## The Years of DestructionRight in the middle of a reinforced alloy hall, was a spherical manifestation of twirling darkness about three meters tall. Its very existence seemed to sap away the light present in the hall, hence it was called the rift. Two concave mirrors were placed on each side of the rift, and a strange crystal cone was placed right in front of it so that its pointed side was facing the floor. Yet the cone stood, not adhering to any known laws.On the other side of the room stood an officer, holding a young man of about sixteen years old, leading him trepidatiously toward the rift with fear and pity written all over his face. The boy had a tired look on his face, the image of the rift reflected in his crimson red eyeballs, that were void of any emotion save for suppressed fear, caged resentment, and stinging anxiety.The rift was greedily absorbing the soft glow of light in the hall, radiating immense, bone-chilling cold in return. Neo was shaking slightly and gritti
It was another day of death and blood in the Valley of Endless Battles. The sky was overcast, a more frequent occurrence lately. The day was still young, but the signs of the previous night's battle were still evident on the valley's terrain. Gargoyles and Harknidae were already converging in massive numbers, ready to continue where they left off the day before. The endless, harrowing cycle—an endless loop of death—was about to begin again.Neo, however, observed the activities from a particular ledge. His long, inky black hair fluttered in the wind. Something seemed different about his apparel; a deep blue cape was attached to his mantle, also fluttering in the wind and bolstering the grandeur of his stance. A great sword, silver with intricately running orange lines across its hilt, rested resplendently on his shoulder, held steady by his arm.With a sharp, unyielding gaze, devoid of emotion, Neo's expression darkened."Oh, Valley," he voiced, "I heard you never run out of fodder?"
The creature thrashed wildly, swinging its ample muscular frame around. Neo gritted his teeth, swinging like a loose hair strand, ensuring the willow vine remained firm. It didn't seem to work; the creature was furious, trying to rid itself of the parasite assaulting its body. But Neo was just too stubborn. During its wild thrashing, the creature struck the cave tunnel wall. A large chunk rained down, causing a chain reaction; a large slab of stone crumbled far away, covering a sizable portion of the tunnel. A smile threatened to break through Neo's grim expression; his plan was working. He just needed to inflict more pain. The creature was momentarily disoriented by the damage it caused, so Neo seized the opportunity to skewer another part of its belly. Repeating this several times, Neo tested his theory of pain. The creature's endurance finally gave out; it seemed to have had enough of Neo's shenanigans. It abruptly fell to the floor, rolling to crush Neo under its immense we
Neo's skin seared and hurt badly; the fur of the cave mantle was blackening and charring from the lightning coating his body. But that was the least of his problems. Bolstered by the speed of Ten Lives Per Second, further augmented by his Crimson Nebulae, Neo quickly escaped the cave chamber— where he killed the most harrowing creatue he'd ever faced, save for Seeker. Neo, being Neo, was quickly confronted with another problem. This wasn't surprising actually; he seemed to attract death and blood. One might say it was the price for having Soul Stinger and Bone of Contention, both weapons that cheated death in some way. Nonetheless, it could just be Neo's bad luck. "If only someone out there could fix my luck," Neo thought sullenly. Exiting the chamber, Neo found himself in a tunnel leading to the cave exit. He could see the pristine sunlight at the other end, but it seemed miles away. Worse, the tunnel was completely straight, offering little room to maneuver. If the harrowin
Neo pondered for a few moments, figuring the only person who he spent enough time with for the scent to rub off of him was Seeker. At least, that was Neo's assumption. There was a high possibility the leviathan feared him because of the ancient, mysterious man Neo had lived with for weeks. Thankfully, Seeker was gone, and Neo wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. But aside from that, after the creature spared Neo, it must have abandoned its wait-and-bait game. It compelled Neo to kill it so it could sacrifice its life for its unborn child. “Actually, scratch that; I’m not sure about any of this nonsense,” he muttered. “Being lonely has finally ruined my sanity,” Neo mused, shaking his head in self-deprecation. “So, what am I to do with this egg? Fry it, scramble it, or destroy it and gain more leviathan souls and probably a specter? Perhaps I’ll go with the third one,” he thought, laughing at his own dry humor. The prospect of an easy, stress-free leviathan soul was ecs
Neo stared at the creature's carcass with astonishment. He still couldn't comprehend what made it slay itself, but further thought wouldn't change anything.There was much to harvest from a creature of that caliber: its tough scales and extremely dense bones would be very useful. Feeding on the creature wouldn't be worthwhile; partly because Neo felt a connection to it, and mostly because it would be so tough it might not even digest. He'd rather eat his nameless soup or some cayherd. It wouldn't be pleasant to see the meat return whole after a stressful voyage through his digestive system.Neo summoned Weeper's Fury and got to work.He climbed onto the creature, his legs trembling slightly. He was actually standing on a leviathan! What if it was just pretending to be dead? he thought. But he quickly dismissed his doubts and began.Even though it would have been cleverer to start from the deep laceration in its underbelly, Neo couldn't turn the whole creature over. Not only because
Neo walked toward the creature. Wisps of crimson lightning crackled beneath his eyes. The massive creature's soul came into view, but instead of a single soul shrouded in a misty haze, there were two: one mature, the other immensely fragile and weak.Neo's expression remained placid as he moved with a steady gait. He raised his right arm and thrust it toward the mature soul. His arm phased through the creature's body as if cutting through air, striking the soul—a pristine orb. Cracks spread across its surface, but then something strange happened.The cracks immediately began to close, restoring the soul to its whole state. But before this process was complete, the creature intentionally halted the healing, and the cracks reappeared. The soul shattered into countless pieces, finally free from the curse of corruption. Essence from the dead soul, bending the will of the realm, flowed into the less mature soul—the power of a leviathan.[Reaping: You have slain an Amok Leviathan: Heavenly
After seeing the gigantic eye, Neo's initial reaction was to flee—something he had become quite proficient at recently.But then he didn't. He had a sudden, strange feeling that something was off. Whenever he was agitated or frantic, there was always an adrenaline rush born from fear or panic, accompanied by the killing intent surging from the threat. Neo's brain had summed up these feelings as a beacon of danger. So, since one of them was absent in his current situation, he couldn't help but notice that the giant eye, or whatever creature it belonged to, wasn't releasing any killing intent whatsoever. That was even the reason behind Neo's impetuous act of climbing the ledge, without even taking notice of the creature lying in the darkness within.Neo silently contemplated for a split second whether he should leave or check out the cave. His logical reasoning was trying to rip him apart from within, scolding him for even having the thought of staying.A wry smile suddenly appeared on
Neo breathed gently and sat down. He summoned another Dew Heart and took it, calming his nerves in the process. The sounds of carnage below him were muffled as he made a mental note of his next steps. It might take forever, but at that moment, Neo, in his little heart, determined he was going to leave that cursed valley, even if it was the last thing he did. His slightly long and bushy hair fluttered gently in the wind, as if in approval of his immense conviction. And for the first time in many years, a thin veil of cloud loomed above the Valley of Endless Battles, besmirching the ever-pristine radiance of the sun. Neo rose to his feet and stared down. Since there was no winged Seeker to break his fall, if he jumped down, he would only end up as a blood puddle. The ledge he was standing on was at least forty meters from the floor. There was no way he would fall from such a distance without reducing himself to a bloody goo. Well, maybe not, but then. Neo wasn't so much into risk
REAPER'S GLYPHS [language of the divine]Name— Reapling Neolin. Progress: Beast souls— 28Monster souls— 16Demon souls— 1…..Innate ability— Crimson nebulaeRemarks: You wield a tremendous power; its prowess can only be limited by your mortal body.**Reaper's gifts— soul stingerReaper's remark: Energy is the foundation of all things. Perks: You gain great affinity to souls of the living. You can repair or destroy it.Quirks: During each attack, your souls becomes exposed.Progress— 3Specter— Ten lives per second (soul tied), bone of contention (soul tied), cave mantle, weepers fury, whispering fang, willow vine, moon witness, dew heart, dragon blaze.Skin-?Phantom-?Neo had forgotten the ecstasy of entering his soul core for a while. Checking the glyphs with the backdrop of the mist was kind of aesthetically pleasing, or probably being in his soul core was kind of soothing. Neo couldn’t tell which. Not that it mattered anyway. There were also some noticeable changes in Neo’s
Success Umujose
simply a masterpiece
Adegbenro David Adekitan
this is one of the few books you will quickly realise the author put their heart into, in short, this is a masterpiece. i recommend