Chapter 386: The Shining Light Within You, An Unmovable Soul!

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B O O O O O M M M !!!

Nihil quickly reformed before the others, staring at the scene.

In front of him, Riven had broken his limiter. His entire body began to expand into twisting dimensions of light, spreading in every direction.

Riven looked down at himself, trying to understand where his body ended. Every time he thought the expansion had stopped, it started again.

"Haaa... Haaa... Haaa... W-What’s... happening to me...?!"

He couldn’t understand it, but something within him had completely shattered, and power surged endlessly.

He hadn’t meant anything for any of this to happen. He had only wanted them to stop, but now he didn’t know how to stop himself.

He tried to draw the power back in, afraid of losing control of his own body. It wouldn’t listen to him. Was this really all coming from inside him?

Mana, Spiritual Energy, and Psionic Power manifested around him, pulsing through the expanding light.

And from within him, a pair of colorful feathers appeared, accompanied by the cry of a powerful Esper.

More feathers followed, spreading into wings. Riven felt them move as he tried to steady himself, though he had no idea how to use them yet.

"CRYAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Thunder roared as lightning and wind surged everywhere, driving the Five Demons back for several seconds. It was enough for Riven to finally catch his breath. He recognized the cry and turned toward the colorful feathers.

For the first time since Nihil had reached into his mind, he had a chance to do more than scream. He looked back at the demons. They were still there, but they couldn’t reach him while the wind kept them away.

"Quetzalcoatl!"

Nihil looked annoyed, but he remained confident. "An Esper? A decently strong one, but there’s nothing you can do here. We will crush you."

The other four charged at Riven, but he swept his wings forward and unleashed a wave of wind, pushing them back again.

"?!"

They had no idea how he was matching their power, even for a moment, but Riven wasn’t going to stay and fight. He didn’t know how long this power would last, and he wasn’t about to waste his chance finding out. The portal was still there. If he could get past them, he could escape!

"MOVE!!!"

With a furious roar, he manifested his Sword of Memories and slashed through Nihil, only to realize he had passed through a black void and returned to where he had started. His blade had met no resistance. Riven turned, expecting to see the portal ahead of him, but it was no closer than before. He had gone straight through! How had he ended up back here?!

"What...?!"

Nihil appeared above him. Riven looked up, gripping his sword tighter. There wasn’t even a wound on him. Whatever Riven had cut through, it hadn’t been Nihil’s body.

"Foolish Adversary. Do you have any idea of the power of Emptiness itself? I govern nothingness."

"What does that even mean?!"

Riven kicked off the air and flew toward the portal again. He didn’t wait for an explanation. Nihil could call his power whatever he wanted, but Riven had no intention of letting him get close again.

However, Slob, Chatterer, and Desire appeared in front of him, attacking all at once. Riven tried to change direction, but they had already closed in. There was no opening between them, and he couldn’t slow down fast enough to avoid their attack.

Their immense power combined into a blast of pressure, sending him straight back toward Nihil. A black hole appeared in Nihil’s hand. Riven fought to turn himself around, but the force kept carrying him backward. He looked over his shoulder and saw Nihil waiting for him.

No! He wasn’t going through that again!

"I will suppress you completely now. Stay still."

"NO!!!"

Riven roared, slashing at Nihil with his sword and unleashing a blinding explosion. He put everything he could into the swing. He didn’t need to defeat Nihil right now. He just needed enough force to get away from that hand!

The explosion propelled Riven back toward the portal, only for the one-winged demon to stand between him and his escape. Riven had barely recovered from the blast when he saw him. Crow. Of course he was still there!

Crow said nothing. He simply smiled once more and moved forward, blurring through space as he swung his sword.

He used the same technique he had used to defeat the Divine King of the Cold Star. Riven recognized the motion, and for a moment, he remembered the King falling apart beside him. He couldn’t let Crow get behind him. If he tried to rush past, that blade would reach him before he reached the portal.

"Tsk!"

CLAAASH!

But this time, Crow was the one who was surprised. Instead of trying to escape or dodge, Riven met his blade with his own, unleashing an explosion of psionic energy. The impact jolted Riven’s arms, but he held on. Crow hadn’t cut through him! Riven pushed against the other blade, trying to force him away from the path to the portal.

The two exchanged blows, their swords clashing and releasing huge sparks of electricity, gusts of wind, and bursts of fire.

"Who are you?" Riven asked. "You’re not like them...! You’re...! A human, aren’t you?" He watched Crow’s face, hoping for some kind of answer. There had to be a reason he was with these monsters. But Crow gave him nothing, not even a change in his expression.

"..."

Crow kicked him in the stomach, sending Riven backward. The other three annoying pests came after him, but Riven quickly unleashed electricity and wind, paralyzing them for just a moment. The kick knocked the breath out of him. He tried to inhale as they closed in, forcing himself to keep his sword raised until his power reached them.

Using them as a platform, he leaped away from the others and toward the portal again. He couldn’t afford to wait for them to recover. As soon as he pushed off, he fixed his eyes on the opening and tried to put as much distance between himself and them as he could.

"Oh no, you won’t."

Nihil pressed his hands together, and his power began to force the portal shut. Riven saw the opening shrink while he was still heading toward it. No! He had finally gotten past them! He couldn’t let Nihil close it now!

"You can close it?!"

Nihil seemed amused that Riven had believed he couldn’t close it.

"We’ve had a nice exchange, but it is time to end this."

FLASH!

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