The Glorious Evolution

”No.”

Levi uttered... his voice as deep as the cosmos and as serene as a lake within a mountain. It was like he was making a statement more than denying The Masked Butcher’s claim.

Before the Masked Butcher could scoff at his ignorance, his pupils suddenly thinned out at the sight of two illuminating green domes manifesting three meters away from Levi. Then, he played two distinct sharp tunes from his violin.

What came after those tunes left him, Gamemaster Gamble, and the rest of the viewers bewildered for a moment.

”Wait... that’s sunflames... but, is that... no... it can’t be...”

Gamemaster Gamble commented with a hint of disbelief in his voice as he watched two distinct opposite energies spill out of Levi’s body: One Golden, One Black.

The two distinct energies infused themselves within each green aetheric layer... never touching, never getting in each other’s way due to the aetheric layer acting as a container, keeping them dangerously close, but simultaneously, separating them.

This created a defensive dome around Levi that shimmered in gold, black, and green... creating a mesmerizing show of three unique energies: two enemies, and one mediator keeping them from ripping each other apart.

”Ladies and gentlemen... many of you can recognize those two energies faster than your children’s faces... Sunflames, and Void! How!! Just how?! Isn’t he supposed to be a Half-Radian?! What business does he have wielding Void Aspect, too?!” Gamemaster Gamble shared... his voice cracking in utter amazement and disbelief.

His reaction was tame compared to the viewers, who had just received confirmation of the insanity they were witnessing.

-You got to be shitting me... I knew the Celestial was an enigma... but this... this is too much.-

-Is he a f*cking experiment?! No race in the universe can wield both Sunflames and Void! It’s a taboo to just think about it!-

-Dear lord... is he a Half-Radian, Half-Oblivar, Hallow Race, or Trueborn Race?! What the f*ck is this abomination?!-

-This is crazy... the network is about to have a field day with him!-

-Network? Screw the network! What will Oblivars and Radians think of this?! They are mortal enemies, and their eternal conflict is our universe’s unified culture! The Celestial’s existence is like a child born out of their peace! We all know these two having a truce is a joke, don’t even mention peace!-

More than a billion viewers were left absolutely losing their minds as their widened eyes were affixed on the multi-layered dome... many viewers had their attention focused on other Rifters’ battles, but the moment they noticed the ruckus, all of them switched to the roof above Levi’s combat room.

The Masked Butcher lifted his gaze and was startled to notice the screen absolutely packed with curiously stunned eyes... There were so many of them that the screen no longer had any openings. It was just eyes stacked tightly next to each other, creating a creepy, but strange scene.

”You... what are you?”

The Masked Butcher asked, his hands grasping the Cleaver even tighter... from the single sweat drop falling down his forehead, it was clear... he started feeling nervous for the first time since he stepped inside the room.

There was one thing everyone in the universe feared the most... whether the weakest or the strongest... it didn’t matter.

The Unknown.

Nothing scared the shit out of anyone worse than the unknown... the idea of having no clue what you were facing anymore.

In this very instant... the Masked Butcher felt just that, driving him to ask the one-million question that roamed in the viewers’ minds.

Levi raised the bow, ignoring the Masked Butcher’s question or the increased viewership of his battle... His fingers settled on the strings, and he drew the bow slowly, letting a single note ring out.

The moment it was released, the viewers quietened down like they had been possessed... they had a feeling that Levi wasn’t going to answer them, but show them in action.

And that’s what he did...

Everyone watched in stunned silence as the Void reacted to the thin and soft tune... it started dancing, moving nonstop across the aetheric layer like patches of jelly inside water.

But then, he shifted his fingers slightly and played a second, deeper note beneath the first. The tone thickened, and the Sunflame answered with its fierce vibration.

The two energies shook against their aether layers, already trying to tear through them... but they kept failing, like Levi was playing the perfect mixture of tunes to keep them agitated but contained.

He kept this tune on repeat like a broken radio... when he noticed that the Masked Butcher wasn’t coming at him, Levi merely lifted his head and faced him.

He didn’t say anything... however, the orbiting three celestial stars seemed to line up in the Masked Butcher’s eyes as a question mark.

He didn’t know why, but he felt like he was asking him... are you attacking or not?

’Screw this... Half-Radian, Half-Oblivar... none of this matters.’ The Masked Butcher reclaimed his confidence with a cold look, ’I have the ultimate offensive force, while he can do nothing but block...’

”I will do the universe a favor and get rid of such unexplainable abnormality... your existence makes no sense, and is not needed in our reality.”

Following the Masked Butcher’s solemn announcement, his arm swelled again as his muscles pushed against the skin until thin cracks opened across his forearm!

Then, the Masked Butcher inhaled once through his nose and swung downward with everything in him, roaring, ”DIIIE!!”

The crystallized blood on the blade carved a long red arc through the air, and the bone spikes along his arm shuddered under the force, releasing cracking sounds across the combat room!

The metal core of the cleaver took all that force and pushed it forward, adding weight, speed, and impact into a single devastating motion!

The swing dropped like a guillotine in Levi’s direction, splitting through the air like nothing was meant to block it.

A strike meant to end anything in its path!

Jasmine and the viewers held their breath, not expecting such a devastating attack to be a mere single attack.

If this were a technique, what kind of devastation would an ultimate deliver?

”The Masked Butcher made his move!! Are the Celestial’s peculiar defenses enough to block it?!” Gamemaster Gamble commented excitedly.

As the Masked Butcher’s massive cleaver was already dropping, Levi didn’t look at it... he focused on the strings, pressing his index finger down on the A string.

The bow touched it lightly... then dragged fast.

A sharp note filled the room while the aether layers responded at once. The thin green layers rippled like a surface hit by raindrops, implying that Levi’s tune had matched the natural frequency of aether energy.

Rapidly, Levi slid his middle finger down next, stretching the pitch higher, making the vibration faster and more demanding.

The note shifted... Sharper... Louder... More aggressive, sending goosebumps on many viewers’ skin.

Yet, Levi wasn’t done... he added the next layer by dropping his ring finger and brushing the bow across two strings at once.

The sound became multi-layered, two pitches beating against each other while the pressure from the vibrations doubled!

Aether reacted instantly... its surface started shaking like it was boiling.

The moment it reached this state, Levi’s thumb pressed tighter against the neck of the violin as he picked up speed.

Short strokes... Faster strokes... The bow moved like it was sawing the air apart, his fingers and the bow barely visible anymore!

The instant Levi saw the forceful Cleaver’s scarlet blade mere inches away from the agitated green dome, he leaned in and dragged the bow harder, pulling a loud, aggressive rising note that was strong enough to make dust lift off the floor!

The aether layers reached resonance at last... and it wasn’t the only one.

Sunflame, Void, and Aether... all hitting resonance simultaneously!!!

In that brief millisecond... the aetheric layers exploded outward the instant they were touched by the Cleaver!

Ka-boooooom!!!

The sunflame layer flared bright gold while the void layer unleashed its devouring darkness... the two forces didn’t merge or synchronize... no, no, no... Ash’Kral already told Levi that it was impossible to synchronize these two energies with his current resonance access.

That’s how he figured out this technique... if he couldn’t synchronize these opposite forces, what if he was able to take advantage of their destructive and devouring qualities when matching?

A single idea... sounded foolish at first, but not to Levi... for he was the sole being to possess the right tools to make it happen.

An Instrument Weapon, Aether energy, and control over frequencies and sounds.

All were a must for this technique to come to life.

Now... the Masked Butcher, Gamemaster Gamble, and the watchers were left stunned at the sight of the scarlet forceful cleaver getting absolutely destroyed and devoured by golden and dark shockwaves blasting outward!!

It was like a hydrogen bomb went off... the two conflicting energies expanded outward fighting to devour each other through resonance, uncaring about anything in their sight!

The powerful Cleaver attack? It was like the two energies were so prideful that they saw only each other as enemies... anything caught amidst their conflict was erased or devoured.

Seeing the two conflicting energies’ explosion expanding in his direction, the Masked Butcher swiftly retreated far away... his face devoid of color in fear as he was almost consumed by it, feeling the intense sunflame heat assault his skin.

Fortunately, the explosion expansion didn’t last long... it went off as fast as it had appeared, leaving behind a canvas on the white floor in gold and black. It represented the two energies’ brief but cruel conflict... neither won, neither lost.

But one person did...

Levi ended the tune with the bow hanging in the air, the echo of the last note left a lingering ring... he was still sitting on the chair of sunflames in the center of the mesmerizing canvas.

Untouched, unharmed, unbothered.

He lifted his head and gazed in the direction of the Masked Butcher, who was already standing a couple kilometers away from Levi... his guard raised to the limit.

No words... Levi lifted his index finger in front of him.

-...-

-...-

-...-

The viewers stared at the single finger in stunned silence; the meaning was clear... The Masked Butcher had gone through his first attack and it did absolutely nothing to Levi!