Apocalypse Healer - B3 Chapter 35

Many things had changed recently, and a multitude of thoughts filled his head. William and his actions were among them.

The Champions have gathered to talk about him, haven’t they? How many people had been killed by William since the start of the integration, and… how many more would fall victim to him? David wondered, stretching his limbs on the bed.

Nothing was as simple as it had been before the integration, yet it was easy to tell that William was the best guy. The Champions feared him. They feared the unknown, unable to tell what or who was killing the other Champions. Sure, it was possible William had nothing to do with their deaths, but Zachariah had made it clear that a Fragment Holder had to amass more power to construct a proper Divinity. And the easiest way to do so was to hunt Champions—or harvest the divinity traces inserted into the Panthea statues of the System Sanctuaries.

I can find him.

He could probably search for him with his new Intent. Divine Compass could surely lead him to William, as long as he desired to find his old friend above all else. But did he really want to do that? Did he want to find William?

What would happen once they faced each other?

A fight to the death.

David sighed deeply.

He tried using Divine Compass, manifesting an illusory, semi-translucent compass the size of his hands before him. His eyes locked onto the arrows and swirled around, following them as they continued to rotate endlessly. They never stopped moving.

David’s desires were all over the place. He knew it, but seeing it firsthand was different. It struck harder than it had to.

Since Divine Compass was of no help, he sat up and began his morning with a simple workout session. His body moved as smoothly as it was supposed to, but it took a while before exhaustion set in. Using his body weight had long since diminished effects on his workouts, forcing him to use enchanted clothes with gravitational runes. They were simple and increased the clothes’ weight.

While it was weird to train wearing clothes that weighed close to two tons, it was exactly what he needed to feel something. His Transcendent Body was one thing, but it was further augmented by [Reinforce]. Channeling pure Blood through his body strengthened him enough to increase the weighted clothes to more than five tons and continue with his workout.

However, David didn’t push himself too far today. He continued his light training session, his mind drifting from William to the Saintess and the crystal she had clung onto.

Thoughts of the crystal lingered in his mind, but not for long, as his attention shifted toward the Saintess. Her eyes had been filled with fear as she trembled, mumbling something about ‘that place.’ But the Saintess had not been the only one filled with fear. The Warrior had also been uncomfortable, trying to hide his fear from everyone as she spoke about the dark place. However, nobody could hide their emotions from David—not if they never learned to control their lifeforce and life signals.

Regardless of the Heavenly Champions’ fears, David could not help but be curious about the dark place the Saintess had mentioned. It had to be flooded with Nihilum if that was where they came from, their bodies bursting with the Void’s power.

A burst of energy attracted his attention as he concluded his workout, and he retrieved a small, glowing crystal from his belt. Pure Blood surged toward the crystal and seeped inside, responding with the familiar silverish energy of the Regressor.

“Zachariah… what a surprise. You know that we met not even twenty-four hours ago, right?” David called out, casting [Radiant Expulsion], removing all sweat.

“Meet me in the Sanctuary as soon as possible! I found it!!” the Regressor shouted, sounding oddly excited as he ended the call.

That’s it? No explanation, no nothing? he grumbled but complied with the request, since he had nothing better to do either way.

David put on the Platineer shirt, a comfortable pair of pants made of some monster’s silk, and a pair of black leather boots. His feet carried him out of the building, whereas his head flicked left and right to search for Zachariah’s life signal. He found it quickly and crossed the crowded streets and the market square to find him talking with the Heavenly Champions near the town hall.

The Saintess was the first to notice him. Her eyes widened for a moment, but she regained composure shortly and offered a faint smile.

“Good morning, David. It is nice to see you again.”

David responded with a curt nod and turned to Zachariah.

“You were the one who saved them when the Elven Priests and Seroa Shamans failed?” the Regressor asked with a wry smile. “I should have anticipated that after hearing about the commotion caused by the crimson monster and its Summoner. Of course, that had to be you. No ordinary Healer, let alone a Summoner with a bloodthirsty serpentine summon, would be able to heal the Saintess and her sacred retinue.”

Zachariah knew the Heavenly Champions? That was news to David. Then again, it was also news to him that the Elven Champions had been Priests, or that the Champions from the Seroa race were Shamans.

“It seems your tireless studies worked out,” Zachariah added, his vibrant smile widening further.

“The results of my studies were indeed… impeccable,” David responded, though he was sure they weren’t talking about the same thing.

“Either way, you said you found ‘it.’ Does that mean you found the—”

His question was cut short as the Regressor blurted out, “The Black Rift! Yes, I did find it.”

“Well…” He turned to the Heavenly Champions and pointed at the Saintess. “They found it, to be precise.”

The Warrior, Holy Knight Silas, snorted. “Found? These cretins pulled us inside and ate us. They feasted on our Blessings!!”

That was sad and all, but David cared too little about their Blessings to even consider belittling them.

“The dark place you were talking about was related to the Black Rift?” he asked instead of consoling the trembling Champions.

“I don’t know about a Black Rift, but the place we’ve been was... it was different than anything I’ve seen.” The Saintess shuddered violently, tears trickling down her cheeks. “It was terrifying. The place felt like it should have been full of life, yet there was nothing. Even the things we’ve seen were void of anything. It was almost like there was nothing, even though it was full of so many things. Or... should have been.”

So the Heavenly Champions had been on the other side of the Black Rift.

“How did you make it out alive?” he asked, only for the three Champions to frown deeply.

“We don’t know that,” the elderly man, Champion of the Holy Flame, was the first to respond.

“And how are we supposed to go there if they don’t know how they escaped? They don’t even know a thing about the Black Rift.” David’s head flicked back to the Regressor, who had yet to stop smiling like an excited teenager. It was disturbing. Creepy even.

Zachariah definitely wanted to hear the Heavenly Champions talk more about the place beyond the Black Rift. Even David wanted to know more. However, he was more interested in going there rather than listening to stories. After all, he had a new power to test and — that was probably even more important — a new power to nurture. A place of nothingness was the best he could have asked for.

“I heard a voice. It told me to bring the sword-wielding fool to him...” the Saintess muttered, holding out the Maelstrom-like shard as she added hesitatingly, “I don’t know who that is or how to bring him to that place, but I was holding on to this crystal suddenly when we appeared before the Sanctuary’s gates.”

“A Rift Key,” Zachariah said, and David was sure the Regressor’s smile would have grown even more if that had been possible.

David licked his lips, his heart skipping a beat as realization dawned upon him.

“Looks like we have a date with the Black Rift.”

As for the natural Rifts and William... Torb and the others could take care of those while he and Zachariah busied themselves fighting the Nemesis of the cosmos.

***

Even though Zachariah mentioned that Rift Keys could open Rifts to the designated location from anywhere, they didn’t want to take any risks. Unleashing the Black Rift and the Voidlings living beyond in the middle of the Dwarven Sanctuary would end in carnage. Thus, they waited until Maja was ready to teleport them to one of the biggest patches of wastelands on the continent.

“The plan is simple. Open the Black Rift, kill as many emerging Saplings and Fragments as possible, and infiltrate,” Zachariah recited for the umpteenth time, his voice sharp and serious as he added, “But do not stay on the other side for too long. We don’t want to get imprisoned with these creatures. All we want is to figure out how many there are and find clues to their existence in another dimension.”

“Because it might help us figure out where They are hiding, I know.” David rolled his eyes, suppressing the urge to consume the nothingness around him. While it wouldn’t increase the amount of Vitae in his Maelstrom, absorbing the nothingness felt right — as if it would strengthen him somehow. But with Zachariah, Maja, and the Heavenly Champions present, David didn’t want to risk it.

I can always do it later. The wastelands are not running away from me.

They found the first signs of the Black Rift and might be able to close it forever. Well, David thought he could close it if he absorbed the Nihilum that held it together. Not that he told Zachariah about it.

The only troublesome factor was the voice the Saintess had mentioned. It wanted Zachariah to reach the place beyond the Black Rift. There were some schemes at play, but it was hard to tell whether the source of the voice was on their side or not. Given that it was with the Voidlings, it had to be against them. Yet Zachariah acted like he hadn’t heard anything about the voice — as if the Saintess had never mentioned it.

He could always ponder about that later. First, they had to get this right.

David manifested Scalemore and Serpent Fang. He retrieved a wooden barrel and cast [Blood Manipulation] as well, stirring the crimson content within. Streams of blood burst through the barrel’s top and spread out around him, forming puddles of blood — each emitting more pressure than most Elite Monsters could withstand.

“Blood of the Variant Bosses,” David told Zachariah when the Regressor threw a doubtful look at him.

Zachariah nodded knowingly, the corner of his lip twitching as he recalled the last encounter with the Voidre. And who could blame him for that? He’d been ready to sacrifice his life to force the Voidre into retreat and was more surprised to make it out alive than anything else.

David spoke the Words of Power, igniting the runic engravings on the Source as he unleashed the Law of Blood for the first time in eons. He applied the Law onto the blood of the Platinum Ranked Variant Bosses, empowering it while Zachariah used the Rift Key.

Several pairs of eyes lingered on him, but he ignored the Heavenly Champions and continued. Words of Power rolled from his lips, modifying the highly potent blood as trickles of Vitae left his body. His eyes drifted to Zachariah, and he continued to move, infusing Vitae into the blood puddles once it was clear that the Regressor wasn’t watching.

Zachariah released the Rift Key and stepped back as the space before him cracked. Maja gasped and retreated as distortions formed. Black lines split through the empty space, forming cracks that expanded rapidly — Nihilum dripping from the black lines.

David tensed for a moment, but kept going even as more Nihilum seeped out of the cracks. However, the words ceased as soon as the scenery before him shifted.

“Something is coming!” he shouted, his feet digging deeper into the ground as he adjusted his posture.

Not even a full second later, the cracks burst apart, and the swirls of the Black Rift came to be. The presence of nothingness followed. It didn’t even take a quarter of a second before the nothingness reached David. It seeped into the surrounding land and quadrupled the amount of nothingness in the wastelands instantaneously.

Maja and the Heavenly Champions stepped back, but their legs caved in and they slumped to the ground. A scream echoed, and David turned to the Saintess, tears streaming down her face. Even the Holy Knight and the Vessel of the Holy Flame looked shaken.

Why did they even come if they’re acting like that? Didn’t I say they’d be baggage? But, of course, Zachariah wouldn’t listen to me and dragged them along. David shook his head, the presence of nothingness washing over him.

It didn’t do anything to him. If anything, he opened his body to welcome the nothingness and let it absorb naturally. His Maelstrom responded to the nothingness entering his body and pulled it toward his left arm to digest it all.

“You should retreat with the others,” David called out to Maja as she scrambled to her feet and returned to the Black Rift just as the first Voidlings emerged from it.

There were only a few, a handful at best, and some retreated and returned to the Black Rift when they noticed Zachariah. That was new, but Zachariah didn’t seem concerned by their unusual behavior. He decapitated a Sapling and engaged the remaining Voidlings with a fierce onslaught of slashes and stabs.

David considered moving along and joining Zachariah, his wildly beating heart demanding the thrill of deadly combat, but he remained where he was and watched two Fragments as they stepped back into the Black Rift.

Where does the Rift lead? Is the dark place their headquarters? Do they even have something like that…

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and shook his head. The Black Rift was unlikely to lead them straight to the Fissure and what lay beyond. The Pantheon and others would have known about that. David had mentioned it once to Zachariah, asking him about the Pantheon’s knowledge and understanding of the Black Rift, but it turned out that neither the Regressor nor the damn gods had any idea.

That being said, everything was new to them. The Void had responded to the changes Zachariah and the Pantheon had made. They were playing games, and as ignorant as everyone on the cosmos’ side was… it was clear who was winning.

How great would it be to have the wisdom and power of a former god to aid us… David scoffed, his thoughts laced with sarcasm as he glanced at Zachariah.

The Regressor was most definitely a chess piece in the games of the cosmos and the Void. But David doubted the Pantheon was as oblivious as Zachariah. But they would have told Zachariah about the Black Rift if they had known about it… right?

David tilted his head, deep in thought, as Zachariah beheaded one of the two Void Fragments that had stayed behind. The other Voidling was clawing at Zachariah, but a crimson barrier appeared between them. It shattered, but it drained the Voidling’s momentum and created an opportunity to counterattack.

The Black Rift won’t lead to the Fissure. The Earthen Union would block that, and the Pantheon or some other god would have known about it. It is impossible for all gods to be as oblivious as Zachariah. I’m certain someone would know about it.

But if the Rift was not connected to the Fissure, where did it lead to?

David grimaced and cast [Herald’s Blessing] on Zachariah, empowering him momentarily. The Regressor accelerated, and silver streaks filled the air, piercing through the Void Barrier and the fleshly body beneath.

Smaller pieces of the Voidling were the first to fall to the ground, but it didn’t take long before the rest of its body followed.

Zachariah kicked the dead Voidling and turned to David. “Should I go first, or do you want to have the honor?”

His face was neutral, as if emotions couldn’t reach him, but his eyes shimmered in utter excitement.

“Are you that happy? You do realize we will have to fight that wolf again, right? Possibly more than one of their kind,” David responded, but he could barely hear his own voice through his thundering heart.

He was about to say more when a ripple in the Black Rift caught his attention. [Blood Manipulation], aided by the Law of Blood, surged to life in an instant, and lances of blood burst from the puddles around him.

Zachariah spun around, sword raised to block any upcoming attacks, but there was no need for him to act. The lances impaled three Saplings emerging from the portal, piercing their Void Barriers with ease. Their bodies disintegrated, leaving nothing behind. Not even Maelstroms dropped to the ground.

“Since when can you do that?” Zachariah asked.

“What? Create blood lances with a bit of ‘boom’ behind? That’s owed to the blood’s potency and the Law of Blood’s empowerment,” he explained lightly. “Or are you talking about the penetrative force? I think you know better than anyone how long I studied you, the Barrier, the wastelands, and basically everything I could gather belonging to Them. Wasn’t it obvious I’d learn how to exploit their weakness?”

Before, he had used [Origin Lightning] and [Primeval Pulse], sometimes Rend with pristine lightning to pierce the Voidlings’ Barriers. But that was no longer needed. The blood lances were powerful enough to do the deed without Vitae’s infusion. However, adding the infusion of Vitae transformed the process into something far simpler. Easier. Less draining.

“Good point,” the Regressor muttered, but he didn’t sound convinced.

Believe whatever you want.

David pointed at the Black Rift. “I think it will disappear in a while. That being said… do you want to visit your buddy or not?”

“Buddy? I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Zachariah snapped back.

“You don’t? That’s unfortunate. Either way, are we going to enter or not?”

The condensed Nihilum within the Black Rift rippled and thrashed against the forced manifestation, but it failed to retreat. The reason was unclear, but it helped David determine what he was supposed to do. He approached the Rift and halted beside Zachariah, licking his lips.

For a moment, he considered devouring the power within the Rift before the Regressor’s eyes, but decided against it. As unfortunate as it was, the condensed Nihilum within the Black Rift was still a little bit too much for him to handle. His Vitae would be devoured instead.

However, as potent as the Nihilum within the Rift was, David could not think of the Black Rift as dangerous. He was half-certain something would happen once he stepped through, yet he was confident it wouldn’t kill him. Not right away, at least.

His heart drummed against his chest, muffling whatever Zachariah was saying.

Maybe their plan was foolish, but David liked it. He was pulled toward the Rift.

“You’re ready?" he asked Zachariah, while shouts from behind reached them.

“That is insane. Don’t go in there! That place is cursed!"

The excitement in Zachariah’s eyes died a little, hesitation replacing the confidence he’d showcased moments before. A moment of hesitation transformed into a long handful of seconds before the Regressor nodded.

They stepped forward together, the nothingness around them intensifying as they stepped closer.

David’s danger sense spiked, and he caught a ripple in the Black Rift once more. His lips parted, and his body shifted, but no word reached the surroundings before it happened.

Tendrils of condensed Nihilum burst from the Black Rift. David was prepared and overclocked [True Sight] as soon as he sensed something was off, but it was barely enough to predict the tendrils’ trajectory. He evaded the first few while Zachariah surged forward, cleaving through those that threatened to coil around him.

The Regressor moved fluidly around the tendrils, which David tried to copy, but to no avail. Pristine lightning currents and Vitae surged out of him as the first tendrils of Nihilum coiled around his ankles and waist, yet they weren’t enough to repel them. Blood lances whistled through the air, piercing the tendrils clinging onto him, but freedom was short-lived. He barely managed to gasp for a gulp of air when something heavy crashed into him.

A deep growl made his hair stand on end, and dark, voidy eyes met his. David recognized the presence and life signals instantaneously, a shudder running down his spine at the distant memory.

The Void Wolf had returned, its claws digging deep into his chest. Nihilum riveted through the claws and into his body, flowing eagerly through the deep gash left behind in his chest. But instead of tearing him apart from the inside, devouring him swiftly, the Nihilum did nothing. Which the Voidre seemed to realize as it stopped in its tracks all of a sudden, as if frozen as it looked at him. The Void’s power surging into David did not destroy him. It circulated through his body and toward the Maelstrom, system notifications informing him of the production of Vitae Nihilum instead.

Spheres of [Primeval Pulse] gathered in his palms, but Zachariah arrived before he could let loose the Skill. The Regressor burst forth with tremendous power, and David’s existence was forgotten. The Voidre and Zachariah engaged in a fierce battle, but he was not given the luxury to watch them while tending his wounds. His world turned upside down as more tendrils coiled around him, pulling him away from the battlefield.

A pair of Nihilum tendrils pierced through the claw marks left behind on his chest, but David mended it swiftly, releasing Vitae to devour the harmful substances inside his body.

At the same time, he focused on the blood puddles, using them up to form blades and lances to pierce and sever the tendrils of condensed Nihilum. He smashed hard to the ground as the tendrils let go of him. He scrambled to his feet, ready to escape and to help Zachariah, when his eyes landed on the Black Rift. Dozens of tendrils shot toward him, wiggling wildly until they reached him.

David called upon Vitae, [Primeval Pulse], Rend, and [Origin Lightning], all while Words of Power escaped his lips in a defiant roar.

Within seconds, the Nihilum tendrils were no more, but the danger was not yet over. The Rift rippled again, and a shout rang out from behind. David spun around, only to see the Voidre turn to him. It charged ahead, ignoring Zachariah’s presence and crossed the distance between them. It reached him—but not before Zachariah’s presence and his sword reached them. David could see it clearly; Sword Law pierced the Voidre, killing the Voidling.

It slumped to the ground, but not before crashing into David with its remaining momentum, pushing them into the Black Rift.

The last thing David saw was Zachariah rushing at them, shouting something. He reached out, hoping to get hold of something, but the Black Rift snapped shut, swallowing the dead Voidre and David whole.

“Fuck.”