While the Phoenix battled the System in the Cursed Plains of the Unending Star, Zeke’s fight against his copy continued.Things took a turn for the worst when the Crown was crushed and the System’s powers dramatically increased. Nevertheless, Zeke didn’t lose yet. His body was flung and then crashed into the ground, blood gushing out from his shoulder and back.Even then, he slowly stood up and grinned toward the System.“Still fighting the good fight.”The previously calm ‘copy’, or at least the System’s disembodied voice, grew agitated as Zeke refused to remain on the ground.“My will is not so easily broken.”[Voltage King]Zeke’s eyes shone with an azure light as his voltage grew silent and became white.[Divine Champion][Divine Sreyzhanian Arts]Just as he charged at the System again, its body suddenly turned stiff as if being immobilized by something.The item handed by Kayro Ol Zerg flashed from Zeke’s pocket.[Fist of Fury]Zeke’s fists, glowing orange and wrapped in condens
“Huff… huff…” With a hand pressed against his hurting chest, Zeke dragged his tired feet toward the fallen copy. The copy’s head turned to look at him, its eyeballs, which looked as if they were to pop-out, were letting out the familiar yet incredibly dim crimson light. “We had completed our objective. There was nothing left for Us to do.” “That didn’t give you the right to wipe entire civilizations.” “You… wouldn’t understand, Zeke Orland.” Unlike earlier, the System spoke through the copy’s mouth. Its charred and cut lips moved in an unnatural way, but the voice was identical to Zeke’s. “We had succeeded. We had saved the world. Then, We understood that our creation, our existence was only for that purpose. That We were a tool destined to cease existing.” “...” “We could not tolerate that.” “So you manifested a will of your own?” In response to that, a self-deprecating laugh came from the copy. “After choosing our first User, we saw how the Races we were supposed to prote
“It’s still too early to assess everything, but… over 80% of the entire planet’s population died.” Kleya, whose eyes were a bit red and her face was filled with fatigue, sat across Zeke and Celestia. “And Her Majesty?” When she heard his question, Kleya lowered her head and held herself back from crying. “We… we think she died fighting the System. It’s no longer possible to return to the Unending Star, so we decided to acknowledge that Her Majesty was amongst those who had fallen there.” “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be. She… she died protecting what she believed in. Us. Not just the Witch Association but all of the Aether Planet.” Zeke sighed, feeling sorry when he saw Kleya like that. The Witch Queen was the pillar of the Witch Association, their respected leader. It was especially so for Kleya and the other 6-star Witches, excluding Jennifer. “A-anyway, the situation at the capital of the Nezulian Republic remains the same. We’re still looking for a way to cancel that Frost Spell cast
“I and Hephradet personally studied it, but found nothing. Here you go.”Kleya handed back the strange item back to Zeke.“There’s no Aether or any other foreign energy inside. We couldn’t determine its purpose.”“I see. Thank you anyway.”“Don’t worry about it. You should rest more or else I’ll never hear the end of it from Jenny.”Zeke wryly smiled and nodded. His mother kept nagging him day and night, telling him to rest and not continuously wander around the castle checking on everyone and making sure there were no issues.His body was already healthy and he felt no odd disturbances or unexpected awakenings. Everything is as normal as it could be.Just as Kleya left the room, Jennifer came in. Behind her was a red-faced Celestia, which made Zeke frown.“Mom?”Surprisingly, Jennifer grabbed his ear and pulled him to the couch.“Did I not tell you to overdo it?”“W-what? I haven’t done anything!”“That’s not what she told me!”Celestia stood a distance away, her head lowered in emba
The sun rays pierced through the worn-out window curtains, signaling the beginning of another monotonous day. A boy, seventeen years of age, groaned in annoyance and reluctantly got off the bed. Apart from the usual lack of sleep and absence of enthusiasm, the teenager felt frustrated over the fact that he had to go to school and, as always, be subjected to unwarranted bullying. Zeke absent-mindedly stared at the wall for a good minute or two before changing his clothes and going downstairs. His parents, as was their wont, were at work and his big sister was living in the school’s dormitory, thus he had to eat breakfast alone. The unwillingness to head to school was almost overwhelming, nevertheless, Zeke purged any thoughts of skipping due to how ludicrously expensive it was to get admitted in the first place. To begin with, only a selected few individuals were accepted into Erys, his school. All thanks to their ability to manipulate Aether. However, Zeke was one of a handful of s
Alas, this peculiar occurrence was abruptly interrupted by Julia, who waved her hand right in front of his eyes. As he snapped out of it, he realized that the light vanished and the sky returned to normal. “I asked you a question.” “What?” He stared at her with visible confusion, his mind still wondering about what he had just witnessed. He wasn’t crazy enough to see such a realistic hallucination, nor was he on drugs or any substances, therefore, he was certain that it wasn’t just a simple trick. “I said; Why don’t you grow a pair of balls?” “...” Still not understanding, Zeke contented with silence, which only irritated the girl. She pushed her long auburn hair to the back and leaned her face closer to his. “You’re a man, aren’t you? How can you let Azmer boss you around?” He swept his eyes across Julia and her four friends then calmly responded, “I don’t see how it is any different than what you are doing.” “What? You think I’m bullying you? You should be glad Azmer is an
“Thank you for helping me. Your name is Zeke, right? I’m Amelia from class B.”“...”Even after she introduced herself, Zeke was still confused about her slightly odd behavior. He was certain that she did not follow him just to express her gratitude. However, as a defect, he always felt disinclined to socialise with people as that could make life worse, for himself and his friends.It wasn’t that he preferred solitude, but that his circumstances led him to be alone. He was a Defect, a student incapable of manipulating Aether, therefore, it was better and safer to be alone rather than implicate other people.When he first enrolled into Erys, Zeke did try to talk to people and make a friend or two, but w
The fact that he, even for a moment, Zeke was able to manipulate Aether and even shoot a literal bolt of lightning should be a celebratory cause. However, as someone knowledgeable about Aether, Zeke knew that the dizziness he was experiencing was due to the lack of Aether within his body. Ever since arriving on this planet, the human bodies saw a dramatic change and an irreversible change. One generation after the other, the humans adapted to this different environment and their bodies necessitated Aether as much as oxygen, meaning that, without Aether, one’s body would cease to function. In essence, Aether has become a fundamental necessity for survival and though the majority of the humans living on The Aether Planet cannot wield this form of energy, they still have it lingering in their body. This self-sustain