Awakening: Reincarnating With the SSS-Level Extraction Talent

Fwish! Fwish! Boom!

Dark tendrils began slithering out of the abyss, originating from the section of the domain cloaked in shadow, the side ruled by Veyrion and Nocturne.

The tendrils moved like snakes of pure corruption, twisting and writhing as they tried to consume the radiant beauty of the [Garden of Destiny], aiming to drown it in darkness.

But the garden would not yield.

The luminous energy that formed the garden's heart pulsed brighter in response, casting out waves of purifying light that forced the dark tendrils back, scorching them like sunlight on frost.

Each time the darkness surged forward, the light surged in turn, repelling it.

Each time the light dared push into the darkness, it was repelled just as strongly.

A perfect stalemate had formed, two opposing forces unwilling to yield, unable to conquer.

Neither side dared cross into the other's territory.

The risk of annihilation was too high.

The moment one stepped too far, the other would strike.

Death would be instant. At least, that's how it looked.

Until something shifted.

The focus of everyone present, including those hidden in the gloom, was suddenly drawn to a voice.

Clear, emotionless, and absolute.

[What do you want me to cut?]

It was the [Angel of Destiny].

His voice carried across the entire domain, effortlessly reaching every ear, regardless of distance.

He stood between the light and the darkness, his form serene and unmoved, his golden eyes now locked on both Kaelios and Alex.

The two turned toward him.

They had not forgotten the angel was there.

Of course not, but being reminded of his presence like this, it changed something.

It meant they still had a chance, one last opportunity to shift the balance.

The angel's voice grew louder, more authoritative, more divine.

[We are within our domain,] he stated calmly, the glow around his body intensifying as if reflecting the will of the very world itself.

[Both of you can ask. I will listen.]

"!!!"

It was a rare chance, and Kaelios didn't hesitate, not even for a single breath.

He raised his hand and pointed straight toward the looming shadow.

"I want you to cut my enemies!" he shouted, his voice clear, fierce, and absolute.

[Very well.]

The angel moved.

He stepped forward with a fluid motion, his golden blade appearing in his hand like it had always been there, and without delay or ceremony, he swung.

FWISH!

The blade traced a clean diagonal arc through the air, and for a moment, everything went still.

Then, the sky split open.

BOOOOOOM!

A massive shockwave tore across the [Creators' Domain], sending tremors through both light and darkness.

The black fog rippled violently, like water struck by a boulder.

The cut itself seemed to pass through dimensions, and less than half a second later,

FWISH! SLASH! SLASH! BAM!

"GAAH—!"

"Urgh...!"

Veyrion and Nocturne both staggered back, blood spraying from their mouths.

Deep slashes had torn through them, clean, merciless, and undeniable.

The pain was instant and all-consuming.

Nocturne collapsed.

His body convulsed as he dropped to one knee, clutching at the wound that tore across his chest.

It was far too deep.

His strength faltered, his vision blurred, and against his will, tears welled up in his eyes from the sheer agony.

He looked to Veyrion.

"...Veyrion... we... fucked... up..." he gasped.

And then, his body hit the ground.

Still. Motionless. Dead.

DING!

["Nocturne, The Chosen One of Darkness" has been killed.]

The message appeared before everyone, impossible to ignore.

And then another one followed right after.

[As your "Chosen One" has been eliminated, your powers will be halved for two weeks.]

Veyrion's expression contorted as his eyes went wide.

He wasn't just shocked, he was frozen.

His face twitched, his jaw clenched tightly, and his pupils dilated in raw disbelief.

And then, another panel, this one not from the system, but from the [Creators] themselves, flashed crimson before his eyes.

[It looks like you weren't strong enough in the end. What a waste of time you were.]

His lips parted slightly, and for the first time in a long while, he trembled.

"No..." he muttered.

But denial wouldn't stop the pain.

He was bleeding heavily, weakened by the same divine cut that had felled Nocturne.

It was a fatal wound. And if nothing changed, he'd die too.

"I... will not fall... not here... not like this!" Veyrion roared, his voice echoing with fury and desperation, "THE DARKNESS WILL PREVAIL!"

Suddenly, the shadowed half of the domain surged violently.

FWISH! BOOM!

The darkness no longer tried to invade the garden.

Instead, it turned inward, all of it collapsing toward Veyrion.

Every shadow, every tendril, every corrupted thread of that domain began spiraling into him, drawn to his core like a black hole.

"ALL I NEED IS TO KILL YOU!" he screamed, "NOTHING MORE!"

As the darkness was absorbed into his body, it twisted him further.

His skin cracked and darkened, his mouth warped, his eyes became voids of swirling black, and the smiling white mask he wore, once a symbol of madness, began to crack and leak shadow, like tears of ink.

FWISH! FWISH! BOOM!

Then, an explosion of dark energy.

The entire domain trembled.

Veyrion's body compacted into a small, pitch-black sphere, and that sphere rocketed into the sky.

And then...

BOOOOOOOOM!

The heavens above tore apart as a massive form emerged.

A towering figure, colossal in size, loomed in the sky.

The [God of Darkness] had returned.

His presence was suffocating.

Clouds of darkness swirled around him.

He was cloaked in a long hood, and that same cracked, crying mask was back, larger than mountains, hovering ominously over the world.

Alex's fists clenched.

This was it. This was the form Veyrion had taken in his previous life, the form that destroyed entire countries.

The form that killed him.

And now, it was back. But Alex didn't flinch.

He had a bad feeling, but it didn't control him.

Instead, his eyes narrowed, burning with determination.

"DIIIIE!"

Veyrion's voice boomed like thunder as he raised both hands, and in them materialized two immense [Swords of Darkness].

Each one could cleave a realm in half.

He gathered power for just a second, then swung down with full force.

The domain shook. The garden trembled.

Reality itself cracked under the weight of the attack.

Alex could see it clearly now, see the full scale of Veyrion's monstrous form.

He was dozens of kilometers tall, a god among mortals.

And as those blades descended, both Alex and Kaelios understood, if they were struck, they would die.

Instantly. Nothing would survive.

But Alex didn't hesitate.

He raised his hand, not toward Veyrion, but toward the sky, and the angel who still waited.

"I want you to cut the darkness," Alex commanded.

The [Angel of Destiny] said nothing at first.

He looked up, eyes glowing like twin suns.

Then, after a moment of silence,

[Very well.]

The angel knew.

Veyrion had survived the first cut by absorbing darkness.

To cut him again might only fuel him further.

But to cut the darkness itself, to destroy its source...

FWISH!

The angel moved.

He raised his blade and swung straight up, one clean, vertical cut.

BOOOOOOM!

The world screamed.

A blinding flash engulfed the sky, and for a few seconds, it was like the sun had shattered the night.

And then, it was over.

Veyrion didn't move.

His hands, frozen mid-swing.

His voice, silenced.

"...Why...?" he whispered.

"Why did I lose...? This is... impossible..."

He never finished the thought.

The angel hadn't struck his body, but the darkness that powered him.

With its source removed, Veyrion's massive form broke apart.

The blades he held crumbled.

His size shrank, rapidly, until he was just a broken, weakened remnant of what he had been.

His body, already torn from before, couldn't handle the collapse.

FWISH!

He exploded into a dark mist, gone.

Nocturne's corpse, now devoid of its sustaining energy, faded with him.

Not by the creators' will, but because the darkness could no longer hold them in reality.

The [Angel of Destiny] turned to the two remaining figures.

He gave a silent bow.

Then, his form dispersed into golden light, vanishing like the final note of a fading song.

The [Garden of Destiny] followed, dissolving around them, as Alex and Kaelios were brought back to the [Main Domain].

And there, the system message greeted them.

[The "God of Darkness" and "Chosen One of Darkness" have been eliminated. Two pairs remain.]

DING! DING! DING!

[Only two pairs remain. The "Main Round" is now officially over.]