Nameless King

The Abyss Artist touched Wain's forehead as several waves came away from his fingertip, they looked like ripples in water, spreading around in large rings, then the world shook, distorting and gradually changing into something completely different.

Wain was puzzled as he in no way expected the Abyss Artist to do something like that, it all seemed to him something unreal. How could remembering one of his forms help him if there were only ten seconds left before his soul exploded? Moreover, the Abyss Artist remained mysterious even in this situation as he did not reveal any details to Wain, until the very last moment.

Whooooooooooooosh.

A bright white flash blinded Wain for a moment and after a while, he felt a cold current of wind.

"Where am I... ?" Wain uttered in a daze with wide-open eyes. He was floating high above the ground, but it wasn't some city or forest, this place was more like a real hell that for some reason appeared in the real world.

Everything below was destroyed, and there was literally nothing left of the former landscape. The whole area was covered with craters, wide cracks more like canyons, and in many places, lava rivers flowed. There were random energy storms of different elements in different places, whether it was a vortex, electrical discharges, or ice peaks the size of tall mountains.

"Fuck... This place looks like the gods fought here..." Wain spoke while in disbelief as he turned around suddenly sensing someone's presence.

"It's me." Abyss Artist said with a slight smile on his face as he put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hmm? Can you participate in your own memory?" Wain asked with a confused look as he tilted his head.

"Well, it's not just my memory, you'll soon realize that. Although you're right about something, I will disappear at some point, but then you won't need me to explain what's going on here." Abyss Artist looked around with a meaningful look as if he had returned to a familiar place, "Agh... Nostalgia is actually a nice feeling."

The Abyss Artist removed his hand from Wain's shoulder, took a few steps forward while platforms of darkness appeared beneath his feet, and said, "What you see now is a battlefield days after the final fight of the Great War."

"The Great War?" Wain muttered.

"Yeah... this is considered the greatest battle in the history of the world since only in the Great War did many creatures on the Transcendence Stage fight. Not only the Nameless King fought here, but also the rulers of the Arkan World and even the Progenitor of the Dragons." The Abyss Artist said in a serious voice as his eyes grew cold as ice.

"I see... but, why are we here...? Shouldn't I see you meet the Nameless King? I mean, all the other memories ended up doing just that." Wain asked as he waved his hand in confusion.

"Well, you'd be right in any other case, but my memory is special. Anyway, there's no point in us staying here anymore, I just wanted to show you this as I think it might help you..." Abyss Artist said quietly as he narrowed his eyes as if he was hiding something.

"What...? What the hell is going on here...?" Wain frowned.

The Abyss Artist just shook his head before snapping his fingers. At the same moment, space began to distort as everything around him was covered in dense darkness. Abyss Artist disappeared as Wain was left alone in the vast space. The only thing that would indicate a way out was the white road going far ahead.

'Well, it seems I have no other choice anyway. It's actually weird, but it looks like I have enough time to fully explore this memory...' Wain muttered inwardly, took a light breath, and stepped onto the road.

In the real world, he only had ten seconds left before his life was over, but here he seemed to have an eternity.

Step. Step. Step.

Wain walked slowly down the road while his path gradually changed. The longer he walked the darker the road became until it was completely dark, so after a while, Wain stopped since he didn't know where to go.

Suddenly a door opened in front of him, leading to an unknown place, but Wain had no other choice anyway, so he just went inside.

"Hmm? Where am I?" Wain found himself in a simple room with dim lighting that seemed to be deep underground like it was a dungeon.

There were two men in the room. One man was wearing a long black robe and the same hair. His gaze was deadly serious as he held his arms crossed. Opposite him sat someone Wain had seen several times before in shape memory, a dark silhouette or Nameless King.

However, this time something was different. His aura was not as powerful as before, also his silhouette was unstable as if he could disappear at any moment.

'What's going on here...?' Wain asked himself, 'Why are Abyss Artist and Nameless King in this room? Is this his memory?

Nameless King sighed slightly and muttered in a slow voice, "I didn't think it would ever come to this... Well, it was to be expected."

"It's really going to happen, isn't it? Isn't there any way we can avoid it?" Abyss Artist asked with a complicated expression as he stared at Nameless King.

"No... I was able to win, but even I can't handle the negative effects of the power of one of the rulers of the Arkan World." Nameless King shook his head, "It is eating away at my soul, so soon I will definitely die. There is only a fraction of my soul left, and my time is running out."

The Abyss Artist was silent for a while until he nodded and said, "You think we can do this?"

"Hah, wasn't that your idea? Sure, even if it doesn't work out, my death won't be for nothing." Nameless King raised his head.