Chapter 113: Fighting It
ROOOOOOOAAAAARRR!!!
A beastly, heaven-shaking roar that could be heard for miles burst out of Nolan's lips. His crimson eyes were immediately overtaken by an intense purple light and je felt his mind being torn apart.
CRAAACKK!
CRACKKK!
The sound of bones shattering to pieces rang out, and Nolan felt his cells rapidly disintegrating, transmitting to him a soul-wrenching pain that made his fingernails dig into the ground. m _v,l-e _mp|y|r reader
"Level up! Level up!!!" Nolan screamed out in pain as the notification panel buzzed before his eyes.
---
[Level Up Cards Remaining: 5]
[Does the Host wish to use all Level Up Cards?] The system's automated message appeared, and Nolan's back arched painfully as his spine suddenly burst out of his skin, wriggling in the air like a salted earthworm.
The pain reached an unimaginable level, with his spine gradually turning purple.
"YESS!!!" He roared out in anger and pain.
---
[Congratulations, Host has leveled up!]
[+15 Attribute Points Obtained]
[Congratulations, Host has leveled up!]
[+15 Attribute Points Obtained]
[Congratulations, Host has leveled up!]
[+15 Attribute Points Obtained]
[Congratulations, Host has leveled up!]
[+15 Attribute Points Obtained]
[Congratulations, Host has leveled up!]
[+15 Attribute Points Obtained]
[Total Attribute Points: 75]
---
The system announced, and Nolan's eyes flashed.
"Input them! Input them already!!!" he demanded.
[I can't do that. You would have to...]
"I said do it! I give you the damn permission!" Nolan roared back at the system, and immediately, the notification panel changed.
---
[Permission to change attributes has been granted.]
[The system will now begin attributing points to address the issue immediately.]
---
"GRRRRRRHHHHH..." Another loud groan of pain escaped Nolan's lips as he felt an incredibly and immensely hot liquid passing through every inch of his cells.
Instantly, a war began.
A mighty war between the system's original power, which aimed to strengthen Nolan, and the Anti-Aether that had turned all of Nolan's cells into purple energy, seeking to destroy them.
It was an endless cycle of destruction and restoration as the Anti-Aether tried to break down Nolan's body, but the system's surging energy immediately fixed it back.
Both forces were unrelenting in their purpose, leaving Nolan to endure an unbearable, soul-wrenching pain that twisted his mind and even his soul.
Now, death itself seemed to Nolan like a viable idea.
He simply wished he could die—like someone should just drill a blade through his heart and end this madness.
He was so weak he couldn't summon his dagger to kill himself, and the fingers he possessed were disappearing, slowly fading away in the brutal breakdown of his cells.
In the end, Nolan finally reached his breaking point as he collapsed onto the ground, on his back, looking at the dark water above him.
His mind was blank and empty, and the last thought he possessed was a wish to die.
---
'Then will for it! For the sweet embrace of death!'
Something suddenly whispered to him in his ears.
Nolan didn't understand what it was, but he felt like the being beside him was a god—a god that would grant him his wish for death if he agreed.
And so, with the last vestige of energy he possessed, he voiced his final wish.
"I do not want to die..." Nolan said out loud, and a strange light flickering in his eyes as he soon heard his own words.
'Why? Why did I say what I don't want... again?'
He thought to himself, not understanding why.
The last time he had wanted to speak his mind and said something else was when Lorelei had asked for his help.
Nolan had wanted to say no, yet he had said yes instead, only to be whisked away by Lorelei.
He guessed it must have been her handiwork, some type of ability she used on him.
But now, he didn't know why.
Even though he so much wished for death, he still begged not to die...
The pain had faded away by now. So perhaps it was okay to live?
---
'To live? You can't even feel your body. All your cells are destroyed. There's no living for you!'
The voice once more rang behind his head, and a grin curved on Nolan's lips.
"Finally, finally I can rest from this pain..."
Slowly, his eyes drooped, wanting to close when suddenly, they immediately snapped open in shock in the next moment as a crazy rush of electricity filled Nolan's mind.
Instantly, he jumped to his feet, the ground beneath his body cracking into pieces from the sudden release of power.
---
BADUM!
BADUM!
BADUM!
Pulses reverberated through the entire place causing the entire wave of the ocean to pulse along with every one of Nolan's heartbeats.
His formerly purple eyes regained their crimson color, but something was different.
Nolan's other eyes—his blue eyes, which had always remained dull ever since he could remember—began shining with a small dot of light, almost like a beast finally opening one of its eyes...
Nolan's white hair, which had pulled out of his body, regenerated themselves, floating all around his head as strange tattoos appeared in his blue eyes, spreading all over the half of his face.
---
[Congratulations on the Host's Awakening!]
[Host has successfully been able to harness the power of Anti-Aether!!!]
[Host has undergone a significant improvement in all physical aspects of his body due to the presence of Anti-Aether!]
---
"Say no more..." Nolan ordered as he slowly floated up a few inches from the ground, cracking his neck bone and back bone before he turned his head to the side to look at the Atlantis Palace, and a deep smile appeared on his face.
"Am I ready?" Nolan suddenly asked the system, which replied.
[You are!]
---
BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
Instantly, a mighty explosion rocked the entire wave as the water around Nolan shifted backward with speed, the air space around him being suddenly rid of water, and then he faded away into nothing as if he never existed.
Yet, it had been less than three seconds when the entire water pathway parted in a straight line, the water disappearing away, pushed by a terrifying backward motion as Nolan raced forth with speed, inching closer and closer toward the Atlantis palace.