Ch50: Success?, Part 3

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."

― Marie Curie

'What time is it…' Ven yawned and moved to stretch his arms. 'Hmmmm?'

His body was encased in a thick black crystal. Tough and rigid, it resisted his idle attempt to move. The blank space in his mind began to slowly fill. Memories of the infinite Earths and the soft voice of his system.

'Let's get free first…' Ven didn't sink immediately into his inner realm. He needed to figure out if he was still in the same location. 'This stuff is durable!'

Brittle cracks slashed at his ears as he strained against his bonds. Ground glass, rubbed between two uneven stones. A huff escaped his lips, a burst of force that reduced the closest crystal to powder.

"Hmmm?" His hands raised in front of his face, no longer a pure black void of skin. "It seems like my evolution is complete…"

Smooth white runes now covered his skin, a mosaic balanced against his natural black. They traced complicated, interconnected lines across every inch of his exposed skin and ended at his heart. Positioned on his breastbone, a circular formation of runes glowed with a dim light. Far denser than the other script, Ven couldn't read the microscopic letters.

"I'll have to examine these more closely, later…" Runes held great power. Ven wasn't interested in having unknown spells etched onto his skin. "For now…"

He launched himself forward and dug into the wall, aimed to escape this crystal tomb. The journey lasted longer than expected, almost twenty minutes of effort before his fist hit a void. His efforts were rewarded by a pressurised flow of chaotic energy. It forced itself into his tunnel and scratched at his skin, the touch of a million insects as they marched over his body.

"You're finally awake…"

A growl echoed from the destabilised space outside his crystal tar cocoon. The voice of the Titan, sleepy and bored. Ven squinted through the harsh light and found the man's shadowed form. The spot of darkness in the shape of a man drifted closer and waved.

"You're an industrious little guy, I'll give you that," The Titan laughed as he waved to the unstable space. "You snatched up all the Earths, pretty sneaky!"

"My options were pretty limited…" Ven let his aura expand to drink from the wellspring of energy around them. If the Titan wanted to fight, he would need as much power as he could stomach. "Why are you waiting for me?"

"Nothing sinister," The Titan laughed as he reclined on the tides of distorted power. "I was wondering if you were interested in a team up? This multiverse's Gods have united their efforts and blocked me from pressing deeper into the parallels," A grin spread on the man's shadowed face. "Together, we could break their walls and finish this… I can offer half of the cosmic cores, no more!"

"Yeah… not super interested," Ven inched back and eyed the surroundings. This was a universe on the edge of collapse, remnant fragments that still clung to life. "I've got all the power I need to grow, and I don't feel like slaughtering trillions to boost my strength."

"Easy for you to say," A snort forced its way from the Titan as the monster drifted closer. "You've still got that system of yours, an easy path that I can no longer walk." He stretched his spine and expanded to fill the world. "If you won't help, then I'll strip you of your system and be done with it!"

Ven dodged back, away from the snap of the Titan's teeth. He snarled in frustration as he streaked into the chaotic slipstream of the half-dead universe. Flee. That was the warning that cried out from his instincts. Even after his strange evolution, the Titan still outmatched him in strength.

"Come back and face your fate like a man!" The Titan extended a hand that spanned galaxies, a reach that closed on Ven in seconds. "You can't run, I can fill this whole universe with my body if I want to."

Ven ground his teeth and pulled his aura into a layer over his body, just in time to clash with the monster's fist. The sound of a bell, a ripple of force that slipped past his defences and sheared at his bones. Space blurred as he catapulted into the distance, stars in his vision.

'That didn't hurt as much as I expected,' Ven glanced at the runes on his chest. They shifted and spun, a clockwork structure of unknown purpose. 'My injuries heal almost instantly, and there's something different…'

Ven withdrew his aura and drew on his cores. The power within them was changed, joined by two separate forces. One was familiar, the heady rush of life and strength from his realm. The other… the other held a taste like nothing he'd encountered. A tingle that inspired his thoughts and empowered his every action.

'I'll figure it out later,' Ven shrugged and channelled all three energies into the runes on his skin.

A moment of silence passed, even the backdrop of cosmic collapse driven to quiet as a pulse travelled Ven's body. Lit by gold, sliver and the purest white, the runic formation on his chest spun until it became a solid blur. Ven halted in space, eyes closed as a new heat swelled in his heart.

"Giving up?" The Titan's voice growled from behind Ven's eyelids. "Smart choice, but no fun at all!"

"Not giving up…" 

Ven flexed his hands, eyes still shut. A terrible, wonderful sensation rampaged through his system in a feedback loop. It carried a heavy arrogance, a deep knowledge that all things stood below, while he soared past the clouds. Ven let this thought slide off him like water, such ideas were always the notions of fools. He took a centred breath and let his eyelids open.

"I'm just trying something new."

His normally black gaze was replaced by twin stars. Bright orbs that filled out the holes of his eyes with multicoloured flames. A rune - so complicated that it hurt him to analyse - glinted where his pupils should be. Ven could detect every part of himself, as if he stood outside and guided a puppet, rather than his own form. He exhaled through his nose and rose in line with the Titan's face.

"Let's see how strong you actually are!"