Chapter 773 772. At The End Of Existence I: Solis

Chapter 773 772. At The End Of Existence I: Solis

"Has arrogance finally consumed you? Do you not see who stands before you?"

Sylvester shook his head, forging a confident smile on his face. "I was confused and lost before. I was aimless and doubtful—no more."Findd new stories at novelhall.com

"And where does that confidence arise from?" Aveda asked amusedly.

"I never fight a losing battle." Sylvester didn't shout, yet his voice bellowed. His arms were raised wide. His hands started glowing with golden hue orbs. "And this fight—I can't afford to lose."

A flash of concern shrouded Aveda's face. For the master of that reality, nothing remained hidden. "Brave or a buffoon—what you consumed of Ashraska was a fraction of his being. To covet more is denying reality."

Sylvester didn't show an ounce of doubt in himself. He continued to use the newfound buff in power. But Ashraska's traces were still in him, and they were wreaking havoc.

What happens when a balloon is filled more than it can hold? What happens when something is pressed more than its tensile strength?

Sylvester felt it all. Although he had no physical body anymore, he still had a limit to what he could hold; to how far he could stretch his control.

But did it matter?

Not anymore.

"You are in pain," Aveda spoke in ridicule. "When I haven't done anything yet."

Sylvester remained quiet. It felt like explosions were taking over every inch of his being. Every particle that made him bloated and ruptured at the seams.

Trillions—Infinite explosions ruptured everything. Every particle, a sun in its own way—fusing, bursting, and fusing again to grow.

The flesh Sylvester had made on himself began showing shattering ripples throughout. Tiny missing chunks that grew bigger at each moment.

"If that is what you desire. Let me show you what Ashraska could not," Aveda bellowed.

Sylvester persisted, his teeth gritted shut. His eyes flared with controlled rage. His humanity battled against the creeping insanity.

He never gave up. Every particle of his existence screamed at him to stop.

But he didn't—Why? Why, even when the chances were so slim? When the cost of losing was beyond death, when Victory was nowhere in sight?

Why?

Maybe because some people, when they have been through a lot and have been pushed beyond the point of endurance, accept defeat and give up. Some, however—a minority of a minority, who were, for some incomprehensible reason unconquerable—nothing, neither pain, nor torture, nor death could make them give up.

Sylvester, perhaps, was a minority even among those unconquerable. For more than his will, he was driven by his desire for a dream—a little peaceful life somewhere remote—with loved ones, to live as a nameless man... In peace.

From day one, from his first battle, beyond becoming the Pope, beyond all the might and authority—there was a simple old man—tired... Very tired.

Very very tired.

"I honestly didn't want this. Your little plan to get rid of your brother may have been an insignificant game for you, but for me, it was a source of great pain. Sir Dolorem, Pope Axel, Saint Sceptre—I am their hope, beholder of their will. Whatever happens next is what you brought onto yourself."

Crack!

Soundless and yet physically tormenting, Sylvester's body started ripping apart and growing in size. Invisible, wavy strings of energy started forming all around him, connecting to his body and being absorbed by him.

He groaned in pain and desperation to not lose his sanity. He had no mouth as a being made of pure energy, but he knew if he did, he'd be gritting his teeth bloody. But Ashraska's legacy had to be his. It was the only way to even be able to stand against Aveda.

"Futile attempts." Aveda showed his displeasure and waved his physical hand. His white wings suddenly changed shape, shredding into long strands and flew from his back like long chains and captured whatever was left of Sylvester's humanoid body.

Wrapped around his head, his arms, his legs; They tried to stop the transformation Sylvester was going through. Stopping the energy transfer into his body, and restraining him physically. After all, unlike Aveda, Sylvester's only life and consciousness resided in that body.

He had become an elevated being, but he was still a lowly mortal.

Before he knew it, he couldn't stop or hold himself back anymore. It turned into a chain reaction that consumed him. That took away his sanity. Every part of him expanded, multiplied, ripped apart, and started burning.

He tried to keep his humanoid form intact, but that didn't last long. At first, his legs splattered away like flesh and bones, and the energy that ruptured from it splashed around and formed strings of flames. Then, the rest of his torso followed and shattered.

He could only maintain his humanoid, faceless head intact. But even that took all his focus and might. The energy and power he was trying to control now began to surround him and suppress him.

Containing him from all sides to turn him into nothing but a mindless blob of dead cosmic energy.

♫From the mortal reality... to the end of existence,

H-how far I have journeyed, so much distance.♫

Sylvester only had control over his thoughts now, and he chose to do the only feat of magic that didn't require his control. Staying true to his birth, he sang like a bard, but he didn't praise the lord—he called him.

♫N-No matter what, I shall not end this resistance,

It is I or them—there can never be coexistence.♫

The halo formed like it always did. Larger and more violent than ever before, taking the color red instead of the usual white and golden. It burned in the space of nothingness, taking a toll on Sylvester's leftover body.

As blood splattered, it was violent energy for him.

But he didn't stop singing despite his mind on the brink of collapse.

♫Hear me, Solis! This is the last song of your bard,

I obeyed, I followed, I stand here dying and marred.♫

'It worked!' Sylvester felt something. The chain reaction didn't end, nor did he find new control. But he could feel his unresponsive body had consumed something new—something that didn't belong to Ashraska or Aveda.

♫In this race or superiority, my humanity I have discarded,

Solis! You must be my shield now when I stand unguarded!♫

Snap!

He felt something all of a sudden. A surge of warmth traced through the countless flaming ribbons and strings around him. It reached for him, as if traversing in the sea of his massive body.

It arrived at his halo, and took home there. Finally, Sylvester felt a newfound gentle warmth, his halo taking back its control away from insane rage—the crimson turned to golden.

"Solis?!" Sylvester cried out in thought, hoping to hear something. "W-What do I do? I can't control this!"

There was silence, panic and frustration. The wait was too daunting.

"Do what you must—you are already aware."

"Solis!" Sylvester felt a ray of hope. "What do you mean? I'm barely holding on to my sanity."

"You can do it."

"How? I don't even know the plan!"

"You do," Solis repeated, his voice fading slowly as the crimson halo gradually turned fully gold. "You made the plan."

"What do you mean?" Sylvester interrogated in haste and distress.

But from Solis, only one final string of words came.

"Because you are me—I am you."

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