Infernal Rage

Silence soon covered the cave but Ray observed that Ash wanted to say something but was hesitant.

"What's wrong, Ash?"

"Bryan…killed the man."

"…"

"I wonder if that will affect anything." Ash rubbed his head.

*Sigh*

"Maybe or maybe not, but in the end, he knows that he did the right decision." Ray said as a matter of fact.

With that, they continued to meditate and heal their bodies.

-Several hours later-

After many hours of resting, Ash and Ray were almost in their tip-top condition.

The thought of hunger didn't cross their mind since they can use the Natural Energy in their body to alleviate and ignore their hunger.

They were still waiting for Bryan to open his eyes and wake up from his unconscious state.

In a dark endless space of crimson fire, a lone silhouette could be seen flickering in the depths of the flames.

From an uncountable time, Bryan woke up in this space of seemingly never-ending fire. He woke up in a dazed manner and soon enough, clarity refilled his mind.

Looking at the flames enveloping him and everything else in the space, the first thought that popped up in his mind was why was he not in pain.

Instead, a refreshing and therapeutic aura covered his body, making him feel the complete opposite of what he thought he was supposed to feel.

Bryan didn't know where he was, what the fuck was going on but all he knew that it was comfortable and relaxing for him to be here.

He waved his hand in the fire and he could feel a connection of some sort, not only with the crimson fire but with the endless space as a whole.

It felt like he was a part of it, the flames.

The heat…

The space…

All of this seemed to shake the core of his soul.

Like the snap of a thread, something broke or it is safe to say, something unlocked in the depths of his soul.

Consequently, the space around him started to vibrate, not intensely nor gently but quite tame in terms of sense.

The flames became wild and unrestrained as a continuous effect of the vibration. It was no longer just crimson that painted the fiery space.

Blue, Violet, Green, White, and Black tones shifted across the vast field of flames, creating a spectacular and magical scene for Bryan.

More than astonishment, he was allured to the strange sequence of the flames, the colours and the vibrating space.

If he had paid close attention to his heart, he would've noticed that his heart was beating in an irregular tone similar to the vibrating space.

"God…"

An unknown whisper tickled his ear as the flames flickered and danced around even more wildly. His heartbeat sped up and the vibrations were no longer tame.

"Live…"

"God…"

Only two were repeatedly whispered for Bryan and his mind was all over the place. There was no time for him to digest nor ponder about his situation.

He tried to move forwards but he couldn't take a single step. He looked down and saw his feet were shackled into the void.

It was a contrasting situation for him. He felt the soothing and relaxing flames and at the same time, he couldn't move from his place.

"God…"

The soothing whispers flowed in again, affecting his mind and focus. He was shifting between the fiery space and the darkness.

His shackled feet didn't help him at all in the situation as felt like he was being suffocated.

*Crack*

All of a sudden, the space above him cracked and a white shining orb emerged from within.

The flames were frozen, the whispers no longer were present, and the chains miraculously disappeared.

It was as if the white orb was a manifestation of Bryan's intentions.

Bryan stared unblinkingly at the white orb as it slowly descended onto him.

It came closer and closer before it seeped into his head, causing him to disappear from the space.

"Ugh…"

The sound of a groan echoed in the cave, prompting both Ash and Ray to turn their attention on to Bryan.

Bryan opened his eyes with difficulty and hissed in pain. He could feel the state of his body was severe. His muscles were sore and his bones creaked in pain.

He didn't attempt to move since both Ash and Ray were right beside him.

"How are you feeling?" Ash asked with a concerned voice.

"Battered to fuck." Bryan hoarsely spoke.

"Haha, with the shit you did, no wonder." Ash chuckled.

"Let him heal." Ray said and went back to the campfire after seeing Bryan was getting better.

Ash continued cultivating but Bryan had different thoughts running though his head.

'What was all that…'

[Ding]

[Congratulations, Bryan! You have unlocked a new skill - Infernal Rage.]

[Infernal Rage: Transform through the power of hellish rage. Release a fiery aura field around you and increase attack power by 50%. Enemies within the fiery field will be affected by the intense heat.

Side-effect: Weakened body and a complete depletion of Natural Energy.]

Bryan was shocked and quickly related the skill to his previous transformation.

'Infernal Rage…'

'Sounds badass and I'm sure I looked like it!' Bryan thought with a smug look on his face.

'If my transformation resulted in that skill, then what did I experience back in the dark space?' Bryan contemplated heavily.

It was weird and confusing for him to experience such a crazy phenomenon. He had a hunch that everything happened in his mind or where he previously met the manifestation of his soul.

Others had an infant as their soul manifestation but him and the other two were completely different. Instead of an infant, it was a middle-aged silhouette.

'There should be a connection between the dark space and my soul, somehow I know it.' Bryan figured out to this point whether be it real or false.

He simply had no other clues or materials to further explore and investigate. From nothing, it was quite an achievement for Bryan to come to that conclusion. Of course, he's not banking on it as he isn't even 10% sure on his conclusion.

-Far, far away into the deep space-

*BOOM*

A thunderous explosion affected a large piece of singular landmass that was floating about in the vast space. There were meteors of all sizes around the landmass, unaffected by what was going in the land.

Two figures, one male and one female, were fighting on the land.

The male, looked middle-aged and donned a crimson-coloured heavy battle armor, displaying an intimidating and valorous look.

The female, was slender and was covered in dark clothes. The most intriguing part about the woman were her ebony dark and bottomless pair of eyes.

"To think the universe has degraded to this state…" The man sighed in sadness.

"Jiji~"

"Wait for your doom, Emperor!" The woman mocked.

The man shook his head as his eyes revealed all kinds of vicissitudes, ignoring the woman in front of him. This seemed to anger the woman as her body started exuding a dark energy.

The land was snuffed of its light and darkness replaced it with the woman as the centre.

"Emperor?" The man chuckled.

The woman didn't reply and attacked the man with an incomparable speed. If you had to compare, Ray's full speed would be like child's play in front of the woman.

Each blow and counter shook the fabric of space but miraculously, the land beneath them didn't seem to be affected as much, showcasing how sturdy it was even in front of the two extremely powerful cultivators.

Maybe, because the land was covered in complete darkness, the man's reaction was slow compared to the woman.

But even with that disadvantage, the woman couldn't land a perfect hit. The armoured man could accurately predict the woman's moves and countered the disadvantage.

The woman raised her hands, conjured four massive dark spears and threw them at the armoured man. The spears tore through space and left a trail of dark energy that seemed to melt in with the cracked space.

The armoured man stood still and pointed a finger at the incoming spears.

Four little bullets made of fire shot out, hitting the dead centre of the spear. The impact completely dissolved the spears but the fire bullets didn't stop its momentum.

The woman widened her eyes in fear and quickly got out of the way of the bullets.

With no target in sight, the fire bullets hit the land marred with darkness. As if a spark was lit, the fire bullets quickly transformed into a raging sea of fire, quickly enveloping the darkness and bringing light into the desolate land.

The armoured man nodded at the sight and decided enough was enough.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind the unnoticed woman and grabbed her head with an iron-tight grip.

"Repent!"

*AAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGKKKKKKKKK*

Screams of inner pain echoed in the space as her head started to burn from the man's hand.

She couldn't escape from his death-like grip and was succumbed to the hellish torturous death. Her skin blackened to a crisp before the melted insides spurted out of her eye sockets.

With no intention to stop, the man continued until her whole body was reduced to a mere paste and marred charcoaled bits of skin swirled about.

The armoured man rubbed his hand from the filth but before he could leave this place, a dark black portal appeared quite a few metres away.

The armoured man observed that the flames in the vicinity of the portal have dissipated. He frowned as he saw a pale male figure step out of the portal.

*Swoosh*

The raging flames were all but extinguished from the land just from the arrival of the new figure.

"She overestimated her abilities…" The pale man shook his head. His voice had a raspy tone and contained a certain charm of darkness, that seemed to affect the surrounding space. Unlike the woman's pair of complete black eyes, the pale man had a pair of yellow pupils, giving off a nefarious vibe.

"Haha!"

The low sounding chuckle attracted the pale man's attention as he casually glanced at the armoured man.

"I didn't expect one of the princes to personally make a visit." The armoured man said without an ounce of fear.

"It is your honour after all." The 'Prince' replied.

"Do you have the confidence?" The armoured man asked.

"Why would I be here if I didn't?" The Prince retorted back with a question.

"Of course…" The armoured man said he stripped off his armour, displaying his near perfect masculine figure.

The Prince licked his lips and commented deliriously, "How delicious…"

"I can't wait any longer!"

*Boom*

Without a warning, the Prince unleashed his aura and presence. A field of darkness seemed to envelop everything around the Prince. Tendrils made of darkness coiled around the Prince's body as a dark grin plastered on his face.

The space around the Prince cracked with force as a heavy pressure dominated the land they were on.

*Boom*

Not an ounce less, the armoured man responded and unleashed a powerful fiery aura that collided with the Prince's dark aura. The collision revelled with sparks and the two opposing forces didn't give way.

The Prince, nevertheless, had a mocking look on his face, as if he didn't even unleash his full strength.

"Dark Hole!"

A dangerous presence instilled a slight sense of fear in the armoured man as he astonishingly witnessed a miniature black hole conjured by the Prince.

"I-Impossible…" The armoured man was shocked to see such a feat performed by a Prince.

"Hihihi!"

"Surprised? Worry not, you'll be dead long before we achieve our goal." The Prince laughed in jeer as he watched the black hole, slowly devouring the land and its natural energy.

The armoured man could feel his energy being devoured by the black hole albeit slowly.

*Sigh*

"The future is going to be tough…"

Countless images flashed through his eyes as an indomitable determination filled his bones.

The Prince noticed the change but thought less of it.

The armoured man closed his eyes and joined his hands at the centre of his chest.

"Apotheus!"