Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 452: One Of One

"How do you know so much about bandages?" William asked from the side, his question directed toward Annabelle.

Annabelle clicked her tongue in mild frustration before replying, "Because unlike the three of you, who are obsessed with battles, I focus on other things."

"We aren’t obsessed, we just wanted to spar," Caldor corrected, his expression remaining unchanged.

"And see where that got me," Annabelle replied as she gestured toward the bandages wrapped around her body.

Caldor simply shook his head before laying back down, his back settling against the bed as his gaze drifted toward the ceiling. His mind replayed the image of the infinite wall he had seen earlier, towering endlessly before him. His thoughts lingered there for a moment longer than he would have liked, before he finally let out a sigh. A self-deprecating smile formed on his lips the next instant.

He hadn’t suddenly gained a new determination to scale the wall or defy the heavens. He wasn’t that naive, nor was he foolish. While many others might have been inspired to challenge fate itself after witnessing such a sight, Caldor simply accepted his reality.

And what was that reality?

He would never reach the Tenth Sun’s level.

He wasn’t going to spend his life obsessing over something impossible, especially not against a Wargrave of all people. That path would only end up harming his own journey toward ascension. But that didn’t mean he would give up on training altogether. He would continue to train, to improve, and to advance at the pace his innate talent allowed him.

"Sigh... who would’ve thought the difference between us was this great," William spoke quietly, his gaze shifting toward Asher.

Asher lifted his eyes from the book he had been reading and looked back at him.

"I’m a Wargrave, William," Asher said calmly. "We naturally possess superior physiques compared to everyone else, even before awakening, let alone after awakening. And once we do awaken, every progression in Life Rank only increases the layered difference in physical prowess between us and others. It’s one of the reasons we can fight above our Life Rank as though it’s nothing."

The next second, he continued speaking without pause. "Besides, your ability is to copy, and even then, it’s only half of my own proficiency. That means half the potency of my attacks. And since I’m in tune with the elements themselves due to my innate affinity, you can’t possibly expect your attacks to have any significant effect on me."

His explanation lacked any hint of mockery or condescension; it was simply the truth.

William remained silent as he processed Asher’s words, fully recognizing the reality behind them. Yet Asher didn’t seem finished explaining the difference between them, or how William had lost.

"Another factor is the gap in thought and finesse between us," Asher continued. "While you may possess fifty percent of my proficiency and can technically perform what I do at that level of control, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can actually do it."

William frowned slightly at those words, confusion flickering across his face.

"This is an example."

Asher’s voice suddenly sounded from another direction. Everyone’s heads snapped toward the source of the sound, and there, standing calmly with the same book in hand, was another Asher.

Now, there were two of him.

"Just because you possess the proficiency doesn’t mean you can replicate this," the two Ashers spoke simultaneously. "You may have the ability, but not the application. After all, I’m sure you don’t even know how I’m doing this."

The next moment, the newly appeared Asher vanished into thin air. Silence settled over the sleep room once more, the air heavy with unspoken realization. Without any of them noticing, Asher had already placed them under another illusion.

William understood Asher’s point completely. As he listened, the limitations holding him back became painfully clear. And this was only in relation to Asher’s own affinities, what about the countless other abilities he might attempt to copy in the future?

"Forgive me for asking," Annabelle spoke from the side, "but how many affinities do you possess? It’s common knowledge that the Wargrave bloodline only grants one affinity."

"I have four," Asher replied plainly. "Lightning. Light. Space. Gravity."

He listed them without hesitation or pride. The world was already more or less aware of them, after all.

Annabelle nodded and said nothing more, her thoughts drifting back to the earlier spar. Now that she thought about it, Asher hadn’t truly used his affinities against them at all, aside from teleporting Finch forward.

"You people shouldn’t beat yourselves up over this," Finch spoke as he laid back down with a relaxed sigh. "You sparred with a Wargrave. What did you expect, to win?"

"Then why did you want to spar with him?" Caldor asked from the side.

Finch arched an eyebrow before replying, "Because William was already doing it, and in a way, so were you. If it had just been you or just William challenging the Tenth Sun, I wouldn’t have bothered. But I guess I got caught up in the heat of the moment." He shrugged as he spoke, remaining laid back on the bed.

"I see," Caldor replied simply.

"Besides," William began, his black eyes shifting toward Asher once more, "I thought we were friends. But you cut off my arm, broke my jaw, and knocked out my teeth."

Asher shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips. "As someone who can copy my abilities and has seen me in action more than anyone else in this room, I’m sure you can attest to just how much I was holding back."

At those words, William fell silent instantly. His mind involuntarily playing the image of towering pillars of lightning descending from the heavens and reducing him to charcoal.

No one in the room was foolish enough to believe Asher had taken the spar seriously. He had barely made any genuine moves throughout the entire exchange.

’It seems I need to train more...’ William thought with a quiet sigh. His mind drifted to his copy ability, wondering when it would finally evolve and shed the limitations binding it.

’At least this spar opened my eyes to a few things,’ he continued inwardly. ’Too bad that after the next mission, we’ll have to part ways.’

Though he and Finch had found Asher’s replacement, both of them knew deep down that there could never truly be another Asher.

The boy was simply one of one.

___________

AUTHOR’S NOTE: It has come to my attention that people think that Asher’s Life Rank progression is slow. But please, let me remind you that from the moment Asher transmigrated to now, only a year and a month has passed in the timeline. And in that year, he had moved from an unawakened to a Blazestar Life Ranker, that is 4 major Life Ranks and 17 sub-Life Ranks.

So please, don’t confuse Chapter count with the timeline. Also, I need your golden tickets like never before. We’ve fallen below the 30s in the Golden tickets ranking. Help me climb the ranks. Thanks for reading, love y’all.