Suddenly, the skin that had peeled off attached to Roley’s own, his flesh, now dust, seeped into his nostrils, and his bones, which had been swallowed by the concepts of darkness had not disappeared, but had joined the power of darkness as it went back into its summoner’s eyes.

In just a few moments, the entirety of the Elementalist’s existence had disappeared, leaving no trace of him behind.

Der looked on in horror. His attention instantly shifted to the formation that, in the distance, appeared as a microscopic dot of gray and light blue light. His heart threatened to burst out of his chest as he expected that, at any moment, the formation would fall apart.. unleashing Horror’s horde upon his people.

Yet, as several seconds passed, nothing happened. The formation was still standing strong, and it did not seem that that would change any time soon.

The oppressive grip his fingers had onto his now deformed helmet had relaxed, and he exhaled in extreme relief. His heart however had no intention of stopping. The threat of Horror’s horde being unleashed alone, was enough to fill him with adrenaline.

It appeared that the Elementalist had been bluffing, and that Roley had been successful in calling his bluff. Yet, the moment he turned to look at his old friend, what he saw left him aghast. His brows furrowed with confusion at the sight of Roley, who had now fallen into a deep sleep.

—–

As the Elementalist’s malicious smile kept appearing in Roley’s mind, his surroundings had begun to change.. And in a moment, he found himself in a foreign world. What presented this word as foreign, however, was not the fact that Roley did not recognize it, but because of its composition.

What Roley could see all around him was not a physical world, but one made of what he could only describe as the idea of elements. It possessed trees that were little more than an abstract cluster of brown, greed and reddish colors, earth that was soft to the touch but that did not feel solid, or had a composition to begin with. The winds drifted past his body like a ghost, carrying blurry droplets of human-proof water.

Had he not known that was not the case, Roley would have thought he had fallen into what looked like an abstract painting. He could feel in each color the power of the elements, yet, he could not the body they would usually possess. And the further he observed, the stranger things became.

Within the first few seconds, Roley had noticed that this place did not possess sound. The fabric of his clothes brushing, his breathing, the sounds his mouth would usually make.. No sound could be heard. And that was also the case for his mind, whose thoughts he could not formulate in speech any longer, but only in pictures.

Despite his initial surprise, however, Roley was still a scholar of the elements.. So when these two oddities appeared in his mind, sure enough, he was able to guess where he had ended up. “These are the elements in my body..” he thought as he noticed the strands of darkness that extended from the bottom of his feet, produced by the curved and distorted rays of light.

The abstractness of his surroundings was caused by the lack of space, and the absence of sound was due to him having never merged with a treasure of sound essence. And as he kept observing the world around him, he gathered, there likely had to be no time essence either. Luckily, he still possessed control over his surroundings, as when his mind commanded, the shapeless and quiet essences would heed his call, and move around according to his orders.

Nevertheless, he could not understand how he had come here, nor did he have any idea such a world existed within him.. All he knew was that it was not an illusion.

What was more important, however, was to know how to get out. He was unsure whether the absence of time was separated from the outside flow of time. And that worried him, for while he did not have to worry about aging in this world, outside, he was still standing in front of Der, whom he had possibly condemned to fall under the brutality of Horror’s domain.. A brutality that would also befall his people.

But also, he could not stop thinking about the smile that had crept onto the Elementalist’s lips as he died. The thought of it kept appearing in his mind, making him wonder whether he had done the right thing. After all, the core of a champion of Destiny’s existence was survival. So while it was not odd for them to gamble their lives on a bluff, for them to smile as that bluff was called was very odd.

As Roley kept thinking of how he could get out, however, an odd feeling began creeping in his mind. A familiar feeling all humans thought as common yet impossible to explain.

Instinctively he turned around, and there he saw him. The figure of the Elementalist, staring at him from a few feet away, with the same malicious smile plastered on his face.

“Hey there.” The Elementalist’s lips moved, but no sound came out.

Despite there being no sound, Roley could somewhat understand him. “You truly are like cockroaches..” He said in response as he immediately took hold of the surrounding essences, which, following his thoughts, began to focus around the smiling individual.

The Elementalist seemed amused. He let out a deaf laugh, then raised his hands. “Wait wait, don’t ruin this for me. There is no time here, you might as well let me enjoy the moment.”

Unfortunately for him, Roley was not interested in indulging him. With another thought the shapeless essences attached themselves to the Elementalist’s body, and violently began to tear, slice and burn him into nothingness.

In Roley’s eyes, it almost seemed as if the Elementalist had been dropped into a vat of water, and with it, the content of a hundred tins of paint that swirled in an attempt to remain separate before inevitably mixing together.

This went on for several minutes, after which Roley let go of his murderous thoughts and relaxed his mind.

When the cluster of essences dissipated, however, he was alarmed. For the Elementalist stood there, quieter than death itself, and still sporting the same malicious smile he had before. He was completely unharmed.

Noticing Roley’s expression, the Elementalist shooed the remnants of essence away with his hand, then took a few steps towards him. Once close enough, the Elementalist once again placed his arm around his nemesis, and said, “Calm down, this is your home! You should keep it in order.. Especially now that you have a guest.”

As he mentioned being a guest, the Elementalist once again pinched his chin pensively, then added, correcting himself, “I guess ‘guest’ is the wrong term, considering this is my home too now. And you will be moving out soon.”

Roley could not hear the man’s words, but as he stared at his moving lips, he slowly fell into realization.

As his hands moved onto his body, he confirmed. His body was physical. And while he still had control over the elements, he was not the only one who could. The Elementalist had somehow managed to fuse his body with his own, and now, they shared control over the world of essences they held.

“How?” he asked with sheer horror.

The Elementalist smiled once more, then grabbed Roley’s body by his shoulders, and with pity, he said, “Don’t beat yourself up. You never threw the game. You just.. Never had a chance to begin with.”

He then let go of him, and began taking a leisurely stroll in the abstract world. All the while explaining, “Before we met.. Nay, even before you were born, I knew that one day your body would be mine. A body embedded with the most primordial forms of mana. One that once completed.. Not only my own kind, the Aspects of existence themselves would be nothing against.”

“A body capable of controlling light and darkness, time and space, sound and the elements. In a multiverse of pseudo deities and ants that moronically struggle against the inevitability of death, you and I.. you and I will become a true God.”

“All I needed was for those little clique of idiots to feel threatened by my existence.. Force them into a corner where they would have no choice but to create you.” The Elementalist mentioned, reminding Roley of how the elemental ancestors had chosen him for his affinity to the elements.. To make him the protector of the Elementals and save them from the Elementalist himself. “Of course, they were all unaware participants.”

The series of events that Roley had lived through for the last two thousands years suddenly appeared different, in his mind. The elemental ancestors that had engraved the primordial power of their kin into his body, the wars he had led his people into, his encounter with the Elementalist and his consequent victory.. All were part of his nemesis’ plan. Even the multitude of failed attempts at merging with light and dark essence were nothing but a ploy to make him desperate enough to accept his help when it truly counted.

As he realized all this, he could not help but ask, “You have bet everything.. All of it, on the chance that when you brought the treasure of light and darkness to me, I would say yes?”

The smile on the Elementalist’s face began showing traces of mockery. He could not be bothered to even explain the inevitability of his system’s readings of fate. To him, there had been no risks. Everything had been laid out perfectly, and every action was in compliance to what his system had claimed would lead to him taking Roley’s body.

Yet, he did not explain that, as that would have chipped away at the enjoyment he was having. Instead, he stretched his arms outwards.

Slowly, the forces of mana that surrounded them began to approach his body, and rotate in awe of it. A show that he too could control them just like Roley had.

While the Elementalist basked in the power his body possessed, Roley had forgotten the previous question. At this point all he could think about was the amount of destruction a champion of destiny could achieve, if given the power he possessed..

After all, with the knowledge Roley had shared with him, paired with Destiny’s gift, who was to say how long before he could find a treasure of time and a treasure of sound, and finally become a god? When faced with the power to control nature, not only the people he followed, but life itself would be at his mercy.

“I can’t let that happen..” he thought as his immortal essence, old and dormant, started circulating throughout his body. With the advantage of the control of primordial essence gone, he was a simple cultivator.. But so was his opponent.

Without a shred of a warning he lunged at the Elementalist, who reacted to his attack with amusement.

—–

“Roley!” Der barked to the catatonic young man.

Only a few moments after the Elementalist’s apparent death had passed, yet Roley seemed to have lost all functions. His eyes were devoid of life, and his body floated rigidly in the emptiness of space. If not for Der’s hold, he would have floated away.

Unfortunately, shaking and yelling did not appear to be working.. Which caused the middle-aged cultivator to believe that something was wrong with. And not only in him, but in what had led him into such a state.

Before he could attempt a more extreme approach, however, Roley suddenly woke up. His eyes were lively, and his expression was one of happiness and satisfaction, as opposed to the solemnity that had marked his face during their previous conversation.

He did not appear to be bothered by the middle-aged man squeezing his arms with a grave expression. Instead, he was looking down at his body, muttering, “..talk about qualitative change.. Eheh.” The Elementalist was fully satisfied with his new body.. And rejoiced at the notion that he had not needed to sacrifice his system to obtain it.

“Tell me who you are.” ordered a voice that graciously waltzed around his many gleeful thoughts.

Without even thinking about it, the Elementalist answered, “Dewha, champion of Destiny.. But you can cal-“

*SPAH* Without giving the Elementalist time to finish his sentence, Der struck the former’s head with his own, making him feel the full magnitude of his cultivation.

Dumbstruck, the Elementalist shook his head. He felt as if he had woken up from a spell.. But as he tried to regain his bearings, another headbutt landed squarely on his forehead, making his mind go blank.