Against The True Gods

'Decent.'

Caine's body sat naked in the middle of a charred no man's land, his chest rising and falling steadily. Above him, the stormy clouds cleared, signaling the end of the tribulation.

WHOOSH!
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Despite the destruction surrounding him, his body stood in perfect condition, with only one oddity—his face, now a shade paler than usual. The tribulation had prevented him from fully healing, leaving him at about sixty percent of his total strength. For now, however, it would have to suffice.

He exhaled slowly and opened his eyes, immediately frowning. His regained senses were sharper than ever, exceeding the limits of ordinary mortals, but something was off with his sight. Everything he saw was distorted, blurry, and cloaked in darkness.

Swirling colors and fragmented runes danced erratically in his vision.

'If my sight reflects my soul, does that mean something is wrong with it?'

The thought lingered in his mind, and his expression hardened as realization dawned.

PURHCI!

A blade tore into his back, the cold steel erupting through his chest. Silver blood sprayed violently, covering his naked body as potent dark qi invaded his flesh, surging through his veins like a poison.

BOOM!

Caine's body disassembled into a cloud of fiery runes, reappearing several meters away.

His narrowed gaze locked onto his attacker.

Standing where he'd been moments ago was a tall, skeletal entity draped in thick, metallic dark armor. Like Caine, when poisoned by death qi, it bore a mane of flaming emerald hair. Its hollow eye sockets burned with scarlet orbs of fire, emanating dense waves of killing intent.

Behind it, an army of summons stood in ominous silence, each more powerful than the last. Skeletal dragons, armoured skeletal titans, skeletal foot soldiers—they varied.

Caine's gaze sharpened. For some reason, an unfamiliar sensation crawled through him—threat.

WHOOOSH!

The air around him stirred violently, and in the next instant, all of Caine's summons materialized, overwhelming the skeletal summoner's forces in sheer numbers.

The entity let out a soul-piercing screech, its bony jaw rattling as it laughed. "Still quite young, hm?" Its voice grated like the scraping of chalk on a board, undercut by the gurgling rasp of a dying man's breath.

"So young, yet so powerful. You're wasting the potential of such beautiful and mighty summons. I'll be taking them off your hands."

A black hilt appeared in its bony grip, and as it tightened its hold, a blade of amethyst qi formed, completing the weapon.

Caine remained unmoved. With a flicker of his Will, dark robes draped over his body as his summons charged forward.

"Remember my name—Adari. I shall take you as one of my sons."

Adari charged. The ground beneath him exploded into a rain of debris as his blade tore through the air, aimed directly at Caine.

Caine squatted, dodging effortlessly, but his eyes narrowed as Adari's stance shifted instantly. A rising leg shot upward, perfectly timed to meet Caine's descending face.

'How is he reacting to my movements?'

Caine jolted back, using the momentum to backflip away from the kick. He landed on his feet, summoning a spear into his grip without hesitation. Shooting forward, their weapons clashed.

Caine expected a brief stalemate, but instead, Adari's qi blade phased through his spear, its intangible edge continuing toward his neck.

Without panicking, Caine spun the pole of his spear, striking Adari's hand and deflecting the attack by mere centimeters.

Adari missed, his blade slicing through empty air. Caine capitalized on the opening, stepping forward and swinging his spear upward, its blade shimmering with chaotic neutral qi.

Adari grinned as dense death qi gathered around him, forming a robust shield.

BANG!

Caine's spear struck the shield, but the force sent his arm flying back, leaving him vulnerable. The shield shattered into countless deadly shards of solid death qi, which shot forward, embedding themselves into Caine's body.

Silver blood stained his robes as the shards tore through him. Before he could retreat, the embedded shards exploded into emerald runes, which quickly assembled into layered formations.

Caine sneered. His Blood Qi surged through his veins, devouring the death qi that sought to erode him, instantly healing his wounds.

His True Will towered, shattering the formation in front of him. But the runes reassembled into an even more complex array, surging with destructive intent.

Adari's rasping voice echoed. "Foolish child. Attempting to poison a Death Wraith… with Death Qi?"

Caine ignored the taunt. His martial ring glinted in his eyes, and his muscle fibers tightened as he regained his footing. Blood Qi flowed smoothly through his veins, unperturbed.

With a step, he was upon Adari, his spear aimed for the wraith's neck.

Spear intent exploded from the weapon, suppressing Adari's movements. Before the wraith could adapt, the intent ascended into Spear True Will.

SHANG!

Adari blocked once more, summoning a shield of death qi.

'Let's switch methods.'

Caine's heart thumped, and his Primordial Chaos Flame roared to life. A mantle of golden fire enveloped his body as the surrounding heat ascended to an unbearable level.

Adari's gaze narrowed, but it was too late.

A flame-covered hand struck his metallic armor, melting it instantly. The flames shifted, turning emerald as they became infused with pure life qi.

Caine's other hand moved with precision, grabbing one of Adari's ribs and violently tearing it out. The melted steel from the armor gathered upon the rib, forming a short sword.

Channeling his flames into the weapon, Caine drove it into Adari's skull, shattering it.

BOOOOM!

Before the wraith could reform, Caine spread his arms wide, summoning his arcane ring behind him. Neutral qi flooded his veins as he began reciting incantations, his body levitating into the air.

Above, a grand spell circle formed in the skies, its energy building to a crescendo.

"Gotcha," Caine muttered.

But just as the words left his lips, another blade tore into his back.

Then a second, a third, a fourth.

Dozens of identical figures emerged from the shadows, all bearing Adari's visage. Each held a weapon soaked with Caine's silver blood.