The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

”Many legends have passed through this Arena. Some came, conquered to some point, and left. Others came, conquered to some point, and perished. But in the end, we praised all of them, for their legends were what shaped this arena.

It was why we called it Blood and Awe.

However, today, for the first time ever in the Blood and Awe Trial, somebody has managed to win 999,999 battles, with one last battle to go to officially conquer everything.”

Cheers rang out, every last soul inside the Arena looking at Asura, who sat on a mountain formed from the corpses of his kills.

He had even lost sense of time since he had been in one battle after another, killing and building his strength. Right now, his cultivation, while still at the Demigod stage, is merely a facade of how much stronger he has become.

Initially, he thought killing his opponents would raise his cultivation to a much higher level. However, after the second stage of the battle, he noticed what he had come here for.

The kills gave him Blood Mark Runes, which, from what he had sensed so far, had to do with the Forbidden Dao of Blood he would be inheriting after he passed the trial.

Every kill unlocked some aspect of that power, allowing him to harness the Forbidden Blood Dao, which he then used in the next battle and the next until this very moment.

Now, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he is several times stronger than the strongest Celestial in the Primus Universe. In fact, he is even stronger than Rhazor, the first incarnation to attain godhood.

This reasoning was because while he was only required to challenge and pass up to the 7th stage, Asura proceeded to challenge the 8th, and now he is one battle away from passing the 9th, which is the last stage in the Blood and Awe Trial.

Naturally, he had become a menace, and that is clear from the aura emanating from his body. Even if he didn’t want to, just by facing a Pseudo-Primordial, they would feel a fear that could not be erased.

”Ladies and gentlemen, I wouldn’t want to waste anyone’s time, for there is a battle to be witnessed. This time, we might just finally witness the defeat of the first ever to reach this stage in the 9th trial.”

Just as the words were spoken, a large portal opened, and a man clad in dark blue armor, chains dangling from his body, walked out, his hands gripping an elegant spear with a large swordlike blade and a scythe.

Asura narrowed his eyes just as the man walked out... He could sense a wave of danger emanating from his body, the kind of danger that would cause anyone to despair.

For a moment, he allowed his mind to wander to where he had sensed this form of danger before. However, he couldn’t seem to grasp it.

Luckily for him, though, fear is an old friend, so he smiled and stood up, his sword dripping blood.

”Ah, so this is the last challenge, huh? Might as well make it worth it,” he laughed and pointed his sword at the man, who stood calm, his expression not changing at all.

”They call you the Blood God?” the man asked, and Asura nodded.

”They do, but I prefer Asura God.”

”Very well, Asura God. I have been sent by an old enemy of yours to eliminate you. However, I cannot, in good conscience, fight you in this state. You are not even half of who you are meant to be, and I am just 10% of who I really am.

So, in the interest of dignity and respect, I will propose a bet, one that will favour you more than me.”

Asura narrowed his eyes at the man for a few seconds, then he smirked. ”I am listening.”

”If we are to fight now, you will lose, and I am not even kidding. You will indeed lose. However, since I have no intention of using my advantage, I am willing to challenge your understanding by offering you a chance to learn a technique.

You have an hour to comprehend it. If you pass, I will leave; if you fail, I will kill you.”

As if to prove his point, he snapped his finger, and the spear in his hand moved and hovered in the air, pointing menacingly at Asura.

’Well, he wasn’t lying. I would really die no matter what I do,’ Asura sensed the danger, and he knew he had to play the game.

He is experienced enough to know when there is danger that he cannot ignore.

He sensed mortal danger from this dude, and so he understood he had to play the game and win. Naturally, he had no plans to lose.

”Show me the technique,” Asura requested, and the man nodded. He then waved his hand, and the spear took a quick slash, cutting a hole in space. Then, from within, a tome appeared.

On the surface of the tome, thousands of runes could be seen, each holding much deeper knowledge that Asura had to look at twice to make heads or tails of.

”You have an hour.”

***

After spending 4 days sleeping, Klaus and Nyrela returned to the Inheritance Tower and started to wait for Asura to come out of the trial.

Luckily, 2 days after they arrived, the gateway trembled, and a wave of blood qi exploded out. They jumped to their feet and, visibly, both became tense.

Klaus narrowed his eyes at the gateway, his instincts screaming at him to run.

However, as Asura stepped out, Klaus felt a wave of power wash over him.

At once, all forms of fear vanished, replaced by a sense of power so unfathomable that he allowed a smile to appear on his face.

All the way in the Ancient Battlefield, Rhazor, seated in a spaceship riding toward the Shattered Valley, smiled.

Knox, who was also sitting in a spaceship travelling to the planet where the 4th Star Light lived, smiled as well.

All around, his incarnations, with the exception of Kaden, smiled, feeling their powers grow by leaps and bounds.