The energy around Zaren slowly began to move towards his blade, causing it to turn darker and darker. Yet, his own energy didn't diminish; it only grew stronger. Within seconds, the blade reached its limit, unable to absorb any more of the black energy.
He tightened his grip, and the blade started to grow taller and taller. Within short intervals, it reached heights greater than five meters, and as time passed, it surpassed ten, fifteen, twenty, fifty, and even one hundred meters.
Zaren didn't stop there and looked towards Julicious with a sad tone. "I am sorry..." he quickly changed his tone, becoming very serious, and continued, "I cannot finish you right now. I need more power."
"Now farewell, Julicious, forever," Zaren said, swinging his massive blade down. "No!" a voice echoed in his mind, but it was too late. The earth cracked open, an unending fissure plunging deep into the ground, spreading across kilometers. The entire area near the crack was covered in dust particles, obscuring everything.
Zaren stood there, waiting for the dust to settle, and began to ponder the source of the voice he had heard. "Was it Julicious...?" he thought for a moment but then dismissed the idea. "No, that couldn't have been heard. It was like someone shouted right near my ear.
Does that mean...?" Fear gripped him, and he desperately started to search for someone in the dust cloud.
"Please, please, please..." he started repeating, joining his hands and looking towards the dust cloud at short intervals, but his tension only increased as time passed. Zaren shouted in fear, "PLEASE BE SAFE!" His voice transformed into a powerful shockwave, clearing the area around him.
As the dust cloud began to drift away from him, his heartbeat quickened. As the dust clouds moved to a certain distance and continued their movement further, his heart was filled with intense fear. "Please, please... please be safe..." he continuously repeated the words.
Suddenly, he froze in his place, the word catching in his throat. He rubbed his eyes and blinked again, then was filled with joy. "Finally, I can rest." Zaren collapsed from exhaustion and looked towards the dust cloud, which had formed the shape of a human-like structure.
"You are alive and dodged my attack at the very last moment. You made me believe that I had killed you, but now you are alive, and he might come any moment. There is no need to fight anymore."
Zaren looked at the moment and estimated the time they had fought. "It's only been a short battle, but it was a good one. Your reflexes are sharp. You could easily defeat me if you..." He took a deep breath in disappointment and continued with a heavy heart, "If only you hadn't... I mean, if you had fought me seriously, then you might have had a chance to defeat me."
He stood for a moment, looked towards Julicious's body, and then turned back to lie down, continuing his conversation, "If you weren't yawning and focused on me instead of your snor..." Zaren suddenly released something, quickly stood on his feet, and ran towards Julicious's body.
Zaren gathered some air in his lungs and blew away all the dust covering Julicious. What Zaren saw made him take a few steps back. "What is this...?" Suddenly, moonlight began to fall on Julicious's body. The moonlight, previously blocked by thick clouds, had been cleared by Zaren's roar and the destruction caused by his blade. As more dust cleared, more light illuminated Julicious's form.
Zaren's body began to glow golden from the reflection of the goldish-brown dust particles of Acroniya land. Julicious opened his eyes, but this time they were neither calm nor filled with rage. Chaos and calm coexisted, yet remained separate.
"XENTHOIUR!" Julicious roared, completely ignoring Zaren. The force of Julicious's voice was so powerful that Zaren's ears started bleeding again, though they quickly began to recover thanks to the dark energy Xenthoiur had provided. However, the dark energy flowing through his sword dissipated from the blade due to Julicious's roar.
"Where do you think you are going?" Zaren asked Julicious, but received no reply.
Zaren stepped in front of Julicious to block his path, but when their eyes met, Zaren was so afraid his entire body shook uncontrollably. His clothes were drenched in sweat, and his legs were unable to support his weight.
"Zaren... Zaren... Zaren, run quickly from there... Zaren!" his brain gave him constant commands, but his body wouldn't obey. Before he could react, Julicious moved past him. As Julicious crossed his path, Zaren forgot to breathe and held his breath until Julicious had moved more than ten meters away.
Zaren collapsed to the ground, using his hands for support. He started coughing, taking deep breaths to calm himself, but nothing worked. He lay facing the moon and began to slowly regain his composure.
His expression grew increasingly dangerous, and his entire body began to tremble with fear. His mouth moved, but no sound came out, fueled by pure hatred and anger. "JULICIOUS!" he finally shouted his name, holding his blade with a tight grip.