Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game
Chapter 115: Ch113. Calm after the storm

Chapter 115: Ch113. Calm after the storm

Miles collided painfully with a pile of metal scraps and bones, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

’You didn’t have to kick me this hard, dude...’ He thought, but his thoughts were hazy.

He had no time to dwell on anything. His [Doppelganger] was already on its way to buy him the time he needed, clashing with the Revenant with every ounce of its remaining strength.

It was now or never. Every millisecond counted.

And so, he summoned the [Ether Teapot], which materialized in his hand from the familiar – comforting, even – storm of colorful sparks.

As soon as the teapot and the crystal teacup took shape, Miles poured it and drank.

He did not even have to wait for the magical, fragrant and flavorful liquid to reach his stomach. As soon as it touched his tongue, Miles already felt its effects.

The healing of his wounds, the strength coursing through his veins, the energy filling his soul.

Even his [Doppelganger] seemed to feel it, fighting off the enemy with renewed strength and vigor.

"Okay..." Miles grinned, exhaling a deep, focused sigh. "NOW!"

As soon as Miles shouted his command, the [Doppelganger] went straight back to its ethereal form, attaching itself to the uneven ground and surging directly towards Miles.

When it arrived, attaching itself to Miles’ feet, it rose again, right when that king of Revenants was lunging at them.

Miles raised the [Harbinger’s Scythe], which had swapped places with the [Doppelganger]’s shadowy weapon, and blocked the full brunt of the Revenant’s blow.

The Revenant tilted its head in sudden surprise.

Miles was now wearing his familiar raven-black long coat, and with it, he felt his power doubling up, allowing him to stand up against the enemy’s fearsome strike.

"How about that, uh, friend?" His grin widened.

The Revenant’s strike had been deflected, the force of it still ringing through the air as Miles’ grip on [Harbinger’s Scythe] tightened. His coat swirled around him, its raven-black fabric dancing with an aura of power he had never fully embraced until now.

The Revenant took a step back, clearly surprised, its hollow eyes narrowing in confusion. But it did not hesitate for long.

With a screech that vibrated through Miles’ bones, it lunged again, claws outstretched, aiming for Miles’ throat.

But this time, Miles was ready. The power coursing through him was different now. It was a symbiotic union of will and force, and Miles was making this power his own for the first time.

In that moment, time seemed to slow down.

With the swiftness of a predator, Miles sidestepped the Revenant’s attack. The creature’s claws scraped past him, but he was already moving, already anticipating the next strike. His feet shifted like liquid, the [Doppelganger]’s influence bringing fluidity to his every motion. His mind sharpened, and his heart thundered with excitement.

The Revenant’s claws met nothing but air. Miles was already there, his scythe cutting through the distance between them with incredible precision. With a single, sweeping motion, he cleaved through the creature’s right arm, severing it at the elbow. Dark blood sprayed across the ground in a torrent, sizzling as it hit the jagged metal debris scattered throughout The Maw.

The Revenant shrieked, its mouth opening in a grotesque howl. But Miles did not pause. He had to keep moving. There was no room for mercy or hesitation.

With his scythe still dripping with dark blood, Miles spun, his coat trailing behind him like the wings of a raven. Him and the [Doppelganger], locked together in seamless motion, attacked the creature that towered over them with a flurry of strikes that flowed so smoothly that, for a moment, it looked like it was Kurt fighting, not Miles.

The Revenant’s movements became slightly slower, less precise. It was wounded. And yet, it seemed to be growing more frenzied with each passing second.

Its remaining arm flailed wildly, but Miles was always one step ahead. He twisted, ducked, and rolled, gathering momentum, never letting his scythe falter in its deadly rhythm.

The Revenant lunged again, its maw snapping at Miles. He dodged just in time, rolling to the side as the jaws came crashing down where he had stood moments before. The ground trembled beneath him, shaking with the sheer force of the creature’s fury.

But Miles was not done.

Not by a long shot.

The [Doppelganger] surged forward with him, leaving its coat form, its shadowy form gliding beneath the Revenant’s legs, striking at the creature’s knees with its shadowy scythe.

The force of the blow sent the Revenant off balance, its massive form stumbling backward.

"Now!" Miles shouted, his voice filled with unrelenting determination.

With his [Doppelganger] distracting the Revenant, Miles took his chance. He dashed forward, every muscle in his body firing with his newfound strength. He closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, raising the [Harbinger’s Scythe] above his head as the Revenant struggled to regain its footing.

In a fluid, violent motion, Miles swung the scythe downward. The blade connected with the Revenant’s exposed skull, the sound of it cracking like thunder. The creature howled again, the scream echoing throughout The Maw, but Miles did not stop.

He twisted the blade, driving it deeper into the creature’s flesh. He could feel the resistance of something ancient, something old as the earth itself. But that did not matter.

He was not going to let it win.

With one final, desperate roar, he drove the scythe all the way through, the blade sinking deep into the creature’s skull. The Revenant’s head jerked backward, its body spasming as it tried to hold onto life, but Miles was relentless. He wrenched the blade free, pulling it back for another strike charged with every bit of the momentum he had gathered through his last flurry of movements.

The Revenant’s body collapsed to the ground with a deafening crash, its massive form shaking the earth beneath it. The once-mighty creature, the one that had seemed invincible – the one that had nearly killed him and Kurt – was now just a heap of bloodied flesh and rusted bone.

Silence descended over the battlefield, The Maw falling eerily silent for the first time since Miles arrived.

Miles stood there, his chest heaving, his heart pounding in his ears. And then it came, almost dizzyingly, the surge of energy that came from the king of Revenants pouring down into Miles like an injection of power.

It was far more intense than when he killed the other Revenants back then. It almost felt like Miles’ body was rearranging itself from scratch, newfound power coursing through his veins like fire.

But he did not have time to dwell on that.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, his eyes scanning the wreckage of The Maw, the remnants of the battle still hanging in the air like smoke.

The whispers had faded, but their presence still lingered in the back of his mind, as if they were waiting for him to slip, waiting for him to falter.

He turned to his [Doppelganger], who stood beside him, equally battered, equally worn. But like him, it was not ready to stop.

"You good?" Miles asked, his voice rough from the effort.

The [Doppelganger] nodded, its shadowy form flickering for a brief moment before stabilizing.

"Good. Let’s go, then." Miles did not wait for another second. He dismissed the [Harbinger’s Scythe], and looked up, toward the exit of The Maw.

The silence of the place, now that the Revenant was dead, felt oppressive. As if the Maw itself were mourning the loss of its champion.

Before he started to climb, though, he looked at the uneven ground, toward the remains of that Revenant, and thought for a moment.

’Hm... Yeah, that’s a good idea.’

Kurt would have never believed in him, if he went back with empty hands, so he caught one of the sharp bone shards of the Revenant’s crown, and carried it with himself.

Then, he moved up, the world still shifting beneath his feet, still alive with the hum of energy, of danger, of unknown horrors lurking just out of sight. But Miles knew one thing for certain.

He had won, he had survived. And that was enough.

The Maw had tested him. It had pushed him to his limits, but Miles had passed, and now, he would leave it behind, for now, at least.

The only thing that mattered now was getting out.

He did not know what lay beyond the Maw, he did not know what Kurt would think of his comeback from this hell. But he did know one thing.

He was different now. Stronger. Better.

Just like he wanted Kurt’s training to make him.

And for the first time since entering The Horizon, he allowed himself to smile – to actually smile.

It was a smile born of victory, of survival.

The dark, twisted world of The Maw faded below him as he stepped outside.

And as he took that first step into the new Chapter of his life, he knew one thing for sure.

Now, there was only one thing between him and getting out of The Horizon.

The Last Verse awaited him.