Regression: Reclaiming the End-Chapter 42: Into the 7th Floor Part III - Activating Astral Overdrive

Chapter 42: Into the 7th Floor Part III - Activating Astral Overdrive

Its entire torso ignited, not flame, but mirror-flame.

It copied the 4-strike rhythm and hit me with its own combo immediately: shoulder feint, leg trip, downward elbow. My head snapped sideways as it struck—

-

[ Burn Stack: 4 ]

[ Defense Reduced – 6.3% (1.5s) ]

-

I skidded across the stone floor, coughing blood. My system warned me—cooldowns delayed, pressure rising.

I stood again. Wiped my mouth. Gave it a slow nod.

"Alright." I sprinted.

One, two—faint steps. Ember igniting from heel to knuckle.

Feint. Real. Redirect. Snap.

I switched my tempo.

Strike 5 was a shoulder tap that became a knee feint. Strike 6 hit air—but it dodged late. Strike 7—

—caught its jaw.

[ Emberfang Strike 7 – Burn Stack: 7 ]

[ Critical: Disoriented (0.3s) ]

I kept going.

Strike 8: body hook. 9: step-through elbow. 10: backhand redirect.

The Manifest faltered—its mimicry starting to lag, unable to keep up with the broken rhythm.

But it still countered hard—its palm strike twisted mid-air, embedding a burn just below my ribcage.

[ Burn Stack: 6 ]

[ Healing Reduced – 18% ]

I gritted my teeth. Vision blurred. Flame was licking up my arms now. My style was pushing my own limits.

"Fine. Let’s trade hell."

I slammed forward with a triple-sequence chain:

Strike 11: rising knuckle into chin. Strike 12: forearm crashes into its throat. Strike 13: spiral knee. Strike 14: sweeping flame elbow. Strike 15: hammerfist to the Rift Shard embedded in its chest.

[ Emberfang Max Stack Reached – 15 ]

[ DEBUFF: Defense and Healing Reduced -30% (3s) ]

The entire creature screeched as its shard glowed unstable—my fist buried into it like a branding iron.

It swiped at my temple wildly.

Hit.

I didn’t fall. I grabbed its wrist, twisted behind, and launched it over my shoulder with a roar—straight into the fractured stone wall behind us.

Crack.

Explosion of heat. Flames trailing both our arms. Its form spasmed, rune glow stuttering. My hands shook.

"Still alive?"

It stood again.

’Of course it did.’

The flames dimmed from my forearms, leaving only the dull emberglow burning in the cracks of my skin. My breath was ragged. My stance steady. My fists clenched.

Across from me, the Shard-Eater stood.

Same posture. Same tilt of the head. Same loosened shoulders. Its gaze locked onto mine with unnatural clarity—like a darkened mirror.

It didn’t lunge.It didn’t even twitch. It was waiting.

Waiting for me to move first.

"...So that’s how you want to do this."

I straightened slightly. No more feints. No broken rhythm. No deception.

Just force.

I took one step forward—slow, deliberate.

It matched me. Step for step.

We closed the distance until our breath mingled—mine rasping, hot; its exhale cold and quiet.

And then, I drove my fist into its face.

Bone met flesh.

The sound cracked like thunder in the still Rift air.

It staggered slightly—then slammed its own fist into my jaw in return.

White burst in my vision.

[ Burn Stack: 1 ]

My knees bent—but I didn’t fall. I exhaled through my teeth and punched again—straight into its collarbone.

It grunted.

And retaliated with a blow to my ribs.

[ Burn Stack: 2 ]

No defense. No dodging.

Just a test of who would break first.

I hit its stomach. It hit my chest.

I struck its temple. It slammed my eye socket.

[ Burn Stack: 3 ]

Blood spilled down my lips. My fists screamed with every movement—burning, shaking.

But I kept going.

Because it was still standing.

And so was I.

Again.

Strike.

Impact.

Again.

Strike.

Impact.

Our feet never moved. Only our torsos shifted—absorbing, responding. Like machines running out of parts.

"You think you can match me?" I whispered through clenched teeth.

"You’re just my shadow." I added

It didn’t answer. It just threw another punch. I met it with mine.

Both fists collided mid-air—a shockwave blasting outward from the contact. Stone cracked under our feet. Dust rose like steam.

I coughed—blood spraying.

My arm screamed. My shoulder nearly popped out of socket.

But I lifted it again.

We weren’t fighting anymore. We were burning each other alive.

Strike.

Strike.

Strike.

Strike.

[ Burn Stack: 9 ]

[ Status: Internal Bleeding, Minor Fracture Detected, Adrenal Boost Active ]

Strike.

Strike.

Strike.

Strike.

We were both barely standing now—held together by rage, fire, and whatever was left of our bones.

[ Burn Stack: 12 ]

[ Burn Stack: 13 ]

I couldn’t feel my left eye anymore. Blood soaked into the collar of my armor, and the inside of my cheeks were torn open from clenching my jaw too tight.

[ Vitality Low – 19% ]

Still, I lifted my arm.

So did it.

Our fists collided again. No skill. No form. Just weight and will behind each bone-shattering impact. frёewebηovel.cѳm

[ Burn Stack: 14 ]

I could barely breathe.

Everything hurt. My vision blurred with every blink. And yet—we stood. Both of us. Inches away from collapse.

’The next hit would be it. If it landed one more time before I did...’

"Come on..." I muttered, barely audible through the blood and grit.

It pulled back its arm for the final blow.

Its fist crackled with inverted flame, mirror-ember at full saturation.

[ Burn Stack – Pending: 15 ]

But just before it could drive it forward, the world suddenly stopped. Then a thin pulse echoed through reality—like a note struck on a cosmic tuning fork.

The Rift stilled, even the wind went silent.

And then, a voice, calm and imperious, rang out like thunder in the hollows of my mind:

"I do not know what you are planning, but enough of this nonsense."

My eyes widened. A voice spoke in the void between heartbeats. Calm. Cold. Absolute.

Caelum Nihil. My Astral Patron.

The air folded inward around me, warping space itself into a spiral of glimmering void and shifting starlight. The sigil of the Unseen Sovereign burned in the space behind me—three interlocking circles etched in negative light.

My body arched back, suddenly weightless—suspended in a pillar of unseen force as my limbs shuddered from the power ripping through them.

-

[ Astral Protocol Override: Vassal Link Breach Initiated ]

[ Skill Activated: Astral Overdrive ]

[ Fusion Triggered: Vassal + Patron ]

[ Duration: 180 Seconds ]

[ Stat Amplification: x5 All Base Attributes ]

-