From Human to Skeleton: Revived with Infinite System Crystals

Chapter 104: Shimmers of Breaking

Ty's skeletal hand clutched his skull just as the man, cloaked in smoke, lunged forward with predatory speed.

He exhaled a stream of smoke, a prelude to his impending strike. With a swift, powerful motion, he unleashed a punch that connected with a resounding crack against Ty's frame.

The force of the blow sent Ty skidding backward, his skeletal form cutting a swath through the ocean's turbulent surface.

Water sprayed and churned around him, reflecting the moonlight in a chaotic dance.

Ty battled against the waves, struggling to right himself, the saltwater stinging where his flesh once was.

Above him, the man hovered, a silhouette backlit by the moon, his figure intermittently obscured by the drifting smoke. His next move was shrouded in uncertainty.

The man, hovering above the ocean, swiftly dived towards Ty, who was struggling to stay afloat amidst the crashing waves.

As he closed in for a strike, a chained Kama blade suddenly emerged from the water and into Ty's hands.

The transition from orange to green in Ty's fiery eyes indicated a resurgence of clarity.

Reacting instinctively, Ty swung the blade at the man. It was a close call; the blade barely missed, grazing the man's cheek and drawing a thin line of blood.

But in the blade's continuous motion, it swung back unexpectedly, slamming into Ty's side.

The force of the impact crushed his black bones, sending jolts of pain through his skeletal form.

Reeling from the blow, Ty winced as the bones began to rapidly heal. Holding the blade, now back in his grasp, Ty steadied himself, his mind racing to adapt to the weapon's unpredictable nature.

Meanwhile, the man, slightly wounded but undeterred, prepared to press his attack, capitalizing on Ty's momentary vulnerability.

Cursing under his breath, Ty grumbled with frustration, "This is why I like to just use my fists; never broke my own rib with my own hands." Gripping the handles of the chained Kama blade firmly, he found a semblance of balance, slightly hovering over the water.

Below his skeletal feet, black and red flames began to infuse, providing him a precarious yet empowering stance above the churning waves.

The roar of the crashing ocean filled the air, punctuated by the eerie sound of water droplets hitting Ty's skeletal frame. The man, hovering nearby, also cursed under his breath, realization dawning upon him.

"Where did he get a weapon?" he muttered, piecing together the events. It then struck him that Ty had been at the Cathedral with the other 'annoying brats,' as he disdainfully thought of them, a fact that added another layer of complexity to the already intense battle.

Caught in the heat of battle and only hearing a muffled grumble from the man, Ty shouted back in confusion, "Whaaaat?" His voice barely carried over the tumultuous sound of the ocean. Just then, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky in the distance, casting a brief, stark light on the scene.

Seizing the moment, the man dived towards Ty again. This time, his hands were positioned at his sides as if gripping an unseen object. Ty, reacting quickly, swung his Kama blade in a wide arc, aiming to intercept the man. The man, with precise agility, narrowly avoided the strike, standing rigid as the blade sliced through the air just inches from him.

Then, in a swift, fluid motion, the man made an upward slice. Ty felt a sudden, chilling rush of wind - a sign of an invisible blade cutting through the air.

Reacting instinctively, Ty managed to block the attack with his rib bones, which caught the unseen blade.

The collision sent a shiver through his skeletal frame, a stark reminder of the man's lethal prowess and the dangerous, unseen weapon he wielded.

Ty braced himself, ready for the next move in this high-stakes duel of wits and power.

As the man raised his hand high, he unleashed a massive cloud of smoke aimed at obscuring Ty's vision.

The smoke billowed out rapidly, enveloping the area and creating a smokescreen between them.

Ty, however, was not deterred. Anticipating the man's tactics, he reacted with his own countermeasure.

With a powerful surge of energy, Ty erupted a vortex of red flames, swirling them in a wild, expansive circle around him.

The intense heat and light of the flames cut through the smoke, clearing his immediate vicinity and disrupting the man's attempt to blind him.

Amidst the fiery maelstrom, Ty called out confidently, "I thought for sure the best way to get you was to let you dive back in for a strike."

His voice carried over the roar of the flames, revealing his strategic foresight. Ty had cleverly turned the tables, using the man's aggressive approach against him.

Ty, seizing the initiative, propelled himself towards the man with renewed determination. The man, in response, began to phase and shift, transforming into a light cloud, in an attempt to evade Ty's fiery onslaught.

The surrounding flames, fueled by Ty's vortex, licked at the edges of the man's smoky form, threatening to ignite him. Above them, thunder boomed ominously, each rumble drawing ever closer, adding to the intensity of the battle.

With the man now partially obscured by his smoke form and the flames, Ty swung the Kama blade in an effort to slice through the elusive figure.

He moved with precision, each strike aimed to cut through the man's defenses.

However, as he engaged, a voice echoed in Ty's mind, its tone laced with scorn and challenge: "How long do you think you can last?! You get a new toy and some new energy, and you think you're suddenly good?!"

"Shut the fuck up," Ty screamed into the night, his voice cutting through the chaos with startling intensity.

This outburst caught the man, who hadn't uttered a word, completely off guard. For a moment, he seemed lost in thought, almost as if taken aback by Ty's sudden defiance.

In a swift reaction, the man managed to catch Ty's swinging hand mid-strike, halting the momentum of the Kama blade. As they locked in this tense standstill, the man fixed Ty with a piercing gaze and posed a pointed question, "Why would someone like you ever protect the Kingdom?"

In a swift and unexpected move, Ty dislocated his wrist, maneuvering it in a way that caught the man's wrist in the process. He then slammed his feet, now ablaze with flames, against the air, propelling himself into a more advantageous position.

As they grappled mid-air, the Kama blades, seemingly with a mind of their own, swung in a wide arc beneath them.

Gaining momentum, the blades then hurtled towards the man's back at high speed.

Ty, using the moment to his advantage, shouted back defiantly, "I don't give a fuck about any side, I have my own shit going on, and I couldn't care less, but I draw the line at hurting people I care about!"

The man's curse sliced through the air as he narrowly evaded the Kama blade's lethal trajectory. Ty held the man's wrist just long enough to allow the blade to graze his side. Blood spurted from the wound, a rare sight that indicated even this formidable opponent wasn't invulnerable. In a reactive move, the man released a gust of smoke, billowing towards Ty with such force that it pushed him back.

As Ty steadied himself, the man clutched at his bleeding side, a mix of shock and anger evident in his expression.

He cursed again, incredulous that a blade had managed to inflict damage on his seemingly impervious form.

"Must be because it's of gold rarity," he mused, his eyes narrowing in realization. "It can move on its own but also responds to what this skeleton freak wants."

The man, keenly observing Ty, noticed the subtle signs of deterioration in his skeletal form.

Bits of dust were emanating from Ty's bones, yet his eyes, ablaze with green fire, showed no sign of faltering determination.

Capitalizing on this moment, Ty surged forward, aiming to land a decisive strike on his adversary.

In response, the man, still bleeding from his side, threw his hands outward, conjuring hundreds of smoke clones.

These clones simultaneously emitted a rippling cord of smoke, entangling Ty in their binding grasp. As the man looked on, blood still seeping from his wound, he declared, "I will just break you to ashes until you can't regenerate anymore."

However, Ty, undaunted, let out a chuckle.

He unleashed a ball of black flames that traveled swiftly down his sides, connecting with each of the smoke lines restraining him.

The intense heat of the flames rapidly burned through the clones, causing them to dissipate.

As they vanished, the man reappeared, launching himself at Ty with a crushing fist aimed directly at Ty's chest.

In that instant, the man bit down on his reignited cigarette, causing it to burst into flames. The action triggered a massive explosion, engulfing both combatants in a fiery Explosion.

The blaze that had surrounded them was suddenly consumed in the explosion, leaving the outcome of this dramatic confrontation momentarily obscured.