To defeat an Elder like Khaos, one must be free from thoughts obstructing the mindset; observation is the main key. Trapped in the Gate of Oblivion, Flynn had a good understanding of his situation. The main threats in the domain weren't necessarily the Silence of the Dead or the Reality Lock, but rather the endless loop Khaos had spoken of and the force field before his eyes.
The Silence of the Dead would disconnect him from time and space, which Flynn fully understood. The Reality Lock prevented him from leaving the domain, but that wasn't his intention. However, the force field was a different story; no matter his abilities or level of evolution, Flynn knew deep down he shouldn't dare approach it. The wave-like blue light seemed more of an insurmountable barrier.
"Clink...~" The sound of his sword, held tightly, echoed through the crimson wasteland. Defeating the Keeper was his primary objective.
Without another thought, Flynn charged forward, attacking head-on, with the Keeper in a stance to deflect with his scythe.
"Clank!" Their blades clashed, and to Flynn's surprise, his sword matched the Keeper's might.
The force of the impact sent the Elder stumbling backward. "You're swift, human, but no match for me!" He said, reversing his scythe to thrust the blade downwards, then unleashing a powerful upward swing at Flynn.
"Really?" Flynn spat, anger on his face as he leaped backward, watching Khaos remain stationary, unmoving.
"Thinks he has the upper hand."
Though it pained Flynn to admit, Khaos wasn't entirely wrong.
Within the domain, the Keeper's strength was multiplied by a thousandfold, making him the superior force. However, Flynn didn't view this as a threat, thanks to his unlocked abilities, which significantly amplified his strength and speed, he might just bring the Keeper down. Probably.
Landing at a safe distance, Flynn again charged forward without hesitation. This time, he had to use the darkness of the Gate to his advantage.
And that were the shadows.
He again raced forward, this time, his legs tapped the darkness of the shadow, formed from the flickering lights, his mind was fixed on the Keeper.
And as he did this, he teleported right behind Khaos. At this moment, he knew the Keeper would, of course, see through his teleportation ability - Shadow Manipulation.
So, he struck swiftly, but before a stroke could land on the Keeper, he turned behind, red gaze locked onto his. ".... I have told you this, Human. You're swift, but no match for me."
"Whoosh"
The scythe blade moved, but, before it could reach him, Flynn teleported again, dodging the counterattack. However, this time, he reappeared without a focused thought, an inch close to the force-field. And he could sense the energy. "Wrong move," came a whisper from his mouth, with his body again teleporting to where he first stood.
During this teleportation moment, his feet had kicked a bone on the ground; no sound was made as the bone passed through the field, disintegrating into thin air.
Immediately getting on both feets back on the ground, Flynn frowned.
"... I can't fight this Keeper when he's far, but, I can attack him when he's close!"
He said, and yet again quickly teleported through the shadows towards the keeper who saw this coming, and raised his scythe, targeting Flynn.
With a slash into the air, directed at Flynn, Khaos thought for sure 'The Mortal' would be dead after such an attack, but Flynn countered with swift strikes, which afterwards, he teleported to the keeper's side, and with this, he gave the Keeper a good sideways slash leading to the Elder horizontal dash towards the forcefield.
He didn't waste a single time before charging forward, his dark sword aimed at Khaos's skull.
Time seemed to slow as their eyes locked.
Flynn reappeared inches from Khaos, sword positioned for the killing blow.
But just as his sword was about to strike... Everything reset.
Flynn found himself rushing towards Khaos again, sword raised. And again. And again. Each loop ended with Flynn's sword mere inches from Khaos's skull.
"Damnit!" He cursed under his breath as he reappeared back to his original spot. "Why would he set the loop just when.... Wait is his skull the weak point?"
A smirk formed on his face, ".... I would have to attack him from another angle then, if the loop sets in just when I attack head-on."
Again, he rushed forward, this time, he teleported behind the Keeper.
And again, before his sword stuck the Keeper's head...
He reappeared back to his original spot.
"Really!" Flynn's frustration boiled over, "No matter how or where I attack, so long I attack the Keeper, I would be stuck in the loop!."
He frowned, ".. That again means that the Keeper as well is stuck in the loop... or what?!."
Not knowing what to do at this moment, Flynn leaped back to a safe distance away from the Keeper.
He struck the dark sword on the ground, "Come on Brain think! I didn't have a scholarship for waste!."
He paced the area with fingers tapping his temple, ".... How can I escape a loop that would always be activated when I attack the Keeper."
In this body, it seemed the foolishness of Bimpky took over his analytical mind. So, he had to concentrate.
His memory wasn't blur just a bit jumbled, making it hard for him to recall almost all the principles he had in his past life and this worsened with each passing hour.
He stopped for a moment, took a deep breath, searched his memory when he quickly recalled fundamental principles of general relativity and quantum mechanics. "Time dilation.... Quantum decoherence... causality loops!
"The nature of this anomaly, must definitely be a localized time dilation effect, probably, the connection to the Gate creates a closed timelike curve."
Flynn's eyes narrowed. "I need to calculate the loop's parameters."
He shut his eyes mentally modelling a blurry calculation.
"Got it!"
Flynn's eyes went wide opened, "I need to change my perspective required altering the loop's initial conditions! So instead of me just attacking the Keeper, I must have a few seconds to alter just a particular moment to avoid the loop!."
He took a deep breath, "... I hope this works!."
He again held tight on his word, charging forward, sword raised. This time, he synchronized his attack with the Gate's resonance frequency.
The Keeper frowned when he again saw Flynn, "You really are a foolish soul! Why don't you die and rot away and be saved!."
However, Khaos saw he wasn't listening, his red gaze narrowed, "You are trapped in this loop! You cannot touch me! You are—"
"Slash!"
Flynn focused on disrupting the loop.
!Breaking the Cycle!
He leaped forward, sword raised at the keeper's skull.
Just when he was about releasing the hit, to the Keeper's surprise, Flynn bent his sword towards his hand, and then...
He cut off his own left hand.
Instantly, the temporal anomaly shattered, releasing Flynn from the infinite loop.
Khaos stumbled backward, momentarily off-balance.
And Flynn seized the opportunity. "Now, it's time to end this."
With a swift dash, he closed the distance, with sword slicing through the air, leaving a trail of darkness.
"You've tested my limits," Flynn sneered, "but I'll show you true power!"
His body erupted with dark energy, and the sword transforming into a shadowy scythe
"Your darkness is a spark; mine is an inferno!" Flynn taunted.
The Keeper stumbled back, his powers weakened by the sudden disruption of the loop, as Flynn attacked with five consecutive strikes.
"Your power whispers; mine thunders!"
A swift slash to the Keeper's chest.
"You wield Spirits; I command the void!"
Flynn's kick sent the Keeper crashing into a pillar.
Your fate is sealed; mine is eternity!"
The Keeper struggled to rise, "I cannot be defeated by a Mortal—" but Flynn's simultaneous assault, shut him up.
A dark vortex engulfed around his fist and he stood before the Keeper.
"Your strength is but a fraction; mine is limitless!" Flynn declared.
The vortex imploded as the punch landed, breaking off half of the Khaos skull head.
In this moment, Flynn saw the soulshard and digged his hands into the keeper's chest, pulling out a blue stone, the size of a fist.
Immediately this happened, the Keeper dropped on his knees, head bent downwards.
[QUEST COMPLETED: KILL KHAOS, KEEPER OF THE GATE OF SPIRIT.]
[REWARD: 100kpts, 1 Unlocked Ability, SHADOW LORD'S FURY]