Chapter 331: Karma (XLIX)

Step after step, I climbed.

The pressure, of course, didn’t ease—it increased… and by a fucking lot.

It pressed into my bones, crawled under my skin, and whispered at the edges of my soul.

“…So this is the Divine Stairway’s true nature,” I murmured quietly.

“Every step… is a conversation with the heavens themselves.”

At least, that’s what other people used to say when talking about their experience of climbing it.

The air around me shimmered faintly with golden mist.

I could feel fragments of something ancient stirring in it, tiny threads of divine energy, so pure they almost hurt to touch.

“If the rumors are right…” I said under my breath, pausing for a moment, “…then the higher steps should hold fragments of divinity themselves. The pure essence of creation.”

A faint smile crossed my face.

“For most gods, that’d be a lifetime’s dream.”

Clack.

Another step.

“But for me…” I exhaled slowly.

“It’s just a stepping stone.”

The stairway groaned faintly under my weight, as if the heavens themselves were acknowledging the arrogance in my words.

My aura trembled for a moment, but I steadied it, letting a thread of chaotic energy leak from my fingertips, shimmering like smoke made of starlight.

It didn’t rebel here.

Strangely.. it flowed… smoothly.

Almost too smoothly.

“Huh,” I whispered.

“Interesting. Maybe this place recognizes power outside order.”

The golden light around me began to twist, warping, stretching, until it finally broke apart again.

When my vision cleared, I found myself standing in a completely white space.

There was no floor, no ceiling, no horizon.

Just an endless blank.

“…So this is the second Heaven’s Stop.”

My voice echoed strangely here, as if the world itself was listening.

I flexed my fingers, and then I felt my chaotic energy completely blocked, as if there was some kind of seal not letting me use it.

And from what I’ve seen… it was probably suppression from divine laws.

“Really…?” I muttered, rolling my shoulders stiffly.

“This is bad…”

The air in front of me rippled.

From the stillness, a shape began to form, a translucent figure made of pale light. It had no mouth, no eyes, no expression.

A god’s phantom.

It didn’t speak as it didn’t need to.

The pressure it released said everything.

I watched it for a second, feeling the faint hum of power running through the void.

Then I exhaled softly.

“Alright then,” I said, tugging my sleeves up to my elbows.

A faint smirk curved my lips.

The phantom lowered into a fighting stance.

And I mirrored it, sliding one foot back, lowering my center of gravity, one hand open, the other forming a seal.

The air cracked.

The phantom moved first.

It dashed forward, faster than most gods could blink. Its fist came straight for my face — no energy, no tricks, just pure, clean power.

BAM!

I crossed my arms to block, but the impact still pushed me back a few steps. My feet scraped against the white ground, leaving faint marks.

“…Strong,” I muttered, lowering my guard just in time to duck another punch.

The phantom didn’t stop. It spun and drove a kick toward my ribs.

THUD!

I blocked again, this time with my knee, then leaned forward and threw a quick jab at its chest.

WHAM!

The phantom slid back a few meters, its body flickering like smoke. It didn’t groan, didn’t flinch, it just reset its stance and charged again.

We traded blows.

BAM!

CRACK!

THUMP!

Every hit shook the air around us.

I ducked low, swept my leg under its stance, but it jumped and slammed its heel down toward my shoulder.

BANG!

The ground cracked.

My shoulder burned, but I grinned anyway.

“Not bad.”

I stepped in close and slammed my forehead into its face.

THUD!

It staggered back, just a bit, and that’s when I saw it.

An opening….

I grabbed its arm, twisted, and drove my knee straight into its gut.

WHAM!

The phantom’s body flickered again, but before I could finish it, it smashed its elbow into my side.

CRACK!

The pain shot up my ribs. I didn’t move away; instead, I leaned into it.

“Come on,” I hissed under my breath.

I let it hit me again, just enough to close the distance. Then I drove my own fist straight into its jaw.

BAM!

My knuckles felt like they hit stone, but the phantom’s head jerked sideways.

I didn’t stop.

Left hook.

Right punch.

Knee.

Elbow.

Each strike pushed it back, step by step.

“Grrr—!”

The phantom finally swung wide, its fist cutting through the air. I ducked, slipped under its arm, and slammed my shoulder into its chest, hard enough to send it flying.

BOOM!

It hit the ground and slid for a few meters, leaving white trails behind.

I spat a bit of blood to the side, wiped my mouth, and rolled my neck.

“Heh… You hit harder than you look,” I muttered.

The phantom stood again

Cracks of light ran across its body, glowing faintly as if his power had increased throughout a supernatural force.

“Alright,” I said, taking a step forward, lowering my hands like claws.

My breathing slowed, my muscles tensed.

No more clean moves.

I let my instincts take over.

When it came in again, I didn’t block. I ducked under its swing, grabbed its arm with both hands, and bit down on its shoulder.

The taste was strange — like burning metal and light.

The phantom tried to pull away, but I twisted its arm and slammed it face-first into the ground.

SLAM!

It broke free, throwing a punch that caught me in the jaw.

CRACK!

My vision blurred for a second, but I used that same momentum — spun around and drove my heel into its neck.

THUD!

Both of us backed off for a breath.

The air between us was shaking, our feet pressed deep into the ground.

I smirked, blood running down my lip.

“Yeah,” I muttered, flexing my hands, “that’s more like it.”

The phantom didn’t answer; it just rushed me again.

And this time, I didn’t dodge.

I ran straight at it.

THUD!

Our fists met in the middle, and the sound echoed like thunder. The shockwave pushed air outward, kicking up a cloud of white dust.

The phantom stepped in again, swinging for my ribs.

I caught its wrist with one hand, blocked its follow-up punch with my forearm, and drove my knee into its stomach.

WHAM!

It bent forward, but its head snapped upright after and hit me in the chin.

CRACK!

I stumbled back a step.

It didn’t give me time; a roundhouse kick came straight for my temple. I raised my arm, blocking it, the impact numbing my whole side.

Before it could pull its leg back, I grabbed its ankle and yanked hard.

THUD!

It hit the ground, rolled, and came back up fast. Its left hand shot toward my throat.

I swatted it aside, but it turned the movement into a backfist that clipped my cheek.

SMACK!

I gritted my teeth, stepped in close, and slammed my elbow into its chest.

BAM!

The phantom’s body shuddered, light cracking along its form. It tried to counter with a straight punch, but I leaned left and drove a punch into its ribs.

THUD!

It exhaled sharply, air bursting out like a gust.

Then it lunged again, low, aiming for my legs. I jumped back, but it caught my knee mid-air and twisted.

Pain flared, and I crashed down.

“Tsk!”

I rolled just as it tried to stomp on my head. The ground split under its foot. I came up fast, fist flying.

CRACK!

My punch hit its jaw clean, spinning it sideways. I followed with a left hook to its ribs, then another to its face.

BAM!

BAM!

It staggered but didn’t fall.

It swung wildly, hitting my shoulder, but I barely felt it.

I stepped in again, caught its arm under my own, and twisted hard.

CRACK!

The joint popped, dislocated.

The phantom’s body jerked, its arm hanging uselessly.

Before it could react, I grabbed that same arm with both hands and yanked, pulling it down with me as I spun.

Using the weight, I threw it straight over my shoulder.

SLAM!

The sound hit like thunder.

The phantom hit flat on its back, cracks spreading out from the impact. I didn’t give it a second.

I raised my leg, and brought my heel down.

BOOM!

The kick connected right with its head. The light inside it burst outward, white and gold, blinding for a second, then faded.

“…Finally.”

The phantom’s body turned to mist and broke apart, fading into the white space.

I stood there, chest rising and falling, my knuckles bleeding faintly.

“…Hah.”

I looked down at where it vanished, wiped the blood from my lip, and muttered,

“Second one down.”

[You’ve absorbed the phantom of a False True God.]

[Your body has been slightly refined.]

[Your authority has strengthened.]

Looking at the notification, I smirked lightly.

Then I turned toward the next direction, the faint golden platform already forming again ahead.

It seems that I’ll gain a lot from climbing this stairway~

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