Ferex felt a deep, crushing sensation that originated from the very depths of his being. It didn't feel like something that churned out from his mana core, but from a location more delicate and... precious.
Apostles didn't have souls.
What they did have, was a connection to a certain treasure that served as the home of all Null related beings and phenomenon. A Null source, would be a more apt term to describe it. It wasn't something that could be touched or connected to through ordinary means, but in this case, it was rattled.
The Adaptable Body Steel Hound trembled violently and dropped to the ground. Unlike Skullius, he didn't have a visual medium that projected the effect of the RESET and this was his first time going through the effect of his Flaw alone.
Different from all the other times, the RESET had begun before the battle was even over, something Ferex didn't understand.
It was sad to say, the crushing feeling of defeat he had allowed to overtake him just now, spelled to his internal Null Source that the battle, at least for him, was over.
Yuyui glanced back at the Apostle heavily concerned.
So far, with meticulous teamwork and preparation, they had overcome all manner of enemies together as a team, becoming close enough to understand the limits of each other's abilities. For so long, Yuyui had even forgotten that Ferex was way weaker because of his white core. The efficiency with which the Apostle had handled the more... ordinary yet still powerful opponents, especially with her taking care of the more devastating abilities, gave the illusion that he was on the same level as her.
"Come on, Ferex!" she urged, but the Apostle was already under the spell of the Flaw that dictated that any challenging altercation he had would prompt a RESET of his abilities, personality and individualistic quirks – it still left out the raw progression though, his evolution Tier for instance.
Yuyui evaded the vicious attacks from the serpents, her Eye of Dispersal cancelling out the corrosive darkness they dished out relentlessly. Using the eye for prolonged periods and against powerful attacks was taxing and she was starting to feel the burden of strain. Furthermore, throwing her own body every which way the attacks came from to try and repel the physical charges of these massive serpents as they caused calamitous destruction without any regard for the integrity of the Cluster, was also challenging!
'If even I am having trouble with this...' she thought while gritting her teeth.
Her pace of growth was too slow and perhaps Ferex's too. Blue Clusters still had monsters that could challenge them like so, which was telling of their not so special level of power.
While the lime haired girl was struggling, Ferex's body jerked into an unnatural shape.
Slowly, he began to feel parts of himself crumbling.
No!
His strength started to vanish!
No!
His memories started to disintegrate!
No!
No, no, no, no!
The Apostle couldn't bear to be forced to forget.
His relationship with his master.
What he had seen within Skullius' soul, which he considered precious.
The moments he had shared with Yuyui for the past three weeks.
What he had learned and experienced until now combat wise and in general.
All of it.
For it to all be erased because he had a challenging battle...
"NO!" the Apostle expressed overwhelming rebellion against this mandatory, authoritative force!
Then he thought, as the thick plates of light grey armour began to crumble away from his body. His master had once rejected the RESET right? Back when he had successfully used the RESET to refresh the cooldowns of all his skills.
Granted, the circumstances were different. He and Skullius had been merged as one being through [Bringer of All] with his master at helm, which was not the same with this circumstance.
But still...
Could he try to do the same?
This was his body!
He had the right to refuse the RESET, didn't he?!
The Apostle gathered the remnants of his individual will to fight against his Null Source!
He rejected the Flaw's influence with all he had!
His sockets flared with a super bright light that depicted a glimpse of the struggle that was going on within him, the brightness of it attracting Yuyui who was struggling!
Ferex fought hard.
He denied it.
He rejected it.
He refused to start from zero again.
And...
To the Apostle's surprise, the plates of armour conjured from the [Steel Core] stopped disappearing after every breath. His tall form stopped regressing into that of his original wolven form without even the basic coating of the Pseudo Spirit Walker's Hide!
Was it actually working?
The RESET had been trying to make him forgot everything he had learned, not what he had acquired through evolution, which was why it was carving away the plates of light grey armour and his hide.
And now, since there were actually results...
Ferex's desperate attempt had merely been that... a desperate attempt! He hadn't know if it would work for sure but from the looks of it...
As he offered more resistance, the RESET seemingly came to a halt, his body remaining as it was without further changes!
"Servant Yuyui..." Ferex said, astonished.
The lime haired girl turned to see Ferex standing up and brandishing the Cross Pyre greatsword with renewed vigour. No small amount of surprise showed in her eyes, a smile even creeping up on her face.
She didn't know what happened but this was good!
She could ask all about it later.
"Don't just stand there then!" she called as she used one of her skills to knock one of the serpents away from her successfully, yet at a terrible cost in mana.
"Right..." Ferex responded with a fast lunge towards the enemy, all his enhancement skills working to boost his raw strength!
For the first time in a while, Ferex felt unshackled. He didn't really know the implications... or rather, he preferred not to think about them. He had escaped a cruel result right? Why not just move on and try not to make the same mistake?
'For now, I'll fight on...' the Apostle told himself, his resolve burning gloriously.
But...
Resolve was merely resolve. In the way of Rules, it was nothing but fragile glass to rock.
Ferex body collapsed on the ground unceremoniously, its frame sliding across the rough, heated surface below.
...!
Yuyui was startled.
The hell? What the actual freaking hell?
It had happened so fast and without warning!
What was with Ferex now?
The lime haired girl had a terrible feeling.
One of the large serpents she was battling saw this as an opportunity to finally put an end to one of these miserable invaders, its head hammering towards Ferex with all its might before Yuyui could react!
"NO!" the lime haired girl screamed as she rushed to try and protect her friend, desperation livid in her arms and legs.
Yet, suddenly...
Yuyui, the giant serpents, the falling rubble from the ceiling and the crumbling walls of the tunnel still moaning like thunder from being partially molten by the extreme heat that had borne out of the Cross Pyre...
Everything was held in place when a ghastly blue sphere of energy blew out of Ferex's body like a phantom shockwave, tinging everything in a similar hue!
Silence ensued.
This wasn't the effect of time being halted.
No.
It was masterful use of Null Life Essence.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ Yuyui and the serpents could only move their eyes while frozen in their previous poses, over and under them hanging pieces of rock sharing in the same fate – witnessing the slow rise of Ferex's body.
The scale armoured body of the Apostle cracked and began transforming into transparent wisps of thin cloth that grew and grew as the moments ticked by.
The sturdy frame of the Adaptable Body Steel Hound quickly morphed with a vortex spin, its build forcibly changed by the Null Source into something completely different.
Yuyui's eyes constricted.
A...creature appeared in Ferex's place.
Could it even be called a creature? It was more like an apparition. A ghost.
It was adorned in long whitish blue robes that extended from its unnaturally tall frame that seamlessly sank into the ceiling, hiding a portion of its torso, to cover the, heated ground like a carpet.
The sleeves of its robe masked thin limbs that were pressed against the unknown fabric, the same being true for the rest of this raiment as it seemed fairly determined to hide its owner's body underneath.
It was bewildering to look up at a potential enemy and not see its head simply because of its height. Anyone would be given a free pass from being flustered in such an encounter.
Yuyui sure was.
Even though this new monster seemed ethereal, it seemed to draw a distant, sharp breath and take audible steps on the burning ground.
Then...
It swiped its concealed hand lazily and another burst of Null Life Essence... silently erased everything around it.
Everything.
Before a breath could pass, the Cluster was destroyed, as well as everything in it, this apparition finding itself standing under the bright, rising sun of Aigas.
A collection of energies that had been forcefully disassembled still swam in the air, their tangling mash of colour still pervading the surroundings, though only for a few seconds more.
"I have been called to another world? Is it not too soon? I thought HE was yet to even begin the ritual. Or perhaps... does this have nothing to do with him at all."
A soft, alluring voice that belonged to neither a man or woman came from the apparition's head – a massive ball of cobalt blue fire that settled over its shoulders.
This was another reason to panic just from this being's looks.
Its half a mile tall existence, wholesomely frightening as it was, tread forward, turning its flame head this way and that.
It then turned to its robes.
Ghostly fragments of the beautiful raiment were already breaking away, spelling that its form was rapidly coming undone even though it had just appeared.
"How cruel you are, my lady Serenity. You would grant such grace only to take it away from your loyal servant?" the apparition said with a hum. "Nomatter. I shall not waste this chance. There has to be a suitable vessel carrier in these rich lands."
Suddenly, something drew the attention of the creature, causing its ghostly flame to lean below.
A pale, utterly shaken Yuyui was on ground panting heavily while looking up at the apparition wordlessly. Her mouth was agape, her eyes barely believing what had just happened as well as what she was seeing right now.
"Hmmm? I thought I destroyed all the nuisances just now. How could you be alive, curious thing?" the apparition asked but Yuyui couldn't hear. She couldn't understand what it was saying.
"Ah, wait. This one knows. I see now."
The apparition expressed realisation and then surprise. Slowly, knowledge trickled in from the mind from its host. Seconds later, it looked at Yuyui in a new light.
"Hmmm..."
The lime haired girl appeared as a vivid turquoise blue outline with a small dark blue flame burning within it, much to the apparition's slight disappointment.
But still... this was no ordinary lifeform, clearly. Besides that, she was...
"Well... perhaps you can be a carrier for my promised vessel still," the apparition said.
A thin arm stormed out of the lengthy robes of this creature. A thin, bone arm with a pristine shine.
It had a mesmerising, borderline hypnotic energy about it that seduced even space and time.
"Do you wish to gamble on it? Glorious, empty bliss that may last for all undone time?" the apparition asked with a voice that rang sweetly in Yuyui's ears, replacing the need for comprehending its language with attractive intent.
As the creature's arm neared Yuyui who couldn't even lift a finger in fright, the Eye of Dispersal opened wide on her forehead and dispelled the encroaching influence from the apparition with struggling shudder!
"Oh... Even this does not work on you? Truly curious!" the apparition said with jovial energy. "If that be the case my immortal friend, travel with me!"
Before the trembling Yuyui knew it, her body had left the ground and she was flying off at an unreal speed in a familiar direction.
She didn't know it but she was the first in this world to encounter a formidable, dangerous being.
The World-ending Null Terror, the Full Deck BoneTender.
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[Author's Note]
In case you'd forgotten.
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Due to its unique powers, the Limitless Body Null Demon Hound has inherited a flaw to balance its existence among the natives of different worlds.
The Limitless Body Null Demon Hound MUST be RESET immediately after any intense or strenuous confrontation. If not, there is a CHANCE that it will forcefully evolve into the world-ending Null Terror, the Full Deck BoneTender. You have been WARNED.)
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