Chapter 198: The Fool Who Named the Apocalypse

The Shadow Knight’s laughter erupted through the chamber, loud and jagged, echoing off the packed sediment and ancient roots. There was no warmth in it, only the hollow imitation of joy from something that had long forgotten what it meant to feel.

"HAHAHAHA! She? You gave it a name? A gender? You treat a fragment of destruction as if it were a child!"

The pale lights in its visor flickered as it took another step forward, its massive sword dragging across the ground with a sound like grinding teeth.

"This is... unexpected. In all my centuries, I have never encountered a creature foolish enough to call a shard of the Seed of Destruction ’she.’"

Gray didn’t retreat. His golden eyes remained fixed on the empty visor.

"She’s not a shard anymore. She’s Lily."

The Shadow Knight’s laughter abruptly ceased.

"Lily," it repeated, the name dripping with disdain. "You gave a piece of the apocalypse a name. How... quaint."

It tilted its head, the pale lights in its visor narrowing.

"And does this Lily know what she truly is? Does she understand the darkness from which she was born? The destruction that gave her life?"

Gray remained silent for a moment before answering.

"She knows enough."

"Does she?" The Shadow Knight’s voice sank into a low, menacing whisper. "Or have you kept the truth from her? Sheltered her from reality? Protected her from the monster she truly is?"

"She’s not a monster!" Gray declared, his voice ringing through the chamber.

The Shadow Knight let out another laugh, but this time, there was no amusement in it. Only cold contempt.

"Not yet. But the Seed of Destruction is not something that can be tamed, little creature. Nor is it something that can be loved into goodness. It is destruction. Annihilation. The end of all things."

It raised its massive sword and pointed the blade at Gray’s chest.

"And you are a fool for thinking otherwise."

Gray didn’t flinch.

"Maybe. But I’ve encountered fragments of the Seed before, and she chose to be different."

The Shadow Knight went completely still.

"...She chose?"

"Yeah." Gray’s voice remained steady. "She chose to protect us. She chose to fight alongside us. She chose to become more than what she was born to be. That’s more than you’ve ever done."

The pale lights in the Shadow Knight’s visor flickered, dimming for the briefest moment.

"You know nothing of what I have done," it replied quietly. "You know nothing of the centuries I’ve spent in this darkness. The things I’ve killed. The things I’ve become."

"I know you’re still here," Gray answered. "Still waiting. Still talking. If you were truly nothing but destruction, you would’ve killed me the moment I fell into this hole."

The Shadow Knight fell silent.

Its massive sword lowered ever so slightly.

"...You are either very brave or very stupid," it said at last.

It studied Gray for a long moment before slowly turning its head toward the passage behind it, where the darkness grew deeper and ancient roots twisted across the walls.

"She is nearby, isn’t she? The fragment you call Lily."

Gray didn’t answer.

"I can feel her," the Shadow Knight continued. "A piece of the whole. A shard of the same darkness that gave birth to me. She is close."

It paused, its visor fixed on the dark passage.

"I want to see her."

"No."

The answer came immediately, sharp and absolute. Gray’s hands moved as Void Reaper’s Lances materialized in his palms, their void-infused edges crackling with dark energy.

The Shadow Knight turned back toward him, the pale lights in its visor growing brighter.

"You would fight me? For her?"

"Without hesitation."

The Shadow Knight’s aura exploded outward, crashing into Gray like an invisible tidal wave.

It was horrifying. Not the cold, instinctive killing intent of a predator, but something far more sinister. It carried the accumulated weight of centuries of atrocities, of countless lives taken and suffering inflicted without hesitation or remorse. It was the stench of every crime committed in the dark, every scream swallowed by silence, every hope crushed beneath an uncaring hand.

This was the aura of something that had committed so much evil that it had become inseparable from its very existence, its sins woven into the fabric of its being.

Gray’s stomach churned. His carapace tightened as every instinct screamed at him to run, to flee as far from this abomination as possible.

Yet he didn’t move.

He stood his ground, his golden eyes locked onto the empty visor, both hands gripping his lances as void energy crackled around their edges.

The Shadow Knight watched him, the pale lights in its helmet brightening with what might have been surprise.

"You feel it, don’t you? The weight of my sins. The darkness I have become."

Its voice was low, almost gentle, as though it were explaining something trivial.

"Most creatures flee the moment they feel it. They scream. They beg. Some die with my name on their lips."

It tilted its head.

"But you... you’re still standing."

Gray couldn’t answer. The aura pressed down on him with crushing force, threatening to overwhelm his senses and break his resolve. Even breathing felt like a struggle, but he refused to yield.

The Shadow Knight let out a soft hum, almost appreciative.

"Very well. If that is what you want, then let us see how strong you truly are."

It raised its massive sword. The blade shimmered with a light that wasn’t light and a darkness that seemed to swallow everything around it.

Then it moved.

Gray barely had time to react.

The Shadow Knight crossed the distance in an instant, its sword sweeping through the air at a speed that seemed impossible for something of its size. Gray activated Current Dash on instinct, dissolving into the water before reforming ten meters to the left.

The massive blade tore through the space where he had stood, leaving behind a trail of black energy that hissed and spat against the ground.

Gray retaliated immediately, launching a Void Reaper’s Lance at the creature’s exposed flank. The spear of condensed void energy shot toward the gap between its armor plates.

The Shadow Knight didn’t even bother to dodge.

It simply raised one gauntleted hand.

The lance shattered against its armor like glass striking stone.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 0 DAMAGE]

[ATTACK NULLIFIED]

Gray’s eyes widened.

"What the-?"

The Shadow Knight turned toward him, the pale lights in its visor flickering with what might have been amusement.

"Did you really think your little tricks would work on me? I am a fragment of the Seed of Destruction. I existed long before your species ever came into being. I have devoured gods and mortals alike."

It took another step forward, its sword dragging across the ground.

"Your void energy is nothing compared to mine."

Gray immediately activated Tectonic Shift, slamming his foot into the ground. Jagged stone erupted beneath the Shadow Knight, forming a massive spire that thrust upward and launched the armored figure into the air.

Yet the creature didn’t even stumble. It stepped off the rising spire as though it were nothing more than an inconvenient obstacle, its massive sword already swinging toward Gray’s chest.

Gray activated Current Dash again, dissolving into the water and reforming behind his opponent. Before the Shadow Knight could turn, he unleashed Cavitation Pulse at the back of its helmet.

[CAVITATION PULSE — 0 DAMAGE]

[ATTACK NULLIFIED]

The superheated jet struck the helmet and dispersed without leaving so much as a scorch mark.

"Tch..."

The Shadow Knight spun around, its sword sweeping through the air in a wide arc. Gray ducked beneath the blade, twisted his body, and drove both Void Reaper’s Lances into its chest.

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 0 DAMAGE]

[VOID REAPER’S LANCE — 0 DAMAGE]

[ATTACKS NULLIFIED]

Both lances shattered against the armor, their void energy dispersing harmlessly into the air.

The Shadow Knight glanced down at him, the pale lights in its visor narrowing.

"Still refusing to give up? How admirable."

It tightened its grip on the massive sword.

"Let’s see how long that stubbornness lasts."

The blade descended.

Gray activated Current Dash, attempting to dissolve into the water before the strike could reach him. But the Shadow Knight had already anticipated his movement. Its sword shifted mid-swing, sweeping toward the exact spot where Gray would reappear.

The blade caught him across the chest.

His shadow cloak tore apart as the massive weapon carved through his prismatic carapace, leaving a deep, jagged gash across his body.

[-486 HP]

[GRAY ASHFORD — HP: 1,394 / 1,880]

[BLEED — 18 DAMAGE PER SECOND]

[PRISMATIC CARAPACE — CRACKED]

The impact hurled Gray backward. His body slammed into the chamber wall before sliding down against the ancient roots embedded in the stone.

For a moment, he could barely move. His vision blurred, and every breath sent a fresh wave of pain through his shattered carapace and torn flesh.

The Shadow Knight approached at an unhurried pace, its sword dragging along the ground behind it.

"You are strong for a mortal. Stronger than most creatures could ever hope to become."

It stopped a short distance away.

"But you are still a mortal. And I am something far beyond that."

Gray gritted his teeth and forced himself upright. His legs trembled beneath him, but the golden light in his eyes burned with defiance.

"Maybe," he rasped. "But I’m not done yet."

The Shadow Knight paused, studying him.

"...No," it murmured. "You’re not."

It raised its massive sword, preparing to deliver the final blow.

Then a voice rang out from the passage above.

"GRAY!"

The Shadow Knight froze mid-swing, its blade hovering inches from Gray’s chest.

The pale lights in its visor flickered erratically, dimming before flaring back to life. For the first time since the battle began, it seemed genuinely caught off guard.

Slowly, it turned its head toward the passage above.

"...She came on her own," it murmured, almost to itself. "Like a creature that has not forgotten its purpose. Like a shard drawn back toward the whole."

Gray felt his blood run cold.

"DON’T COME DOWN HERE!" he shouted, his voice cracking with desperation.

But it was already too late.

The water container descended slowly, Lily’s dark core illuminating the chamber with faint pulses of violet light. Cindy pressed her face against the transparent wall, her silver eyes straining to see through the water and the glass. When she saw Gray’s battered body, her frills went rigid.

"Gray! What are you doing?! You promised me! You promised you wouldn’t do this alone!"

Gray kept his eyes fixed on the Shadow Knight, refusing to let his attention wander even for a second.

"I know what I promised. But this isn’t something you can help with. Get back. Now!"

Cindy opened her mouth to argue, but the Shadow Knight spoke before she could utter another word.

"Interesting."

Its voice was low and contemplative, as though it had just discovered something far more intriguing than the wounded creature standing before it.

"You made a promise to her, yet you broke it. You came down here alone, searching for answers. Searching for the truth. Just like the others before you."

It tilted its head, examining Gray through the pale lights of its visor.

"And yet, you are different. There is something strange about you."

Gray’s golden eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

The Shadow Knight turned fully toward him, its massive sword still raised in one hand.

"From the moment you fell into this chamber, I sensed something within you. A presence that should not exist in a creature like you."

It stepped closer, and the pale lights in its visor burned brighter.

"You carry the essence of a Primordial. The divine light of judgment, twisted and reshaped into something entirely different."

For a brief moment, the Shadow Knight fell silent, as though savoring the mystery before it.

"But you are not a Primordial. You are not even close."

Its sword lowered slightly.

"You are a contradiction. A creature that has stolen the power of a god yet remains mortal. Such an existence..."

It paused.

"...is fascinating."

Gray’s thoughts raced. The Primordial Ascension trait. The power he had absorbed from the Primordial’s corpse during his evolution. Somehow, the Shadow Knight had sensed it.

"So that’s why you want to kill me," Gray said slowly. "Because I’m a contradiction."

"No."

The Shadow Knight’s voice sharpened, stripping away any trace of amusement.

"I want to kill you because you are dangerous. A creature capable of absorbing the essence of gods poses a threat to everything. To the Seed of Destruction. To this world. To the natural order itself."

It raised its sword again, though this time, it didn’t immediately attack.

"But before I kill you, I want to understand what you are. How you came to exist. How a creature like you acquired such power."

Gray remained silent. He had no idea how to explain his existence, and even if he did, he would never share that knowledge with this thing.

The Shadow Knight waited for a moment before releasing a low, rasping laugh.

"Not going to speak? Pity. I was looking forward to hearing what a creature with a god’s essence sounds like when it begs."

It advanced another step, bringing the tip of its sword dangerously close to Gray’s chest.

"But I will uncover the truth eventually. One way or another."

Gray clenched his fists, his golden eyes burning with anger.

"Then quit talking and fight me," he spat. "Stop acting like a coward. You want to know what I am? Then beat me and find out."