My Soul card is a Reaper

Later that day;

Azzy traveled to the Arcana world, directly to the forbidden region.

In the center of that forbidden region lies the null point/O point.

Azzy floated in the sky, hood on his head snapped back by the heavy winds. Below, what remained of the Forbidden region lay scattered across the sea, shards of land floating like the remnants of a shattered continent. Jagged stone peaks. Hollow, lifeless canyons. No birds. No wind. Just pressure, immense, suffocating pressure that bore down like a silent scream from the world itself.

As he was about to descend to the null point, the central island located between those three rank-5 regions, the waters below rippled, and Azzy saw a massive shadow before tentacles the size of towers lazily brushed against the islets. A deep, distant rumble echoed from beneath the waves.

"What's this giant squid?" Azzy muttered, his gaze could penetrate through the water to see its appearance hiding beneath the surface. "Judging by its celestial grade, it should be the region lord."

He drifted lower, and the moment his boots touched the broken ground, a shimmer passed through the air.

He struck an invisible barrier and suddenly, two great laws applied to his soul orb, one attempting to restrict it and the other sealing off his mindscape. Or atleast that's what it looks like.

Azzy didn't bother to break through those chains and instead stepped through them like walking through mist.

Letting out a smile, he called out. "Ancestor Qridus? Ancestor Devorah?"

"You came back."

Azzy turned, his eyes catching the familiar form of an old man and the young-looking 100,000-year-old woman, standing side by side.

"Grandfather," Azzy bowed his head slightly, "Lady Devorah."

Devorah tilted her head. "Congratulations, Azrael, on breaking through the demigod realm. However, I didn't understand how you were fine without being kicked out by Gaia. I and Qridus wouldn't leave this forbidden region. So, we were fine. But you, you were clearly still in the midst of interfering with mortal affairs. Is it because of Saint Ravens?"

Azzy chuckled under his breath. "The same reason why Leah was also fine, Ancestor." He pushed out his own unique divine energy, which he created after merging Jupiter, Baphomet, and Gaia's essences. A large humanoid armor formed over him. He controlled it to stay at 10 ft, but the armored body around him resembled himself and not any other god.

As Qridus looked up in awe, Devorah meaningfully nodded with a smile. "So, you have formed a divine core, huh? Perhaps, after the legendary Buddha, you were the first human who ever managed to do it."

"It's not much…" Azzy shrugged.

Qridus then spoke up. "Why are you here, boy? To visit my Master, or is it something else?"

Azzy looked up at him and said, "I'm here to fight him."

"Him?" Qridus frowned in wonder.

Devorah asked in realization. "You mean, Argus?"

Azzy nodded quietly. "Last time, I barely managed to defeat him. But this time, I want to see whether I clearly surpassed him or not."

"Hmm… How about I test that myself?" Qridus spoke, instantly releasing his demigod realm aura.

"This…" Azzy's eyes widened. "Ancestor, can you bypass the domain law you created?"

"What do you think?" Qridus bore a proud smile.

Azzy observed it around and gave a nod of acknowledgment. "That's impressive, Ancestor. But it couldn't restrict my divine energy, though."

Qridus stroked his head with a knowing smile, one hand to the back. "That's because I don't have divinity, child. A domain can only put down the laws that can be applied to both. The effectiveness can be altered just as I managed to do it, but the law itself can't be one-sided. However, if I do this…"

Qridus raised two fingers and turned them anti-clockwise as he concentrated on the surroundings. "I ban the usage of any kind of attribute."

At once, Azzy felt invisible chains on his blood, too. Of course, it isn't that he couldn't break those chains, though. He just felt the effects. That's all.

"I see…" He nodded.

Qridus said. "I couldn't bypass this restriction, though. It's tough to break through these chains."

"I can see it's pretty much easy." Azzy thought in his head. To preserve his Ancestor's dignity, he didn't say it.

Azzy then moved apart his legs and said. "Ancestor, let's keep this restriction and fight me."

Qridus narrowed his eyes and observed him for a few seconds, but nodded in the end. "Alright. This old man will be fighting at his full strength, then."

Azzy went further and closed his eyes.

Qridus vanished.

A fist, heavy as a mountain, smashed toward Azzy's face, all of a sudden.

*Boom*

The impact of the first blow sent shockwaves spiraling across the broken sea crust. Azzy didn't move, not an inch, as Qridus's soul energy-charged punch collided squarely with his face.

The land under Azzy's feet cracked like shattered glass, but he stood there, unfazed.

Qridus blinked. "Hmm?"

Azzy plainly said. "Ancestor, I'll be disappointed if you try to test me or underestimate me."

With a flick of his wrist, Azzy backhanded Qridus as a counterattack.

The demigod flew across the island like a ragdoll, crashing into a half-submerged cliff face. Stone exploded in all directions. Saltwater geysered into the sky.

Qridus emerged coughing blood, his jaw already healing with regeneration from consuming his soul energy.

He charged again at supersonic speeds, leaving behind a sonic boom.

This time, he unleashed a barrage of attacks: palm strikes, spinning kicks, sigils drawn in mid-air. Tidal waves burst forth under the pressure. A whirlwind of pressure surrounded Azzy.

Yet, Azzy didn't even flinch.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Every hit landed. But none of them made any impact.

"Alright. My turnnnn…"

Azzy shifted his stance and delivered a single palm strike to the air at even at a faster speed than Qridus could react. The force ripped through Qridus' barrage like paper.

In the next second, Qridus was on his knees, coughing up blood. Cracks lined his arms. His bones were fracturing from the inside to the point his soul orb seemed slightly damaged.

Azzy stepped forward, "I don't want to hurt your pride anymore, Ancestor. Please give up."

Qridus spat another mouthful of blood and wiped his mouth. "No… Lad. My pride is not hurt. If anything, I feel more pride than anything. I know my strength very well, and if you can defend against this next attack of mine, I would feel more relieved than ever. Evade if you cannot deal with it because I injured my master heavily when I perfected this ultimate technique of mine. "

Qridus sat down and shut his eyes. His soul energy ran all over his body, healing his injuries at a faster pace. Azzy patiently waited until he was done.

Qridus then rose in the air and raised his hand. "The Hand of God."

His entire soul energy was consumed instantly, reduced to nothing, while an arm descended from the clouds. It was giant, covering hundreds of meters in area and descending straight to Azzy, who raised his head to observe the incoming attack. "Hmm... this looks like it surpasses even demigod realm. Let's try to test my punch strength."

He bent his legs a bit and jumped toward the hand with his fist outstretched.

His fist and the hand from the clouds collided mid-air.

There was no explosion from the collision or whatsoever. The hand was shattered into a million pieces, dispersed into the air while Azzy continued to fly a bit before he stopped and looked down, then at his fist.

Azzy's face darkened, staring down at his fist. "This is the strongest attack? I don't feel any accomplishment, though."

He dropped his hand in disappointment. His hand slowly closed into a fist once again as he mumbled. "Not enough."

Meanwhile, on the ground, Qridus clenched his fists; he couldn't stop smiling as he raised his head high. "That actually contained the power of a god. Did he surpass that strength, too?"