Third Implantation (3)

Vastarael pushed himself deeper into the crushing abyss, the water pressing down on him like a living force, almost daring him to give in.

The sharks were relentless. He twisted and dove, narrowly avoiding one that lunged past him, its teeth missing his side by mere inches.

But he knew he couldn't keep running. His pseudo-core was burning like a dying star in his chest, draining his essence at an alarming rate. His body screamed for reprieve and his mind churned for a solution. It was then that an idea sparked, faint but growing brighter with each passing second.

The Codex Enchantment… Water Flood.

He had used it once before, summoning devastating floods to drown the Crimson Verdarite, but he had never used it underwater. Vastarael wasn't even sure if it would work here. The very idea of summoning a flood within an ocean felt ridiculous. But right now, it was his only chance.

He clenched Calimostria tightly, its sapphire edge faintly pulsing in tandem with his essence. Closing his eyes for just a fraction of a second, he channeled the last remnants of his energy into the Codex Enchantment. The words of power burned through his mind, searing into his thoughts like ancient scripture. He wasn't even sure the spire's strange physics would allow it to manifest, but that didn't matter. He had no choice but to try.

With a roar that shook the very water around him, Vastarael unleashed Water Flood.

The effect was instantaneous and overwhelming.

A massive surge of water exploded outward from his body, merging with the ocean itself. Millions of liters of water surged in every direction, creating a force so intense it warped the currents around him. But this wasn't just uncontrolled chaos. Vastarael had mastery over this flood. His divinity enhanced it and amplified it.

The water twisted and coiled at his command, forming a colossal whirlpool that dwarfed everything around it. The vortex spiraled downward, its currents so powerful that they ripped through the ocean floor, scattering debris and creating a deafening underwater roar. The sharks, who had been so ferocious and confident moments ago, now found themselves caught in the maw of the whirlpool.

Their bodies were dragged in without mercy, their immense sizes no match for the overwhelming force of the spinning waters. Sapphire spikes erupted around the edges of the vortex, Vastarael's essence forging them into razor-sharp harbingers of death. The crimson beasts thrashed wildly as the spikes pierced their bodies, their glowing red blood tainting the water in a horrifying display of carnage.

The sharks roars reverberated through the depths, shaking Vastarael to his core. Fins were torn from bodies and jagged teeth floated through the water like shattered glass.

Vastarael didn't stop there.

Sweat dripped from his brow—though it vanished into the water—as he pushed himself further, summoning the flood to form an even deadlier trap. He raised his glaive high and the whirlpool began to shift, its violent spirals condensing into a massive air bubble.

The bubble swelled outward, expanding until it was a colossal sphere of empty space within the ocean's embrace. The sharks, still trapped inside, suddenly found themselves without water to breathe. They thrashed and convulsed, their massive bodies slamming against the invisible walls of the bubble.

Vastarael floated just outside the bubble's edge, his breath steady but his body trembling with exhaustion. His eyes glowed faintly with sapphire light as he watched the horrors unfold inside. The sharks' movements grew slower, more desperate, their once-ferocious roars turning into weak, choked gasps. They couldn't escape. The air bubble was too vast, too perfectly sealed.

One by one, the sharks suffocated.

The sight was grotesque. Their crimson eyes dimmed, their once-powerful bodies going limp like massive, broken statues. Blood seeped from their mouths and wounds, forming crimson clouds that clung to the airless void.

Vastarael's pseudo-core burned hotter than ever, a warning that he was running on fumes, but he didn't care. He kept the bubble intact until the very last shark had fallen silent, its lifeless body joining the graveyard within.

And then, with a final, trembling effort, Vastarael released the flood.

The water rushed back in, filling the space where the air bubble had been, carrying the carcasses of the sharks away into the endless abyss. The displacement of air and water caused a whooshing sound but he didn't care.

Vastarael let out a ragged breath, his body nearly collapsing as he floated in the now-silent ocean. His essence was completely drained. Every fiber of his being ached with exhaustion and his pseudo-core felt dangerously unstable.

But he had survived. And he was still breathing.

Before he could revel in his victory—or curse the spire for putting him through this—the voice returned.

[You pass your second trial, Vastarael Richinaria.]

The voice was deep, cold, and filled with an ancient power that made Vastarael's blood run cold.

[You have endured suffering and proven your will to survive. But your journey is far from over. The spire demands more.]

Vastarael raised his head, his sapphire eyes blazing with defiance despite his exhaustion.

'Yeah? Well, bring it on,' he said in his mind. 'You haven't broken me yet.'

The voice chuckled.

[We shall see.]

As Vastarael floated in the quiet aftermath of his victory, his body heavy with exhaustion and his pseudo-core flickering like a dying ember, a sudden, sharp pain lanced through him. It wasn't gradual or expected. It was instant and absolute.

"Huh?" He managed to whisper, his voice barely audible through the water.

He barely had time to process what was happening. His vision blurred as a shadow moved in the water with impossible speed. Before his instincts could even scream a warning, a bright, glimmering blade sliced through his neck in one clean motion.

His head separated from his body.

Time slowed as Vastarael's decapitated head drifted in the water, his lifeless eyes wide with disbelief. The last thing he saw before the world turned dark was the figure of a mermaid, her form otherworldly and her features as sharp as the blade she wielded. Her spear shimmered with a cruel light, its tip dripping with the remnants of his essence. Her lips curved into a faint smirk.

A gesture of triumph.

It was always a woman.

His Bane. That cursed "Trouble in Paradise" struck again, the cruel irony of it cutting deeper than the spear ever could. Even in this moment of death, he realized how merciless the spire could be.

Darkness claimed him. He died.

°°°°°

For the second time, Vastarael descended into the unfathomable void of death. The cosmic horrors welcomed him like an old acquaintance, their grotesque features shifting and melting into unrecognizable shapes.

Gaping maws filled with infinite rows of teeth snapped at him, black tentacles that seemed to stretch across dimensions reached for his soul. Yet this time, something was different.

His soul was now like a barrier. Where before the horrors had consumed him, reducing him to nothingness, this time they recoiled upon contact with his soul. Vastarael's very presence seemed to scorch them, a radiant defiance emanating from his soul that kept the creatures at bay.

The void was still terrifying, a chaotic maelstrom of incomprehensible sights and sounds. Eyes as large as stars blinked in and out of existence, their gazes filled with the weight of eternity.

Giant, skeletal wings unfolded across the horizon, their owner unseen but omnipresent. A pulsating heart the size of a planet beat somewhere in the distance, its rhythm erratic and maddening.

But Vastarael wasn't paralyzed by fear this time. He floated through the abyss with a strange confidence, as though his soul had adapted to the horrors around him. The creatures hissed and howled, but they kept their distance. His essence burned like sapphire fire, lighting up the void and carving a path through the madness.

Still, the suffering lingered. Memories twisted into nightmares, voices whispered cruel truths and the weight of the void pressed down on him like a cosmic judgment. Yet Vastarael endured, his soul refusing to shatter.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the horrors faded.

°°°°°°

He gasped awake, his breath ragged and his chest heaving as though he had just surfaced from drowning. His hands instinctively shot to his chest, clutching at the place where his heart should have been. But there was no heartbeat. Just the faint hum of the pseudo-core keeping him alive.

And his head was back.

Before he could fully process the horror of his existence, he realized he was no longer underwater.

Rain fell in heavy sheets around him, soaking his clothes and hair. The air was thick with moisture and the sound of raindrops striking the ground echoed endlessly. But the ground itself…

He looked down and saw an immense platform beneath his feet, its surface smooth and reflective like polished obsidian. It stretched out infinitely in every direction, disappearing into the horizon. There was no edge, no walls, no sign of life, just the endless platform and the unyielding rain.

The sky above was a swirling void of dark clouds, lightning arcing across them like veins of light. Thunder rumbled, its deep vibrations resonating in his bones.

Vastarael staggered to his feet, his legs trembling from both exhaustion and the surreal nature of this place. The rain made his steps heavy, the water pooling around his boots before disappearing into the smooth surface beneath.

His Omniphage was absorbing the energies of his soul.

"What… now?"

He muttered to himself, his voice barely audible over the storm. His eyes scanned the endless expanse, searching for any sign of purpose or direction. But there was nothing.

Just rain, thunder, and the infinite platform.

And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him.

He tightened his grip on Calimostria, its sapphire blade glinting faintly even in this dark, oppressive place. Whatever this new trial was, Vastarael knew it wasn't going to be merciful.

And he wasn't going to beg for it to be.