Chapter 90 - 90
Chapter 90 - 90
Chapter 90: Chapter 90
Flashback
"Hikari!" a booming voice echoed through the vast chamber, a cavernous space that dwarfed even the mightiest of castles. The very air crackled with its power, a testament to the being who spoke. Hikari recognized the voice instantly – it belonged to the Golden Being, his father and the undisputed ruler of their celestial domain. The Golden Being himself sat upon a colossal throne sculpted from pure golden energy, its radiance casting an otherworldly glow upon the chamber. The throne itself was a marvel to behold, a testament to the immense power wielded by its occupant.
Hikari approached his father, his steps echoing in the vast emptiness. He wasn't alone. Seated upon seven smaller thrones, arranged in a semicircle around the Golden Being's own, were his siblings – the Seven Heavenly Kings. Their expressions were unreadable, but Hikari sensed a mixture of disappointment and anticipation in the air.
Hikari approached, his voice brimming with pride as he acknowledged his father, "Yes, Father." He swept his gaze across the room, taking in the expectant faces of his siblings.
Disappointment clouded the Golden Being's features. "I am deeply disappointed in you, son. You, of all my children, faltered against the Abomination. You were entrusted with a critical mission – to eliminate him before he posed a threat before he amassed the power to challenge me. You possessed the necessary energy, yet you failed. Instead, due to your failure, he was empowered, he became stronger from fighting you. He is drawing him closer to the very threat I sent you to extinguish."
He paused, his gaze piercing through Hikari. "Do you not understand? Lucy Morningstar would have intervened had I dispatched any of your other siblings. They would have gotten the job done. It is because of you I was attacked. Remember when your elder siblings, the Seven Heavenly Kings, attempted to rescue you? Their presence alerted her, forcing my hand to withdraw them before they could kill you when they intervened in your fight. She has the power to destroy me, Hikari and now the abomination is getting closer."
Hikari's throat tightened, a familiar weight settling in his chest. Disappointment from his father was a bitter pill to swallow. For eons, he yearned for his father's approval, a desire that had only intensified after his failure against the Abomination. Shame burned in his gut, the memory of his defeat a constant reminder of his weakness, of his uselessness. Yet, amidst the sting of disappointment, a flicker of defiance sparked within him. "But Father..." Hikari's voice trailed off, the familiar sting of disappointment burning in his chest.
"Enough! Silence!" boomed the Golden Being. "You were chosen for this mission precisely because due to how minuscule your power is, you unlike your siblings', wouldn't arouse her suspicion when you went to kill the threat. However, that's not why you stand before me today. You are weak, you failed, Hikari. You know what I do to those who fail me; they have no place here. But since you are my youngest creation birthed from me, I shall offer you one last chance."
Hikari's eyes widened in surprise. His father rarely offered second chances – banishment was the usual fate for those who failed his father. He had banished many, even L- but that thought was best left buried. Redemption, that was all that mattered now.
The Golden Being, sensing the shift in Hikari's demeanor, continued, "Indeed, a chance for redemption. But it comes at a cost. You will be banished temporarily or forever depending on how quickly and how you complete this task. You will be sent to the very prison realm I created for the abomination Noboru Chikara, after his uncle, Niju Chikara, utilized the forbidden technique. This technique sacrifices the user's omni-energy to me, in exchange for the Omni Energy I created a prison capable of holding the target which in this case was Noboru Chikara. Escape is possible, but only by completing the story, similar to the dimensium combat trials used by those lower lifeforms who gained both dimensium and omni-energy during my battle with her. They use it to reincarnate into higher beings in higher dimensions, and must complete the story to return or they die if they try to leave before or fail the combat trial."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low growl. "I will manipulate the prison realm world's narrative, molding you into the story's central villain. Your objective: maintain your power, remain a constant threat until his natural life ends or you vanquish him. Only then may you return home."
"Wait, Father," Hikari interjected, a flicker of concern crossing his features, "didn't he..."
"Silence!" The Golden Being's voice cracked like thunder. "I am well aware of his past victories against you. Fear not, son. I am your creator and understand his capabilities. In your current state, he would obliterate you – not in seconds, but in a blink. You require training. Your elder siblings, the Seven Heavenly Kings themselves, will hone your skills for years before the narrative shift commences. Until then, you will reside in Aeon's Sanctum, a place beyond the constraints of time."
"Yes, Father," Hikari bowed his head, his voice laced with newfound determination.
"Excellent! Now, Uriel!" The Golden Being's voice boomed once more, summoning the eldest angel.
A stunning woman with flowing golden hair and wings appeared before him. Her ample figure and gentle features belied a hidden strength.
"Yes, Father?" she inquired, her voice soft yet firm.
"As discussed, I require you and the other angels to train him within Aeon's Sanctum. He is to remain there until he possesses the power to vanquish the Abomination."
Uriel's brow furrowed slightly. Unlike her siblings who reveled in combat, she harbored a deep aversion to needless bloodshed. "As you wish, Father," she acknowledged, her voice betraying a hint of apprehension. She did not want to train Hikari to kill anyone. She disliked how Noboru was deemed a threat right from birth and ...
"Good! I expect great things from you, Hikari," the Golden Being declared, knocking her out of her thoughts. The Golden being then turned to Hikari. "Remember, failure is not an option. Should you disappoint me again, do not return. My domain holds no place for the likes of you. You will face the same fate as countless others who have failed me."
Hikari gulped and nodded, feeling fear.
End Flashback
'It was pure torture. Uriel pushed me to my absolute limits, each day a relentless barrage of training exercises and sparring matches. At first, I was a complete joke, getting pummeled into the ground repeatedly. But slowly, with each passing day, I started landing a few blows, then a few victories. Each triumph fueled Uriel to raise the bar even higher, pushing me further than I ever thought possible.
Despite the progress, I wasn't delusional. I wasn't even close to her level. It would take eons
to bridge the gap between us. A bitter rage burned within me towards Uriel. She emanated an aura of superiority, her smile was so condescending, her immense power a constant reminder of my own shortcomings. It felt like she looked down on me, just like Father. They were all powerful, these heavenly kings, but their strength only worked on the weak like me. Not against threats like Lucy Morningstar. Oh how he hated her and the abomination.'
Hikari forced the thoughts aside. Dwelling on frustrations wouldn't help. He had a mission: eliminate the Abomination. Only then would he earn his father's approval, the only validation that truly mattered. Perhaps, after his victory, he could even claim Uriel as his prize. He'd show her who the superior one truly was, bend her to his will, and make her his queen.
With renewed determination, Hikari locked eyes with Noboru.
"Well then, abomination, let's do this," Hikari declared, his voice dripping with venom. Years of grueling training, fueled by burning hatred, surged through him. Each muscle in his body twitched, anticipating the unleashing of the power he had desperately craved.
A surge of golden Omni energy erupted from Hikari's core, engulfing him in a blinding light. The ground beneath his feet trembled violently, cracks snaking outwards like malevolent spiderwebs. Buildings in the distance began to crumble, their foundations unable to withstand the raw power emanating from him. Cars flipped and tossed like toys caught in a hurricane.
The golden energy intensified, crackling and sparking around him like a maelstrom of miniature suns. The air grew thick and oppressive, charged with the volatile energy. Trees were ripped from their roots, their branches whipping wildly in the sudden gale. Smoke plumes rose from distant structures, the intense heat evaporating anything it touched: asphalt streets, metal vehicles, even the very vegetation turned to wispy ash.
Hikari's fury reached a fever pitch. His eyes, once a vibrant blue, now glowed with an infernal yellow light, reflecting the raw power coursing through him. His voice, when it emerged, was a guttural roar, the sound itself shaking the very foundation of the world.
"This is for my humiliation! This is for my father's disappointment! This is for years of being treated as lesser!" Each word he spoke resonated with the tremors, the world echoing his pain and rage.
The ground split open beneath him, the chasm widening rapidly as pure energy poured out of the wound. The sky above shimmered, threatening to rip open like a torn sheet. The very fabric of reality seemed to strain under the immense pressure of Hikari's unleashed power.
"I will kill you," Hikari yelled as he raised his hand, the source of a blinding golden beam that shot towards Noboru.
Noboru paled in the face of Hikari's unleashed fury. The tremors that shook the city were no mere earthquakes; they were the very fabric of Chikyu Chikara City, a city bigger than the size of a normal uncountable infinity. It was a city, but it too was straining under the pressure of Hikari's power, no matter how vast, how infinite it was. If the world was being affected, it stood no chance. Some Kingdoms, each larger than entire infinite sets of hierarchies of dimensions in the lower realms, began to crumble like sandcastles under a crashing wave. Mountains, stretching infinitely upwards, twisted and contorted, their rocky structures unable to withstand the raw energy.
The golden omni energy Hikari unleashed wasn't merely immense; it was an anomaly in Chikyu Chikara City and the Prison Realm where even the concept of infinity was transcended to beyond the concepts of size, limit, or anything. The city, a structure populated by beings with unimaginable power, had never witnessed such a display. It was a force that defied categorization, its origin and potential unknown even to the most ancient residents.
The beam of energy launched towards Noboru wasn't just light; it was a distortion of reality itself, warping and consuming the very fabric of space-time as it moved. It carried within it the weight of Hikari's twisted hatred, his years of resentment and burning hatred condensed and poured into a single, devastating attack. It was a desperate attempt to break the world, to shatter a place that transcended not just transcended was too small to describe what it did to the very concept of infinity, all to prove himself worthy in his father's eyes.
As the attack approached, Noboru, with his immeasurable power, did not cower. Instead, his own eyes flashed with a different kind of light – a calm determination in the face of overwhelming odds. He raised his hand, and the very laws of physics bent to his will. The infinite expanse of Chikyu Chikara City itself seemed to respond, as he was channeling his own unfathomable power into the city for defense.
A barrier, shimmering with an otherworldly light, materialized before Noboru and the city, intercepting the golden beam. The impact was unlike anything witnessed before. The world screamed, a soundless scream of unimaginable force as the two infinite powers collided. The barrier held, but the city itself shuddered, entire sections collapsing inward as it strained to contain the clash.
Hikari, fueled by the resistance, unleashed even more power, the energy around him intensifying to the point where it threatened to consume him entirely. His rage, however, wasn't enough to overpower the combined might of Noboru and the city itself. The barrier held firm, and slowly, the golden energy began to dissipate.
Hikari panted heavily as Noboru looked at him. Hikari then smiled as he stopped breathing heavily, a chilling smile stretching across his face, his voice dripping with a twisted mix of amusement and malice. "It seems you have gotten stronger too, abomination," he said, each word heavy with disdain, "but too bad that was only me with my limiters on."
Seven ethereal chains, each shimmering with an otherworldly golden light, materialized around his body. These were the limiters, his father's cruel tools to control Hikari's true power. They had been a constant reminder of his perceived weakness, a burning shame he carried within him.
With a single thought, Hikari severed the first limiter. A surge of raw power erupted from him, the golden energy around him intensifying tenfold. The ground beneath his feet shattered completely, the very foundations of Chikyu Chikara City groaning under the immense strain. The remnants of the previous attack, the warped space-time, flickered and reformed, devoured by the newly unleashed energy.
Noboru, seizing the moment reacted with lightning speed before Hikari could do more damage. He grasped the Dimensium and formed a swirling vortex of Omni Energy pulsating in his hand. With a silent snarl, he channeled a sliver of his own omni-energy into the artifact. The Dimensium flared, bathing the ruined cityscape in blinding white light.
As the light subsided, Hikari found himself no longer standing amidst the rubble of Chikyu Chikara City. The familiar, infinite sprawl of
buildings was gone, replaced by a scene that defied comprehension. They were in a boundless realm, a battlescape made for them to fight.
Here, the very concept of limits, not just for dimensions or infinity, but for existence itself, dissolved into a shimmering haze. The ground stretched not just infinitely, but beyond the grasp of infinity itself, a swirling vortex of colors that defied not just categorization, but comprehension. It pulsed with a primal energy beyond creation and destruction, existing in a state that transcended even the fundamental duality. Above them, the endless sky mirrored the ground below, not just a kaleidoscope of colors, but a tapestry woven from the very fabric of existence, holding not the secrets of countless universes, but the essence of all possibilities, both real and unreal. There were no stars, no sun, no moon, no gods, no concepts, just an unfettered expanse of raw, unfiltered reality held in a balance that transcended logic itself. It was a realm not just beyond dimensions, but beyond the very concept of boundaries, a boundless battleground where even the whispers of fundamental laws faltered and died.
Hikari stumbled. An unsettling sense of disorientation washed over him, a feeling of being utterly afraid not because he was powerless. No because this battle will determine his faith, the fruits of his training. See if it was enough or if he has failed his father
Noboru, however, stood firm, his expression resolute. Unlike Hikari, he seemed completely at ease in this bizarre environment. Here, in this boundless battlescape, the limitations of even their infinite city seemed to fade away. It was a realm where raw power reigned supreme, a perfect arena to settle their differences without risking the destruction of an entire world.
"This," Noboru declared, his voice echoing in the vast emptiness, "is a place where our power won't shatter realities. Here, we can fight without restraint."
Hikari, still regaining his composure, looked up at Noboru, a newfound determination flickering in his eyes. "So Noboru, this is where you choose to die."