Chapter 2688 — 2688: Third Contender

The Cursed Wanderer had not remained rattled for long. In fact, his shock only lasted a split second — then, he coldly pulled his cutlass away and moved forward, aiming to slip past the Mist Blade. He was so fast that time seemed to slow down to a crawl, with wisps of mist suspended in the air and unmoving.

Of course, Jet was just as fast.

…Almost.

She retreated at the same pace as he advanced, coldly calculating the odds. The shaft of her war scythe was long, so if she could just keep him at an optimal distance, the advantage would be hers. Conversely, if the sinister apparition got too close, she would die.

So, there was no way that she would allow him to move past the blade of her scythe.

'It is a bit funny, really…'

Here she was, fighting an edritch horror in the heart of an eternal hell. And yet, the same principles that she had learned during her clumsy training spars at the Academy could still decide the outcome of this fight.

A thorough mastery of the basics had never let her down.

The Mist Blade moved with swift and deadly precision, aiming to behead the great wraith. Usually, an enemy would have been able to easily deflect or block such an unsophisticated attack, but the Cursed Wanderer was wary of letting the Soul of Kanakht touch the ghostly scythe — so, he had to evade instead.

And to do that, he had to give up on his attempt to get closer.

Jet smiled.

'Why are you running away, though?'

This time, it was the sinister apparition who retreated a step, and it was she who advanced.

For a few moments, the two of them turned into a whirlwind of mist and cold steel, both aiming to cut the other down. The ground of the Palace Island cracked under the strain of their clash, and the surrounding shades had to retreat lest they be destroyed.

The advance of the wraith army stalled and then halted. The broken formation of the Shadow Legion received a chance to repair itself.

But before it could, the whole island suddenly quaked, and a blinding flash of white light illuminated the sky behind the Palace.

Jet briefly glanced east.

'Nephis…'

It seemed that the third contender had finally arrived.

***

Shortly before, Nephis stood on the eastern shore of the island, leaning on the Blessing. The turbulent expanse of the Palace Lake stretched before her, and on its other side, the ruins of the Eternal City were locked in a constant cycle of destruction and restoration.

The rubble was obscured by billowing clouds of black dust, and something was moving there, under its veil.

Getting closer.

What could it be?

Nephis did not know, but she felt something that she had not experienced in a long while…

It was a hint of fear.

The cold, insidious tendrils of fear crawled from under the wary apprehension that was familiar to her, making her heart ache.

'How strange.'

Was there still something in the world capable of frightening her? Even if there was, she saw no reason to assign that meaning to the unknown abomination hiding in the black dust. So why was she afraid?

'Am I under some kind of mental attack?'

Nephis frowned.

Surely, that had to be it. She wouldn't experience fear otherwise.

'Let's see what that abomination is, then.'

She raised the Blessing, intending to channel her flames and burn the dust away. But just before she could, a vague silhouette finally appeared from the dust.

It was the thing Nephis feared.

A man wearing a tattered spacesuit walked across the ruins while holding his hands behind his back. His face was obscured by the visor of the round helmet, but she could glean desiccated flesh through its cracks.

The man halted for a moment at the edge of the water, then stepped on it lightly and walked leisurely across the surface of the lake.

Neph's eyes narrowed.

She remained motionless for a bit, too, then quietly rose into the air.

Flying to the middle of the lake, Nephis hovered just above the water, holding the Blessing pointed down.

The strange man continued to walk until he was only a few dozen meters away from her, then stooped, looking at her from beneath the cracked visor of his helmet.

There was silence between them for a while.

And then, a low, croaking laugh resounded from the tattered helmet.

"Little Nephis, my lovely girl. You're all grown up."

Nephis did not answer. Then man studied her for a bit, then raised a hand tentatively, as if wanting to touch her.

His hand fell powerlessly back a moment later, though.

"Won't you say hello to your uncle Aster?"

His voice almost sounded... hurt.

Nephs stared at him silently. Then, a faint smile twisted her lips.

"Is this what you think I fear?"

The man shrugged slowly.

"Love, hatred, fear, courage… aren't they all human emotions? But we are not humans, you and I. We have never been human, and we certainly never will."

Nephis chuckled joylessly.

"Ah, I see. I guess that is what I fear, as well."

With that, she took a deep breath and stared at the man coldly, white flames igniting in her eyes.

"It was a good attempt… but you are not Asterion."

She tilted her head a little, and then added in an aloof tone:

"Although now that his name has been invoked, I guess he will be watching."

Raising the Blessing once again, she pointed it at the man in a tattered spacesuit and said evenly:

"Let him see, then. So, what are you, really? The Mind of Kanakht? The Thoughts of Kanakht? The Folly of Kanakht, maybe?"

The man laughed.

"Ah… a nephilim. Of all the creatures in the world, why did I have to meet one of your vile kind?"

Taking a step forward, he suddenly seemed to lose shape, becoming vast and unfathomable.

"What am I? Oh… the Madness of Kanakht. That's what they called me."

Nephis nodded somberly.

"I see. Well, then…"

The blade of the Blessing shone with a blinding radiance, and the water of the lake boiled under the immolating heat.

"Get the hell out of my head."

In the next moment, the world exploded into a harrowing, pure, merciless white inferno.