Path of Absolute Transcendence

Chapter 120: 120. Clone

As Kai and The Shadow approached the ethereal fragments, a silent agreement passed between them, their eyes locked on the prize before them.

"May the best man win," Kai said, his voice tinged with a challenge.

The Shadow nodded, a smirk playing on its lips. "Luck is for the unprepared. I trust in strategy."

The moment Kai's fingers brushed against the fragment, The Shadow's hand shot out towards him, but it passed through Kai's form as if he were made of mist. Kai turned, his expression one of amusement. "Do you still not learn your lesson?"

"I was merely testing whether you are an astral body or a real one," The Shadow retorted, confidence undiminished. "Now that I know you're just a manifestation, I can take everything for myself."

Kai's smile never wavered as The Shadow launched an energy attack. With a casual flick of his wrist, Kai deflected it, his demeanor calm and collected.

In the midst of The Shadow's arrogant monologue, Kai's form shimmered, and with the use of his Quantum Decoy ability, he switched places with his astral projection, materializing on the battlefield.

The Shadow, caught off guard, sustained an injury from Kai's swift counterattack. Staring at Kai in horror, realization dawned upon him. "How many fragments do you have?" he asked, his voice a mix of fear and awe.

The battlefield, now a silent expanse of ruin and ash, served as the stage for the final act between Kai and The Shadow. The air was thick with the electric tension of their impending clash, a palpable current that seemed to charge the very ground beneath their feet.

Kai, his eyes reflecting a steely resolve, faced The Shadow, whose form was a shifting mass of darkness and malice. "This ends here," Kai declared, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade.

The Shadow, its voice a hiss of shadows, responded with equal conviction. "I will not be undone by the likes of you."

With a swift motion, Kai invoked his [Will Manipulation], the air around him igniting into an inferno of controlled flames. He directed the fire towards The Shadow, a wave of heat and light that tore through the battlefield towards its target.

The Shadow, caught in the onslaught, let out a roar as its disguise was ripped away, revealing its true form—a creature of neither the human realm nor the beastly, but a grotesque fusion of both. It howled, a sound of fury and pain, as it launched itself at Kai with renewed ferocity.

Kai stood his ground, the flames at his command responding to his every thought. He met The Shadow's charge with a wall of fire, each ember a soldier in his army of light. The Shadow, its form now a maelstrom of darkness, clashed against the fiery barrier, its strength amplified by its rage.

The battle was a spectacle of fire and shadow, a duel of powers that defied the natural order. Kai's flames surged, seeking to consume The Shadow, while The Shadow's dark energy fought back, a tide of night against the day.

As The Shadow lunged, Kai deftly maneuvered, his form a blur amidst the flames. He countered with a barrage of fire that shaped itself into lances of pure destruction, aimed with precision at the heart of The Shadow's form.

The Shadow, its form writhing in the flames, retaliated with a blast of dark energy that sought to extinguish Kai's fire. But Kai, undeterred, shaped the flames into a vortex that absorbed the attack, turning it into fuel for his own power.

The two combatants were locked in a dance of destruction, their battle a testament to their wills. Kai, with a flourish of his hand, sent forth a cascade of fire that enveloped The Shadow, its light piercing the darkness that surrounded them.

The Shadow, desperate, unleashed a wave of energy that shattered the ground, sending shards of the battlefield skyward. But Kai, with a gesture of defiance, turned the debris into a rain of fire, a meteor shower of his own making that hammered down upon The Shadow.

As the battle reached its crescendo, The Shadow, now a figure of desperation, gathered the remnants of its power for one final, devastating strike. Kai, sensing the impending attack, prepared to meet it with the full might of his fire.

The collision of their powers was a cataclysm, a burst of light and darkness that destroyed the already barren battlefield further, making it unrecognisable. And when the light cleared, Kai stood victorious, the flames around him dying down to embers, while The Shadow lay defeated, its form dissolving into the night from which it came.

Kai's victory was hollow, the shadow before him nothing more than a simulacrum—a mere fragment of a more sinister whole. As the clone's form began to unravel, it locked eyes with Kai, its smirk a silent taunt. "You think you've won?" it hissed, its voice a chilling echo. "This is but a shadow of my true self. You'll never claim the last fragment, not without destroying me entirely."

Kai, taken aback by the revelation, felt a surge of anger at the deception. But his surprise was fleeting, replaced by the cold composure that had served him well in his nefarious pursuits. "A shadow or not," Kai retorted with a sneer, "you are but an obstacle in my path. And like all others before you, you will be overcome."

The shadow's form flickered, its existence hanging by a thread. "Your arrogance blinds you, Kai. My master is beyond your reach, and your quest for the fragments will be your undoing."

Kai's eyes glinted with malice. "We shall see," he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "Your master will fall, and the fragments will be mine."

'As I thought, the fragment in shadow's possession disappeared with it.'

With that, the shadow's presence faded completely, leaving Kai alone with the two fragments he had secured.

'As I thought, the fragment in shadow's possession disappeared with it.'

Kai sighed and turned to turned the two fragments in his hands, their surfaces etched with intricate patterns that seemed to dance in the dim light. They were almost complete, only one piece remained, and with it, he can leave this world.

The dust of conflict settled like a somber shroud over the ruins of the once-majestic kingdom. Kai, with the weight of victory and the fragments in his possession, called out to Shark Head, his voice echoing through the desolation. "We're leaving," he declared, his tone leaving no room for debate.

Shark Head emerged from the shadows of Kai's hideout, his presence a silent testament to the war he had chosen not to partake in. "I will accompany you," he proposed, his voice a murmur against the backdrop of destruction.

Kai considered the offer, his eyes scanning the horizon of broken spires and fallen banners. A nod was his silent acquiescence. Together, they took a lingering look at the remnants of glory, the air heavy with the ghosts of screams and the clangor of steel.

As they stepped beyond the barrier that had once shielded the kingdom, a network of cracks began to spider-web across its surface. The sea, ever a relentless force, found its way through the fissures, saltwater seeping into the heart of the kingdom.

The cracks grew, voracious and unstoppable, as the water's persistent flow widened them. The kingdom, nestled in the bosom of the sea, trembled under the assault. The barrier, once a bulwark against the tides, now succumbed to the very element it had held at bay.

With a sound like the world's end, the cracks burst open, and the sea rushed in with the fury of a thousand storms. The kingdom's walls, its towers and homes, crumbled under the onslaught, the sea reclaiming what was once its domain.

Shark Head stood, a solitary figure against the chaos, his gaze fixed on the destruction of his homeland. No words escaped him, no cries of anguish or roars of rage. Only silence, profound and poignant, as he bore witness to the end of an era.

The sea did not discriminate in its wrath; it swallowed everything, leaving naught but memories in its wake. The kingdom was no more, its legacy now etched in the annals of history and the hearts of those who would remember.

As the barrier's last remnants gave way, the kingdom's final breath was a bubble rising to the surface, a silent farewell. And above, the stars looked down, indifferent spectators to the drama that had unfolded in the depths below.

Kai and Shark Head disappeared into the embrace of the night, the echoes of the fallen kingdom a distant lament on the wind. The sea closed behind them, a curtain drawn on a stage where the play had reached its tragic conclusion.