The Transcendent Godslayer

Kallen and the beast sped past each other, him racing towards the portal, and the bull missing its charge completely.

Although it was a very powerful beast, standing at the Peak of Second Ascension, infact Kallen was sure it could kill weaker Third Ascension ascendants... it was still vastly limited in its range of melee attacks, while its elemental attacks, were absolutely devastating.

He now had a clear line towards his goal.

But the next second, there was a change in the atmosphere. Although Kallen couldn't feel it, he could see the change.

The bull was still in his line of sight, and he saw its muscles slowly begin to coil in tension. It appeared to him as though the world had entered slow motion.

He could even see the molecules of the air still their motion, then the air began to slowly part, as though to welcome someone.

'Two seconds,' he counted, with the same indifference, even already knowing what... or rather, who was coming.

There could only be one level of Ascension and higher, capable of causing such a shift in the world: Fourth Ascension and above. And there was only one person potentially of that level who would be here for him…

Zephyrus.

'One second,' he counted again, as he saw the wind rush past him, instantly alerting him that Zephyrus was already upon him.

However, he didn't even flinch, nor did his heart ripple, then again, even if it did, he wouldn't know while he was in this state.

At the last second, he stepped into the rift, disappearing into it instantly.

*BOOOM!!!*

The air exploded a second later as Zephyrus arrived before the rift, gales forming around him from the mere displacement of wind caused by his speed.

Behind him, the terrifying bull had exploded into blood mist from just the wind pressure of his speed. This mist then mixed with the falling rain, causing the rain in that area to be dyed red.

Not even a second after he arrived, Zephyrus was rebuffed by the rift, sent flying backward with the same speed he had arrived. A fine fissure cracked through the earth in the dark night from the force, tracing his location as he flipped through the air.

He landed on the balls of his feet, the ground beneath him cracking and nearly splintering from the sheer pressure of his body, his clothes billowing wildly in the turbulent wind that followed.

He stared at the rift, eyes completely cold, as he realized once again, that Kallen had played him into his hands.

Still, he wondered how long the boy could keep hiding. He couldn't remain in the rift forever, and the moment he cleared it, he'd be forced to come out.

Of course the moment he came out, Zephyrus would, definitely be there to take him away himself. He was tired of being played like a fool by a nine year old.

Before his absolute power, there was no tricks any weaker person could do, talk less of a recently awakened child.

In fact, from what he knew about these rifts, due to how weak he was, Kallen could very well die inside... something he obviously didn't want that to happen.

'Was that his plan? To go in there and die? Although that doesn't make sense, nothing about this child does'

Zephyrus found himself struggling to control the rage and frustration building within him, as well as understand Kallen's thought process.

It wasn't exactly a good feeling to know you were being toyed with by a child still wet behind the ears. And now he was having great difficulty understanding what Kallen was up to, throwing himself to death like this.

'He is too useful to die!' he thought, letting out an exhale.

Immediately, the league of Second Ascension ascendants, who had been chasing after Kallen, arrived and began to swarmed into the rift after him. Their gazes were dull, but their movements were perfectly normal.

The female archer stepped up beside Zephyrus, head bowed and with slightly laboured breaths awaiting his instructions.

Without even glancing at her, he began to speak. Her body couldn't help but shudder at his voice... but not from fear, nor from anything related to the cold.

She gave a soft "mhm" with a nod after he finished, squeezing her legs tight. Then she headed toward the rift, her steps slightly awkward.

Her legs were squeezed so tightly it seemed like she was trying to prevent something from slipping off her, or trying to hold something back in, while the green skin of her cheeks turned a beautiful deep green.

Small pink fogs slipped from her lips with every exhale, each one sounding like small whimpers... like she was suppressing a moan.

Zephyrus watched with cold indifference as she too disappeared into the rift. He lingered there for a few seconds, then turned away.

---

The moment Kallen stepped into the rift, he felt the world explode into a mash of different arrays of colors, some incredibly dull, and others overtly bright.

His brain was overwhelmed in an instant, the colors dancing chaotically in a disorienting mishmash, causing a wave of nausea to well up from within him.

After what felt like both an instant and an eternity, he was expelled from something and collapsed on all fours, coughing and wheezing.

He choked on blood and saliva, the urge to throw up rising violently... though his stomach was empty.

Immediately, he tuned in to all his senses, disconnecting from the effect of Bladeful Soul, which had allowed him to focus all his perception into one.

He was now in enemy territory, and needed to be in tune with all his faculties to react many sudden danger. While the perception of sight it gave him was incredible, it was not absolute vision, nor did it allow him a 360⁰ vision or to see his blind spots.

It only vastly improved his vision, enhancing what he could see within his line of sight.

He regretted the decision immediately.

The nausea and disorientation spiked sharply. Then came the pain, and a cacophony of wobbly noise amidst static whines in his ears.

He could hear his blood rushing chaotically through his veins, and even the violent thump of his heart within his chest.

Slowly, he regained control of his faculties, and the first thing he did was retrieve another pill bottle from Aeneas' storage ring and pop one pill into his mouth.