Chapter 795: Creature With Red Eyes
As the meteoric flames burned the valley and the nearby land, two men stood opposite each other. Suyin managed to retain her consciousness, and her eyes moved around to look at the awakened Arthur.
Arthur stood there silently, seeming dazed, as he stared at the Light Emperor, the fallen Ca.s.sius, and Suyin. His eyes were still bloodshot, and his breathing was slow. With every breath he let out, black lightning crackled. Then, he stared at his hand.
"Sin of Wrath?" repeated Arthur with confusion, appearing surprised by the notion. "This is… the Breaker Insignia. How did it…?"
"Insignia?" smiled the Light Emperor with amus.e.m.e.nt. "There is so much that you don"t know, Arthur Silvera, even about yourself and your past. Yet, you oppose everything before you."
The emperor taunted him while the sun started hiding behind the horizon. Although the sky was getting dark, the flames illuminated the two men standing opposite each other. In their light, Arthur Silvera smiled.
"That"s what the breaker does, no?" said the man with black cobwebs over his skin, as his white teeth appeared with a grin. "You hatch plans to kill, frame, and put me against a calamity. Then, in the end, I break them all."
"You have the devil"s luck, outsider," said the Light Emperor while throwing his arm to the side, his expression menacing. "At every turn, you receive help from someone to save you. The heavens truly favor you over us!"
Suyin could not see Arthur"s expression clearly, but she knew these words angered him. The black lightning raged with Arthur in the center, striking the small hill Ca.s.sius created.
"Luck…?" asked Arthur with a baffled expression. "I almost died the first time your son attacked me. The second was on your orders, and I had to fake my death. As for now," paused Arthur as he stared at her, "Rage and affection cannot coexist."
His words were gentle, but they were clear. The Sin of Wrath ceased because Arthur had to protect Suyin, even in his monstrous state. However, she also knew that, and she still appreciated the words he used.
"Eragon, the Sin of Wrath and Ageless Breaker. That dormant beast has been within you this time, and now it saves you again. However, even while awake, what can you do?"
The Light Emperor clenched his fist, and the flames died around them. Arthur glanced at them and scanned the valley, which was turning from a h.e.l.l to a wasteland.
Suyin watched the surrounding flames turn into red lights that entered the emperor"s skin. As they did, his aura grew more threatening as the air around got compressed.
"You made sure we couldn"t frame you for Superbia Dungeon Break, but that backfired against you. Here, I can use my real powers."
"I am terrified," said Arthur with sarcasm. The emperor returned a smile as he slammed his clenched fist to his chest. The fire elements exploded around them before gathering around the emperor like a hurricane. "Who is Elemental Stealer now?"
"The people have no business in knowing that answer," said the Light Emperor as flames entered his body. As it did, his body grew bigger and his stature taller. "I will show you that coming to Ilios was a mistake."
"Don"t underestimate me too much, Light Emperor," said Arthur Silvera as black lightning crackled around his body. "After all, this wrath hasn"t died down yet. Instead, it flared up after seeing your d.a.m.n face."
As he finished his words, a pillar of black lightning descended from the sky to strike Arthur"s body again. His aura changed again as a howl broke through the clouds, reminding Suyin of the monster that protected her earlier.
"Come forth, Eragon!"
***
It was a dark place, filled with coldness and boiling blood. Arthur allowed the rage to take the wheel while he sat down as a pa.s.senger. Then, he watched the wrath burn the world, seeking to destroy it.
In the beginning, Arthur wondered if Nameless was tempting him with this unknown strength. However, he soon realized that his rage didn"t target the world itself but a specific target each time. And except for that target, the black lightning hurt nothing else.
His voice howled as the pain in his chest grew deeper. There was a wound that refused to heal no matter how much time pa.s.sed, and it rotted with wrath. Arthur realized that this belonged to the creature with red eyes.
After awakening from his dream and finding the Light Emperor about to kill Suyin, Arthur rose to his feet. His eyelids were heavy, and his body felt like it didn"t belong to him. However, his rage was still there.
Arthur summoned wrath again because it never left. In the beginning, he thought this was his rage against the emperor. However, he then realized that this wrath appeared against the calamity of pride as it did once before against Amelio. Sins seemed to trigger each other.
"Call my name."
A voice demanded in response, deep and ancient. It was different from King Arthur, which seemed apathetic and kind. This one was hoa.r.s.e and full of rage. However, Arthur didn"t hesitate to call for it.
"Come forth, Eragon!"
Lightning descended from the sky, striking his body. It was his "sin" descending to break whatever target it now had. The lightning did not hurt him but made his blood boil as madness filled his mind.
Each of the seven sins was called a slave of their desires. Whether greed or pride, whatever that desire might be, it consumed their owners. As for wrath, it did so much worse.
Arthur was the pa.s.senger again, and his wrath was now in control. Eragon howled toward the sky, parting the clouds with his wrath. As for the Light Emperor before him, he stomped on the ground.
Boom!
The hill caved under his powerful stomp, and the Light Emperor bolted toward Arthur. He inflated his arm beyond what a normal human can, and the elemental fire seemed to feed him.
An elemental mage would convert mana to elements, while the Voldor Family did the opposite. Instead, they strengthened themselves by taking elements from the surrounding, and even mana, and infusing them into their body.
The emperor"s arm was full of mana as it struck toward Arthur, whose body now was far from being human. Instead, the black lightning surrounded him as Eragon"s jaws unhinged to howl.
"GHHHAAAAA!"
An ancient beastly roar shook the world and even pushed the emperor back. It caused black lightning to spread across s.p.a.ce, covering the valley.
The emperor struck with his inflated arm, sending shockwaves across the air. Mana exploded from his hand, and it pushed Eragon back. However, the latter raised his hand and caught the punch, which sank into the black lightning.
The mana exploded, but the Eragon"s rage defused it. The land behind Arthur exploded into smithereens, creating a deep gush that ran until the end of the valley. However, this was merely the exploding mana.
As for the calm emperor, his façade was gone. He breathed out as his veins bulged, infusing more elements into his other arm, and struck Arthur in the face. Eragon howled, grabbed his other arm, and pulled the emperor down. Then, his knee hit the emperor"s face, sending him soaring across the sky.
Eragon then teleported to receive the emperor in the air, axing at him with his interlocked hands. The emperor spat out blood as he was sent crashing toward the lake.
Boom!
As he slammed into the lake, the water parted ways. The emperor slammed into the lake"s floor while surrounded by a giant water tunnel due to the impact. Eragon then started descending.
"I WILL NOT LOSE!" roared the emperor as he slammed his fists to the grounds, sending himself soaring toward Arthur. Then, his arms outstretched toward the water, stealing the elements inside. The emperor then rotated his arms to fly like an arrow toward Arthur, slamming at him with his newly stolen element.
Eragon was sent flying toward the sky after being struck by the two fists while his howls spread the black lightning around him. As for the emperor, he followed by using the absorbed mana to propel him forward.
"I trained for this moment all of my life, outsider!" roared the emperor as half his body turned red and the other half turned blue. Two kinds of mana raged inside his veins as he met the descending Arthur in midair. "My plan will not fail again!"
"And I… need none," replied Arthur through Eragon"s voice as he clapped his hands together. A shockwave spread with him as the center, using the previous cobwebs he created with his howls to send his rage through the air.
At that moment, his Breaker Insignia, or Wrath, came to play. All the mana in the valley was disabled, including those used by the emperor. His mana flew away from him as the breaker enforced his will and caught both of the emperor"s arms.
"This world… shall break!"