500th Time Reborn, A World Only Known By Women: The Karma System

Chapter 648 Excuses

I stood, grounded yet unwittingly helpless before the monstrosity that was once Leo. It was not just the potent destructive aura around him that belied his yesteryears as a friend and brother. What truly stung was the agonizing keenness in my heart, each beat echoing Leo's screams of torment and pain that still resonated within the silenced abyss. I was poised against him, grappling with the Eldritch's power driving Leo into insanity, maneuvering him into an unwilling pawn.

The first strike of aggression came forth from the changed Leo. The force was paralyzing, sweeping me off and flinging me across the chamber like a ragdoll. I hit the wall, just barely bracing myself, but the impact still sent sharp waves of pain coursing through me. In my moment of respite, I heard the roars of the monstrous Leo echo, vibrating through my very bones. I pushed off from where I was embedded in the wall, teeth gritted as I prepared for the next assault.

But before I could reach Leo, everything shifted. I was abruptly transported into a celestial dimension marked by a chaotic blend of nebulous colors, galaxies lingering in the void amongst the darkness. Akasha, her form flickering with cosmic energy, floated before me, her galactic eyes holding a mixture of annoyance and anticipation.

"Why do you hold back, Galio?" Her cosmic voice echoed around us. "You have received new powers, yet you hesitate to use them?"

"I won't harm my brother!" I shot back, anguish clear in my voice. "He doesn't know what he's doing!"

Akasha let out a scoff that rumbled with the bass of colliding stars. In an instant, I was looking up at her towering form. I stared wide-eyed as one of her galaxy-covered arms raised high, arching back for a swing.

A daunting realization smacked me seconds before her hand did, forcing the comparison of an asteroid crash. I hurtled through space, carried by the impact of her blow, pinballing off one planet after another.

Moons shattered and planets fractured under the severe force carried by me. Yet each crash was quickly drowned out by my moans, by the harsh groans of my pain. Akasha's overwhelming might held me in her grip, shaking my every nerve.

"Just as you dictated the terms of our contract, so I have to remind you," Akasha's words hit me over the deafening chaos. "This is not mercy, to hold back your powers, Galio. This is weakness."

What was I supposed to do? Hadn't Leo already been through enough? Or was that me just making excuses again? Shaking my head to snap out of the dizzying thoughts, I managed to regain control of my freefall, righting myself and using my divine strength to come to a halt amidst a tumbling sea of shattered planets and asteroids.

"Leo is not himself right now," I replied, my voice hoarse. The pain lingered but the words flowed out freely. "If I go all out, I risk killing him!"

Akasha looked back, her massive form dwarfing the celestial bodies around us. Her galactic eyes rolled, almost petulantly. "And what of it? His sacrifice will be for the betterment of the universe. Or, do you plan to let him go like you did with Matthias…?"

The mention of Matthias was a low blow. Anger flickered within me, coming forward to mask the pain. "This is different! Leo didn't make a choice, he was forced!"

"What does it matter if what you sought so dearly to protect is destroyed? What do you think will happen if my little Xieus were to get caught up in this? She is no longer my puppet, but I know just how much she means to you," Akasha said in a honeyed voice that cut like a hail of blades. "Would be terrible if you were to have crossed space and time all just to get little ole me, right? She is important to you, right?"

Akasha cared nothing for Xieus, or anyone else, and she only goaded me for freedom, but that was our Pact. No matter if I liked it or not, I needed more than just Truth's power to defeat Leo.

"Fine, but you have to remember our Pact! Do not kill him if you can help it!" I growled, and Akasha laughed with the vibration of colliding black holes as I was ripped back toward the reality where Leo waited.

The moment I opened my eyes, panic set over me, but then I realized why I couldn't move as my hand was brought up to my face. I was nothing more than a passenger in my own body now.

"This body is at least in good shape, and your strange tails afford you almost perfect balance," Akasha said as my hand and the rest of my body turned ultra-black, swallowing the light around me. I watched in interest as my fingers became a black blade, and then back to fingers in wisps of shadows.

Akasha put up my other hand without looking from the other as Leo slammed into me, but my body didn't even flinch. Turning to the red-eyed chaos beast that was once my brother, Akasha made my face smile. "Let me see... Since I can't kill the girls, we should find somewhere to play, right?"

Time slowed around us, and Akasha hopped in the air and spin-kicked Leo. Time has slowed so much in our perception he barely moved at first. My body walked around him and put my hands up to make a picture frame.

"See? No one there," Akasha said, and then blasted a big circular hole through every hole in the wall in the castle. Akasha looked back, but Leo had still barely moved, so she flew through the holes and out of the castle.

In the few seconds that I had to look, I confirmed that there were no demons in the way, but even if there were, it was not like I could do anything about it. I was just going to have to my faith in the Pact that we made