Novel Full Chapter 1265: Remaining Time: 00 days 24 hours 60 minutes 60 seconds↡
Chapter 1265: Remaining Time: 00 days 24 hours 60 minutes 60 seconds↡
Seeing Drakhairs motionlessly drifting in the space, Aether’s foot flared with violet flames. He propelled himself upward and caught Drakhairs before the body could fall any deeper into the void.
“Sigh… man, I thought I freaking lost you,” Aether muttered with a relieved expression.
Due to the absence of air, Drakhairs was completely unconscious, lips pale, chest barely moving. Well, it’s not like he was dead… not yet. But if he had remained longer…
Anyway,
!~Ding~!
[LOG 2.0 Initiating… 80%↑]
!~Ding~!
[Remaining Time: 09 days 24 hours 59 minutes 60 seconds]
!~Ding~!
[Remaining Time: 06 days 24 hours 60 minutes 60 seconds↡]
Aether flinched at the sudden resonance in his ears.
His eyes narrowed, and without hesitation, he immediately teleported as he carried Drakhairs back to the Pyra Empire.
When he arrived at the location of the Ebon Stone, the sight that greeted him was nothing but devastation.
The colossal skeleton that once towered over the land had already disappeared. In its place remained only a vast crater gouged deep into the surface of the world.
Everything surrounding it had been annihilated—scorched, erased, and shattered beyond recognition. The summit that had once been visited and tested… was crushed into absolute nothingness.
Everything around it was just… one big, obscene, gaping crater.
“M-Majesty?”
Drakhairs flinched awake, his chest heaving violently as air finally filled his starving lungs.
He coughed, wheezed, then realised whose arms were holding him. In shock, he immediately pulled away from Aether.
Aether had been holding him like a princess, and…. a faint blush was crawling across Drakhairs’s cheeks.
He didn’t understand why his heart reacted that way, and the confusion only deepened the red across his face.
He blushed slightly, not sure why…
[+5000 AP]
“…” Aether didn’t care for the notification.
Well, he noticed it, but he deliberately avoided looking at that damned thing.
Anyway, what had happened exactly?
The moment his hand reached the base of the mountain…
“We were teleported, right?” Aether asked.
Drakhairs’s blush vanished instantly. His gaze darkened as he nodded gravely, “Yes. We were forced to teleport.”
Does that mean that the monster has the ability to teleport others?
If so… then this was fucking serious.
He couldn’t risk others fighting this abomination. If his beloveds were teleported outside the Empires, who knew what fate awaited them? Who knew if he would ever see them again?
Drakhairs looked down, his body trembling at the sight below. The ground was a flattened graveyard… even the crushed creatures in the summit disappeared by the sheer force.
“Your Majesty?” Drakhairs called as he glanced at Aether. The emperor’s gaze was distant, lost in thought, staring into that endless crater as though trying to read something.
Aether took a deep breath and said, “Take care of the people and… inform the others of the initiation of Project ’X.’”
Drakhairs’s eyes widened. “You mean… this is it?”
Aether shook his head slowly, “I am not sure… but just to be careful… get ready. I will hold it off as long as I can.” as though he had already resigned himself to what must come.
Then, without wasting another second, he began informing the other Empires to prepare for immediate evacuation and the initiation of Project ’X.’
Drakhairs bowed his head before disappearing into a flicker of light.
Aether remained, staring at the ground with that same detached expression. The colossal skeleton had already hammered down three of the Ebon Stones, leaving only… two.
Aether immediately teleported to the… Aurora Empire.
But it wasn’t there.
After all—
In Zephyra, Dora hovered in the sky, her long hair whipping violently against the air currents as her eyes locked onto the nightmare below. The colossal skeleton was hammering down upon the Ebon Stone with its humongous mountains clutched in both hands.
BOOOOMMMMMM!!!
The Empire trembled under the impact, the world shaking violently. Dora could only watch blankly as everything within sight was flattened, the overwhelming wave of pressure radiating outward, destroying everything for several kilometres.
!~Ding~!
[LOG 2.0 Initiating… 90%↑]
!~Ding~!
[Remaining Time: 06 days 24 hours 59 minutes 60 seconds]
!~Ding~!
[Remaining Time: 03 days 24 hours 60 minutes 60 seconds↡]
The skeleton’s blow nailed the Ebon Stone of Zephyra, reducing everything around it to dust.
Yet no lives were lost. Kaelen and Liora had already evacuated every soul from the surrounding lands, and because Aether had warned them not to engage.
And just as it came, the towering monstrosity vanished—without a trace, as though it had never existed.
“Interesting…” Dora muttered, her tone carrying both intrigue and unease. Her eyes narrowed before she turned to Delphine. “Tell him… the mountains store energy inside and… they actually have the ability to cut through space.”
Delphine raised her eyebrows sharply. “A mountain?”
Dora nodded, her frown deepening as if pulling memories from the depths of her past. “Yeah… I wonder… where have I seen it before… hmm…” Her voice trailed off.
Without hesitation, Delphine immediately delivered the message. Even though they hadn’t spoken much in recent times,… held apart by unspoken reasons and personal rifts, but this was not the moment for grudges or hesitation.
Aether just hummed with a thoughtful expression as he hovered before the Ebon Stone, his body wreathed in faint violet flames. Within the next few seconds, the colossal skeleton appeared before the Ebon Stone.
Aether stared at the thing. He didn’t move, just blankly stared at it. And the monster, in turn, stared back at him with its hollow sockets.
“Aether?” Helena’s voice rang from below, sharp and worried.
“I told you to get ready for Project ’X,’ right? Go on… I’ll handle this.”
Helena bit her lip, her brows pinching together. She gave the faintest pout, her shoulders tightening before she finally turned, walking away with a grumpy but undeniably concerned expression.
The colossal skeleton raised its mountainous weapon high, its hand gripping the jagged mass as though it were nothing more than a pebble. It loomed, ready to strike down, its hollow sockets flickering toward Aether—waiting, measuring, as though curious if he would move.
But Aether didn’t.
The colossal skeleton almost seemed to shrug its bony shoulders before swinging down.
BOOOOOMMMMMM!!!
The mountain landed upon the Ebon Stone. The sky cracked with sound, and shockwaves rippled outward.
Still… Aether hadn’t moved. He just blankly stared at the thing, his gaze never faltering.
The skeleton lifted its hand back again, raising the massive mountain for a second strike. But the instant it raised the weapon and looked, its sockets widened.
The Ebon Stone hadn’t even moved down at all!
What?
Aether’s lips curved into a grin. “Guess you can’t teleport what’s beneath it… it seems,” he said with an amused tone, eyes gleaming with quiet triumph.
The monster’s empty sockets turned sharply downward.
And there, beneath the Ebon Stone—
“Hello~,” came Sera’s lilting voice.
She was crouched low, arms braced against the great stone, holding it steady as though the blow had been nothing.
The monster’s jaw quivered, bones trembling as if in outrage… a lowly creature had stopped its strike.
“Can you hold it, baby?” Aether asked.
Sera tilted her head, smiling faintly, her hands tightening against the stone. “Of course. I think I can hold it”
Aether gave a short nod. Then his eyes flared with fire, his hand rising. Purple flames spiralled upward, forming a burning sphere above him before he hurled it toward the giant, the inferno tearing through the air like a comet.
It reached the skeleton—then blinked out of existence.
Gone!
Aether frowned, muttering under his breath. “I see… so you’ve connected the mountains to your body. Hah… clever. This is going to be a little tricky if everything we throw at you is just teleported away.”
Without hesitation, Aether flew straight toward the giant, his figure darting like a furious insect before a god of bones.
The colossal skeleton ignored him at first, raising its arm again, intent on hammering down the Ebon Stone.
But as it swung down, Sera clenched her fists tighter, her whole body straining as she held the Ebon Stone as though she were holding up the heavens themselves. The skeletal hammer descended in a devastating arc.
BOOOOM!!
Her legs trembled as the Ebon Stone was slightly hammered down, and Aether, during this time, studied the creature with a sharp gaze, tracing every detail of its massive body structure. He noted each motion carefully… the way it moved was eerily precise.
It moved exactly like a human would.
Every joint, every bone…
He unleashed a flurry of attacks against the thing, testing for weaknesses, while it kept hammering.
Blades of ice, bursts of flame, arcs of violet lightning—yet nothing stuck. Whenever his hands so much as brushed its body, he was immediately teleported away.
When he tried blasting fire directly into its hollow sockets, the flames simply vanished, erased like every other attempt. And still, the colossal skeleton brought its massive weapon down for a second hammering strike.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
The world quaked.
“A-Aether…” Sera’s voice wavered, her arms braced against the immense weight, veins bursting across her limbs as she strained. Sweat slicked her brow, her legs trembling under the pressure… she had been holding it quite long.
“It started to slip…”
Aether’s frown deepened, “Where the hell is its weakness…? It’s impossible to fight like this,” he muttered.
Then… his vision shifted.
His right eye flickered, and in an instant, the entire world around him turned into a monochrome painting… black and white.
The only thing was arcane energy… rivers of radiant colour flowing like threads.
Aether’s gaze widened in surprise. The mountains the creature carried… they glowed.
Brilliantly!
Fused in swirling hues of furious colour, as though something was trapped inside.
The energy coursed into the skeleton itself, travelling through its massive frame like veins.
Aether hummed, lips curling with intrigue. ’So… the mountains are what protect this thing,’ he thought as the monster hammered.
“A-Aether!!” Sera shouted.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
Just then… Aether noticed something.
The glowing mountain faltered… Just for an instant.
The moment it made contact with the Ebon Stone, its furious light dimmed, the connection cut off for a heartbeat before surging back again.
Aether’s eyes widened in shock. “Wait… it didn’t disappear. Rather… the energy went into the Ebon Stone,” he muttered in surprise before a grin that spread across his face.
If his attacks meant nothing, if it saw him as no more than a fly, then he would simply strike when its guard was down.
As the skeletal giant raised its weapon again, preparing for another strike, Aether darted to its side, his body blazing with ice particles.
And then—
“AETHER!!!” Sera shouted as if she had reached her limit.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
Thuuucckkk!
Craaaaack!!
Aether’s massive ice axe cleaved into the creature’s elbow joint at the exact point of impact. The joint shattered, splintering bone as the arm was severed completely, the mountain torn from its grip.
CRRCCKKKKK!!
The mountain plummeted toward the ground. Sera trembled, her arms quaking violently.
The colossal skeleton staggered, and from its empty maw erupted a guttural roar,
“KYAAAAARRRRRRR!!”
Its eyes glowed with a violent rainbow shimmer before it raised the remaining hand, the one still clutching the other mountain.
Aether gritted his teeth, ’Sure… it only focuses on its duty, doesn’t it?’ he thought grimly. But now, with one hand severed, the circuit of energy was broken. The flow no longer reached the creature’s whole body.
So when Aether’s fist crashed into its skull—
Crraaackk!
The bone split, fragments flying as the towering figure staggered back.
“KYYYYAAAAARRRRR!!”
It screamed, the sound shaking the heavens… as it finally glared at Aether.
Aether smirked, flames flickering across his lips. “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” he muttered, eyes narrowing as he saw the massive mountain swinging toward him this time.
The weapon cleaved down, tearing through the sky.
Aether darted aside, his body a blur, moving with insane speed. Fire and ice streaked from his hands, exploding across the skeletal frame. The massive bones trembled under the dual elements, shivering like brittle wood set ablaze.
It was a giant trying to swat a fly… yet that fly moved too fast, too clever, impossible to crush even with sheer size.
Pathetic!
Aether smirked as he slipped away again. But then… the skeleton moved.
With a sudden, almost cunning motion, it reached for the fallen mountain.
Its colossal fingers wrapped around it, and in the same breath, it clapped the two massive stones together, closing them toward Aether like a trap.
BOOOBBB!!
The sky itself seemed to rupture under the impact.
The monster expected him to vanish, to be teleported away like before…. But when the dust cleared, its sockets flared wide in shock.
Aether was still there.
His hands were pressed firmly against the mountain’s base.
For the first time, he was holding it.
A grin spread across his face as his eyes burned like twin furnaces. “Didn’t expect this, you brainless fucker~,” he said, voice edged with amusement as his veins bulged.
Aether was sucking the very energy from the mountain.
The two mountains were linked, forming a circuit, a living loop of energy. Now, with both in his grasp, he was devouring the same power that sustained the monster itself.
“Hah… so tasty,” Aether muttered, licking his lips, his fingers digging into the stone’s surface as though they were claws. The flow was intoxicating, filling every inch of his body until his veins swelled and pulsed under his skin.
The monster roared in fury, trying to wrench the mountains free. Its joints groaned like cracking wood, but Aether’s grip held firm. His fingers clamped tighter, locking onto the base as if welded to it.
The mountains began to tremble violently. Cracks spread like spiderwebs across their surface. Piece by piece, fragments fell away, as though something vital inside was being torn out… or devoured.
Aether grinned wildly… But then, suddenly, his face twisted.
“Okay… too much,” he hissed.
The energy wasn’t stopping; it kept coming to his body as he devoured it.
“Sera!” he shouted, voice strained, his muscles spasming as if his very veins were on fire.
She was already moving.
Sera leapt from the Ebon Stone, her body blazing, fingers igniting with fire. She shot toward the colossal skeleton like a comet.
Her flames struck its body, searing bone.
The creature shrieked again—
“KYYYYAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!”
The air split from the sound.
The white flames burned across the skeleton’s bones. It struggled to move, but Aether refused to let go of the mountain. He held it down with a crushing grip as the monster’s entire body ignited. Fire spiralled wildly, consuming it from the inside out.
Joints cracked, bones splintered, fragments collapsed into ash.
Aether’s body swelled, veins bulging across his skin as his face tightened in strain. “Come on… come on!” Aether groaned.
Thud!
The skeleton collapsed, crashing into the earth. The mountains it once wielded were shattered, breaking apart into a rain of stone.
Thud!
Thud!
Aether exhaled heavily before he lost balance. Sera’s hand caught him, steadying him as they landed together on the ground. Aether gulped, feeling the storm of energy raging inside him, far too much to contain.
Both he and Sera turned to see the skeleton’s remains. There was nothing left… only ashes. Mountains, bones, all of it reduced to dust!!
“Arrhh…”
Aether groaned, clenching his stomach as the energy churned inside him like molten fire.
“Aether, are you all right?” Sera asked worriedly, patting his back.
The instant her hand touched him—
“BUUUUUURRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!”
A monstrous sound erupted, echoing like thunder across the Empire. The earth itself quivered under the roar of his burp, a sound so loud and unnatural.
Aether’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he patted his chest, finally feeling the pressure ease.
“Damn, man…” he muttered, shaking his head. But when he glanced down, his smirk faltered—the ground before him was cracked and torn apart. His burp had destroyed part of the battlefield.
Too much energy… even for a burp.
Aether turned toward Sera. She was smiling softly, her eyes tender as she wrapped her arms around him. “Everything is over now,” she whispered with a gentle smile, hugging him close.
Aether nodded before lifting his gaze to his Log. The remaining time had not changed… he still had three days.
Or so he thought, until—
Thudck!
Both of them flinched. Their eyes darted back just in time to see the Ebon Stone itself rotate, twitching violently before—
Thud!
It hammered itself into the ground, as though struck by an unseen force.
“Shit!” Aether shouted.
!~Ding~!
[LOG 2.0 Initiating… 95%↑]
!~Ding~!
[Remaining Time: 03 days 24 hours 55 minutes 60 seconds]
!~Ding~!
[Remaining Time: 00 days 24 hours 60 minutes 60 seconds↡]
Just then…
Sssszzz~
A breeze whispered through them… that prickled across Aether’s skin.
His face twisted into a grimace,
“The fuck you want, bitch?! I stopped this thing, and you made it move on its own, didn’t you?! You’re doing this on purpose, bitch!!” His voice cracked into a manic shout, spittle flying from his lips.
Sera blinked, startled, staring at him in shock. She had no idea who he was screaming at… nor did he fully know.
/Aether… we have a problem./
Aether sighed…
____
Author’s Note:Please forgive me. Due to some real-life problems, I wasn’t able to release Chapters yesterday and today, and I might not be able to tomorrow either. I sincerely apologise for the delay. We’ll return to the regular schedule starting Monday onwards.