The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar wondered how many times he had died against Demon Oscar. He fought his wayward copy multiple times. After each loss which only took less than a minute, he immediately returned to the realm of thoughts to start anew.

Three hours later.

Oscar fought over a hundred times. A lesser or weaker Exalt would have lost their minds and broken down by now, but Oscar was none of that. Forged by Draven's agonizing training and tempered by the illusion of Oen Fortress, Oscar remained steadfast.

His cheek bled from Demon Oscar's razor-sharp fist, but Oscar was one step ahead. Oscar dropped low, facing the white sky, and kicked straight up with all his might, coated in 'Edureisclad'. This sudden movement matched the wildness of Demon Oscar and was the fruition of Oscar's efforts.

Demon Oscar slipped its head at the last moment, and a cut bled across its cheek, similar to Oscar's. It swiped its hand and shot out several bullets of 'Silver Star', but Oscar covered himself with his bulwark, rolled away from Demon Oscar, and stood up. A silver circle expanded in his view; Demon Oscar's 'Silver Lance' stabbed straight toward Oscar's head.

The lance barely touched his skin before Oscar poured everything into his speed and twisted his body. With his back turned toward Demon Oscar, Oscar continued the momentum of the spin. He formed his 'Silver Lance' and churned the Reis from Demon Oscar's lance with 'Flowing Mountain.'

But Demon Oscar swung its bulwark. Oscar's sharp lance failed to withstand a blow from the side, pieces blew off and flung in all directions, and Oscar's arm broke like a twig. Clenching through the pain, Oscar tried to body slam Demon Oscar, but the slippery devil landed a quick kick to his temple.

Feeling his skull breaking, Oscar couldn't focus and dropped to the white floor, unable to get up as he lost control of his body. The pain worsened when his deer anima lost again against its copy. Oscar's core screamed and ached, and his head cracked open, spewing a fountain of blood.

"What a guy…."

Rushed and pained gasps echoed in the chamber. Oscar lifted his hand from the sharp needle. He had gone nonstop for three hours straight and needed a break.

"A terrifying opponent, but you are lasting a little longer each time," Gol-4 said.

"You said it before. If the realm of thoughts is copying what I am capable of, then it stands to reason that I can copy what that strange version of me is doing."

"Sounds quite simple when you put it that way, but implementing it is a different story. That is an astounding feat."

"I'm still dying, haha. It's odd, but when I move the way he does, I feel like I've always fought that way. No discomfort at all."

"Is that all, though? Once your movements can match against him, it'll come down to the spell usage and your particular Reis power."

"That's my problem," Oscar sighed. "His Silver Star is faster and stronger, his Silver Lance is harder and sharper, and his basic attacks are stronger than mine. I can't quite grasp the reason behind it."

Gol-4 levitated over to the handprint on the floor. "Well, it is what you're capable of. Keep trying, and you may find the answer. It's enviable that your situation is unique. An Exalt would kill for the chance to fight against their better self. Often they fight the exact mirror of themselves since they understand what they are capable of."

"That almost sounds like an insult. You mean I am an idiot who never fought to his fullest potential." Oscar chuckled.

"On the contrary, I believe this Reis power of yours is a wildcard that causes such discrepancies. His movements and bare-fisted attacks were all for the sake of utilizing the best of his Reis, right?"

"True…maybe the strangeness of his spells is due to how he's using the Reis with them. Thanks, Gol-4." Oscar did not waste another second and stamped his hand on the needle. His mind drifted off again into the realm of thoughts.

Gol-4 sighed. He saw Oscar's bloodied hand, a wound that never had the chance to heal. "Too reckless, but on the other hand, he wouldn't be this accomplished without this being idiotic. But what a strange and fortunate occurrence. He found the perfect master in himself. I wonder how much he'll grow in these nine hours."

Within the realm of thoughts, Oscar engaged in close combat. Finally, after trying his best, Oscar's movements matched Demon Oscar's. He slipped and spun around, matching the refined wildness of Demon Oscar.

Punches, kicks, counters, throws, and every other attack rampaged between the two refined beasts. The sharp cracks of their legs snapping and the dull sounds of their knuckles clashing echoed across the white world, but soon one had to give in.

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Oscar backed off reluctantly and stared at his purple knuckles and bloodied legs with a pained expression. He finally matched the movements, but the issue was power. Spitting out some blood, Oscar called his deer anima back to his side to avoid taking further damage.

Across from Oscar, Demon Oscar retreated to his deer anima, and the two stared off. A pair of clear obsidian eyes full of determination met the cold, unforgiving dull eyes. Oscar lifted his hands and readied himself.

'So far, he hasn't used the spells. Is it because I only fought using martial arts and nothing more? If so, then if I use spells.' Oscar encased his arm in 'Silver Lance' and sped up using 'Silver Burst.' Demon Oscar used 'Silver Burst,' and his speed was faster.

Oscar paid close attention to how Demon Oscar's 'Silver Burst' formed. His Prinstyct caught every detail of Demon Oscar's Ein, seeing how it would move and form the spell, but nothing stood out. Then, adding to Oscar's shock, Demon Oscar used 'Silver Lance' but formed two of them that encased both arms.

'Why did I never think of that?!' Oscar thrust his lance. The next moment, holes riddled Oscar's body, and his lance shattered from several punctures. Demon Oscar moved swiftly during Oscar's confusion to destroy Oscar completely with an onslaught of sharp punches encased in lances.

With his consciousness fading, Oscar saw several scenes in his weary mind. He saw himself fighting Orden, overwhelming the giant hulk with the same wild movements and uncanny, powerful spells. The shocked expression on Orden's face was the last thing he saw before waking up in the real world.

"So that's what happened." Oscar panted.

"What?" Gol-4 asked.

"That time, I went unconscious and woke up to find Orden full of wounds. He told me I suddenly became stronger after I blacked out. The Oscar in the realm of thoughts should be that."

"Fighting while unconscious? Interesting. But do you know why your spells are much more powerful in that state?"

"No, no, I do not. I can tell he's using Ein and Reis together like me, but the results are vastly different from mine."

"Perhaps he's using them differently. Think back to the battle. See how he applied them."

Oscar paused, then shook his head. "I need to keep watching him."

"Then delve back in. You still have less than nine hours."

Returning to the realm of thoughts, Oscar breathed out even though the air wasn't real and his body was an incorporeal copy of himself. His body relaxed, and his mind cleared, giving him a new sense of clarity. This time, he resolved to figure out the truth behind Demon Oscar's power.

Across from Oscar, Demon Oscar manifested once more, taking up the familiar stance, and Oscar mirrored it. He focused as hard as he could, and the Ein wrapped around his two arms. Nonexistent sweat dripped down his forehead as the Ein spiked and became erratic, almost losing control.

'Silver Lance'

Oscar reigned it and formed the same two lances as Demon Oscar had. In response, Demon Oscar formed its own pair of lances. The two paced around and approached each other like boxers in a ring, ready to begin at the sound of the bell.

Demon Oscar threw quick jabs. The winds whistled and snapped from the sheer speed and sharpness of Demon Oscar's rapid strikes. Instead of a single punch, the onslaught of jabs resembled a wall of spikes intent on skewering Oscar.

Oscar tried to dodge every single jab, each came close to his vision, and he observed every minute detail of their metal and the Ein around them. His evasion was not perfect, as several cuts covered his body. Oscar didn't mind the stinging pain; with each cut, he felt Demon Oscar's lances, letting the Reis and Ein burn and tear his skin.

'Odd…' Demon Oscar's lances did not feel right to Oscar. With his focus on his sense of touch and vision, he gained newfound clarity about them, but it only confused him more.

'I need to feel it in its entirety.' Sighing at his crazy thought, Oscar opened his arm wide, and Demon Oscar's straight right pierced through his chest. Oscar clenched his chest and focused, not letting the lance escape. He forced away the haziness of death that befuddled his mind and allowed himself to feel.

Then Demon Oscar's 'Shattering Wave' exploded out. It did not feel like the burning of Ein nor the crackling of Reis but something else, a void, an annihilation of everything in its path. He wanted to feel more, but he was forced out.

"Again!"

This time, however, Oscar formed his lance and pierced himself as Demon Oscar watched with indifference. His own lance did not feel as sharp or hard as his superior copy's. The 'Shattering Wave' was not as destructive, coursing through his body like the usual waves of Reis.

"Again!"

Oscar alternated his method of death. He killed himself, let Demon Oscar kill them, then killed himself. Each time, he contemplated the strange nature of Demon Oscar's power and compared it to his.

Slowly, he fell into a trance.

Kill. Feel. Kill. Compare. Kill. Feel. Kill. Compare. Kill. Feel.

Gol-4 watched in mechanical horror or something akin to that as Oscar behaved like a zombie, waking up and stabbing his hand on the needle, falling into the realm of thoughts in a constant loop.

"It's been seven hours…." Gol-4 said. "He's still at it."

Oscar never stopped. He could feel he was close to grasping it.

'Even though I'm using both Reis and Ein, I can still feel the two powers in my lance, but for him, I only feel a single force.' Oscar widened his eyes, and his body trembled, struck by enlightenment. Oscar finally knew the true identity of Demon Oscar's powers, the fusion of Ein and Reis.

'Is that even possible? No, the possibility is in front of me. I use Reis and Ein together, but they are like two separate streams swirling around, but still separate. But he lets them mix.'

By default, the Reis and Ein did not fuse even when used together. So, Oscar never found it strange or looked deeper until now. The answer became clear to him, and Oscar looked gratefully at Demon Oscar.

"Master must have known about you and the fusion of Ein and Reis a while ago. That crazy Master must have found it funny not to tell me or because it was not time to tell me."

Oscar lifted his hands, and his lances dissipated. His feet spun, and a mass of Reis circulated toward his arms, about to release.

'Dual Awaken'

He had always used this state of awakening to use his Ein and Reis together, but now he understood his true power within it. He swirled the Reis and let the Ein flood in. The two forces lay next to each other but did not mix like always.

However, this time was different. Oscar willed his Ein to intrude upon the streams of Reis. The forces sparked against each other and began to repel one another, rebounding back to Oscar.

"Fuse!" Oscar demanded his powers to obey. If Demon Oscar was capable of Ein and Reis fusion, he was surely capable as well!

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