181

Soul Struggle

Apocalypse ushered Forseti into the secret chamber and placed him on the stone dais.

After adjusting his breath, Apocalypse gestured with both hands, causing the floor of the chamber to ripple. Three statues emerged around the dais, each bearing his likeness.

Lying down on another stone platform, Apocalypse closed his eyes. The statues glowed, seemingly taking on the role of guiding the ritual in lieu of the high priest.

Solar energy slowly infused into the stone platform, and Apocalypse's soul melded into the golden liquid, drifting towards Forseti.

Forseti struggled in vain as the golden liquid enveloped him, accompanied by a surge of blue light.

"What!"

A cry of pain escaped him as a sensation akin to drilling assaulted his mind, altering his surroundings.

"This is..." Forseti blinked, finding himself in the home of his past life.

"How peculiar. Aren't you from Asgard? Are all Asgardian structures like this?" a grim voice queried.

Forseti turned to see Apocalypse standing nearby. Realizing this was likely a soul space, Forseti understood the scene mirrored his subconscious.

"What's that tome at your waist?" Apocalypse inquired, approaching Forseti.

Forseti tensed, though such physical gestures were irrelevant in soul form.

"It seems you harbor many secrets. All will soon be mine!" Apocalypse sneered, lunging forward with a punch.

"Boom!" Forseti, inexperienced in soul combat, was immediately knocked down.

Though painless, the defeat felt unsettling, a foreboding of imminent danger.

Forseti swiftly rose, focusing his resolve and parrying Apocalypse's attacks.

Unfamiliar with soul combat, Forseti instinctively relied on paladin techniques, unexpectedly effective in this ethereal realm.

In the soul space, Paladin's prowess proved surprisingly potent. Forseti and Apocalypse traded blows, neither gaining a decisive advantage.

"You've mastered soul combat!" Apocalypse exclaimed, visibly startled.

"Soul combat?" Forseti queried, perplexed.

"Hmph. Skill matters little when strength reigns supreme, be it flesh or spirit," Apocalypse scoffed, resuming the assault.

Forseti, left with no alternative, clung to his paladin training as a lifeline, summoning every ounce of strength to fend off Apocalypse.

Yet, as Apocalypse asserted, raw power eclipsed technique. Despite his martial skill, Forseti's soul paled in comparison to Apocalypse's formidable might and experience.

Gradually, the tide turned in Apocalypse's favor, Forseti yielding ground.

"Your name is Forseti..."

With each defeat, Apocalypse gleaned fragments of Forseti's memories, methodically absorbing his essence.

"Let me unearth your secrets," Apocalypse declared, striking Forseti down again.

Forseti felt himself growing "thinner," consciousness blurring. The once-familiar surroundings twisted into darkness, the home scene vanishing from his subconscious.

Struggling to rise, Forseti continued to parry, yet steadily lost ground, enduring successive defeats.

"Hmm... The Sacred King's Deed?" Tianqi's expression suddenly shifted.

At the mention, the holy tome at Forseti's side seemed to react, two additional chains extending to ensnare Apocalypse.

"Ah!" Apocalypse recoiled in fear, attempting to break free from the chains, but the holy light burned relentlessly, searing his soul.

Terrified, Apocalypse struggled against the chains, to no avail. The sacred tomes had forged an unbreakable link between Forseti and Apocalypse.

Forseti hesitated briefly, then seized the chains, pulling Apocalypse closer, launching a relentless barrage.

"If you seek to devour my soul, then come!" Forseti proclaimed.

Suffering beneath the holy light's searing blaze, Apocalypse weakened significantly.

Forseti grew emboldened, pressing the attack, his once-diminished spirit revitalizing.

Simultaneously, Forseti assimilated glimpses of Apocalypse's memories.

In an instant, the battle's tide shifted irrevocably.

Desperate, Apocalypse sought escape from the soul space, but the chains of the sacred tomes bound them inexorably, denying release.

"You sought to consume me, but now you're trapped!" Forseti declared, striking Apocalypse with renewed vigor.

Apocalypse despaired.

Beneath relentless blows and the holy light's searing intensity, his soul rapidly dimmed, flickering like a candle in the wind.

"Release me... Please..." he implored, his ethereal form faltering as if on the brink of dissolution.

Unyielding, Forseti pressed the assault, his onslaught unrelenting.

"Boom!"

At last, Apocalypse's fragile soul shattered and vanished into nothingness.

With Apocalypse's demise, the sanctified chains retracted.

Forseti returned to reality in a blink, momentarily stunned before swiftly freeing himself from the stone dais.

Having vanquished Apocalypse's soul, Forseti sensed newfound strength. After exerting considerable effort, he successfully broke free from the stone's constraints.

Emerging from the chamber, Forseti hurried to Shilut's side.

Shilut lay unconscious, yet Forseti sensed a spiritual connection, confirming Shilut yet lived, easing his concern.

"Forseti?" Agamotto's feeble voice inquired.

Among the four, Agamotto alone remained conscious, his condition precarious yet enabling slight movement as he lay prone.

"Apocalypse... Did he seize your body?" he queried.

"He failed."

"Inconceivable..." Kongsi's faint voice emanated from the fractured statue.

"Khonshu, are you well?"

Khonshu offered no response.

Forseti refrained from further inquiry, turning instead to Diops. Severely wounded, Diops' abdomen bore a penetrating injury fatal to most beings, yet the Aesir physiology sustained him.

Administering holy light and utilizing healing stones, Forseti's hands glowed brightly.

Holy light flashed!