Absolute Zero 2

[Behold. And make it your own.]

Clack, clack.

Fwoosh—

Biting cerulean flames bloomed from his footsteps.

[…]

Azure tensed, assuming a stance with his four greatswords.

For one nearing the Saint’s might, a Vanguard Commander of the highest caliber, such wariness felt utterly unnatural. Yet Doyun sensed not an iota of that unnaturalness.

For before that formidable being, the skeletal figure seemed almost laughably diminutive. The current era’s strongest Vanguard Commander paled in its presence.

Clack, clack.

With each step of those slender leg bones, Azure’s swords twitched involuntarily.

[The manifestation of will. For a hundred years without a physical form, only my self existed – I solely contemplated that concept.]

Expand the phenomenon of ‘bending’ through sheer force of will. Imposing one’s will upon the world itself.

That was the essence of Visible Edge, the realization Doyun had imparted to Vyuskr a century ago.

[The expression of will. But imposing your will upon the world is not the technique’s entirety.]

[Make the world enact your will of its own accord.]

[Make the world uphold your will.]

He raised his sword before his face. The seventh Named Blade in his collection trembled with chilling frost, quivering at its master’s overwhelming presence.

[The world is in constant motion. Even dust motes, even the air itself, ceaselessly stirs.]

Particles vibrate endlessly, possessing their own intrinsic energy – what Earth termed temperature. But in this world, it remained an undiscovered principle.

‘He grasped it himself.’

True enlightenment transcended to diametric opposites. Vyuskr had attained the realm of perceiving the world’s myriad aspects through his sword.

Vyuskr reversed his grip, planting the blade into the ground.

[Buske’s Style Swordsmanship – Declaration]

Wooong—

The zone emanated outward.

“Huh?”

“Wh-What’s going on again!?”

The hemispheric zone rapidly expanded across the entire battlefield, alarming the soldiers within.

Entering the zone, for an instant Doyun felt the world tinge monochrome gray.

‘No, not that.’

The particles had stilled.

Air currents ceased, falling raindrops froze in place.

The world itself had halted, paralyzed by the bone-chilling intensity of his will.

“S-So c-cold…!”

“Remain calm and brace for anomalies!”

“Wait! This isn’t the enemy’s doing! Look over there, towards the Warrior and the Skeletal Knight!”

Within the frozen, uncanny stillness, all eyes turned towards their climactic duel.

As Vyuskr took another step forward, Doyun felt his was the sole vibrant presence in this grayish, lifeless world.

Paradoxically, the warmthless bones and deathly azure flames were the only signs of vitality.

In this space, he alone existed tangibly.

[The world stills, and I alone move within it. Reality becomes a blank canvas, existing solely for my will. Thus.]

Vyuskr’s sword traced a shimmering arc through the air.

Slow, yet parting the unmoving particles. Doyun could clearly perceive the sword trail lingering in space.

The halted air particles did not reform behind the blade’s passage, remaining split asunder like unmoving corpses – the world fully accepting his will to ‘cleave.’

[The world upholds my will. This is the zenith of domains. This is.]

A world frozen in absolute stasis, existing solely for his sword and his will.

The quintessential Buske’s Style Swordsmanship. Visible Edge.

[Absolute Zero.]

His bone-chilling intensity of will had paralyzed the entire world.

Clack, clack.

[This is… just what…]

Azure trembled before the skeletally slight yet overwhelmingly weighty presence steadily advancing one step at a time.

The current phenomenon defied comprehension. Not just exceeding Crimson’s data parameters, but surpassing all initially conceivable common sense.

[Th-This is… This can’t be…!!]

Ultimately, the panicking Azure wildly swung its greatswords.

As the strongest current Vanguard Commander, its sword strikes were blisteringly fast. Yet to the mere skeletal Vyuskr, they seemed agonizingly sluggish.

Clang—!

But the strikes were repelled.

[…!]

No, he did not actively deflect them. Azure’s greatswords moved towards the space occupied by Vyuskr’s sword.

His will to deflect had already manifested. The world had made it so.

Azure could not defy reality itself.

[Uwaaaaaah—!!]

The four greatswords flailed relentlessly.

To Vyuskr, their speed remained glacial – akin to watching water freeze in winter’s depths. A dull, blunted spectacle.

In stark contrast to Azure’s desperate frenzy, Vyuskr moved with an almost casual lethargy, yet casually repelled every strike. A terrifying sight from Azure’s perspective.

[Look, Enoch.]

He addressed his friend in his grave tone.

[This is the path of the sword I walked in your hundred-year absence.]

Doyun gazed in awe at his friend’s path.

“This is…”

As one who had come closest to that realm among warriors, he could comprehend its profundity.

A century ago, Enoch had imparted the realization of Visible Edge to Vyuskr. Through ceaseless exploration, Vyuskr now returned that enlightenment in full.

The culmination Vyuskr unveiled inspired immense revelation within Doyun.

Doyun fervently savored that sight, vividly experiencing this moment. Hence, he failed to notice the crisp chime ringing in his mind.

Ding!

[Skill ‘Swordsmanship’ has leveled up. Current Level: 10]

Doyun’s eyes blazed golden.

As a century prior, Doyun grew through his friend once more.

Clang, clang—! Bang! Clang, clang!

[Uwaaaaaah!! Monster! How can a mere skeleton be this strong?!!]

The previously composed Azure finally lost its mind to sheer terror, abandoning technique to wildly flail its swords.

Yet Vyuskr steadily advanced one ponderous step after another, the clacking of his footfalls clearer than the cacophony of blade clashes.

The ever-nearing footsteps, azure flames, biting chill – it all constricted Azure’s breathing.

[Just what are you?! What in the world are you?!!]

[I am.]

The sword rose upward.

[The Sword Emperor.]

And arced downward.

Buske’s Style Swordsmanship – Freezing Stroke

Reality itself cleaved in twain.

The frozen world accepted his will to ‘cleave’ and parted. Azure raised all four greatswords to block, but they offered no resistance – the blades severed like the divided air itself.

[Ah…]

The world itself had bisected Azure in accordance with Vyuskr’s will.

The demise of Azure, the Twin Vanguard Commander designed as Războlnic’s perfect counter and the strongest of her era.

Crunchcrunchcrunch—

As the monochrome world split apart, its original colors returned like shedding a dull husk, particles resuming their motion.

Simultaneously, the azure flames in Vyuskr’s eye sockets winked out.

The imposing Reaper Knight at the world’s center was gone, leaving only a frail skeletal figure in its place.

The sword-wielding skeleton stood there, bathed in everyone’s awestruck gazes.

Shhhhhh—

The rain fell anew.

“…”

After briefly regarding Azure’s bisected form, Vyuskr turned away.

His gaze flickered momentarily towards the bloodstained greatsword – longer than Doyun’s earlier glance, yet he too dismissed it from mind.

Clack, clack.

Vyuskr approached Doyun.

“Well?”

“…Huh.”

Unable to form words, Doyun could only let out an amazed chuckle – sufficient response between their typically taciturn selves. Vyuskr nodded his skull, satisfied.

“Truth be told… I had wished to show it to him, not you.”

“Keh. Having glimpsed the path’s end, your thoughts are filled with your son now.”

“Its end? Who knows.”

The empty sockets gazed at Doyun intently.

“You of all people should realize from what you just witnessed.”

“…”

“The path of the sword is truly vast.”

Having advanced to a new realm, Doyun could comprehend his words.

“Your turn, Războlnic. This is where I leave off.”

Born alongside Heckleous as peerless genii in the continent’s history, Vyuskr had attained this pinnacle through Enoch’s guidance and a hundred years of cultivation – grasping his own limits in the process.

“Now I see why the deity chose you.”

Like Enoch, Vyuskr knew he was a genius. Enoch an unremarkable man.

Yet both only realized it when they neared the end.

“You are the true genius. You possess a will unmatched by anyone on this continent. Incomparable to the likes of myself or that Heckleous bastard…”

Enoch, devoid of martial or physical talents. But he alone possessed the most vital gift of all.

That was why Vyuskr had shown his path to his friend, not his son.

“I cannot reach the sword’s ultimate end. So Enoch, show me this time.”

He believed Doyun would ultimately attain the sword’s zenith he could not.

Doyun’s journey along the sword path had not yet concluded.

The empty sockets gazed at Doyun with profound yearning. For a long moment, their eyes met.

Shhhhhh—

Finally, Doyun let out a wry chuckle.

“…Yeah. I’ll be sure to show you someday.”

“I shall await it.”

Vyuskr sheathed his sword.

As the battlefield settled after their respective feats, the two who had fulfilled their roles strolled away, exchanging idle banter.

“But at this level, shouldn’t you be called the Sword God instead of Sword Emperor?”

“A mere title others bestowed upon me. It matters not.”

“You seemed quite pleased with it back then. ‘I am the Sword Emperor.'”

“…Noisy brat.”

“Keh.”

They headed towards the central battlefield where Brudhild had been, as the other warriors pushed back the Demonic forces. There would be no need for them to take further action, or so they thought.

“I doubt you can manifest that power again anytime soon?”

“Indeed, once this war concludes.”

“That boy, he’s growing fast. Before long, he’ll surpass even your prime self.”

“…Perhaps today.”

“What?! Hur… wow… that callow lad…”

“In this form, I can no longer fight. It’s time I passed the Sword Emperor’s title to him.”

“So I’ll live to see that sight with my own eyes? Oh, your zygomatic arches can still rise too?”

“…”

“Keheheh. Congratulations.”

“…”

Unaware, they quickened their elated footsteps.

Shhhhhh—

The rain intensified.