BOOOM-WHOOSH-CRRKKKSHH!
Like a broken kite, before Arthur could even react, he found himself all the way out of the clearing, tearing through the surrounding forest's trees.
CUSHK-COUGH!
Finding himself wedged between two thick trees, Arthur's immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Heavily dazed, Arthur's slightly opened eyes failed to provide him any clarity as everything within his vision swam. 'What th-'
WHISH!
Before Arthur could even finish his thought, he felt a breeze sweep by him.
BOOOM-WHOOSH!
Only perceiving sound, before Arthur could even register what was happening, his surroundings turned white.
Seeing the fight had escalated, moving quickly to a new area, Aegon couldn't help but turn his head only to gulp heavily as his eyes looked upon absolute destruction.
The area around Arthur had been completely eradicated, leaving a massive crater in its wake.
'The Old Man isn't really trying to kill him….right?'
'Is it because of …..hmm?'
Searching for a new tree to lie in, Aegon almost missed a tree branch as he suddenly felt something. It was strange, but it almost felt as if time had slowed down.
COUGH-COUGH-COUGH!
Lying at the center of a massive crater, a completely bloodied Arthur fell into a coughing fit as mouthfuls of blood continuously poured from his mouth.
Turning a dazed gaze towards the sky, a strange feeling began to well up within Arthur. It felt ancient, very ancient, like a long lost and forgotten…...
Snap!
WHOOSH!
Out of nowhere, a golden aura abruptly burst from Arthur.
Watching from above, the Old Man stroked his long white beard as he looked on with interest. However, his interest suddenly turned to shock.
Below, the bloodied Arthur's injuries were beginning to heal at an incredibly terrifying rapid pace. But that wasn't what shocked the Old Man.
As Arthur healed, so did his surrounding. The completely eradicated area around him was slowly returning back to its original appearance.
'You are kidding, right?' Thought the Old Man as he watched the scene below him unfold.
It's then that the Old Man sensed something. All the energy in the surroundings were rapidly flowing towards Arthur, who now had a slightly burnt golden look to his skin.
Looking a little closer, the Old Man also noticed that Arthur's pupils and irises had completely disappeared, leaving only the whites of his eyes, along with the streak in his hair returning back to white.
'What the actual....'
[>-INFO-<> The Devourer, when fully active, adds a slightly burnt golden look to its inheritor's skin tone.<]
[>Path: Celestial (Awakened: 100%)<]
Fully healed, a golden aura bathed Arthur's body as he began to rise into the air as a fully restored earth and forest laid below him.
Rising to the Old Man's level, Arthur's head tilted as he began to move slowly towards him. Hmm, maybe' slowly' isn't the right word, more like he took three slow steps in the air and disappeared.
WHOOSH-BOOOM-CRSSHH!
Appearing before the Old Man, Arthur casually swung Caliburnus to which the Old Man prepared to deflect. However, when the Old Man's energy sword met Caliburnus, he was immediately sent flying into the ground, cratering it.
"What in- "
WHOOSH!
Before the Old Man could finish his words. Arthur's body appeared right above him.
BOOOM!
With an aura enshrouded fist, Arthur's fist slammed into the Old Man, driving him deeper into the ground and kicking up a massive amount of earth into the air, widening the crater even more.
Interestingly, just as quickly as the earth rose, the earth immediately returned where it belonged.
Regardless, Arthur's body wasn't done. In a flash of gold, multiple orbs of gold appeared around him in the crater.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOOM!
Like a descent of stars, the orbs of gold blitzed downwards as Arthur's body distanced itself from the epicenter.
In seconds, a massive crater enshrouded in dust decorated the land below Arthur's body. However, Arthur's body still wasn't done. Raising its hands, Arthur's body began to send a massive amount of energy into its hands as a large golden orb began to take shape, however…
WHOOSH!
In a blink of an eye, a spotless Old Man appeared right before Arthur's body.
FUTOOSH-CRSSHH!
Wasting no time, the Old Man grabbed Arthur's body by the face and, in a swift movement, flung Arthur's body into the distance.
CRSSSH-WHOOSH-SHIIINNNGGG!
Just as Arthur's body made contact with the ground, a large white halo, spinning like a wheel, appeared before him. Reacting quickly, Arthur's body brought up Caliburnus just as the halo crashed into him. However, rather than sending Arthur's body flying, the halo spun like a wheel, as if trying to cut Caliburnus in half while driving Arthur's body through the earth, as sparks flew everywhere.
BOOOM!
It was also then that the large golden orb Arthur's body had been creating crashed into the ground, tearing and shaking the surroundings as everything was bathed golden light.
PHOOT-PHOOT-PHOOT-PHOOT-BANG!
Driven through the ground for long enough, four different colored petals (red, green, blue, and grey) rose from Arthur's back. In tandem, they all moved to one side of the halo and slammed into it, knocking it off Arthur.
WHOOOSH-BOOOM!
It was also then the Old Man appeared beside Arthur's body with a flying fist. However, like guardians, the four petals moved and intercepted the punch, absorbing its full force.
"Heh." Smirked Arthur's body.
THRUMMM-BOOOM-WHOOSH!
Vibrating, the four petals paused for a moment before releasing a massive surge of elemental energies, sending the Old Man flying.
WHISH-WHISH-WHISH-WHISH!
Unrelenting, the four petals pursued, and for the first time, the Old Man was taking retreating steps as the four petals attacked him in excellent teamwork.
Seeing this, however, Arthur's body still hadn't moved and simply raised a hand.
SHOO-SHOO-SHOO-SHOO!
Immediately, four incredibly large petals appeared above Arthur's Body, rotating clockwise around a golden orb.
Seeing this from a distance, the Old Man couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. However, right after, his eyes widened as he immediately blew away the four petals surrounding him in a flash of white light.
With its eyes locked on the Old Man's body, a smile appeared on Arthur's body's mouth.
"Erementaru-Bāsuto!"
VZZWOOM!
Seeing the four colored beam racing towards him, the Old Man couldn't help but shake his head. 'Uther, Ara'el, what in the Great Mix, did you two give birth to?'
WHOOSH!
Raising a hand, a large halo appeared before the Old Man. However, there was something different about this one, the air, the air it gave off felt off.
OOOOM!
Expecting some great explosion as the four-colored beam made contact with the halo. Aegon, who was now watching from an incredibly far distance, was disappointed to see the halo simply swallow the beam.
However, the halo didn't stop there as it began to move forward, swallowing the beam as it went until it reached the four petals.
OOOOM!
Reaching the petals, the halo simply swallowed it also...how anti-climatic.
VSHHH!
Watching the halo disappear after swallowing the four petals, Arthur's body immediately realized something and began to shake.
SSCH!
Landing before Arthur's body, the Old Man simply flashed an amiable smile.
However, to Arthur's body, it seemed akin to the smile of death herself.
Trembling, Arthur's body began to take an involuntary step backward.
"Aww, don't be like that. Your performance was exemplary. I was simply the wrong type of opponent….Hmm? Are you scared? I don't think Artie would like that his Instinct can feel fear."
"…." Hearing the word 'fear,' Arthur's body completely stopped as it tilted its head.
"Ho? Don't like that word?" Asked the Old Man in a teasing voice.
"fear…fear…fear? Began Arthur's body as it's trembling stopped. "I...fear no ONE!"
WOOOM!
Triggered, Arthur's body stood completely still as a rainbow light suddenly descended on it.
"…."
'You are kidding, right?' Thought the Old Man. 'You've got to be kidding me….well, I suppose I played a role in this on-.'
VMMM!
Interrupting the Old Man's thoughts, a sudden hum sound rang through the surroundings as the rainbow light condensed itself Caliburnus, revealing a completely bloodied Arthur.
"Sekai o Bunkatsu Suru!"
SHING!
In light swing, a thin line appeared in the Old Man's vision as he raised a hand to catch the swing.
CHK-VOOOM!
Just as the Old Man's hand came into contact with Caliburnus, he felt as if his body had just come in contact with a thin string. Though the Old Man was relatively fine, the surroundings held a different take.
TUSHK-TUSHK-TUSHK!
Everything in the area had a line through it, splitting them into perfect halves. Every single tree and somehow grass, too, were all perfectly cut in half.
Aegon, who had felt the presence of death, released sighed in relief as a halo rotated around him.
Arthur's body seeing that his attack had been caught, clenched its teeth and tried to wrap himself in the rainbow aura again but was met with a critical gaze from the Old Man that forcefully suppressed the rising aura.
"Are yOU TRYING to KILL YOURSELF?!?.....go to sleep."
Immediately Arthur's pupils and irises returned. However, his consciousness hadn't yet as he crumpled into the Old Man's hands.
Holding Arthur in his hands, the Old Man released a heavy breath. "I supposed I shouldn't be surprised."
Looking at the hand that caught Caliburnus, the Old Man observed a thin cut. Blood was beginning to slip out. However, it wasn't red like Arthur's, who had generously offered it multiple times to water the ground. It was rainbow-colored.
.
.
[Tidbit (language): (Erementarubāsuto is Japanese for Elemental Burst) (Sekai o Bunkatsu Suru is Japanese for Split The World)]
[Tidbit 1: A trend we will see in the future is that if a character is based on a certain place, their moves will be named in that place's language. However, if I think it doesn't sound good enough, I will enact my executive authority and change it into a language that I think sounds better. This will mostly happen with English based characters tbh, like come on Elemental Burst vs. Erementarubāsuto ¯\_(ツ)_/¯]
[Tidbit 2: This will be mentioned in the next chapter, but for every Awakening, for a person's potential to be fully realized, their Path must fully take over. It's a natural instinct, like a baby's body rotating so that it comes headfirst.]