"I challenge you to a duel, William Verhein."
William smirked as he heard the challenge from Zephyr.
He was a bit weirded out by Zephyr's behaviour, but he was planning on kicking his ass anyway, so it doesn't matter who issued the request.
The world transitioned from a world of all gold to a forest.
This was the same forest where William and Zephyr fought before, or rather, where William got his ass kicked.
"Doesn't this place bring back memories?" Zephyr asked in a condescending tone.
"Enjoy the feeling while it lasts," William retorted as he removed the silver ring of suppression from his finger, releasing his crimson mana and turning the world around him a bit more red than it was before.
"As weak as ever," Zephyr sneered as he eyed the mana being released by William.
"We'll see about that," William retorted as he prepared to go all out from the start.
"Mana Ascension, Quadra Elemental Spirit As-" However, before he could complete his transformation, Zephyr intervened.
Zushh
"Nah, I don't want to (time stop)"
Just like that, the whole world of memoirs greyed out, and William was frozen in his place, unable to complete his transformation or move.
Zephyr smiled, seeing the frozen world, as he slowly started moving towards William, who still had a confident expression on his face, expecting to win.
In a single swift motion, he pierced Williams chest and pulled out his heart, which wasn't beating due to time being frozen.
With his heart in hand, Zephr teleported back to the position he was in before and stopped his spell, allowing time to resume to normal.
"Cension," William said, his words growing a bit weaker as he fell on his knees. His gaze stuck on Zephyr's figure, which was standing only a little away from him, holding what seemed to be a beating heart.
Finally, his vision went towards his own chest, or rather, the hollow hole in the left side of it.
Until finally he fully fell down, his blood spreading everywhere and dying the ground red.
The second match between two fellow 10-year-old divine humans was over, barely lasting even a second.
After a few seconds, William's figure and his heart in Zephyr's hands broke into tiny light particles and disappeared.
Once William was gone, the landscape changed again, returning to the golden castle. It was before the duel, with Zephyr sitting on his throne arrogantly and William on the ground.
"AAAAHHHHH!" William screamed as he finally regained his sense, panting heavily as he placed his hand on the left side of his chest, finally heaving a sigh of relief at the absence of a hole there.
This was the second time he had died in his second life, and William still wasn't used to the sensation of dying; he wasn't even sure how exactly he died.
One second he was about to transform, and the next he was on the ground with an empty hole on the left side of his chest and his heart missing.
"How Pathetic" A familiar voice finally brought him back from his thoughts as he stared at the being sitting in front of him as well as the one responsible for his current state.
Zephyr sat on his lavish throne with his arm resting on the armrest and his chin resting on his hand. He stared at William with eyes filled with contempt and disgust.
"Is this really all that you achieved over two years?" He asked, his tone oozing with condescension.
"You didn't even let me do anything," William retorted.
"Your enemy won't wait for you to finish charging up your strongest move; this isn't some anime," Zephyr spat out, anger evident in his voice.
"William, stop making excuses for your own incompetence. You were born with the perfect golden spoon. The fact you've been awakened for 10 years and still can't even beat a S-rank monster is embarrassing."
"Do you know how hard it is for me when I have to be lumped in the same category as a weakling like you just because we both have the same tier of aspect?"
"But the truth of the matter is, despite both of us possessing the same tier of aspects as me as well as a similar skill set with your current mentality, you'll never be able to reach my level in this lifetime."
"As you are soon going to die, the fact that you're still alive is nothing short of a miracle. Stop underestimating your flaw; it's trying to kill you every chance it gets, and with your current strength, it will soon succeed. I've been trying to help you get rid of it for two years now!!! But no, you refuse to follow my plan because it's too 'dangerous' for you."
"Well, let me tell you something: unless you're willing to take this risk, you'll die a horrendous death with your loved ones paying the price for your incompetence."
"Do you really think you can ever become strong by just swinging your sword a little daily or reading some books from the safety of your house?"
"Don't fuck with me!! True strength is built upon blood, sweat, and tears through actual combat experience."
"I hate to say this, but stand ashamed, William Verhein; you're weak."
"Now leave and only come back if you change your mentality," Zephyr said as he waved his hand, pushing William away and kicking him out of the memoirs.
This was Zephyr's last ditch effort; if William still refused to go to the neutral continent with him, he planned to abandon him.
Right now, Zephyr was really reconsidering whether his choice to help William was the correct one or not.
Zephyr was still getting goosebumps all over his skin, as he felt a familiar feeling he didn't want to feel
"The barrier is weakening," he said a sentence whose meaning was only known to him.
But there was one thing that anyone should be able to guess: someone or something was coming, and the world wasn't ready for it.