章 112: 108th Adversary: Vita
"Oh, I'm dying to see it now."
Miko looked at Joesph with a grin.
"Alright, hit me with your strongest magic attack."
"My strongest? Are you sure?"
"Don't worry. You won't be able to scratch me. This is purely for demonstration."
"Oh?"
A vein started pulsating in my Miko's head and one of his eyes started to twitch.
(There's no need to be mad since it's the truth you know.)
Joesph shook his head.
(Although, if he could tap into the endless power that's under the control of that snake, then it would be a different story.)
"Come on. We don't have all day."
He continued to taunt Miko.
"Don't blame me for what happens."
Miko stretched his hands out and darkness started gathering in his palm. The darkness quickly formed a dragon's head. The dragon head became alive and even roared.
"I developed this with Momo's help. I hope you like it."
Miko smiled.
"Wyvern's Shot!"
The dragon head was fired from Miko's palms palm. It grew into a full dark dragon the size of a bus. The dragon roared and charged at Joesph, who stood calmly waiting for it approach him. When it was less than a meter from him, Miko saw Joesph lift his hand in front of him.
*Bam!*
The dragon came to an explosive halt the moment it touched Joesph's palm.
"It's not bad. My hand actually feel tingly. But…"
In front of everyone's eyes, the dragon disappeared as if it was devoured by something.
"It's not nearly enough to satisfy my hunger."
"Big Bro's attack got devoured?"
Tessa was puzzled.
"No, it was absorbed."
Ishma replied.
"So that was really the case."
Miko eyes narrowed.
"I thought I was imagining things, but the moment my attack disappeared Joesph's presence grew for a split second."
"Joey, you're planning on teaching Miko Augustus's absorption trick, aren't you?"
"Correct."
"Absorption trick?"
Luka asked.
"It's more of a skill than a trick really. Did you know? Higher Beings have the ability to draw power from the world and faith itself?"
"What do you mean?"
Kristen asked.
"Higher beings are born from the faith of the residents of the parallel world that's linked with ours called Earth. You know that, right?"
Miko nodded. Everyone other than his swords looked like this was the first they heard this.
"Since they're born from faith, they naturally can grow stronger from it. They literally feed on the faith of those residents. Just knowing of their existence will give them power. Because of this, they have almost an unlimited amount of power and stamina."
"That's absurd. Then they can fight as long as people knows of their existence or until they're killed."
Joesph nodded.
"Do you know what Augustus said when he found this out?"
Joesph laughed before saying.
"That's bullshit. If they can gain power from some distant world, then I'll just take the lazier route and suck that power out of them and make it my own."
Joesph couldn't but laugh again.
"The amazing thing was that he actually went and did it. He figured out a way to absorb his enemies attacks and using the energy from them to increase his stamina and strength. This is how he leveled the playing ground between him and the higher beings. This also changed the war in the favor of the mortals when he purposely spread it around to piss the Higher Beings off."
"A skill that can absorb an enemy attack and turn it into your own strength…I want to learn it."
"Then do it."
"Come again?"
"I said you should just do it. Right here, right now."
Joesph created a ball of lightning in his hands.
"Here, I'll help you out."
"Wait, wait, wait! Are you insane?!"
"What's the matter? Can't do it?"
"Of course not! I only saw it once!"
"But I learned it after seeing it once. Also, Augustus created it with one try and mastered it by his third."
Joesph looked confused.
"Don't compare me to you freaks of nature!"
"This coming from the Irregular."
Joesph turned to Luka.
"You wanna try?"
"Yes."
Joesph didn't waste any time and threw the electric ball at Luka. The ball instantly became twice her size, the moment it left Joesph's hand, even so Luka faced it fearlessly.
*BAM!*
Luka stopped the electric ball with both hands.
"Ugh!"
She immediately started getting pushed back.
"You're just blocking it. Try focusing on the energy at the core of the attack. Once you have, try drawing that energy inside your body."
"Hey, you didn't give me any advice!"
Miko complained.
"Well, I kind of put more force than intended in my attack, so I feel I'm required to give an advice or two."
"Focus on the energy…"
Luka stop trying to fight the attack and relaxed her body. This caused her body to be devoured by the electric ball.
"Tsk."
Miko was about to make a move but froze. The electric ball's size was cut in half. Another second later and the ball completely disappeared and Luka's figure was visible again.
"She did it…"
"She actually did it…What a Beast."
Joesph looked surprised.
"Oi, you expected her to fail didn't you?"
"Of course. Who learns a technique like that after one try?"
Miko felt the urge to punch him.
"Big Sis, how do you feel?"
The twins approached Luka.
"My body feels cramped….Its painful, it feels like I'm going to explode if I don't do something."
"That's because you absorbed too much energy. That's the danger of this technique. If you're not careful you might explode."
Ishma explained.
"Like Ishma said, everyone has their own limit. If you get careless, it will lead to your destruction."
Joesph added.
"Big Sis, looks like she's in pain."
"Let's help her out."
The twins placed their hands on Luka's back. Their hands started glowing. Tessa's glow was purple while Kristen's was black. Joesph's eyes widened when he saw that.
(They're using Vita? The girl's Vita is of a Chaotic Nature while the boy's is of a demonic nature like Miko.)
He narrowed his eyes.
"But what are they planning to do?"
The glow coming off the twins' hands seeped inside Luka's body. When Joesph saw this eyes widened. Shortly after the look of anguish on Luka's face disappeared and she stood up straight.
"I feel better now. Thanks."
"No problem."
"Kristen, Tessa. Could you tell me who taught you to do that?"
Joesph approached the twins.
"Oh, we learned it from a teacher at the academy."
Tessa answered.
"A teacher? What's his name?"
"Professor Tiana Draxler. She's a woman."
Kristen answered.
"Tiana Draxler? I don't know that name. Did she teach it to any other students?"
"Not that we know of. She taught us when teaching us Vita."
"She taught you Vita as well?"
"What's wrong?"
Miko asked.
"No, it's nothing."
(That was definitely the absorption technique, which wouldn't be odd if others knew it since Master Augustus spread it around himself…However, what he spread around was the skill to absorb enemies attack, there's actually a skill higher that allows you to absorb energy directly from someone's body. That skill was kept a secret because it could be used to suck the life out of Higher Beings. Yet…)
He looked at the twins.
(These two knew it. Only Augustus, his Five Divine Generals and myself should know this skill….While It's possible the skill was leaked back then without our knowledge or someone figured it out after mastering the first skill, when I followed the path their vita took inside Luka with my senses, the way the twins did it was almost identical to how we do it. Is this a coincidence or…)
"Tiana Draxler, huh?"
He mumbled.
"Speaking of the academy, when are you two returning to the academy?"
Tessa asked Miko and Luka.
"Academy? I'm not going back there. What reason do I have to go back?"
Miko answered.
"Come on, the academy is fun. And I'm sure there's a lot you can learn there."
"I have so many masters as it is, what is there they can teach me that they can't."
Hearing their conversation caused Joesph to think.
(Would it be wise to let Miko go to the academy with that Tiana character there? There's a chance she could be one of the Divine Generals in disguise…But that would mean they're out of hibernation, which is faster than I expected. If Miko was to meet one of them how would they react?)
He thought. After a while he formed a fireball and fired it at Miko.
"Hm?"
*Bam!*
Miko was blown away when he was hit with the fireball.
"Why didn't you absorb it?"
Joesph asked.
"You suddenly throw a fireball at me and then complained when I couldn't absorb it…"
Miko sat up.
"Are you insane, old man?!"
He pointed at him.
"Besides that was far stronger than what you threw at Luka!"
"I thought you would get it if your life was in danger. Happens all the time in comics and tv shows."
"Ishma, I'm not strong enough, so could you hit him where it hurts."
Ishma started cracking her fingers.
"Leave it up to me."
"You might think I'm being unreasonable but I'm actually doing this for your own good. I can't teach you the other technique I had planned if you can't master this one."
"Why?"
"Because if you're unable to do this then there's no way you'll be able to do what I have planned."
Miko thought about it for a while.
"Give me one week and I'll have it mastered."
"One week? That long?"
"Sorry to burst your bubble but I'm not a prodigy like Luka. I need a longer time than others to learn something."
(From my memories, Miko was indeed slower than others when it came to learning techniques but he's incredibly quick when it comes to creating techniques….Maybe he's the type that learn things better his way rather than being taught someone's way…?)
"You're a strange kid but a week is fine."
Joesph answered.
"Then I'll bring you back."
"Please do."
The next day, the Primus Dominion. After he left the Flameheart Residence Miko went straight for the Primus Domain. He went to one of the deserted floating islands and began meditating. He sent his siblings to meet Nero and the rest of Branch and told them to return alone when they're ready to go home.
It has been more than a day since Miko started mediating. A black glow covered his body as he breathed gently with every muscle in his body completely relaxed. He was allowing Vita to flow into every muscle fiber in his body. He continued this for another two hours before opening his eyes and standing up.
"Alright, I've rid my mind of all thoughts unrelated to Vita and primed my body for relearning Vita."
That's right. Miko had decided to relearn Vita from scratch rather than focus on learning to absorb energy. If Joesph was to hear this he would question Miko's sanity.
"Let's start from the very beginning….What is Vita?"
He asked himself the most basic question possible.
"Vita is the ability to draw power from your soul and project it on to the world."
He clasped his hands in front of him.
"But more importantly, Vita is life."
He spread his legs to shoulder width and pushed his left palm forward while drawing his right fist back.
"Which is why we must be grateful for life. We must praise life, worship it, and cherish it."
He thrust his right fist forward while drawing his left palm back.
"Even if it means we must extinguish a life in the next second."
He clasped his hands again.
"For that is what it means to live. For one to truly live, they must be prepared to sacrifice lives to extend their own. Whether it be plants, animals, or even people, I will sacrifice them all to extend my own life; to prove my own existence. That is the path that I've taken. The path of the demon."
The glow around his body grew even more sinister and his eyes became empty as if he was in daydreaming. At that moment, Regis and Ishma appeared in their human forms and was watching him from the side.
"What's this? It's like he's in a trance."
Regis asked.
"Mind Zero."
"What's that?"
"It's something I've only heard about, but apparently some warriors are able to enter a trance-like state where their bodies operate solely on the instinct to improve. In this state, they'll achieve enlightenment on their respective paths and will learn, absorb information, grow at an unbelievable rate."
"Then the reason Miko was ridding his mind of all distractions and decided to start learning Vita from scratch is to enter this state….That's insane."
"I know. He said that he isn't a prodigy but I doubt many can achieve what he just did."
Miko who was frozen in place once again started to move.
"There are four primary forms/natures of Vita (life): Heavenly, Demonic, Chaotic, and Beastly. A person's Vita nature is decided by their outlook on life and the very nature of their soul. There exist a higher form of Vita which only those who have walked on their path of life to completion, and have mastered Vita to utmost level can unlock. This is Ruler's Vita."
"Looks like he's reciting everything he knows about Vita to instantly retrain himself."
Regis said, which Ishma agreed to with a nod. Miko continued.
"To me, life is all about destroying the old to create the new. Destruction breeds life. Hence my nature is demonic as well as my soul. So naturally my Vita is demonic as well."
The black glow around him started calming down. It gathered in his palm and formed a sphere.
"Demonic Vita is represented by the color black as purple is to Chaotic, Green is to Beastly, and Gold is to Heavenly. Ruler's Vita is colorless because once one has mastered Vita, they have become one with the world and life itself. They have become a Vita God."
He stretched his hand out and the black sphere in his hand transformed into a miniature demon.
"Other than boosting your overall physical abilities, all natures have their own special abilities. Demonic grants you the powers of demons, Heavenly-gods, Beastly-beasts, Chaotic-Chaos, while Ruler grants you control of life itself."
Miko clenched his fist and crushed the demon.
"I walk the path of the demon with pride. I've fought a thousand battles and have slain a thousand enemies with a swing of my hand."
That's when the girls saw an image forming behind Miko. This was an image of a blood-stained warrior with a thousand hands holding a thousand bloody weapons. It wore a ferocious expression on its three faces.
"I walk the path of the Asura."
"This is…"
Regis and Ishma was in awe at the sight of the warrior behind Miko. They could tell it wasn't really there but for some reason it felt like it could come into existence any moment now.
"So this is projecting your spirit on to the world…."
Ishma smiled.
"Joey, I think Miko has surpass your expectations. I think it won't be long before he grows into something you can't control."
"Ishma, you seem really suspicious of Joesph Flameheart, why?"
Regis asked.
"Because he's Augustus and my brother's protégé. So he's definitely planning something."
Ishma replied.
"Besides, haven't you realized that when he looks at Miko, he looks like he's seeing right through him. It's like he's not looking at Miko but someone far away."
A memory of her own mother looking at her with the same eyes surfaced in Ishma's mind. He mother, who she greatly resembled, showed her an empty smile before asking-
"Why can't you be like your father?"
Ishma gritted her teeth.
"I hate being looked at like I'm nothing but a replacement or a placeholder. I also don't want anyone to look at my partner with the same eyes."
"...."
Regis looked at Ishma in silence for a while before speaking.
"Looks like you're more than a hotheaded idiot."
"You wanna die?"
Regis placed her hand on Ishma's head.
"Thanks for being on Miko's side."
She smiled.
"The purpose of my existence is to protect and serve Miko. Having someone like you with us makes my job a lot easier. Thanks again."
"...."
Ishma didn't know how to reply so she kept silent and watched Miko has he continued his enlightenment and strived to reach new heights.
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