Inside the newly rebuilt training room, two figures were facing off against each other. On the side, several meters away, a lonesome female figure could be seen watching the other two.
The figure on the right was a towering, bulky giant. He had a wide, childish grin on his face as he faced off against the much smaller figure that looked to be a mixture of his race and the humans from Earth.
"Let's begin Spencer! I was waiting for this from the very moment I saw you fight Basir!" he grinned.
Having said that, he suddenly spread his legs apart as he planted them deep into the marble-like floor. The white tribal markings on his body suddenly lit up and seemed to carry tremendous amounts of force. The streaming flow of energy began to violently course through his body, and merge together, creating a thin membrane, a white glow faintly shrouding his visage.
He began to concentrate on this inner flow even more. The childish smile vanished from his face, only to be replaced by a somber, battle-ready look. As the seconds began to pass, the streaming energy turned even more violent, the hollow shroud that engulfed and blurred his figure transformed into a semi-transparent flame. The markings all over his body began to rhythmically produce a regular throbbing sensation as it pulsed.
Meanwhile, the smaller figure, Spencer, watched with keen interest as Milo used this technique. He could feel the increase in the pressure the giant radiated.
"He can increase his Fasha through this method. Although I don't think it should be viable on a real battlefield. Who would wait for their enemy to power up like this?" He smirked but decided to wait it out. He wanted to experience his full power after all.
Seconds continued to relentlessly pass, and the white flame made of his energy turned violent. It's previously blurry visage was barely visible now. The white color began to gradually change, and turn golden.
"This!" Shaya was already shocked as she felt the pressure from Milo. There was a qualitative difference to it, this was a power coming from someone who already grasped the early stages of the Chaos Path!
She nervously looked at Spencer and couldn't stop herself from exclaiming in worry.
"Watch out, he's already at the Chaos Path!"
The statement did not surprise Spencer at all, he already felt a difference in his energy compared to when he fought Cassa yesterday, or even when he battled against the transformed Shaya.
He calmly looked at the giant, focusing on the changes inside his body with keen interest. He wanted to understand the differences between the two major stages. As the Fasha seemed to cross a critical threshold the giant flame started to clear and recede into the masculine body of Milo.
A few seconds have once again passed, as the figure of the giant started to show amidst the now golden blinding glow that he still radiated. The markings on his body seemingly increased in size, the thin straight lines that ran through his arms all the way to his knuckles, widened almost covering half of the available surface area on his arms. The markings on his upper torso merged together, the lines became glowing white patches. However, the rhythmic pulse did not change, it continued to produce the same regular throbbing sensation as before.
There was a visible ring of energy that his body continued to emit, distorting space itself as it surged through the air for several meters before eventually dying out.
Seeing the changes on his Milo, Spencer happily exclaimed, with unmasked expectation in his voice.
"Nice man! Even I can feel the change in your state. Is this the transformation that Shaya also did?"
"No. Shaya was merely at the gate of the Chaos Path, but could not cross it. She gained some insights, and could reach a similar, heightened state, but not true transformation. For that, she needs to fully comprehend what she is missing and break through manually."
Even the tone of his voice changed. Although he was already rather loud and expressive, the transformation gave a sort of unnatural, thundering bluster.
"Let me feel it, show me your power!" Spencer gave an almost crazed smile, his expectations were comparable to when he faced off the Elder. He hoped to feel that heavenly feeling, the pain.
Milo did not waste any more time and immediately charged forward. The marble floor cracked and several rubbles were thrown in the air along with the dust as his figure bolted forward. Spencer did not attempt to defend at all, instead, he spread his arms wide welcoming the incoming meteorite-blow.
The glowing fist surged through the air with great momentum. As it collided with Spencer's face a huge shockwave was discharged as Spencer was sent flying at great speeds. The wall that served as 'cushion' for Cassa yesterday, offered little resistance against the platinum-haired rocket, he crashed through, leaving the premises of the training room and the building. Eventually, after flying helplessly in the air for several seconds, only then did his body finally crash against the ground and tumble for a bit more before eventually, a faraway boulder gave halt to his momentum.
Although the strike looked powerful and destructive, both Milo and Shaya knew that such a hit couldn't do significant, lasting damage to Spencer's near-indestructible body. They looked at this direction with varied gazes.
Just as they expected, a few moments later, the rubble was pushed aside in the distance, and the figure of Spencer flew out and slowly levitated towards the huge hole in the side of the building. The dark red markings all over his body were glowing, combined with his fluttering, long platinum hair he looked akin to a demigod as it closed in on his opponent.
Closing in on Milo, he had a disappointed expression on his face.
"Was this your strongest punch? I was really hoping for something more…"
Surprise flashed through Milo's face seeing the completely unharmed figure coming back. Although he did not expect to do significant damage, he hoped to at least cause some visible discomfort. But contrary to his expectations, the only change that happened with Spencer, was the disappointment that replaced the expectant glint in his eyes.
Spencer slowly flew back to his initial spot.
"Come on big guy, you can do better than this! Show me everything you have! I refuse to believe that this is all you have!" He exclaimed.
Milo did not respond, but once again, began to gather all his energy. This time, he directed the flow into his right arm, all the way into his fist. The surface began to emit a golden luster once again.
He inhaled some air, focusing his senses, looking at the insurmountable wall that this creature represented to him. He refused to believe that all those years he spent training resulted in absolutely nothing in the end.
A resolute look spread out on his face, as he cocked his glowing right fist back, ready to unleash a terrifying amount of power.
Launching an attack at such a speed that not even a blur could be seen, Milo abruptly thrust his fist towards Spencer's chest. Once collided, the echoes of a sonic blare immediately followed after, swirling up a handful of dust in the process.
This time, he did not stop after one, singular punch. The dust continued to gather and shroud both figures as Spencer withstood Milo's onslaught of blows. Spencer remained motionless throughout the barrage, not moving an inch nor did he try to evade or deflect any of the incoming hits. His body itself withstood the powerful blows without any effort.
Even before the dust could settle, Milo knew that he did not manage to push through Spencer's defenses. Rage began to cloud his mind, his eyes turned bloodshot. The golden glow around his fist darkened, and a tinge of scarlet hue began to intermix within.
The air whizzed, as tiny sparks of dark red bolts of energy could be seen.
Spencer's senses suddenly began to ring, signaling a possible incoming threat, albeit only faint, it was enough to allow a surprised look to set on his face, as he looked at the change in Milo's usually calm demeanor. Whilst the sclera of his eyes started to darken, and he seemed to lose his mind, he could also feel the increase in the pressure his aura radiated.
He looked at the change in color in the layer of energy that coated Milo's fist and the earlier expectant and hopeful grin once again resurfaced on his face. Although his senses signaled the incoming danger, he still did not try to put up any meaningful resistance.
With a violent battle shout, Milo abruptly thrust his dark red energy coated fist against Spencer's chest. This time, as it collided, space itself visibly distorted as a low-toned sonic shockwave was released. Spencer's figure immediately vanished, but no trajectory could be found.
Only a barely visible spurt of blood could be seen where his figure stood a moment ago.
