Chapter 683 The Reward Of Perseverance

Chapter 683 The Reward Of Perseverance

Inside Astaroth's forced dream trance, he had already lost track of how many times he had died and come back. Everything had become a blur.

He relived every near-death experience in his life, all of them turning to the worst right before his eyes. And god only knew this wasn't just a few occasions in the last year.

His feelings had already dulled, and he was just going through the motions.

By now he was back to when he was a teen, that one time he fell from a tree he was climbing. He wasn't sure how the true event had gone by, and right now, he was falling head-first to the ground.

But right before he hit the exposed roots below him, the ground shattered like glass, and he kept falling. Everything around him turned to white, and gravity slowly disappeared until he felt himself floating in nothingness.

His mind slowly went back to normal, and he realized what had happened.

"What the fuck is it now? Killing me a hundred times wasn't enough? Now you want me to die of boredom?" he complained into the surrounding nothing.

Silence was the answer he received.

After a few moments of erring, weightlessly, Astaroth wondered how long it would take before his body finally succumbed.

Then a prickling feeling on his nape caught his attention, as his body spun around on its own.

And right behind him, or under him, he wasn't sure, a massive pair of eyes were staring at him. Their golden irises were shining like the rays of the morning sun, and Astaroth had to squint to look at them.

A voice echoed all around him. n-/o-/V/(e-(l-/b((I(/n

"Have you given up? Is this all your mind can bear before breaking?"

The voice was neither masculine nor feminine, but it was soft. There wasn't mocking or disdain in the words.

Yet they pierced into Astaroth's chest like a knife.

"What else do you want me to do?! I can't break out. I've been completely overpowered. What can I do aside from wait to die?!"

Steeling his resolve, Astaroth's mouth opened up.

"I want to fight back. I want to be strong enough that no one can make me or my friends and family feel this powerless ever again."

The doppelg?nger's traits softened a little as a smile found its way across its lips.

"Then I give you power."

Astaroth was about to ask him how, but the doppelg?nger moved so fast, grabbing the top of his head with one hand, and putting his other over his face, that he couldn't even react.

Then a piercing pain entered his brain, as another flood of information, runes, knowledge of concepts of magic entered his head. This one was much bigger than the one Solomon had given him, with the Legacy Skill, and Astaroth felt like his mind was melting.

It lasted only a few seconds before the doppelg?nger let go of him and disappeared, leaving Astaroth gasping for air and screaming in pain while clutching the sides of his head.

That was the moment Titania felt the connection break outside the domain.

And when she tried to peer into Astaroth's mind, to see what was happening, he felt the intrusion and his eyes burst open, glowing golden and showing power and fury.

That was the moment she realized she needed to end this before it was too late.

Astaroth's pain was gone, and replacing it was a feeling of hope. He now had something to fight back with.

From inside this white space, he could see outside, where Titania was now charging at him, weapons raised.

His mouth opened there, and outside, saying the words that had been seared into his memory, along with the runes of magic that went with them.

"Divine Domain; Soul's Judgement."

The surrounding white broke like glass, and fell into nothing, as a backdrop of eternal black replaced it. In the distance, he could see stars as a garden appeared under his feet.

Astaroth recognized this garden. He had been here before.

But now, he was looking over the vast starry expanse, and he saw a figure float towards him. A Fey, whose weapons and armour had vanished.

Titania.