The Oracle Paths

Chapter 1188  Cosmic Clash: Jake vs. the Moon

The Moon Spirit had barely informed them of her refusal before she turned on her heel to merge back with the rest of her body. Jake had been mentally prepared, but it still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

With as much patience as he could muster, he protested,

"Why? Is it because you don't trust me? If you need proof that I'm not lying, bringing evidence isn't complicated. You can even check out my claims yourself. With your strength, that shouldn't be difficult, right?"

"...That's not the issue." The stubborn spirit shot back sharply without turning around. She paused in midair halfway to her moon, however, and added, "If Twyluxia were still among us, I might have considered your proposal, but he hasn't responded in ages."

Jake's eyes narrowed darkly at this intel. It was a possibility they'd considered.

As a World Spirit born from the corpse of Klayr—a being comparable to an Ancient Designer or even an Oracle—Twyluxia was on a whole different level compared to the Sun and Moon Spirits. But that was only true if he had control over the entire body.

That had never been the case, and nowadays it would be more accurate to say his nemesis, the Chitin Blade Spirit, had the upper hand—enough to threaten his existence.

If this Black Lumyst was akin to a form of corruption, Jake was willing to bet that if Twyluxia was still conscious, he'd be busy using all his strength to contain the parasite slowly gnawing away at his territory and mind.

The Soulmancer King had already calculated that to gain Twyluxia's help, they'd first need to help him regain some power, or at least give him enough breathing room to pay them some attention.

In a way, the achievements of the Players in this Ordeal were aiding in this endeavor. The contributions of those who took down the monsters born from the Blade Spirit's miasma were plain to see, but it was especially Players like Jake, capable of cultivating Lumyst at a high level, who had the greatest impact.

Almost all Players could sense Aether and use it to activate their bloodline powers or cast skills and spells. All the Aether Cores in their possession added energy to the continent of Twyluxia, which was then converted into Lumyst.

A smaller proportion of Players had bloodlines or abilities allowing them to use permanent magic, like creating drinkable water or rocks that didn't vanish after the spell ended. A high-level Lumyst cultivator or someone with the right Grace could then convert these resources into Lumyst of the same attribute. The truly exceptional ones performed this conversion directly within their bodies.

Prodigies like Jake took it even further. With his Grade 10 Energy Body, his cells drew Aether directly from the void like Klayr's corpse, so he didn't deplete the local Aether or Lumyst. Unfortunately, a physiology like his was almost an anomaly, so counting on that to turn the tide wasn't practical.

If only it were possible to absorb or purify this Black Lumyst... The conflict would be resolved in a snap. But if it were that simple, Twyluxia wouldn't be in such a stalemate.

Still, thanks to the Moon Spirit's explanation, Jake now knew how to convince her. Just before she landed on her moon, he teleported in front of her, blocking her path.

"What are you doing? Move aside," she commanded regally, her body cloaked in a cold Lumyst.

Unfazed by the silver-purple aura radiating from the moon woman, Jake stood his ground and said with a predator's calm,

"You said that if Twyluxia were awake, you'd consider my offer. So if we wake him up, you'll change your mind."

The Moon Spirit stared at him intensely, then scoffed, "If you were capable of that, I'd have accepted right now. You... Twyluxia will fall."

The unspoken "You're too weak" was plastered all over her face, and a vein of humiliation throbbed instantly on Jake's forehead.

"Heh, too weak... Xi, you hear that?" he sneered with contempt. "It's been a while since someone underestimated me like this. Guess I shouldn't expect much from a mere moon."

The unflinching stone face of the lunar woman finally showed signs of anger at the provocation. It was probably the first time in her long existence that a puny human dared to humiliate her like this. Irritated, she repeated with restrained hostility,

"I won't say it again. Step aside if you want to live."

"And I won't repeat myself either," Jake threatened back, spreading his arms. "I've got a mission to accomplish tonight, and I'm not leaving without convincing you. If I have to kick a cowardly moon's ass, so be it."

Ray watched their exchange, casting nervous glances between them. He still remembered the Plan A the human had mentioned in that sinister tone...

"Don't worry," Jake reassured him telepathically, sensing his panic. "I won't use it right away if I can avoid it. Things haven't gone that far yet."

The Moon Spirit, however, was absolutely furious. Enraged, her Lumyst Aura flared up as she declared with the solemnity of a death sentence, "Then show me if you're truly capable of what you claim. Boasting without the strength to back it up leads only to decay."

"As you wish. And remember, you asked for it," Jake retorted ominously before summoning his gear.

The next instant, without warning, the moon woman's fist was right in his face. Because they were in space, no sound accompanied the punch, but its power was immense.

Jake calmly raised his arms to block, but as the Moon Spirit's rock-hard knuckles began to press against his forearms, his eyes widened in alarm. Her fists had the mass of a mountain behind them.

"And that's just her raw strength from an avatar," he mocked inwardly while swiftly adjusting his stance.

From a rigid block, he shifted to smoothly guide her fist past him. He then wrapped his arms around it, slipping into her guard by pressing his back against her torso and his shoulder under her armpit. Shifting his center of gravity forward, his muscles tensed powerfully, and with a swift rotation of his hips...

BAM!

A perfectly executed Ippon Seoi Nage! One down!

The Moon Spirit, who had been trying to merge back with her territory earlier, was finally reunited with her moon—but not in the way she'd hoped. Her body shot across the kilometers separating her from the satellite like a meteor, crashing into its surface and forming the first crater in its long history.

And not a small one! Just seeing the expanding diameter already exceeding ten kilometers, that fall must've hurt.

"Tsk, tsk..." Jake shook his head with mock pity. "This Moon Spirit is definitely powerful, but when it comes to martial arts, she's still a white belt."

Jake had barely started to get cocky when an explosion of purple Lumyst lit up the crater's surface. A second later, an enraged moon woman launched herself at him, fist forward, having learned nothing from the previous lesson.

Well, maybe one thing... Her Lumyst Aura, emitting a blend of silver and purple radiance, was pushed to its limit, forming a dense halo around her entire body. Vast amounts of pure Moon Lumyst, whatever its properties, coursed frantically through every limb of her avatar, exponentially boosting her prowess.

"Lumyst Aura? I can do that too," Jake chuckled excitedly.

He'd been wondering when he'd get the chance to test his Fate Slayer Aura. For good measure, he also activated the second form of Morphic Grasp: Soul Crush.

Fate Slayer was a form of True Will, and so was Morphic Grasp. So he wasn't cheating by combining the two.

That's not how the Moon Spirit felt on the receiving end.

"W-what the hell is this intent?! My Eternal Moon Aura is being shredded by this Lumyst!" she growled in utter disbelief. If she'd been a young woman with normal emotions, she'd be tearing her hair out in hysteria at such a cheat code.

"Who knows?" Jake shrugged, infusing his pure Hybrid Cosmic Lumyst into his veins at full power for the first time since becoming a Saint. "My turn to strike back."

As the Moon Spirit's Lumyst Aura blazed uncontrollably, the Fate Slayer Aura and all his hybrid Cosmic Lumyst, along with his enhancing Aethers, converged into his fist and the corresponding muscles. The rest of his body dimmed, but the empowered limbs began to glow with a diabolical blue-black radiance that could give nightmares to a Dementor.

"Tell me what you think of this punch."

A flash of black-and-white light tore through space, momentarily obscuring the moon, visible from the continent of Twyluxia. Then, before the wide eyes and dropped jaws of the few night owls gazing up, the moon... shattered.

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