Alex coughed violently, and with each cough, his power declined a little more. His ink-black hair had turned a mix of gray and white. His aura was like a flame faltering in the wind, about to be extinguished at any moment. Still, he stood proudly, and everyone, including the wolves, looked at him in fear and awe.
"How could a creature that had lived for a thousand years fall just like that?" the Fool asked in disbelief, his eyes wide.
Nobody felt brave enough to offer an answer. Even Asher was quiet. The wolves were completely silent, and they hadn't even considered escaping. Their world had been turned upside-down. Their king, a powerful warrior, had been brought down with a single slash. Underneath their fear, they felt some grudging respect for Alex. They kept their heads bowed, afraid to meet his eye. Our master has fallen, they thought. Maybe we are all witnessing the birth of a new legend.
The Valley of the Buried Heart was modest in size, and in the wake of the battle between Alex and the king, it was a mess. The fight had shaken the heavens and Earth and had almost wiped out half the valley, and the crowd could not believe they were still alive. Fortunately, Alex had used a defensive spell to protect the spring water and the tricolor flower, so both had remained unharmed.
"At last, this battle is over," Alex said, standing in the middle of the yellow sand that engulfed the air. Still, nobody spoke. Though free to move once again, they remained frozen to the spot.
They watched as Alex's cough gradually stopped. His body became taller and straighter, and his breathing started to recover. With every breath, his body absorbed a vast quantity of energy from the valley, thus repairing his body and replacing the power he had lost. Many of the valley's trees began to emit light, surrounding Alex with a green glow. Alex felt as though he were bathing in hot water, and his strength was returning at a rapid pace.
Time is such a great divine ability, but it consumes so much natural energy, he thought. If it weren't for the power of the tricolor flower, it would take at least six months for me to recover my original strength.
The powerful werewolves remained quiet. There was nothing for them to do but surrender to Alex.
Among the people in the valley, it was Louis who first found the strength to move. He had not expected such twists and turns on this mission. He had felt overjoyed at finding the Valley of the Buried Heart and discovering the tricolor flower. The clash between the immortals and the wolves had been unexpected. But none of that compared to watching Alex unleash his power and crush three overlords, before finally bringing down the powerful Diabolic Wolf King in a matter of seconds. Louis ran toward Alex, trembling with excitement at everything he had witnessed and his expression one of pure joy.
"Alex, you really are incredible!" he said. "What a fight! Who else in the world would dare to fight you now?"
Asher and the wolves wondered why Alex had appeared so weak in those first moments after slashing with the Sword of Time. It must be that the divine ability was too powerful for him, Asher thought. It went far beyond the power of a human. It was the power of an immortal god… maybe even a demon.
"This mission has finally been completed," Louis said. "We just need to wait one more day for the tricolor flower to mature."
Alex nodded slightly and looked toward the pond of spring water. It was surrounded by the strongest spell Alex had prepared for the mission, and it could hold against a divine attack for half a day. He figured it was time to dismantle it.
Just as he was preparing to land, he looked toward the eastern sky and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Louis asked. He turned his head to follow Alex's gaze and was startled to see a black dot charging through the sky. At first, the object had appeared to be miles away, but within seconds, it was right over the valley and arcing toward the crowd. It could only be a supersonic missile.
All eyes were transfixed on the expanding dot until Alex roared at the crowd below him to duck. Then he launched himself higher into the sky. His grayish-white hair and black clothes fluttered in the wind, and a divine light shone in his eyes. He stretched out a hand and reached into the void before drawing out a long spear. Quickly, Alex threw the spear into the air, and it shot out like a rocket, instantly breaking through the boundary of time and space. With a crash, it hit the oncoming missile.
From the ground, everyone had seen a white light shoot from Alex's hand. Slowly, they realized that the missile had been intercepted above the valley, and they had been saved. A second later, the missile exploded in the air. The sky over the valley was a blazing red, and a shockwave spread in all directions.
"Who could possibly be behind this attack?" Louis asked.
"Well, that's easy," Alex said with a fierce look in his eyes. "I can say without a doubt in my mind that the missile came courtesy of Riley."
Louis wished he could launch a missile right back at Riley. "I can't believe it, Alex! If that missile had hit the valley, it would have destroyed everything for miles around. If you hadn't intervened, all of us would be dead now."
Everyone seemed unsure how to react to this latest development. Alex, Asher, and a few of the immortals may have survived this missile attack, but had Alex not counterattacked with a supersonic strike, then the other experts, the grand masters, and the wolves would have been reduced to dust. Several people appeared grateful to Alex, while others were overcome by fear and held onto each other.
Just as Louis was about to relax, he noticed a stern expression creep across Alex's face. Surely, not again, he thought as he looked up toward the western sky.
He was startled to see dozens of small black dots appear in the distance. Just as had happened minutes ago, these tiny objects approached rapidly, whistling as they shot through the air. In the blink of an eye, they were in the sky right above the valley. As a long-time military commander, Louis recognized the type of missiles, and his heart sank. This is it, he thought. There's no way any of us here could survive this level of attack. It would take a veritable god to make it through. Maybe this is even too much for Alex.
Louis looked at Alex in despair. With the approach of so many missiles, Asher, the Fool, and the wolves also looked hopeless. There was no time to find cover, so Alex yelled at everyone to get down. As fast as they could, they crouched on the valley floor, shielding their heads with their hands.
Alex felt the power rise within him, and he began to ascend farther. With each step, he slashed the air before him with the long spear. Each time, the force of the slash detonated several rockets, which were quite some distance away.
But it was all happening too fast. Though Alex had managed to destroy ten of the deadly missiles, they were being quickly replaced by dozens more, all rushing toward the valley. The sharp whistling sound they made as they pierced the air almost shattered everyone's eardrums.
Alex saw that the missiles were rapidly approaching, and he knew he had mere seconds to act.
"Go!" he roared, and his eyes lit up as he slashed through the air with the blade.
With one cut of the blade, gusts of air darted out, each like a mini tornado, and acted like a wall in the void. A sudden series of explosions could be heard as twenty of the rockets collided with the wall and blew up. The blasts resulted in dozens of fireballs dancing in the air. Up above, the sky was host to a beautiful firework show, but the shockwaves caused the entire valley to tremble violently.
Despite Alex's efforts, his interception had been too late. Ten missiles broke through the air barrier and began to drop into the valley, exploding one after the other as they hit the ground.
From far away, it was an extraordinary sight to behold. Ten brilliant fireballs bloomed in the Valley of the Buried Heart. Each fireball covered a wide area, and together, they appeared to form a fiery bracelet around the valley.
But the show was only just beginning. Moments later, in the eastern sky, another wave of rockets swept through the air, letting out a long, sharp whistle. In the blink of an eye, they descended on the valley, and this time, the sound of the explosion was even louder. Within seconds, it looked as though the entire valley was covered in intense flames, and the surrounding mountains trembled.
Still, it was not over. For the final showdown, a white supersonic bomber came from the west, dropping several bombs as it headed for the valley. As soon as the father of all bombs landed, a magnificent explosion rang out. A mushroom cloud soared into the sky and could be seen for hundreds of miles. The whole valley was lost in the cloud, which quickly began to spread for miles, swallowing all life in its path.
The entire desert appeared to be collapsing. After such a violent attack, it seemed impossible that any living thing could survive.
**
One year later, the Valley of the Buried Heart was unrecognizable from its former state. The pond of spring water, which had once lasted for four seasons, was now nothing but a dry pit. Without it, the entire valley floor had suffered a violent sandstorm and now lay below a lot of yellow dust.
Suddenly, right at the spot where the pond had once been, a ball of purple light burst through the thick sand. The ball rose into the air, appearing to float between heaven and earth.
Alex stood within this purple light. His hair was black again, and his eyes betrayed no emotion. His body shone like a polished diamond and emitted a gentle glow.
The moment he appeared, the bitter wind that had been blowing through the entire valley instantly stopped howling. The energy around him seemed to ebb and flow like ocean waves controlled by a higher power. Whirlwinds rippled through the air as he drew on the energy.
I wonder how long it took for me to recover this time, he wondered. He sighed softly as he slowly extended his hand and lowered his head to check his status. Looking at his palm, he could see the bones, blood vessels, and tendons of his hand. As he moved his gaze up and down, he saw the same was true of his arms, legs, and chest. He could even see his internal organs.
He had transformed into a perfect being without the slightest flaw.
For some time, he remained quiet and still, as though he had been frozen in the air. While he emitted light, it did not take from his power. It seemed completely natural and effortless for Alex to hold himself there, or should he wish, to move through earth or sky.
He clenched his fist gently and felt a wave of power surge through him. It feels almost like I could blow up the entire Earth with a single punch, he thought.
Of course, he knew that this was not yet possible; it would take true divinity to have the power to do such a thing. I can't complain, he thought. At last, I have the perfect sub-sacred body, and I am many times more powerful than before. If another father of all bombs comes my way, I can stand up to it and avoid taking so long to recover.
Looking over the decimated valley, he recalled the attack that had happened here. When he had seen the wave of missiles pass the barrier, he had known he had neither the time nor the strength to fight them off. So he had made a dash for the spell that he had set up at the pond of spring water. Thanks to his powerful magic, he had been able to withstand two waves of missile attacks.
Then, working as fast as he could, he had managed to store the entire pond in an invisible, indestructible void. Finally, when the father of all bombs had landed, he had used his power to cover the tricolor flower and had escaped underground. Even though he had been protected by a thick layer of soil, he had felt the terrifying vibrations above him, and he had imagined the level of destruction it would bring on the heavens and on Earth.
He knew that he had been lucky, but replaying the events in his mind caused him to wince. That was just a regular bomb, he thought. If it had been a nuclear attack, I wouldn't still be here right now.
While he had been underground, Alex had cultivated the tricolor flower to maturity. When it had been ready, he had absorbed a little of the flower to replenish his energy. Once his injuries had fully healed, he had not been in a hurry to resurface, and he hadn't had to worry about the lack of air underground. The spiritual energy in the northwest desert was far more abundant than in the city, so he could survive a long time without taking a breath.
He had also taken comfort in the fact that he had a vast collection of spiritual pills underground. He had continued to rest, allowing his energy to grow, and he had drawn on the power of the tricolor flower to raise his power to demigod level. It would not be long until he reached true divine status.
Floating in the air, he felt that he must be ten times more powerful than he had been before he had been forced underground. This advanced level of power boiled and surged within him. It could break through the void at any time and enter another realm, but Alex worked to suppress it. He had been reborn, and for the time being, he needed to conserve and grow his energy for the next battle.
The only threat to me now is nuclear weapons, he thought. Even if that Diabolic Wolf King managed to survive and dares to come back to attack me, I can destroy his soul with a single punch.
As he thought about the king, Alex threw a fist into the air. The void around him exploded, and an invisible force shot out. The blast of wind traveled across the floor of the valley and crashed into the towering mountains, causing an avalanche.