Chapter 117: Chapter 117: House of Kalamus (15)
Jax charged forward with a roar, his fists wrapped in that distorted blue energy that burned around him like living fire. Each strike landed with fury, but at first, just like before, it did nothing. Kalamus’s bones instantly reformed, mocking his efforts.
But something was different.
Jax felt it. That force surrounding him wasn’t the borrowed power of a goddess, nor something the system could measure. It was raw, pure—like reality itself trembled under his hands.
With every breath, that energy stabilized a little more. The chaotic blue haze twisting the air began to spin in a pattern, like a vortex of life and death. His control, clumsy and wild at first, was slowly being refined, molded to his will.
Kalamus let out a mocking laugh and tried to pierce him with one of his legs, but Jax blocked with an arm coated in that unknown power. The impact thundered like a storm... and for the first time, Kalamus’s leg didn’t instantly reform. A crack appeared, glowing as if existence itself had been wounded.
The beast’s hollow eyes lit up with shock.
"What...?"
Jax didn’t give him time to think. His fists rained down one after another, heavier, sharper. Each blow was no longer a pebble thrown into the ocean—they were hammers smashing through a wall. Kalamus screeched in fury as his bones truly cracked, not from mere wounds, but from something far deeper.
The monster staggered back, and for the first time since the fight began, it was serious.
"Impossible!" it roared with a twisted voice, fear and rage mixing together. "That power... that damned power should never be in your hands!"
Jax gritted his teeth, his aura surging like an uncontrollable storm as he shouted.
"This isn’t from the gods... this power is mine!"
Kalamus shrieked, venom dripping from his fangs, lunging again with everything it had. All eight legs swung down like guillotines, each one brimming with the curse that had defeated countless heroes before.
But Jax wasn’t the same anymore. Every strike of his fist wrapped in blue energy didn’t just wound—it tore through the very laws protecting the monster. Kalamus screamed when a direct hit shattered part of its shell, and this time it didn’t regenerate. The broken bone burned as if consumed by invisible fire.
The entire chamber shook under the clash of these two powers.
"No... it can’t be! That’s the power of Creation!" Kalamus howled, retreating with horror and hatred in its voice. "How can a mere mortal touch something forbidden!?"
Jax’s eyes shone like white embers fanned by a raging storm.
"Because I no longer follow the path of the gods."
His words echoed like judgment itself.
And as he raised his fist once more, the air split open with a roar that came not from man or monster, but from the birth of something new.
The power surrounding Jax was no longer limited to his fists. Slowly, that radiant blue energy spread across his whole body, forming a living membrane. It looked like a second skin, forged entirely of Creation’s energy, vibrating and rippling as if reality itself struggled to contain it.
The ground beneath his feet cracked apart, each step leaving behind glowing fissures. His breath came heavy, but his eyes blazed with unshakable resolve.
Kalamus gave a final roar, its arachnid body twisting as it tried to withstand the crushing pressure of that new power. It struck with all its legs, unleashed waves of venom and darkness, but nothing could halt the storm that Jax had become.
With a roar that split the chamber in two, Jax delivered one last strike straight to the monster’s core. The power of Creation ripped through its shell, tearing bone, magic, and curse alike.
Kalamus’s body exploded, disintegrating into a whirlwind of dust and shadow.
But it didn’t die.
From the heap of shattered bones and corrupted flesh rose a red shadow, ethereal, humanoid in shape. Its eyes burned like embers, and a mocking laugh spilled from its mouth, freezing the blood of everyone present.
"Pathetic human..." the voice echoed everywhere, as if the air itself spoke. "Do not think you can walk the path of the gods."
The shadow spread its arms wide, as if claiming the entire chamber.
"I am Ner’Zhaal, the God of Corruption. And from this day forth... I curse you. Wherever you walk, my servants will hunt you like the miserable dog you are."
The shadow raised its hand, and from it surged a bloody circle inscribed with ancient runes. The symbol burned like living fire and shot straight into Jax, searing into his chest. The mark glowed fiercely, spreading across his skin like a blazing tattoo.
Jax screamed, feeling the curse sear into his flesh and carve into his very soul.
Ner’Zhaal’s laugh grew louder, crueler, until the entire world trembled. The chamber walls cracked, the ground exploded, and the sky itself seemed to collapse upon them.
Everything shattered.
Light consumed all in a blinding flash.
And then... silence.
Jax opened his eyes.
He was alone.
There was no chamber, no companions, no monster, no blood. Only a vast white hall stretching as far as he could see. No doors, no ceiling, no visible ground—just an endless void drowned in light.
His breath echoed in the emptiness.
Jax looked around, heart pounding in his chest, a sharp instinct telling him something—or someone—was waiting for him in this place beyond everything he knew.
"You did well, boy... Maybe too well for your own good..."
Startled by the mysterious voice, Jax turned, searching. And among all the possibilities, one of the two he least expected appeared before him.
"You bastard...!!"
Jax lunged with all his strength, blasting forward with his new power—but with a single motion, he was stopped cold, completely immobilized, unable to even move a finger.
"Don’t get too arrogant in my presence, boy."
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Huge thanks to everyone who supported me! We smashed the MGS goal this month, and starting today I’ll be dropping way more daily Chapters...!! Get ready..!!!