(POV - 3RD)

Y/N frowned hard and slow, his experiences from dealing with unprecedented situations from the past and future had managed to let him keep his thoughts from leaking out to much.

The Einherjar gazed at the boat in front of him and the large container stored on its deck, it doesn't take a genius to know that it was the package that Alexander had sent him after he paid him approximately a million to buy off from a shady place.

As for the equipment, it wasn't something bought from an official manufacturer or company but from the underground markets; black or not so Y/N wasn't so sure if he could truly trust its quality and efficiency, especially if he's diving into the deepest spot in the entire ocean.

However, it's Alexander the time traveller's dealing with so he could at least trust the old bartender to give him a good equipment or two, the whip-sword he had received was still functioning just fine without breaking or chipping, so that's something to note from.

The boat or more like, the yacht that Y/N had received is also a "rented" vehicle along with the diving gears sent alongside it so the most preferable outcome would be that he doesn't damage the equipment and boat too much.

Keywords being; "too much", Y/N noted again, so he can afford to make a few scratches on the boat? Good to know.

All in all, the yacht looked to be good conditions to sail the seas for several weeks, even if there's a storm or rough waves in the ocean, it was also stocked up for the passengers to survive in the ocean for days without any fear of malnutrition or dehydration.

Although he's curious as to know what sort of diving suit was given to him, supposedly enough to traverse near the Mariana Trench, the wharf that the yacht is docked at is currently filled with other tourists and people so unboxing the suit here and now would be a bad idea.

 Y/N simply grunted as he hefted his luggage onto the yacht, he shouldn't waste time thinking when he should be boating out into the ocean, perhaps to his watery grave.

================================

"Hmm... is it bad that I feel like I'm developing a case of thalassophobia?" Y/N said to no one as he gazed into the water... the deep, dark murky water.

For simplicity sake, the entire trip across the ocean to the trench took a few days straight considering that he's using a yacht instead of a high-powered ship but the supplies provided in the boat was more than enough to sustain him, end of story.

In the span of said days, Y/N's been continuously practicing moulding and forming constructs purely out of the Geo element and so far, the results have been progressively going well enough for him to accurately shape them into weapons.

The Prototype Rancour was one such example of a pure Geo sword and following the order of a spear, greatsword and bow, Y/N managed to create more "Prototypical" weapons, respectively called "Starglitter", "Archaic" and "Crescent".

For reasons unknown, the names just felt right.

Back to the present, the Einherjar was in the process of unboxing the large container, unlocking the many mechanisms that kept the suit inside tightly shut before he finally pried open the front of the case, revealing the diving equipment.

"This... looks like a regular diving suit..." Was all Y/N commented.

The suit in question was undoubtedly armoured and geared up for underwater exploration, but even with today's technology, the time traveller highly doubts that this lone suit is enough for him to remotely traverse into the depths of the trench with getting crushed by the pressure. 

"On hindsight, screw you Morax." The Einherjar thought as the difficulty of the task given to him seemingly rose even higher.

The pressure of the Mariana Trench will absolutely crush him into a pancake whether or not if he's wearing any form of protection or suit, just how is Morax supposed to expect him, a greenhorn who just received an otherworldly power to complete a task like this?!

Oh well, no use dawdling.

Y/N began undressing before donning the skin tight wetsuit while reading a roughly written instruction manual on how to operate the diving suit as well as to equip it. Said writer seems to also be Alexander with just how the tone and way it's written, but nevertheless, the diving gears are soon equipped before Y/N did a test walk around.

Heavy, slow but definitely thick and armoured enough to stop a moderate pressure but to prevent his body from getting crushed by the deeper pressure? That's another question.

Attached to the back of the diving suit was a large tank-like container, most likely consisting of oxygen tanks and filters for the dive and featured on the bottom of said tank were two outputs with seemingly miniature propellers apparently used to move the diver around underwater.

However, Y/N had doubts that it would actually do much considering the entire suit itself is composed of pure metallic frames and alloys, it felt heavier than when he swung his metal poles for training so moving the suit around with two tiny propellers seemed unlikely.

Next to the container which the diving suit was held in is a giant roll of rope, literally with a buckle at the end of it made to attach itself to the suit as well, serving as a lifeline for him to grab on and return to the surface.

Looking at all the equipment set, he should be ready...

Y/N prepared everything before double checking if the suit, the rope, the diving systems are all fully functioning properly without any setbacks until he finally stepped to the edge of the yacht.

"...Here goes nothing..." Was all the Einherjar said before allowing gravity to take hold of him.

================================

"Guh!" Xiao grunted as he threw himself onto the floor, dodging another swing from a staff wielded by a certain girl.

"Score for me~!" Hu Tao said, twirling her polearm as she looked at Xiao getting up with a scowl and spear in hand.

The day started with Xiao having to deal with Alexander's constant "lessons" in learning how to keep a poker face and ignore all the insults that hits his sore spots before the latter finally suggested sparring with Hu Tao who decided to visit as quote; "just because".

Surprisingly, the funeral director also wielded a polearm like him and since the elderly bartender suggested a match between the two, Xiao didn't have much protest against it and to be honest?

He needed blow off some steam.

So he honestly thought a funeral director wouldn't be much of a challenge... how wrong he was when he found himself getting smacked around like a pinball, unlike his violent and rash sweeps of his own polearm, Hu Tao's style of combat was more refined and focused.

Something he needs to also work on and that which baffles him, why the hell did a director like her need to fight that well? Xiao's expression must have spelt out his silent question because the said girl then answered back with mirth.

"C'mon~ When you're the 77th director of the underground corpses consociation, you're bound to have some skills in defending yourself... or silencing others." 

Hu Tao's tone at the end of her sentence took a somewhat creepy giggle as she watched Xiao take another stance with his spear, this time the former noticed his form was slightly more defensive and reserved... a definite improvement from his usual reckless stance.

"Are you ready~?" Hu Tao asked as she returned to her own stance as well with Xiao silently scowling even harder.

"I'll take that as a yes~" She added before dashing forward.

Xiao immediately swung at the girl who reflexively ducked underneath the attack before retaliating with a thrust of her own, the former quickly leaned to the side as he drew back his spear and stabbed forward when Hu Tao's polearm was still outstretched.

However, the young director's reflex was once again demonstrated as she easily dodged the attack before twirling her staff around and lashing out at Xiao who held his spear up, parrying the attack as he pushed himself forward.

Although their weapons were both made to be used in a long ranged melee combat, Xiao quickly switched his grip on his spear, holding it above his head as he thrusted forward at Hu Tao.

The funeral director instantly tilted her head, allowing the weapon to sail past her before she sent a kick straight into Xiao's abdomen, earning another grunt from him as he held in the pain and slashed at Hu Tao again.

Said director then kicked the spear upwards, completely avoiding the attack before she charged forward and started a plethora of swings and slashes from her own weapon.

Unfortunately, Xiao's abilities in wielding the spear is not on par with Hu Tao as the former only learned how to fight through desperation and with no choice at all when the Honkai ravaged his home, leaving him defending himself against the latter's onslaught.

The very fact that he cannot do anything to retaliate in this spar just made the boy even more hateful of his own incompetence, especially when he tried to stop those accursed beings from killing his family, from wrecking his home.

Now, he couldn't do anything against a funeral director, in a spar no less.

He hates this feeling... he hates it so damn much...

He hates it... hates it, hate...hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate! HATE! WHY?! WHY?! WHY COULDN'T HE DO ANYTHING USEFUL AT ALL?! ALL THESE EMOTIONS-

HATE-REGRET-ANGER-GUILT

K̵̛̬̈́͐͋A̸͈̥͇̭͙͋̌́͌͝R̴͕̺̉͑̉̃͜ͅM̶̢̖͈̭̈́́ͅÌ̷͚̰̐̿̍̿C̷̯̔̈́ ̷̳͉͙͙͙̈́̽̀͌̚D̸̥̝̄Ẻ̴̯̣̹̈́͂͘B̷̥̣̖̪̈T̵̢̯̰̏̾̎͘

DESPAIR-VENGEANCE-SORROW-RAGE

"Oya?" Hu Tao let out a small voice of curiosity as Xiao's face was obscured by the green Nuo mask before she felt something... change.

"Now this is interesting-?!" She said before her senses went into overdrive as she instantly raised her staff up, blocking a swing aimed right at her head.

"Hmm... quite an interesting phenomenon." Alexander remarked from the side as Xiao somehow immediately closed in the distance between the two fighters.

If his eyes weren't deceiving him, there was also a gust of wind and a wisp of teal swirls following after Xiao's body when he closed in the distance... quite peculiar.

Another gust of wind shook Alexander from his thoughts as he watched Hu Tao avoiding every single plunges from Xiao that absolutely cracked the ground from the sheer force of his attacks as he leapt SEVERAL meters into the air without stopping.

"I need to call in some repair services later..." Alexander muttered as he watched Hu Tao running away from Xiao who is now growling like a feral animal.

"And tell Y/N to get back here sooner before those two tear down my bar..." He added.

================================

Meanwhile, back to the aforementioned Einherjar...

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, fuck this shit. What am I even doing?!" Y/N's voice spoke through the headpiece of the suit as he floated in the middle of darkness.

In the middle of the ocean, in the asshole of the entire goddamn planet where the deepest part known to mankind lies, right in between the Mariana Trench.

He had officially lost track of time, again as he allowed the weight of the suit to drag him down deeper into the depths without slowing down, only until after what felt like hours thanks to the length of the rope attached him did Y/N stop descending to try and look around.

Keyword being "try" since there's nothing to look at but pitch black.

Asides from an occasional... sounds anyone would hear whilst being underwater, the time traveller could not see or hear anything else out of the ordinary from his spot.

However, alone as he is, with the sounds of the underwater depths being the only thing to accompany him simply made everything much more tensed and admittedly, terrifying.

Who would like to be stuck in a claustrophobic suit and thousands of meters underwater and in the Mariana Trench no less? Certainly not Y/N but since Morax had supposedly left an invaluable spear in this place, Summit Shaper and The Unforged were good examples.

Although he couldn't bring forth both weapons back into his hands, those "visions" he saw of what appears to be their potentials were nothing to scoff at or even ignore. 

Similarly, Methuselah, or the new "Azhdaha" he had named after finding him in the middle of the Abkhazian forest near Veryovkina, also somehow vanished into golden motes of light before getting literally absorbed into him like the weapons.

He couldn't call the creature forward as well but hey, he got a new tattoo on his arm.

Back to the current situation on hand, Y/N continued floating around the area in hopes of finding anything but to no avail, the time traveller found nothing other than a few deep sea fishes and other creatures swimming past him.

"Pierce... the rainbow's arc..." Y/N said to himself as he tried shining his light on anything.

Everyone knows that a rainbow comes into existence purely by the water droplets in the air making contact with the spectrum of the light, its shape merely depends how one would see from a certain distance and location.

However, Morax had supposedly "pierced" the rainbow's arc and brought down the sun with this spear that Y/N's currently searching for, if anything implies, it's the fact that it's powerful.

In fact, he still remembered that vague sensation... back when Morax fought Azhdaha, for a brief second, for even a nanosecond, he felt something shift in the world around him.

From behind those debris and dust and dirt, he saw Morax held something out in his hand, the very thing that caused the world to bend and rift all around it, as incomprehensible as it was, the Einherjar knew it was the same spear located in the Mariana Trench.

The very same one that rifted the rainbow's arc, that brought down the sun itself and the very spear that subdued that which lies in the deep, whatever it is, it's not of this world.

He couldn't tell the aura surrounding the spear when Morax pulled it out, the world around it bend to its presence, was it divine? Unholy? Dangerous? Alien? 

Y/N couldn't tell but at this moment, he knew if he had to try and find this spear then he should simply repeat the same steps he did before; release the Geo elemental energy into this place.

Yet the words he spoke were not of his own.

"Zhèntiān-hàndì."

His voice seemingly echoed into the depths but there was no result of anything working or even remotely getting triggered, no golden glows nor any sensation of a fluctuating Geo energy.

After a few more seconds of silence with the underwater noises to follow by, Y/N sighed to himself as he began his ascent back to the surface before oxygen runs out.

This is by far, the most troublesome thing he's ever done.

...

Y/N stretched around, cracking his stiff joints from the lack of movements within the heavy suit as looked at the sea where the sun is just above the edge of the horizon, casting an ambient golden hue on the sky and ocean.

Slowly, a hand enclosed around it into a fist. Y/N stared at his hand idly before lowering it as several questions began clouding his head despite his progress.

Could he do it? Could he do what Morax did so in his world?

Shift the world, command the earth, mould constructs out of pure Geo and fight against hundreds of other gods and foes alike and emerge triumphant?

"Haha... this is crazy..." Y/N sighed depreciatingly as he continued looking at the sea.

So far, there was no distinctive change in the ocean nor its water after the time traveller had chanted out a foreign line within the depths, there was a clear pulse of Geo energy thrumming around his surroundings but to no avail did anything work.

However, the Einherjar stubbornly continued trying everything at his disposal, that meant repeating what he had just done and even conjuring forth pure Geo constructs and letting them fall into the abyss until he cannot see them anymore.

Still no results.

Although the previous two ventures were fruitful in its results, this one is repeatedly showing him nothing in return, especially when the watery depths have nothing to offer whether it be clues or even something foreign.

Y/N sighed again, this trip is just about to become more troublesome than he'd expected. The time traveller was just about to finish for the day until he looked around again.

...Something is wrong.

Y/N snapped his head and looked around as turned to face every single directions only to see the ocean waves eerily calm and the sky darkened with clouds shadowing the evening glow, casting the sea in a gloomily grey hue as the water turned dark alongside it.

The Einherjar had not once experienced a moment of calm, especially within the seas where the waves became almost non-existent, his guard was raised as he walked the deck of his boat, looking around continuously before glancing at the watery depths.

All sounds returned to silence before Y/N vigilantly walked towards the edge of the deck as he peered into the waters... nothing, the Einherjar then looked up as he noticed several drops of rain slowly began to pour down from the darkened skies.

The clouds began to turn darker as thunder started to rumble all around with the winds slowly picking up velocity, the waves soon began swelling up with some reaching colossal heights as the boat swayed with Y/N holding on tightly.

Before he knew it, he felt a shift in the water currents before spotting what appeared to be a strings of fluorescent lights in the seawater... moving silently... and around his boat.

Y/N raised his arms across his face as a sudden blast of water hit him before he turned to see several vortexes shooting out from the ocean with the thunderstorm growing ever harder as the winds picked up into gales and the waves churning and transforming into tsunamis.

He didn't know what was going on anymore but at this moment and now, he knew he had done something to trigger what lies beneath the ocean, and that something is responding to the earlier pulse and fluctuation of Geo energy.

Violently.

The Einherjar felt a sudden surge within the waters as the boat tumbled around harshly before he grabbed onto the side and peered out but only to be greeted by the sight of a giant whirlpool forming near his yacht as the vortexes continued howling around it.

"Well, shit." Was all he said as another giant wave shook his boat, almost causing him to fall.

Y/N then grabbed a binocular packed from the boat's supply before gazing around for any signs of the lights he saw earlier, whatever it was, it must be the cause of the sudden storm.

His attention was then completely drawn by the sight of the whirlpool, seemingly getting bigger and wider as the middle of the swirl became deeper and deeper until he saw nothing but darkness looming at the very bottom.

His boat was now dangerously teetering closely at the edge of the whirlpool, any closer and he'll fall into the vortex with it, dangers aside, he'll die instantly from the sheer pressure if he did.

However, luck was certainly not on Y/N's side today as a stray wave, not large enough to capsize his boat but to completely wash him off its deck, hit him straight in the back and without any preparations, the Einherjar found himself falling into the waters.

Y/N yelled out a brief shout filled with profanities before taking in a deep breath instinctively as he hit the waters and sank below the surface with cold waters hitting him from all around.

His senses were in chaos as his eyes were forced shut, his nose forcibly blocked off along with his ears as he continuously held his breath in before finally he broke through the water surface to see himself getting washed straight into the middle of the whirlpool.

A cacophony of noises assaulted his eardrums as he tried to get a balance within all this chaos without possibly dying from drowning, his head then broke back out of the surface again as he breathed in more air before returning back into the depths.

For a brief moment, just a second before his eyes closed again, Y/N saw a faint outline moving around in the deep with the exact same fluorescent lights following it.

Whatever that thing is, Y/N didn't have time to even process or guess what it could be before his entire body broke out from the water, on the side of the whirlpool where the looming depths is right below him whereas gravity took its effects.

The winds began flying past his body before Y/N finally took on the full momentum of the fall, down into the whirlpool with the darkness below looming ever so threateningly. 

As the time traveller fell, so did he caught another glimpse of the light swirling around him before he felt himself falling faster and faster, faster than he should even be...

Down...

Down... through...

Down... through... and...

Down... through... and... into... the

Down... through... and... into... the Ạ̷̢̘̏̅b̸͖̫̭̫̓y̵̟̥͍͙̒̽͊̿s̵̞͚̹̰̿̊͑̾s̷̗̹̜̔̒̌̓.

================================

Above the mountains and clouds, a lone figure sat alone as he sipped on a cup of tea while savouring the scenery around him, the tiny island with several books and seats that floated above the Liyue soil had survived through time itself and had always proved itself to be a good place to be alone especially when it's the highest point in the region.

For Morax, it's his personal and private abode.

"Yahoo~! Miss me, you old blockhead?" A lively voice called out from the skies as Morax turned to see a bard descending down from within the winds.

"Not at all, Barbatos, what brings you all the way from your nation to mine?" Morax questioned, gazing at the said god impassively.

"Nothing much~! Just to check on something!" Replied Barbatos.

"That being..?"

"Why there was a sudden surge of divinity that resembled those from the war?" As the fellow Archon said that, all traces of playfulness vanished as he stared at Morax.

"Oh? Whatever do you mean by that?" The said Archon simply answered back unperturbed as he sipped his tea again without much issues.

"The winds itself carried an essence of divinity and power from Liyue, even I could feel it all the way in Dvalin's lair with him."

"..." The Geo Archon only kept quiet, allowing Barbatos to continue.

"Later on, I felt something shift in the world, I'm sure Beelzebul and even the Tsarita would have felt it, the winds above were torn asunder when the fabric of space was ripped open."

"Is that so? I never thought my project would attract that much attention." Morax idly said, sipping his tea nonchalantly.

"Your project?"

"Indeed, I'm sure you're familiar with my spear-"

"The very one which massacred over hundreds of gods and monsters alike? The same one that killed all those people in K-" Barbatos listed out before Morax interrupted him.

"SILENCE."

"..."

"Apologies, old friend but I would rather you keep that event to ourselves." Morax solemnly and sincerely said, earning a sigh from the bard.

"Fine, anyway, what was that about your spear?"

"I was in the process of remaking it, hence why you felt occasional surges of divinity from Liyue because I was using whatever Adeptus Arts I have at disposal as well as my powers."

"To the point the winds itself were singing with its energy? To the point where space was ripped apart before the rift resealed itself?"

"You can see that I am very... dedicated in this project."

"Why all that trouble? Celestia itself may take actions against your violation of the Heavenly Principles and the laws of this world and another."

"Are you going to announce my so-called violations then?" Morax asked, voice laced with not a single emotion, not anger nor suspicion.

"...No, I see no reasons to anyway even if we are obligated to do so." Barbatos replied with a rather malcontent expression.

"Frankly, Celestia and the Heavenly Principles can... what was the term again?" The Geo Archon began before pausing.

"Can what?" Barbatos asked, dropping down to snatch up another cup of tea.

"Ah, yes, I've heard it's quite crass when the parents scold their children but Celestia and the Heavenly Principles can go fuck themselves."

"PFFT!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!!!" The fellow god then spat out the tea he drank before breaking out into a fit a laughter.

"Was it that funny?" Morax asked with genuine curiosity.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA-!!" However, Barbatos only replied with more laughter.

"..."

"Have you finished with your rambunctious laughter?" Morax then asked as he crossed his arms, not amused at all.

"Haha..! Sorry! Someone like you, using that language! HahaHA!" Barbatos continued as Morax simply sighed until the former stopped.

"Done?"

"Hah... yep! That was the hardest I've laughed in centuries..." Barbatos stated, wiping away a teardrop as he calmed down.

The two gods then spend a minute in silence as they watched the sun border above the horizon before the bard spoke up, breaking the tranquil atmosphere.

"Anyway, you mentioned your spear getting sent through the worlds?"

"Indeed, although many texts shows evidence that I've created Vortex Vanquisher, the truth is far from that..." Morax revealed as Barbatos raised a brow at that.

"Far from that?" He repeated curiously.

"The truth is, Vortex Vanquisher is not of this world's origins, its ability to tear rifts in space is nothing I could have done even in my prime." Morax continued.

His curiosity was peaked, especially when the old god in front of him scarcely talked about himself and his past actions, Barbatos simply opted to stay silent and listen. After all, he had heard all about Morax's spear, how it turned every battles in his favours.

"Bring down the sun, pierce the rainbow's arc, I may be a god but I am not omnipotent to that extent... until I acquired the spear."

"So what are you implying?" Barbatos asked.

"Vortex Vanquisher... is of otherworldly origins." Morax revealed, earning silence from the bard as he stared dumbfounded at the fact.

"...What?" He questioned, any playful demeanour he might have completely gone.

"Like a parasite, the nature of that itself is to seeks and devour and take over anything it touches whether it be monster or human, it transform everything into a host for its powers, forming a vicious cycle."

"Then your spear..?" Barbatos asked.

"However, just a small portion, a miniscule amount of powers can be transformed back into pure energy, devoid of danger when in use."

"Hence why I was able to convert it into my own weapon and easily take down Osial originally because its power is harmful, extremely harmful to elemental creatures."

"I... see... then what was that about your project? Were you tampering with that place's powers again?" Barbatos all but demanded.

"...Something like that... if a small amount of that power could tear rifts in space and time itself, what happens if I use a larger amount?"

"You didn't..." The bard said, expression that of slight horror.

"For the sake of my heir, I will do anything to pave a path for him, even if it means forsaking my wellbeing." Morax stated, unfazed.

"Even if it meant using its powers on yourself and remaking your spear? All for that? Even the others would be mortified!" Barbatos exclaimed.

"Who said I personally tampered with it?" Morax asked as the bard turned to him with a rather dumb expression.

"Huh?"

"I was able to find a small den of those mages and by ordering them, I managed to modify Vortex Vanquisher without much risks to myself."

"...Why would the mages, of all creatures from that place follow your commands?" Barbatos questioned the preposterous idea.

"I simply... persuaded them." Morax smiled.

Barbatos wisely chose not to ask for further explanations.

"So... what was that about modifying your spear?" He then asked.

"Similarly to The Unforged which was once just a slab of Cor Lapis and Geo energy infused together but with Haagentus' creativity and Azhdaha's power, it was remade to be more powerful to the point I had trouble against it. Vortex Vanquisher was then remade to kill anything standing in my heir's way."

"And your sword?"

"...Unfortunately I did not have any idea on what to incorporate into Summit Shaper but I'm sure my successor will know what to do in time."

"Well... if you say so. You think your heir can deal with something like Osial?" Barbatos asked curiously.

"With enough time and effort, perhaps my successor will even surpass me but for now, defeating Osial may be his hardest task as of yet." Morax replied.

"...You speak as if he is going to meet your old enemy." Barbatos accused.

"He may or will." Was all Morax said.

"What do you mean? I may speak with songs and poems but even I wouldn't know context if you didn't provide it." The bard said.

"What the Millelith and the Adepti had defeated was not Osial but in fact, his lingering hatred which had assimilated with the sea itself."

"...What? Are you drunk?" The bard asked as Morax snorted at the irony but nevertheless explained Osial's conditions when he reappeared.

"No matter how weak or strong a divine is, as long as they have unsettled grudges in life, it will linger and manifest itself no matter what."

"Jiu and the deaths of my Yakshas are evidences, the former being the remaining hatred of Azhdaha's eroded mind aimed towards me and the latter tainting the Yakshas with karmic debts which in turn, resulted in their insanity and deaths."

"When Osial was vanquished by my spear, much of his essence and soul stuck itself onto it and regrettably, I may have also sent him to the world where my successor resides in."

"That means..."

"He will need vanquish Osial once more in my stead..."

"Or..?" The bard continued, sensing an alternative.

"Or like I had once did with Azhdaha, form a contract between those two and work together." Morax stated.

"That's... highly unlikely though, from what I know, Osial is one of your greatest enemy and the thought of him working with your successor, it sounds... ludicrous."

"Perhaps it is ludicrous, if that's is the case then my heir will need to defeat Osial before he will unleash havoc upon the other world... if he can."

"...Hah..! Welp, not my heir, not my problem! Speaking of which, you got any wine here?"

"...You and your alcoholic tendencies never fail to irritate me, Barbatos." Morax snarked out, rolling his eyes.

"Ehe~!"

================================

Y/N's eyes snapped open as a familiar dull aching pain permeated through his entire body as the Einherjar felt himself lying on the cold stone ground, evidently it was still wet since he fell into the whirlpool that suddenly formed above the Mariana Trench.

Another drop of water splashed onto his face which spurred him to get up, but only to fall back onto the ground with a hiss as pain suddenly burst from his right shoulder as he examined it.

It certainly looked out of place, definitely a dislocated shoulder from when he hit the ground.

Y/N grabbed his arm before walking to the nearest wall although logically he should carefully treat it with medical professional help but as of now... he's all alone down in what is presumably  the bottom of the ocean despite the light... wait.

Light?

He looked upwards before the sight of an enormous cavern like that from Veryovkina greeted Y/N's eyes, lights shining down from unseen sources as the scent of the sea was all he smelt. 

Stalactites and stalagmites filled the area as far as the eye can see along with numerous crystals that shone from the light, especially the ones that appeared to be pillars near the centre of the cavern, almost transparent to Y/N's eyes.

It was truly a sight to behold.

However, another ache snapped Y/N out of his reverie as he glanced at his shoulder with a grimace, it's still dislocated... and he was just about to force it back in despite the illogical aspect to the very idea but, no one's here to help so... he'll need to brace the pain...

Y/N quickly ripped off a chunk from his clothes before stuffing it into his mouth, scowling as he walked near the wall whilst looking for the best angle to realign his shoulder back together without the risks of rupturing a blood vessel or muscle.

Although he was hesitant in what he's about to do, many people who've found themselves on the battlefield have stated; "hesitation is defeat" but even though he's not fighting right now, he may find myself fighting another battle later...

Well... as they say; no pain, no gain.

Y/N breathed in hard before slamming his shoulder right onto the stone wall, the cloth stuffed in his mouth effectively muffling the pained scream as the time traveller fell to the ground again, breathing in hard as the pain continued to surge around his shoulder and the nearby muscles.

...

Pain had stopped long before he knew it, but did he black out from it earlier?

Y/N spat out the fabric in his mouth before lightly tapping his right arm, so far nothing too bad, still slightly painful but more on an aching level of pain so it's something he could endure.

The only concern is for the Einherjar is to not overexert his right arm too much.

He swiped away the beads of sweat that he didn't even know had dropped down while flexing his arm lightly before looking around, so far so... good Y/N suppose, the cavern hasn't changed and he doesn't see himself in the presence of enemies.

Y/N felt himself sighing internally, dealing with Honkai beasts and outbreaks are more easier than this entire farce of exploring the Mariana Trench... does that also mean he's the first person to reach the bottom of it? Assuming it is the bottom?

Guess that's an achievement he can never share since no one would believe him anyway.

The time traveller's footsteps echoed through the cavern as he continued his way across the wet ground and walls, the crystals by the side only remained shining as Y/N looked to see the light source originating from the ceiling... which seems to be composed of water?

Out of curiosity, he picked up a small pebble before chucking it straight up at the watery ceiling, only for it to splash into it as if it's a lake above him which somehow didn't fall.

Y/N threw another stone upwards to confirm his eyes weren't playing tricks or hallucinating but the results remained the same as ripples appeared when the pebble made contact with the ceiling, shimmering among the lights.

Is he upside down or something?

Those were the thoughts that plagued Y/N's mind as he walked on through one of the smaller tunnel, the light still shining down despite his location but it wasn't long until the Einherjar saw something in the next opening after exiting the winding cavern.

Another large cave but simply more... geometric in shapes and patterns and with an appearance akin to that of a chamber, there were several hexagonal rock formations jutting out of the ground along with more crystals but simply golden in colour just like the Geo element.

In the middle... was a spear.

"Is this it?" Was all Y/N can think of.

Weeks after weeks, pain after gains followed by more pain, he managed to acquire two new weapons not of this world along with a creature as well, and now this spear is supposedly the final weapon, is this treasure hunt finally going to be over?

Guess all those time and money he used up was worth it...

Y/N glanced around the area for anything noteworthy, more specifically anything that looks like a sign of trap or trickery but there was nothing but the same crystals and stone formations surrounding him and the area alone.

Nothing so far.

He walked towards the spear before noting its current appearance, despite the sheer pressure and aura it leaked out from the prior vision, the same spear in front of Y/N was rusted and cracked as its stone-like surface retained a dull golden glow.

However, it wasn't enough to deter the Einherjar as he grasped the rocky shaft with both of his hands before pulling up hard-

The spear came out easier than he had expected.

"...What now?" Y/N thought to himself.

He got the spear but nothing happened to be exact, unlike Summit Shaper and The Unforged whereas he woke up back on the place where he started but now, nothing's happened.

If that's the case then the difficulty of returning back to the surface is going to increase, by a mile especially with the atmospheric pressure at the bottom of the trench.

Although Y/N's concerns dwelled on how he would be able to return back to the top, a sound broke him out of his thoughts as the time traveller looked around before his gaze instantly snapped to the ground beneath him.

More specifically, the spot where he pulled the spear out which there's a lingering small hole... that's leaking out dark-purple substance that seemingly stretched out as if alive.

Before Y/N knew it, his feet were immediately stuck within the substance.

"What-?! Is this?!" Was all he could exclaim, trying to pull himself out, only to feel the sinking sensation of his legs disappearing into the darkness.

Y/N glanced around wildly for a solution but only to find out the cavern is equally darkening with the black substance as everything appeared to be covered in black, the once shining lights on the crystals and walls slowly lost its lustre as he felt his waist sinking down now.

Panic began to grip Y/N's heart as it raced violently while he tried everything to pull himself out but to no avail, he tried using the spear as a leverage to pull his body out, unfortunately only to find it stuck as well.

Without any sort of solutions, he was helpless as he slowly slid into the dark mass.

"Just how deeper am I going to go?!" 

Was the last thought Y/N had as his head disappeared into the black-purple substance and with his vision going completely black and his consciousness fading.

================================

All of a sudden, Xiao felt a disturbance in the air as he almost dropped the glass he was washing before righting himself up and quickly placed the dishware to the side.

He clasped his hand onto his right arm, more specifically the upper arm where the tattoo that was mysteriously engraved onto him began to act up in spasms before suddenly receding.

Xiao blinked a couple of times as he flexed his arm only to find the unpleasant sensation gone, leaving him wondering exactly what happened to cause the sudden spasms.

...

Ganyu suddenly stopped writing on her report, something felt wrong and she just knows it but the answer to the said problem was nowhere near her as she surveyed the room filled with other documents and papers to sign and fill him.

Nothing more or less, so why did she suddenly felt a sense of unease?

Her thoughts dwelled back to a certain Einherjar that managed to save her in the previous semester but her social anxiety kept on spiking up especially when she wanted to talk to him.

Ganyu sighed as she resumed filling the paperwork, seeing that she alone was more suited for logistics and filing documents than frontline battles although her skills with archery is nothing to scoff at, nevertheless she still prefers peaceful routines like this.

...

Hu Tao, the director of the Corpse. Collection. Consociation suddenly had an urge to prepare a coffin though she did not know the exact reason to do so, the young woman simply dismissed the feeling before returning to tending her injuries.

The sparring match she had prior ago with the young bartender somewhat went out of control more than she could have anticipated, her light wounds were the result of Xiao suddenly going berserk with that Nuo mask somehow appearing on his face.

As if boosting his attributes by a mile, his speed increased along with his strength but Hu Tao was still able to weave aside the wild, berserker slashes sent her way though Xiao was equally just as fast to keep with her.

Thankfully, Alexander shot a tranquiliser just in time to stabilise Xiao and end the match before everything could have possibly went even more out of control.

Her wounds still sting though...

================================

Y/N blinked again and then found himself floating in an almost viscous liquid before he remembered what just happened to him.

The time traveller quickly got up, trying to stabilise himself as he stumbled and muddled his way up through the strange dark substance that dragged him down deeper into nowhere.

He then managed to stand up, his legs still within the dark mass of liquid as Y/N stared at the new sight in front of him, completely taken aback by the sheer absurdity of it.

An endless, dark void littered with stars in the far distance, the sea of darkness as far as the eye can see and he could perceive, there was seemingly no horizon yet there was one at the same time with an unseen source of light layered on it.

"Where... am I?" Y/N questioned, yet no one answered.

Until suddenly, instincts honed by the many dangerous experiences he had on the battlefield against the Honkai or human enemies flared up as Y/N tilted his head to dodge a rather large projectile that embedded itself into the water before fading away.

The Einherjar turned around and realised he was standing on top of a "shore"-like area, as the region behind him was nothing more of a dark fantasy come to life.

Ruined castle walls and towers stood amidst the dark world as more otherworldly structures slowly entered Y/N's sight, demolished buildings with intricate and bold architecture spiralled around the land as it seemingly had a tell-tale sign of a long, lost civilisation.

However, what took Y/N's attention wasn't the structures but what came from within it.

Knights, dark gothic and silent knights whose height towers over him stood all around the area with varying weapons on them, separating them into lancers, archers and even flagbearers.

There wasn't much distinction between them except for their weapons but there were several knights among the rest with a larger physique and a different appearance to them, each and every one of them wielded a greatsword that appeared to be serrated at the blade.

What's more, each of them had a separating colour; the flagbearer knight was laced with red to orange hues while the archers were more of a contrasting pale blue unlike the lancers whose colour were more deeper in a dark shade of blue violet.

The larger knight with a greatsword had a very distinctive colour to that of teal and turquoise, but what remains the same with all the knights are their lifeless gazes that bored into Y/N.

They were seemingly surrounded with a dense aura of death, as if their strings of life and light were completely stripped from them, rendering them into shadowy husks that simply wandered with no sense of purpose... except for now, which is to apparently kill the lone Einherjar.

Y/N then saw the knights slowly trudging towards him, their hands holding onto their weapons as the atmosphere soon became hostile, briefly but distinctively, Y/N could what sounded like a muffled and foreign language spoken from the knights.

He didn't know exactly what they said but their actions makes it clear that they do not have a single good intention for him, especially when the time traveller saw another archer notching an arrow that appeared to be composed of raw energy with the same colour as its shooter.

Y/N tilted his head as the arrow soared past, the Einherjar then glanced back to see a layer of ice suddenly formed above the dark waters, alerting him at what will happen if it hit him instead.

"Ice? No... Cryo energy." Y/N muttered for no reason as he quickly dodged several more arrows while the remaining knights closed in.

If the archers is to distract the target from a certain range, then the other knights will take this opportunity to close in the distance between them, evidently as the lancers are now charging towards him with an azure energy swirling around them.

"Water..? No, it should be... Hydro..." The Einherjar then stated, immediately dodging as the lancers charged past him.

Y/N then held out of his hand, expecting any of the Prototype series of Geo weaponry he created to form within it... only for him to instantly realise it wasn't working at all.

At least, it wasn't effective as motes of golden light containing Geo energy appeared before disappearing as fast as it came, rendering his powers completely useless... and him defenceless.

"Shit!" Y/N cursed, avoiding another charge before something landed right behind, blowing up dark waves of water and the debris underneath.

He turned to see the spear that he had spent so much effort to acquire, now realising it was gone from his hand when he woke up, Y/N quickly glanced at the approaching knights and back at the spear which seemingly beckoned for him... calling for his hand.

Y/N did not have any weapons brought from above, for security measures, he simply left them back at the Blue Butterfly bar although in hindsight, he should have requested Alexander to smuggle some over the borders of the countries.

Now, with his Geo abilities sealed somehow and him completely defenceless, the spear in front of him was the only solution, even if it's cracked and rusted.

"Right... even if I don't have a weapon..." Y/N began, his hand clasping onto the spear.

The lancers charged forward as the archers notched another round of elemental arrows into their bows, the flagbearers then fired up their arms, producing a fiery red swirl around them as all the knights prepared to execute the lone Einherjar.

"I STILL HAVE THIS DAMN SPEAR!" He roared, quickly deflecting the lancers before rapidly twirling the polearm above his head as he blocked the onslaught of frozen arrows.

Y/N then leapt to the side as several fireballs impacted the spot where he once stood, forcing the Einherjar to quickly get himself onshore and close in the distance between him and the archers.

In response to Y/N's actions, the knights themselves seemingly became more aggravated as their attack sequences increased, lunging with faster and stronger strikes they tried to land a hit on the time traveller who dodged and weaved through them.

Unbeknownst to Y/N, the aura, the very presence of the time traveller infuriated the knights, their unseen and unknown hatred that lingered with them burst forth as they raised their weapons to purge the Einherjar from this world and beyond, whether it be life or death.

The knights increased their attacks, the archers shot faster while the flagbearers began conjuring several fireballs moulded from their flaming flags upon their polearms. The lancers continued charging at Y/N as the larger teal-coloured knights began their approach as they brandished their greatswords.

Y/N ran across the barrages of freezing arrows before he quickly smashed the spear into the nearest knight, only for the Einherjar to realise the enemies in front of him are much tougher than he could have anticipated as the spear in his hand failed to even push away the knight.

Y/N instantly ducked down another shot from the distance as he kicked himself away from the archer before stabbing the spear forward straight at the knight's chest.

However, to his short-lived surprise, the bow within the knight's hand immediately formed an outer ring on the side, effectively forming a shield that blocked Y/N's strike.

"What-?!" Y/N exclaimed before a blast of frozen projectile was shoot point blank at his chest, sending him crashing into the ground as ice formed on his body.

Y/N looked to see more of the knights closing in, but the Einherjar immediately slammed his fist onto the ice around his chest before rolling away as more arrows were shot.

The time traveller got up before avoiding several more fireballs and torrents of water sent by the lancers that took the chance to charge at him again, Y/N continued dodging as he observed the area surrounding him; that which are all filled with the knights.

Y/N batted away several more projectiles with the rusted spear in his hand before leaping quickly to the side again and intercepting the fireballs with a slash, the Einherjar then parried more lancers dashing at him as he began struggling with the onslaught.

Unfortunately, it was quickly obvious to see that Y/N is beginning to struggle from the mass of knights crowding around him relentlessly, freezing arrows managed to land on him a few times enough to render him immobile for the other knights to attack.

It wasn't long before Y/N's body is covered in scratches and injuries and burn marks, it didn't help at all that the knights' armour protected them from almost everything Y/N threw at them which only led him to get more injured in return.

"I... don't... have time... for this..." Y/N growled as he ducked underneath another slash.

This time, the large teal knights also joined in, their greatsword quickly serrating itself as it became a whip-sword that swirled with the winds as Y/N only felt his irritation grow before he shouted with a sudden influx of Geo energy rising.

"CRAP!" He roared as the golden light around him swelled up.

Suddenly, a stone pillar erupted from the ground, brimming with Geo energy as it resonated with the Einherjar's anger and impatience, effectively smashing into the knight's body and sending it tumbling across the air and the darkened ground.

"Rude bastard..." Y/N snarled out, his eyes glowing with a golden-amber light along with his hair as a golden energy swirled around him.

Seemingly resonating with his increasing anger, the spear within Y/N's hand started cracking and glowing even brighter than before but it still retained its rusty shell as the Einherjar twirled it around, aiming at the knights who impassively walked forward still.

"I'm not dying today, not here, not ever, especially in a place like this!" He grounded out before charging towards the horde.

Y/N ducked underneath a torrent of water encasing the lance of the shadowy knight before thrusting forward with his might, its cracked tip just managing to push his target back.

However, before the knight could even further retaliate, Y/N quickly plunged the spear towards the knight's chest again, this time its aim true as the tip broke through the armour.

A howl, not of pain, not of death but of hate pierced the abyssal air as the knight faded away into motes of dark dust, its remain soon disappearing into nothingness as more knights came to intercept the Einherjar despite one of their brethren falling.

They were not deterred for they just want to see this young Archon in front them DIE.

So be it if they lost their lives, and they have nothing to lose for their kingdom is gone, their home is destroyed and banished to this dark underworld, the knights- once a symbol of their nobleness to safeguard the innocent, now only craved for this individual's death.

The teal knight charged towards Y/N, its greatsword raised and aimed to bisect the Einherjar who immediately leant to the side, causing the knight to miss and create an opening on its side which Y/N quickly took the opportunity to stab his spear several times into it.

Unfortunately, the armour of the knight was too dense and his spear was too weak to even pierce through it, leaving sparks erupting around the strikes as Y/N quickly ducked down to avoid a sweeping slash aimed for his head.

"The spear isn't piercing it..." Y/N began thinking.

He then weaved around the knight, striking at multiple points in the armour as a teal light began swirling around it before Y/N leapt back to avoid a roundhouse sweep from the greatsword.

"When it attacks, its momentum quickly sets in for swiftness but when it retrieves its blade, it gets slower... but that's not all..!" Y/N deducted...

Before leaping to the side as the knight's greatsword suddenly separated itself into a whip, the winds picking up as the knight slashed its weapon downward with the gusts of gale roaring past the Einherjar as he then dodged more lancers and the freezing arrows.

Y/N dodged more attacks before he quickly tested out his spear once more, leaving only sparks in its place of impacts as it failed to pierce the knights' armours. Leaving him to realise, the weapon in his hand would be useless in the coming battles.

"If that's the case..." Y/N murmured to himself, quickly switching grips as he clenched his right fist before lunging forward.

His fist then made contact with the dark knight's chest, the strength in his arm effectively increased from how it was from before as the knight tumbled several steps back as Y/N then dashed forward to thrust his spear forward into the damaged area.

Evidently, the combination managed to somehow work as the spear tore through the knight's chest as the Einherjar's punch managed to loosen its defence. However, even one knight's death will not be enough as more simply came to join in the skirmish.

As Y/N was busy striking down another knight, he quickly tilted his head before grabbing an arrow out from the air as frost began converging on his hand, but Y/N simply crushed the arrow and cracking the ice around his fist as he scowled at the amount of enemies.

"They're not giving me a chance to rest at all..." He growled.

He glanced to the side to see more lancers headed his way before Y/N quickly made space between them all and shouted out one word in an attempt to sway the odds, no matter how small it is in this place.

"RISE!" On his command, several pillars of stone rose from the ground, blackened but nevertheless held firm against the knights' lances.

"SOLIDIFY!" Y/N barked out, rolling away from a hailstorm of arrows as a golden shield surrounded him, blocking any stray arrows from hitting him.

Y/N stared at the mass in front of him as he grimaced, the amount of knights in his sight should be approximately nearing fifty, if not a hundred and seeing from their presences that appeared to ever growing... they really want him dead.

The time traveller could only scowl as he debated just what this place is, a place never known on the world above, a ruined world with castles and architectures not of this world and an army of knights ready to kill him using otherworldly techniques and the manipulation of the elements.

He doesn't know... nor is he interested in knowing, Y/N brushed off all thoughts as he leapt towards another knight, leg raised as he kneeled his target right in the head before raising his spear and plunging it downwards onto the knight.

The duo smashed into the ground as Y/N pulled the spear out from the fading knight before charging forward to swat away several more arrows aimed at him as he stabbed his weapon through another archer just in time to avoid another barrage of icicles.

"This is getting difficult..." He thought.

Weaving through several strikes as he allowed his past experiences and training to guide him through the knights' attacks, forcing his body to lean to the side and away from the lancers, leaping to another spot as the freezing arrows made contact with the ground along with the fireballs aimed to burn away.

"The archers prevents me from staying in one place, easily stopping me from killing off a knight or two..." Y/N observed, smashing his fist into another knight.

He then flipped over another one of the teal knights, kicking forward both of this legs to slam the said knight down as he plunged his spear into the nape of his target before jumping aside just to avoid another hail of ice.

"The flagbearers also seem to conjure up a shield of their own, protecting the archers from me so it makes those guys the first priority to take out..."

Y/N slid underneath several knights before jumping over a fireball and piercing his spear through the flagbearer's chest, causing it to fade away into darkness.

"But there's a drawback, if they want to attack, the energy from the 'flag' will be transformed into a fireball which leaves them vulnerable with just a sharp stick to fight with."

The Einherjar immediately deflected a lance from his side before kicking the lancer away from him as he weaved through the horde to another flagbearer which he quickly dispatched.

"So far, flagbearers takes the priority, archers are second and lancers, so that leaves those big knights the last ones to kill off..." Y/N concluded.

Despite his analysis, the horde of knights just appeared to just care to kill their target as Y/N charged forward with his spear seemingly thrumming in his hand, ready for more combat.

...

"The longer this goes on, the worse it'll get..." Y/N panted as several bodies of the knights faded away, his fatigue noticeably getting visible.

By the time he knew it, he should have killed over fifty knights but the said beings are like pests, they never really disappear for good as they seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"My need for food or water seems to have vanished in this place... but my fatigue is growing from all that attacking and coordinating..."

Y/N breathed in another gasp of the thick air before rolling aside to avoid an attack from behind as he saw a teal knight somehow sneaked behind him with more of its brethren following.

"Dammit." Was all Y/N could say as a golden shield materialised around him again.

A cacophony of metal getting smashed apart and torn through filled the air as Y/N relentlessly fought on and on against the shadow army of knights although not without any backlash as the Einherjar slowly began to sport more wounds on him.

Y/N leant to the side as he struck another knight with a kick to the waist, toppling it over as he stabbed the spear into its back before climbing onto it and using its body as a leverage to jump over into another area of the battlefield.

He swept his spear across the ground, effectively tripping down several more knights as Y/N rapidly slammed his foot onto their helmet, slowly but progressively crushing their heads as he forced back more knights with his spear.

He had no way of knowing but the numbers of knights appeared to be dimming albeit very slowly as Y/N continued tearing his way through the horde without stopping... something was changing within him and he didn't even know it himself.

The more Y/N fought, the more he desired for the knights' deaths, the more he wanted to simply just put them down, rip them apart, gouge out their innards if they have any, reap the unliving lifeforce from their shadowy husks as he returned it to the A̶̟͉̼͗͝ḃ̸̻͙̅̍y̷̡̮̠̔̈͝s̸̭̫̽s̸̡̪̻̏,

He just wants to rip and tear and rip and tear and rip and tear and RIP AND TEAR-

Y/N stopped as he realised where he was standing, amidst the mass of fading knights as he looked to see himself covered in wounds of all kinds, burn marks donned his clothing as a thin layer of ice encompassed his soaked legs and it wasn't long before the pain started to set in.

What... just happened?

He recalled there was still more than seventy knights that he had yet to defeat and now, he found himself standing among their fading corpses without any recollections from what he had done to slay them all... did he black out again?

He couldn't remember but there's this foreboding sense of dread within this place that the Einherjar just can't put a finger on it... especially when this place is somewhere undiscovered.

...

"Standing around won't help me in any way... I need to get out of here..." Y/N said to himself, gripping his spear tightly before moving on.

He quickly did a sit-rep on himself before noting down his clothing, padding and layers of fabric are peeling off from the earlier battle, the wounds were minor all around his body save for the fact that his right arm is now starting to ache again.

As long as he doesn't forcefully strain this arm, he probably won't hurt it... much.

Y/N looked around before his sight zeroed in onto the looming castle structure in the distance, although there was not indication of where exactly to go in order to return back to the surface, heading towards that place is better than nothing.

Using the spear as a crutch, Y/N began trudging forward on an invisible path which on the way he noted the land around him with further interest despite the situation.

There was no source of sunlight or anything to sustain any plant life yet there was visibly several small dark shrubs and grass growing on the ground alongside the mosses that covered up the walls of the castle structures with vines and roots as well.

This place is just getting more and more mysterious...

Y/N stepped into the building whereas several lights with no explainable fuel sources lit up to display the dark medieval, gothic styled chambers inside, at the far end of the looming hall was a singular throne that sat alone with dust to accompany it.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew up as Y/N covered his face before noticing the arrival of a layer of fog and mist that somehow permeated the area with no viable origins.

"A throne room?" Y/N observed... before his ears picked up a noise.

Something was walking out from the shadows... something huge and deadly... and even more dangerous than those knights he had just slew outside, he doesn't know but he can tell.

A single dark sabaton stepped out from the darkness and into the dull, shimmering blue glows of the lights as Y/N subconsciously raised his guard once more against the unseen foe.

"Eyes... ears... from head to toe, this sensation..!" Y/N held up his spear as he readied himself, no words were needed to be said as there was only one outcome.

Y/N was someone who had to forcefully adapt to the harsh conditions of fighting against Honkai beasts and zombies, so slowly and progressively he had adapted to engage them in combat.

He held fear in their presence a long, long time ago but it was slowly beaten away as he continued to fight them again and again and again so Y/N... he hadn't felt much fear, especially after dying in the past and technically future.

But now...

"This sharp feeling... is just how I felt when I first fought the Honkai physically..." Y/N thought as he felt a drop of sweat slide down his cheek as he gazed at his opponent.

Completely different from those knights outside and instead of one single pair of arms, the figure in front of him sported two pairs of arms, each on holding up a weapon.

A scythe, an axe, a rapier and a falchion, on the back of the figure were two maces strapped onto it as the individual in front of Y/N was nothing more than a creature from fantasy come to life.

For a minute, none of them moved, the Einherjar stayed in place, waiting for a single movement from the enemy in front of him who simply remained... gazing at him.

"!!!"

Y/N immediately blocked the swords which lunged at him, the rusty spear in his hands holding on to its blades without any damage before the Einherjar redirected the weapons upward just in time to block four more weapons slamming down on him.

The impact of the weapons caused Y/N to grunt out in pain as he held on to the pressure before screaming in exertion as he pushed the weapons off and then leaping back just as the figure smashed all its weapons down again.

The impact of the four weapons instantly and almost effortlessly tore up the throne room's floor as debris and dust went flying everywhere, pushing Y/N away from the sheer force of the blow.

Y/N did one experimental stab with his spear, only for it to literally scrape the side of the figure's armour with no damage at all, the Einherjar then saw the creature raise both the scythe and axe.

"!!!" Y/N had no time to think as he leapt back just in time to avoid a crushing blow that destroyed the floor once more.

The time traveller leapt through the dust and backed away several feet to gauge his opponent from afar and to keep himself safe but... a quick spark of light reflecting off a metallic surface shone out as the giant scythe came slashing at him.

Y/N immediately raised his spear as he intercepted the attack, its impact severely shaking his arm as he tried to hold back the sheer force of the blow which he quickly strained and pushed off before it could attack him again.

The Einherjar quickly leapt over the figure again as he gazed at its back.

From just that single attack took most of his strength away... just one hit! If he makes a single mistake here, he'll die and from what he knows... 

This fight has only just begun.

================================

Another chapter done and I just want to mention, 100k reads! That's something I'd never thought I would see again with one of my stories so I like to thank you all for your patience and willingness to go through my story without cringing out but I'm going to have to end this one with a cliffhanger and yes, Kamen Rider fans, you may find that image above very, very familiar since I decided to use some Solo Leveling elements to it.