I'm not as rational as I thought I was.'
He had taken one more step in the journey to understanding who he was.
Yet, at what cost?
BOOOOOM!!!
His fist struck Master Uma as a second singularity of heat emerged, consuming her alive.
Yet, her love, devotion, and reverence only grew even as she approached death.
She had been waiting for this day for eighteen years.
Since that fateful day eighteen years ago, when she had failed to capture her deity, impeded by that stubborn fool, Deivon.
The two of them had fought for quite some time that day. Master Deivon had managed to stall for her a long time despite being much weaker than her, eventually wearing her down until their Realms of power ran out.
"Hahaha..." Master Deivon had laughed weakly, lying flat on the ground.
His body had been a mess, battered and gouged bloody by Master Uma's potent attacks.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Master Uma had bellowed with rage. Master Deivon laughed even more. "You... will never reach him. He is beyond your reach, and when you do find him, it will be because he will have the power to kill you."
His voice grew ominous even as it grew weaker.
Yet, before Master Uma could retort, she froze.
They both did.
A deeply powerful aura swept over both of them, sending chills down their spines.
A being of a higher Realm.
"I see that the two of you..." Sage Sariawar smiled. "...have been up to no good."
Master Deivon's eyes lit up with hope. "Your Excellency! I wish to report treason!"
Master Uma closed her eyes in resignation.
It was over.
SPLAT!
Her eyes opened with shock as she beheld Master Deivon's severed head hitting the ground. Her eyes turned to Sage Sariawar, stunned. "Your Excellency."
"Uma..." The Cardinal Sage shifted her gaze to the Martial Master, her expression not changing so much as a shade. "Do you wish to put that seed into the Antithesis?"
Master Uma narrowed her eyes. "He is not a seed, and he is the Antithesis. And I will mold him in the shape of Lord Virodhabhasa."
"You are not strong enough," Sage Sariawar mercilessly told her. "If you were a Sage, perhaps. But as a Master, your life is insignificant before his. He will surpass you before you can ever hope to find him."
Her tone, ruthless as her words were, was kind.
Master Uma's expression grew more severe. "Then..."
"Fear not, for there is still a way that you can mold him in the image of the Antithesis." Sage Sariawar smiled. Master Uma's eyes lit up with hope as Sage Sariawar's smile grew wider.
"If you are unable to impact him in life, then you can do so in death."
Master Uma grew stunned at her words.
"If you have conviction, I can help you serve as a step in his Martial Path," Sage Sariawar remarked. "I can help you baptize him with your death."
"I am willing." Master Uma grew determined. "Show me how, O Cardinal Sage."
An eerie smile emerged on Sage Sariawar's face. "With the power vested in me as a Cardinal Sage, I hereby banish you from the Virodhabhasa Theocracy." Sage Sariawar's declaration shook Master Uma. "Go. Leave the Theocracy. Join the eastern branch of the Panamic Martial Federation. One day, he will arrive atop its abode, and you will have one final opportunity before even your death will lose meaning."