Above the city of Vermaris, A huge swirling mass of demonic energy could be seen, condensed into a gigantic sphere. An attack hellbent on wiping out the entire land released by the one and only "The demon king". Monsters and humans, all will be gone in a blink of an eye. It wasn't even his full strength, just 10%. At this point in time, he was originally not supposed to be this strong. Within the grand creation of fate, he is an anomaly. Constraints of fate were preventing him from unleashing the strength in his prime. Of course, he is perfectly capable of breaking these constraints, but that would take a few days.
But 10% is more than enough for his purpose. 10% of his power is equal to the strongest Zenith in the world. Azrivel is no longer bound by any hesitation and aims to fulfill his mission. If he fully broke his constraints and joined the war personally, Humanity would undoubtedly lose.
He needed to be dealt with today, at this moment. Alas, nobody in the world is capable of ending him, even when he is at his weakest, maybe except for the Zenith rank no.1. Magnus Ignisborn. But Theon had no idea where his grandfather was. He had no choice but to drag Azrivel into a desperate gamble in the hope of buying time. Enough time for Theon to properly mold humanity into a force capable of fighting against demons.
And that brings us to this current situation. After finding out the truth about what happened between Reyna and Adrian, Theon is forced to make a desperate high-risk high-reward kind of choice. And Azrivel did not make things easy. He raised the stakes as high as possible.
Theon took a deep breath and read the system notification again.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
"ARE YOU CERTAIN OF THIS CHOICE THEON IGNISBRON? IF YOU MAKE THIS CHOICE, YOU WILL LOSE SOMETHING PRECIOUS TO YOU. YOU WILL NEVER GET IT BACK. MY ORIGINAL OFFER IS STILL VALID."
Truth be told, becoming the avatar of fate is not a bad choice. Since she is a neutral goddess, she will rarely try to force her choices on me. She is also one of the three primordial goddesses. Fate's avatar is not inferior to "Time" in any way. It could give me the power-up I need. But there were two problems.
One, both Azrivel and Reyna are regressors. Even if I attain power on a similar level to Reyna, she has years' worth of experience and knowledge of the future. Just by being equally powerful, I couldn't hope to defeat them. In fact, they probably know about my fighting style and what I could potentially become in the future.
Two, after becoming an avatar, I will be stronger than most, but my strength will be fixed at a certain level. The Avatar of a primordial could be potentially stronger than other avatars, but still, there's a growth limit. Azrivel is probably capable of becoming even stronger.
Even if it's risky, I decided to stick to the original plan I made with Adrian. By becoming something, the world has never seen before, I could have infinite potential. I could grow in many ways, making it impossible for any regressor to predict what I might become.
"Goddess of fate. I will proceed with my intention. But can you fulfil my request"
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
"VERY WELL. I SHALL BREAK MY NEUTRALITY JUST THIS ONCE AND AID YOU. ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE THAT OF WHICH IS PRECIOUS TO YOU? WHAT WILL YOU OFFER ME, CHILD? OFFER AND SPEAK OF YOUR REQUEST."
Theon sat down in a lotus position. He brought his hands together and closed his eyes.
"Great primordial who governs fate since the dawn of creation. The lonely maiden who keeps the chaos at bay while weaving stories, hear my plea. Grant me that of which I'm destined to wield when my flame burns brightest within your pages. Accept that which was precious and accompanied me throughout my journey which I shall sacrifice in your name.
I shall sacrifice my Ignisborn bloodline and my remaining lifespan in your name, great goddess. Grant me the power I shall inherit in my prime"
After his proclamation, there was silence. And then, a notification flashed in front of his eyes.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
"AS YOU WISH. I HOPE YOU CAN ACHIEVE YOUR HAPPY ENDING, IF YOU SURVIVE THAT IS. MAY THE LUCK BE WITH, THEON RIVENHART IGNISBORN."
Suddenly, the battleground stilled in an eerie silence, as if the world itself was paying attention to him. Then he opened his eyes and stood up. The surroundings started trembling again, not just because of Azrivel's attack, but due to the overwhelming pressure from Theon.
The battleground heated up, as if the sun itself has descended upon the world. Theon was surrounded by a brilliant white light. He slowly started walking towards where the attack would land. A crown made of white flames materialized on his head. A sign of the Ignisborn bloodline at its peak.
Crimson flames surrounded and swirled around him. Theon felt overwhelming power running through his veins. An inexplainable sense of euphoria and excitement washed over him.
This is it. His peak. Right now, his strength should be equal to his grandfather's.
📜 SYSTEM STATUS
USER – THEON RIVENHART IGNISBORN
MANA CORE – ROYAL (UPPER TIER)
CORE POTENTIAL – ROYAL (UPPER TIER)
BLOODLINE – IGNISBORN BLOODLINE
Then another notification flashed in front of his eyes.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
WARNING: USER LIFESPAN DECREASING RAPIDLY. CEASE ALL COMBAT OR IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE WILL OCCUR.
REMAINING LIFESPAN- 60 YEARS
ESTIMATED TIME UNTIL DEATH: 5 MINUTES.
5 minutes. Within that time, the future of this world will be decided.
Theon had a grudging smile on his face.
"of course, it is just 5 minutes. Things are never getting easier for people like us"
There's no turning back now. Time to act a whole lot more confident than you actually feel. He smirked and looked at Azrivel.
"Since you went out of your way to prove a point, I shall respond in kind. Let me show you, the power of a monarch in prime."
He raised his sword towards the attack.
"Ignis Ultima: World ending Flame "