Chapter 36: It Isn't Stupid If It Works
Heizen died twice. The first time, he didn't feel anything as everything was spontaneous. But the second time, he understood how it felt to be burned alive. However, that too was only for a moment.
But this time Heizen was experiencing something different. Pain? Of course, he felt it.
He was feeling excruciating pain since his existence was getting erased bit by bit, and he was getting assimilated into the shadow.
Melaphine didn't lie. A mortal body couldn't touch her. The moment Heizen hugged her, he felt like he was embracing death willingly. His arm, body, and soul were getting sucked into the abyss.
Furthermore, maybe due to his high mental power, he could experience everything in more detail. He could feel how his body was getting ripped apart from the inside, and how his soul was diving deeper into the unknown.
However, besides pain, there was no fear in his eyes this time. Instead, there was endless coldness and rage. In fact, his active skill "Raging Strike" was automatically activated due to his state.
What Heizen was feeling was endless dissatisfaction with his weakness. He was sick of being driven around by his fate. He was sick of his previous decision to evade the danger.
If he had to die in the end regardless, then what was he doing by cowering from danger?
So this time, he had made up his mind to never evade a challenge. He would do everything to become so strong that his inevitable destiny couldn't catch up. His determination was raging through his entire body, as was the pain, numbness, and darkness that threatened to swallow his very existence.
..... ..... .....
Inside the small chamber of the temporary dungeon, Heizen was tightly hugging the slender figure atop the Altar. However, this situation was anything but romantic as his body was literally slowly getting dissolved.
"Stupid mortal. How dare you?" A voice filled with endless coldness suddenly made the whole chamber heavy.
Melaphine's voice filled with rage made everyone stagnant due to fear. Bernard and the others who were already at the gate staggered to support their bodies as the pressure was getting heavier.
"Ugh," Heizen felt his chest tighten and his body swayed like a leaf due to the endless pressure. However, he instead tightly wrapped his arm and refused to let go.
"System, start absorption."
"How dare you touch me? Didn't I say you would die if you touched me? Do you think you can defy death in the presence of the divine?" Melaphine was going crazy.
She really needed Deathwalker for her plan. She was very happy that she found one in this mortal realm and even gave him the grace of becoming her subordinate.
But this stupid piece of shit didn't know his boundary. He directly embraced death with his crazy behavior.
Her breathing was getting heavier and heavier. She was so angry that she wanted to slap his body into pieces and roast his soul with the hellfire.
While she was cursing Heizen, he was instead paying attention to his system. Whether his plan works now depends entirely on its moment.
[Ding!]
The moment Heizen gave the command, he heard the robotic sound in his mind.
[Absorption of Origin Power started.]
[Due to the target's closeness, the absorption speed will be increased.]
"Swoosh," suddenly the white light in his mind began to rotate rapidly. With the rotation, the dark shadows in the Altar rapidly enter his body.
"Ugh," Heizen felt the process of his assimilation was getting even quicker. As if it was the instinctive reaction from the Authority, it was trying to kill him before anything happened.
"What? What happened?" Melaphine was just debating whether to save this stupid mortal and enslave him when suddenly the shadows around her began to get sucked.
And the target sucking her shadow was Heizen.
"What are you doing? Do you want to die faster?" She was going crazy.
"No, you are absorbing my Authority. How is this possible?" This time Melaphine was really stunned. She, Mistress of Shadows, never thought there could be someone in the mortal realm capable of absorbing her Authority.
"How can your weak body absorb the Authority? Your body and soul will disintegrate." She was now getting anxious.
Though Heizen was dying, the Authority surrounding her was being absorbed even faster. There was no sign of stopping.
If her projection was absorbed completely, she would be weakened. This was very detrimental to her, as it would be very hard to recover.
"Stop! Stop! I will let you go ok? I will not kill your companion." She said in trepidation.
Melaphine was trying hard to separate the body that hugged her, but it was already integrated with her Authority. Moreover, she was rapidly losing strength.
Heizen didn't pay any attention to her ramblings. He was experiencing the pain of being ripped apart. So, who cares what she thinks?
[Ding! Origin Power Detected.]
[Commenicing System Repair: 1.5%,..2%...3%..]
Listening to the prompts in his mind, and the anger and regret-filled voice of Melaphine, he felt a rare kind of joy. Despite the pain, he curved his mouth upward and softly whispered playfully,
"It isn't stupid if it works."
With that, his thoughts were engulfed by darkness, and he could no longer focus on anything.
[Commenicing System Repair: 4%...4.5%]
"Noooo!" Melaphine yelled in rage, as her figure began to fade. The darkness and shadows around her were being sucked into an unknown domain.
"My Lord," the dark-robed figures were getting anxious, but they could do nothing.
The temporary dungeon Shadowed Altar began to shake fiercely. Due to the lack of power, it was unable to keep its form. Multiple cracks were already visible everywhere.
"Mortal, I will never forgive you. I will torture your soul in the underworld even if you die."
With the last shout that was filled with endless vengeance, the projection of the Mistress of Shadows disappeared.
"Plop," Heizen's body fell to the Altar. His body was riddled with holes, his arms were nowhere to be seen, and half of his head was missing. He was no longer alive.
"Crack," suddenly the dungeon began to break into the void. Endless nothingness began to envelop everything, along with the dark-robed figures and the mutilated body of Heizen.
"Swoosh," suddenly a bright green light lit up on the Altar and disappeared completely, along with the dead body.
Everything vanished into nothingness.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone