Chapter 16 – The Resonance of Despair

The world around Raphael shuddered, as if the very ground beneath his feet was afraid of what was about to come. Nyx's presence loomed above him like a storm on the horizon—imminent, unstoppable, and cold. The battlefield, once a clash of wills, had transformed into a realm of distortion and decay. The air felt charged, thick with an unsettling energy that clung to the skin like sweat, refusing to let go.

Raphael's heart hammered against his chest, but his body was no longer the frail vessel it once had been. His skin, now coated in a shimmering aura of golden light, pulsated with the rhythm of his power—the hum of the Resonance. Yet beneath that light, a darkness crept through him. A hunger.

He had felt it before—this gnawing sensation that no amount of strength could satiate. The longing for something more. Something beyond.

But Nyx's gaze, burning with the weight of infinite time, pierced through his resolve. The void-walker's presence wasn't just an obstacle—it was an affliction. Every inch of space between them felt like an eternity of pressure, forcing Raphael to bend against his own will.

"Do you understand now, Raphael?" Nyx's voice was like the slow turn of a blade, cutting deep without ever needing to make contact. "Power is not enough. Not when you're nothing more than a speck in the void."

Raphael's fists clenched, each bone cracking in response to the surge of force that ripped through his body. The wind howled, whipping around him like a living thing, but the storm felt empty, as if nature itself had lost its will to fight.

No.

Raphael would not accept this.

He couldn't.

Not yet.

His voice rumbled through the chaos, a low growl that raked against the air. "You're wrong. Power is everything. It's all I need."

And in an instant, the battlefield exploded with the full force of his rage. A shockwave emanated from him, shaking the ground until it cracked wide open, swallowing the earth in a massive chasm. Trees, rocks, and structures were torn apart as if they were nothing more than dust—nothing compared to the roar of his heart, the vibration of his soul.

The space around him warped, reality twisting under the strain of his power. Every beat of his heart sent ripples through time, forcing the air itself to crack and bend, until he stood on the edge of something far greater.

But Nyx didn't flinch. He waited, the blackness in his eyes deepening as the ground beneath him shifted, bending in time with his energy. The wind stilled. The earth quivered.

"You think you can break through your limits with force alone?" Nyx's voice cut through the air again. "What will you do when your power crumbles? When there's nothing left to conquer, nothing left to break?"

Nyx raised a hand, and with it, the sky above them darkened. Not with stormclouds—but with the weight of nothingness itself, pressing down upon them. The air grew cold, freezing Raphael's breath in his chest. A barrier of black light surrounded Nyx, and for the briefest of moments, Raphael felt the pull of despair.

But then, something broke.

Raphael's body exploded with the sound of cracking thunder, his aura spilling over as he thrust his hands forward. His entire being ignited in a cascade of golden light—the Resonance consuming him, feeding on his desperation.

No.

He would not be swayed. He refused to fall.

He tore through the oppressive dark, reaching beyond himself. His fists, now extensions of his will, collided with the very fabric of the air itself, creating ripples that sent shockwaves out in every direction. The space around Nyx shattered, as if reality itself was pushed to its limit.

A crack echoed across the battlefield.

Then another.

Raphael's eyes burned with fury, his body now a vessel of unstoppable force. He lunged forward, his body tensile, bending the world around him. The shockwaves from his movement could be felt miles away, the air whipping in all directions, and the very earth shuddered under the weight of his intent.

But Nyx—

Nyx didn't move.

Instead, the void-walker simply extended his hand, and with a single motion, Raphael's relentless attack was reduced to nothing. Not blocked. Not absorbed. But dispersed, as if it had never existed in the first place.

Raphael's breath caught in his throat.

It was as though his every effort, every shred of power he had just unleashed, had been swallowed whole by the void—by Nyx.

"Do you see?" Nyx's voice was like a whisper in his mind, chilling and infinite. "You are nothing. Just a child playing with powers far beyond your understanding."

The world tilted. Raphael's knees buckled, and for a brief moment, he felt the heavy weight of his own limitations—the truth of his own mortality. He wasn't all-powerful. Not yet.

But the fire within him refused to go out. It wouldn't.

His hand slammed into the ground, causing the earth to split beneath his touch. Energy surged from within him, flooding the battlefield. A massive pillar of golden light erupted, its radiance so fierce that it cut through the air, disintegrating everything in its path.

This was the power of the Resonance.

And it was his.