Nameless King

'Well... Even though you suggest such a thing, it's like I have a choice.' Wain replied as he shrugged, 'Do what needs to be done. Looking for a second time for Nicole's weapon...I don't have that much energy, it's just too tiring.'

The Abyss Artist smirked as Wain's body quickly became covered in dense black energy, like ink. His appearance changed as now Abyss Artist had full control of his body, Wain receded into the background almost becoming a ghost in his own mind.

Damn... I never thought about it, but am I not the Nameless King himself now? What do you think of that? Abyss Artist asked with a sly smirk.

'Shut up. You can just inhabit my body, you'll never get my powers.' Wain frowned.

Abyss Artist smirked, 'Yeah, I know. Do you really have to react like that to every joke I make? You have your powers and I have mine.'

Step. Step. Step.

The Abyss Artist with a calm look headed toward a scythe, from which a huge amount of energy was still coming out. The Dragon Head looked at the Abyss Artist with a disdainful look before unleashing a beam of energy on him.

"Well, well, that looks pretty powerful. Wain's body is only on the Absolute Stage, so it could hurt me... I can't have that." Abyss Artist muttered while shaking his head before swinging his arm.

White energy followed his sleeve, gradually surrounding him like a thick thread. The Dragon Head tried to hurt him, but the energy just couldn't touch Abyss Artist.

Abyss Artist smirked before snapping his finger. The white energy around him split into several pieces, an invisible force seemed to be controlling it, then all the pieces went back into the scythe.

"You seem to have misunderstood why you were created." Abyss Artist calmly said slowly approaching the scythe, "Well, I'll help you figure it out. You are no longer a dragon, though you were never exactly a dragon. Earlier you were a fang, a dragon weapon, now you are the same weapon only in a different form and with a different owner."

The Abyss Artist opened his palm, releasing several clots of ink that completely covered a scythe.

"ROOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!" The Dragon's head roared furiously trying to break free from its captivity, but Abyss Artist's grip was literally invincible.

Gradually, all white energy was hidden beneath the darkness. Abyss Artist with a slight smirk lifted the scythe and headed for Nicole.

"Hmm...? Who are you? You're not Wain...?" Nicole muttered in confusion as her aura intensified. Unlike the others, she hadn't seen all the forms Wain could take.

"Oh, didn't Wain tell you about me? I'm one of his very close friends, though I don't think you'll care after what I'm about to do. You're definitely not going to like me." Abyss Artist smirked as he abruptly grabbed Nicole's arm.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Nicole shouted with a deadly frown as she yanked her hand back, but nothing happened, Abyss Artist's grip was still firmly on her arm.

"You'd better not resist. You may be very strong for a Demigod Stage, but with Wain's strength, I could easily break your arm, so just let me do it quickly." Abyss Artist calmly said before placing the scythe in Nicole's hand. He squeezed her fist so that he would hold the scythe tightly and not drop it, under any circumstances.

The Abyss Artist loosened his grip for a moment as Nicole was finally able to break free of her captivity. She was about to attack the Abyss Artist as her aura intensified, but suddenly she saw a dark flash before her.

Crackling.

Nicole's eyes went wide as she lowered her gaze to see the Abyss Artist's palm that was fully plunged into her chest.

"What...? When did you manage to...?" Nicole muttered in disbelief as trickles of blood flowed from the corners of her mouth.

"I can be pretty quick, can't I?" Abyss Artist smirked with narrowed eyes, "Don't worry, a wound like that will heal you quickly, but something worse is about to happen."

Nicole didn't understand what Abyss Artist was talking about, but she sensed on instinct that she shouldn't expect anything good from him.

Abyss Artist kept his promise as, in a few seconds, he pulled his bloody hand from Nicole's chest. In her palm was a small wisp of black energy that was shaped very much like a soul.

'Is it... Is it Nicole's soul...? Ceozi inwardly muttered with a dazed expression as a chill ran down her back.

"Oh...? Black? What a rare color, probably because you were born of Wain's energy in his Void... That's the only explanation for such an unusual color." Abyss Artist muttered with a curious look.

"Give it back... It's mine..." Nicole muttered, holding out her hand.

Abyss Artist sighed, "Don't worry, I only took a small piece. It's about one-hundredth of your soul, and when it's over I'll put it back where it belongs."

Whoooooooooooosh.

The Abyss Artist channeled Nicole's soul into a scythe, then he touched her forehead with the tip of his finger. Nicole tried to resist, but after a moment her gaze went blank and she fell to the ground.

"Well, since I've done this kind of work, I should see the results." Abyss Artist muttered as he turned to Ceozi, "Follow us while our minds are busy. It won't take long, just a few minutes."

Tap.

Abyss Artist dropped to the ground, next to Nicole, whose face was slowly coming back to normal while the scythe occasionally trembled.

"What the hell is going on here...?" Ceozi muttered, slowly rising to her feet, "Fuck, when Wain shows up, you can't expect anything good, he's a real disaster... Well, I hope he knows what he's doing... To rip a piece of her soul out like that, it's terrible."

Ceozi stared at them for a while before she sighed and walked over to them, sitting down on a flat rock.