The past converges once more.
With a glare and a flicker, Baba Yaga fired her innumerous orbs like rays of silver streaks of light. They shone brighter than anything in the shadowed enchanted forest, drawing glittering lines of bewitched magic throughout the space, as if to mark it with her own.
"…?! Watch out!"
Red's eyes grew as she threw her body in front of the boy's body, closing her eyes, knowing that her end was inevitable.
It was ultimately futile.
King did not bow down.
He struck out his hand—the boy's hand—and emitted an semi-translucent barrier from his open hand.
There was a satisfactory smile on his face as he watched the countless rays of light disintegrate into silver motes as they passed his conjured barrier, a shining remnant of the danger that had just come passing.
Red opened her eyes, expecting some kind of heavenly land or hellish landscape awaiting her, only to see the same image she had witnessed before she closer her eyes… only much, much more terrifying.
The silver being stood there, a giant ball of purified silver mana occupying the space above her.
King spoke, his voice just the tiniest bit jovial:
"So you can't control your power, huh? Shame. It would have been much more entertaining had you been able to," there was disappointment etched into that tone, with no relief or fear whatsoever.
Red could feel herself raging in disagreement.
'Shame. He said it would be a shame? What does that mean?! That's a Witch's true form, it's practically a Myth's! ...Well, maybe not. Still, he's disappointed by that?!'
She finally recognized the lunacy of the being inhabiting the boy, totally at near-opposites of what she is currently thinking. If she had gotten struck by one of those rays, at worst, she could have died! And even if she didn't, the rot would have finished the job after some time has passed, with or without her knowledge.
To call all of this as a disappointment was beyond what her views had told her, her very existence!
Just… just what is she facing right now?
Better yet, was he an enemy or an ally? Red truly could not know, which left her constantly anxious and worried as her life hung in the balance of the two.
One wrong top to the wrong side and her demise was all but certain. Which was quite ironic, actually, given her connection to the aspect of Death. Her heart would not stop beating faster and faster, in fear of never getting the chance to ever to do so again.
Sweat dripped from her face as King regarded her presence for the first time since his awakening.
There was something about him that simply exuded ease.
"Oh, don't worry, by the way. I won't kill you. The kid expressly told me not to do so," he paused to think for a second.
Red's heart, despite herself, skipped a beat.
"Lieren did this?" There was a loving fondness to her heart as she mouthed that name.
She couldn't help but be happy.
King's violet eyes narrowed.
"However, he said nothing about some light punishment. Keep that in mind, and you will make it out of here with all of your limbs intact," he glanced at unconscious man.
He laid on the shadowed grass, crimson flowing from his bisected arm. His life flowed out of him much like his blood would. There was an ember of resistance burning in his eyes still, desperately hanging to the his last thread.
King scoffed.
"Couldn't even last five minutes. Pathetic."
He looked at Baba Yaga.
"But not entirely useless," he mused.
A spectral aura began emanating out of him.
"…?!"
Baba Yaga's eyes widened, confused and surprised.
"Spirit magic? No… could it be… Necromancy? Thaumaturgy?! Impossible! How do you know about that?!"
King smirked, somewhat amused. There was the glint of impression in his eyes, though it quickly disappeared.
"You're quite well-read, are you? Yes, this is necromancy, but not entirely. I like to blend my spells with other crafts, you see. It gives them character. As well as power, though that's really more of an afterthought."
For the most infinitesimal part of a second, Red glimpsed the brief shudder of the being in front of her, quaking in fear and possibly awe. It was enough of a quick sight to send a shiver down her spines, not because of Baba Yaga, but of the being inhabiting the boy's body. Red could finally realize that.
Her nerves felt like they would be fried in front of the two powerful being's power if she was not careful.
Baba Yaga couched low, her palm close to the ground—Red's shadow as well—and her other hand holding her wrist. She muttered quietly:
"Earthquake."
"…!"
The ground began shaking violently with furious tremors and destructive pulses, as if the whole world itself was raging at King's very unwelcome presence. It knocked Red's senses into cacophonic chaos, sending her enhanced senses haywire, as if she had been shaken in a cage.
Every part of her was vibrating with the ground, even more so through her expansive shadow that barely contained the strength of the powerful spell.
He teeth was chattering.
"Wha… what is this?!," she shouted, barely able to stand up.
As she inevitably fell to her knees, she noticed that the ground, the field she had been second-handedly watching all this time was perfectly fine. Her shadow receded bit by bit as her concentration eventually waned. Amidst her confusion, she could just about make out one thought:
'What gives?'
King spoke, detached from Red's throes.
"You already know of this vessel's Resistance. Would you quit it with the ineffective tactics?"
Unlike Red, he was still and rigid. The intense shaking did not affect him at the slightest. He seemed to be the same as ever. A little annoyed, at most.
Baba Yaga sighed, satisfied.
"Just testing something."
Then, the shaking was gone, and Red felt much better. A little rattled, at most. She stood up and dusted herself.
'Well, that was embarrassing. Of course she could cast illusions. Her previous form did, so why did I expect her true form not to?'
She tried her best to keep her face impassive.
It didn't work, but nobody else present cared enough to bother bringing it up.
The witch stood up, not even a speck of dust on her robes. It seemed that not even dirt and grime dare to besmirch her beauty.
"..."
"..."
"..."
There was a still pressure that permeated the atmosphere, thick enough to cut with a knife. Every second that passed felt like an eternity during the silent minute.
Then, there was a flash, and destruction was wrought in the blink of an eye.
"….!!"
Two auras: one of ancient benevolence and other of mysterious awakenings, struck the world like raging thunder. The earth crumbled under their very feet, unable to resist beings mightier than any other.
A challenge had ensued. One that would decide the fate of all parties present.
◇◆◇◆◇
Silver lightning arced through the air, cast by the witch with nothing but a flourish of her hand. Even now, her attacks continue to grow stronger and stronger. Witch each attack, her mastery over her newly-acquired body's power continues to grow.
Laughter boomed.
"Hahaha! That's more like it!"
It was King, and he was utterly jovial.
The spectral hands—both the size of tower shields—moved through the air with horrific efficiency, perfectly blocking any and all magical attacks that the witch throws at him with pinpoint accuracy as it flew through the air. One of them supported the boy.
A black-haired, violet-eyed boy smiled with manic glee as he watched the woman chase and battle the spectral hand, incapable of damaging it in any way.
Baba Yaga flared her magic to her preconceived limit, momentarily raising her attack power to heights only she could fathom. She knitted her brows in concentration, pushing out her palms as a magic circle twice her width and length appeared before her. Ancient runes and even new ones swirled around it, some interlacing together into a tight-knit message of pure malicious destruction.
"Silver Thunder!"
The sky boomed in response to her summons, lightning crashing into the forest at speeds beyond the human eye could process. Even Red could barely process what was going on, swept by the rushing whirlwind of chaos, barely keeping it together.
Speaking of Red…
"Agh! Would it kill them to be just a little more heedful. Gods! This is a nightmare."
The flying trunk of a dilapidated tree flew past her as she ducked her head and torso at the last second, just like she had been for the past minute or so. She pushed off from where she stood, an unconscious man tied to her back by black threads made out of her own shadow.
She grimaced.
At this rate, forget about dodging trees. Dodging magical missiles and electric spells should be her first concern. It could easily kill her with just a single hit after all! She always had to stay on top of herself, one-upping her self just the second before just to stay breathing the next. Only to do it all over again.
At first, getting hit was a certainty. She shamefully admitted that. But as time went on, her movements became more efficient, removing excess movement she committed, as if she was being baptized. However, as time went on, she realized that wasn't the reason she was getting hit, crashing into objects, and tripping over herself less.
It was the witch instead.
Much like her, she too was improving. Her new body had the latent potential of at least a million people. Coupled with her sharp intellect and vast magical knowledge, it was only a matter of time before her tempered mind caught up with her new body.
"And yet he's still catching up—No. Exceeding her, even."
The question of 'How' constantly drifted in her mind, assailing her like the parasitic Beholder.
All around her, the enchanted forest of Karan, no longer under her shadow, was burning to a crisp, ignited by the 'Silver Thunder' spell that the witch cast earlier. There was a cold beauty to it all, one that Red did not bother to watch.
Spectral energy whirled in the air.
'Necromancy. Wolf has told me of it before.'
The power over the dominion of the dead, the lost energy of the souls, and the infinite reign of a mighty Lich—the zenith of all undead creatures. That very power was being manipulated, along witch various others here in this very space, constantly shifting the boundaries of reality and fiction; of life and death; of dream and nightmare.
The edict of life itself was on the verge of being reborn… almost.
If only the being causing this change had wanted to do so, then that would have been the case.
For this case, it was not.
◇◆◇◆◇
King rode on his spectral steed, a translucent hand the size of a tower shield, and maneuvered it to bring him to various points of the battlefield with the best vantage points.
Or as he called them… 'views.'
"She's slowing down."
The witch arced through the air, manipulating the forces of nature to her bidding with prodigious ease. It was like the very air itself was making a conscious choice to lift her up and fly her across the forest. Cold resolution burned in her eyes, dyeing them a luster silver.
Various magic circles of all shapes and sizes, with symbols of many different sects and cultures drifted within them, ones that King devoured hungrily as he dispelled her magic with relative ease. Even now, he could not help but be bored of this tiny skirmish.
"Is that all? I really thought better of you."
With a flick of his wrist, he conjured a barrier of protection, completely dispelling whatever spell she had just thrown at him. There was a glare in her eyes as she watched every movement, both physical and spiritual, of the enemy in front of her.
'Hmm… this body is more convenient that I thought.'
Easily handling the spells threw ay him, King floated downwards, onto the destroyed plane of grass he was standing on just minute or so before.
"I guess it is time to end this. I've seen all I wanted to."
Furious lightning struck the trees around him, incinerating them instantaneously. King paid no mind to them. It was just a little show, after all. No need to be impressed by mere parlor tricks.
The Witch of Envy glared at him through the lights that her powerful magic caused.
"So she can't even control it. Huh…"
He willed the other spectral hand to come down, its fingers stretched out as to block the incoming damage. And there was some damage. A lot of it at that. The two spectral hands to came together, acting as mighty shields as a weave of magic, unlike a magic circle, rune, or spellbind of any kind, but of pure immaterial, spiritual essence.
He pinched this weave between his index finger and thumb of both hands, squeezing it gently. It looked like a loose piece of silk, but much more translucent with runes that Red and Baba Yaga could not recognize no matter how much they search for, seemingly flowing across the length of this weave infinitely like limitless water. A deep, profound power was streaming—emanating from this weave, one that the witch barely recognized.
She yelled from high above, where a multitude of spells were being cast like a thunderstorm:
"First Thaumaturgy. Now Spirit Arts? What the hell are you?"
King smirked. Something about that statement amused him.
He scoffed:
"You don't even know."
With his smirk growing even wider, King stretched his arms, creating a beautiful film of unrecognizable runes and symbols flowing endlessly upon its surface. Slowly but surely, it began to open, tearing a hole into space itself.
The Witch of Envy yelled as she soared up above, manically diving down and reaching with her hands.
…Right into his spell.
"You reckless creature! Do you even have any idea what you are doing? That thing will destroy reality, even the Stories that make up them! Sto—"
Before the Witch of Envy could mutter another word, a light brighter than the sun itself exploded from within the seam in space of King's weave, wreaking destruction in its glorious wake.
Only King could remain calm in such an event.
"Boom."