Although I hadn't seen him for a while, it turns out that Black Death, whom I'll be referring to as Black from now on, was at an area that closely resembled where I was.
From the barren land to the orange skies, it was all the same.
He was standing still, as if waiting for something.
Then a huge shadow appeared over him. An object, covered in the light of the 'sun', making extraterrestrial-like noises.
He stared at it with his black eyeballs, blue iris and black pupils, calm and composed, waiting.
He knew this was going to happen. Even though he didn't show it, Michael always had a soft spot for the goddess. More than that, he treasured Heaven like he himself created it.
"Surely I can convince you which side you should take, Ophanim." He started, keeping his tone cool.
"The feud between Michael, Gabriel and fate has nothing to do with me. I only take orders from those of the first triad." A deep voice came from the flying object as it continued to slowly lower itself to a level closer to Black.
"I didn't ask about who you take orders from. You still haven't learned your lesson, even after being demoted from your choir. And what kind of Ophanim takes orders from other choirs? Have you ever thought that you might actually be a defect?"
"Black death. You have been freed."
"And you're going against Heaven. Is that really what you want to do?"
"I believe that my choice is right. Heaven is taking this too far. The fact that you are free is proof of that."
"Now you're just contradicting yourself... An angel, formally of the first triad, going against Heaven. Truly a disgrace amongst your kind."
Its figure was more visible by now, and what would you expect of its appearance?
Wheels within wheels, intersecting, appearing as one inside of another, with its rims covered in eyes, all orbiting an even bigger eye in the center.
A horrific, or rather glorious sight indeed.
Black continued.
"Ophanim. You know you can't beat me."
"5 minutes. Let it drag for 5 minutes."
"...Handicap."
"No physical attacks."
Black looked at his opponent with a smirk on his face.
"Very well."
Meanwhile...
I was still waiting for something to happen. My guard was up at all times from the uneasy feeling I was getting.
"Master." Uzzaran called.
"What is it?"
"Your neck. There's something on your neck."
"What?"
Instinctively, I reached for it. Then I felt a painful sting on it. Surprisingly, it didn't heal. Actually, the fact that it was even able to pierce my skin was incredible.
After my fight with the phantoms, I realized that my skills were, pretty bad. Not the skills themselves, rather, the way I used them.
For the past, however long its been, I went through them, learning what they do, how to use them and if they have any effects. This way, my fights in the future would be more calculated and refined.
I also decided to make a few more skills, one of them being a skill that toughened up my body, making it difficult for any kind of physical attacks from piercing my skin. It does of course have its limitations, as I've just learnt.
Though I don't know the specifics, it seems that there's a few ways that I need to improve it.
"You can't heal?"
"It's the fake one. Remember?"
All it needed was a bit more mana and it went back to normal. I was able to it look more like a normal arm after my mana level increased drastically. It happened suddenly when I got here, I think.
Since Clara doesn't seem to function, I couldn't really tell when it happened. I just realized that it did.
"That thing on your neck. Its growing."
"Oh. Right."
It hovered around my neck. A ring, that is. It had numerous small blades on, sharp on each side. You could imagine where the other side was facing. That happened to be the part that was growing.
Was it some kind of curse? That wasn't the case. I tested it with light magic.
Maybe I could physically pull it out?
I tried this, but the more force I applied on it the faster it got closer to my neck. Although I wasn't panicking, my concern about it grew more and more with each passing moment.
"You can't get it out? Have you tried every possible way?"
"Let's backtrack first. Where did it come from? Did you see or sense its source?"
"Not really. I... Master? Are you okay?"
My body was getting heavy. Sweat came down my face as if I was being rained on. Or maybe I actually was.
Then in a flash of a second, I really was standing in the rain. The whole scenery changed. Now I was standing at a modern looking city. Actually, it kind off looked like a city in Japan. Not Tokyo. But somewhere similar.
I felt weak, hopeless, like I'd given up on something important, like I failed at doing something I was looking forward to.
That's too specific. What's going on?
Then it all returned to normal.
I was brought to my knees from the pressure I was feeling in my head.
"Master! Can you hear me?!"
This won't do.
"Create skill."
From the time I spent there, I came to realize something. My creation skill is is OP as hell.
I already knew this, but almost never put it to good use, or at least, use it enough.
YOU HAVE OBTAINED THE SKILL; CURSE RESISTANCE. *This voice was too identical to Clara's.*
My creation skill has next to no limits. Aside from the only one being that the power of each skill I use or make is limited by my mana level.
But here's the thing. I have a skill that can basically infinitely increase my mana.
"Growth." *The strength of my new skill, Curse Resistance, was too little to counter my current condition.*
It works by manipulating, or rather, taking advantage of other skills. Mana Absorption, Mana Release and Mana Regen.
Within three seconds, usually shorter around half the time, after releasing my mana into the surroundings, leaving only 1%, it will all have already regenerated, +10% extra. The released mana, now fused with that of the surrounding area, will be absorbed, all at once.
This drastically increases my mana level, specifically by approximately 110% extra, twice my original level.
However, lately, something's been wrong with that skill. Whenever I use it, every time I release my mana that is, its environmental effects have increased. Like absorbing the atmosphere itself, briefly leaving a pocket of emptiness. Any living creature, even plant life, that is in my proximity while I make use of the skill, will have their life sucked away. Completely.
Although this was rather common when I previously used my skill, what never occurred however, was the explosive burst of energy my mana had whenever I released it, growing stronger and stronger every time I used the skill. Like it did now.
Oh. Uzzaran doesn't seem to be affected by it... Just wanted to point that out.
"Master. What happened to you just now?"
"I'm fine. Remember? Almost nothing can harm me now."
"That also used to be the case before we came to Hea-"
"Different situation."
"Then, if you're so sure that you can't be harmed, there's no need to concern yourself with the impending danger."
"Hmm?"
"Someone's coming."
But I couldn't see them, nor could I sense them. Not until they got right next to me.
"Black Death?! Where've you been? Not that that I care, but you are my only source of information here."
"I was just, gone for a walk."
"I don't mean to meddle in your affairs, but did you have some urgent matter to attend to? You left abruptly without answering my question. My point is, where could you have gone? I don't see anything else but a barren waste land. Did you find a way out of here?"
"That wasn't quite the case. I myself am quite baffled. I'm not really sure why I'm here, actually. By now, you must've learnt that this is the first trial. Only the one taking the Heavenly Trials is allowed to be here. This is all new to me."
"Are you sure?"
He smiled awkwardly. "I'm positive... By the way, what's that on your neck?"
"No idea. I'm not really sure how to get rid of it. I was just about to test out a few skills on it. Separation, decay or rot, melt and such. Destructive skills, I mean."
"I see. So you're not aware of the fact that it was made by divine mana, I take it?"
"Divine mana?"
At that time, I only learnt of two types of mana; Worldly and Divine mana.
Worldly mana is the regular one, which humans and monsters mostly used. Demonic mana is its own thing (Falls under worldly mana).
The difference between worldly mana and divine mana is that worldly mana is universal. For example, a magic spell activated using a certain type of worldly mana by a human. That same spell can be activated by monsters and demons as well, using the same type of mana.
Divine mana, however, is exclusive only to heavenly beings. Land creatures aren't able to use it. That means it can't be replicated or countered by another type.
Its one of the reasons why I ascended.
"Only heavenly beings can use this mana." Black said. "But that doesn't mean that others can't use it. However-"
"They have to become a deity."
"Yes that is correct."
He noticed my expression.
"You seem to have a burning question." He said.
"...I found you here, in heaven. But you're not a deity I take it."
"I see where you're taking this."
He isn't a deity, he's a death. But he was still in heaven. When you here the term heavenly beings, the description of it in your head is someone who, resides in heaven. At least, that's my description.
And Black Death basically resides in heaven. Does that make him a heavenly being?
What about deaths? What are they? He's the first genuine death I've come across. Clearly they're rare. What if he is a heavenly being, but for a completely different reason? Because he's a death? I became one too. Does that make me a heavenly being?
"I have so many questions."
"And all will be answered in due time. For now, I believe you should prioritize something else. By now, you should know that the first trial has already began. But it would seem that an uninvited guest has decided to switch things up a bit."
"Who?"
"The one who put that thing on your neck."
"Are they my enemy?"
"It's an angel."