OP Absorption
Chapter 93: Serious Fight

Chapter 93: Serious Fight

Fin lunged forward, dark energy crackling around his fist as he aimed for the Commander’s shadowy form. But Dan simply twisted away, the attack passing through empty air as he flickered back several feet.

Dan’s laughter echoed through the clearing, a cold sound that sent shivers crawling up Scarlet’s spine.

"So the little King can grip a blade," his voice rippled with cruel amusement. "Impressive party trick. But that’s all it is." The shadows comprising his form seemed to stretch taller, wider, filling more of the space between them. "King Kain rules seven domains, commands legions that would make your blood freeze. His glory extends beyond—"

"Blah, blah, blaaaah," Fin cut in, rolling his eyes. "Sheesh, all this glazing about your boss. You his boyfriend or something?"

The shadows around Dan’s form pulsed violently, the temperature in the clearing dropping several degrees. Scarlet bit back a startled laugh, wincing as her ribs protested. ’Did he just...? Oh man, taunting the scary shadow dude. Bold strategy.’

"You DARE?" The Commander’s voice distorted with rage, the words barely recognizable through the fury. "I’ll tear you apart and feed your essence to the void!"

He launched himself forward, shadow-blade reforming into something larger, crueler, dripping with void energy. The attack was blindingly fast, aimed straight at Fin’s throat—exactly what Fin wanted.

He sidestepped at the last moment, the blade whistling past his ear. The momentum carried Dan slightly past him, exposing the left side of the Commander’s shadowy form.

’Let’s see how tough you are,’ Fin thought, pivoting sharply and driving his fist toward the opening, dark energy coalescing around his knuckles.

His fist passed straight through.

No impact. No resistance. Just... nothing.

"What—" His eyes widened in genuine surprise.

The Commander’s form twisted unnaturally, reforming around Fin’s outstretched arm. The shadow-blade reversed direction with impossible speed.

Pain exploded across Fin’s chest as the blade slashed through his shirt, opening a long gash from shoulder to hip. Before he could recover, a massive shadow-fist materialized, slamming into his sternum with bone-crushing force.

The impact sent him flying backward, smashing through one tree trunk, then another, then another. Splintered wood and bark exploded around him as he tore through the forest.

He finally crashed to a stop against a fourth tree, the impact shaking leaves loose from the branches above.

Up in her tree, Arachne gripped the trunk harder, her already pale face going chalk white. "My Lord!" she gasped, trying to push herself up despite her injuries.

Scarlet stared in disbelief. ’Holy shit. That actually hurt him.’ She’d seen him radiate power like a nuclear reactor. But this shadowy whatever-he-was just tossed him through multiple trees like a ragdoll.

Dan stood motionless in the clearing, shadows writhing around him in triumph. "Pathetic," he said flatly. "This is a king?" He turned slightly toward the dimensional fissure, as if speaking to someone beyond it. "Barely worth the effort of claiming this place."

Across the clearing, among the splintered remains of several trees, something stirred. Wood creaked, debris shifted. A hand emerged from the wreckage, then another. Fin pulled himself upright, bits of bark and splinters falling from his torn clothing.

Blood trickled from the slash across his chest, but his eyes—they burned with something new. Not just rage or determination. Understanding.

"Okay," he said quietly, rolling his shoulders. "That was my mistake."

Dan’s form stilled, the shadows briefly pausing their constant motion. "Still conscious? Impressive," he admitted, almost sounding genuine. "Most would be dead. Or wishing they were."

Fin took a step forward, then another. His gait was steady, unhurried. "Yeah, I am sure you say that to all your opponents." He wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "But I figured something out just now."

"Your impending death?" Dan mocked, shadows coiling in preparation.

"Nope." He stopped, standing amid the destruction. "You’re one with the shadows huh?"

The silence that followed was absolute.

"What?" Dan finally responded, his voice suddenly sharper, less confident.

"You’re pulling power from the shadows," he stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Your form flickers, you phase through attacks, you control the ambient darkness... kind of gives it away, dude." He shrugged, a deceptively casual gesture. "Wouldn’t take a genius to figure out you’re manipulating shadow energy."

’Which,’ he thought, a cold grin touching his internal monologue, ’makes you a really bad matchup for me.’ Absorption was, after all, his whole thing.

"Check this out," he said aloud.

He reached out, not towards Dan, but into the space between them, into the oppressive, shadow-infused air itself. His fingers closed around... nothing. Just empty air.

Or was it?

A low hum started, vibrating from Fin’s hand. The swirling darkness clinging to Dan, the heavy shadows pooling in the corners of the clearing, even the ambient gloom beneath the dense forest canopy – it all began to move.

Slowly at first, then faster, drawn towards Fin’s outstretched hand like iron filings to a magnet. The air distorted around his fist as raw shadow energy, leeched from the domain itself and from Dan’s own power source, funneled into him.

Dan reacted instantly, his shadowy form recoiling. "What sorcery is this?!" he roared, trying to pull back, to sever the connection. He flickered, attempting to phase away.

But the pull was absolute. Fin wasn’t just absorbing ambient mana; he was targeting the specific shadow frequency Dan manipulated, ripping it away.

"You like shadows?" Fin grunted, straining slightly against the influx of power. "Have them back!"

The Commander cried out, a sound mixed with rage and disbelief, as the darkness comprising his form was stripped away layer by layer, flowing into Fin like ink sucked into a vortex. It didn’t take long.

The swirling camouflage vanished completely.

Standing where the shadowy terror had been was... a man. A huge man, easily topping seven feet, encased head-to-toe in ornate, gleaming gold armor that pulsed faintly with its own internal light. Intricate runes were etched across the breastplate and pauldrons.

Strapped across his back was a colossal greatsword, its hilt studded with gems that seemed to drink the meager light. His face, visible beneath a heavy golden helmet, was stern, weathered, with eyes that burned like embers.

He looked less like a shadow commander and more like a legendary paladin who’d taken a wrong turn into the void.

Scarlet stared, dumbfounded. ’Gold armor? Seriously? Under all that gloom and doom?’

Arachne, still propped against the tree branch, blinked in surprise, the sheer visual disconnect jarring.

Dan looked down at his own armored hands, then glared at Fin, momentarily speechless.

"Hmm," he finally rumbled, his voice deeper now, without the shadowy echo, though still carrying immense power. "What a strange power you possess. Aberrant. Unpredictable." He flexed his golden gauntlets. "My King would value such a unique asset in his armies."

Fin snorted. "Is that so? Flattering. But can you beat me now? Without playing hide-and-seek in the dark?"

A humorless smile touched Dan’s lips. "That shadow form?" He scoffed, resting a hand on the pommel of his massive sword. "A mere skill, boy. A tool for infiltration and terror." He straightened to his full, imposing height, the golden armor seeming to blaze brighter. "You have faced nothing yet."

The air pressure didn’t just drop; it detonated. A violent wave of pure, incandescent red energy exploded outwards from Dan, slamming into Fin like a physical blow. It wasn’t shadow, wasn’t subtle pressure – it was raw, concussive force, hot and furious.

Fin flew backward again, tumbling end over end, crashing through the remaining undergrowth before slamming hard against the unseen boundary of the clearing, momentarily stunned by the sheer, unexpected force.

Dan stood unmoved, bathed in the residual crimson glow, the golden armor radiating immense power.

"You have no idea what I am truly capable of, boy," he declared, his voice booming with absolute confidence.

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