Path of the Forsaken Sigil

Chapter 50

"Very little, Master," the Seraph replied. "Only enough for one final attack. But I cannot come out of your shadow. The holy net will burn me instantly."

"You don't need to come out," Bruce commanded. "I am the Devourer. I am the bridge. I want you to push all of your remaining power directly into my body. Every single drop. I will channel your true, localized power through my own flesh."

The Seraph was completely shocked by the order. 

"Master, you cannot do that!" the Seraph warned quickly. "My power is Forbidden. It is too dense, too chaotic! Your Void-Forged Body is strong, but you are still a mortal boy! If I push my full power through your cracked core, it will break your bones! It will tear your muscles apart! You might explode!"

"I don't care!" Bruce shouted out loud. 

His sudden shout made Bontus and Hestia stop arguing. They both looked down at the boy in the glowing net. 

"I don't care if it breaks my bones!" Bruce yelled, his voice echoing over the rain. He opened his eyes. The silver fire in his pupils suddenly changed. It was no longer just bright silver. A deep, bottomless black darkness began to swirl inside the silver flames. "I am not a victim anymore! Seraph, give me everything! Now!"

In the dark shadow beneath Bruce, the Ashen Seraph bowed its cracked silver mask. 

"As you command, my Prince," the angel whispered. 

Deep inside Bruce’s shadow, the Seraph unleashed its full remaining power. It did not try to form a body. It turned itself into pure, liquid Void magic. 

The massive wave of dark energy rushed upward. It shot straight through Bruce’s shadow and slammed directly into Bruce’s cracked mana core. 

It sounded like a massive heartbeat that shook the entire city. 

Bruce’s body arched violently off the cobblestones. The pain was absolute, unimaginable agony. It felt like swallowing a hurricane. His bones cracked loudly. His muscles tore and stretched. The Brand of the Void on his right shoulder exploded with blinding, dark purple light. 

"What is he doing?!" Bontus yelled, taking a step back. His blind, bandaged face turned toward Bruce in sudden terror. 

The holy net of hard-light that was burning Bruce’s skin suddenly began to change color. 

The glowing white and gold ropes of fire flickered. They turned gray. Then, they turned pitch black. 

Bruce did not just break the net. He Devoured it from the inside out, mixing the pure Holy Light with the absolute Void energy pouring from the Seraph. 

When Holy Light and Void magic mix, they usually destroy each other in a violent explosion. But Bruce was using his own broken body as a container to force them together. 

With a sound like shattering glass, the holy net exploded into a million harmless black sparks. 

Bruce Thompson stood up. 

He did not look like a boy anymore. 

He was floating one inch above the ground. His bare feet did not touch the wet stones. His body was completely wrapped in a new, terrifying kind of magic. It was a thick, roaring aura of fire. But the fire was not red or orange. 

It was black and white. 

It was Ashen Fire. It was the perfect, unstable mixture of stolen divine light and raw, forbidden darkness. It burned incredibly hot and freezing cold at the exact same time. The rain falling from the sky evaporated into steam before it could even get within ten feet of him. 

Bruce’s eyes were completely black, with a single, blazing ring of white fire in the center. His burned right arm was fully coated in black smoke, acting like a magical armor over his broken skin. 

"By the gods..." the captain of the Inquisition whispered, dropping his golden sword in fear. 

Hestia looked down at Bruce. Her giant, monstrous iron face twisted in pure panic. She could feel the power radiating from the boy. It was not human. It was a power that could destroy mountains. 

"KILL HIM!" Hestia screamed in absolute terror. "CRUSH HIM NOW!"

Hestia did not wait for the Inquisitors. She swung her massive right arm, dragging sharp iron spikes across the plaza, aiming to smash Bruce into the wall. At the same time, she brought her giant left fist down from the sky. 

Bontus also panicked. The High Inquisitor realized the boy had just broken a high-tier holy spell with his bare hands. 

"ARMY OF LIGHT! FIRE EVERYTHING!" Bontus roared blindly. 

Hundreds of Inquisitors threw their golden spears. They cast fireballs of holy light. They swung their swords, sending waves of burning magic through the air. 

A massive, unstoppable wave of iron, blood-magic, and holy fire rushed toward Bruce from every direction. 

Bruce did not blink. He felt his bones cracking under the pressure of the Ashen Fire. He knew he only had a few seconds before his body completely tore itself apart. He had one chance. 

He held out his right hand.