Paragon of Sin

The following sequence of events that unfolded was hard to describe, yet any who saw it would experience a sinister chill running down their spines. Wei Wuyin had breathed out, yet nothing came from his mouth. It seemed as if he had just violently exhaled air. 

To mortals, to those who haven't harnessed the senses beyond Mortal Limits, this is what they saw. But to Ascended beings, those Spirits of Wars who were lifting their heads to observe, some nocking their arrows or hoisting their spears to unleash a decisive strike at this aerial target, they all saw it.

A torrential maelstrom of flames without color. They moved at such speeds that they could only gasp before their bodies were swept forward. The flames themselves seemed as they were traversing through the void itself. The moment you saw it, the moment they reached you no matter your level of reaction time. 

"Run!" A valiant Spirit of War shouted out for his allies that remained. He tried to run, but he was swept up by the flames. They wasn't very powerful, and his mystic power could resist them, but the moment he circulated his boundless Ascended strength, he was subjected to a bout of unfathomable weakness and toppled over. He was engulfed by flames.

He tried screaming, but the flames seemingly burnt that too. The soldier was left helpless as the feeling of being burned by these flames. But when he didn't feel any heat, his expression changed, looking at his body as it was slowly vanishing away as if paper was being burnt away. His pupils contracted to their utmost limits.

He was turning into ash. 

There was no pain to be felt. There was no feeling of being burnt away. It was just watching himself slowly turn into grey ash. 

'Am I being incinerated?' He was so confused that he looked around in his spare time to witness similar scenes occurring all over. These Spirits of War were all confused, some too weak to resist, others attempting to run, but they had already been swept by the rushing wave of colorless, almost fully transparent flames. 

'I...I don't want to die like this. Not like this...I don't want to go...' His thoughts were still circulating, but half his face had turned to ash, yet his remaining eye seemed completely unaware. He tried to unleash a guttural scream of horror, but he was already dead. 

Soon, his body collapsed into grey ash entirely. Afterward, screams of unbearable agony that originated from his voice, filled with the most horrific, terror-filled, bone-shivering, resounded throughout the world as if delayed by some ungodly force. 

Time and space had twisted. A few heard their own gut-wrenching screams before they even started to burn away, and as they were about to vanish, their heads lifted upwards, their throats bulged, and they shouted out screams that were cut unnaturally short, seemingly the inception of their very own sounds they had made prior.

The entire battlefield and all the lives on it enacted a play of dissonance and death. Only the mystic-graded armaments remained, indicating the once brilliant lives of these soldiers.

The Legion Commander's warhorse reacted far sooner than he did, already using its flaming hooves to take to the skies, an absolutely unnatural ability despite its wingless form! It stepped upon the air as if it owned it, escaping the range of the Void Flames! 

The Legion Commander watched all this happen, his heart seized by fear for the very first time in his exceptionally long life. Void Flames! It was infused with various knowledge of all sorts of things in this world, and Void Flames were considered amongst the top five most dangerous existences known! 

While this might be limited to the knowledge of his creator, this was a fact that his creator instilled into him! A being that created all this? How could their view of cultivation and the world not be vast?! 

He muttered in trepidation as he watched the chaos unfold below. "Void Flames...capable of burning away all essence of time, space, astrological and astronomical forces of the Void…" Despite his heavily armored form, an audible gulp resounded from his throat.

How was this possible?

He could only watch helplessly as his soldiers were engulfed, trying to flee from the pursuing flames in despair yet unable to accomplish their most desired goal of seizing life. Their lives were forfeited the moment they were engulfed, unable to defend themselves.

"These flames aren't strong but…" His eyes honed into the colorless flames and noted that they were insidiously weak. In his mind, Void Flames can burn away space and time itself. The moment these beings were caught, they would've been frozen by the ceasing of time. Yet they weren't even slowed down even a little. This went to show that while these might be Void Flames, they hadn't reached the level of true Void Flames that instilled terror and feat wherever they went. 

"Right...he's just a mortal…" The Legion Commander reminded himself again and again, calming his beating heart. If it wasn't for the poison, if it wasn't for the Nexus Battlefield restricting many Ascended abilities, if it wasn't for the lack of unity in his army at this very moment, this level of Void Flames couldn't even affect his weakest soldier. Even if it could, the flames would've been blocked off by mystic-graded shields.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs on the battlefield. Even he might be burnt away without any protection of his physical body. The heat from the Void Flames was said to be unnaturally high, only felt when one was engulfed by it and never before. 

The entire battlefield was inundated in flames for a few seconds. Then, without warning, the flames vanished. What was left in its wake was just empty armors and lingering wails of those unwilling few taken by death. 

Woosh!

Wei Wuyin's body fell from the skies, the Soul Idols of Eden and Ori faded away abruptly. Even the thirteen rings around his saber vanished. There was no terrifying presence permeating within the void. All of his Soul Idols vanished.

BOOSH!

He heavily crashed into the earth, producing a deep crater. A wad of dust lifted and obscured his body briefly.

When his body was revealed, his True Draconic Form had vanished, and Wei Wuyin's breathing was hectic and labored. If others could see his silver eyes, they would notice they were incredibly dim, lacking the slightest trace of strength. But his bloodied torso, trembling limbs, and decaying life aura were sufficient to indicate all this. It was more than enough.

Yet despite his extreme weakness, the Battlefield was completely clear of any conflict or movement. Besides a few Spirits of War trapped beneath the earth, still alive for a specific purpose, there was no other Spirit of War on the ground.

BUT THERE WAS ONE IN THE AIR!!

The Legion Commander coldly inspected the ravaged battlefield of lifelessness. All 9,999 of his soldiers were all dealt with. And he could do nothing but watch. However, The Legion Commander wasn't foolish enough to make a move on this mortal out of anger. The poison hadn't yet run its course.

When it did, it was going to be time for this mortal's death. His men will have their vengeance!