The Lux paused in its tracks after the resulting shockwaves rendered its detection methods useless. Its silvery blue form flickered in the cascading bursts of fiery light and sound that echoed endlessly across the dark expanse, as if there was no wall or ceiling within reach for them to bounce off of, only the ground.

    It was clearly disoriented, swivelling its head erratically as if it tried to regain its bearings amidst the chaotic vibrations. The overlapping shockwaves threw its perception into disarray though, and for a brief moment, Alex felt a rush of vindication.

    But there was no time to celebrate.

    ’This is my only chance!’ Alex reminded himself, gripping Virtue’s Edge tightly.

    The sword pulsed faintly in his hand, producing some small vibrations that were too small for the Lux to pick out amongst the myriad of shockwaves Alex had caused.

    In an instant, every muscle in Alex’s body coiled like a spring.

    He lunged forward, turning his figure into nothing but a blur as he propelled himself through the chaotic battlefield. His teleportation had taken a toll on his energy, and he wouldn’t like to have to use it again unless it was a necessity like last time. Thankfully, the opportunity he had created for himself meant he wouldn’t need to use it to launch a surprise attack.

    The Lux would be blind to his approach regardless.

    It was only a few metres away after less than a second passed, and its confused state left it exposed to Alex.

    Alex channeled the soul fire in Virtue’s Edge to the highest concentration, not wanting to skimp out on energy since the Lux was so strong. The sword felt weightless in his hands, as if it was an extension of himself – his very soul.

    "Take this!" He roared, bringing Virtue’s Edge down with all the strength he had to offer.

    Alex narrowed his eyes.

    "It’s resisting... of course it is. It’s stronger than I thought." He muttered to himself under his breath.

    He wasn’t worried about his voice giving his location away, since the Lux was currently far too busy trying to combat against Alex’s soul fire.

    ’Fuck, the gap between our ranks is just too huge for the soul fire to attack with its full effect!’

    Alex realised the problem almost instantly, as he could feel the connection with his soul fire that struck the Lux’s body gradually being fought back against.

    His Phoenix Flames were S+ rank, and his soul fire was made out to be something almos taboo, able to instill fear and destruction into any living life form that made contact with it.

    But all things had their weaknesses, and it was clear that his soul fire, while incredibly powerful, wasn’t able to take out the Lux with Alex’s meagre C+ rank Variant class power alone. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

    If the two were evenly matched at the same rank, then things might be different, but that simply wasn’t the case.

    Very soon, the ground beneath Alex’s feet trembled ever so slightly as the Lux began to stir up a fuss. Its movements were slower than before, and its sleek body rose from the ground with a deliberate movement of provocation. The soul fire was doing something, Alex could tell, but it wasn’t enough to completely take out or incapacitate the Lux it seemed.

    ’It seems that against awakened of a similar level to myself, the soul fire is deadly and can take them out from just the tiniest bit of it coming into contact with their soul. But for those stronger than me and of a much higher rank and class than myself, it only acts as a weakening effect. Sort of like a debuff...’

    Alex had learned something new about his Phoenix Flames today, and made a note to himself to experiment with this at a later point.

    The Lux stood fully upright now though, and its glowing eyes narrowed as they locked onto Alex, who had long since forgone with surrounding his Virtue’s Edge with his soul fire to mask his location.