Chapter 51
Fire and Darkness
Rushing towards Clive with Zantetsuken in hand, I then unleashed a giant slash of darkness, firing off a giant beam of dark energy. Narrowly dodging, Clive then unleashed a giant blast of purple levin, the energy itself taking the form of a sphere that I dodged before retaliating with a giant blast of dark magic. Suddenly, the nauseously radiant aura around Clive grew brighter, the light itself bursting and going out of control. Steeling myself, I took a deep breath before unleashing a violent surge of darkness, the energy itself extending off the orange glow of my Aura. As Clive primed into Ifrit, I then bellowed, "Come to me, Odin!", the dark energy around me turning into a dark red pillar which broke apart to reveal Odin's immaculate form. "Seems you've finally primed under your own power. But can you find it in yourself to defeat me?", Clive asked through Ifrit. "Try me.", I said, forming Zantetsuken in my right hand and Gungnir in my left. Charging forward, I then unleashed a furious flurry of stabs and slashes which Clive countered by unleashing a fiery volley of hellfire. Suddenly, my (or rather Odin's) body suddenly experienced a violent surge of red cyber energy, the energy itself covering my body and crackling. "That's the way!", Clive said through Ifrit, his radiant aura itself glowing even brighter. As the energy crackled around me, I then gathered the energy into Zantetsuken, the katana turning an even deeper red than before. "No, that's not possible.", Clive said through Ifrit, the radiant aura dissipating to reveal Ifrit Risen. "Oh? What's so shocking about my level of control over my Eikon?", I asked. "That's not it. I mean, maybe you really are like YHVH after all.", Clive said through Ifrit Risen.
Angered and incensed at this, I then unleashed an even darker burst of energy. "No, that isn't possible!", Clive fearfully said through Ifrit Risen. "Oh, I assure you it is.", I said, the energy then bursting out of control. As my anger overtook me, I then felt the dark energy burst even further as I jammed Zantetsuken into my chest. As Clive screamed "NO!", I felt the inner light within me fade as Odin warped into a knight clad in darkness itself and my eyes turned red. I then returned back to my human form as it promptly faded into darkness, only for the energy to burst a final time as my human form returned again. Smiling, I then unleashed a giant storm of elemental energy as my powers went berserk. Unwilling to drop my advantage, I fired off a stream of dark fireballs, following up the assault with a violent tornado. Ifrit Risen deftly managed to dodge the fireballs (if only just) only to get caught in the tornado, the wind astral energy contained within lacerating the Eikon's body easily. Laughing at this, I then primed into Odin, only for the Eikon's form to change into a knight clad in dark red armour with red cyber corruption flowing within the armour's "veins". "No.", Clive said through Ifrit Risen, horrified. "Don't be. This is what you wanted me to become. You wanted me to give up my humanity, to embrace the darkness within and become the Ruler of All Things. And now, you shall bow before me, Odin Fallen.", I said, unleashing a giant storm of dark energy. Horrified and terrified, Ifrit Risen tried in vain to fly away only for me to catch up to him very easily. "You're too slow, Rosfield! You're too slow!", I snarled as Clive screamed through Ifrit Risen. I then jammed Gungnir into Ifrit Risen's chest, forcing Clive to return to human form, prompting me to do the same.
Coughing up blood, Clive then asked me, "How are you so strong?". "It's simple, really. I gave up and rescinded that which made me weak. Everything I had that held me back, everything that made me inferior, everything that made me human!", I roared back, forming a giant storm of elemental energy around me. As a grim look formed on his face, Clive then gripped his sword tight and rushed at me, prompting me to rush at him in turn. Forming a pair of fiery wings on his back, Clive then unleashed a giant fire storm, yelling, "Phoenix!". Responding in turn, I unleashed a giant inferno, bellowing, "Flames unforgiving!", the inferno that I unleashed burning through the storm Clive unleashed. Undeterred, Clive unleashed a giant tornado whilst yelling, "Garuda!", only for me to unleash an even larger tornado as I bellowed, "Gales unrelenting!", with my tornado easily dispelling Clive's. Clive then formed an electric staff in his hand which he then used to fire a giant beam of electricity, yelling, "Ramuh!"; again, I called down an even larger levinbolt, bellowing, "Levin untamed!". Growing frustrated, Clive then formed earthen gauntlets on his arms and rushed at me, promptly jumping in the air and unleashing a giant punch that I easily blocked with my left arm as he cried out, "Titan!". Sighing, I then gathered a large amount of earth energy that I formed into a giant onslaught of stalagmites by kicking the ground, bellowing out, "Earth unyielding!".
Pushed back by the obscene amount of earth that I had unleashed, Clive then gathered a large amount of light that he fired as a giant white and orange beam, crying out, "Bahamut!". Facepalming, I then unleashed an even larger beam of light, bellowing out, "Light undying!". Narrowly dodging the beam I unleashed, Clive then unleashed a giant blizzard before focusing the blizzard into a giant eruption of ice whilst yelling, "Shiva!". Unimpressed, I then gathered a much larger contingent of ice around me which I then unleashed as a more focused blizzard, bellowing out, "Ice unfeeling!". Breaking out of the ice, Clive then formed a copy of Zantetsuken in his left hand that he used to unleash a weak slash of crimson darkness whilst he whispered out, "Odin.". Forming Zantetsuken in my right hand, I then unleashed a powerful slash of darkness whilst bellowing out, "Darkness unending!". Forming Gungnir in my left hand, I then unleashed a violent storm of darkness before I slashed forward with both weapons, with Clive unable to even properly counter. As he fell to the ground, I then walked over to Clive and stomped on his leg, breaking it. Clive cried out in pain, only for me to grab him by the throat, giving him a violent lift as he whimpered in fear. As disgust formed on my face, I then slammed Clive back to the ground as "I'm Here – Revisited" ended, the circle of fire that Clive used to encircle me dying down. "Pathetic.", I said as the two of us then heard a crack. "Y-You broke the Nightmare Void?", Clive asked. "Yes, I did.". I replied. "Why?", Clive asked. Unwilling to answer, I then turned around to look at Sage, only to see that she was gone. "Damn AI.", I grumbled as I formed Zantetsuken in my hand and slashed forward, creating a dark red portal that I walked through.
The story continues in the next chapter.