Cosmic Ruler - Chapter 473

Chapter 473: War XLVI
Before the silence could settle completely, a pulse of dark energy rippled through the battlefield.

Aiden’s eyes narrowed.

Despite Ivan’s complete obliteration, something still lingered.

A remnant? A failsafe?

The golden flames surrounding his body flared back to life as he turned toward the source.

A few meters away, where Ivan had perished, a dark vortex began to form. It was small at first, barely the size of a coin. But in seconds, it expanded violently, twisting the air around it like a miniature black hole.

Nexus cursed. “He’s still not done?”

Myne’s expression darkened. “No… This feels different.”

Aiden didn’t hesitate. He raised his blade, golden runes forming once more. If Ivan was trying something, he’d crush it before it could manifest.

But before he could strike—

“Ah… ha… ha… HAHAHA!”

A deep, ragged laughter erupted from within the vortex.

The laughter twisted, growing distorted—like a hundred voices speaking at once.

Then—

A hand emerged from the darkness.

Blackened flesh. Clawed fingers.

It wasn’t Ivan.

Aiden’s grip on his sword tightened.

Nexus took a step back, eyes sharp. “This… is bad.”

The figure slowly pulled itself from the vortex.

It was humanoid but grotesquely warped. Its body was a shadowy amalgamation of abyssal energy, shifting and writhing as though a thousand souls were trapped within it. Two piercing red eyes burned in its skull-like face, and a long, serpentine grin stretched far too wide.

The being looked down at its own hands, then let out a low, pleased chuckle.

“Freedom… at last.”

Aiden’s instincts screamed.

This thing wasn’t Ivan.

It was something far, far worse.

Aiden’s body moved on instinct. He lunged forward, golden energy surging through his blade as he slashed at the emerging abomination.

CLANG!

His attack was met with an invisible force. The golden arc of energy that should have split mountains shattered like brittle glass upon impact.

“Tsk.” Aiden immediately backstepped, his mind racing. That strike had been full force, yet it had been nullified effortlessly.

The entity slowly lifted its head, those burning red eyes locking onto Aiden.

“So eager to kill?” The voice was not singular—it was a chorus of whispers and roars, blending in a disturbing harmony.

Aiden’s grip tightened on his sword. “Who… no, what are you?”

The creature smiled wider, stretching its grotesque mouth beyond what was humanly possible.

“Names… are meaningless in the Abyss. But if you insist…”

The air grew heavier, colder. Myne shuddered, instinctively stepping closer to Aiden.

“Call me… Nihil.”

Nexus froze. His usual sharp wit failed him for a moment as his eyes widened in pure disbelief.

“Impossible.” His voice was barely a whisper. “You were… sealed away in the Void Prison. How…?”

Nihil let out a breathy chuckle, taking a single step forward. The ground beneath its foot withered instantly, turning to dust.

“A funny thing,” Nihil mused. “When fools try to claim the power of the Abyss… sometimes, the Abyss claims them instead.”

Aiden’s mind snapped to realization.

Ivan.

That fool had been tampering with abyssal power beyond his control… and in doing so, he had become the catalyst to release something far worse.

A Primordial Entity.

A being that should never have been freed.

“Damn it.” Aiden whispered under his breath. He thought killing Ivan was the end of this fight.

It was only the beginning.

Nihil extended a hand toward them, fingers stretching unnaturally.

“Shall we begin round two, children of light?”

A pulse of abyssal energy exploded outward.

Aiden barely had time to react before everything descended into chaos.

The abyssal pulse rushed forward like a tsunami, distorting reality itself. The air cracked as space warped and twisted under its pressure. Aiden reacted instantly—

“Space Rend!”

With a flick of his wrist, he tore through the incoming energy, splitting it apart before it could engulf him and Myne.

BOOM!

The ground behind them erupted into an abyssal sinkhole, swallowing everything in its radius. The very laws of the world groaned in protest.

“We can’t fight it like this!” Nexus growled, his voice strained. “A Primordial Entity isn’t something you just slash your way through, Aiden!”

Aiden’s mind raced. He wasn’t reckless enough to think brute force alone could deal with this thing. He needed a strategy.

Nihil laughed. It was an eerie, echoing sound, like the voices of a thousand damned souls.

“This is your resistance? A parlor trick?” Nihil raised a single hand—

And the sky turned black.

Aiden’s heart pounded as the stars disappeared. The world itself dimmed, as if reality was being rewritten.

“A Domain?!” Myne gasped.

Nihil smiled wider. “Abyssal Decay.”

The domain descended upon them. The land withered, time slowed, and the very concept of life itself seemed to be crushed under its weight.

Aiden gritted his teeth. He’d faced Domain users before—but this wasn’t a normal Domain.

This was the Abyss.

And it was trying to erase them from existence.

“Nexus!” Aiden shouted.

Nexus snapped out of his daze. “I’m on it!”

He slammed his hands together, golden circuits lighting up across his body. A radiant aura of law and order erupted from him, pushing back against the creeping abyssal corruption.

“Counter-Domain: Eternal Aegis!”

The two forces clashed violently, the very fabric of reality shaking under their collision.

Aiden didn’t waste a second.

He vanished in an instant—

And reappeared behind Nihil.

His sword flashed.

“Heaven Severing Slash!”

A golden arc ripped through Nihil’s back—

And passed clean through.

No blood. No wound.

Nothing.

Aiden’s instincts screamed—

Nihil was still smiling.

“Cute.”

An abyssal spike shot from the ground.

Aiden barely dodged, flipping backward—

But then, Nihil was already there.

A black claw reached for him, faster than thought.

“Too slow.”

Aiden had no time to react. He was Standing still frozen as if time has stopped while the black Claw was reaching for his heart, and he can’t do anything about it.

The abyssal claw touched his chest. but it didn’t stop there, the claw begin to go inside his chest reaching for his Heart.

And his heart stopped.