THE BLACK CULTIVATOR

OBLIVION AND PRAYER

The dust cleared, yet nothing had changed.

Both fighters remained locked in a fierce tug-of-war between attack and defense.

"Oblivion!" the Emperor roared.

The air grew unbearably hot, a heat beyond heat.

*Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come.*

[Saint Title Activated]

[Time Remaining: 28 Seconds]

A multi-colored light sparkled like stardust.

BOOOOOOM!

The continent shattered. A concentrated flame-like attack erupted from the Emperor’s body seconds after activation, tearing across the land like an apocalyptic hurricane capable of swallowing entire nations.

The first half of the continent became a massive crater sunk deep into the earth. Nothing remained standing. Everything had not only died—it had been erased. Only sand, superheated into glass, remained.

The other half was a nightmarish wasteland of molten lava, ash, dust, and raging storms.

The Emperor collapsed in the middle of the devastation. His massive form was gone; he had returned to his normal size.

"Ahhh!" He exhaled, thick smoke escaping his mouth and nostrils.

"I went overboard," he whispered, chest heaving. "I only wanted to break a few bones of that brat, but I ended up killing him." His right hand was missing, blood soaking the glassy sand beneath him.

"I'm still alive, you bastard!"

Chris hovered inches from the Emperor’s face. His left hand was shattered, bones exposed with muscle fibers twitching in the breeze. Blood dripped from his fingertips. His eyes were swollen, and his intestines lay open like a gruesome exhibition.

He dropped to both knees, eyes lifted toward the gathering clouds, breathing heavily like a dying animal.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes and slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"I don’t know whether to be surprised or impressed. How did you survive an attack capable of killing a Domain Soul cultivator?" His gaze shifted from Chris’s face to his mangled arm, exposed guts, and swollen eyes.

Thunder rumbled across the sky.

"Prayer," the Naija youth replied in a low voice, eyes fixed on the darkening clouds as rain began to fall in slow droplets.

"Prayer?" The Emperor chuckled, but the laugh turned into a violent cough. Blood sprayed into his palm. "A mere word saved you from my killing technique? I’ll be damned."

"Mmmm!" Chris sighed deeply.

"You’ve got something special in you, brat. I see that now." The Emperor smiled weakly. "I surrender… I don’t even have a reason to keep fighting anymore."

Bam!

Chris landed a weak punch on the Emperor’s cheek before collapsing face-first onto the ground.

"Ahhh!" he groaned in pain, tears welling in his eyes as his open stomach scraped against the rough sand.

"Haha! Good spirit, boy!" The Emperor pressed a hand to his cheek, grinning.

"Fist Emperor!"

The Sword Saint’s voice rang out from afar as she flew toward them. Her eyes widened at the sight of the rising smoke, the corpses of massive beasts—some missing limbs, others reduced to skeletons—and the total destruction where every structure had once stood.

"Hahaha," Chris laughed weakly, forcing himself back onto his knees. "Your babe dey find you, bastard." [Your girl is looking for you, bastard.]

"The Sword Saint and I aren’t like that, boy. She… just cares deeply for me," the Emperor replied, his face turning slightly red.

The rain grew heavier, accompanied by a chilling breeze. The heat of battle, the stench of blood, sweat, and the odor of dead beasts slowly faded away.

Both warriors sighed in relief as the cold rain washed over their battered bodies.

The Sword Saint landed gracefully like a falling balloon. She rushed behind the Fist Emperor, tears streaming down her face, her nose red and running. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him from behind while he remained seated.

"What have you done, you fool?" she whispered into his ear.

"Forgive me, Hannah," he replied softly, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "I’m tired of being stuck here. Every era, I’m used like a pawn."

"It’s coming soon, isn’t it?" she muttered, staring at the dark sky flashing with continuous lightning.

"Yeah… it is." He gently placed his hand over hers.

She rested her head against his bloodied back.

"Sorry for interrupting your moment, Sword Saint—or should I call you Hannah?" Chris grunted, forcing himself up with his good hand.

He quickly swallowed ten healing pills. His exposed flesh began to regrow and reconnect at a visible speed.

"Sword Saint," she replied firmly, raising her eyes. Her arms remained wrapped around the Emperor like a lover. "Call me Sword Saint."

"Your lover don surrender, Saint. Do you also surrender, or do you wish to fight m—" [Your lover has surrendered, Saint. Do you also surrender, or do you wish to fight m—]

"I surrender too," she cut in. "If he couldn’t put you down with his ultimate technique, Oblivion, then I doubt I would fare any better."

*Thank you, Lord! Ahhhh. I no even get reason to fight anymore.* [I don’t even have a reason to fight anymore.]

A smile briefly appeared on Chris’s face before vanishing as thunder boomed unnaturally.

A massive void vortex suddenly appeared high in the sky, spinning rapidly.

"My punishment has arrived, Hannah," the Emperor said. "Let me go, or they will come and kill us all."

"Abeg, who them wan come kill? I no follow you break any rule,"[Please, who do they want to come and kill? I didn’t join you in breaking any rule,] Chris narrowed his eyes.

"Relax, boy. No one will come after you."

The Emperor calmly loosened Hannah’s grip and rose to his feet, smiling. Dust and sand fell from his skin and torn armor.

"What’s going on, Emperor?" Chris asked.

"With time, you will come to understand the true principles of the Void Realm, boy."

The Emperor began walking toward the vortex.

"Let’s meet again someday, Hannah. You and the others… and probably you too, boy." He laughed, his voice echoing for a few seconds before a bolt of void lightning struck him. In an instant, he was gone without a trace.

"What just happened to him?" Chris’s eyes bulged in shock and fear. He pushed himself up, planting both feet firmly into the rain-soaked ground.

Hannah clenched her fists tightly against her thighs, tears falling freely.

"He disobeyed the laws governing the Void. For breaking the chains that sealed him and destroying the principles of the Fifth Trial Hall… his punishment was complete erasure from existence."

"Why didn’t he fight against the laws? Since he already broke them, e better to fight and die than accept a fate meant to destroy you like a weakling," [it’s better to fight and die than accept a fate meant to destroy you like a weakling,] Chris said, anger clear in his voice. His knuckles turned white.

[Adrenaline & Willpower Surge: 50%]

"His strength wasn’t enough to defy the power of the Void," Hannah replied. "The mortal realm bows to the laws of the heavens. The heavens bow to the higher gods. And the higher gods bow to the beings of the universe. Sometimes, boy… strength alone is not enough to fight fate."

She closed the distance between them in six steps.

"You’re strong… and there’s something different about you compared to most cultivators. We will surely meet again."

Without warning, she pressed her lips against Chris’s.

His eyes widened. His entire body froze.

*Wetin dey happen?*[What is happening?]

Like a missile, she shot into the sky and vanished from sight.

*Thank you, boy. Because of you, my love finally found peace after years of suffering I never understood.*

Her body began to disintegrate into sparkling powder as she flew away.

Chris traced his lips with two fingers.

"Damn! That sexy babe kiss me. E sweet die!" [Damn! That sexy babe kissed me. It feels so sweet! / It’s extremely pleasurable!]

He jumped up and down in excitement as the rain continued pouring.

Crack!

"Ahhh! My backbone!"

He screamed and crashed to the ground. Steam rose from his skin as he took deep, painful breaths.

*Laws, principles, rules… I will grow above them all. They don’t bring order—they only cage those beneath them. I will cheat, use every underhanded method, and gain the power I need. I will rise beyond the universe and crush every law, principle, and rule.*

He vowed silently as his eyes slowly closed.

*A little sleep right now na all I need.* [A little sleep right now is all I need.]

[Void Trial 5: Completed]

[Time Remaining: 2 Minutes 49 Seconds]

[Daily Quest Completed]

[Rewards Distributed: +100 Healing Pills, +1 Complete Void Inheritance Manual, +1 Sovereign Core Pill, Token of Return, Full Access to the Void Realm Exit]