Dark Divinity

Eventually, the pain began to subside as his body's natural healing mechanisms took effect. The searing discomfort lessened, and his breathing gradually steadied. His throat felt raw and sensitive, and he could feel the blood drying on his flesh.

"I am never doing that again," he told himself, sighing.

Omen put the fragments of his experiment aside, expressing a gloomy acceptance. The scorching noon sun pounded down on Omen, the forest canopy providing little respite from its unrelenting brightness. A searing anguish would strike his thoughts every time he tried to sleep, seeking to escape the waking nightmare of his life. It was a constant, stabbing pain that shook him awake, leaving him dazed and debilitated for hours.

His earlier assumption that his abilities granted him the upper hand seemed naïve in retrospect. He had believed that limitless energy, the inability to need food, and the freedom from sleep would make him a formidable force. But these so-called advantages had become a double-edged sword. His inability to rest meant that every attempt to close his eyes with the intention of sleeping was met with excruciating mental torment. The whole charade of invisible strength was more like a curse to him. The incessant need to kill wasn't just a quirk—it was a fundamental aspect of his survival. The endless cycle of energy and the inability to sleep had created a profound psychological strain. The longer he went without finding a way to satisfy this intrinsic compulsion, the more his sanity was tested.

This ability is just too dangerous; no wonder the empress sealed it herself. Killing was no longer a matter of choice but a necessity for maintaining his mental equilibrium. He had to feed his inherent compulsion, using it as a tool to stave off the torturous pain that plagued him whenever he sought solace in rest.

As the hours passed, the forest around him appeared to echo with the empty vibrations of his frustration. His past attempts at slaying had achieved limited results, and each time he returned to the task, he felt a sense of grim resolve that overshadowed any prospect of relief.

The sun had fallen below the horizon, throwing lengthy shadows across the forest. Night quickly passed, and as the first light of dawn broke through the dense trees, Omen emerged from the forest's murky depths. His passive [vibration sense] immediately identified a moving entity that was too big for a rodent but too small for a beast. He used [Exogene sense] to find the newcomer's location.

He had sensed the humanoid figure and was secretly expecting to meet the robot once more, so he was shocked when he saw a boy instead. The tall boy had squared jaws and piercing red eyes that seemed to glow with an unsettling intensity. The boy's presence exuded a potent aura of confidence and aggression, his posture rigid and ready for combat. The two figures faced each other across a clearing, the tension in the air intense and electric.

"I have no intention of fighting you," he responded, offering his hand in surrender. He needed to avoid attacking every purger he saw, and who was to say there weren't reasonable ones like Isolde? However, the boy did not comprehend the meaning behind the motion, and whether the sign indicated war or not, Omen had little time to ponder about it because the boy immediately attacked.

In a swift motion, the boy's hand reached for a weapon—an intricately designed blade that seemed to shimmer with a dangerous edge. The sight of it was enough to signal the start of their duel. Omen's instincts kicked in, his body moving with a fluid grace that belied the exhaustion of his recent battles.

The boy charged forward, his blade flashing in the early morning light. Omen met the attack with a defensive stance, using his enhanced agility to dodge and parry the strikes.

[Instant dash!]

With a sudden burst of speed, Omen evaded a particularly vicious swing and countered with a swift kick to the boy's side. The impact was enough to stagger his opponent, but the boy quickly recovered, a feral grin spreading across his face.

"Is everyone a battle maniac? Where does the overlord acquire these mad people?" Omen reacted in bewilderment. His opponent could not understand him and saw his statements as a mocking stab, which enraged him even further.

Without warning, he launched a dazzling laser beam that slashed through the air with a deafening hum. The potent ray struck Omen with deadly precision, severing his right ear in a searing blaze of light and pain.

The sudden attack caught Omen off guard. The intense heat of the beam was unbearable, and the pain was immediate and excruciating. If not for his quick reflexes and the use of [Instant Dash], the beam would have pierced his head with fatal consequences.

Adrenaline surged through Omen as he felt the intense stinging and the blood trickling down his neck. There was no time for hesitation or agony. He hadn't planned on killing the boy, but after nearing death with such a powerful offensive ability, Omen decided to reconsider.

'So be it then,' Omen thought to himself, the anger and pain coalescing into a single, focused purpose. With a burst of determination, he propelled himself forward, his movements a blur of speed and precision. The boy, clearly confident in his offence, seemed momentarily surprised by Omen's renewed aggression.

Omen's dash was direct and fierce, aimed at closing the distance between them with relentless speed. His body moved with the calculated efficiency of a predator, driven by the need to strike back and ensure that his opponent would not leave this confrontation unscathed.

The boy attempted to retaliate, his expression shifting from smugness to a mix of surprise and desperation. He raised his weapon, but Omen's speed and momentum were overwhelming.

Omen launched himself at the boy, his strike a powerful combination of precision and force. The boy barely had time to react before Omen's attack landed, the impact sending him sprawling to the ground.

The boy, disoriented and struggling to regain his footing, looked up at Omen with a mix of shock and pain. Omen stood over him, his face a mask of grim determination. The boy's earlier confidence was now replaced with a deep sense of fear, his previous bravado shattered by the sheer intensity of Omen's counterattack. Omen's resolve was unshaken as he watched the boy writhing on the ground. The boy shot another beam, which Omen immediately dodged.

[evasive], it did have value after all.

With a swift, decisive motion, he ripped the eyes from the boy's sockets, accompanied by a sickening squelch. The severed eyes landed with a repulsive thud on the forest floor, the boy's attempts to fight back grew weaker as Omen's relentless assault continued. The once-confident fighter was now reduced to a broken, battered figure, lying motionless on the ground.

….

Jacobi said that each purge seldom lasted more than a week. On the seventh day, Omen waited patiently to see how they'd all be teleported back to the overlord's dimension. He didn't have to wait long, though, as the answer soon came on its own. A circular golden rune appeared beneath his feet, its intricate design glowing with an ethereal brilliance. The rune pulsed with a rhythmic energy that seemed to resonate with the very essence of the forest. Omen felt a strange sensation as if his body were being enveloped by an invisible force.

The process was neither abrupt nor violent. Instead, it was a gradual, almost serene transition. Omen's senses remained acutely aware, except for sight, which was obscured by a blinding radiance. The sensation was akin to passing through a dense, shimmering fluid—his entire being was absorbed into the golden rule, the environment around him becoming a blur of golden light and muffled sounds. As the rune's glow intensified, Omen felt himself being drawn into its centre, his body and consciousness merging with the intricate patterns of light. The experience was disorienting but not painful, a bizarre mix of being immersed in liquid and floating through a dream. His thoughts and sensations remained intact, though his vision was obscured by the blinding brilliance.

When the process finally concluded, Omen found himself standing amidst a new landscape. He was no longer alone in the dense forest; now, he stood with around fifty other individuals in the very same area where the purge had begun, the ice lands.