18 A Lockbox.

Rauk let out a desperate roar, and his eyes turned into scarlet gems. Two spiral horns pierced out from his forehead; veined leathery red wings burst out of his back, and his four limbs lengthened into robust pillars. Finally, his body swelled and stretched out, forcing Vincent to release his neck.

"Fish? Snakes? And now dragons? Haha, quite a night indeed," Vincent said in a calm voice as he measured up the 10-meter long manifestation of a dragon unfolding before him.

Rauk opened his mouth, swallowed down the lockbox and growled, "You forced me into this!"

"Hmm? What did you just swallow up?" Vincent asked.

"None of your business," Rauk growled.

"Whatever it may be," Vincent said. "Spit it out."

Bam! Rauk gripped into Vincent's skeletal wings and tore them apart, "You don't have the qualifications to demand something from the Great RAUK!"

Vincent gave a faint smile; spider limbs grew out, replacing his severed skeletal wings. He circled around Rauk's body and jumped into his back. The tips of the spider limbs joined into one and drilled into the base of one of his leathery wings.

Stretch! Stretch! Tear! The leathery wing was nearly split in half as it dangled to the sides.

"Well, neither do you," Vincent said.

Rauk flipped his body and tossed Vincent away with a swipe of his tail. Scarlet light flickered across his wing until new flesh grew out from within, sealing off the wound. Then he flapped his wings and ascended the skies in a bid to escape.

Vincent chuckled; spider limbs receded inside while a new set of skeletal wings emerged out. Swoosh! He flew up and rammed into Rauk's belly. Bam! Rauk tumbled across the air.

Scarlet markings manifested themselves around Rauk's body; he aimed his head at Vincent and opened his mouth. A red beam of concentrated aether flared out. Vincent shifted his body sideways; the beam went past him and landed on the surface of the sea down below.

Boom! a vacuum-formed in its place. The waters parted ways and rose up in the air, showering everyone with rain that was already tinged in crimson from the blood of countless bodies.

Vincent circled around Rauk's body and clutched his long neck. Then, with a sudden twist, he flipped his body upside down and stood on top of his belly. A deep violet outline forged across his legs; he lifted his feet and stomped down.

STEP! STEP! STEP! He trampled upon Rauk's draconic belly. BANG! BANG! BANG! The 10-meter long body was thrown off balance in midair and fell into the vacuum down below. Vincent pried open his jaws; a tentacle invaded inside his elongated throat. Then he threw out a solid punch right between his chest and abdomen.

"Bleh!" Rauk let out a whimper.

BAM! A lockbox, along with broken pieces of intestines, was pulled out of his throat.

"What's in here?" Vincent asked.

"Don't…..," Rauk said in a feeble voice.

"Don't what?" Vincent narrowed his eyes.

Clink! Vincent plucked his finger into the keyhole and broke off the lock. Blue shimmering light peeked out from between the gaps of the cover. Placing a hand on the surface, he slowly opened the top of the lockbox. A blue hexagonal object appeared before his eyes; he picked it up and rubbed it with his fingers.

Rumble.

A familiar hum resonated inside his head.

Rumble...

The muscles under his skin rattled.

Thudder….

Intricate symbols flashed within his azure eyes.

"Des..tr.."

He heard a voice.

"Destro…."

"DESTROY," an ancient command resounded inside his very being.

"DESTROY."

"DESTROY."

Shudder...

The hexagonal object shook within his grasp, phasing in and out with flickering light, which converged together and formed black marking resembling caterpillars. They crawled alongside its surface and lept into his palms. His skin melted and vapourised into thin air.

Vincent's expression turned solemn, the intricate symbols surging in his eyes projected into a nexus and rammed into the black marking crawling within his palms. The black markings too vapourised into thin air.

More black markings materialised along the surface of the hexagonal object and leapt towards him, while more nexus projected out of his eyes and rammed into them.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The surrounding space froze at the onslaught until the hexagonal object levitated out of his hands and plunged towards him. Vincent gave a bestial roar; left arm smouldering with violet light, he threw a punch against the object.

Boom! The world turned silent.

Flash! He found himself standing within the blood tide, but now, the tide flowed in reverse.

Flash! His body turned illusory.

Flash! He appeared in a pitch-black void.

Beings of cosmic scale fought before his eyes. They fought and fought. Fought against the unending swarm. An endless multitude of amorphous flesh. Morphed into tentacles, morphed into worms, morphed into bubbles, morphed into flesh, flesh and flesh. These beings came from the deep, from the depths of the cosmos, from the chambers of the chaos.

They plucked out planets.

They plucked out stars.

They plucked out galaxies.

They were….

Boom! An earth-shattering explosion broke him free from his reverie as these visions of time immemorial turned to dust.