Primordial Awakening: I Can Evolve My Skills Infinitely - Chapter 272

Chapter 272: Mage of Eternity and Beam of Eternity, The Fourth Star of Hatred
Maeva’s reflections all rushed toward Sam at once, moving like a storm of shadows.

‘Can they actually hurt me too?’ was Sam’s first thought as he watched them surround him, their scythes glinting. ‘Or is she just trying to distract me so her real self can land a hit?’

Either way, he wasn’t going to let it happen.

Fwish! Slash!

He dodged a sweeping strike from one reflection and countered with his own, but—

Fwoom!

His hand sliced through thin air as the reflection dissolved into silver mist.

‘I can’t hit it,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes. ‘So it’s just a trick after all.’

Maeva was using her illusions to keep him busy.

Sam continued dodging the endless barrage, striking at anything that came close, but every time he destroyed one, another appeared.

They kept coming, relentless, surrounding him from every side.

He stayed aware of the others too, glancing around whenever he could between movements.

Levi stood still, eyes closed, the massive halo eye hovering behind him tracking Sam’s every move.

[He’s watching us.]

‘No shit.’

Fwish! Bam!

He punched another reflection, scattering it.

And then there was Damon.

His eyes were also closed, but his entire form was glowing, the three books orbiting around him flaring brighter and brighter.

He wasn’t attacking yet, he was building something.

Charging.

‘Lucien said “round two,”‘ Sam thought as he deflected another scythe, ‘so I’m guessing this is their final formation. Everything they’re doing now must’ve been planned ahead.’

He frowned, his gaze staying fixed on Damon even while dodging Maeva’s illusions.

Something told him she wasn’t the real threat here.

And then—

BOOM!

A sudden explosion ripped through the field, strong enough to make the ground tremble under Sam’s feet.

He turned toward the sound just in time to see Damon’s body levitating, surrounded by roaring waves of mana.

The three books spun faster and faster, forming a spiral of energy around him.

Damon’s eyes opened, completely white.

A glowing ritual circle expanded beneath his feet, growing brighter and larger with every second.

“Haha,” Maeva’s reflections all spoke in unison, their voices echoing from every direction, “It’s over.”

“That’s like the seventh time you guys have said that,” Sam muttered as he sidestepped another slash. “Make up your minds already.”

“You don’t understand,” the reflections replied, moving faster now, their numbers multiplying. “Lucien may be the strongest among us… but in this state, Damon can rival him.”

[You have a bad feeling about this.]

The ritual circle expanded even more, spreading across the entire battlefield until it nearly touched Sam’s feet.

Sweat rolled down his temple.

Swish!

He dashed forward, intent on breaking through to Damon, but Maeva’s illusions swarmed him again, blocking every path.

Every time he destroyed one, another immediately replaced it.

Endless.

It went on for what felt like an eternity, thirty seconds of constant motion and chaos, while Damon’s aura grew heavier, denser, almost suffocating.

[You have an incredibly bad feeling about this.]

[Something terrible is about to happen.]

[A deep sense of DOOM overtakes your being.]

The panels flashed rapidly before Sam’s eyes, and even he could feel the shift in the air.

Something was coming, something massive.

And just as Damon’s energy reached its peak, Sam braced himself to finally push through, ready to ignore every illusion and take his chance.

But then—

Levi’s eyes snapped open.

The enormous eye halo behind him locked perfectly on Sam, glowing blindingly.

“LEFT!” Levi shouted, his voice sharp and commanding.

It wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order.

Sam’s body suddenly jerked left against his will.

‘Huh?!’

And in that instant, one of Maeva’s reflections appeared in front of him, her scythe already mid-swing.

The blade cut deep into his shoulder.

“ARGH—!”

Pain shot through his body as blood splattered across the ground.

‘She was the real one?!’

His eyes widened, pupils shaking as he stared at the wound.

Fwish!

Without hesitation, he tried to punch her again, but his fist went straight through.

She vanished in silver mist.

[Looks like they can actually hurt you.]

‘Damn it…’

Sam dropped to one knee, his breathing ragged.

Pain flared across his body, the wound burning as divine energy seeped through it.

But strangely, Maeva’s reflections didn’t rush to finish him off.

They all froze. Sam raised his head slightly, and understood why.

“Oh.”

Damon had finished charging.

Fwish… BOOM!

MAGE OF ETERNITY!

A beam of light erupted from the heavens, striking Damon’s position.

When it faded, something colossal emerged from the explosion.

A gigantic figure rose into view, a mage, easily fifty meters tall, wearing a flowing purple robe.

Ten books orbited around its body like planets around a sun.

Its face was hidden behind a blank white mask, with only two small eyeholes glowing faintly from within.

Those eyes locked directly on Sam.

The air itself trembled from the pressure of its presence.

“Goodbye,” the mage’s voice boomed, deep and echoing from everywhere at once.

The ten books spread out around it in a perfect circle, spinning faster and faster.

Sam looked around and saw all the other Celestials retreating, running far from the battlefield.

That said everything he needed to know.

This attack wasn’t just strong, it was catastrophic.

The ground cracked beneath the mage as purple light gathered between the ten books, forming a massive energy pattern.

BEAM OF ETERNITY!

The space in front of the mage twisted as a colossal beam began charging.

Sam tried to move, to run, to dodge, to do anything, but his body wouldn’t respond.

He was completely locked in place. The trap had worked perfectly.

That was the plan all along: to restrain him, corner him, and let Damon erase him with one blow.

And judging by the calm, confident expressions on the Celestials’ faces as they kept retreating without looking back…

They truly believed they’d won.

[It’s over.]

Sam said nothing. He just took a slow, deep breath.

His eyes flicked upward for a brief moment, and his thoughts drifted.

Belle… Seraphine…

If this battle was being shown to everyone, that meant they were watching too. Watching him die.

[Will you join them?]

‘You mean the Primordials?’

[If we die here, they cannot remain within our Primordial Space. We’ll either be transported elsewhere… or vanish completely.]

‘Who cares.’

But that was a lie. He did care.

Deep down, in the very core of his being, he hated it.

He hated losing. He hated being powerless. He hated the idea of them watching him die like this.

That burning emotion spread through his chest, twisting tighter and tighter until it became something else entirely: pure, raw hatred.

The beam finished charging.

A flash of violet tore through the clouds.

And then—

BOOM!

The beam of eternity fired, slicing through the air toward him at impossible speed.

The world around him blurred as it drew closer, faster than sound.

And then, suddenly—

[The passive of your “Time” affinity has activated: “Death Stop.”]

Everything slowed.

The beam didn’t stop, it just crawled forward at a snail’s pace.

Sam stood there, staring at the massive wall of purple energy inching toward him.

‘Heh,’ he thought bitterly. ‘Guess this’ll just make my death slower.’

The light illuminated his face, reflecting in his eyes.

But then something unexpected happened.

As his fury deepened, as his hatred boiled past its limit…

Ding!

A faint sound echoed inside his mind.

And then—

[You have summoned a “Star of Hatred”.]

Sam’s eyes widened Then he grinned.

A wild, feral grin spread across his face.

Four stars now floated around him, glowing crimson, pulsing like hearts.

He didn’t even check what the new ability was.

He didn’t need to. He just activated it.

And in that single instant, all the light around him was consumed by darkness.

DEMON OF HATRED!