Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1569: Veils

Lord Enforcer and Major General Arngan’s battles had never intertwined. They had handled their opponents separately, never crossing each other throughout their exchanges.

The types of battles the two evolved warriors had engaged in played a role in that complete separation. After all, Lord Enforcer had stayed behind because his element seemed to counter his opponent’s. Meanwhile, Major General Arngan just wanted to fight.

Yet, the outcome had been similar, as well as what followed it. Lord Enforcer and Major General Arngan stood on opposite ends of the massive crater, both facing their opponents, when something greater than the world itself descended into the area.

The kid-like King was lying on the barren, black ground, a displeased expression plastered on his face. His legs and arms were spread, seemingly having given up on fighting altogether.

Of course, there was more to the young-looking King’s status than met the eye. He looked physically unharmed, but his body didn’t work too well, and the same went for his connection to his deceptive power.

Lord Enforcer had worked his magic and was ready to get at it again when his survival instincts screamed in danger. He was right before his lying opponent when a black canvas appeared in the air above him, and two huge scarlet eyes opened inside it.

Major General Arngan’s situation was messier, but no less victorious. Long but closed cuts littered his dark-red body, mostly condensed on his forearms, but his stance couldn’t be firmer. The injuries he had suffered didn’t slow him down at all, and his opponent couldn’t say the same.

The long-haired King stood in front of the General, hunched forward, and with his short knife pointed at his opponent. However, smoke leaked from his left shoulder, right knee, and waist, hiding deep injuries he was struggling to fix.

Then, the very air froze as a black canvas expanded above the alien, featuring the same scarlet irises that had appeared on the other side of the massive crater.

Lord Enforcer was quite the emotionless warrior, and the sight didn’t make him wear feelings his face was incapable of mustering. Yet, his machine-like eyes went wide as his very existence experienced something that threatened his very foundation.

The Royal Guard couldn’t recognize any rule in the event. Actually, he could only see it as impossible. The faint trace of the immense being leaking from the pitch-black canvas was deeply unsettling and shocking, almost forcing Lord Enforcer to reconsider his whole existence.

Major General Arngan went through a similar shock, albeit for different reasons. Nothing but bloodthirsty thoughts had filled his mind until that point, only for the canvas’ appearance to silence them altogether.

That reaction wasn’t due to a technique. Major General Arngan simply found himself unable to harbor any ill will against whatever power that canvas leaked. His very existence rejected that thought.

Then, a deep, wise, and ancient whisper resounded through the area, resounding everywhere despite coming from two different sources. "[Ascend, my sons]."

And, the kid-like King and the long-haired King responded simultaneously. "[Thank you, my God]."

Violent winds blew from two opposite locations in the area as soon as those words finished echoing. Tides of True Chaos exploded outward as the giant scarlet eyes in the two hovering canvases closed and disappeared.

The horns on the two Kings blew, replaced by longer trails of True Chaos that replicated those now-missing body parts. More of that energy also surged from the two black warriors’ backs, expanding sideways and assuming denser shapes.

The ascension even affected the environment. The area was quite barren, only featuring the gargantuan crater at its center. Still, its surfaces started to shatter and rise, turning into tides of energy that converged toward the two Kings.

The long-haired King instantly healed under that surge of energy. He straightened his back, wearing a slight smirk and bringing his knife to it, running its black edge over his sharp teeth.

The kid-like King also recovered from whatever invisible wound Lord Enforcer had inflicted on him. He flapped his vast, vaguely rectangular wings, instantly straightening himself and rising through the air, sending more violent winds toward his opponent.

The winds lost any power after entering Lord Enforcer’s range. Nothing actually touched him, but his machine-like gaze followed the rising King, almost showing newfound seriousness.

Instead, Major General Arngan growled deeply when he heard the screeching noise the black blade produced while running over the King’s dark teeth. That sound felt dangerous for some reason, and he soon understood why.

Suddenly, a series of long cuts opened all over Major General Arngan’s figure, overlapping themselves onto the healed marks to litter his body with bleeding lines.

The General promptly crossed his arms, but it was too late, and his gesture didn’t serve him at all. More cuts opened on his limbs, but sharp injuries also carved his covered chest and face, seemingly able to ignore his physical defenses.

That wasn’t exactly new. The long-haired King had needed to use his knife to cut the General during the previous exchanges, but, clearly, the ascension had removed that requirement.

The new cuts also looked deeper and refused to heal instantly, telling Major General Arngan how the danger level had increased. Yet, he only roared loudly, forsaking his pointless defense to charge ahead.

Despite the distance, Lord Enforcer heard his companion’s roar loud and clear, only for that low voice to grow muffled. His senses also alerted him that his surroundings were changing, as if veils upon veils of ethereal energy were falling over that layer of reality.

That wasn’t exactly new for Lord Enforcer, either. The kid-like King dealt in illusions he had already faced and defeated.

However, those new ethereal veils felt strangely deeper, as if affecting a more profound layer of reality, a level that tried to escape the reach of Lord Enforcer’s existence.

Lord Enforcer didn’t let that strangeness take him by surprise, but his surroundings changed before he could do anything. The whole area transformed. The crater disappeared, as well as the ground past it, replaced by a world of complete blackness with no surfaces or lands.

And, when Lord Enforcer lifted his arm to summon his mana and enforce the reality of the world’s rules, he noticed that his whole limb was no more.