The Oracle Paths

Embracing the pain, Jake gave his audience no chance to collect themselves. Drawing even more heat and radiation from his rapidly cooling Aether Sun Core, his body's calcination level quickly reached new heights. If he hadn't pushed his pain threshold throughout the last three months he might have passed out on the spot.

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

The roar that escaped his mouth at this peak of pain was no longer human. The shockwave of his cry expelled a large portion of his surplus energy in the form of an omnidirectional and utterly unstoppable deflagration.

"What the...!"

" Run!"

Players too close to the epicenter scrambled back, but those behind them caught on to the impending danger too late. Just as a pyroclastic flow after a volcanic eruption, nothing was spared.

Those who were swift or able to teleport barely managed to outrun it, but the others who were unable to protect themselves suffered the same fate as Jake, except that their bodies were hopelessly ill-equipped to handle so much heat and radiation. In addition to the lethal burns that revealed their flesh and bones when they were not directly disintegrated, the DNA of their cells was also deeply damaged. Without Digitization and a proper Bloodline, they would have perished no matter how much Vitality they had.

As for Jake, his charred skin peeled off, then flaked due to the unrelenting heat and radiation, his flesh and bones translucent as diamond making him look like an Undead God. His plight did not escape the notice of some of the Lost Divinities players.

"Don't give up guys! He' s in deep shit!" An Ent as tall as Nucnar, but whose foliage had been swapped for triangular flames and a trunk as black as obsidian, defiantly let the blast wash through it, its sturdy roots anchoring itself deep into the ground to keep it from being blown away.

By all accounts, this was a very special Ent.

"We can still make it!" A horned swordsman in a kimono with a third eye and some sort of cleaver hacked the superheated shockwave in half, then weaved through the rift fearlessly.

"The promotion is mine!" A flame-wrapped bird resembling the phoenixes of legends excitedly rammed into the plasma blast, the blur of its silhouette splitting the air more explosively than the most modern fighter jet.

Seeing that not all of their subordinates were cowards, a proud smile broke out on the white Nosk's face. Most of these valiant Players were in fact under his command. A dozen hooded Nosks had even adopted a formation where they connected their dendrites to share the radioactive and thermal load between them. After overcoming the blast, they were about to reach Jake.

The Bubble alien Ozo was not so optimistic and had been steadily gaining altitude. It wasn't that he was afraid, but it was just his nature to never give his cornered enemies a chance.

Deimos, however, did not share Khag' Dagmai's optimism. On the surface, Jake seemed on the verge of self-destruction after overestimating his abilities, but his instincts and senses were sending him a very different signal.

"That Jake... He's using us to get stronger."

Only Ashun, the beauty previously hiding behind Belakor, and then Nucnar, heard his murmur, disbelief congealing her open mouth into a big O. Then the Spartan's bold statement was borne out.

While the new wave of attackers had convinced themselves that the horrific laser beam that had atomized Nucnar was a one-time shot that he would not be able to use again for a long time, the stark reality proved them wrong.

For a fleeting fraction of a second, time stood still, or at least that's how the enemies saw it. When the Grim Reaper came to collect his due, it was not uncommon for the deceased to experience their dying breaths in slow motion.

Powerless, they saw Jake, who was now a 5m60 diamond skeleton, crack his neck ominously, then turn his head in their direction. Only his eyes had not changed. The two galaxies immersed in an ocean of golden and silver light were still as mesmerizing and hypnotic as ever.

As deadpan as a corpse, his head tilted, swayed and jerked several hundred times with milimetered precision, his gaze locking on to each target with the unerring efficiency of the best remote guidance system.

Then all the heat and energy that made his skeleton glow and crackle was sucked into his eyeballs already brighter than a supernova and then... And then nothing.

Hundreds of laser pulses coldly pulverized their targets before anyone could give them any warning.

The Nosks defended themselves with their dendrites, but after exceeding their threshold of energy absorption the whole group exploded simultaneously.

The phoenix was flying so fast in a straight line that it collided head-on with the beam as if it had deliberately run into it. Except for a few scorched feathers, nothing remained of its former splendor.

The volcanic Ent tried its best to diffuse the light energy into its flame leaves and roots, but a wistful, self-mocking sigh rustled from its dying branches. The soil in which its roots were buried melted into magma, then the flames in its foliage turned to plasma before exploding like fireworks. Finally, his obsidian trunk began to glow, then turned white-hot before bursting like an old tree struck by lightning.

The swordsman in kimono, facing his imminent death, unleashed the full extent of his skill. With a hiss of rage, filled with reluctance and regret, he unleashed all his Sword Qi in a final burst, hoping to "slice" this light. But nothing could stop this attack. Even before this thought emerged in his mind, the laser beam had already disintegrated his brain and the rest of his body.

All of those brave, talented and experienced players were decimated without exception. This time, no one dared to take the initiative. Those who were still tempted by the reward retreated, moving back at least 300 meters. The area around Jake instantly became a no man's land.

A deathly silence settled over the ruined fortress. With different expressions breeding all sorts of thoughts, the survivors watched with increasing gravity as the wounds of their invincible foe recovered at a dizzying pace. Within seconds, his skeleton had already begun to cover itself with a new layer of muscles and organs.

They could have all attacked him at the same time to stop him. If Deimos, Khag' Dagmai and Ozo were leading the charge they could have easily annihilated him. But as long as none of their leaders volunteered to personally lead the offensive, none of these Players would be foolish enough to sacrifice their lives pointlessly.

Thus, Jake managed to regenerate completely without incident. He might have felt proud of his accomplishment, but he was in no mood to celebrate.

His Bone Crushing's Snoworm Fang was covered in cracks, his Tempest Sword was sealed in an iceberg that was very difficult to melt, his equipment was beyond repair, his Soul Stone had shrunk for the first time, and his Aether Sun Core now glowed with little more than a brown dwarf at the end of its life.

This battle had cost him dearly. Much more than he was initially willing to pay. But if he had to do it again, he would do it the same. This arrogant faction was an obstacle in his journey that he had to overcome.

And besides... This fight at death's door was not without benefits. His Silver Myrtharian Bloodline was on the verge of leveling up.

During this short lull where both sides scrutinized each other with contrasting emotions, only the occasional crackle of flames licking the rubble broke through the stony silence. Lost Divinities' fortress was nothing but ruin and ashes, as if the apocalypse had passed by.

Jake may have administered a savage thrashing, but he could see no fear in their eyes. During the battle, these victims had indeed been subject to fear when they saw him coming near, but as soon as the battle ceased he realized that these were only physiological reactions. Their current unwillingness to fight was not out of fear, but caution.

As the stalemate seemed bound to drag on, Deimos finally rose from his throne. As he left the throne, the stone throne collapsed into dust. The battle had long since destroyed everything that could be destroyed. Without the Spartan's mental force, the throne would have collapsed long ago.

Clap. clap. clap.

"I admire you. I really do. Defeating a whole army of Lost Divinities is a feat that few in the Mirror Universe can boast." Deimos congratulated him warmly, his face wearing an expression of sincerity.

But the congratulations were only the prelude to much harsher words.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid you haven't defeated us at all. Your strength is not the issue. You just don't understand what makes us who we are and what unites us. Look around you!"

Deimos waved his hand and the watchful and gloomy faces of the survivors lined up behind him revealed a taunting and slightly sneering smirk.

At that moment, Jake became aware of a recurring phenomenon that he had been unable to dwell on during the heat of the battle. Sweeping the battlefield with his Myrtharian Eyes, his heart sank as he realized the shocking truth.

'Their numbers haven't changed.'

If he wasn't fighting an illusion, something he was almost convinced of, then there was only one possibility.

"Did you figure it out yet?" Deimos laughed with a tone caught between pity and condescension. "That's right. I regret to inform you that none of those you faced died. You didn't kill anyone."