He couldn't intimidate the Specter into conceding, and he also couldn't pull through with his threat.
Nick's mind became more and more chaotic as he tried to find a way out of this.
Plans upon plans formed in his mind, but nothing would work.
This was a direct battle.
This was a human against a Specter.
A Zephyx Synchronizer against a Specter Core.
There was no kind of scheme that could be pulled off in such a straightforward fight.
The one with the weaker will would lose.
And that was Nick.
Nick would lose because he was human.
There was nothing he could do about it.
He kept pushing back, but nothing changed.
The Specter just kept pushing emotionlessly.
'What do I do?!' Nick thought in panic.
'What can I do?!'
'There's nothing I can do!'
'But there has to be a way!'
'There has to be a way out!'
Nick continued trying to come up with a plan, but none of his plans would change anything.
Time passed.
Nick fell into a state of delirium more and more frequently, and he was being pushed back.
By now, he had been pushed back by five meters.
Five more meters, and he would hit the wall of his mind.
That represented death.
There was nothing!
There was nothing he could do!
Nick's mind just kept running in circles, creating the same plan hundreds of times before throwing it away.
And then, finally...
He calmed down.
'It's over,' he thought. 'It's truly over.'
Scenes of Nick's past materialized in the black world.
Him waking up in the Outer City before walking to the Dregs.
His horrible life in the Dregs.
His meeting with Albert.
Meeting Wyntor.
Creating Dark Dream.
Horua.
There was this other boy Nick had killed, but he couldn't remember his name or why he had killed him. These memories had already been burned away permanently.
Jenny.
That other colleague. Nick didn't remember what happened to him.
Wasn't there also something about some small Manufacturer? Wasn't that related to Wyntor's family?
Nick had had many employees, but he could only remember a couple of them. However, he did remember that he used to remember all of their names.
The Crimson Sea. Nick still remembered everything about that incident.
Wyntor's death.
Wyntor's father. What was his name again? Cecil? Viron? Varon? He didn't remember.
Julian. He remembered Julian.
Whatever happened to Albert? Did he die?
The outside world.
The ruins.
The Sea King.
Anatomy.
The Nightmare.
Aegis.
Aria. He regretted that he had wasted five of her years.
The trainee program.
His squad.
And that was it.
Nick's life.
At least, everything that he still remembered.
His Zephyx Synchronizer was pressing against the Specter Crystal.
The Specter Crystal didn't move.
CRK!
Suddenly, Nick felt like something inside of him broke.
The Aductress sighed.
Human Zephyx was coming out of Nick's body.
Nick's Shell had broken apart.
The area between his Zephyx Synchronizer and the Specter Core was under so much pressure that his Shell couldn't withstand it anymore.
It broke and dispersed.
It was over.
Nick's Zephyx regeneration wouldn't be able to keep up with his usage anymore.
Even if he managed to win against the Specter, he would die within the hour.
Yet, this didn't change anything for Nick.
He was already dead!
So, he kept on pushing.
He would keep pushing until his mind and body were damaged beyond repair!
He would destroy everything he had to such an absolute degree that the Specter would have nothing left to use to rebuild itself!
"We are going to die!" Nick shouted at his copy.
"I will die first!"
"And you will die next!"
CRK!
A crack appeared inside Nick's Zephyx Synchronizer.
Yet, it just kept pushing.
"I will not allow you to come back!"
"I don't care if it was me that forced you into this duel!"
"In the end, you are the one that will kill me, and I hate you for that!"
"I don't give a shit if you are in the right or in the wrong!"
"I hate you, and I will leave nothing for you!"
"We are going to die here and now!"
CRK!
More cracks appeared all over Nick's Zephyx Synchronizer.
"The end is here," Nick spoke coldly.
"I will die a villain."
"I did not live long enough to see myself become a hero."
Nick looked upward.
"Aria, I'm sorry."
Then, his eyes steeled, and he glared at the Specter.
He pushed with everything he had.
"I don't intend to die with you," the copy spoke.
"You win."
BANG!
Suddenly, the copy stopped resisting, and the two of them broke past the border of the dark world.
CRACK!
Suddenly, the middle of the Specter Core became brittle, and Nick's Zephyx Synchronizer broke through the walls.
And then, it entered the Specter Core!
Nick could not believe what was happening, and he looked around in complete confusion.
What was happening?
He wasn't dead?
The Specter had... given up?
"In a way..."
Nick looked to the side and saw a black cloud floating in the emptiness.
"I will continue to live on," it spoke.
"Part of me will forever continue to live inside of you."
"And maybe..."
"I can cause more suffering like this."
WHOOM!
The black cloud shot forward and engulfed Nick.
The Aductress couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Human and Specter Zephyx was coming out of Nick!
She had never heard of something like this happening!
Meanwhile, inside Nick's neck, the crystal representing Nick's Zephyx Synchronizer started to spin again.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login