BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!
The earth exploded beneath their feet, shattering like glass under the weight of divine fury. Cracks spread like spiderwebs through the soil, and a deafening shockwave hurled debris into the churning air.
Neither of them moved for a heartbeat — fists and blade locked in a deadlock, raw power pulsing between them like twin suns on the verge of collision. Sparks danced across their clashing energies.
Muscles strained.
Eyes locked.
And then—
They vanished.
Only the sound remained.
Clang!
Crack!
BOOM!
Swish!
Aether and Finnian tore across the battlefield, moving faster than the eye could follow. Shockwaves rippled from each collision, splitting the air like lightning bolts in a storm.
Aether ducked beneath a horizontal slash, the golden edge grazing his hair as he weaved through a maze of radiant blades. Each one carved deep trenches into the earth.
He responded with a flurry of punches — brutal, calculated, and relentless — each strike so sharp it warped the air around it.
"Don't you dare run from !!" Finnian bellowed, his voice echoing like a commandnt from the heavens. He swung his golden sword in sweeping arcs, golden magic pulsing from every motion. With each strike, afterimages of light lingered in the air — vast wings of fla trailing behind him.
"You know you can't win this, Aether!" Finnian shouted mid-air, twisting into a devastating spinning slash. The arc of his blade unleashed a wall of divine fire, a roaring crescent of holy destruction.
Aether leapt back with seconds to spare, flipping over the blast as it scoured the ground, reducing stone to molten slag. He touched down lightly — then launched forward in an instant, body spiralling like a drill, one fist glowing with crackling violet lightning.
BAMMMM!!!
His punch connected squarely with Finnian's armoured shoulder, and the force sent the Apostle skidding backwards, boots carving a long trench in the earth. The clash echoed like thunder across the land.
Finnian let out a furious snarl, jamming his sword into the ground to stop himself from falling. The blade hissed as it sank into the molten soil.
But before he could even take a breath—
WHAM!!!
Aether descended from the heavens like a teor, both fists hamring downward. The collision blasted stone into the sky, forming a plu of shattered rock and smoke.
But Finnian had already flipped away, twisting mid-air. His sword spun in his hand once — then he threw it like a divine spear.
Ssssshnnnngggg~
The blade scread through the air, trailing golden fire.
Aether twisted his body, raising his forearm just in ti. tal kissed flesh, sparks exploded, and blood splattered from his arm — but he didn't flinch.
He grinned instead, voice low and taunting, "You missed."
Finnian's voice ca from above, closer than expected. "I wasn't aiming to hit—"
ZRAAAKK!!
A golden chain shot out from the hilt of the sword, snaking through the smoke like a viper and latching around Aether's arm with a burst of holy light.
Aether's eyes widened for a second — too late.
CRASH!!!!
Finnian yanked the chain, dragging Aether skyward like a hooked beast. They spun together in a chaotic blur, wind shrieking around them, until Finnian unleashed him with a roar.
BBOOOMMMM!!!!
Aether's body slamd into the ground with cataclysmic force, the crater glowing white-hot beneath him.
The blast lit up the night like a false dawn.
Finnian hovered above, golden armour pulsing like the core of a dying star. His face was grim, but his eyes blazed with unshakable belief.
"Stay down!!" he thundered. He raised both arms, summoning a circle of divine spears around him — each glowing like a burning star, spinning in mid-air, humming with celestial judgent.
He hurled them all at once.
Dozens of radiant spears tore through the sky, each one trailing a blazing tail. They scread down like vengeful cots, aid straight at the smoking crater.
But just before the first one could pierce the ground—
BOOOOM!!!
Aether exploded upward from the dust, flipping through the storm of spears. His shirt was shredded, his skin bloodied, his breath ragged — but his grin burned brighter than ever.
"Not even close!"
He pivoted mid-air, foot slamming into one spear, deflecting it into another. His fist shattered another into glowing fragnts. His body danced through the divine hailstorm like a phantom, moving by instinct and fury.
And then — a flicker.
He vanished.
Finnian's head jerked — too late.
Aether landed behind him with a thunderous thud, bare feet cracking the earth beneath him.
"Too slow," Aether whispered.
CRACK!
His fist slamd into Finnian's ribs with monstrous force, denting the divine armour and sending the Apostle flying through the air like a broken arrow.
But Finnian twisted mid-flight, planting his feet against the air as if stepping on light itself, and launched back with a roar of righteous fury.
"In the na of the Mother!!"
His entire body ignited with sacred fla. Radiant wings burst from his back, forged from scripture and divine fire, beating once with the sound of mountains cracking.
He rocketed forward, both hands gripping his blade, aiming it straight at Aether's heart.
Aether's eyes narrowed. His chest rose slowly. He exhaled.
The chaos seed to slow around him. His skin glowed with an ice-blue aura, flickering with strange calmness.
In a split second—
Aether vanished again.
Finnian blinked, heart hamring.
Then—
BOOM!
Crack!!
Aether reappeared right in front of him — inches away.
There was no rage in his face. Only stillness.
He raised one palm and pressed it against Finnian's chestplate. Not a punch. Just a touch. A whisper followed.
"Cocytus."
The magic triggered instantly.
A burst of cold unlike anything natural exploded outward. Ice swept over Finnian's body in an instant — a wave of frozen blue that devoured the divine glow. His armour hissed as the frost encased it, locking joints, freezing breath, sealing fla.
Finnian's eyes widened as he tried to move — but the cold was too fast. Too absolute.
In seconds, he was entombed. A white and golden Apostle, frozen mid-charge, locked in ice.
It was a haunting sight.
It looked like art — beautiful and terrible — a perfect sculpture of faith and fury brought to a standstill.
Aether panted as his body dropped to the ground, the weight of the battle finally crashing into him. His butt hit the scorched earth with a thud, and his lungs drank in air like a man just pulled from drowning. Each breath was heavy, ragged... but satisfied.
It was a dangerous fight.
Wasn't it?
Yes. It was.
But that was the strange part.
Wasn't he stronger than Finnian?
Yes. Absolutely. He was leagues beyond the Apostle now. In strength. In speed. In power.
Then why... why had it felt dangerous?
Because...
Aether eyes slowly turned, glancing toward the crowd—gathered in stunned silence. Their eyes were wide with awe, their mouths half-open and...
Acknowledgent?
It hadn't always been there.
Just monts ago, when Aether began overwhelming Finnian, when he started dominating the Apostle with raw, rciless power, he saw it—he felt it—the way their expressions twisted. Shock turning to alarm. Admiration turning to hatred.
And Fear!!
He realised sothing right then and there.
This was wrong.
Not the fight. No... His approach.
Finnian had been a symbol for them—this Empire's chosen light. A protector. A beacon. A na they whispered in their prayers.
And now here cos Aether—an outsider, a stranger, smashing that symbol into the ground like it was made of nothing.
No matter how justified, it didn't matter. If he crushed their faith so callously, if he humiliated their Apostle in broad daylight, the people would never trust him. They wouldn't care about strength.
They would only see betrayal.
He had to change that.
So, he did.
He stopped dominating.
He let Finnian strike him.
He made sure his own blood painted the ground, that wounds blood across his skin. That sweat, pain, and breathlessness made him look... weak.
Because that way, the people would see a struggle, not a slaughter.
They would believe that their Apostle stood tall against a mighty enemy—and that their Mother's will in allowing this fight had not been misplaced.
And at the sa ti, Aether made it clear—he was better. Not the best. Not untouchable. Just... better.
A gentle edge, rather than a crushing boot.
Now, the fear in the people's eyes had lted into awe. They no longer looked ready to riot. They stood still, murmuring in reverence, proud that their Apostle had held his own. Proud that the stranger permitted by the Goddess was not so heartless man.
This made sure that Mother didn't choose the wrong one as well as... Aether's na on this ground was solidified.
Yet, a pair of eyes burned hotter than anyone else's.
Sera.
She stood at the edge of the battlefield, fists clenched, her breath quick and uneven. Her gaze was locked onto the blood staining Aether's arm. Her lips trembled.
She hated it.
She hated seeing him bleed. Hated not being able to rush to him, to heal him, to scream at him for being reckless.
But she held back. Because she knew—it wasn't over yet.
Crack...
A sharp crack echoed across the field.
Aether's eyes shifted slowly to the source.
The ice encasing Finnian had begun to splinter.
He sighed tiredly, dragging himself to his feet just as the sacred frost shattered outward in a cascade of golden sparks, "Looks like we are going for round 2--" his words halted when,
Holy flas burst to life again, wrapping around Finnian like a protective shroud.
"I will not be caged!!" Finnian bellowed as he stepped free from the remains of the ice, his voice wild with fury. His body stead with divine heat, his golden armour glowing anew. "You think so frost can chain ?!"
He raised his sword, flas licking the blade, now burning brighter than ever—white and wild.
"No matter what trick you use... no matter what power you call upon..." He pointed the burning tip of his sword at Aether, sneering. "You could never wield this—these sacred flas belong to the chosen alone. They burn only for those the Goddess deems worthy!"
The flas roared, responding to his anger.
"You—" he spat the word like venom, "—a slave like you could never touch her light! Even if you live among us, walk our roads, breathe our air...
You will always be.... nothing!" he said with a wicked grin, questioning Aether!
Aether's blank stare didn't flicker... and but sothing inside him broke.
A silence fell.
A stillness.
Then—Step!
[Don't do it!!!]
He appeared in front of Finnian without warning, his hand closing around the Apostle's helt like a vice, lifting him into the air effortlessly.
"Heed ," Aether whispered.
His voice was quiet.
Flat.
Utterly void of emotion.
His eyes turned white—pure, blinding white.
~Ding~Ding~Dang~Ding~
The sacred bells rang.
Not just one.
Not just nearby.
Across the Empire.
From temples. From cathedrals. From mountain shrines and seaside sanctuaries.
Unbidden.
They rang.
The sound echoed through cities and forests. People looked up from their hos. Knights stopped in their drills. Clerics fell to their knees.
Sera gasped.
Aether's body pulsed with energy—pureer than anything she had ever witnessed. Not divine. Not infernal. Sothing more ancient.... Sothing terrifying!!!
'What in the Mother's na...?'
Even golden-haired stared in mute awe.
"I will kill," Aether spoke, his voice hollow, eternal, "and I will let live."
"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Finnian's scream echoed, a horrifying, guttural cry as his entire armour trembled violently, burning against his skin like he was being roasted alive. His own sacred white flas were being devoured—consud by an even purer, more divine white blaze erupting from Aether's hand.
Finnian's face beneath the helt seared in agony.
This fire didn't burn the armour in any normal sense—it devoured it.
"I will harm... and I will heal..."
Aether's voice rang out, cold as glacial ice, even as his own hand suddenly cracked—heavily—as if an unseen force was wreaking havoc through his body in retaliation to stop him.
[SNAP OUT OF IT! AETHER!!!]
His Log scread inside his mind, echoing like a final warning.
But Aether didn't listen. Rather… Iteration No.25 didn't listen.
Sera's eyes widened in horror as she watched Aether's hand fracture further, the flesh turning a terrifying shade of black, vein by vein. She didn't know what it was—but it definitely wasn't good.
She imdiately flashed to his side— So did the golden-haired figure... Helena.
"Aether, stop it!!" Sera cried out.
Helena reached for him, trying to pull him back, "Aether, you need to stop it!!"
But—
"None shall ever escape from my grasp... arr..... N-None shall ever vanish from my sight..."
clccckkk!
Aether's hand twisted with a sickening sound, warping painfully under pressure.
"ARRRRRRHHHHH!! STTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!"
Finnian scread again, his body convulsing wildly as the sacred armour encasing him began to wither—like a decaying puzzle, piece by piece peeling away from his fra, revealing scorched, raw skin underneath.
Seeing this wasn't working—Sera's breath hitched. Her lips trembled.
Her eyes welled up."S-Stop it… Please," she whispered, almost begging.
"B…"
Aether suddenly halted, the word dying on his lips as he turned his glowing white eyes towards Sera—towards her tears.
His expression shifted.
Slowly, his eyes moved back to Finnian... And he released his grip.
Thud!
Finnian collapsed, his armour half-devoured, twitching on the ground.
"Don't. Ever. Question. My. Faith!!"Aether muttered, each word dripping with divine fury… before his eyes rolled back, his body giving out.
Unconscious.
Both Helena and Sera caught him before he could hit the ground.
________________
[Author's Note: Well, guys, I wrote a new Novel. Give it a read and tell your opinion.]
This Is Not F***
User Comments
0 comments from readers