Chereads / The Last Step To The End / Chapter 23 - Cube

Chapter 23 - Cube

"Two enormous bridges crossed over the abyss, forming a gigantic cross. At the point of intersection, there was a massive object. From above it, an inverted column extended, thin as a chopstick. This column wasn't alone; there were hundreds and thousands of them.

All of them were converging toward a single place, where the columns pointed to a levitating cube in that space. It changed colors, shimmering with white, gray, and black.

Somewhere far from this place, a small door, in comparison to this location, creaked open, and a girl emerged from it. She wore a white blouse and black pants, along with shoes with very small heels. Her violet hair didn't move here, and golden eyes gazed towards the cube. Above her, she held a black umbrella that shielded her pale white skin from the 'light.'

"Even no guards," she said calmly, walking towards the cube.

"Everything is going smoothly, surprisingly, without proper preparation, the plan works," she said, gripping her nipples as she approached the cube.

These needles — columns — didn't cross a small bridge. Only one was positioned over the cube, while the rest came from elsewhere.

"And here's the 'key'!" She reached out to the cube, but hastily halted.

In an instant, it began emitting a colossal amount of energy, not the force of 'Re' or 'Verner,' not even 'Eden,' but something else that made the girl fall to her knees. Yet, she stood, solely supported by the umbrella over her.

"I'm human, so don't worry; the 'key' will serve the higher purpose!" She directed the umbrella towards the cube, and as she moved it, the cube followed.

"Soon, we'll see what the second 'key' truly is!" The umbrella consumed the girl. "And the second part of the 'scripture' will finally be revealed!"

Now, this place started losing its light. Darkness engulfed the bridge and the hundreds of columns...

**

"Still, Lord should be protected - he's also a 'child of Frontier'!"

The girl was strong; her strikes disturbed the air and destroyed Verner incredibly fast. But he recovered just as quickly.

"What are you doing, Kali?!" he shouted, his strikes slicing the ground around Kali, attempting to kill her.

"Whoever said, Verner! We should protect the 'children of Frontier,' not try to kill them - he's not a 'fragment'!" the girl yelled, the red lines destroying the ground in the crater.

"What is she talking about? Child of Frontier?" Arlok struggled to comprehend what was happening around.

"Never heard a more foolish answer! We should have killed him before he reached the 'Edge of Truth'!" He struck, leaving scratches on her body.

"Do you think the world will be better if we kill him! Your plans should end right there at the 'Edge of Truth'!" Red lines left characteristic damage on the ground, thin as the lines themselves.

"Yes, he will surely be better off when such a filthy 'elder sister' dies!"

"So, we found the reason for this fight, Verner! I'll tear you apart and take the 'key,' preventing you from getting the third into your hands!" Huge landslides emerged, now from one side of the crater, then from the other.

"Well, try; you're not even a fraction of my strength!" He grew to colossal sizes, surpassing the dimensions of a human by hundreds.

"Your size won't scare me; you're still as pitiful!" The red threads and lines cut the flesh of the huge monster, but it regenerated and crushed everything around.

"You're just ridiculous; do you think your mask of kindness will redeem your decisions? You've killed so many that I look like a joke compared to you!" He created monsters resembling himself, much smaller but posing a visible threat due to their powerful attacks.

"Even so, I won't be completely dishonest; I'll save this damn Lord and stop you!"

Arlok didn't understand their conversation; they seemed delirious, or rather, his head swam so much that he couldn't comprehend even a fraction of their talk. He couldn't remember; he just struggled with his body.

He was about to pass out from exhaustion and incredible damage. His lungs burned; the constant urge to cough barely held back. But even so, the girl's strikes inflicted incredible damage on his body, and he could barely hear them.

The ringing was accompanied by a hum, the hum with the sound of a playing piano and drum. Together, they exerted immense pressure on the man. His brain seemed to melt, but he continued to stand on his feet.

"Child of Frontier, Edge of Truth..." that's what he picked up from their conversation, not counting the internal conflict between two Notes.

"A parasite that shouldn't exist!" The girl tore Verner to pieces, his clones, and creatures he summoned.

"Damn bitch, who destroyed a dozen planets, talking about parasites? You're a bigger tumor of the universe than I am, and do you desire the third 'key'?" He sent the girl flying with a single strike.

"Funny!" she spat. "All I hear from you is nonsense again; you've never been able to speak human, nor have you learned in centuries!" The colossal body tore into hundreds of pieces.

"Nonsense is what you're trying to do now; even in your best days, your powers wouldn't be enough to kill me, and now? You'll simply die, unable to protect yourself, Lord, or 'Re'!" He struck her, and she barely withstood the blow.

"You're so worked up saying this because you know you're lying!" she tore flesh again.

This place was nothing like a crater anymore. It was slashed with hundreds of lines and reeked of blood, where huge parts of the strange creature's flesh detached and quickly disappeared without their owner.

"Whoever says whatever, strength will judge us! And precisely, the 'scripture' says I will live, and you will die!" The girl's white dress was stained with her own blood.

One of the thousands of blades did reach the girl; its sharpened and venomous flesh pierced her abdomen.

"Ha-ha-ha! You're foolish, Verner, the Lord must reach the 'Edge of Truth,'" the girl tore apart the tentacles that pierced her abdomen.

"You dream of the impossible, the day he reaches the 'Edge of Truth' does not exist, just like the day we'll lose!" Verner yelled. And more and more blades were directed towards Kali, but she swiftly deflected them.

"Fools die, Verner..." five threads touched the tips of the fingers on her right hand; one motion, and all the threads summoned into this crater formed a huge pattern.

It swallowed the entire territory of the crater, becoming like a massive dome covering the sky.

"I won't allow the Council to fade away; let the 'Edge of Truth' be visible to all!"

She gestured, and both her and Verner teleported, along with all the flesh around. Only Arlok remained in the crater, echoing the words about the Council. And somewhere far away, an avalanche moved in an incomprehensible direction.

"The Edge of Truth, another variable in this mission?" he fell to the ground and began gazing at the cosmos.