Clash

Hearing this, it was Adonis' turn to be at a loss for words.

Elves?

"Elves disappeared from the world aeons ago. Plus, does it look like I have their pointy ears and rune etched skin?" He answered, attentively watching as the man frowned as well.

"Boy…what is the name of the world you are from?"

"World?"

"Ah, I see. Makes sense."

A sword appeared in his hand.

"Anyways, my apologies, I've spoken too much. Let us battle."

***

In the arena, time held little meaning or at least, it was tweaked to be felt in such a way.

As they fought and Adonis lost again and again and again, he didn't know whether years, months or days had passed. It all just felt really long.

He'd fought for so long that he found himself growing at a rate he couldn't fathom anymore. After a while ,he simply fought, his mind empty and his heart steady.

Adonis stood in front of the man, his body bloodied as within his swirling scarlet pupils, hints of gold began to flicker and manifest.

His presence, which had previously been null, suddenly shone through as he stood out from the world itself.

He seemed to be his own star in a darkly light sky, his radiance washing over the world to illuminate it and his warmth consoling the souls of all that witnessed him.

If before it wasn't obvious that he was nobility, now, it was glaring.

He took a step forward, gliding across the earth below as he arrived before the young man, his spear descending as his leg arose, forming a sort of pincer attack.

The young man chuckled, his hand moving to parry Adonis once more but suddenly, Adonis' leg, which had been heading for his chest, arose and parried his hand as his blade was allowed to come down, unfettered.

Skin was lacerated, flesh torn apart, bones cracked and blood spilled as for the first time during this battle, Adonis landed a hit on the man, a real hit.

Using his arisen leg as an anchor, he jumped then spun upon himself, his other leg moving to strike his opponent's jaw, at a precise intersection of nerves, hoping to knock him out.

If before, he simply randomly punched the jaw, hoping to knock his opponent's out, now, he had a methodology.

The young man's neck twisted at an awkward angle but he didn't pass out, no, in fact, he used the momentum applied onto him to prepare his next blow.

As he slid to the left, his right fist cocked back and swam across the air, aiming to shatter Adonis' sternum.

The dark haired boy smiled, his power layering upon itself hundreds upon hundreds of times as he accelerated and slid past his opponent's zooming fist, his palm striking forward to break a rib or two.

The young man sneered, his fist suddenly changing directions, aiming to block but to his dismay, it was a feint and Adonis' horizontal palm aimed toward his rib cage turned into an ascending uppercut.

[Layer; 2000x<>Concentrate.]

CRACK!

His jaw immediately shattered as his brain wildly rattled and he felt his body go numb for a second.

Adonis twirled and his blade whirred to life, zipping across his opponent's body as more and more nasty gashes bloomed onto the young man's body.

With a kick, Adonis sent the young man's body crashing into a wall, his palm already in motion as he repeatedly struck the air, sending compressed blasts of air pockets toward him.

BOOM!

The wall further exploded and the young man's body was further embedded into it as he looked at it all with a gaze full of bewilderment.

It had to be understood that though he wasn't actively using his sovereignty neither was Adonis. He wasn't using his intent, but neither was Adonis. He wasn't using his aura but neither was Adonis. He wasn't using any of his elements or cultivation abilities, but neither was Adonis.

Despite all those handicaps, the young man should've still won without a hitch, in fact, Adonis was supposed to lose, he was supposed to be crushed under his power so he understood that he wasn't anywhere near the top yet.

And yet, here he stood, him, a dignified warrior of the Boundless Lord, thrashed around by a child who'd only learnt how to swing a spear last week.

His gaze steadied.

If Adonis was a once in an era prodigy, he would treat him as such.

His mind churned, his crown appearing atop his head as he tried taking ahold of the qi in the surroundings but to his horror, he couldn't.

[Nameless Idol: Annihilation.] 

Slowly, Adonis' spear rose and its tip faced the sun above and just as slowly, he cleaved down, a gust of dark energy trailing his falling blade as the world seemed to be left without the ability to breathe in his presence.

His spear softly landed on the floor and chaos ensued.

No, chaos wasn't the right word. Annihilation was.

Across the young man's body, glowing lines of red began to bloom as he felt his very body crumble under Adonis' first application of his style. 

In the distance, Adonis stopped paying attention as he breathed out a hot, turbid breath.

'I'll have to ask Uncle Seth if that strange energy is qi or something else and how I can properly harness it.'

Though it looked like Adonis had been saving this move for last, in truth, he'd only just formed it.

Him having formed the foundation and basis of his style didn't mean he had moves and abilities ready to be used already, especially if he didn't know anything about his intent, aura or sovereignty.

This move was the condensation of all that he'd learnt over the last few days and week, simplified and backed by his style.

Just like he'd said, he wouldn't let the world define him and that was the same for his style.

If he wanted to embody destruction, he would, if he wanted to embody the world he could and if he wanted to embody the very elements? He would. It was all under the control of his will.

At this point in time, it was a mere nascent ability of his, barely mastered or understood but he hoped that in the future, just like Atryan had theorised, that it would become one of his greatest weapons and abilities.