Chapter 271: Angst

Arthur opened his eyes as the dust began to settle down. He coughed and stood up while grabbing his corroded arm. His mana started expelling the Enders powers from his arms but it was extremely slow. 

A figure was standing across the settling dust cloud with an arm torn away and black matter bleeding out of it. Even though the unique quality of existence gave it more impact on the world, it made it vulnerable to physical attacks. 

"The law of equivalent exchange, to draw out such power you need to make the necessary sacrifices." Arthur smiled from behind his armor. "It's time that you fall here." His body started turning ethereal as he disappeared. 

The creature looked around to find him, but Arthur wasn't there anymore. Whatever traces he left as a person were negated by Lilo's ethereal ability. Befitting of the Elusive Dragon, Lilo could stay hidden for years if no one stumbled upon its lair after being pursued by an Astra-ranker. 

As Arthur was planning his next attack and recovering, he felt the place starting to shake as a hissing sound resounded in the dungeon's first floor. The creature looked back toward the door of the first layer as a presence appeared behind it. 

The shaking grew stronger until Arthur could see the two giant eyes he knew so well. A large slash was on its eyes, done by Fey months ago before he awakened, confirmed Arthur's fears. 

The Dungeon's Boss was finally coming out into the world. The city was still in a state of chaos as the Temple tried to fight against the draconic lizards, Cerberuses, golems, and zombies. If the Boss reveals itself, the city would be obliterated. 

'Lilo, let's soar!' Arthur turned and flapped his wings, carrying him away from the Boss. As if it had sensed his presence, the serpent hissed and lunged forward, destroying what was left of the dungeon. 

No as lucky as Arthur, the injured creature tried blocking the monster's charge using a pool of black matter. The serpent hissed as its scales started corroding rapidly but the creature was left in a much sorrier state. 

Receiving the charge of the boss, the creature soared upward and left the dungeon the same way he entered it, crashing through the ceiling and into the world. 

The creature's mask had many cracks in it, threatening to fall apart at any second. Urgent and desperate, it tried to accelerate the fissure further even though it was still soaring through the skies. 

However, Arthur appeared above. With an ax kick, Arthur struck the creature in the abdomen making it cough black matter that seeped through its mask. 

The creature was sent shooting downward toward the Avarice Serpent. At the last second, the creature raised its hands and clenched his fist. A giant sphere appeared above his hand. 

The ball sank into space and a vacuum was created. Everything began shifting as the ground began to shake. A strong gravitational force was created around the sphere of incredible mass. This included Arthur's body, and he began shifting downward toward the creature. 

The creature's body remained unaffected, suspended midair. Arthur's body started descending against his will. Seeing no escape and the serpent's head destroying the foyer and emerging into the world, Arthur gathered the remaining of his mana into his fist and waited for the perfect timing. 

The two figures approached each other. The creature's remaining arm turned from a fist into a palm. The dark matter gathered in his hand like a blade that waited for Arthur's descent. 

Once again, the powers of nothingness and creation were at each other's throats. However, Arthur didn't wait for them to collide. He punched a second before the two powers collided, causing a mana explosion to engulf the creature. 

There was a high-pitch scream from the creature as Arthur grabbed through the mana explosion. His arms were lacerated heavily as he grabbed the creature's shoulders and pulled it closer. Arthur's punch landed on its face, breaking apart its mask fully. 

As he got to see what lied underneath the mask, Arthur's senses screamed in danger as he felt the serpent gather chaotic energy in its mouth, prepared to launch it in their direction. 

The pieces of the mask fell apart to reveal half a face. Pale skin that looked almost transparent, large black eyes, and the familiar doll-like features. Arthur's mouth gaped slightly as the first syllabus left his mouth before the sonic attack arrived. 

"El..." 

A high-pitched sound rang in his head as his ears began to bleed. The force started pushing him away as the sound shook his entire body. His grasp on her shoulder loosened as the two of them flew away. 

In his dazed vision, Arthur tried to reach out to her but her body kept getting further away. Before he lost consciousness, a single question kept repeating itself in his mind. 

'How are you still alive, Ellen?' 

***

He was in his old shabby house and it was empty. He didn't remember what he was hiding from. At some point, the door was knocked. He opened it and found two bracelets on the ground. He picked them up and they had three initials. 

A. E. O. 

Arthur, Ellen, and Ori. It was the bracelets they had given him. Arthur had kept it hidden in his subspace after he changed his identity. 

He looked around but the streets were empty. Then came a light hum from the kitchen. Arthur frowned and walked toward the source to find Ori cooking as he hummed and danced. 

"Ori?" 

"Hm?" Ori turned to him with a smile. "Wait just a bit, it'll be ready in a minute." 

"No, it's... why are you here?" Arthur asked but judging by Ori's confused face, he knew he didn't have an answer. Even Arthur didn't have an answer as he couldn't remember anything. 

Clack. 

The sound of dishes touching a surface came from behind him. Arthur turned to find Ellen arranging the dishes. He walked over to her but he couldn't see her face. 

"Say, Arthur." She asked him in a distant voice. "If there was something you need to do, no matter what, how much would you go for?" 

"It's not a question of how much I would go for, but how much it needs me to go for," Arthur heard himself say against his will. "If I want something that badly, I think I'll do anything for it." 

The world then grew silent as the room dissolved and he found himself on the island in the second test of Jerano. On a snowy field, Ellen was fighting against the spearman. As one of her attacks struck his chest, Arthur felt a wisp of energy invade his body. 

It was the Enders powers. That's what he felt coming out of Jaran at that time, making him believe he was one of the Fallen Beings. All along, it has been Ellen and the signs were clear. 

He simply chose to not see them, because the thought of someone close to him being a fallen being didn't even occur to him. 

The scene changed again and he was on the campus. He saw himself talking to Arlo, telling him how Ellen wasn't his friend while laughing. 

He stood a distance away from the group. From his place, he could see the figure of someone standing beside the window of the second floor. She was clenching something in her hands. It was a black crystal. 

"No," Arthur said but the scenery changed again to leave him in the muted world. After Ellen was thrown into the wave of bones, she landed underground before heading toward the castle. As she did, she controlled bones to redirect the others into the castle. 

When she reached the empty hall, black energy seeped from her body until it created the black circle. When the army of awakeners arrived, they were helpless against her powers. She ate away their mana easily and took away their life. 

Every time one of them died, the black circle sucked away their life and Ellen grew stronger. When the last of them died, she stood in the circle huffing. 

Arthur was standing in front of her but she couldn't see him. Tears were streaming down her face as black matter left her body to materialize something ethereal. Her body fell limp as if she had shed it away. 

The creature, a hybrid of the Enders powers and Ellen's existence, was standing there after it was over. Ellen looked at her morphed arms and legs and threw a cloak around her body and wore the mask. 

It was then that the ceiling broke and she slipped into the nothingness. Arthur saw himself dive down toward her body. He turned toward Ellen but everything was getting distant. 

Was this truly what happened or was he simply connecting the dots at last? Arthur didn't know, but he felt something unusual. It wasn't anger or grief, but angst toward his world. Why did Ellen need to do all of this? 

The light was arriving as his consciousness was being pulled back to reality. Someone was shaking him and so did his subconscious world. It was time to face reality.