Lord of Annihilation

Two months later.

Casually walking through the 97th layer of the ominously glowing planet was the solitary figure of Lucius. 

His handsome face was as bored-looking as usual, with his long black hair covering the majority of his back.

The black trench coat worn over his pitch-black armor gently swayed alongside his movements, as Lucius strolled through this layer. His movements were graceful and minimal, were at complete odds with his surroundings.

Why, you ask?

That was because the 97th layer was currently experiencing a rainstorm, except the rain was replaced by weighty stones and piercing rocks. A flickering grey cloud enveloped the entire layer, mindlessly destroying everything that was within.

Flying with speeds that were comparable to the movement speeds of Stage 3 existences, these hurtling rocks that were raining within this layer, whizzed with the singular intent to cause destruction.

The eerie green light, which in the upper layers previously pulsed with dim gentleness, within this layer lit up the entire space. The radiance of the light was so intense, that it had undergone materialization within this layer.

These winds of green light revealed to be unknown volatile energy unique to this planet, greatly altered the gravitational and magnetic constants within this layer and fueled that eternally destroying rainstorm of rocks.

A gravitational force thirty times as heavy as the force felt on Earth weighed down within this layer, and the incredibly dense magnetic field affected all wavelengths of energy including light and even soul power. 

In simpler terms, the flow of one's soul power would be severely impacted and interfered with, and the perception of surrounding space would be heavily distorted.

Not to mention, the strong magnetic field also induced great burdens on one's body.

It was safe to say, the beings below the third Stage would find it near impossible to survive within this layer, while those belonging to the third Stage will be able to survive using a barrier of soul power.

However, Lucius was currently not doing so.

He strolled through this incredibly hazardous environment with his eyes closed and with apparent ease. His movements, resembling a peppy dance was in direct contrast to the elements of death surrounding him.

Two steps forward, a light skip, a graceful turn, a slight lean to the sides,…as the intensity of the storm increased, so did the variety of Lucius' movements.

Still, the most astounding scene here wasn't his dance-like movements, but the fact that not a single one of the thousands of stones flying about managed to hit him. Even those that directly appeared on his body simply passed through him like passing through a shadow.

Lucius, at this instant, resembled an immaterial ghost!

'These attacks are too slow and easily perceivable. It's quite disappointing to train in.' Lucius inwardly complained.

A black shadow expanded beneath his feet and Lucius' body sunk into it. He then disappeared from his previous location and appeared a few hundred kilometers away after a few dozen seconds.

Scanning his surroundings after appearance, Lucius estimated, 'This should be near the center of this layer.' 

The intensity of rainstorms and the volatility of the green energy in this area were incomparable to the previous location. The level of danger had increased to a point where even Stage 3 beings would feel threatened.

Lucius, however, was a monster. 

'Slightly better, but still disappointing,' He ruefully shook his head.

Having lost interest in training his movement skill and as such used [Void Travel] once again. Disappearing into the Void, he reappeared after a few minutes when he was certain of having reached the center of this layer.

Appearing within the 97th layer once again, Lucius looked around and noticed that the current space was incredibly still and calm. 

The rain of rocks was absent and the threatening pressure of gravity and magnetic field were also non-existent. In fact, Lucius found himself floating in the air due to the absence of gravity.

The entire space was painted in pale-green color and was absent of all features of the previous layer. There was no ground, the rocky sky seemed incredibly far away, and most importantly of all, the previously unstable green energy was flowing with a set pattern.

Looking down, Lucius could see a gigantic sphere of green-colored material slowly rotating around its own axis. Compared to the overall scale of the planet, calling this green sphere 'gigantic' was a gross estimation. 

The radius of the planet nearly equaled Earth's own, while the radius of this green glowing sphere was only a kilometer or two. However, compared to Lucius' own size, it was clearly massive.

'Ah, it's here,' recognizing the material, Lucius flew towards it.

Lucius used his hands, covered in [Annihilation Energy], to clutch the sphere and gradually broke it upon reaching its surface. With his strength, a fist-sized piece of the massive rock was easily broken.

Using his soul power to scan the material, Lucius confirmed its veracity.

'Heart of Flow, one of the materials required for the construction of a Living Weapon. It's quite rare to find, but thankfully I've been here before.'

The reason behind the existence of this strange planet was this sphere of glowing green material. Called the 'Heart of Flow', it had the innate property of being able to regulate the flow of a majority of energies. 

Lucius did not know the true nature and value of this planet during his previous life and had missed the opportunity to gather this material. (Not that he would have been able to gather it, given his strength back then.)

By the time he had realized its value in the future, it no longer held any worth to him given his strength. As such, this resource point was left undiscovered for many years.

This time, however, Lucius had yet to gain a complete Living Weapon. One of the materials required for its construction was the 'Flow of Heart', which Lucius was able to easily harvest given his knowledge.

Putting the fist-sized piece into his [Void Storage], Lucius grabbed another similar-sized piece and placed it inside storage. He wasn't the only one requiring a Living Weapon this time around. There was Olivia as well.

'With this, one of the materials required for completing our weapons has been found. There are four more to go.' 

Having taken what he had come to take, Lucius disappeared into the Void once more. He then followed his connection to Ka'lor'ah, to find the duo accompanying him.

----------

In the outskirts of the 90th layer.

Two figures were frantically running about in great haste as they desperately dodged the chaotically, whizzing projectiles. 

Their figures were completely different; one was small and the other was big, one was predominantly gold while the other was predominantly purple, one radiated the aura of Stage 3 while the other stably stood at the Peak-Level of Stage 2.

While different in many manners and features, they were identical in one.

"God fu*king dammit! When will it end?!" Olivia shrieked, having lost all semblance of her dignity.

Her violet eyes were completely bloodshot, her skin was pale and sickly from the lack of sleep, and her long black hair was dry and scattered due to the lack of care.

Olivia, in her current state vividly resembled the image of witches described in old folklore. It was simply the absence of a pointy nose and the signature laugh that separated her from traditional witches.

Or at least, that was the case until now…when something finally snapped inside Olivia. 

A tremendous amount of soul power suddenly exploded from her body, vaporizing the hurtling stones in her immediate vicinity. Tens upon tens of violet-colored strands of soul power materialized around and flailed about in apparent madness.

"AHAHAHAHA!!" Olivia started to maniacally cackle, taking another step towards the image of a folklore witch. 

Her violet eyes crazily wandered about, as her cackles increased in both amplitude and harshness.

"ENOUGH!! I'M GONNA BURN THIS MOTHERFU*KING PLANET TO THE GROUND!!" She maniacally yelled.

"I'm with you, girlfriend!! THIS WORLD SHALL KNOW PAIN!" The distraught figure of Ka'lor'ah also joined in with her cackles.

A week they had spent in this chaotic environment, desperately fighting for their dear lives. The absence of a single instance of rest had finally caused their high-strung mentalities to snap.

Following that declaration, the two clinically insane(?) figures started to crazily release their soul powers and destroy their surrounding environment. 

Ka'lor'ah, while stronger than Olivia lacked the destructiveness of a Stage 3 existence due to her unique existence. Still, with the two of them holding nothing back and intent on bringing this world down with them, the scene of carnage was spectacular to watch.

"YOU FEEL THAT!! THIS IS HOW IT FEELS YOU DAMNED ROCK SHOWER!"

"IF ONLY I HAD MY REAL STRENGTH!! I WOULD HAVE CRUSHED YOU IN AN INSTANT!!"

Their impassioned curses and mindless destruction of the environment continued for a few more minutes before the two of them ran out of energy. Dropping to their knees, they looked around at the 300m of demolition that they had caused and smiled in satisfaction.

"Finally, some peace," they spoke in unison.

Of course, that speech was rhetorical as the next wave of attacks will bury this space of rest in only a few seconds. Their combined action was as useless as shooting a water pistol towards the sun.

Just as their bodies were about to receive the senseless battering of the rock shower, a barrier formed of soul power enveloped their surroundings and a cold voice spoke.

"Have the two of you lost your minds?"

Olivia, being half-addled and gloriously tired, failed to recognize the voice and instinctively replied, "Shut up, dude. I'm gonna fu*k this planet up!"

"Yeah! I'm gonna make these rocks regret their billion years of formation!" Ka'lor'ah followed.

After saying that, their minds seemed to shut down in unison as they both passed out from fatigue. Lucius, who was subject to their declarations stood at a loss.

For the first time in a long time, Lucius experienced the feeling of being rendered…speechless.

Staring at these two unconscious ladies for a few seconds, Lucius heaved a sigh and wordlessly picked them up. Properly holding onto them, he leaped up and started to head towards the parked spaceship.

Olivia was more than sufficiently trained, and the materials were harvested. It was time to leave and head to the next training location.

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Announcement/Desperate Cry FOR HELP!

Remember how sometime back, I said I would make a Discord Server? 

Well, I finally decided to get around to doing that and opened that application for the first time in two years. The result...

I have no idea how anything works. 

How do I create roles? How do I create channels? WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OPTIONS?! *meltdown intensifies*

So yeah, anyway, as the title reads, I AM IN DESPERATE NEED OF HELP. So if any of ya'll kind humans out there know how to operate this app, I beg thee to spare thy wisdom to this ignorant peasant.

Leave a comment on this chapter if you have some time to spare and are willing to help this microcephalic addlepate. This is totally voluntary, but I will forever be grateful to you.