MARVEL: GAMER PATH - CHAPTER 285 (Patreon)

[Alex Walker POV]

“I must admit, you are quite the difficult pest to eliminate.” Knull sneered, baring his unnaturally long teeth at me in something akin to a smile.

“I was about to say the same,” I replied, channeling my cosmic power to increase my power, as a bright aura swarmed around me. Making my muscles contract, and hardened, increasing my power dramatically.

I was already pushing the boundaries of what I could and could not do. Bringing my body to the very limit every few seconds just to match him in power.

His power simply kept increasing as the battle continued. Making it considerably harder for me to keep my game ahead of his. 

There was only so much experience alone could solve, and Knull was already reaching the line where the skill gap between us would become irrelevant.

So, in order to maintain a safe distance between us, where my experience in combat could trump over his raw power. I was forcibly enhancing the flow of my cosmic energy, to double the results a normal flow of cosmic energy would usually give.

However, this increase in power wasn’t one without consequences. 

Thanks to this technique I had created on the go while fighting Knull to affect the flow of my own energy, my body was in a constant state of cellular self-destruction and cellular regeneration. 

Effectively nullifying my regeneration for the most part while I was in this boosted state. Fortunately for me, thanks to my many adaptation skills, and the nature of my powers themselves, my body was slowly growing accustomed to the strain I was giving it. 

Be that as it may. If things continued this way, I was nearing the point where taking the boons of the living tribunal would be the best option to continue moving forward.

I’m not sure how much power Knull has left. But I am almost certain he nearing his max.

“I truly don’t understand why to struggle against the unavoidable?” Knull said, walking towards me, in the empty void of space. “Why fight to defend those that would never defend you. Your little group, I understand. But the universe? What has the universe ever done for you?”

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at him, before sighing, “You speak some truths. The universe, at least, those that rule it. Consider me a pest, an affront to their goals. Just like you. But the thing is. I don’t fight for them. Fuck them. Fuck you. And everyone else. I fight for me, and what’s mine! If others benefit from it, good for them. It was never my intention.”

Knull chuckled, his chuckle slowly turning into genuine laughter. “I think you are the first being in all of creation I have ever come close to like. Congratulations, you have earned my praise. For that unlikely accomplishment, so, when the time comes. I will kill the ones you sought to protect. Offering them the mercy of a painless death.”

“It’s cute you think you will win,” I replied, with a challenging smile, pointing Serenity towards the sky. Consuming the boons of the living tribunal, right now, it wasn’t the time for caution.

“Hm?” Knull hummed, his eyes hardening, undoubtedly feeling my power increase.

“That’s better,” I grinned, allocating the stats points I had on one particular stat. Luck. It was time to start plan B, using [Dreams of Aspiration] to put lady luck on my side, by alternating probability itself to push the tides in my favor. 

“You had more power saved up,” Knull commented, giving me a scrutinizing look. “You truly are someone worth killing,” he added, before darting towards me, at a blinding speed.

However, before he could reach me, I jumped above him, dodging his attack, before twirling around as he passed by, blasting him on the back with Serenity. 

/\/\/\/Are you really struggling against that roach?\/\/\/\

I stopped cold. That voice, I knew who it was. The Beyonder. 

Inwardly cursing, I looked for him on my map. But found nothing, but a small message saying he was outside my universe.

/\/\/\/I’m not there. I lost. Fair and square. You won the right to keep me out of your dimension when you won my tournament. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t watch every now and then.\/\/\/\

“Leave me alone!” I barked, keeping my eyes on Knull.

“I will, once you are nothing but a corpse for All-Black to feast on,” Knull replied, thinking I was talking to him.

/\/\/\/You are unbearably blind. Can’t you see that If you so wished, erasing that edgy maggot would be as difficult as breathing? However, instead of dispatching off him, you quantify your power, limiting your own self to boundaries of irrationality.\/\/\/\

I said nothing, dodging the onslaught of attacks Knull was throwing at me. Keeping the distance between us. As I tried to cut the connection The Beyonder had set.

/\/\/\/You banished me from your universe. Me, The Beyonder! Yet, you struggle to defeat him? I am rather insulted. Honestly.\/\/\/\

My eyes widened a bit at his comment, making me falter in my attempt to cut his connection. He had point. I had banished him out of this universe a long time ago. The, me of then, pales in comparison to the, me of now. 

Yet, against all odds. I had banished him, a being that ranked as the second strongest being in all of creation.

Granted, at the time, I had been in auto mode. But, be that as it may, my power had been enough to banish the likes of The Beyonder. If only I knew how to access that mode again. 

….

Perhaps… this was [Dreams of Aspiration] doing. A result of pushing the waves of luck towards me.

Resulting in an unlikely event. One to set a path towards my ultimate desire. Winning this war.

[Dreams of Aspiration] was, after all, an ability that was fairly difficult to control. At least the passive side of it anyway, because unlike the active side of it, where I could literally see probable events and make them happen. The passive side of this skill worked just like luck. 

Thankfully the passive side of my ability still followed my intent. Meaning it would not bring me bad luck or harm, as long as I didn’t actively want it. But even though it followed my general intent, the results of this passive side were impossible to predict.

In dungeons, I would sometimes simply find more loot. Which was by all means a favorable outcome. But other times, I would simply find stacks of coins on the floor as I entered a dungeon or a collectible with no real use, an outcome that technically entered the realm of good luck, but on the shittier side.

So, perhaps… The Beyonder talking with me was nothing more than a passively generated event. Something my skill deemed as good luck.

“Any tips?” I asked, teleporting out of Knull’s grasp.

/\/\/\/Hmm, well. It would harm my image if you get killed by him, especially after kicking me out of your universe. I don’t want that…. Hmm. Very well then, I will give you a nudge in the right direction. I do owe you a prize for winning my tournament, after all, an official prize at that. The reason why you are so weak, it’s because you lack understanding. The moment you banished me, I caught a glimpse of your true power, and believe me, you have more than enough power to erase the likes of him. So, my advice it’s the following and it comes in a rhyme. There are two forces fighting, one to negate. Darkness and Light is a pointless debate. The real enemy sleeps from within. Should you understand, you will see, should you fail, you will die. I can't wait to see what path you will take, as I with delight watch from afar.\/\/\/\