To backtrack back to the events that happened that day, let us shift through the memories of Golden Snake, an old monster who was currently looking at an image of someone in a Aqua Recording, and was feeling a chill down his spine.
The person in that recording was a well-known individual he met during the events that day...
Upon a skyscraper's rooftop, Golden Snake landed before the one-armed Alex Stuman who had been extremely injured before he arrived. This 'Grand Elder' didn't see fighting the old freak in this condition as unfair since he was against a thief.
There wasn't a reason to give respect to someone who had already become 'their' most hated enemy.
[Lightning Step- Phantasmal Serpents!]
His body disappeared as he grabbed the four Elders of the Transcendent Clan they all were a part of before taking them to the side. His body left many afterimages before he returned to his position. Those fallen were now out of the way.
It was only Death Eater who was unceremoniously kicked off the rooftop as if it was none of his business. The man woke up halfway through his descent and screamed before things turned quiet.
Did he really die? Probably not. It took a lot more than being thrown off the building to kill this kind of scum, but Golden Snake didn't care. Killing him off would take precious time the geezer really needed.
He sent the Elders under him to fight Alex first to weaken him, but he didn't expect things to turn out so well. He looked at the one-armed opponent before him while making note of his injuries...
His opponent couldn't defeat him. That's what Golden Snake had speculated from their positions.
"Where are the vials?" He asked the question that the old freak before him definitely knew the answer of. There was no way he could ignore the disappearance of their finite supply of 'Divine Blood'. That's why he had come here today...
"Who knows?" Alex didn't want to divulge this information to anyone even if he ended up dying.
There was a reason why Golden Snake remembered this event in particular. As while he had lost this day, there was a piece of information he gained about the man who shared this memory.
On top of a nearby rooftop to them, black-cloaked individuals spectated their match like it was part of a theatre. The leader of the mysterious group watched intently as he lay down on foldable bed.
Yes, this IS a flashback within a flashback.
Call this memory inception...
Coincidently, the man who now went by the title of 'Demon Lord' on Gaia, Alan Stuman, also started to reminisce about that day as he was laying down on his throne. It was a memorable moment for him...
"Master, who do you think will win?" One of the cloaked individuals asked the man leading them.
It was rare for their leader to show interest...
He didn't answer this subordinate of his and instead thought back to the level Alex had achieved the last time the old dragon challenged him. It was a lie to say he didn't respect his brother.
At least, even though he was more talented, Alan had yet to create a Divine Physique that could withstand such punishment himself, and had never truly inherited the teaching of his biological father...
The title of Black Dragon was hereditary, but due to his circumstances being similar to Rosetta, he ended up only partially inheriting his father's 'Four Forms' that made up the Earthly Devil Sealing Horn, as only two of those letters were inherited...
As for his little brother, not only did he inherit all his father's techniques, but he also managed to create an antithesis of the Black Dragon's Four Forms in the shape of the White Dragon's Four Forms, thus becoming the 'Ouroboros' many people feared.
The Black Dragon focused on 'Hard' techniques while the White Dragon focused on 'Soft' techniques. These two alternating style allowed Alex to accidentally stumble onto the right path if he wanted to become an External Grandmaster.
If he had two arms, then maybe the old freak would have a chance, but as he was now, Alan was sure Golden Snake would beat him up, and he was right to think so as Alex's martial arts was disorderly.
The purple-clothed old monster didn't give him time to fully heal his strength as his two arms were like serpents flying through the air. His Snake Style Kung Fu manifested itself at that moment.
[Snake Style- Venomous Acupuncture!]
'Goddammit!' Having one arm really made hard for Alex to defend himself or use his martial arts properly... He couldn't even defend against the meridian blocking fingers with only a single arm.
He tried throwing a hook, but all he got was was having his fist redirected with one 'snake' while the other continued to strike his body. Though being put in a dangerous situation only calmed him down more rather than making him panic at his crisis.
[Unorthodox Karate- Basic Punch!]
His body twisted and a punch going beyond the speed of his previous attacks landed straight into Golden Snake's chest, slamming him away to make some distance. It was only now did he get into a stance while throwing away his inhibitions.
"Haaah... Haaah... Haaah..." He breathes heavily as one could visibly notice his Divine Physique losing its regenerative abilities along with the meridians blocked by the Grand Elder's Acupuncture Arts.
'He is finally getting started~' Alan was finally finding this turning into a good show as he watched from the side. It looked like they were about to go all out after preparing themselves.
There was one thing every Martial Artist did when they were about to fight for real, and that was release their 'Combat Gifts' (These were roughly the degraded equivalent to Spirit Essences).
Though Spirit Essences had better variability and usefulness compared to this degraded version...
Golden Snake's body started to be covered in golden static electricity as his Qi Centre operated at maximum potential. As for the old freak, he too conjured what supposed to be his 'go-to' ability.
[Combat Gift- Refined Rapier + Tempered Katana!]
A lightning coated metallic blade and blood carved wooden weapon appeared out of thin air. They were not as amazing as Spirit Essences in that the user couldn't execute 'Skills' using them, but this Combat Gift allowed him to conjure two good weapons suited for him out quickly. A look of fury arose on Golden Snake's face in response...!
'He dared to use our precious treasure!' Killing intent far beyond anything the old monster had ever felt before arose within him as he realised that his opponent's Qi Centre must have the Lightning Attribute just from looking at his Combat Gift.
The Attributes of a Qi Centre passes onto whatever Combat Gift they created, and roughly shared some of the same qualities depending on what their power was made of. For example: The Grand Elder's Golden Lightning was just a personalised version of the regular Lightning Attribute, the only difference was that 'technique' had bled into it.
This made the originally weak anti-magic property of his Combat Gift almost as strong as the original power only Gaia Humans could tap into. His Gift was no longer an imitation of Purple Lightning, but a true replica of the Lightning Attribute's qualities.
Feeling the old monster's change in demeanour, a flash of animosity appeared in Alex's as he held the metallic katana's handle with his mouth while wielding the wooden rapier in his one arm that was left. He shifted himself into a comfortable 'Stance'.
It was then his pupils contracted by what happened next: His opponent's clothes morphed.
'Avatar Wear!' Alex's expression darkened, seeing the sign of a King Class expert in the Internal Way.
Golden Snake's robe took on a more fantastical appearance as distinct golden electricity covered his newly formed purple clothes. A spear of pure Lightning Qi also formed into his hand, allowing the old monster to use it along with his Snake Style.
He used the Phantasmal Serpents of Lightning Step once again, but this time he aimed to directly battle Alex with his overwhelming might. His long spear pierced through the air and into his foe.
'Got him- Wait, no!' He smiled, only to realise that the target he impaled was only an afterimage.
[Advanced Manoeuvre- Phantom Steps!]
Then Alex appeared somewhere else, which was followed by another spear impaling THAT image...
"Ummm... Master? Sorry, I can't tell what's happening." One the females among the cloaked individuals let out an awkward laugh as she saw multiple figures of the old freak's afterimages get killed. Golden Snake wasn't letting him off...
"He's barely holding on." Alan answered as he watched the the old monster adapt to the pace.
The old dragon was putting everything into evading his attacks, but would he be able to keep this war of attrition forever? ...No, what made this decrepit old veteran think he could make this such a war?
[Spirit Force- Electrokinesis!]
'Hot damn!' Even Alex wasn't able to do anything as Golden Snake continuously sent out bolts of lightning to kill him rather than attacking every one of his afterimages...! His infinite supply of energy let him continuously spam his Higher Forces!
[Cyber Force- Supercharged Eyes!]
Organic metal grew around the Grand Elder's eyes as the world started to slow down by tenfold. The great Ouroboros was put into an even more dire situation as his afterimages were dwindling down at a rapid pace. It didn't long for that damn monster to find him as this time, his actual body was hit by that golden glowing 'Avatar Arm'.
With a strike of lightning, the long spear struck!
'Fricking hurts...!' Alex really wanted grab the guy by the collar and ask what the snake geezer's problem was? All he did was steal two vials, so why is the psycho acting like he took the entire batch?!
There wasn't a hint of remorse in his eyes as he had no choice but to rely on a External Grandmaster's most faithful weapons, and those were the 'Lower Forces' Internal Grandmaster's tend to neglect in order to focus on creating an Avatar Arm (which was the equivalent of a Spirit Essence, unlike degraded ones like Combat Gifts.)
He already used up two Higher Forces, those being Cyber Force's 'Reflex Programming' and Power Force's 'Body Conditioning'. Therefore, all he could do was rely on the two he had left to gain victory...!
He couldn't use them willy-nilly, so he saved them for the most crucial moment they would be needed. His Spirit Root started to circulate energy around his body as he let out his spiritual power.
[Spirit Root- Energy Domain!]
As one could guess, this was just a degraded version of what a 'Magic Trait' for a Beast would be. All he could do was use a 'Passive' technique resist against the maelstrom of lightning bolts striking his body, messing up his nerves and charring his body even more. If it weren't for him unblocking his meridians in that time he had been running around, he would have already died...
Even as Golden Snake was pouring on his efforts to kill him, an External Grandmaster was no joke.
If he had continued to throw lightning onto him instead of going into close-combat, Alex wouldn't have been able to retaliate as well as he did and would've eventually died by electrocution.
However, how could he lose in his specialisation?
[Psion Circuit- Predictive Numeracy]
Even though Golden Snake's kinetic vision had increased by tenfold, there are only so many moves he could make in a single instance. Once the old freak had internally figured out where and how his opponent would strike, he wrapped that body part most after shrinking his Energy Domain down to save stamina. Those flexible, viper-like arms coupled with the old monster's Spear Arts made it difficult for him, but he still had more options.
[Ki Meridians- Hardening + Weightshift!]
Golden Snake only saw an attack curve at him.
An enhanced impaling strike struck Golden Snake's chest, only to find his Avatar Wear get in the way...
Even though Alex controlled his body perfectly to strike at an unexpected angle, his opponent didn't seemed moved by his efforts and briefly showed a mocking smile. It was only then did he realise that normal stabs won't work; he needed an opening...!
Therefore, the old freak put all his efforts into creating one. There was no room left to retreat.
The one arm he had left was all he needed as his body took a stance that extended his rapier towards his opponent. His stabs were like raindrops trickling through the defences of the old monster, who had no choice but to dodge every time Alex aimed for his unguarded face. In that one moment the Grand Elder tried forcing himself through his offensive, he took that opportunity!
[Manoeuvre Rotation- Flash Step!]
His teeth bit down on the handle of the Tempered Katana as hard as he could before twisting his whole body to cut into his opponent. Since he didn't have an arm that could wield it, all he could do was rely on his neck muscles, the momentum of his rotation, the enhanced speed of his spin, and the 'Metal' properties of his katana to slice his foe.
[Power Force- Lightning Armour!]
Like a miraculous mutation, the defensive quality of his Avatar Wear was boosted by his Power Force's Lightning Armour. Since Alex wasn't good at fighting with his mouth, a cracking sound could be heard as his teeth shattered upon hitting this unbreakable defence...! His gums started bleeding as he spat out the shattered remnants along with his Tempered Katana out his mouth painfully.
Golden Snake had no pity for his nemesis. As he was too close to use Spear Arts, he stabbed the ground to gain leverage with one leg and threw a punch towards the old freak's face at that moment.
Blood splattered across the ground as the old freak's gums were smashed together after the uppercut landed. Golden Snake was about to move forward to finish him off, but felt paralysed for a moment after seeing Alex's glowing red eyes...
[Aura Gate- Killing Intent!]
That brief pause was all he needed! The 'Killing Aura' releasing from his heart covered him like fire... and Golden Snake watched as the speed of this Ouroboros increased at that exact moment.
[Horn Form- Vengeful Counter!]
His body went from being flexible as rubber to as hard as iron in an instant as he used the rippling striking force of being uppercutted that went straight to his arm... to throw back a strike that had been multiplied by one of his personalised Ouroboros Dragon's Eight Forms (which was just combing all the 'Forms' he had together in a set).
Alan, who had been peacefully watching their battle to the death from afar, stood up instantly the moment his eyes saw what Alex did, and was able to see a lot more than what others had seen.
His subordinates merely saw Golden Snake being struck back by a powerful strike, but he knew that they were wrong to think it was just one stab to the old monster's chest. Instead, what he saw was both parts of Alex's Gift breaking upon impact.
The first was the Refined Rapier, which made a sound as it sprung threw the small gap between them and shattered upon impact with his strong opponent. While the second was the Tempered Katana... it drew a small amount of blood from Golden Snake's chest after he grabbed the falling blade after it had fallen from his mouth, then proceeded to slash it in the same area he stabbed.
He might have lost his Combat Gift after sacrificing them to open some distance between them, but it was all worth it as made a sly smile with his bloodied mouth to the Grand Elder thrown back.
'Let me see what you are made of...!' He thought and made it look like he wanted a tactical retreat.
[Manoeuvre Reversal- Flash Step!]
His body flashed backwards, not to the edge of the rooftop, but directly off the skyscraper without a second thought, to the point of giving no care to the face he broke through the fence to do so.
I guess this point is different from my earlier description, because it was meant to be surprising.
"Aaaaah!" Alex couldn't say any words with his broken jaw, but he COULD react after feeling his body being pulled down by gravity the moment he had no footing to step on. The wind flowed through his hair his body descended and the rooftop seemed to rise higher and higher. It was at that moment that Golden Snake gave chase!
[Lightning Step- Ricochet Rumble!]
He ran towards the fence with blinding speed before jumping on the edge. The exact time his foot landed on the edge, was also when he seemingly 'bounced' off and headed towards the falling Ouroboros Dragon with spear on hand.
The subordinates of Alan could imagine what was going to happen next. The Avatar Arm would most definite pierce through the old freak, who now had no way to leverage anything before he hit the neighbouring skyscraper. The thief will die today!
Even then, there was a sinister smile forming on Alex's face as he watched his opponent chase him.
'Gotcha!' He took this opportunity to use the Higher Forces he had been saving right then...!
[Spirit Force- Kinetic Shield!]
[Glyph Force- Metalblood Sword!]
The last two of his Higher Forces was the ability to telekinetically manifest a shield of manifested kinetic energy he refined from Lightning Qi and a few other variables, as well as the ability to conjure up a sword made of Metal Qi and Blood Qi.
[Advanced Manoeuvre- Flash Lunge!]
After landing on the emerald shield that appeared behind him, he used whatever strength he had left to jump off of it and make a beeline directly for his chasing opponent. Golden Snake was momentarily caught off guard by his sudden movements once again... Even if he had Supercharged Eyes, that didn't mean his hesitation wouldn't factor into the equation. Not even the best eyes or kinetic vision could stop a person from accidentally wasting too much time gawking rather than making a move.
Ouroboros Dragon's magical sword pierced that exact same spot that was bleeding earlier, and since Golden Snake didn't have regenerative abilities, he could only groan in pain as the sword stabbed straight through one of his lungs, but that didn't mean he was down and out. A crazy look appeared in the old monster's eyes as let go of his spear and coiled his impaled body like a snake.
Not only was the one arm Alex had left restricted by Golden Snake, but he also felt his body turn into a lightning rod as golden electricity electrocuted him thoroughly. He felt like he was going insane...!
'You crazy son of a-' His thought we're interrupted as they started to free fall down the from high up.
He could tell what that old monster was trying to do and panicked, his eyes caught sight of the sword piercing his opponent and decided to try regaining some Qi while they were falling.
[Glyph Spell- Parasitic Impalement!]
The nature of high Glyph Force changed as he used the methods of a Warlock he had found out and practiced over the years to drain Qi from his opponent. Normally, he would try to regain a use of one of his other three Higher Forces by using this Spell, but realistically, not even his Kinetic Shield could help as Golden Snake was too close to him.
It was at that moment that Alex's eyes calmed down as if his heart was dipped into a bucket of cold water. The secret audience who thought the old freak was going to die by smashing a concrete floor after falling off a skyscraper were surprised.
"T-that's... He is entering 'The Zone'!"
Since the old freak didn't have enough time to charge up more than one Higher Force, his body acted differently from before as Golden Snake started to feel a terrifying pressure. The Grand Elder could feel a faint emerald static-like energy covering his opponent's body to endure the maelstrom of lightning strikes hitting him.
But how...?!
[Spirit Root- Kinetic Domain!]
The answer was simple, he intertwined his Higher Forces more deeply into his body to the point they started overlaying his Lower Forces. The Energy Domain and Kinetic Shield started to fuse as their descent slowed down... all until they stopped!
Even the Gold Lightning vanished into the domain.
Even though Alex could finally feel himself going far beyond his level as an External Grandmaster and into the Saint Class, he was unable to do anything about his body, which due to the constant strikes of lightning bolts, was on death's doors.
He only had enough energy for one more bout of retaliation, so he glared at Golden Snake before imbuing kinetic energy into his enemy. They slowly started to descend once again after he focused his energy on the geezer who wanted him dead, and that old monster himself seemed to be unable to do anything as he felt the kinetic energy imbue.
'Fly away!' The old dragon thought while giving an order telekinetically and shot the Grand Elder, that had coiled around his only arm, at the wall face of the skyscraper they had been standing on.
It was only at that moment did he feel his internal energy go unstable as his Qi retreated into him.
Golden Snake coughed out a great amount of blood as he was smashed headfirst into the iron-reinforced concrete of the skyscraper. It seemed this was the old freak's revenge as the old monster felt his teeth being broken upon the heavy impact.
There was only one person who seemed at ease as he watched his brother enter the Saint Class. Was the older brother of Alex worried about him, or did he even care that his younger brother achieved a new level before he started falling to his death?
"Oh? He's finally reached my level~ Too bad you couldn't live long enough to go beyond it..." Alan's words may have sounded full of vanity, but those subordinates that knew of their leader's achievements knew he wasn't just boasting.
The Demon Lord didn't only reach the King Class as a Internal Grandmaster, but he also reached the Saint Class as a External Grandmaster as well. This made him more powerful than both Golden Snake and Alex combined, with no one above his power.
'You should have learnt humility.' Alan thought arrogantly as he watched Alex fall to his death.
It was after this thought, that the destiny of those around the both the Eastern and Western Hegemony was changed after the old freak used his Mechanical Aeon Reincarnation Art. Space and time raptured seconds after Alan thought this.
This was why the mysterious spearman said that Alex was at fault, as this incident caused everything. From the thousands of Ascenders going to the Divine Realm at once to the existence of Anomalies that messed the workings of fate.
Thus, this was the true beginning...
The prologue of an adventure!