Chapter 293: The Eye That Never Slept (2)

The moment The Eternal Deceiver appeared—wearing the same face as Aster—he wasted no time and neither did Mia.

SHK! SHK! SHK!

Aster exploded forward—double swords flashing in perfect sync, a storm of silver and black arcs that tore the Antarctic air apart. The blades left trailing afterimages of fractured space, each swing heavy enough to shear glaciers clean in half.

The Eternal Deceiver smirked—then simply faded, body dissolving into grey mist as his voice echoed from everywhere at once.

"I am here..."

"What the he—"

BANG! BOOOM!!!!!

Aster’s sentence never completed.

A kick slammed into the side of his skull with the force of an exploding star.

Reality itself seemed to buckle around the impact point. He spun like a ragdoll, body crashing through ice ridges in a deafening cascade of shattering frost, finally slamming into the flank of a distant mountain.

CRUNCH!

The peak cracked—a massive fissure racing upward as snow avalanched in slow-motion thunder.

Mia was already moving.

She stayed back—where she was strongest—her eyes narrowing as she raised both hands.

Deep red essence coalesced between her palms—not a talent, not a skill, but a concept she had long since comprehended.

|Concept of Crimson Reinforcement|

It was the absolute amplification of another’s existence—pushing every facet of their being to impossible heights for as long as her threads could hold.

WHIP!

Hundreds of crimson threads lashed outward—fast, unerring—latching onto Aster as he dug himself free from the rubble. The instant they connected, his aura detonated.

HUMMMMMM!!!

Strength surged as his muscles coiled with power that cracked the ice beneath his boots.

His speed increased to such an extent that even minor movements blurred.

A healing factor roared—with wounds closing in heartbeats, blood evaporating into red mist before it could hit the ground. He cracked his neck—bones popping like gunfire.

"I don’t know what sort of illusion you’re wearing." He spoke as he spat out a mouthful of blood that froze midair and shattered into crimson dust.

"But, you chose the wrong guy."

|The World Breaker|

The title ignited—his swords suddenly carried impossible weight.

SHKKAAAAA!

Each swing no longer simply cut... its arcs broke space entirely. The first slash tore a canyon through the glacier field—ice parting like wet paper for miles, black voids flickering along the edges where space itself refused to heal.

|The Eternal Sovereign|

His presence swelled—a crown of unseen authority pressing down.

The icy winds stilled. Snowflakes hung motionless. Even the Deceiver’s grey mist seemed to hesitate, as though the world itself bowed for a heartbeat.

|Abyssal Devourer|

Shadows bled from his blades—hungry, living tendrils that lashed outward.

SHLURP!

They struck the Deceiver’s afterimage—consuming it whole, grey essence dissolving into black nothingness. The tendrils didn’t stop—they hunted, writhing across the ice like starving serpents seeking the source.

|The Gatekeeper|

SHK!

SHK!

SHK!

Gates erupted behind him—thousands opening in heartbeat intervals. Great swords shot outward from each rift, blades rained from every angle, space folding and refolding as portals snapped open and closed.

Mia poured more threads into him—crimson light pulsing brighter.

Aster became nothing but a streak of light— his swords blurring into continuous arcs, ice exploding in geysers with every step, mountains trembling as shockwaves rolled outward.

Yet still the Eternal Deceiver only dodged.

He slipped between slashes like smoke through fingers—body twisting at angles that hurt to watch, grey hair barely disturbed.

"You swing like you expect victory?" he said—voice calm, echoing from every direction at once.

"But what is victory if the target never existed?"

CLANG!

Aster snarled—swords crossing in a defensive X as he spun—intercepting a casual finger-flick that still sent him skidding back twenty meters, boots gouging twin furrows through solid ice.

"You talk too much!" he roared.

He surged again—every Title blazing together.

HUMMMM!!!!

|World Breaker + Eternal Sovereign|

SHKKKKKAAAAA!!!!

A single overhead swing brought down a wedge of sky itself—the horizon splitting in a black-white fracture that swallowed light.

|Abyssal Devourer + Gatekeeper|

VRRRRMMMM!!!!

Shadows and echoes merged into a writhing sphere of nothingness that chased the Deceiver—consuming space as it went—leaving absolute voids that slowly collapsed behind it.

The ice field disintegrated—continents of frost shearing away, avalanches roaring into the sky, the ground itself buckling under the pressure of overlapping realities.

Mia’s threads burned brighter—violet eyes fierce.

"ASTER—NOW!"

SHKAAAAA!

He leaped—swords converging in a final pincer strike—a cross-slash that tore open a rift wide enough to swallow moons.

But once again... The Deceiver simply wasn’t there.

No matter what he did, what he tried—it didn’t work. Hell, he was just about to use his Precept but...

A grey palm pressed lightly against Aster’s chest—mid-leap.

BOOM!

The impact echoed like thunder across Antarctica.

Aster was sent flying backward—crashing through ice ridges in a deafening cascade of shattering frost and flying shards—finally slamming into the flank of another distant mountain.

He skidded to a stop—chest heaving, grey hair matted with blood and frost, swords trembling in numb fingers.

The Deceiver stood motionless—watching.

Aster coughed—blood flecking his lips—then smiled, broken but defiant.

"...It’s time to come home."

His body shimmered—edges blurring like heat haze.

During the entire fight, Lucy had been watching through the eyes of Mia. At a single glance she could tell that Aster and The Eternal Deceiver were one and the same.

And hearing those final words... it all but confirmed it.

Lucy’s voice whispered through Mia’s mind—cold, commanding.

"Help him."

Mia’s threads shifted—instantly.

A crimson veil snapped around Aster’s swords—just as he lunged one last time.

The blades missed—by a hair’s breadth—sliding harmlessly past the Deceiver’s throat.

(Not like they would’ve landed anyway!)

Aster’s eyes narrowed as if he knew something like this would happen. He caught a glimpse of Mia—whose expression now held a sweet smile as she vanished.

"Oh? She left." The Eternal Deceiver said as if he were sad. Though he didn’t ask... he stated—which meant his power over all things false should have worked.

Yet Mia never returned... she was gone even against his power.

Seeing this Aster began shifting his form again as he tried to use a contingency. But... The Eternal Deceiver had grown tired of the games.

There was no power Aster could wield—from the Records or not—that would allow him to escape his Original’s control.

Why?

"You were never a clone; we were always one."

THUD!

The moment those words sounded, Aster collapsed to his knees—body flickering, destabilizing.

The Eternal Deceiver stepped forward and as he did there was no malice... no triumph...

Just quiet inevitability.

A grey light bloomed—gentle, almost tender.

Aster’s form unraveled—threads of essence pulling inward, drawn into the Deceiver’s open palm.

There was no screaming, no convulsions, or anything... just silence.

The last flicker of Aster’s grey eyes faded.

Then nothing.

The Deceiver lowered his hand—grey hair shifting in the Antarctic wind.

He looked toward the horizon—where the ice wall loomed, seals still crumbling.

Then—softly, one would think it was almost to himself...

"Who... are you?"

It was a question that hung in the air...

Yet it was one that was answered immediately.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!