HPDBC Chapter 157: Conquering Thy self
Chapter 157: Conquering Thy self
The splashing of blood and clashing of steel filled the tower of death as Lance met the sword; past met present.
'I have never fought such a unique opponent,' Auros thought as he stood amongst a pool of his blood, his sword ready.
Asura stood opposite him with similar injuries and a slight smile on his lips. The more he fought the young man, Auros found that his skills, stances and abilities were being matched, copied and soon surpassed.
In the beginning, Auros felt he would win, that no young boy would defeat him. However, the more they fought, even a phantom with long-past memories felt something in his mirrored soul's depths.
'This boy is me. Yet, unlike me, he's fighting to control those feelings and forces that twisted my mind!'
This was the magic of the tower of death; those whom a person fought every ten floors weren't just copies or images made to look like genuine people.
Magic created the world.
When the upper levels collapsed, the gods condensed their lives into physical form, creating a rift in the universe and destroying many planets.
Their life force repaired the rift and restored the planets. However, the planet's life source was anima itself, and when a person dies, their bodies break into the planet once again as anima.
The tower of death summons the memories of the past using anima from the people who returned. This man standing now was the last remaining memory and thoughts of Auros, the silver prince.
However, despite thousands of years of studying, nobody knew what relation the summoned had with the challenger. An intelligent man who once died and saw his past life would uncover this information thanks to his strong link to the element of life.
They were our past selves and sometimes the future.
Therefore, when Auros and Asura clashed, they did so not only with blades and techniques but also with the desire to change their fate or avoid it altogether.
They both believed the other to be their past self, an enemy to devour, and the greatest obstacle they must overcome.
"Come at me Asura Fenix! I will show you my true power: do not collapse or falter!"
—Manifestation Devil Dragon Form!
Auros began transforming into a large black dragon with four wings and red markings on his neck as he bared his teeth, preparing to unleash his aura on Asura.
He had been holding back using his sword and physical strength, but since this was his last chance to unleash his full strength, he felt the desire to use this form that drove him mad once again, to the point of losing everything.
"No... How can it be?"
'What is the matter? The boy's spirit almost broke!?' Auros felt the magic of Asura collapse as his powerful tail smashed into Asura's spine with a devastating blow, the sound of his impacting the wall resounding through the tower.
"Kill me, I have... lost... I won't take that form again!" Asura spoke painfully as he fell on his hands and knees.
"Is it because I'm a dragon? After all, it's a formidable creature." Auros stepped on the ground, watching his foe struggling to stand, a strange sensation gripping his heart as he stopped and watched the boy.
"No, it's not because of that, it's..." Asura coughed up blood, wiping his mouth as he panted and stood up again. "I promised her..."
Asura stood looking at the complete form of his manifestation, the same face, wings and body as the deformed version he would create when forcing himself.
'Why does he look at me with such disgust?' Auros thought while watching Asura.
"I don't want to look like you. Don't want to look like someone else. I want to be myself, not dictated by fate or the past!" Asura shouted.
Auros felt surprised when he heard Asura's words, something he had not expected from the boy: that he did not want to become him.
"You cannot change fate or destiny. It's set in stone, boy... This is your future."
****
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"Cough!" Auros felt the air leave his lungs as his body crashed into the ground; dust flew into the air. He remained motionless, struggling to breathe as blood escaped his mouth.
"Ha, ha, haha... hahahahahaha!"
"Why are you laughing?" Asura asked incredulously, frowning as he watched Auros on the floor.
"What have you done!? I won't lose!" Auros roared as he unleashed all his magic towards Asura, attempting to burn him alive.
A gigantic silver dragon's breath, filled with all his rage and unwillingness to lose, was released towards Asura, covering his body. The tower of death groaned as cracks appeared in the ceiling and a dragon's breath that contained the magic of the silver prince in his prime.
"Die!"
"How entertaining..."
The silver flame engulfed Asura's body in a flash. Auros relaxed slightly. He expected to hear screaming and Asura's pained voice, but...
"Hahaha... what a delicious flame. Did you think that was enough to kill me, Auros?"
"N-no way... Impossible!" The silver prince watched as the inferno cleared, and a grin on Asura's face emerged from within the flames. He stood tall and powerful, the flames merging with his own, causing his aura to soar into a beautiful fire display, silver becoming black.
Auros witnessed Asura's small mouth easily consume all his breath attacks, his eyes wide with disbelief as he watched the flames escape from Asura's lips like smoke.
"I am Asura Fenix, the profane phoenix. You cannot defeat me! I will consume all and take everything from you, Auros!"
'I have to accept my past lives, no matter how bitter or loathsome, that is the way of the phoenix and their path of nirvana.' Asura's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a giant silver claw swiped towards him.
"I refuse to believe that a pathetic phoenix could defeat me. I was a dragon chosen by the gods. They called me the Divine Son!"
"You have failed Auros. You have no actual power anymore!"
Asura pointed his finger towards the dragon, his eyes showing no hatred but sympathy as he understood the feelings of this man who had lost what he loved most; the only difference was that Auros killed his beloved himself while she killed Asura. "Auros, Valerie survived."
The moment Asura spoke those words, black and golden flames erupted from beneath the dragon, his eyes widening upon hearing Asura's words.
Like a relentless waterfall of flames, they pierced his skin and deep into his organs, devouring and melting them in moments.
"Argh! It hurts... No! What did you mean!" The dragon roared in pain and despair, its voice echoing throughout the tower and reaching Asura's ears. "Tell me...!"
"She survived!" Asura repeated.
"I...I have... always thought... she died..."
"I wanted to save her! But I was the one who almost killed her..." Auros replied with a choked voice, his last breath escaping from his lips.
Asura's flames continued to burn, the memories of Auros continuously playing inside his mind like a broken video.
He couldn't forget any of them, his actions or regrets in his past life... With each step, Asura truly devoured part of Auros until he stood at his dying body and now held everything of his past life.
"You have a daughter; she is named Verana. Her dream is to build a world where the common people can live happily." Asura revealed.
Auros's body died without blood escaping, turning into a skeleton. But before completely changing, he stood before Asura's body with a smile.
"Take care of her..."
"Fool... she's my destiny because of you," Asura whispered with conflicted feelings as his corpse turned to ashes, and the tower with no feelings teleported Asura to the resting room, where you could recover after defeating ten floors.
"Asura?" Verana called out while cooking food on a fire, looking at Asura's tattered body with a worried look.
'See... how isn't she my destiny when she's here when I defeat you?'