Chapter 54

(Adam's POV)

It had been some time since I had last called out Thornsoul. Gazing upon the weapon, I was reminded of the times I spent on the battlefield with Ezra and his brother—all the moments I used my power to support the two juggernauts of the Solaris clan, and all the times I had arrived just in the nick of time to save comrades from death with my healing abilities. But this time, I was going to have to use Thornsoul for a completely different reason.

As I took hold of the long, elegant staff—made of interwoven, glowing vines adorned with astral leaves and buds ready to sprout—I saw Ezra's son tighten his gaze, his cold-blooded killing intent beginning to rise. Channeling cosmic energy into my staff, I activated one of my soul weapon's abilities, allowing me to heal the fractured bones in my jaw and ribs. While he was letting me heal myself, I couldn't tell if he was stronger than the average embryonic-stage Starbound or if my body had simply weakened after excusing myself from combat long ago.

"It doesn't matter, Adam. He's still just a kid," I muttered to myself, shaking off the intrusive thoughts. Channeling cosmic energy into my legs, I dashed toward the boy to close the distance. Using my extended reach, I performed several swipes and swings in rapid succession to catch him off guard. But from the way the child evaded my strikes, I could tell he was an experienced practitioner of martial arts. His counters were smooth yet forceful, executed at the perfect moments.

But sadly for him, his attempts to counter failed due to his lack of reach. Because of this, it was much easier for me to transition right back into the offensive, forcing the issue and continuing to pressure him, biding my time until he made a mistake.

"Not so talkative now, are you, Cyrus?" I mocked as I continued my onslaught. The boy didn't respond at all, due to frantically evading and deflecting my attacks.

The more I pressed the issue, the more something in the back of my mind felt off. I realized the child had yet to show any signs of using a Fate Constellation. He was only fighting me with martial arts and cosmic augmentation.

"Is he mocking me by holding back? That cocky little bastard," I thought as I let rage slowly take control. Suddenly, I noticed an opening in his midsection—his hands were raised from blocking a feint I had thrown at his head. Immediately, I rotated my body and swung a spinning attack with my staff. The attack landed cleanly, and I could hear and feel the cracking of his ribs, causing him to wince in pain.

The kid gritted his teeth and immediately took hold of my staff.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," I laughed as I poured cosmic energy into Thornsoul. As the energy ran through the staff, I activated its morphing ability. Instantly, the staff transformed into a flexible, vine-like weapon with glowing thorns that extended outward, crackling with cosmic energy. The whip form of my soul weapon constricted itself around the boy's arm, sinking its thorns deep into his skin while releasing the pollen from the buds along its surface.

"You see, my soul weapon has a couple of functions. The vine whip form saps your strength through my special cosmic poison, which targets your muscles and nervous system. Funny enough, the only thing that can stop it is my staff form, which provides healing energy," I said, chuckling as I watched the boy struggle to maintain his strength. "You see, Cyrus, this is the end of the fight. You put up a great effort for an embryonic stage."

"Are you finished?" the boy asked as he regained his composure, no longer struggling from the pain of his fractured ribs. "You know, that strike really hurt, and this pollen reeks, to be honest. But if that's all you have to offer, I'm afraid this will be the end of you, Adam." Cyrus cracked his neck as if he were warming up for a bout.

"Shut up, you stupid brat!" I yelled, channeling cosmic energy into my vine whip, creating enough pressure and force to sever the boy's arm.

A long, loud wail escaped him. As he bent over, seizing from the pain of his lost limb, I called my whip back to me. Slowly, I walked toward him and squatted down in front of him.

"Do you understand now the difference between you and me, boy?" I said, grabbing him by his hair to show him his severed arm.

Looking into his eyes, I saw the rage begin to boil. From all the countless battles I had fought, I could tell this was nearly over. There was no way he was going to come back from this. Watching the blood leak from where his arm used to be, I shook my head in pity.

"You know, if it weren't for your father, you would have had a bright future—no doubt about it. But because you are his son, you will face the same fate he will soon come to meet. He should have just shipped you off somewhere. This is no life for a kid."

After I finished speaking, I heard him mumbling.

"What did you say, you little brat?" I asked.

"I said, shut up, you evil bastard," Cyrus snapped, regaining the composure he had lost. "Don't you dare talk down about someone who only ever thought of others before himself. I don't think that's something you can possibly understand after what I witnessed you do, Adam." Cyrus said as he brought himself to one knee.

"Oh, but I do. My entire time in the service, that's all I did. I sacrificed glory, honor, and all the riches that came with it to be the soldier that our squad and military needed to thrive. So don't tell me what I don't understand, boy," I responded, my anger beginning to rise.

"Funny. And you're going to die without ever obtaining those things, too," Cyrus said, now standing tall, looking me dead in the eyes with newfound resolve. He quickly swatted away the hand that had been holding his hair. Then, all of a sudden, I felt a surge of cosmic energy erupt from him. An immense pressure fell upon me out of nowhere, causing me to buckle and lose my balance.

Looking up, I saw Cyrus take a few short steps toward me. As he approached, I witnessed something I had only seen a few Astral Behemoths perform. The arm I had severed off began to rapidly regenerate.

"What are you? These aren't the powers of the Solaris Constellation!" I stammered, struggling to form words under the immense pressure.

"I told you, Adam, I'm the one who will rid the universe of your pathetic existence," the boy responded as I saw him make his right hand flat, imbuing it with cosmic energy.

This was one of the few times I had truly felt fear—one of the few times I was uncertain whether these would be my final moments as I watched my reaper come for me.