THE GENERAL'S DISGRACED HEIR-Chapter 288 GODS AND NIGHTMARES
Waves of primordial darkness crashed against Kaelith's barrier of light, each collision sending ripples through reality itself. The void-black tendrils writhed against the radiant shield, creating patterns of destruction where the opposing forces met. The demigod gripped his staff tighter, golden veins in his armor pulsing with strain.
"Why the hell am I fighting a god's descent?" he snarled, memories of his imprisonment in nothingness still fresh. Each impact threatened to shatter his defense. "Human! Do something before my light gets subdued!"
David sighed, despite the crushing pressure around them. "Such a vile mouth for my servant."
Their eyes twitched in simultaneous irritation as cosmic forces raged around them.
"How childish," Vespera muttered, stepping forward. A blizzard erupted around her as her eyes transformed into icy slits, frost patterns spreading across her skin like delicate lace.
"[Nightmare's Embrace]!"
The temperature plummeted as Vespera's consciousness invaded Winter's mind. Her power, honed through centuries of spreading terror, reached for the darkest corners of his psyche. Even gods had fears to exploit, memories to twist. Reality warped around Winter as she forced him to confront horrors beyond comprehension.
For a moment, Winter's assault faltered. His small form trembled, caught in whatever horrors Vespera had conjured. The darkness around him wavered, showing cracks in his perfect control.
But then he screamed—a sound of pure rage that shattered her illusion like glass. "You dare?" he roared, darkness exploding outward in a sphere of absolute negation. "You dare use your powers against ME?"
Vespera collapsed, blood trickling from her nose as psychic backlash ravaged her mind. David caught her before she hit the ground, feeling her body tremble from the strain. "Vespera!"
[System Alert]
Warning: Aetenus Reality Conflicting with Sovereign Presence
Status: Unstable
Caution: Dimensional Integrity Compromised
Kaelith scoffed, floating above them as his divine aura pushed back the encroaching void. "So even gods can have nightmares." He watched Winter writhe, struggling to shake off the remnants of Vespera's illusion. "Better act fast, human. Before this god gets serious."
His staff elongated into a whip of pure light, radiance condensing into a weapon that could cut through reality itself. With a crack that split the air, he sent Winter crashing through the chamber wall, the impact shaking the entire structure.
But the boy-king exploded from the rubble, driven by battle fury, his form wreathed in darkness that ate away at existence itself. He shot toward Kaelith like a dark comet, trailing streams of void energy that corroded everything they touched.
They clashed in the air, light and darkness interweaving in a deadly dance above. Each impact created shockwaves that threatened to tear the chamber apart.
David held Vespera closer, his mind racing. The system's warning about reality conflicts confirmed his suspicions. As Winter and Kaelith's battle intensified overhead, he knew—the time had come to end this confrontation.
***
Above, Kaelith and Winter's battle turned the air itself into a war zone. The demigod's whip of light carved golden crescents through space while Winter's darkness devoured everything it touched. Each clash sent ripples of power that threatened to tear reality apart.
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Vespera, though weakened, hadn't stopped fighting. Her consciousness kept probing Winter's mind, creating split-second distractions that saved Kaelith from lethal blows. "Left!" she called out, and Kaelith dodged a tendril of void that would have pierced his heart.
David gently released Vespera, steadying himself. Everything hinged on this moment. He raised his hands, trails of white mana following the motion like cosmic ribbons. Something else stirred within him—a power he'd barely touched before.
[System Alert]
Activate Role Skill: [Bookmark]?
Role: Chronomancer of the Tapestry
Subskill Classification: Ultimate
Yes, David thought.
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[Warning: Prerequisite Check]
Race Status: Insufficient (Critical)
Class Level: Below Threshold
Mana Reserves: Dangerously Low
Intelligence Rating: Inadequate
Divine Blood Potency: Minimal
[Alert: Requirements barely met. Activation will result in severe backlash. Death probability: 89%]
David shrugged. "Better than dying to a deranged god."
[Initiating Skill: Bookmark]
[Caution: Temporal Manipulation Unstable]
Power surged through David's veins like liquid fire. Knowledge flooded his mind—every person he'd ever seen, every ability he'd witnessed, every possible outcome branching before him like streams of fate. Behind him, a massive spiritual tome materialized, its pages turning by themselves as it recorded reality itself.
The space around them began to shake as David's mana consumption reached impossible levels. Each page turn in the spectral book sent shockwaves through the dimensional fabric.
[System Notification]
Time Analysis Initiated
Target Lock: Established
Temporal Control: Active
Warning: User Vitals Critical
Above, Winter paused mid-strike, sensing the disturbance in reality's flow.
The fabric of reality trembled, threads of existence fraying at the edges of David's emerging power. His consciousness expanded beyond the physical realm, touching the very essence of possibility. Each breath became a calculation, each heartbeat a potential timeline waiting to be explored or erased.
Kaelith noticed the change first. The demigod's combat-honed senses detected a fundamental shift in the battlefield's metaphysical landscape. Winter's assault momentarily faltered, dark tendrils of void hesitating as if uncertain how to interact with the emerging temporal distortion.
[System Notification]
Temporal Bookmark Protocol: Calibrating Potential Outcomes
David's mind fractured and reassembled simultaneously. Memories not his own cascaded through his consciousness—glimpses of battles fought in forgotten dimensions, echoes of abilities wielded by beings beyond mortal comprehension. The spectral tome behind him grew, its pages becoming living windows into alternate realities.
Vespera's weakened form collapsed, her mental grip on Winter finally shattering. The strain of maintaining her nightmare assault on the Night King had drained her last reserves of strength. Her body crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Winter's full attention snapped to David, a flicker of concern crossing his immortal features. "This isn't good," he muttered to himself, moving to intercept the emerging temporal distortion.
Kaelith's golden whip lashed out, blocking Winter's path. "You're not going anywhere," the demigod growled.
The Night King's response was a primal roar that shook the very foundations of reality. In a blur of impossible speed, he broke through Kaelith's defenses. Before the demigod could react, Winter materialized directly before him. Massive hands seized Kaelith's face, and in a brutal motion, they plummeted from the ceiling. The impact crushed Kaelith into the ground, his skull meeting floor with a sickening crunch.
Standing, Winter raised a single finger. An orb of absolute darkness erupted around Kaelith's prone form, the energy crackling with malevolent power. The demigod was instantly rendered unconscious.
Winter wasted no time. He rocketed towards David, breaking the sound barrier with his velocity. Vespera, barely conscious, screamed "No!" Her remaining strength conjured an ice barrier around David—a desperate, final defense.
The barrier shattered like glass as Winter tore through it effortlessly.
His hand plunged into David's chest.
Blood erupted from David's mouth. in the real world, his Aetenus—Luna and Draven doubled over in excruciating pain, feeling every moment of David's torment.
The system window flickered before David's eyes:
[Critical Alert] Temporal Stress Exceeding Safe Parameters
[Warning] User Biosystem Integrity: 17% and Falling
[Recommendation] Immediate Skill Termination Advised
But David had passed the point of no return. His eyes, now pools of swirling silver and infinite darkness, saw beyond the immediate conflict. He was witnessing not just this battle, but every possible iteration of this moment—versions where they died, versions where they triumphed, versions where the universe itself collapsed.
Winter's godly form rippled with uncertainty. For the first time in millennia, the ancient being felt something akin to fear. This mortal was doing the impossible—he was not just fighting, but rewriting the very rules of engagement.
[System Notification] Bookmark Skill Progression:
Dimensional Integrity: Compromised
Temporal Locks: Destabilizing
Reality Fabric: Oscillating
The spectral tome's pages began to glow with an unearthly light. Each turn created sonic booms that reverberated through dimensions, causing distant stars to flicker and cosmic entities to pause and take notice. David was no longer just a participant in this battle—he was becoming a force of nature itself.
[Final Warning]
Skill Sustainability: CRITICAL
Estimated User Survival Time: 3 minutes and 42 seconds
With Winter's hand still buried in his chest, David looked up. A smile cut across his blood-stained lips. "It's time," he whispered, his hand suddenly gripping Winter's wrist, "to hunt the Night!"
The words sent a visible shudder through the Night King—for the first time, Winter knew true fear.
