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Chapter 981 - A Perilous Escape From Desolation
🕑 Added 2024-08-22 11:03:44 +0000 UTCIt was an unsettling sentiment.
The mere thought that this entire time, the Desolate Child hadn’t truly considered them an enemy or been fighting back simply didn’t make any logical sense. But, on the other hand… there had never been any killing intent. Never been any true effort.
It felt like the creature was just carrying out a regular everyday task. That killing the two of them wasn’t an act of aggression but just something that had to be done.
Meanwhile, the Fallen King and Sylphie had both gone all out to try and end the Desolate Child of Loss, yet their efforts appeared to have been in vain. The creature had risen once more, and the two of them quickly exchanged telepathic messages. They shared the same opinion of what their next best step would be, as both shot toward the sky to make distance from the creature.
Below, the creature’s severed body parts, including the head, all turned to gray dust as this dust flowed toward the Desolate Child of Loss and reformed its body. Its voice echoed yet again, the King feeling his flying speed slowing down from the mounting pressure of the desolation domain.
”You… try stop I… from helping… that… makes you enemy.”
The Fallen King didn’t even bother responding as he tried to fly faster, the Sylphian Hawk already well ahead of him due to her far higher speed.
”Enemies… must not exist.”
A sense of danger washed over the Fallen King as he quickly spun around in mid-air and saw the Desolate Child of Loss hold out its newly reformed arm to one side as the desolation gathered and was made solid. A long, simple gray stick with a sharpening tip that barely qualified as a spear was formed, but the Unique Lifeform knew that appearances were very deceiving.
Raising its other hand toward the King, he wasn’t sure what to expect, as he should be too far away for anything to reach him...
Oh, how wrong he was.
In an instant, the golden glow on his body faded as everything around him and even his own body turned entirely black and white. The desolation gathered at an unprecedented speed, and the Fallen King stopped making progress as the telekinetic magic he used to move himself was utterly suppressed.
All concepts in his immediate surroundings had been made desolate. Below, the creature raised its spear as it launched upwards, faster than ever before, as now it was no longer simply sauntering around. Raising his ivory claws, the Fallen King released his energy and released a Golden Claw, dispersing the field of pure desolation that had kept him confined as he also tried to counter the charging Desolate Child of Loss.
A second Golden Claw impacted the tip of the spear, launching golden sparks everywhere as the Fallen King managed to launch himself upwards from the impact, a hole now formed in his ivory claw that rapidly began to turn gray.
Raising his hand again, he didn’t hesitate as the entire claw burned golden once more, and a third and even more powerful claw attack swept downward, creating some more space. The power of the skill had not only served as an attack but also pushed out the energy of desolation in the claw, and the King was glad his natural weapons were incredibly durable in the first place… however, minor cracks had formed all over it now, and he knew blocking a second hit directly like that wasn’t an option.
Sylphie also realized the King was in trouble and tried to help as she shot down condensed wind bullets, making the Desolate Child of Loss do another first. Two, in fact. It not only dodged some of the bullets but raised a hand as dense desolation blocked another few, all while it kept flying toward the Unique Lifeform, who was blasting himself upward with as much speed as he possibly could.
However, the Desolate Child of Loss was too fast and soon caught up to the Fallen King, who was forced to defend himself against the spear as best he could. The only lucky thing was that despite the creature now actually fighting, it still wasn’t very good at it. It only used simple stabs and had little variance to its attack pattern… but with how powerful it was and with how weakened everything else around it was, this was incredibly dangerous in its own right.
Still, it gave the King what little leeway he needed to continue retreat with Sylphie’s assistance. Not entirely unscathed, though. The desolation was naturally still seeping into him from all sides, and the attacks that struck him only made matters worse as time was rapidly running out.
After deflecting the spear yet another time while avoiding the sharpened tip, the Fallen King was forced to consume a Soul Marble – the unique item he could summon to temporarily boost his soul and even serve as a pseudo-rejuvenation potion – allowing him to launch a nasty golden blast go grant him some more distance, even if it put a strain on his soul.
He was running out of cards, and he knew it. Sylphie tried what she could, as cutting blades of wind forced the Desolate Child of Loss back a few times, but the creature hadn’t lost its tendency to simply endure attacks despite actually fighting now. The difference was that it now only took blows strategically, even if its strategy was still rudimentary at best.
As the fight continued, they got further and further up into the sky, the desolation dispersing all the clouds as the domain followed the Desolate Child of Loss, and what few beasts or monsters they met on the way that hadn’t known to escape died nearly instantly the moment desolation took hold. As they were flying fast, the domain at least still took time to form wherever they went, which allowed Sylphie to escape its influence occasionally, only diving back in to help the King.
With the creature chasing, the Unique Lifeform had no chance of also escaping the domain but simply had to endure it. However, he knew he would need to get out of it if he could, as that would allow him to travel far faster… and any shot at making it anywhere close to the upper layers of the sky required that to happen.
A massive waste, but there is no other choice.
The Fallen King did something he would very much have wanted to avoid, but unless he wanted to use his unique skill, this was the only other choice he saw. Spreading out his arms, more Soul Marbles appeared as the Unique Lifeform summoned nearly a thousand of them at once, each giving off a golden color that managed to resist the desolation.
With a mental command, the Fallen King detonated several years’ worth of work, and, for a moment, a golden sheen dominated the desolation as the world was colored yellow and the Desolate Child of Loss was blasted downwards, as the King allowed the waves of gold to wash over him as he was pushed upwards. His soul was injured when he detonated that many, but the golden waves had a healing effect on him, effectively canceling out the damage he had just done to himself. The blast hadn’t done any real damage to the Desolate Child of Loss either, as the Soul Marbles weren’t designed to do that, but they had managed to create some space between the two.
Taking advantage of the opportunity created by his wasteful action, the Fallen King shot upwards and soon was finally free of desolation as he entered a world with more colors than monochrome or gold. Sylphie was ready there, and a powerful wind swept up the Fallen King and helped him fly even faster as the two of them sped toward the starry sky above.
Below, the Desolate Child of Loss finally broke through the golden waves of pure soul energy that had suppressed it and saw that the Fallen King and Sylphie had gotten out of its domain. The two of them were hoping this would make the creature give up its chase and just return to the Prima Vessel… but once again, they were not very lucky that day.
Without any real hesitation, the creature chased. With the Fallen King out of the domain, he was a lot faster, but the Desolate Child of Loss still slightly outpaced the two of them. Sylphie was fast enough to escape on her own, but the Fallen King simply wasn’t a speed-focused entity. Neither was the Desolate Child of Loss, but it had several levels on the King and its overpowered concept that allowed it to simply ignore everything, such as air resistance or any kind of resistance from the environment, including even parts of the space affinity.
All they could do for now was buy time and try to maintain distance. They also had to consider that desolation continued to linger within their bodies, and they had to stop at some point to address it before it had time to truly take hold. It was akin to an incredibly difficult-to-cleanse poison, and merely using vital energy while fighting was not enough to fully get rid of the concept. A good period of meditation to really cleanse oneself or a very skilled healer was needed… but right now, neither of those were options, and the more time passed, the more difficult all of this would be to heal.
Minutes passed as the Fallen King and Sylphie kept flying as fast as they could, Sylphie even trying to slow down their chaser a few times, but to no avail. It was slowly closing in, though they still had some time left to go before the domain reached them. When that happened, they would be in trouble, and the Fallen King could only begin to consider their options.
Looking at the bird trying to help him, the Fallen King didn’t take long to decide. If he had to, he-
“Ree,” Sylphie sent, interrupting the King’s thoughts with a single message of hope:
Help was right around the corner, and they only had to hold on for a little longer. As for the King’s prior thoughts of trying to fight and kill the Desolate Child of Loss today… he didn’t even see that as an option worth considering anymore.
--
At the edge of the atmosphere of the planet, a giant worm broke through as it descended at high speed, entirely ignoring whatever natural defenses a planet usually had, as they didn’t stand a chance at impeding the path of a Genesis Cosmic Worm.
Within its stomach, it carried a few people, including the three who had come to try and help the Fallen King and Sylphie.
To call Jake impatient was an understatement. Sandy also knew this and hurried as much as they possibly could, their mood not as jovial as usual. They were incredibly serious, and Jake also understood why.
He had banked on Sandy’s overpowered revival skill, allowing them to escape even if things got too hairy by hiding inside the worm’s stomach, but things weren’t that easy. The Lord Protector had warned his Chosen about certain dangerous things that Sandy had to avoid even with the skill, as they could leave wounds even a revival would not heal… and desolation was right toward the top of that list.
Jake knew that dragging Eron and William along was pretty much risking their lives, and in truth, he was surprised Eron had even volunteered. He was also incredibly wary of desolation, which was actually likely the main reason why he chose to participate. He was always keen on making up for his shortcomings, and to see a C-grade creature capable of using desolation was a great opportunity.
William wasn’t someone Jake cared as much about, but he still didn’t like the feeling of putting someone else’s life at risk in this fashion. Sure, he hated the thought of risking the karma mage fucking up the teleportation more than that, but now that he had proven he hadn’t tried to do that, and there were no clues he was going to try anything shady, Jake did feel a little bad. Only a tiny bit, though.
He did also give credit where credit was due, and the former psychopath metal mage had been quite helpful while teleporting, ensuring they had appeared right above the Prima Vessel and no more than a minute’s flight from the outer edge of the atmosphere.
Jake had naturally confirmed this immediately post-teleport as he could feel Sylphie beneath him. She was flying up toward them while they were flying toward Sylphie and the Fallen King. As time passed, they rapidly closed in on each other, and Jake stayed in constant contact as he got vague messages from Sylphie. The Union Oath did not allow full communication, just vague emotions and images being sent alongside location tracking… but what he felt from Sylphie was enough to put him on edge, and he had to hold himself back from rushing Sandy. He knew the worm was already going as fast as they could.
Every passing second was excruciating as Jake felt them getting closer and closer, but as they got really close, the cosmic worm had some bad news.
“I will tell you already now that I can’t swallow them if they are filled with too much desolation; the absorption process will be too difficult, and it’s too dangerous to have them in here if my guess of their current state is true. They don’t need to be entirely healed, but they need to not be leaking,” Sandy said, not happy about having to deliver this message.
“I will try to cleanse them quickly. Once sufficiently healed, bring us back immediately,” Eron said in a serious tone as he looked over at Jake. “I will naturally need some time.”
Jake nodded, and William also looked at the two of them. “I can help a little… but I doubt my karmic magic will even work, and my metal manipulation doesn’t seem like it would work well when dealing with desolation.”
“Barely anything deals well with desolation,” Jake sighed as he prepared himself, an arrow already fully constructed within his quiver and ready to go.
--
The Fallen King struggled as Sylphie kept the Desolate Child of Loss at bay for a moment, allowing the Unique Lifeform to get a bit more distance without being attacked. He could only get so far, though. A few minutes ago, he had once again been caught by the domain of desolation, and from there, it had become an even harder struggle than before. The creature had been overly aggressive, manipulating the desolation far more actively to try and kill the Fallen King.
To help, Sylphie had fought the powerful creature off a few times, taking injuries and being forced into the desolation. The King was thankful and embarrassed he needed the help, but he had no time to think such thoughts. All he could think about was to keep moving forward as quickly as possible… until finally he saw it.
From above, a mass of energy approached, and the monochrome was pushed away as a large arrow glowing with arcane light tore into the domain, headed straight for the Desolate Child of Loss. The creature was in the midst of attacking Sylphie, making it fail to respond properly as it got struck right in the chest and launched downward.
Sylphie quickly disengaged and flew toward the Fallen King as several more arrows arrived, flying into the domain and straight for a confused Desolate Child of Loss that was forced to defend itself, giving the Fallen King enough breathing room to once more escape the domain of desolation alongside Sylphie.
At least for a moment, before the creature quickly adapted and began chasing once more, swatting away several of the weakened arrows and even tanking a few to not slow down too much.
They continued to ascend, and soon, the Fallen King and Sylphie saw the hunter raining down arrows, the healer from the Dao Sect and metal mage at his side, standing in front of a large cosmic worm, ready to lend a hand and hopefully allow their successful escape.
Comments
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Ray Light
Also possible it just adds up to the ring but this DCL figure looks separate from the event so might just give a nive boost or title!
Ray Light
That would be an awesome plot twist to balance out his setback!
Rachel Clements
TYFTC!
Noah Mclelland
Ok I realised that since Jake's soul damage I don't think he could of.
Kconraw
Thx for the chapter
Olof Karlsson
Thanks for the chapter!
Noah Mclelland
Wait, sylphie is able to outrun the child of desolation, so the only 1 in imminent danger is the fallen king. Can't Jake summon the unique lifeforms while sylphie kites the enemy until the fallen king is healed, then just escape?
Lion3125
Well by the time Sandy arrived, it was still close enough to do it. As in... Jake wanted an extraction, both of them knew they couldn't fight anymore... The moment Syl told the Fallen King the others arrived, they should have done this... Getting away from the domain is top priority
Christopher Robin Sævre
He got a bit arrogant this time, but it’s got to lose some times, imagine him doing this fuck up with actuall power, better to smash your soul to bits in C grade, imagine the damage to himself were he at like A grade
VenL.C.
Jake’s gonna close the gap on El’Cheeto in the system event by somehow getting massive points as part of some bonus/hidden objective of saving the galaxy from the Desolate Child calamity.
King Nereus
Sure does seem like there is major hinting that DCL at least knows about them and thinks all people are like them,
Scott M
Outstanding
King Nereus
I also think Eron is a great counter but for the story he will fall just short, and if things don’t go well today Jake juice will have to be the answer in the future. This team can’t win right now, but maybe Jake or Sandy or William will have a better time at communicating and getting information.
Deborah martins
I think it the problem is rooted in the past he doesn't know. He is making the ruined part of the universe as his biggest sin when it was a justified vendetta.
Death56
It's a soul attack Jake's soul ks weakened
Borbino the great
I didn’t think of that but that sounds so cool
Killjoy
He thinks he's sending them to the Holy land.
Richard Rader
Don’t remind me….
Razeel Nightfall
I think Jake needs to learn to do things the correct way, and stop pissing about with Jake juice until he has a better understanding.
Rahsheem Reid
I think Jake juice is off limits rn after Jakes last debacle.
Tyler S.
I was thinking that the desolation damage is aready passed a point and with FK being a soul being he could better direct what parts are permanently damaged to sever
Dan
PLOT TWIST! The desolate child's strongest karmic bond is with Jacob. I hope that's not the case, but I still think the church in some way created I
Haaki0
Tyftc ;)
Kevin
I think Eron is pretty much the opposite of desolation. He is like a never ending spring of life and vitality where desolation is an all consuming void.
Benjamin Mages
Are there any characters at their level who can't fly at this point? I know back in D-grade it was pretty unusual but it seems like all sorts of people can just do it now even if it's unrelated to their normal specialties.
Abhishek
Im sad Jake can’t use primal gaze here
John Durrett
I think the Fallen King may have rejected the offer due to his very arrogant and prideful nature. By the time he knew he was screwed, Jake was already on his way.
John Durrett
Hope. If you could give someone a thread of Hope that things will be better, giving their willpower a boost to overcome adversity...could be a powerful thing. Its possible William will be a huge help here and earn Jakes respect.
John Durrett
I think it depends on our interpretation of Yip of Yor. I don't know that its the power to alter timelines, only to lend credence to story narratives. If Villy is stronger then Yip by a margin of 10, and Yip gains powers according to the people who buy into a view and he gets Just the right number to believe Villy is Weaker or Yip is stronger...you could almost compare it to Gods gaining power thru the number of worshipers they have. Now as to the Alternate timeline. If Yips powers can literally make it so Fruit of the Loom never had a basket on their fruit label and Everyone believed that FotL was always just Fruit label.. Villy would spot the original record in his memory and know something had changed things. @Kevin I take it you have not come across many time altering stories, or maybe I just read in similar waves as AfroMocha. Its all good.
Comeback Kid
Seems like a pure view type situation. Its hard to negotiate with someone when they dont share the same concept of reality as you do.
ShivaMcTimber
This guy is the Galactus of this universe
ShivaMcTimber
TYFTC! Curious about I's philosophy. He obviously believes he is ascending the things he desolates. Ascending to where? Simple delusional insanity? I wonder if he can be reasoned with at some level? Likely not given his fundamental approach but I am curious.
Ty Cooper
And just think. He is building up for the September cliffhanger.
John Durrett
To soon to say he has No skills. He can fly which shouldn't be a thing since flight is often equated to freedom and desolation is the loss of everything. The only caveat I can think of is, if all there is is desolation; no other concepts exist in its space, then the child of desolation can literally be anywhere within the "space" of desolation.
John Durrett
Yep...desolation ate the curses in EH
Micah Molina
For some reason, that imagery at the end reminds me of the Wild Hunt. I wonder if it already exists in the multiverse?
Forrest
Can jake use some Jake Juice to make an arrow. That might be what it takes to counter desolation.
Jose Reyna
TFTC
Yeslek Nnamhctits
I... seems like the type of creature the viper warned us about. He will never ascend too God hood, like Jake's protégé he will burn himself out, upon completion of his purpose, or attack something it shouldn't and then get killed as a result... these sorts of galactic calamities, seem common, if powerful, Jake should eat it later... that's my hope. Excellent fodder on the Jake pile.
Codewrds
Agreed
Austin Richins
Fuck, this is intense. Got me some coffee jitters.
DBOMB YO
I feel like it might have been better for Jake to summon FK via the mask and just allow Sylph to fly away on her own since it was stated she can outpace TDC. Is there a backlash on FK that I'm not remembering or something for why they didn't just do this?
Benjamin Mages
You've also got to remember that specialization is a type of power in and of itself, especially when your specialization is as strong as the concept of desolation. He can't craft, he has no skills related to anything but annihilating stuff with desolation (as least as far as we've seen).
Lunch Box
The power of friendship
Kevin
How do you think karma works with desolation? I could easily see desolation having no effect on the karmic bonds themselves given how karma is linked with the true soul and one’s records. It might affect Williams ability to affect karma, but not the karma itself.
JohnSnowden
Ick 😂
Kevin
What? That was really really hard to follow and read. But I’m pretty sure the answer is no or at least a not really.
Vex
Unfortunately remember, the Protean arrow is now made by Jake. While yes if he has The Desolate child of loss as his target and hits him it will do more damage, the arrow isn't as specially designed for it like when it was Arrow of the Ambitious hunter where the system made it entirely for the one target.
joel southard
Nice thank you for the chapter
AfroMocha
I was thinking if Villy has perfect recall and perfect memory. Would that mean that he sees something in the universe when it comes to yip of your that's not right. As in yip of your if he has a bloodline or transcendent ability that allows him to guide his story so to speak and he gains power from his story being what he believes it should be or however it works then I'm thinking there's a possibility yep severely altered something to gain the power that he's gained and possibly the Viper with his perfect memory and perfect recall is able to see it discrepancies multiverse.
D
I went from mysterious force to like seriously OP. Still not clear what is the opposite of desolation. It has to be some sort of creation right? And Jake’s special hunting arrow is created by the system to specifically hurt their prey. So the arrow should be all that’s needed or something to learn from?
William WIlson
There is a web tool I guess.
Seen Death
Dk why this comment made me think of this, but i wonder what kind of insight villy was able to get from deconstructing/reconstructing jakes soul Further: with villys perfect memory, i wonder if villy remembers jake interacting with the seer in the past (so far jakes been basically undiscoverable by all but the seer in jakes limited use skill thing, but that doesnt mean its impossible for villy to have seen him at some point, in this timelines future, but to the past for villy) That would be quite a massive event
Seen Death
Eternal hunger basically viewed desolation as its complete enemy. Where curses consume to grow stronger, it views the complete destruction as incredibly offensive ( / wasteful)
Seen Death
Yeah, i think the best comparison would be jakes first apprentice, the curse guy Holds vast power, but grew too fast to really handle it (or just had no need to, his goal is to obliterate entire worlds and has probably not had any difficulties or needs to hone his skills... him just walking towards people usually ends in dust) But now hes fighting one of the strongest forces in this universe I look foward to more!
Seen Death
I do like that idea, id imagine it would take a good little bit of time / skinning to actually do but preparation is one of an alchemists main strengths I cant wait for more haha
Rahsheem Reid
Good stuffs
Conclave
Yeah that would work. Empowering the Arrow further it goes threw the layers of Desolation. Seems like the best plan. Hopefully Jake have think about that with his little home stay
Preston Stokes
Great chapter boss! Keep up the good work
Trevor Mergen
Thanks!
BumAssBumAss
"a nasty golden blast go grant him some more distance," -> "a nasty golden blast to grant him some more distance,"
Codewrds
I want this animated so bad
William WIlson
The king using desolation isn't something. We've already been told the king can do only 3 types of magic, force golden and soul. That's all the magic he will ever do and Jake would instantly be all introducing desolation into our soul spaces seems like a shitty idea. I could see the king taking to option to allow everyone else to escape and sacrificing himself to end up locked back into the mask.
William WIlson
I said this on Monday and I'll say it again, these aren't cliffhangers but more akin to a false peak. The real cliffhanger happens on Friday and possibly next Friday
William WIlson
I could see Jake incorporating the concept of scales into his arrow allowing them to feed off desolation.
Conclave
I think Jake will somehow make some improvised version of the Protean Arrow, mixed with Scales, turning it into something that litteraly dont give a shit about Desolation. It proved useful when dealing with the core so something mixed between his stable arcane affinity, cotting Scales could work just fine. Tommorow's cliffhanger will be horrible tho.
Bi-Dailey
TFTC
William WIlson
The way it was written and explained was it was with no intent.
Davey876
That was the first union oath, wasn't the second one weaker because of Jake breaking it
Stuart Thwaites
I think Jake's scales are gonna be more affective than he thinks. They kept him good while standing next to a desolated world core. Yeah 'I' did it but 'I' didn't do it very well. I can't remember exactly how it was written but Jake was relieved that the way 'I' used to desolate the core wasn't one of the more effect or more. powerful methods
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
Kt-x
Thanks for the chapter
Boomer
Crowbar hunger would argue that point
Andromeda Adams
Tyftc! Wow, go JAKE! I don’t know that he wins this time. Hopefully they all escape though.
Paulo Furlaneto
Tftc
Tyler S.
Hes taken over the world cores of at least 2 dozen planets... Thats a lot of power even if at C grade he can only control a fraction
Zizawah
I was incredibly thankful for the title as that gave me relief before even reading but then they are not out of the woods yet at the end. Edge of the seat and all that, eagerly awaiting Jake’s interaction/ handling of I. Thanks for the chapter!
Tyler S.
Possible true death of the Fallen king in his attempt to use desolation to break the bond
Michael
Given that Jake's primeval origin energy encompasses pretty much every origin, the origin of desolation would naturally be more powerful than desolation on it's own
mitchell kaiser
If you leave off on a cliffhanger for all of September I’ll be a little sad.
Brandon Yarberry
allowing him to launch a nasty golden blast -go- grant him some more distance To?
kandiana
Eternal hunger didn't like it when Jake explored black planet
Matthias
Tftc
SilverSentry
Man, the story is really picking up. These cliff hangers are killing me! TFTC.
JJB4345_80_815
Yes, thank you for the chappy Zogarth!
Zogarth
Fix
Tommy
Tftc
Cory Sauls
TFTC.
Martinus Chrisjan
Hopefully there is a reasonable rationale for the level of power "I" has demonstrated. Especially with no real training. Keen for the next chapters!
DarkclawWhitedragon
Thank you for the chapter. "allowing him to launch a nasty golden blast go grant him some more distance" go => to
Mohammed Sheekh
I wonder how eternal hunger will react to desolation also jakes bloodline will be the only thing useful against the desolation
Naotsugu97
This feels almost like a Friday cliff. Which makes me nervous for tomorrow.
Decibel790
Kinda wonder what Origin would do when encountering desolation...would it just be destroyed? What happens when the beginning of all things meets the end of all things? True neutral?
Arieh Sochaczevski
Thanks for the chapter! “The Union Oath did not allow full communication, just vague emotions being sent and location tracking…” This doesn’t make much sense. She used to tell him stories about strange trees using the Oath.
C0bra$
Thank u for the story
BumAssBumAss
Thanks for the chapter
Anthony
First
