The air in the chamber was cold, filled with an ancient and palpable power that clung to my skin like frost. My pulse raced, adrenaline surging through my veins as I locked eyes with Vanessa, the witch who stood before me. Her calm, unreadable gaze made my blood boil. She radiated an aura of unshakable confidence, as though I wasn't even worth considering as a threat.
That would change soon.
I tightened my grip on Eclipse Blade, the familiar surge of energy coursing through my body as the blade hummed with anticipation. With a snarl, I lunged forward, swinging the blade in a brutal arc aimed to sever her in two.
But my strike hit nothing but air.
A flash of blue light illuminated the room as the tip of my blade collided with an invisible barrier, sparking with a burst of energy that threw me back a few feet. My boots skidded across the stone floor as I regained my footing, glaring at her.
"What the hell?" I growled, launching another attack. The blade slammed into the barrier again, the impact reverberating through my arms.
Vanessa didn't even flinch. Her cold eyes remained fixed on me, as though I was nothing more than an insect, mindlessly hurling itself against a window.
"Why do you try?" she asked softly, her voice carrying a strange, melodic quality. "Do you truly think strength alone will break through what you cannot comprehend?"
I growled, ignoring her words as I continued my assault. Strike after strike, the Eclipse Blade lit up the chamber, each blow more powerful than the last, but none could break the barrier. Each time I hit it, the magic pulsed back at me, repelling my attacks with ease.
I roared in frustration, slamming the blade into the ground. "You call me weak, yet you hide behind your tricks, your barriers! Face me!"
Vanessa's lips curled into a cold smile, her fingers gently caressing the blue orb floating in her hand. "Humans… always so eager to throw themselves into battles they cannot win. Always so quick to believe they are the center of the universe."
Her words dripped with disdain, and they only fueled my anger. I attacked again, the blade burning brighter, faster, more precise. But again, it was useless. Her barrier remained untouched.
"You speak of strength, but you know nothing of it," she continued, her voice soft but filled with a strange authority. "Strength isn't the ability to slaughter those weaker than you. You are no different from the monsters you hunt… perhaps worse."
"Monsters?" I spat, wiping sweat and blood from my brow. "The only monsters I see are the ones who lurk in the darkness and prey on the weak. And you—what are you, if not the very thing humanity has sworn to destroy?"
She laughed softly, the sound echoing eerily off the chamber walls. "Is that what they tell you? That you are righteous? That humanity is the light, while everything outside their control is the dark?" Her gaze sharpened, as if she were peering directly into my soul. "You are more monstrous than you realize, Luca. You kill your own kind for power, for greed, for ambition. Is that not the behavior of a monster?"
My breath caught, but I pushed her words aside, refusing to let them affect me. "I don't care what you say. If I'm a monster, then I'm a monster. This world made me this way."
Her eyes darkened, and the light of the blue orb in her hand flared. "You cling to excuses like a child."
With a flick of her wrist, the barrier shimmered, glowing brighter, but still impenetrable. I snarled, trying once more to push through, striking again, determined to tear it down. Each blow harder, more reckless, but every attack met the same fate.
"I've killed to survive," I shouted, trying to drown out the growing doubt her words were planting. "I've taken power because I've had to. That's how the world works—kill or be killed."
Vanessa's smile faded, her eyes narrowing with cold amusement. "And what has it brought you? You kill to survive, yes, but how long can that last? The more you take, the more you will have to kill to maintain what you've gained. And one day, Luca, there will be no one left to kill. You will find yourself at the peak of your strength, alone. And when that day comes, you will realize how powerless you truly are."
Her words struck something deep within me, a kernel of doubt I didn't want to acknowledge. But I wouldn't let her get into my head. "I'll keep taking until I can't anymore," I snapped. "If I have to slaughter everything that stands in my way, I will. Power is all that matters."
Vanessa sighed, her expression almost pitying. "You are nothing but an ant, scrambling for crumbs of power, believing that killing and stealing will make you more than what you are. But the truth is, it will only make you hollow."
I gritted my teeth, charging once more, but this time, Vanessa didn't let me get close. With a wave of her hand, the blue orb flared to life, releasing a shock-wave of energy that sent me crashing against the stone wall of the chamber. Pain exploded through my back, and I gasped, barely managing to stay conscious as blood dripped from my mouth.
"You are strong," she said, her voice softer now, "but strength alone is not enough. You are blinded by your own hunger, and it will be your undoing."
I struggled to my feet, feeling the weight of her words pressing down on me like an invisible force. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to fight back, to reject what she was saying, but something held me in place. Something about her words resonated with a part of me I didn't want to acknowledge.
"You think you can continue down this path," Vanessa said, stepping closer, her bluish-gray eyes locking onto mine, "but there will come a time when you can no longer kill, when no more power is left for you to take. And in that moment, Luca, you will be faced with the truth—you are not a god, but a man."
She raised her staff, and I could feel the air around me grow heavier, the oppressive weight of her magic pressing down on me like a vice. "Killing cannot make you invincible. There is always something stronger, something you cannot take."
I staggered, the pressure overwhelming, and the Abyssal Chaos System pulsed a warning in my mind. My health was dropping rapidly, the energy draining from my body.
I was losing.
For the first time, doubt crept in.
Vanessa's voice echoed in the chamber as she lifted the orb higher, its light growing brighter and more dangerous. "You are not powerful, Luca. You are just an ant, scrambling in the dark."
With those final words, she unleashed the full force of her magic.
And I had no choice but to face it.