Chapter 75: 75. Skinning a lizard alive – 1

Tamasya was the child of darkness.

It was not a title she had chosen for herself, nor was it something she ever boasted about. It was simply a truth etched into her existence, a fact that had shaped her from the moment she first drew breath.

Darkness answered her instinctively, not because she commanded it, but because it recognized her as one of its own.

It bent toward her presence, thickened around her form, and obeyed her will with an intimacy that went beyond technique or cultivation.

That was the nature of her talent.

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Ruler of Eternal Darkness (SSS)

Effects:

1. Child of darkness:

Darkness and all energies derived from it are favorable to you and converge towards you. There is a high chance to awaken elements derived from darkness.

2. Innate understanding of darkness-

You instinctively understand how darkness and its derived elements function, interact, evolve, and counter other elements.

slight chance to create your own darkness-related spells and techniques

3. Innate Compatibility

All darkness-based techniques, artifacts, and energies can be wielded without backlash, corruption, or sanity loss.

4. Shadow Dominion

Within dim, shadowed, or dark environments, the host gains enhanced control, perception, and energy efficiency.

5. Darkness Assimilation

In darkness-filled areas, mastery of techniques and spells accelerates.

6. Suppression of Light

Light- and holy-type attacks of equal or lower rank are weakened in the host’s presence.

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When Tamasya had allowed her talent to flow through the Mark of Destiny and into William, the change had not been as immediate as William expected it to be.

There was no blinding flash, no dramatic eruption of shadow.

Yet, he could feel subtle changes in himself and his surroundings, which were difficult to explain normally.

He felt like he was present everywhere, yet he could only see what his eyes showed him.

But then in all the planning and frustration, the feeling diminished.

Soon after this talent had been shared with him, he awakened shadow affinity at absolute rank.

It was something he had tried to do for years inside the Domain of Infinity; he had sat countless hours in shadows in hope of awakening a shadow affinity.

He had studied the behavior of shadows, dissected their interaction with light, and had also practiced the Shadowborn Manifestation Art until it had consumed decades of his isolated training time.

And yet, all of that effort paled. The affinity had been achieved with a single talent.

William realized that natives of the Aris continent were not wrong when they judged a person based on the rank of their talent.

His primordial affinity had played its part, of course. It had already placed him in a unique position, allowing him to awaken new and rare affinities after a certain amount of exposure.

He had been confused why the shadow affinity that he awakened was at the absolute rank.

The system explained to him that Shadow was a derivative element. It was born from the fusion of light and darkness.

And since both of those affinities were something that he already possessed within him at absolute rank, the resultant element could not be anything less.

Due to the rank of shadow affinity being absolute rank, the Shadowborn Manifestation Art’s mastery increased to the grandmaster stage instantly.

Will felt his understanding of the technique surge forward as if an invisible barrier had shattered.

Movements of mana that had once required intense focus now aligned effortlessly.

Mana flows that he had earlier struggled to draw for hours now felt stable enough to persist without constant reinforcement.

Will groaned under his breath as an unfortunate realization settled.

He could not even begin to count how many years he had wasted grinding the shadow-born manifestation technique inside the Domain of Infinity.

He had spent years experimenting, failing, refining, and repeating the same patterns over and over again.

“If I had known this would happen,” he muttered to himself, “I would have swallowed my pride and asked Tamasya for help earlier.” Will, though, before shaking his head.

There was no time to dwell on it.

The situation in front of him demanded far more attention.

His body finished regenerating under the open sky, muscles knitted back together as sunlight washed over his wounds.

He pushed himself upright slowly, brushing dirt and scorched leaves from his clothing as his breathing steadied.

Above him, Vorin floated with arrogance as he just concluded the last words of his speech in front of the screen that broadcasted to the academy control room.

His posture remained relaxed as if he were watching an insect crawl back onto its feet.

“Oh?” Vorin said, his voice dripping with mockery. “Looks like the ant is finally ready to be crushed again.”

Before Will could respond, a sharp whistle tore through the air.

A silver blur streaked across the battlefield with a thunderous boom, slicing through wind and debris before slamming perfectly into Will’s outstretched hand.

The Crimson Aeon.

It had been thrown miles away earlier by the impact of Vorin’s kick, yet it returned without hesitation.

This was not the sword’s effect, nor was it some external trait that it had acquired after absorbing blood.

It was something Will had trained inside the domain of infinity when he trained for countless years: residual sword intent, which was embedded into the blade itself, responded to his presence and will and carried the blade back to his hands.

The sword vibrated once, as if acknowledging its master, before settling comfortably in his grip.

“These circus tricks won’t save you,” Vorin sneered. “Puny human.”

Will exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders as if loosening up before a workout. Then, after a long silence, he finally spoke.

“Ugh,” he said with visible irritation. “You talk too much for a sewage dweller. Why is your mouth always open? Do you work part-time at a brothel?”

The insult landed hard.

For the first time since the battle began, Vorin was reacting to a personal mocking comment.

No matter how much he prided himself on control, the boy’s venomous tongue had struck a nerve.

Even the strongest rocks had a cracking point.

The air exploded instantly.

A beam of space-shattering energy erupted from Vorin’s palm, the surrounding space warping violently as the attack screamed toward Will’s head.

The power behind it was enough to annihilate most Ascension-ranked warriors instantly.

Inside the control room, panic erupted.

“Fuck!” Klaus shouted, slamming his fist into the central table. “Why did he have to provoke him like that?!”

His chest tightened painfully. To him, it looked like a tragedy, a human prodigy about to be erased before reaching his potential. A future pillar of humanity snuffed out too early.

Before anyone else in the control room could say anything. The smoke cleared.

Will’s figure appeared standing in one piece.

His forearms were raised defensively; flesh was torn and scorched where the spatial energy had hit him.

Mangled flesh was hanging, and bones were visible.

Blood dripped briefly before sunlight poured over his wounds; muscle and skin knitted together with unnatural speed.

“Arghh,” Will groaned; he still felt pain.

But still, the spatial damage resistance had worked fully.

An attack that should have torn open space inside his skull had been reduced to mere surface-level trauma.

Smoke of regeneration curled off his arms as he lowered them, revealing his face.

The expression that was staring back at Vorin was something else.

Cold, predatory, almost a crazed smile.

For a fleeting moment, even the observers in the control room wondered who the true villain was.

Step*!

Step*!

Step*!

Footsteps sounded as Ethan’s figure emerged from the treeline behind Will’s back; his expression was heavy and serious, almost bordering on anger.

The moment he stepped into range, something subtle shifted in the air.

Vorin felt something immediately.

He felt a subtle twitch in his mana core.

Then a bit of pressure.

Then a lot of it.

Then he realized it: suppression so strong that Vorin’s mana rank almost dropped, reaching the starting edge of ascension rank rather than the peak he originally was.

His shock-filled eyes snapped toward Ethan as realization dawned upon him. He saw the aura surrounding the young man, which was making his demonic energy restless.

The aura of heavens and world-borne suppression was in full force.

For the first time since entering the domain, Vorin’s confidence wavered.

And the balance of the battle shifted.

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