Lord Shadow

They collided like a lightning super bolt, fast and impactful. The air shakes and distorted because of the shock.

The palm and the fist strike collided and a shockwave ripples with lightning speed in the sky, producing a sonic boom.

An explosion of energy backed by Essence ripples through the air and creating a gigantic explosion of energy, even affecting the ground as the area below then shakes.

If not because the world has been strengthened by the White Explosion, the ground beneath these two Titans would have crumpled and atomized by simply their energy.

If this was Earth Two, the area around them would have already turned to mess and might even affect the natural phenomenon of that world.

Imagine the impact of such shockwave produce by their attack.

Their attack is powerful enough that their speed was travelling through the air faster than the speed of sound.

Their strikes generate an enormous amount of sound energy, sounding like a huge explosion.

And the heat? It distorts the very air around the area they were fighting. Clouds dissipated and heat filled the sky.

Because of their thick essence it even affects the clouds, creating a polar stratospheric cloud.

While the clouds behind them becomes agitated creating an undulates asperatus phenomenon.

When they collided Azief could feel the thickness of Sasha essence and this make him widened his eyes as he was push back and was thrown fifty meter away back but he manages to keep floating.

Sasha on the other hand feels like she was colliding with a mountain as she also was thrown back and coughing blood.

Her internal organ took a hit and her Essence was scattered away by that punch. Her hand broke and many of her bones cracked and her Nine Opening were destroyed.

She was immediately cut off from the energy of the world and she felt like she can’t breathe.

Her ears were bleeding, so does her eyes. It is only because of her strong will that she is still floating in the air.

The pain of having every bones in your body cracking and broken, how does anyone even endures?

But she endures.

Because that is what she is good at. Enduring. Even before the Fall, she endures many things that the people of her age could not endure.

She was poor, destitute, the daughter of the street. All that she has, all that she is, is what she has fought and won.

Even now, when all hope seems lost, she still endures. Because she always knows that if you endure long enough, you will have your chance.

And when that chance appears, if you hesitated, then you will close your door of opportunity.

So, she is waiting. She look forward and sneered at the still unharmed black hooded man in the distance.

And if not for her drinking the Potion, she would have been dead the moment they clash with each other.

She already prepared herself for the attack but she never did think she still underestimated him.

With this kind of physique, if this world was still the same as before the White Explosion, the land beneath them would surely crack and quake and it will be like a calamity.

But Sasha endures and brings out another artifact.

The Golden Fleece.

It was golden in color, and when Sasha bring it out, yellow light formed behind her back and covers the sky, like golden clouds.

There is some runic writing on the fleece and alchemical formula written in undecipherable words.

It was gifted by the Oracle. She once said, that she will need it when fighting a man covered in darkness.

At the time, Sasha did not pay too much attention to her words, but now she knows, the Oracle is really good at her job.

The Oracle really did foresee this battle.

That is why she advises her to fight the Snow Monsters and even give her tips how to defeat the monster and give her the Golden Fleece.

As for the Oracle grand plan, she doesn’t know anything about it.

Though, Sasha would appreciate if the Oracle could speak directly instead of speaking in riddles and dire warnings.

But, she still feels gratitude towards the Oracle. If she has foreseen this battle, then that means, she still has a chance to live.

After all, the Oracle said she will be saved by a woman in white. But only, if she passes this obstacle.

Someone that could be her ticket to be accepted by the World Government no matter the danger they have to face, protecting her

After all, destiny is made by people. Things changes, Future changes.

We make our own fortune.

Sasha believes this woman in white is the White Witch which resides in the World Government.

And when she scans the hooded man area, she remembers seeing someone.

Someone that she has seen before during her stay at World Government before the White Explosion.

Her ticket for safety

Sasha takes the fleece and covers her wound and magically her wounds began healing itself as the Golden Fleece dimmed in color.

Her internal organ began to heal, and her Essence is gathering back as the energy around her were sucked into her body.

Her bones slowly mending and her Nine Opening slowly reforming and energy could pass the passageway again, revitalizing back her body

The bleeding in her ears and her eyes stopped. Then she stores the already almost depleted Golden Fleece inside her bag of Storage.

She smiles and said to herself.

‘I still have to attack if I were to distract him. This is my only chance. If I got her, then Raymond might welcome me into the World Government. I’m sorry, hood man. But I have to disappoint you if you think this will be easy. I’m not an easy woman to handle.’

On the other hand, in the distance, Azief was equally shocked.

For someone like Sasha to receive his attack and the worst it could do to her were a few internal injuries that alone are extraordinary enough.

He was baffled. But then understanding dawned. He smiles.

‘So, that’s how it is. She has truly outsourced all of her methods.’

As he look back in front of him ,suddenly he could see, Sasha who was right in front of him, suddenly disappeared with extreme speed and appear in front of him.

The air exploded because of her extreme speed and gust of wind slash away around the area she disappear from.

‘Not good!’ Azief said as make a defensive X posture in front of his chest with his hand when suddenly he could hear a loud sound of cracking as he took on Sasha punch.

The wind howled and the wind exploded as sound like thunder roared in the sky.

BOOMM!!!

The sound echoes hundreds of kilometers and affect even the ground as low level user who were under the ground near their battle site was affected and they could feel their Orbs almost cracked and break under the pressure of the presence of both Seed Forming User battle

Pillar Forming User could feel their Pillars cracked and almost dissipates because of the intense fighting in the sky.

Some of those who have weak heart even started kneeling and praying to their God.

In the sky, the battle is almost at the climax.

Sasha already transformed her hand to be coated with diamond like substance making her punch not only powerful but also lethal.

Azief sail through the clouds a thousand meter away like a supersonic jet and Azief forcefully stop himself from being flung farther away by halting in the air instantly and the sound around him exploded because of the force of his sudden inertia stopping.

‘ARGH!! Azief yelled as he could feel some of his bones cracked. It is hard to make his bones crack.

That punch was coated with essence and even managed to crack his bones. One could only imagine how powerful that punch is.

The fact that Sasha manages to crack his bones shows that this Sasha is different from the Sasha he was pursuing.

Even a trapped mouse will fight back when cornered. But unknown to him, the moment Sasha punch him, Sasha crack all the bones in her hand.

If not for the healing aura of the Golden Fleece still present inside her body, she could not push through.

‘I WON’T HOLD BACK THEN!’ He yelled as Golden light illuminates around 100 meter radius as his regeneration was activated.

Golden light illuminates the sky, painting the clouds golden and making Azief looks like a Celestial emperor descending from Heaven.

Golden mist melded with the red and black mist that surrounded Azief, making him look like an Unholy existence that combine both the majestic presence of holiness and the unholy power of dark magic.

His Aura overwhelm the area as the wind around him faces intense pressure and make the winds changes direction, away from Azief.

The clouds moves away, the weather changes, and golden light shines the Plains regions.

‘You want to fight Sasha! You could have surrender. You just have to provoke me! I will fulfill your wish!’

Then he opens his Nine Forbidden Opening and energy courses through his every vein, every nerve, and every part of his body.

Air compresses around his body and exploded and then reforming and then exploded. It was a bizarre scene.

Time fluctuates around him, death aura swirls around his feet, Life aura emanated from his hand creating a bizarre phenomenon around him.

Even as Azief activates his Openings, Sasha pushes on as she appears again and this time there is a weapon in her hand.

A long spear suddenly pierces through one of the clouds and targeted Azief head.

The momentum of a descending mountain was emitted by the spear attack, making the air around the tip of the spear crack and distorted.

Azief easily dodges it by titling his head on the opposite direction of the attack and take a few steps back as he hides behind some other clouds, waiting to ambush Sasha.

The spear strikes which were imbued by Sasha essence missed the targets and accidentally attacked the settlement of a village in the foot path of the Dividing Mountains in the Plains region.

Explosion accompanied with wind gales as sharp as swords descended on the settlements and destroys the ground as a twenty meter width crater was formed and killing dozens of people.

The spear immediately disappeared like ash the moment it collided with the settlements, returning back to Sasha hand almost as fast as lightning.

People on the settlements scattered running as they tried to avoid themselves getting accidentally killed when those two beings in the sky fighting against each other.

The sound of screams, and cursing could be heard as they curse at the sky, and scream on top of their lungs, screaming injustice.

In the sky, the battle is ongoing as spear strikes and Sovereign aura collided against each other as the shockwave shock the people in the ground.

Another attack follows Azief even as he was trying to hide.

Azief dodges it again, as the strike misses and energy blast was shot off from the spear and narrowly misses him.

This strike attacks the ground again and this time a forty meter width crater was formed. As time goes on, the spear strikes becomes even more powerful

Azief mused in his heart.

‘The blooming of life before the end.’

They are moving closer and closer to Azief village and for some reason Azief began feeling something is very wrong.

Azief then quickly releases his Sovereign Presence, emanating a pressure that make all the clouds around him dissipate and the heat around him pressurized.

This time Azief has decided to end this fast, as he felt a bad premonition so when another spear strike was aiming him Azief yell inside his mind, activating his attributes imbued by his Essence Tree.

‘Time!’

The air around him suddenly ripples and an image of a gigantic Hourglass of Sand appear behind his back.

The clouds changed colors as it became a little bit purplish, and Azief aura filled the sky, making Sasha even with the help of the Potion, feels constricted and feel herself becoming….slow

Near 100 meter radius all around him time slowed. The particles all become slow, as momentum energy was halted, and laws of physics were ignored.

The energy blast that shot off from the tip of the spear was like a raging tsunami, even changing the wind direction and dissipates the clouds, eager to trample everything on its path, but when Azief activated his attributes, her strikes slowed down.

Everything slowed down.

The clouds slowly dissipate, in such a manner one could even take the time to record the phenomenon that is happening.

Azief could even see where the energy blast will be headed. He could even sense the Essence in that strike.

Sasha Essence were imbued in that strikes and the attributes were also melded into the energy making it very dangerous and very terrifying if Azief directly went on head to head with such strikes.

The strikes itself was powerful and domineering but also full of malevolent energy.

Azief could not help but admire the tenacity and the decisiveness of Sasha to use that Potion.

Even Azief will never use that Potion. Maybe even under the threat of Death he will not use it.

This is not the first time Azief has fought someone that uses this kind of potion. Azief knows the Price for such magic.

The reason why Azief will never drink it is because he knows he can’t pay the Price. He could not stand being powerless.

Especially after he has felt what he felt when he has power. He would rather die than start again. It is his pride, his dignity.

The Life Burning Potion.

Drinking it, one would be bestowed with the ability to transcend his or her realm.

Sasha is now actually not a Seed Forming User but a Disk Formation user.

Pity that she did not have a strong body and Seed.

At least with a strong body, she could maintain this state a bit longer.

With Seeds, if she drinks the Potion, then at least for a moment, the Seeds will turn into Disk and with that Azief would not be able to win.

After all, the Disk Formation targets the intangibles.

His pinnacle body might stand a Disk Formation physical attack, but if they attack his mind and soul, he would not be able to stand it.

That is the only reason why Sasha manages to make him suffer injuries.

Her Essence dig through his consciousness and burn his consciousness making the pain of the soul appear to his physical body.

That is the biggest mystery of man. The existence of souls.

Undying Body, even Tribulation Lightning will not dare to attack, but a Disk Formation will attack the mind, the consciousness, the souls, as they comprehended the Law of The World, looking down on everything.

But the Price is, the moment the Potion lost its effectiveness, all of the drinker abilities, levels, all will be in vain.

The Essence will disappear, as the Energy is disperse inside the body again, making the drinker stages to go down as Seed Forming becomes Energy Disperse Stage again.

That is the first pain.

Then the Energy will gather cutting of the Path of Seed Forming, as Eternal Spring becomes blighted, the Red Palace crumbles, The Celestial Presence erased, the Nine Opening were closed, the Divine Meridians dried up, the Titanium Bones weaken and lost its luster, the Golden Aura weakened, the Silver Veins lost its colors, the Copper Flesh turns weak, and the Ironskin disappeared.

Then the Energy that was dispel will gather up again and become compact as it becomes an Orb.

The color of the Orb then will turn gray and lifeless as it exploded and turns into Pillars.

That is another pain as the user would feel pain beyond their normal threshold of pain.

Some describe it as being skinned alive.

The Pillars will all be cracked and full of holes. Then the Pillars will crumble and then the body will weaken as the drinker will go down to level 1.

This is why Azief will never drink that potion and he will not put himself in a situation where he had to drink that kind of potion.

This is why he has to be merciless. This is why he has to be cold to his enemies.

This is why even though the Sasha in front of him has the same face as the Sasha in Earth Two he did not cut her any slack.

Because he has experience firsthand what happens when you hesitated in front of a familiar face.

The experience he gathers in the Bizarro like world in the Fractured Reality has taught him better.

He even met Evil-Him. Evil Loki and Evil Sofia. It was almost like a mirror world, distorting all the personalities of the people he has ever met.

But Azief understand why Sasha uses the Potion.

It’s true.

That if she did not resort to this potion, the moment she lost her energy to keep running, Azief would capture her easily.

The difference level in power is obvious. Azief knows it. And she knows it.

So, this is why he couldn’t understand why Sasha would risk her entire being destroyed just because to escape from him.

This is why Azief felt that something is wrong.

He uses the attributes not only to dodge Sasha attack but also to immediately slow down Sasha movement and capture her before anything unexpected happens.

But then Azief heard Sasha yelled

‘TIME!’

An image of a sun and moon appears as the moon turns red and explodes and the moon slowly dissipates appear behind her back and his Time attributes were canceled out.

Her attributes of Time is a little different than Azief attributes of time which means their understanding of Time attributes are different.

Azief was shocked as he was forced to immediately fall back as he flies higher to the sky when he was trying to dodge the barrage of spear attack that came after Sasha broke his Time attributes Totem.

Azief was enduring the pain of the backlash, as he could even feel that his essence is in chaos.

His body is perfectly fine but his essence was scattering away as it was attacked by a foreign energy that was domineering and malevolent

The comprehension of Sasha time attributes is higher than him which is why she could neutralize his Time attributes.

Then suddenly she stopped and then she changes her direction and flies through the sky with all of her speed to the direction of his village and then Azief finally understand.

At this time, he finally realized he has overlooked something. One bit of information slip his mind.

He remembers about a bounty slip he got from Will and chills runs on his back. Even with all his plots and machination talents, he never thought he would overlook this one fact.

He became arrogant and lazy and complacent. He was to confident to think of a scenario where he is outsmarted.

Because his level of power is the strongest in the world, he has forgotten what he has learn in his journey back home.

The lesson was that no matter how strong you are, that doesn’t mean that you can’t be defeated.

Looking at the rings on his fingers, he remembered seeing a Demon King strong like Old Gods, defeated, not by pure strength but by quantity.

Even though the Demon King possess power that could render Earth and Heaven apart, in the end he still fall.

And Azief remembered how he used trickery and his guile to get the Ten Eternal Rings. Azief was so sure of his victory and all of Sasha way out has been sealed, that he overlook that maybe Sasha has been planning this the moment he enter the cave.

That maybe…this time…it was him that got baited. Or maybe, the reason why Sasha decided to capture Sina is because he comes to the cave.

But considering Sasha probing, she must have thought about capturing Sina the moment she found Sian was there in the village.

If only Azief knows formation, he could have created a runic formation that would shield the village.

The only things he could shield from other people Divine Consciousness is himself because of his level advantage but he could not shield his village unless he got a cloaking artifact.

‘SINA! SASHA! THE WORLD GOVERNMENT BOUNTY!’ All of this floated inside his mind.

‘NO! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!’

He yelled and his yell produces a sound waves that ripples through the sky, killing low level avian monster that was around 50 kilometers radius as Black Crow monsters fall down from the sky, like a pouring of black rain.

He finally understands.

The Divine consciousness sweeping, the reason why she drink the potion even though she must have known that to be a futile endeavor.

She was never intending to fight him to the death. She was biding her time and then finding his leverage.

The reason why Azief realize this was because of Sasha direction. It was the direction of his village.

Then as that is not enough suddenly, the Golden Chariot appears again and this time it was faster as Azief fly through the sky with the fastest speed he could employ.

He is desperate to be faster than her.

But, not everything moves according to his wishes. With half step to Disk Formation, the speed of the chariot this time surpasses the previous speed as Sasha speed was almost like the speed of light.

The candle burn bright as it’s near the end.

This battle will not end as easily as Azief thought.

***