I didn’t respond and stared it down.

“Kaito, that thing is bad news. If we were to use your archives, it’d be…”

Aeolus flipped through the pages in my head again.

“That being can only be compared to the calamity rank threats. It might be worse than Koharu”

I began running as fast as I could through the mountain valley. Memories of when I first witnessed the Horizon with my mom flashed through my head. With an endless expanse ahead of me and an unbeatable creature behind me, running felt futile, yet I still desperately clung to any opportunity I could find. This time, I’d reach out towards the Horizon.

The being spoke again.

“So desperate to live. Very well, I shall entertain your desires momentarily. Do you wish to know my name? Irrelevant, insignificant creatures like you don’t deserve such knowledge. You may address me by my species classification: Seraphim”

By now I was running through the forest, the same unfiltered light shining at me just ahead. I passed the edge of the trees. I passed the spot where my mom and I had lunch together. If only I had just reached my arms out then.

Zrrwoum. I collided with an invisible force and was launched backwards onto the ground. The air seemed to ripple, no, it was the scenery itself that rippled. Massive red spell circles appeared vertically in the air, overlapping with one another until I was facing a writhing crimson wall. 

“How pitiful. Livestock should know their place”

Despite previously being so far behind, Seraphim now appeared in front of my face. I didn’t even see it move-

[ You have been forcefully transferred to the mindscape ]

[ Your thoughts have been accelerated by Lapse ]

I was back in the same ‘place’ where I met Aeolus.

“What’s going on?”

“You would’ve died then and there had I not intervened”

I grimaced. I had come this far just to be stopped by an insurmountable roadblock.

“There is a way to defeat it”

I looked up at Aeolus.

“That giant crimson wall appears to be a barrier. There is no Horizon, it was an illusion enforced by mental manipulation to ensure you and the people of Hanakawa never left”

I suspected something of the sort after coming into contact with it. I had never even formed the thought of physically leaving before, yet coming into contact with the barrier seemed to have cleared my mind even more. I wondered how my dad maintained such aspirations to travel beyond the Horizon, but now was not time for contemplating the past.

“For you to make it out alive, we need to do two things: First is to defeat that corrupted, and second is to break the barrier. I believe I have a way for you to do both at once”

“Go on”

“Do you remember how your father appeared when delivering you the shard?”

“Yes. It was like his very aura was on fire”

“That is a phenomenon produced when consuming massive amounts of mana at once. Once more mana is consumed than is present in the area around you, the use of magic begins to consume your essence, also known as aether, from within. Normally, doing so would shorten your lifespan, and doing so in World Zero, which is isolated from the manaflow, would have even more deadly effects. However, due to your abnormal body, the energy gathered in the shard over the past few centuries should supply enough aether to last you two minutes”

“A few centuries of charging for just two minutes…”

“It is because of my dormancy within the shard. This energy is only what has been leaking out of my sealed consciousness over time. Don’t worry, once we gather more of the shards and develop your abilities, the aether should charge more quickly”

“At the very end of the two minutes, once you have done sufficient damage to Seraphim, slam its body into the barrier with all your remaining force. The ensuing reaction from such force should tear the two apart. Begin channeling that feeling of burning now, and you should have enough power to counter its attack the instant you return to your body”

Within the mindscape, my body became an azure pyre.

“This will be extremely draining for myself, who is nothing more than a consciousness within your mind and that shard. Without a phyiscal body of my own, I won't be able to persist at your side. As such, I won’t be able to interact with you until you replenish my own aether by coming into contact with another shard”

“Wait, what? No!”

“Good luck”

Aeolus only looked at me with the warm smile of a parent watching their child step into the real world before vanishing into ashes. I laughed to myself as I realized I could no longer feel his presence.

“...I’ll get you back for leaving me like that”

[ You have developed a new technique. How would you like to name it? ]

I thought for a moment, then replied.

“Spiritburner”

[ Your time perception is returning to normal ]

[ Spiritburner has been activated. The shard is being consumed! ]

[ Time remaining: 2:00 ]

I ducked under Seraphim’s arm and delivered a countering blow.

“Ough! Since when did such a human gain such strength?!”

I didn’t let up the assault and continued raining down punches left and right. I wasn’t doing any visible damage, but it was clear I could now pose some threat to Seraphim. My movements felt extremely light and I quickly found I was able to step on the air as if it were a surface, likely an effect of using Aeolus’ aether.

“Tch! Insolent human!”

It raised its arm and called forth a massive army of angel-type corrupted beings from the hole in the sky.

[ “Seraphim” has invoked Core Manipulation ]

The angels’ bodies shattered and were reduced to nothing more than their cores, which morphed and melded together at Seraphim’s command. 

“Rain down, divine spears”

Each of the angels’ cores suddenly elongated into the shape of a spear and blitzed towards my position. 

[ Time remaining: 1:46 ]

Controlling the wind now felt natural to me. I gently shaped the breeze to accelerate my movements, weaving through the barrage of spears. 

Seraphim seemingly teleported once more to in front of me. My perception speed was now capable of registering such a technique and I realized it could swap places with other cores. Unfortunately for it, it was now within striking distance. I gathered a storm around my right fist and struck.

Krrk! It was minor, but I inflicted a small crack of damage on its core. Alarmed, Seraphim’s six wings beat with great vigor as it fled into the sky.

[ Time remaining: 1:21 ]

With the aether of the wind god at my command, the sky was now my domain. I thrust myself towards Seraphim’s position using the wind and knocked it back down towards the ground. It began fleeing by weaving through the mountain valley, which now looked so small from above. I gave chase, slowly gaining on Seraphim.

“Damnit! A lowly human forcing me to use this within a barrier zone-”

The circles along the barrier gathered to form four large openings at the cardinal directions, from which more hordes of angels emerged. 

[ “Seraphim” has invoked Mass Core Manipulation ]

The number of core spears giving chase to me had to be within the thousands by now. Unlike normal creations of crystallized corrupted energy, Seraphim’s ability to reshape cores meant his formed weapons were extra durable and powerful. 

Seraphim took to the skies once more with myself now distracted by the absurd amount of core spears. I attempted to throw off their course with concentrated blasts of wind, yet their trajectory and momentum was unnatural to the point they were basically unaffected.

[ Time remaining: 0:58 ]

Our clash grew higher and higher into the sky as the core spears continued pursuing me. Shallow cuts began accumulating on my body as I was unable to completely avoid every last one. 

I spun the wind around me tighter and tighter, forming a whirling spear of my own. I hurled the condensed tempest at Seraphim, who narrowly dodged the attack, causing it to pierce where a human heart would usually be instead of his core. The opening quickly regenerated.

He heals too fast!

Suddenly, Seraphim turned around.

“You’re done for now!”

I had been too focused on hitting my target and ignored what was going on around me. It seemed like every last speck of corrupted energy was flowing in a liquid-like state towards Seraphim. A dense mass of unfiltered corrupted energy gathered at Seraphim’s fingertips. The crimson light was blinding.

[ “Seraphim” has summoned the Heavenly Lance ]

“Be grateful that a lesser being such as yourself may be killed by my hands wielding the weapon of God”

Simply looking at the lance was paralyzing. It didn’t even seem possible that so much energy could be condensed to one point. Instinctually, I knew that if Seraphim got the chance to let the lance fly, I would be dead faster than I could form a thought. I needed something powerful, something faster, something that could break that lance down.

This time, it was myself scanning the pages of the archive in my head. An old legend caught my eye. Of course it would come down to this: the sword of the hero of legend, Hayato. Hayato was known for being a swordsman that wielded the katana and could even slay gods with his swordsmanship, a feat that now made more sense considering that Hayato himself was one of the gods. Being one unfamiliar with the sword, I decided I only needed to mimic his techniques.

I gathered the wind once more in my palm, stretching the swirling gale into the vague shape of a sword. The grip felt natural to me for some reason. 

[ Time remaining: 0:33 ]

Seraphim swung its arm in a downwards motion with the index finger pointed towards me. The Heavenly Lance flew forward at a blinding speed. However, I had already begun my counterattack before he had fired.

The three-layered slash was the only technique of Hayato’s that was ever mentioned in any story. I didn’t need to pull it off perfectly, I doubt it would’ve even been possible. The wind seemed to speak to me, pulling my arms in the right motions. Three overlapping arcs of wind flew towards the rapidly approaching beam. One arc to maintain the course of the slash, one arc to channel the speed of the slash, and one arc to deliver the killing blow.

Seraphim’s body was severed clean in two.

[ Time remaining: 0:32 ]

“Why does a mortal like you have that technique?!”

Tendrils of corrupted energy reached out from each half and began reconnecting the body. Even damage like that was regeneratable?! It seemed that only a complete shattering of the core would be enough to kill it.

Seraphim let out a horrendous scream.

[ “Seraphim” has invoked Core Manipulation ] 

Its own body began morphing into a form much more monstrous. I didn’t bother to even look at it.

[ Time remaining: 0:30 ]

There were exactly 30 seconds left. If I let this drag out any longer, Seraphim might just end up becoming too powerful. I needed to finish this in the next three seconds.

The timer flickered and a new message appeared.

[ Beginning 10x consumption. Time remaining: 0:03 ]

I struck Seraphim mid-transformation and gathered the force of a hurricane within one arm, blasting Seraphim into the barrier wall.

[ Time remaining: 0:02 ]

I accelerated my movement and caught up to Seraphim’s position. It seemed to be protesting about being the one closest to God again, but I had already tuned out its voice.

[ Time remaining: 0:01 ]

“Just shut up already”

With the remainder of my strength, I smashed the core into the barrier. An ear piercing screeching noise erupted as both Seraphim and the barrier seemed to be in terrible pain. The violent reaction that ensued attempted to both merge and reject their corrupted energies, causing both the core and the barrier to shatter in a spectral burst. 

[ Time remaining: 0:00 ]

The aether had been completely used up. I had overexerted both my body and mind and I felt my consciousness begin to fade as I fell through the opening in the barrier. The Horizon was within reach the entire time, and the world beyond it was more beautiful than I could’ve imagined. The outline of some buildings could be seen in the distance. There were people beyond the barrier, and that was all I needed to know. 

As the last drops of my consciousness faded, I could’ve sworn I felt someone smiling down on me