*SMACK!*
*CRUNCH!*
*SHING!*
As the fight between Regashi and the two deities raged on, a series of gruesome injuries followed, with Kronos and Aphrodite being the victims every time. With every blow that Regashi landed, a mischievous laugh would subsequently echo throughout the otherwise soundless vacuum of space. Regashi's demolishment of the two partners in a one-against-two fight was utterly embarrassing.
"I can't describe how amazing it is to see you finally take initiative yourself, Kro!" Regashi hollered, floating through space wildly while laughing.
Kronos, who managed to distance himself from the brown-haired menace, wiped blood from his bottom lip and scowled. There it was again—more banter that was frequent between the divine beings before the Keisan War. The God of Time had built a reputation of never being a part of important matters, or at the very least, being physically present. With Regashi reviving familiar jests, it made Kronos reflect further on the man's identity.
Regashi may have been omnipresent and observed such chemistry occur, preferring to mock the God of Time with the deceased deities' comedy. Even still, such a truth would not dispel the belief that the absent deity who mysteriously departed from the cosmos was connected to the Abnormal Regashi Ketsueki.
"Look at me!" Aphrodite's voice abruptly rang in Regashi's ear, prompting him to tilt his head toward the goddess.
The goddess's hair was frayed, her eyes strained, and her robes were scuffed; however, she refused to concede. Aphrodite met Regashi's gaze, glowering at the man floating through the universe with her. Not once has either Kronos nor her posed much of a threat to Regashi, but the goddess still had one trick up her sleeve.
"Don't you know what I'm the goddess of?" Aphrodite queried rhetorically, huffing heavily.
"Brothels?" Regashi replied snidely.
Kronos's eyes narrowed, acknowledging the familiar insult.
"No!" Aphrodite cried out, aiming her index finger at Regashi. "The Goddess of Love!"
*BA-DUMP!*
Without warning, Regashi's heart gave one last pump before halting. Aphrodite watched as her divine abilities began to alter the man's emerald green eyes, turning his pupils into hearts as he became frozen in place, his gaze locked on the Goddess of Love. Utilizing her powers as the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite froze Regashi's heart and wired his brain into being enamored with the sight of her, making him ultimately vulnerable.
"Kronos! We both need to chip in for this!" Aphrodite hollered, materializing the Disruption of Reality.
Conjuring his light blue rifts, Kronos accompanied the Goddess of Love in discharging a torrent of volatile spatial fissures that inevitably struck the immobile Regashi.
"Erase the man who feels the affliction of my divinity!" Aphrodite ordered her Disruption of Reality, giving the rifts a purpose.
"Erase the entity that inhabits the same realm as time itself!" Kronos was quick to provide his rifts with a purpose, too.
XXX
"Yuso! We need to head back!"
In a separate universe, Tanjo and Yuso flapped their wings as they hovered in space, eager to return to the fight and hopefully help Kronos and Aphrodite. As the deities were clashing with Regashi, the two rogue warriors had gathered themselves to hopefully pose a much bigger threat to the leader of the Furusato Unit.
"They most likely transported us somewhere far too out of reach. A fight between deities and someone of Regashi's caliber is certain to cause collateral damage. I doubt we're even in the same universe." Yuso stated, his deep voice reaching the jet-black-haired teenager.
Tanjo heaved—*KRSHHH!*—and covered his right hand in the Disruption of Reality, witnessing the dark royal blue-colored rifts pulse erratically.
"We were made to travel the distance, Yuso. We just need to locate where they are exactly…" Tanjo muttered, staring at his hand pensively.
The boy with white wings permitted his Aura Amalgamation to flow through his limbs without resistance, expecting to see a change in his rifts. Tanjo's Disruption of Reality looked unaffected at first, untouched by the presence of four Aura Senses funneling through his body at the same time.
Yuso observed as Tanjo stared at his hand dubiously, remaining silent.
'As of right now, the Aura Amalgamation and Disruption of Reality are on two totally different layers… They're simply two powers I happen to be using at once, not combining at all.' Tanjo reflected on his two abilities, thinking of ways to intertwine the rifts and magic.
Gradually, Tanjo closed his eyes, focusing his attention on his body. He acknowledged his heart rate, how shallow his breaths were, and how his system was continuously flowing with the Aura Amalgamation. There had to be something that the boy was missing—a facet of his abilities that was just out of reach, or even simply untapped due to ignorance.
"I hope you're not passing out on me, Tanjo," Yuso spoke sternly, his jaw clenching.
Tanjo raised his right hand, sticking his index finger upward. "Shush."
Yuso raised a brow, his mouth slightly agape.
Reiwa Takuetsu was a man who conquered the Aura Amalgamation and slain every deity that crossed his path. He was human; not a hint of divinity laced in his blood. Tanjo couldn't kill a god—a deity like Kronos would still eclipse him in sheer power. In short, Tanjo's primary question was: what made Reiwa Takuetsu, the man known by many names, the most formidable human in history?
Every time Tanjo utilized his magic, his mind was jumbled and his abilities were unpredictable. As time passed, the boy became more capable in terms of picking and choosing which of the five Aura Sense colors he wished to use, but none of the magic streamed out of his body smoothly.
The Aura Sense was as simple as the user's utilization, as strong as the user's will, and as perpetual as the user's determination.
Reiwa Takuetsu, the Crimson Messiah, Lucifer—no matter the alias, he was an expert warrior, ceaselessly exercising perfected magic practices. He was conditioned, with every facet of his life finely tuned to withstand any situation. The longer Tanjo focused on his Aura Amalgamation, the further he dove into his own mind and body. Every tense muscle became relaxed, the rapid rate at which his blood pumped through his veins slowed down, and the persistent bubbling heat of his magic began to simmer down.
The Aura Sense was an extension of one's soul, and it was not difficult to accept that Reiwa Takuetsu was a stringent and disciplined man who did not permit any weakness.
'...Hm?'
There it was. Balance. Tanjo could feel the presence of perfection lying beneath his magic, waiting to be utilized. It was blurry and nearly impossible to fully adopt, mostly due to the mental limitations that constricted Tanjo. The rush of emotions that revolved around the people on Earth, the worry about how he would return home normally, and the presence of Regashi Ketueki all proved to be detrimental to his overall performance as a warrior.
Despite not being able to fully indulge in complete and utter balance, Tanjo started to feel the fluctuation of the five Aura Senses in his body: blue, red, purple, yellow, and green. They were no longer clustered and bubbling to the same degree but rather flowing individually and still funneling the potent power of each respective color, all while maintaining a steady stream.
'This… This is what Reiwa felt?'
It was a form of enlightenment. To think that Tanjo planned to callously triumph in life by living with such hot-headed manners. Before, Tanjo had been instructed to rely on his emotions and the gravity of situations to excel—but he was doing it wrong the entire time.
An emotion should not be an impulsive driving force, but instead a device for contemplation and reason.
As Tanjo's magic became more evenly divided, the Disruption of Reality began to change. The once explosive rifts became staid, and the hue alternated from blue to the five colors of the Aura Senses. As ironic as it sounded, the Disruption of Reality, the power to disrupt reality itself, could not initially merge with the Aura Amalgamation due to Tanjo—the user—being entirely disrupted internally. To expel change is one thing, but to assimilate it is another level of reality.
"Tanjo? Your fissures are different." Yuso called out to the teenager, his Shirugeto eyes analyzing him intently.
The boy stretched his right arm outward, pointing into the vastness of the universe. He gently opened his bright blue eyes, expressing a significantly softer gaze than before.
"Take us to Kronos." Tanjo muttered under his breath, feeling his magic course through his limbs.
A multi-colored rift abruptly opened a hole in space, presumably leading to another location.
Yuso hummed and said, "Mere meditation resolved your issues? How sensitive were you?"
"I'm sixteen. It's pretty typical." Tanjo replied calmly, briefly glancing at the redhead. "But I believe it's time to head back."
It was blatantly obvious that Tanjo was much more relaxed. Yuso compared the anxious and frightened expressions that the boy held just a few minutes ago to what he currently chose to reveal. Yuso knew more about mediated tempers altering the strength of one's power, but the redhead did not think that such a drastic and cosmic difference could be made.
"The chance of there being another break like this is slim. The only reason we may stop after this is either victory or death. Are you sure of yourself?" Yuso queried.
Tanjo reflected on Yuso's question, his eyes shifting to the open hole.
"Can I really say I'm giving it my all if I don't believe in my own efforts?"
XXX
Semi-short chapter, but that's solely because I took a quick break and kinda lost my rhythm, coupled with the fact that the next chapter will hold the advent of a huge fight—the continuation of Tanjo and Yuso vs Regashi. What will happen next? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_