"The more I look at it the more I realize, it's like a bottomless pit," Pangea said, floating next to Exodus.
"You're still a far cry above all the others as a Catastrophe, even with how weak you may be at the moment."
"Of course. And, the source of the exhilaration I feel is directly linked to whatever's down there. It almost feels familiar, the power I feel from this chasm."
Pangea nodded.
"Let's head down then."
…
"Soon. Soon, I shall wield the power of the Ancient Gods and the Catastrophes of old ages." The mysterious fellow said, clutching the Deformed Sword tightly.
"Then, the time shall come when I will be reunited with them again, after so long. I hope that time shall soon be nigh after I slaughter those twelve wicked beings."
"But… what is this feeling I feel? Is it fear, or anxiety? Or…?"
A wave of green smoke, condensed into a brilliant slash of light, tore the chasm further apart. Exodus and Pangea entered and passed into the chasm swiftly, unfazed.
"…Intruders… how perfect."
The mysterious fellow remained uninjured, and all of the bodies were untouched also, now lying behind him as a great corpse mountain. His blade, the Deformed Sword, which distorted all of that which he wished, allowed him to remain unscathed.
"…He's… still alive?" Exodus questioned, genuinely curious.
"I put a lot of effort into that attack… have I truly gotten that much weaker? …No. Impossible."
Exodus gripped the Bloodstained Slayer with one hand and got into a stance.
"…He's dangerous. We need to kill him." Exodus told Pangea, who also figured the same thing.
"I can't use my Art Forms here, since this space is too narrow. I'll have to resort to tricking and distracting him with my lotus petals so that you can land the blows."
Exodus nodded and charged forward. Lotus petals followed his every single step and obscured him from sight.
But, because they had not a single idea of the power of the Deformed Sword, they did not know that the mysterious fellow would be able to pull his senses through the illusion, in but a mere instant, and pierce through Exodus' body.
"You…"
"You stabbed through me?" Exodus uttered, his eyes widening as he registered the pain.
He couldn't comprehend this individual doing something like that at all. Especially if he was someone who should certainly be weaker than him.
He was the Lord of Ashes. Before, he would've been able to create disasters with just his footsteps, so why…
Why was he acknowledging the pain? Why was he now being so weak?
"Who the hell do you think you are, charging in here like this when you only amount to this much? Pathetic. I'll start with you first."
As the Deformed Sword departed from Exodus' body, the lotus petals began to turn black and flowed backwards.
The distortion from the Deformed Sword influenced the lotus petals and deformed them into a [fallacy] against Pangea.
If she had fought against him beforehand, she would have surely seen through this illusion and combated him, but now, Exodus was left isolated and vulnerable.
A feeling that he had not felt in so long, that it had become a new feeling altogether.
"…My heart… it's fading… am I still affected by Nihilism and the eternal darkness?" Exodus asked himself, his voice turning into whispers. And then, he realised.
"It was so obvious… how could I not notice? The Nihilism I fought against for so long in the Tenebrous River has whittled me down periodically, and only now am I feeling its effects."
"It's the reason why my regeneration has been so slow, and why I haven't been able to utilise my abilities properly. If I died like this, likely, I wouldn't come back to life again."
"Before, never would I have felt this helpless… only in my last moments did I feel this much despair."
"…So pathetic of me… This is not the way I should suffer! I became one of the strongest, I became a Catastrophe and deprived myself of the unnecessary just so that I could be the most powerful blade for [them] to use…"
"But, what would that have been for, if that was not even true in the first place? Is this all my strength amounts to?"
The mysterious fellow grabbed his hair and grumbled words in front of his face.
"Stop goddamn mumbling and grumbling, and just die already so that I can finish this!"
Exodus was stabbed again by him, and again and again. His flesh was ruined, and it was yet to regenerate, despite his Void World's power.
Was this the true effect of Nihilism? Was that helplessness that he felt near the end of his life so potent, that he could even struggle against someone who would scarcely be around Serrate's level without that blade?
Of the three branches of the Primordial Darkness that life sprouted from, the meaning made from objectives, the meaning made from chaos, and no meaning at all, the one he always needed to pursue was the goal in front of him.
It was so simple, so, so simple, and yet even he, as one of the Catastrophes, lost his way.
"If I knew it was going to be this way, I would've never embraced the feelings I felt on that mountain peak."
Exodus gripped the Bloodstained Slayer as hard as he could, and unleashed his wyvern form with the other part of his body, enhancing it with the False Dragonification, which temporarily twisted him into a [Monster Dragon].
He had become an amalgamation of his two forms, with countless rows of teeth, and a mass that almost filled the entirety of the chasm.
"…Oh…" The mysterious fellow emitted before he grinned.
"HAHAHA! This is your true power?! I see why you were so confident! Then, let's have some fun before I take your body and complete myself!"
He then, with his Deformed Sword, slashed through the illusion of lotus petals entirely, and Pangea was able to see what was happening within.
"…What… what happened to you? Did you transform into a monstrosity?" Pangea asked Exodus, but, yet again, he couldn't hear her.
"Hm… this is similar to what he used against the flying battleships… but, the utilization is different, as if he's figured out how to use his power again. At this rate, we might not even have to meet Imoogi!"
Exodus' claw slammed down on the spot where the mysterious fellow stood, and he counterattacked with a slash of his Deformed Sword, causing Exodus' flesh to tear apart.
But, he regenerated in an instant, simultaneously battling against the Nihilism that had secretly infiltrated his mind, body and soul.
"Gah!" The mysterious fellow exclaimed.
"You're stronger than I expected! Were you instead hiding your strength?! Well, I am too, so prepare yourself!"
He thrust the Deformed Sword forward, distorting the space around it to make it nearly impossible to miss. But Pangea, with her lotus petals, obstructed his view and allowed Exodus to smash down on him.
He narrowly avoided it, but Exodus rushed at him again, and while the mysterious fellow thrust his blade many times, the blow was diverted by Pangea's illusions and followed up by Exodus striking him down.
The mysterious fellow was put into a corner, and not even his blade of distortion could save him now.
Exodus raised his Bloodstained Slayer and prepared to kill him once and for all. But, the mysterious fellow loosened his grip on his blade, as he muttered a few words.
"…Do you two know of my past?"
"My name is Balet, and I once caught the eyes of the 12 Cauldron Lords, who aspire to be as strong as the Ancient Gods, and took me away from everyone I knew. Some time ago, I vowed to destroy those guys, and I will let [nothing] stop me."
"Because I have no other feelings, emotions or sentiments left for the world. That all disappeared when I was refined in their Divine Cauldrons."
As he said those words, he lifted the Deformed Sword and performed the only Art Form he had, which he had gained from his powerful blade:
[Misshaping of the Worldly Blade].