SHADOW BEFORE CREATION

Byatis

"You are the only one left."

Arthur moved with extreme difficulty, forcing his body up from the ground as though every movement had to be torn from the jaws of pain. His right hand had completely disintegrated due to his earlier collision with Dwells' eye, while his chest had begun to become exposed as well, the flesh slowly dissolving from Shoggnar Faughn's violent blow.

His spine had been partially shattered since Dwells' attack, yet his physical injuries were not the worst of it. The true wound was spiritual. His use of the Law of Time had left deep cracks in his soul, and now, nothing but the remnants of a will that refused to fall kept him standing.

And yet…

For some strange reason, Arthur felt no threat coming from Byatis.

From the moment he had arrived in this place until now, he had not sensed any significant power from him. Dwells and Shoggnar Faughn had radiated overwhelming auras even while standing still, but Byatis… gave off a strange sense of weakness.

'Is he truly weak? Or is he a deceiver hiding his power to lower my guard?'

Arthur clenched his teeth.

'But he's one of the Great Ancients… he can't possibly be this weak.'

Before his thoughts could finish, pain exploded through his mind and soul all at once, pain that nearly extinguished his consciousness completely.

'Damn… I don't have time.'

Arthur realized with a grim sense that he could lose consciousness at any moment. This was the fiercest battle he had ever fought in his life, and if he did not end it now, he would collapse without even being able to raise his hand.

He decided to move immediately.

No waiting. No hesitation.

His body was burdened with fatal injuries, and his soul was on the verge of collapse, with only Byatis remaining before him. But the real problem was not his opponent… it was himself.

His physical strength was fading away in a disgraceful manner, while his spiritual strength had been drained to the point where only a little remained. And even that little, if used, might cost him his life.

Arthur raised his head toward the sky, his eyes burning with an unextinguishable will to fight.

"As humans say… victory or death. There is no room for retreat."

He smiled calmly, blood continuously flowing from his mouth. Then he turned his head toward Byatis… and wished he had not.

At that moment, for the first time, their eyes met.

The moment they did, Arthur felt as though the entire world had begun spinning violently inside his head.

{Forget everything.}

Byatis spoke in a gentle voice, calm to a terrifying degree. At that same moment, countless scraps began flying out of Arthur's mind.

Something was written on every scrap.

And an image appeared on each one.

His memories.

Everything he had gone through… every battle he had fought… every technique he had learned… every pain, and every victory.

{It is over now.}

Arthur's mind became completely empty. Drool flowed from his mouth, and his gaze turned vacant like that of a newborn child.

Byatis gently placed his claw upon Arthur's head in a disturbingly calm manner.

But…

"You… me… we…"

Arthur's voice suddenly echoed.

"What are memories but beautiful stories of what we have lived through? And without them… I am nothing. Pain, sorrow, brokenness, joy, happiness… these memories are me."

He slowly raised his head, his eyes burning with madness.

"And you, bastard… dared to steal what belongs to me!"

Arthur roared in fury, shaking the entire place.

Byatis took a step back, sweat pouring down his forehead.

{How… how were you able to gather the fragments of yourself again?}

Arthur stood, his voice becoming like thunder.

"I am the one who faced the High Priest. I am the one who fought him. I am the one who battled countless constellations and won. I am the destroyer of worlds and the higher heavens. I am the old and the new. I am the last descendant of the glory of the great Narins. I am the Sky Demon. I am the First Avenger… Arthur Narin!"

With every word, the scraps of his memories returned to him, as though they had never left in the first place.

{No… no… no! Impossible… I will not accept this!}

Byatis screamed madly as he watched the memories return to their original owner.

Arthur approached him calmly.

"Let me tell you something… something not even Azathoth himself knows."

After Byatis had absorbed Arthur's memories, they had become a part of him. But through Arthur's will, his life force, and his unique mental training, he reclaimed everything that had been stolen from him.

This contradiction destroyed Byatis' body from within.

Yes, Byatis was one of the weakest Great Ancients, if not the weakest of all. His true strength was not physical, but his terrifying ability. Without it… even the shattered Arthur of this moment was capable of killing him with a single human strike.

Arthur approached and whispered into his ear, in a voice heard by no one but the two of them.

{Narin… the broken… the suffering… the First Avenger… and you… are him.}

Before Byatis could finish his scattered words, Arthur placed his hand on him and drained all of his power.

"Let this… remain a secret between you and me."

Arthur smiled calmly.

He looked around. Ruin filled the place, and the traces of battle were imprinted across every inch of it. Then he looked at his body… he could barely stand.

High in the sky, a return gate opened.

But he no longer possessed the strength to jump.

He could not even summon the Dark Wings.

"Damn…"

He fell to the ground without resistance.

"Azathoth, you bastard… couldn't you find anywhere other than the sky to place the gate?"

He said it sarcastically as he spat blood.

There was not even any bone left in his right hand. His spine had been completely shattered. His ribcage was exposed to the eye.

Countless injuries.

"Astaroth…"

He raised his left hand and struck the ground.

"I'm coming, kid… I won't let anyone hurt you. I swear by the Creator of the Universe."

He gathered what little strength remained and stood, his body trembling violently as blood burst from everywhere.

"Damn it, Cain… isn't the update over yet?"

He bent down as though preparing to crouch, gathered every last bit of strength into his thighs, then jumped with everything he had toward the gate… and passed through it.

Arthur returned… to Sung's world.

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