Dancing on the golden ashes

Darkness seeped out in all directions, spreading at lightning speed from where I stood. I watched as everything and everyone was engulfed in a prison of shadows—even Jieun's radiant celestial light couldn't escape. My eyes shone brightly as I scanned for a quick escape path. This frost dragon is annoying... I gathered my strength and shattered it into a million tiny shards with a single punch. My knuckles bled, but my heart raced; I could feel a sense of impending doom as the three other attacks rushed toward me.

I had to act quickly; there was no time to waste. There's nowhere to run... then I'm only left with... A shadow shield manifested on Jieun's side, while a powerful earth shield rose from beneath, supported by my scythe standing tall above me. I surrounded myself with an ice shield from all four directions blocking Malrang's hellfire. The only reason I could use more than three shields now was because of my magic control skill. I could manipulate them as I needed—it was an incredible ability to have.

KRA-KOOM!

I felt my entire body shake as the force of their combined attacks nearly shattered my shields. But it wasn't enough to break through—I had grown strong, very strong. Superior Space Distortion!

My body moved swiftly through the darkness; I felt like a shadow, unseen and undetectable. My space distortion skill now made me like a ghost, leaving trails of darkness in my wake. This time, my target was Malrang—her sharp sense of smell wouldn't let me get close to anyone without her stepping in to protect them. Forgive me, my dear friend. Once again, I'm forced to hurt you… I promise I'll make it up to you someday, even if it costs me my life.

Bang

"Aaaagh...!" A sudden, blinding ache surged through my head, making everything blur. I stumbled and rolled, which in turn canceled my Darkness Prison.Our lives are not something you can bet! on... I... not allow...

Bang!

Another wave of pain tore through my head, forcing me to clutch it in agony. "No! Get out! GET OUT! This is my body... MY BODY, I SAID!" My vision began to darken, as if I were being dragged away from my own self. Give me this body, and I will kill them for you—truly kill them. ----- will not be able to stop us. This system... his tricks... is nothing to us. Gaon! I'm the only one in this world you can depend on. Only me…

I rolled on the ground in agony, feeling myself slowly being pushed out of my own body. But I couldn't give up. I'm me… I'm Lee Gaon, and this is my body. You're only here to be my tool. I am in control!

"Gaon!"

"Big sis!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Big sister Gaon!!!"

"Wooo!"

I could hear my friends' shouts... Are they worried for me? Why? I'm not worth it… I'm only a failure… But suddenly, something within my soul blazed, pushing out all the negativity. A warm fire burned inside me, filling me with energy, giving me a reason to continue. My soul... my soul is the answer... As long as my soul blazes with the fire of my determination, I will always be myself.

I felt the dark energy trying to force me out of my own body suddenly weaken, retreating back within me but not disappearing entirely. You're making a mistake, Gaon... We must... be one. We must survive this world... and only then... The eerie voice faded into the void, as if it had never been there, and my headache vanished along with it.

I am worth it. I'm the best. I'm Lee Gaon. I promised myself I'd become the strongest in this new world, and I will reach that strength through my own power!

"Stay back!" I raised my arm, still kneeling on the ground, and roared at my approaching friends. I couldn't stand the worried, concerned expressions on their faces. I hated being looked at that way—I'd had enough. I vowed then and there to never lose control to the dark energy within me again. I need to strengthen my soul energy quickly, it seems to be the only way to keep that power from overtaking my mind. The thought of some entity replacing me... I didn't want to imagine it. Would I even be alive? Or would I just... cease to exist?

"What the hell happened?" Kim Seong-Hoon shouted from a distance. "Your eyes… they were turning pitch black, like darkness was overtaking you…" How close he is to the truth… he might be an idiot, but he's smart.

"Doesn't matter, summon your weapons, keep fighting!" The battle was not over yet, my sudden outburst may have interrupted the battle, but we had to finish.

I stood up supporting myself up with the scythe, I felt exhausted for some reason as if all of my energy was consumed suddenly. There were only two possibilities: one, in order for that darkness entity to take over me it consumed my strength or two, that warmth in the depths of my soul consumed my mana to push that thing out. I have to check my mana...

[Mana 400/20000]

Well, that doesn't look too good for me...

"Then let's end this battle swiftly—you have a lot of explaining to do, Gaon," Kang Eun-Woo barked. His eyes betrayed his worry for me, but my previous block on his hammer strike had clearly left him fired up, a small fire blazing in his pupils.

My mana regeneration is at 200/s… If only I hadn't opened that big mouth of mine, I'd have had more time to recover… Nice work, Gaon.

Swoosh

I barely had time to raise my scythe in defense as a massive ice dragon came crashing toward me. Right behind it was Kim Seong-Hoon's dragon blade, slicing through the air and aiming straight for my neck. I have to save more mana…

"Keep big sister Gaon locked in place for me!" Jieun commanded. Idiot, if you shout like that, I'll know exactly what you're planning…

Clang!

My scythe danced as I rotated my wrist, aiming at the dragon sword from below. The force of my strike made Kim Seong-Hoon raise his arm, leaving him defenseless.

I grabbed his hanbok and pulled him in close until we were face to face. Our eyes met, and for some reason, he froze. Seizing the opportunity, I pulled him over my shoulder and slammed him into the ground with all my strength.

"GAK!" Blood and spit flew from his mouth upon impact, the force cracking a few of his bones.

"No, I can't cancel it now!" The entire sky filled with celestial light. I knew it was time for Jieun's ultimate attack. My mana had quickly regenerated to 2000, just enough for me to execute my next step.

Shadow Parade! This skill didn't use mana, but I felt my soul tearing, splitting me painfully into two extra pieces. In the next moment, two more versions of myself manifested from my soul. In a blur of darkness, we blended together on the battlefield, making it impossible to tell who was who. With a single thought, we shared the same purpose and dashed at our temporary enemies together.

"Woo!" Malrang barked and jumped to protect Jieun, expecting my attack since the latter did not have ability to move.

BOOOOOM!

The split with my clones and the use of Superior Space Distortion took less than a few seconds, leaving Kim Seong-Hoon no time to get up or escape. A concentrated celestial blast exploded where he lay, leaving him charred like jerky. He died without even a chance to defend himself.

Kang Eun-Woo had been rushing to help Kim Seong-Hoon right before the explosion, his focus solely on his friend. But no one expected that my real body had chosen to target him instead. As I moved with precision, I saw Malrang's flames engulf my two clones, reducing them to ashes, which made my soul tremble in pain slightly. Eun-Woo, unaware of the deception, swung his hammer in what he believed was a final blow to another clone. But that casual strike, meant to eliminate a mere decoy, became his fatal mistake. He was wide open, and my scythe trembled with bloodlust.

In a beautiful, blinding celestial explosion from Jieun's attack, Kang Eun-Woo was forced to close his eyes for just a moment. However, those closed eyelids would never have the chance to open again. My body danced through the air, dodging his strike. I only had to extend my arm. Air Shatter...

In the next instant, his head burst into a bloody mist that scattered across the battlefield. His heavy body slumped to the ground with a loud thud, staining the white marble red. It was a disturbing sight, especially knowing he was my friend. For a brief moment, I wondered if I could have gone a bit easier on him, but this world wouldn't show any of us mercy. Next time, it might be someone else who struck him down, and we'd never see his smiling face again.

With a golden light creeping over and surrounding their bodies, protecting their souls for revival, Eun-Woo and Kim Seong-Hoon were officially out of today's battle.

I stood straight, covered in blood, my head tilted slightly as I stared at Malrang and Jieun. Someone might mistake me for a psychopath right now, but I didn't care—I only craved more battle, more of the thrill it brought.

"Now... only you two remain..." The chilling words left my mouth, and I wondered if I was really losing myself—even without the darkness inside me.

Title: "Life and Death Battle Against Friends (Part 2)"