The Orb pulsed before me.

It throbbed like the beat of a heart.

I stood motionless, staring at it with a blank mind. The world outside seemed to freeze. I knew this wasnt the case and the world was flowing at the same speed.

It was just that my thoughts were running so fast that the world outside appeared to freeze.

.

In the darkness, I stood before the orb.

Throb! Throb!

With each throb, the orb grew brighter and brighter.

The darkness that embraced it faded, replaced by a dim red glow.

I stood in a trance, my eyes tracing over the Orb that shrank and became the size of a football.

The sight made my blood boil.

Hooo.

I drew in a cold breath as I looked at my hands.

As if I had some sort of X-ray vision, I was able to see the veins inside of my body. They throbbed in the same rhythm as the Red Orb that stood before me.

Throb! Throb!

The speed at which the Orb pulsed started to increase.

It grew faster and faster and faster.

And so did my veins.

I felt my blood boil as something within me started to change. But I couldnt quite pinpoint what it was.

Just as I was wondering what was happening, a change occurred.

The Orb stopped pulsing for a brief moment.

I stood blankly as I noticed the change and looked up. The Orb appeared to be frozen in time, still like never before.

That was until

THROB!

It suddenly throbbed again.

However, unlike the other times, this was different. The sound reverberated throughout the entire space, almost making everything shake in the process.

I stood still without losing my balance and soon enough, a change occurred.

A massive R fell from above and stopped beneath the red orb.

Uh?

I stood confused, unable to grasp what was happening. But even if I couldve understood what was going on, I had no time to do so.

A change yet again occurred to my body.

The veins in my body throbbed with such intensity that I felt my entire body shake. My muscles twitched, and my hands started to shake.

My body started to change.

I could feel the fibers of my muscle tigthen while my lungs widened. My percetion of the world started to change right before my very eyes.

.

I stood in silence while this was happening.

No longer was I confused. All of this was something that I was willing through my imagination, and I soon understood what my subconcious was createing.

I let it continue to do so.

THROB!

The Orb throbbed again.

This time, another letter appeared. Falling from the empty darkness from above, it stopped right next to the R.

RA!

My body shook.

I felt my teeth chatter as something started to boil in my abdomen. It was a faint swirl of energy that moved down every inch of my body, spreading down on all areas.

Power started to surge through me.

Clenching my fist, my energy surged even more. I couldnt quite control it, but I could feel it swirling inside of my body.

If I were to punch at this moment, Id be able to replicate the impact of what a [Body] type user would be capable of.

Haaa Haa

With heavy breaths, I fixed my gaze on the Orb as it stopped.

The orbs surface began to writhe and squirm as if something inside it was desperately trying to break free. The shape distorted, bulging in different areas.

Instinctively, I reached out for it.

I wasnt worried about my safety.

This was all the fruit of my subconscious.

.

My hand neared the Orb which started to distort and deform in all sorts of ways. My hand drew nearer, and soon, I came into contact with the orb.

THROB!

A new letter appeared right beneath the first two.

G

Woom!

The orb emitted a faint hum as its shape began to dissolve, transforming into a fluid-like form. It slithered toward my arm, silently reaching for every part of my body. Slowly, it crept over my skin, enveloping my arm completely in its cold, pulsating embrace.

Power yet again surged through my entire body.

It was even more than before.

.In my current state, it felt as though I could shatter everything in my fist. The Orb continued to run down my body covering every inch of it.

My muscles squirmed and throbbed violently.

They almost seemed to be rejecting the Orb as it pushed them to a level that they had not once reached. My muscles bulged, the veins on my neck protruded, and my entire body started to overflow with energy.

I felt extremely powerful, and as I raised my head, I fixed my gaze on the three-letter words that were floating before me.

RAG

I knew exactly what the next letter was going to be.

But before it could even materialize, the world stopped.

Ukh!

My head throbbed violently.

It was a familiar pain that made my entire body grow pale. The surroundings shook, and the viscous red liquid that was covering my entire body started to shrink back and move away from my body. As if time had reversed, the liquid returned to become the orb that throbbed in silence as the letters disappeared one after another.

No, no

I reached out for the orb but it was of no use.

It simply refused to return to me as power started to drain out of my body. My head throbbed more fiercely as the A disappeared from my vision.

What came after the A was the R and it wasnt long before the only thing that was left was the Orb.

But even that disappeared shortly after.

..!

Light returned to my vision as I found myself back on the platform.

Rustle!

Something rustled in my ears.

I quickly locked all of my emotions and silently endured the pain and weakness that overtook my body. With hardly any time to think, I decided to shift my head lightly.

Swoosh!

A dagger appeared, cutting right at my cheek as I felt something trickle down.

I didnt need to look to know what it was.

Meeting my gaze was a pair of cold eyes. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I reached out for her, but she disappeared before I could even catch her.

She reappeared again on the opposite end.

.

I felt suffocated while staring at her.

She seemed to have a counter for everything that I did.

It was frustrating, but the emotion didnt quite sink in. At least, not in the state that I was in.

Hooo.

I took a deep breath and tried my best to regain my stamina.

In the meantime, I thought back to what just happened.

I was close

It felt as though I was coming close to the creation of a concept. Though incomplete, a concept formed in my mind as I started to get a better idea of what my domain would be.

What I had seen was merely one small part of it, but the idea was there.

.It was unfortunate that I wasnt able to grasp it at this very moment.

It wouldve helped.

But that would require an incredible amount of luck.

I wasnt that lucky.

And I didnt have time to try again. Staring directly in Angelas direction, our eyes locked for a brief moment before she disappeared. I immediately turned to my left despite hearing a rustling sound coming from my right.

Swoosh!

As expected, as though she were a ghost, Angela appeared on my left.

I thrust my fist forward as she thrust her dagger forward. My fist and her dagger neared each other, and just as they were about to touch, Angelas hand twisted as the dagger shot for my heart.

It all happened in a matter of half a second and the dagger directly hit my chest.

But there was no pain.

[Veil of Deception]

I looked at my body which vanished and then her exposed back.

Like before, I pointed my right hand in the direction of her exposed neck. A familiar scene played out as she ducked down and avoided the thread.

But that didnt matter to me as I raised my left hand.

In the exact spot where she ducked down a purple hand appeared.

.!

For the first time, a change occurred to her cold and indifferent features as she tried to avoid it. But it was too late.

The hand gripped her face for a brief moment before shattering, her body disappearing shortly after that as she materialized at the far end of the platform.

Haa Haa

With heavy breaths, I stared in her direction.

Her face was pale and her body was slightly trembling.

It worked

For the first time since the fight had started, I had come out on top. Not only that, but I managed to get [Grip of Pestilence] to affect her.

She was now cursed and it would only be a matter of time before she lost all her energy.

As if she realized this too, her gaze turned sharp.

I stared back at her, evening out my heartbeat. I understood that her attacks were going to be even more relentless, but I was ready.

Her figure blurred.

Rustle~

A rustling sound echoed behind me.

I didnt fall for it and thrust my hand forward as it turned purple.

Angelas figure appeared in front of my eyes. Her cold gaze stared at my purple hand before her hand blurred.

..!

I felt a series of sharp cuts appear all over my arm as my mind registered the pain. Before I could even counter-attack, she disappeared, appearing right behind me where I felt a familiar set of cuts dig down on my back.

I ignored the pain and twisted my torso to retaliate but she disappeared before I could do so.

Her figure appeared to my left. Toward my exposed torso.

As her dagger glided through the air and sliced it apart, it reached for my exposed area in an attempt to cut it, but before she could do so a chain appeared.

Clank! Clank!

It blocked all her attempts before coiling over her hand.

As expected, you went for it.

I didnt waste the chance.

Tightening my left hand, the chain coiled out of my body and coiled around her hand tightly in an attempt to shatter her hand. I thought I had gotten her, but I was shocked to see the chain phase right through her body as her entire body turned gaseous.

Clank! Clank!

The chain fell to the ground with a series of clanking sounds.

Shifting my attention to her corporeal body, it finally dawned on me. The reason why she was able to get past all of my defenses and all of that.

I smiled then.

No wonder you made my life so hard.