GREY
"Law! Law! Are you there... Law?"
At that moment, he knew he was alone. But not totally —
because he had company.
THE
ENCOUNTER
The figure in front of me walked towards me with confidence. His name flashed by, per the system's notification: Govark, the Black Knight. He moved like a shadow bound in steel, a towering figure clad in jagged black
obsidian armor that seemed to be forged in the heart of a dying star by an ancient Valhalla or ruin tribe. Each step he took echoed with a deep, metallic weight — as if the earth itself recoiled beneath him. His cloak, thick and tattered like the wings of a fallen beast, swung around, breezing through the gust accompanying him. He stood tall, over eight feet, and his blade — as tall as me — was scrawled in aura. A mystified, ethereal glow flowed through his
blade, like a ghost blade. Wind trailed him as if shielding others from the aura he could barely contain.
From his helmet, two piercing lights glowed — bright, unnatural, and unblinking. His eyes... they were warnings. Flares of dominance and dread that could turn a hardened warrior's will into ash. The helm he wore was jagged and ancient, forged with runes that pulsed faintly, barely managing
to seal away the monstrous presence within. It couldn't even hide his piercing gaze that was trying to tear right through me. I could feel him staring at my very essence.
But even sealed, his aura leaked — a suffocating pressure like the edge of a blade resting against the soul. I stood across from him, feeling the pressure; it was like being crushed from the inside out, like invisible claws scraping against my mind, my instincts screaming to run. He was not human. Not truly. He was a Monsternoid Knight, a fusion of armored terror and inhuman power, bound only by will and purpose.
And when he raised his blade — long, serrated, and humming with dark energy — it was clear. He wasn't a servant of darkness. He was its embodiment.
Without wasting any time, I brought Ieva out. I was still in my Zone state, but it felt different — more attuned and powerful. There was
black and red lightning around me; my hair glimmered with a dark glow.
"Phew. I feel confident," I muttered.
As we walked towards each other, the sun dawned in our midst, revealing the black of both of us as our shadows widened.
Then, with a gravelly, spine-rippling voice:
"Oh, do you?" the Monsternoid spat.
He could talk! With that brief moment of surprise that kept me frozen in place, his aura filled the entire zone. The cliff we stood on crumbled; the river beneath the cliff boiled. He stepped forward. To my unawareness, he was already in front of me. How didn't I notice that?!
I jumped backwards as he hit his sword against mine. The force at which he swung his blade sent pressure through my arms. He kept planking and planking at me. In an instant, he raised me up with a clearing
kick. He stuck his sword to the ground and smashed me up and down with his gauntleted fists. I snapped with a nasal scream.
He closed my mouth as he palmed me to the ground. 'Shut up.'
I choked on my blood as I laid flat, looking up at him. He picked up his sword, raised it into the air, and slashed at me. Me, continuing
to grip my sword, blocked the attack with a furious attempt at survival. The cliff was split in half — boulders came crashing down as I was sent flying straight into the water, with an enormous explosion of gust. I exploded off the impact, bouncing around on the surface of the river.
I steadily got a hold of myself and stood on the surface of the water. I wiped the blood from my face. The river shook and divided. I
looked forward, my eyes matching his gaze, as he was suspended in the air, slightly hovering above the river.
"Oh no, this monster's level of aura... it's at the resonance plane," I whispered.
"Get up. I don't want my armor in water," he
demanded.
I stood up straighter, charging my aura, which seemed to have reached the Emotional Aura Plane. My emotion widened as a bright white aura resonated from my body. Lightning spread, zapping through the water. Some shards of lightning zapped towards the Monsternoid Knight, but he slapped them away like nothing. Golden-flamed chains wrapped my hands and sword like gauntlets. I teleported at him. As I tried to catch him off guard, he blocked
without even looking at me. He grabbed hold of my hair.
"Here, let me dry you up."
He tossed me into the air. I stopped myself so I wouldn't lose track of him. 'Agh! This is getting dangerous.'
I tried finding him, but I lost sight of him. I felt a strange presence behind me. I... is this killing intent?! Before I could do anything, I was sent down to the ground. I landed in the forest, but before I could notice, I was kicked into a mountain. The terrain changed constantly from my point of view; it was as if time itself had stopped for me and the terrain
was the only thing moving. He slammed me up and down. I was all over the place. Even when I thought to hide, it was of no use. He didn't give me any time for resting. I didn't even have the strength.
He smashed me away to a distance and slashed at me with his sword. I fell into a state of unconsciousness. The slashes cut me into a mess. I was forcefully woken up by the agonizing pain I felt all over my body.
'Aghaaah... h-haah.' My cries could be heard from afar. As I woke up in surprise, I stared at the empty spot my left arm and right leg used to be. I screamed even more as I bled out, laid back against a wall.
SYSTEM
ALERT
SYSTEM: "Player is about to die! A one-chance safety measure has been activated."
SYSTEM WINDOW:
STATES:
ZONE: BLACK ZONE
COSMIC FORM — 200G
ELFRIAN — 150G
DIVINE BURST — 1,000G
SUPER NOVA — 500G
Please select a form to use.
The Cosmic Form felt fairly familiar to me. I think I should go for it. As I was about to select it, the Monsternoid came at me and repeated his earlier process, sending even double the number of slashes at me. I touched the Cosmic Form. Time dilation was activated. I stood up as my severed limbs healed and grew back. I moved in and dodged all the slashes as they warped past
me slowly, hitting the empty, bloody wall and exploding. I then released all the explosive cosmic energy inside me. It spread all through the forest, pushing the Monsternoid away.
My body strengthened as it was covered in a cosmic glow. The color of my hair was emanating a universal blue charge, leaving small traces of my natural black hair, which was now darkened by my new Zone. My clothes hovered through my universal blue aura.
My system window alerted me of my current state.
SYSTEM
WINDOW
NAME: GREY LUCAS, RANKED C
LEVEL: 50
POINTS: 3,000 GOLD
TITLES: MONSTER SLAYER
CLASSES: SWORDSMAN (D), NINJA (E), WARRIOR (B), MAGE (E)
AURA: EMOTIONAL PLANE
EKRIN: 2ND CORE
STATS: STR: 70–90, VIT: 66–82, AGI: 58–78, SPE: 85–100, INT: 62–88, STA: 67–80, DUR: 77–95
ELEMENTS: WIND, FIRE–LIGHTNING, SPARKS, WATER–ICE, EARTH–GRAVITY
AUTHORITIES: ART'S WORK, RULER'S TOUCH
SKILLS: EMPEROR'S CHAINS, FIRE HEART, INSTANT MOVEMENTS, LUMINOUS SHIELD, AURORA'S HEART, SOLAR BLESSING, LIGHT SPEED,
PRISMATIC AURA, HEALING RADIANCE, DAZZLING DISPLAY — ALL OTHERS HAVE BEEN UNLOCKED
SHOP / INVENTORY
TRAINING REGIMEN
WORLDS: SYSTEM REALM
STATES: ZONE: BLACK ZONE — IN USE
COSMIC FORM — IN USE
ELFRIAN — 150G
DIVINE BURST — 1,000G
SUPER NOVA — 500G
COSMIC FORM
So this is cosmic energy. It feels like I've reached a new level of calmness. I feel... untouchable.
"Have you ever beaten up an Emperor?" I asked the Monsternoid.
"W-what... an Emperor? How do you know of such a being?" the Monsternoid said, his voice cracking behind his helmet.
"Wow! Well, now you are about to know how it feels to get your ass kicked by someone who's defeated one."
"You can try, but you won't even leave a scratch on my armor," the Monsternoid said, nonchalant.
"Well, let's find out."
I lunged forward at him. He wasn't fast enough to go after me. In a battle of speed, I far surpassed his vision. But for some reason, his eyes — those neon-glowing eyes — felt like they never lost trace of me, even as I was moving at an abnormal rate. In reaching him, I sliced his back, but his armor deflected it.
I bounced back openly. In an insane stance, he turned at me. The ground beneath him spaced and shattered, as if he'd been storing up power in his feet. He tried to catch me. I shocked and disappeared like a gust from the tip of his fingers, using Mirage Steps.
"Wow! What a swordsman," I complimented him.
But no joke, this guy is the real deal. He's at least at the Astral Plane of aura manipulation. Even if he can't follow me, he still has a whole arsenal of moves. As I thought to myself, he ignited his neon-black aura, sending beams of blast all over the place.
I moved upwards. The thing I like about cosmic energy is that it's an ancient, primordial force that flows through the fabric of reality — stars, void, time, space, and life itself.
Cosmic Aura — Energy radiates off the body, increasing strength, speed, and perception to superhuman levels.
Gravity Bending — It can allow me to bend gravity, giving me a gravitational pull I can use for flight, dodging, and crushing attacks.
Star Strike — Channels a fragment of star energy into a single explosive punch or slash.
Cosmic Sight — Can allow me to perceive energy flow. I can see the cosmos, weak points, and even glimpses into the future with these cosmic pearl eyes (limited precognition). I know I can reach a more advanced state of this form, but this is all I can manage for now.
Blasts hovered above me as if they were sent to bury me. I used Gravity Pulse and pulled them towards their conjurer. A loud bang shocked my ears. The moon shone at its peaks. Shattered black mist swords jutted from the earth like something brought out of nightmares. Wind howled, carrying the scent of blood.
I landed, just floating above the ground, my eyes glowing with the intensity of stars. My body was outlined in radiant whitish-blue
energy, like a silhouette against the void.
The knight came out of the debris. His eyes looked to mine, staring straight at me. His armor glowed like something forged from nightmares: twisted iron plates fused with ancient emblems. He raised his sword in one clawed hand. The ground beneath him cracked; a crater appeared where he was
standing as he charged towards me, with all his ancient swords coming from the ground.
I raised a hand. 'Gravity Field.'
Air warped around the knight mid-leap. His charge slowed; his mist swords dissipated out of pressure. In a blink, I vanished — then
reappeared above him, fist blazing with compressed starlight.
"Star Strike: Nova Fana!"
My punch connected with the knight's shoulder, his stomach, ribs, face as he was hit to different locations, detonating in a sphere of energy. I transferred it all to him through a crushing blow, as a burst of white-hot plasma covered him and exploded him into the ground. Smoke and dust swallowed the valley.
"Payback," I snarled.
GORVAK, THE
BLACK KNIGHT
What was that light... it's burning me... seeping through my armor, as it melts it.
I roared, the sound more beast than man. Pain lanced through me as his cosmic flames devoured most of my body. Ever since this human entered that state, his movements, attack patterns — they've all changed. Not to forget that radiating energy. What is that?
I know I've been acting as though I don't feel pain, but I'm still a living thing. Even though I've been trapped here for years and been
fighting other monsters, I still feel my material body — my soul is still enclosed in it.
"I won't lose to you, human!!"
The pain fueled me. I slammed my sword into the ground. The impact shattered the Gravity Field that was still holding me down, causing the sky itself to pulse. I rose from the crater, molten armor re-forming.
"Cosmic energy... You reek of that cursed star fire," I snarled in a gurgling growl.
I smirked. "But things are about to go down," I spat.
"I AM FORGED FROM THE VOID. IT ENCLOSES ME, AND IT FILLS ME! VOID CANNON LINK — BLACK GATE!"
The atmosphere changed. Countless black beams surged, launching spirally at the human who hovered in the air cockily.
"Too slow," Grey said nonchalantly.
He twisted and teleported in a blink of starlight. He reappeared behind me mid-blast. His aura shimmered — dense, white-hot. Hands glowing. I couldn't see him. He uttered only one word.
"Stellar Breaker!"
He drove both fists, which were covered in cosmic energy, into my spine. The impact cracked my armor, and a shockwave rolled across the land. I staggered, stumbling forward, but did not fall.
"How are you still standing...?"
He thinks I'll fall? I yelled out, 'I've slain dangerous monsters on worse days... Yo... you are nothing.'
I grinned under my helm, bleeding black blood. 'Human, do you think you are a god?' I dashed towards him.
"My name is Gorvak, the Black Knight."
A bright light shined from him. I couldn't see what it was.
GREY
I'm no god... Me getting beaten up by you made me realize how weak I am. But with cosmic energy, I can beco— No, I will become stronger. I infused my cosmic aura into Ieva. The sword changed. What is this... is this the true power of Ieva? It morphed its shape in assistance to my form.
Cosmos! With this power, I can see my potential moves and future prowess. Oh! Whoa — Ieva pulled me in for the kill with starlight. I cut down the knight, slicing his armor cleanly as I split him in half through his torso.
* * *
The scene ended. The fight was over.
Grey stood victorious. His aura dimmed — it turned off instantly as he breathed down heavily.
"Huff, huff..."
"Huff, huff..."
Huffs and puffs. Though his body had healed up completely, his aura, Ekrin, and stamina were drained.