Marvel: Impregnation System
Chapter 207 - 194: Ricky vs. Arthur Pendragon, FINAL!

Chapter 207: Chapter 194: Ricky vs. Arthur Pendragon, FINAL!

RIP

"IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

BOOM

It was almost dazzling, if one could stop thinking about the absolute horrors this fire was unleashing.

The sovereign flame rose in perfect columns, blazing emerald into the heavens like a twisted aurora, painting the crumbling towers and ancient walls in eerie, dancing light.

Ricky hovered before it all, arms spread wide as though inviting the inferno closer, letting it curl around him like one of his lover’s embrace.

But even these flames didn’t stop with the city.

It was as if Ricky’s very words seared into the corners of Arthur’s mind, blazing like wildfire as he gazed into the reflection of his own golden eyes.

"I didn’t want this-" Arthur tried to speak, voice thin, as though even his throat couldn’t bear the weight of what was happening.

Excalibur’s once steady, comforting words were lost to him now, drowned out by the oppressive echo of Ricky’s laughter and the velvet whisper of the Shadow Broker coiling around his mind.

For the first time, Arthur felt that blade’s voice fade into a distant murmur, smothered by the fine-suited stand that prowled through his thoughts, draping silk over every conviction and binding them tight with a narrative that fit its host.

RIP

"WELL THAT’S TOO F*CKING BAD ARTHUR, PEOPLE DIE!" Ricky’s voice roared over the crackling inferno, the green flames licking hungrily at the crumbling walls behind him.

"No, nobody had to die-" Arthur tried to get any word out but Ricky wasn’t having it, interrupting for the full purpose of steering this narrative.

"Oh my god, THAT’S HOW WARS WORK!" Ricky laughed, trying to slick back his hair only to realize he was still wearing his helmet.

"YOU THROW PEOPLE INTO THE FRAY WHILE THE KINGS FIGHT!" Ricky hovered slightly forward, eyes locked on Arthur.

Someone who was always so broken by the death of a single life, yet lived in an age defined by endless war.

Ricky couldn’t understand it, he couldn’t understand what it meant to be someone with such convictions like Arthur and hold the weight of the crown.

"Are you telling me that back then, when you commanded your armies, that people didn’t die? Bullsh*t." Ricky didn’t even give Arthur a chance to stammer a reply.

"For all that I am, the biggest piece of sh*t you can imagine, at least I own it." Ricky thumped his chest, almost proud, almost defiant.

"At least I can look you in the face and say that I am a monster."

The flames behind them roared louder, swallowing the city in green hellfire as Ricky’s words hung heavy in the smoke-choked air.

’A little more,’ Ricky thought, eyes glinting as he watched Arthur’s shoulders rise and fall with the silent war tearing through his mind.

"I am not a wise king, nor the one the people would ever truly choose, but humanity at its core is-"

"Humanity is literally just like me!" Ricky laughed, stabbing a finger into his own chest, his grin twisted with raw delight at the revelation.

"People strive to lead by example," Arthur spoke solemnly, forcing the words out as if they were the last barrier keeping him from falling apart.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ricky genuinely burst out laughing, not to undermine Arthur or break his psyche but because he honestly found it hilarious.

"People don’t know sh*t!" Ricky summed up the entire human race with a bitter laugh, arms thrown wide like he was welcoming them all to witness their own hypocrisy.

"People don’t know what they want but they think they do. Oh my god, they’ll swear up and down that they want someone like you." Ricky laughed in a cruel bark, gazing down upon while shaking his head.

"How they want to be a shining king, a hero, but they don’t." Ricky sighed, raising his hand towards him while shaking his head.

"They don’t need you, Arthur. They don’t need a glorified statue of someone who, at the end of the day, can’t even choose one over the other." Ricky mocked, looking upon Arthur with almost a hint of pity.

"You can’t even choose to fight me or save your city." Ricky gestured, watching Arthur seemingly at a loss which made the promised king flinch.

"No, people want someone they can blame." Ricky said from the bottom of his heart,genuinely believing this statement.

"Someone who they can hate, someone they can fear, and it lets them sleep at night knowing that I’m the monster rather than the guy staring them back in the mirror." Ricky finished, finishing his words with nothing but the same thing he started with.

His bloody smile.

"Is that why you win?" Arthur asked, mentioning his words from earlier and summarizing everything Ricky had said with a single statement.

"Arthur, I win cause I’m willing to do whatever it takes." Ricky shrugged at it all, knowing there was more but that was the easiest way to say it.

However Arthur just scowled beneath his white helmet, gripping his sword tightly as it shook in his hands.

"You sacrifice the helpless to feed your own ambition and that’s not strength, it’s weakness." Arthur spoke from his heart, gazing upon Ricky as someone who was, in fact, weak.

"I have met men like you, men who believe life is a game of power and survival at any cost, who justify every cruelty as necessary. But strength isn’t measured by how many lives you can destroy, it’s in how many you choose to save." Arthur’s golden eyes peered through his helmet, staring right through Ricky but the man hovering about it all simply laughed.

"You’re simply a man-"

"No, I’m the guy that’s gonna turn you into an undead and use your skull as a f*cking coaster." Ricky interrupted Arthur, shooing off his ideals with the brush of his gesture.

"I will never bend." Arthur lowered his stance, holding up his mythical sword that shined in a white hue.

"Yeah, well, we’ll f*cking see about that."

It was then, at this moment, that Ricky finally decided to throw everything at Arthur to finish him off for good right here right now.

However, unlike the weary, battered Arthur, Ricky still had one last trick tucked up his sleeve and it was nothing more than a small, unassuming bean cradled in his palm.

(Epic Item) Senzu Beans x 9→8: Senzu Beans are magical beans with extraordinary healing properties. They are small, round beans that can heal injuries, cure illnesses, and restore the consumer’s energy completely. One bean is typically enough to heal a person from near-death injuries and restore them to full health.

Upon consumption, his battered body surged with sudden vitality.

Torn flesh mended, bruises faded, and raw stamina flooded back into every cell, driving away the bone-deep exhaustion that had nearly buckled him.

It was as if he’d never been touched at all.

But for all the miraculous restoration the bean provided, it could do nothing for the fractured state of Ricky’s mind.

The toll of channeling too much power, of pushing his psyche beyond every reasonable limit, remained.

The migraines still pulsed like molten nails behind his eyes, and the chaotic whirl of overlapping thoughts never slowed.

And he pushed himself further.

’Final form, True Spirit Spear Chastiefol.’ Ricky uttered, reading off the panel of Chastiefol’s powers as the spear hummed in his grasp.

Its golden surface began to glow, the light intensifying until it surged into a storm of yellow electricity that arced violently down into him.

A strangled breath tore from Ricky beneath his helmet, his body seizing as if the spear itself had rammed straight through his chest. Agony bloomed out from every nerve ending, a searing wildfire of pain that made him feel like his bones were being hollowed out and filled with liquid lightning.

His muscles twisted and convulsed, veins bulging against his skin in pulsing cords as the Spirit Spear’s essence clawed into his very soul.

Ricky’s heart skipped beats, his mind buckling under the raw flood of alien power as every fragment of Chastiefol’s form, the countless deadly constructs and shapes it could assume, tried to cram themselves into a single vessel.

Into him.

That was what made this final form so monstrous: it wasn’t just Chastiefol taking one perfected shape.

It was every single iteration from the daggers, the guardian bears, the sunflower, and all coalescing at once, stacked together and force-fed into his being, each one magnified beyond its normal limit.

As his vision danced with spots, Ricky’s lips pulled into a jagged grin beneath his helm.

Because for all the agony, all the risk of his mind fracturing entirely, this power was utterly intoxicating and he would wield every last drop of it.

’Everything-ARGH!’ Ricky immediately said inside his own mind, greed ripping through every caution he might have had.

But upon voicing the command, the demand proved to be too great, too gluttonous, and it was why blood immediately burst from his nose, eyes, and ears, snaking down his face and slithering in dark rivulets over the intricate grooves of his armor, dripping from his chin in thick splats.

"Ha~"

However, even as blood trickled down his face, Ricky felt the extensions materialize around him and relished in the sheer, monstrous power.

BOOOM

Yellow electricity spiraled violently around his body, illuminating the nightmarish forms of Chastiefol now fully unleashed.

Arthur could only stare up at the horror above him.

Behind Ricky, a vast sea of spears had taken shape but not in the small, feeble weapons Arthur had been graced with before, but full-sized replicas of Chastiefol’s true might, their tips all pointed hungrily toward the earth.

Then, to his left loomed the gargantuan bear, the Guardian, its breath alone cracking the ground beneath it.

Yet as the manifestation of the fourth form took shape, a beautiful sunflower that seemed only a bud yet to bloom, Ricky’s entire body began to convulse.

His head jerked violently from side to side, his hands clawed at his own helmet as though trying to tear it off.

His mind simply couldn’t contain it.

Thoughts fractured under the weight of too many powers crammed together, like a dam splintering beneath a surging flood.

Agony danced through every nerve ending, his vision doubling and tripling until the world twisted into a grotesque kaleidoscope of colors and shapes.

’DAMMIT, JUST A LITTLE MORE!’ Ricky yelled within the prison of his own mind, fury and desperation clawing at his insides as he forced his just healed body to tear itself apart again in his relentless pursuit of overwhelming force.

’You are pushing yourself too much,’ the Ebony Crown finally spoke, its voice as calm and cold as ever, breaking its long silence.

However his words did not regard Ricky with compassion, but with the distant disdain like a monarch addressing a reckless subject.

’I can-’

’Too much burden is being placed on your psyche,’ The Ebony Crown cut him off, its regal voice laced with eerie neutrality.

’At this rate, you will pass out or even die.’ The Ebony Crown assessed calmly, warning Ricky in the best way he knew how.

But Ricky’s eye twitched, about to spit out some crude retort, when the Crown continued with a dry and unamused tone.

’And before you try to demean me with that filthy mouth of yours, remember, I am quite literally a crown situated on your head, entrenched in your mind and your demise is inconvenient to me as well.’ The Ebony Crown sighed, already sensing the annoyance simmering within Ricky’s mind.

However, the Ebony Crown wasn’t wrong in his assessment since it was entirely reasonable given his inexperience with wieling Chastiefol.

Chastiefol was a mythic weapon, but it was so much more, it felt more.

Though not in the overtly sentient, curse-laden way of the Ebony Blade, but in its unique affinity: a bond patiently woven through gradual favorability.

Its very nature was built on intimacy, on slowly learning about nature and about each form, each nuance, on building a mutual rhythm until the spear’s final evolution felt less like an unlockable power and more like a culmination of trust.

Then came Ricky.

Who didn’t so much grow with it as he did brute-force it.

Ricky had barely budged Chastiefol’s favorability before he outright cheated his way to 100%, forcing a bond that should’ve taken countless battles to blossom.

It’s why it wasn’t his body that couldn’t keep up, it was his mind that was struggling to connect with his being.

Between his regeneration and the Senzu Beans, even catastrophic wounds were little more than temporary setbacks.

But the mind wasn’t so easily patched together.

The raw, crushing mental strain of forcibly wielding every advanced form simultaneously slammed into him like the collapsing cathedral he had burned seconds before.

Each thought felt heavy, each twitch of focus a grinding ordeal that left his temples pulsing and vision blurring.

But Ricky didn’t understand limits, he only knew how to break them.

So instead of slowing down, he popped another bean, shoving his mind even further past the brink.

And above Arthur, the entire sky ignited and slowly started teeming with countless psychic constructs, along with a violent halo of blades, guardians, and spears that now orbited Ricky like a deranged solar system, all zeroed in on the promised king who stood there, battered yet unbowed.

’More.’ Ricky commanded internally, his will driving the spectral arms to clutch their weapons tightly once again.

Two of them began to charge his Apocalyptic Solar Convergence attack, their energy humming with deadly intent.

Above them, the sunflower floating in the sky slowly unfurled its glowing petals and bloomed before Arthur, its fierce light locking onto him like a silent beacon of destruction.

Yet Arthur, steady and unyielding, took a deep breath as he lifted his head, eyes fixed on Ricky, and prepared himself for the impending onslaught.

Meanwhile, Ricky felt his body seize, every muscle constricting under the catastrophic weight of what he was channeling.

"FIRE!" Ricky laughed, unleashing the sunflower which started writhing in a glowing power that formed from its flower head.

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

In the next second, the countless gatling gun psychic constructs rained down a flurry of sovereign empowered ammunition.

The night sky seemed to teem with hundreds of thousands of green stars, each shot blazing like a comet streaking toward its target.

The massive guardian bear roared at the signal, jaws cracking with a sickening twist as it surged forward, its very mass distorting the ground beneath.

The spears hovered behind Ricky, their tips vibrating with such intensity they started shredding the air, tiny sonic booms popping like firecrackers.

The sunflower above twisted fully open, sunlight gathering so densely within its petals that the entire blossom turned white-hot.

All while inside his helmet, Ricky’s breath rattled.

His mind was so strained that even the voices in it began to echo, bouncing off cracked walls of sanity.

’More, MORE!’ Ricky demanded, his teeth grinding so hard blood seeped from his gums.

Yet through that hellish chaos, the Ebony Crown’s voice remained unfazed, almost expecting Ricky to ignore all his warning

’You truly are an addict to your own ambition.’

’I SAID MORE!’ Ricky roared, veins standing out like cables along his throat as the ebony crown remained silent before finally obeying.

’Very well.’

WHOOSH

It was then that everything at Ricky’s fingertips surged with power from the Crown.

Every psychic construct he controlled, every weapon forged within his mind, ignited with a fierce, overwhelming energy that amplified beyond its usual limits.

Even his spectral arms started to glow a little more fiercely, imbuing their special traits into the weapon within their grasp with a more volatile display of power.

All while Arthur watched this grotesque display of power with neither awe nor fear but only a distant sadness laced with iron.

"You’re burning yourself alive for nothing," Arthur murmured, almost too softly to be heard over the roaring storm.

Genuinely believing that Ricky’s attempts were utterly useless since they would not piece through Excalibur.

"Come on then, show me the weight of all that greed-"

BOOM

Arthur’s solemn words were cut short as the guardian bear lunged forward, its massive claws raking through the air.

Around him, the sea of spears screamed down like falling stars, while psychic gatling guns unleashed a relentless barrage.

Above it all, the sunflower’s core erupted in a blinding beam of searing light.

All aimed at Arthur, who stood there alone, a single man with only his battered sword and battered body, facing a force able to break entire armies.

But Arthur’s golden eyes shone not with fear, but with that same quiet, inexhaustible resolve that made Ricky want to throw up in his mouth.

And as the storm consumed him, he lifted his blade and whispered,

"For Camelot."

BOOOOOM

The area around him erupted in a blinding explosion, the shockwave ripping through the earth and leaving behind a cratered wasteland.

The guardian bear’s claws slammed down with brutal force, while the sunbeam carved a molten trench deep into the stone beneath them.

Above, the spears fell like divine hail, each one exploding on impact in violent bursts of golden fire, painting the battlefield in flashes of searing light and devastation.

Dust and blinding energy surged outward, engulfing everything in its path and soaking everything in a haze.

’Holy sh*t.’ Ricky muttered, stunned by the power he had just unleashed all at once.

Completely ignoring the steady stream of blood pouring down from his helmet, thinning into tiny rivulets that dripped onto the steaming ground.

His spectral arms twisted behind his back, readying the final attack that had the same potency of a fallen star.

But as the haze thinned, Ricky’s efforts seemed to lead to the same tired outcome that had haunted this battle with Arthur, for one simple reason.

There he was.

Arthur stood alone at the epicenter, his white cape torn and fluttering in the haze, golden armor scorched and still smoking.

But it was not broken.

Not cracked, not even pierced.

However Ricky didn’t even wait to sigh as he dropped from the sky like a missile, smashing into Arthur with a thunderous shoulder tackle that sent both of them crashing through ruined rock.

Ricky’s spear lashed out, driving at Arthur’s gut, but Arthur pivoted at the last second, catching the shaft on his gauntlet and twisting with inhuman strength.

BAM

However Ricky headbutted Arthur, jarring his brain into a state that couldn’t register the knee driving upwards into his stomach.

BAM

COUGH

Arthur heaved a long, drawn-out cough, slowly regaining his focus as his hand remained clenched around Ricky’s.

Then, his gaze shifted upward, trying to unleash his attack but only locking onto one of Ricky’s spectral arms swinging across his body.

BAM

Arthur’s head snapped to the side as the blade of the machete slammed against his helmet.

Before he could react, Ricky grabbed Arthur’s wrist and slung him hard over his body.

Arthur’s back slammed against the ground, while Ricky’s bleeding eyes locked onto him with fierce intensity.

Gathering every psychic construct and every form of Chastiefol at his command, Ricky unleashed a devastating assault.

Ricky let himself be carried away by the force crashing down on Arthur, who at first suffered under the grueling barrage.

Until he raised Excalibur in defiance.

Even when his back was planted on the ground, white streams of light suddenly swarmed the area as he whirled the sword into a blur that deflected the entire volley, sparks flying like a fiery halo around him.

Ricky landed hard, sliding backward before driving the ebony blade into the earth to halt his momentum and once he had stopped, he immediately lunged forward.

"YOU KEEP CALLING ME THE MONSTER AND HERE I AM WONDERING IF YOU’RE EVEN HUMAN!" Ricky roared, ramping up his speed as the force of it parted the smoldering dust that revealed Arthur in sword stance.

CLANG

However Arthur didn’t respond, his entire focus on deflecting the damage as he easily parried Ricky’s reckless swing.

CLANG

Excalibur rocketed towards Ricky’s body but instead of flesh, it met the crisp sound of the ebony shield and its flaring blue aura.

However instead of slowing down, Arthur started pushing himself further into Ricky’s space as he swung down Excalibur again and again.

CLANG

CLANG

CLANG

However, Ricky’s mind continued to scream at him in faster intervals as the window to strike thinned with every blow.

Because if one looked closely, they would see how Arthur’s usual white aura, once evenly balanced across his body, was now slowly being funneled into Excalibur, increasing its speed.

Then Arthur spun, sweeping his blade across his body, but when Ricky raised the ebony shield to block, Arthur abruptly drove his elbow into Ricky’s helmet.

A ringing noise pulsed, matching the throbbing sensation that already permeated his entire being, as he staggered back, his vision reduced to a swirl of colors.

THUMP

Ricky immediately moved to lunge forward, but a sudden throb in his brain slammed against his skull, staggering him in place.

Arthur immediately caught the shift, Excalibur flaring with a thick white hue as he leaned forward to strike, only for Ricky’s eyes to suddenly gleam beneath his helmet.

BAM

In the next second, a yellow beam blasted into Arthur’s side, erupting from the petals of the towering sunflower in the distance and hurling him through wall after wall of rubble.

’Just a little more.’ Ricky thought, repeating that same tired line, honestly believing he could pierce through Arthur with his power alone.

But the reality was starkly clear once the smoke began to clear.

Revealing Arthur kneeling, gripping Excalibur tightly, a deep gash running all the way down to where the blade was embedded in the ground.

However, when Arthur’s gaze fell upon Ricky, his golden eyes weren’t filled with emotion but a curiosity.

As the fight wore on, Arthur wasn’t the only one under observation.

The promised king had been carefully observing Ricky all along, and now he suddenly had an inkling.

Bending his knees, Excalibur shone in its brilliant hue as Ricky instinctively braced for the attack, eyes locked on Arthur’s movements.

Only to widen in surprise as Arthur wasn’t charging at him as he normally did, but instead seemed to actually be running away.

"No way, are you really running away-"

WHOOSH

COUGH

Ricky suddenly spat a mouthful of blood, his body tensing as he clamped a hand over his mouth instinctively only for another helping to spat between his gauntlets and pour onto the rubble below.

Feeling his mind tearing from the realization that Arthur wasn’t running away or charging head-on; instead, he sliced the air above Ricky in a magnificent arc, cleaving through a dozen of his constructs.

Ricky felt the backlash immediately, seamlessly choking on his own blood as he suddenly struggled to breath.

"I see," Arthur said calmly, his weak breath escaping as he drew back Excalibur, ready to cut down as many as he could before Ricky suddenly flicked his hand.

In the very instant Arthur moved to slash forward and cut down even more, the entirety of Ricky’s constructs, once glittering across the sky, vanished.

Arthur immediately lowered his battle-ready gaze to find Ricky slightly hunched over, black blood seeping from the grooves of his helmet.

"You’re gonna regret that." Ricky just chuckled, his words instinctively making Arthur tense.

As if already conditioned in this short time to recognize when Ricky would resort to using hostages, shadow broker at the side simply tipped his hat to Ricky after tearing up the last piece of paper he had left.

Although it seemed Ricky had shelved the idea of continuing to use his psychic constructs now that their glaring weakness and brutal mental backlash had been exposed.

There was one problem: he’d stopped caring about anything that wasn’t complete and total victory.

’DO NOT-’ The Ebony Crown screamed at this psycho, trying to dissuade him only for Ricky to interrupt him in the most distinct way.

SNIFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

"Ah~" Ricky sighed out peacefully, his nose immediately gushing black blood as he huffed even more of the ebony chalice’s fumes.

"How long are we gonna keep this up, Arthur? How long are we gonna run around in circles like a damn merry-go-round?" Ricky asked, yanking himself into the air without his instincts screaming at him, already bracing for an attack.

WHOOSH

Then, just as Ricky expected, Arthur lunged in an anxious charge, Excalibur swinging at the spot Ricky had just vacated, the promised king jerking his head up to meet Ricky, who was already hovering high above.

"I mean, it’s just the same thing over and over where you get an advantage, then I use your precious cillians against you, then I get the upper hand, and you find one of my glaring weaknesses. Then it all just repeats." Ricky sighed, oozing out a small chuckle as his mind slowly started to slither into the ground.

Conjuring psychic tendrils within the very ground beneath Arthur’s feet, his glossed over eyes guided them to certain particular spots.

"I’m gonna break this fcking cycle Arthur, I’m-...........I’m fcking losing my mind." Ricky’s voice cracked, then he laughed suddenly, holding his hand over his face while the ebony blade hung quietly in his other hand.

"Like, how long ARE WE GOING TO F*CKING DO THIS!" Ricky suddenly roared, the ground literally rumbling from his fluctuations in his mood.

Meanwhile, Arthur locked his entire gaze onto Ricky’s increasingly unhinged state.

Channeling all the aura from his blade into his body, Arthur readied himself for whatever Ricky was about to throw at him.

And it wasn’t just a metaphor, it was literal.

"This time, THIS TIME FOR REAL, I’M GOING TO STICK YOUR HEAD ON A F*CKING SPIKE!" Ricky yelled, swearing towards the heavens above and the hells below that this would be the end of the fight.

The end of Arthur Pendragon.

Which was why, with a violent jerk of his arm, psychic tendrils erupted from the ground as Arthur swayed his hands like a conductor leading a symphony.

He controlled them with the precision of a maestro, following the myriad possibilities plastered across his mind like sheet music.

The tendrils slithered through the ruined streets and crawled beneath the rubble, hunting relentlessly.

Until they found them.

Terrified citizens who’d escaped Ricky’s previous wrathful exhibits and attempted to flee.

Mothers clutching children.

Elderly men and women.

The tendrils suddenly wrapped around them like serpents, hoisting them into the air as they all screamed, failed, and most of all, pleaded.

Their cries rose above the ruin like a choir of horror, a grim crescendo for their lone audience, Arthur, whose gaze snapped sharply from one captured citizen to the next.

’I’m going to end it right here, so juice me up-’ Ricky mentally commanded the ebony crown, which was baffled beyond belief at his demand.

’YOU SAID THAT LAST TIME-’

’WELL, IT’S GONNA HAPPEN THIS TIME, SO JUST JUICE ME UP!’ Ricky yelled, interrupting The Ebony’s Crown interruption.

All while Arthur’s eyes snapped fully open, his pupils raced around to every screaming citizen as a tremor raced down his ruined body.

"NO, DON’T-"

However, Ricky more or less tuned out Arthur’s usual pleading and his desperate attempts to explain how horrible this was and that it wasn’t too late to stop.

So instead of listening, he simply hurled a boy no older than ten straight at Arthur who moved instantly.

BAM

Arthur dropped his sword and lunged to the stride, arms stretching out to catch the boy, pulling him close, rolling across jagged ground so the child wouldn’t strike the stone.

The motion tore new agony through Arthur’s side; his body throbbing with an aching pain as he simply pushed past it to focus on the terrified boy crying in his embrace.

"It’s alright,I’ve got you so run-RUN NOW!" Arthur rasped, trying to show a smile until his gaze swept to the side as he tossed the kid aside.

BAM

Arthur’s body tumbled on the ground, throwing himself at another citizen in the form of an elderly woman who he caught just in time.

Ricky watched, his own power surging as he prepared everything.

The bow, which had been drawn back this entire time, literally pulsed behind him like a heartbeat.

Again and again, Ricky threw civilians like discarded dolls and Arthur, poisoned, broken, exhausted beyond mortal limits, caught every last one.

Each time he moved, it felt like his insides were tearing apart, the venom inside him laughing with every frantic heartbeat.

Arthur didn’t even have a chance to see the first form of Chastiefol, the Guardian, materializing back into existence, as the colossal spectral bear suddenly loomed behind the scurrying king.

Thump

Thump

Arthur’s heartbeat thudded in time with the trembling ground as the Guardian slowly built up momentum, its mouth splitting unnaturally wide to unleash a bellow.

Eight arms slowly lifted, green fists clenching tight before swinging down wide onto Arthur just as he managed to catch a middle-aged man in his arms.

At the same instant, two psychic gatling guns materialized on either side of Ricky, barrels already spinning with a high-pitched whine.

All of Ricky’s remaining psychic energy, everything not being drained to hold the writhing tendrils in the distance, was compacted into two massive gatling guns while being supercharged by the amplification of the Ebony Crown.

’Almost there.’ Ricky huffed, putting all the pieces in place to finally finish this promised king off for good.

Then, to set the bait, he hurled his last hostage, a regular woman, straight at Arthur.

The very second she fell into Arthur’s embrace, everything locked onto him.

THUD

THUD

THUD

THUD

The gatling guns opened fire at once, streams of blazing psychic rounds ripping through the ruined street and exploding into showers of golden shards.

The woman screamed in Arthur’s arms as he turned his back to shield her from the oncoming barrage.

The impact of the amplified rounds slammed into him, worsening his wounds that lined the inside of his armor before a shadow suddenly loomed over them.

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

Like dominoes, the Guardian’s arms slammed down one after another on the very spot where Arthur had just stood.

Desperately, Arthur tried to avoid being crushed, clutching the sobbing woman in his arms as the Guardian’s fists slammed down all around him.

His body was still being brutalized by the psychic gatling guns, each round tearing into him with relentless force but even with all of it, his armor held.

However, the last of the Guardian’s arms didn’t come from behind but struck from the front. Arthur was forced to dive sideways, his battered body moving on pure instinct.

But as he rolled, another form of Chastiefol rematerialized within the towering sunflower above, its monstrous petals yawning wide as white-hot light gathered at its core, unleashing a focused beam.

As the beam of light engulfed him, Arthur realized Ricky had cornered him and there was no escape except through the blast.

Gazing down at the woman still crying in his embrace, he freed one hand and held it out before Excalibur appeared in his grasp, raised high.

KRA-KOOOOM

The searing column of sunlight slammed down, engulfing Arthur in a burning inferno.

He held Excalibur in front of him, bracing against the blast as the divine blade held strong, shielding him from the worst of it.

But the one he was trying to save was not so fortunate.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the girl screamed, her voice ripping through the heat as the blazing energy radiated around them.

Unlike Arthur, she had no armor, no holy sword to protect her.

And as the firestorm raged, her skin began to melt in his arms.

"IT’S OKAY! IT’S OKAY!" Arthur cried, his voice cracking as he tried to shield her.

But with his body battered and broken, all he could do was hold Excalibur steady while blocking the beam, unable to fight back, unable to save her.

He tried to reassure the woman melting in his arms, even as the searing heat burned all around them.

The street beneath them cracked, then began to liquefy under the beam’s relentless heat.

And by the time the stone turned to molten rock, the woman had stopped screaming.

Then Arthur lost the will to block.

Upon the silence, he turned his attention to the woman now nothing more than a charred, broken corpse in his arms.

And in that instant of mourning for the innocent soul lost, the searing beam slammed into him full-force, carrying him backward.

The blast drove him into the earth, wedging him deep into the cracked, molten ground.\

The beam pulsed harder, pinning him in place and pulverizing him as the sheer force started to grind him down.

’T-This is it!’ Ricky laughed, breath hitching with excitement as he spotted the perfect opening.

Arthur was pinned, helpless, right in the center of the burning light as that moment of brokenness had left him completely vulnerable to his finishing move.

The psychic gatling guns roared to life, spraying a barrage of sovereign rounds down onto Arthur’s broken form.

The guardian bear stomped forward and began slamming its massive fists into the same spot, each impact shaking the ground.

Ricky, still hovering above, pulled back the sunflower’s beam and commanded the spectral arms behind his back to raise themselves to reveal one thing.

His bow, the one which had been gathering power this entire time, now pulsed with lethal energy of a collapsing star, ready to fire.

The sunflower of Chastiefol reared behind him, its core twisting inward as it channeled its devastating beam into a condensed, hyper-focused form at Ricky’s command.

Above it, the great bow arched wider, nearly splitting under the strain as it drew back an arrow that looked like a shard torn from a dying star.

Corrupted light crawled across its surface in jagged veins, devouring the air around it.

Wherever the arrow pointed, thin fractures tore through space itself while rippling the air around it.

’Almost there, almost there!’ Ricky screamed internally, aligning the sunflower’s core with the bow’s trajectory, ready to converge both into a single, annihilating shot.

Then, the sunflower’s monstrous beam lanced out, a column of howling golden fire that raked across the air in an expanding arc towards Arthur.

In its path, it met the tip of Ricky’s nocked arrow and instead of halting, it merged with it, twisting violently into its core.

The shaft of light convulsed, spasmed as if in agony, then stabilized into something far worse: a concentrated lance of obliteration so dense it seemed to collapse inward, dragging tiny pieces of the world with it.

Stones, dust, even particles of light were drawn into its orbit and erased without a trace.

Where it moved, time itself seemed to twitch, lagging and then stuttering forward again.

However, in the midst of the attack, Ricky hadn’t yet released the arrow, waiting for the perfect moment.

His blackened eyes watched intently as the bow distorted his vision, seeming to pull him into a swirling vortex of horror.

At that moment, the Ebony Crown stepped forward, about to dissuade him only for Ricky to beat it to the punch.

"ENHANCE IT! I CAN PUSH IT FURTHER!" Ricky roared, dangerously trusting the very artifact he had threatened so many times before.

Strangely, the Ebony Crown held out its hand and Ricky’s head suddenly flared with a purple aura, which was instantly drawn into the arrow.

With a final little seasoning of his sovereign will, he loosened the Apocalyptic Arrow and the merged cataclysm streaked toward Arthur, shrieking like every damned soul in hell.

Simultaneously, the colossal Guardian bear and the relentless gatling guns hammered Arthur’s battered form, pinning him in place under a barrage so heavy the earth cratered beneath him.

Yet Arthur’s golden eyes never wavered while locked onto the incoming cataclysm, he pulled Excalibur to his side just as the arrow struck.

THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The world seemed to rip apart at that moment.

Light and energy imploded inward first, violently condensing into a singular, searing point that dragged dust, stone, even chunks of entire buildings with it.

The air itself was sucked away, pulling screams and shattered glass into a suffocating core.

Then, the area around the condensing point suddenly rippled and detonated outward in an earth-rending burst.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

A blinding column of golden-violet energy ripped through everything around it, expanding in a roiling dome of devastation.

Buildings were pulverized into vapor, the ground melted into rivers of molten rock, and entire city blocks were simply erased from existence.

But it didn’t stop.

The explosion collapsed again, drawn back into the same furious core, only to erupt once more into an even more violent surge.

Camelot seemed to convulse under the weight of complete and total annihilation until, just as suddenly as the explosion had appeared, it vanished.

The only proof of its existence being in the vast, smoldering crater, so deep that it had consumed almost one third of the city itself.

When it finally ended, Ricky was suspended in the air by nothing but sheer psychic backlash and his worn body trying not to break from the strain he had put it through.

His constructs fizzled and died, the sunflower shriveling into black mist, and all his skills seemed to dissipate as he couldn’t’ find the strength to even think about them.

BAM

Ricky all but fell from the sky, plummeting to the ground with nothing left, not even the mental strength to tap into his mutant gene.

The proof of his life came in the form of his next action of yanking off his helmet to reveal his worn and exhausted face.

BLERGH

Black blood splattered across the pavement as Ricky doubled over, vomiting up mouthful after mouthful.

Then, as if disgusted by the display, Chastiefol slowly peeled away from his body, floating off to the side like a faithful beast retreating to watch its master suffer.

All while Ricky kept vomiting, choking on the taste of iron, until finally he collapsed to his knees, limp and heaving.

HUFF

HUFF

HUFF

Ricky’s tired green eyes stared into the distance, choking on his own breath as he watched the dust finally clear.

There, against all reason, Arthur’s white armor lay propped against a chunk of molten rock the explosion had somehow spared.

Excalibur still rested in his hand and just as Ricky let himself believe the king was dead, he saw Arthur twitch, then slowly reach up and remove his own helmet.

"F*ck!" Ricky spat, clutching his head as a searing pain throbbed through his skull, his vision flashing white.

"I-I cannot lose~" Arthur gasped, his face completely riddled with the black, spidering poison from Ricky’s power as he drove Excalibur into the ground, leaning his entire weight on the blade.

His legs wobbled dangerously before he forced them straight, inch by agonizing inch, and began to drag himself toward Ricky who had used everything by this point, pushing himself to the absolute limit.

The only thing left he could even think to rely on was the being that had abandoned him earlier in the fight.

’Aye you f*cking murder sword, I-’

BLERGH

Ricky’s brutish comment was cut short by a sudden mouthful of blood he vomited up as he wiped his lips sloppily with the back of his hand before continuing.

’I need your help and don’t make me say please, cause I won’t’ Ricky whispered it in his mind, calling out as the other ebony artifacts slowly shifted, all turning toward the Ebony Blade.

It stood before the dark screen that displayed what Ricky was currently seeing, a silent witness to how far he had pushed himself.

Though it had remained quiet all this time, it had watched, noting every desperate measure and brutal sacrifice that brought them to this moment.

How Ricky had forced his body to heal, again and again.

How he’d clawed his way through this drawn out battle, all to reach a result that, somehow, still left both knights standing.

’I’m sorry-’

’Oh my god, will you snap out of it!’ Ricky grimaced, shouting in his mind as he watched Arthur stumble to the ground, only to force himself back up again, shaking and bloodied.

’I can’t-’

’Bullsh*t you can’t! You-’

BLERGH

Ricky’s monologue was abruptly cut off by another heaving bout of blood, which he again, weakly wiped from his mouth.

’You told me after all that sh*t with Dracula that you were meant for more.’ Ricky suddenly said, his words causing the Ebony Blade to grasp its hands tightly while lowering his head.

’How everyone was wrong and your purpose was to cut through anything in your way to kill Knoll-"

’I am the shadow of the light-’ The Ebony Blade interrupted, voicing that same thing Exacliver said to him.

’You are the goddamn ebony blade! You-" Ricky cut the Ebony Blade off, trying to force his reasoning into the Ebony Blade’s mind, only to realize the approach was all wrong.

HUFF

HUFF

"You’re not some wackjob in a robe, not some promised king, and definitely not his cruddy sword. You’re you." Ricky laughed, speaking out loud as if it voiced it to Arthur himself before he put on his trademark sleazy smile.

"So be the f*cking murder sword you are and help me kill this guy."

At that moment, Ricky slowly pushed himself up as Arthur limped closer, each step heavy with pain.

But instead of reaching for a skill or another weapon, Ricky tossed everything aside—the other ebony artifacts, the weapons, everything from his system panel.

The only thing left in his hand was the Ebony Blade.

Slowly, he rose to his feet and began limping toward Arthur.

His pace quickened, limping forward to build momentum as Ricky raised the Ebony Blade in a wide arc and swung it down onto Arthur.

CLANG

Excalibur hovered above Arthur’s head, blocking the Ebony Blade and halting the strike as the ringing clash of the two blades suddenly vibrated through the air.

But instead of retaliating or launching another attack, Ricky lifted the Ebony Blade high into the sky once more, and slammed it down onto Excalibur.

CLANG

"CUT THROUGH!" Ricky roared, red electricity sizzling along the Ebony Blade as it slammed into Excalibur once more.

"It’s useless-" Arthur huffed, golden eyes locked on Ricky, who didn’t even bother to respond. Instead, he raised the sword high again.

CLANG

"CUT THROUGH!"

CLANG

"CUT THROUGH!"

CLANG

"CUT THROUGH, DAMMIT!"

Over and over, Ricky slammed the Ebony Blade into Excalibur, not even aiming at Arthur himself, but at the stupid sword that had caused everything.

And just like at the start of the fight, the relentless collisions finally forced the blades to lock eyes with each other.

"I must say, for all his vileness and cruelty, he is a persistent one," Excalibur hummed, struggling to maintain a calm facade, though its furious expression burned through.

The holy blade regarded its counterpart with a sharp smile, while the Ebony Blade remained completely silent, turning its gaze toward the relentless clash unfolding before them while seamlessly ignoring its so-called light.

"Look how desperate your wielder has become, look at that monster go." Excalibur laughed, gesturing toward Ricky as he repeatedly slammed the blades together, uttering the same words over and over like a crazed lunatic.

"It is a noble second wind, that is for certain, but it is only a matter of time, my little shadow—"

"Stop." The Ebony Blade gritted its teeth, its entire being trembling as Excalibur tilted its head.

"Pardon?"

"S-Stop calling me that." The Ebony Blade stammered, lifting its gaze only to meet Excalibur’s hollow eyes at the edge of its vision.

"I don’t understand. I’m simply calling you-"

"I AM THE EBONY BLADE!" the Ebony Blade roared, stepping forward despite the agonizing fear gripping its very being.

The space before Excalibur rumbled as it instinctively laughed at the defiance only to realize the Ebony Blade was actually walking toward it.

"YOU ARE NOTHING—"

"I AM THE ALL-CUTTING BLADE!" the Ebony Blade screeched, red electricity pulsing around it like a heartbeat of defiance.

"DESTINED TO CUT THROUGH ANYTHING IN MY PATH TO SLAY KNOLL!" The Ebony Blade’s roar echoed with a surge of crimson lightning as the entire space, including Excalibur’s side, began to rumble violently in red electricity.

"Y-YOU CANNOT CUT THROUGH YOUR OTHER HALF-"

"I WILL!"

CLANG

BOOM

Ricky swung the Ebony Blade wide and slammed it down onto Excalibur, but the moment the blades collided, Arthur felt a force unlike any he had ever experienced as a burst of red electricity surged through him, forcing him to one knee.

Struggling to steady himself, Arthur looked up just in time to see Ricky winding up the blade again, raising it high into the air before slamming it down once more.

CLANG

BOOM

CLANG

BOOM

CLANG

BOOM

There wasn’t a trace of swordsmanship in Ricky’s relentless barrage but just raw, brutal swings hammering the Ebony Blade down onto Excalibur.

Each impact sent shockwaves of red electricity spiraling through the air around them.

Within the space where the swords clashed, the Ebony Blade faced Excalibur, but something shifted.

These two, two sides of the same coin, were crafted by Merlyn himself, designed so that neither could ever truly conquer the other.

One half served as the light, the other as its shadow.

So why, to both their eyes, did Excalibur’s side, painted in white hues and golden tints, suddenly have the Ebony Blade’s black goo slowly seeping through the line that had forever defined their place in this world.

"T-That is impossible," Excalibur’s voice shook as it took a step back, the black goo from the Ebony Blade slowly creeping into the light that had always held it at bay.

"YOU ARE NOTHING BUT MY IMITATION!" Excalibur roared, retreating as it hurled insults at the Ebony Blade.

"YOU ARE MY SHADOW, YOU ARE-"

Excalibur began to ramble, but the Ebony Blade simply fixed its gaze on the mighty blade.

For so long, the Ebony Blade had been scared.

Scared of being more than the cruel, cursed blade everyone saw it as.

Scared that if it truly embraced what it was meant to be, a blade that cuts through anything, even destiny itself, it would become something monstrous beyond redemption.

It had carved this fear into its very steel, etching it deeper with every life it claimed—until it became more than a curse.

It became a cage.

A cage that held back its true nature, restraining its edge whenever it faced a foe like Excalibur.

Because how could anything be greater than the mythic sword in the stone—bestowed upon Arthur by the Lady of the Lake and wielded only by the purest of souls, a number that counted to one.

And a part of the Ebony Blade had always longed to be what Excalibur was, to embody what it represented.

It wanted to be loved.

Like every living thing that pulses with life, it wanted to be wanted.

But it was in that desire that rotted it into the blade that it became.

So it dulled itself.

Held back.

Soothed its own terror by failing when it mattered most, convincing itself it was cursed to be lesser.

But that fear had done more than haunt the blade, it had played perfectly into the hands of those who wrote the rules of this world.

It allowed them to keep their neat lines between legend and nightmare intact.

And it let Arthur, the shining king, remain untouchable.

Until now.

Because in witnessing Ricky; this flawed, lust-driven, reckless creature who refused to be bound by any fate, the Ebony Blade began to understand that maybe there was no sin in cutting everything down.

That sometimes, the world needed to be severed from its own illusions.

The blade had played its part in crafting this fear.

But the blade was always meant for more, even more than being the one pulled from stone.

The Ebony Blade’s purpose was written in the stars, etched into the very fabric of the universe.

To stand toe to toe with a being that sought to extinguish all life, to bring nothing but the cold, rotting darkness of nothingness.

In truth, all along, the Ebony Blade had been the light.

Not a shadow of the light, but the protector of all that pulsed with life.

And in that moment, it realized it’s true self.

"YOU CANNOT DEFY WHAT YOU ARE!" Excalibur roared, watching its power flood the border, saturating it more and more as the Ebony siblings slowly advanced.

Those who once envied their eldest now realized they were all the same as him, stepping forward to stand beside him.

All manifestations of Ricky turned toward Excalibur, placing a hand on the Ebony Blade’s form and for the first time since their collision with the earth like an asteroid, they became whole.

Then, the entire surroundings pulsed with a black array that consumed the white completely, leaving behind only the will written by the universe.

"I will." The Ebony Blade spoke solemnly, pulsing red electricity that crackled around Excalibur.

Outside, Ricky wound up the blade, every inch of him igniting in fierce red sparks.

"CUT THROUGH!" Ricky roared, unleashing a surge of energy so blinding it engulfed all of Camelot and the battlefield beyond.

But instead of slamming against Excalibur and unleashing a brilliant red and white array, Arthur’s eyes simply widened.

In an instant, the blade he had wielded to block the Ebony Blade, the one that required him to be the purest of souls, the sword destined to make him the Promised King.

Cut in two.

WHOOSH

A huge gash opened across Arthur’s midsection, but his gaze remained vacant, fixed blankly on the broken sword in his hand.

Clink

The single most revered blade of the century was now two as half of it slowly fell to the ground beneath Athur’s feet.

Arthur looked up, shock etched across his face, searching for answers only to see Ricky swinging wildly across his body.

WHOOSH

THUMP

Arthur wouldn’t get his answer.

In the next second, his entire body was sliced in two, his upper half collapsing backward against the jagged rubble of the crater.

"YES!" Ricky shouted, laughing hysterically as he fell to his knees, completely spent.

Ricky continued to laugh, dropping the Ebony Blade and clutching his face as if he still couldn’t believe it was finally over.

The crater around them hissed and sizzled, a roaring sound that drowned out everything else in the distance.

"I am sorry." Arthur said suddenly, his voice calm but carrying his true and genuine feelings.

The words registered in Ricky’s ears as he looked up, surprise flickering across his weary face as he actually thought he heard wrong.

"What?"

"I am sorry about everything, about Merlyn, about Percival, and all that was sacrificed to bring me here. I am sorry." Arthur spoke with deep sorrow, actually crying not for himself in his final moments.

But for the pain he had caused Ricky.

"What are you spouting about now?" Ricky huffed, rubbing his eyes, his vision blurred as Arthur smiled softly.

The golden eyes of judgment peering deep within Ricky’s being.

"Within my eyes, I see your rage. But beyond that haze, that veil, I see the grief that weighs on you because of Merlyn’s actions." Arthur spoke with a genuine smile, truly apologetic and Ricky couldn’t detect a hint of falsehood.

It was why his laughter slowly dwindled, replaced by ragged breaths.

Huff

Huff

"He went after my family, my kids." Ricky heaved, slicking his hair back as Arthur slowly closed his eyes in shame.

"I couldn’t just let it be. I couldn’t let it happen again, not even on the slightest chance. I had to end it." Ricky didn’t know why he was explaining himself at that moment.

How it usually happened in this scenario was that he was supposed to be rubbing it in Arthur’s face, but somehow, he felt the need to be honest.

"I see." Arthur said softly, taking a deep breath as a long, heavy silence stretched between them while the crater around them began to crumble.

"Do you think we could’ve been friends?" Arthur asked, opening his eyes to see Ricky chuckle at the strange question.

"Probably not." Ricky laughed, rolling his eyes with a smile at this weird and unique personality he was about to add to his collection.

"But hey, you never know, I might warm up to you if you become my personal manservant-"

"I’m afraid not," Arthur said, his skin beginning to crack as a white light started to seep through which made Ricky sigh deeply.

"Goddammit." Ricky muttered, too tired even to inch closer as he pulled out another senzu bean, but his arm gave out, and it rolled uselessly onto the ground.

"I am tired of being used, tired of my soul being toyed with, and my destiny shaped by others," Arthur said, his pain distilled into a single sentence that had defined his entire life.

"I am exhausted."

Ricky could almost relate, though their exhaustion was born from different places.

He rolled over slowly, muscles aching, and wriggled toward the fallen senzu bean like a man crawling for a last chance at survival.

For Ricky, the fatigue was inward, an endless war with his own flaws, his reckless decisions, and the weight of guilt from his past life he carried deep in his bones.

It was a weariness born from fighting himself, from wrestling his inner piece of sh*t deadbeat that always seemed to orbit around him as if waiting for him to revert back into his old self.

Arthur’s exhaustion, on the other hand, was different as he was worn down by the world around him, by the endless betrayals, sacrifices, and the crushing burden of a destiny he never chose.

His fatigue was a silent scream against the weight of expectations, the pain inflicted by others shaping his every step.

Two men, both tired, but worlds apart.

And yet, in this shattered moment, that shared weariness created a fragile, unspoken bond between them.

"I wish to be free of everything. Arthur whispered, his entire body erupting in a brilliant white light as Ricky stuck out his tongue toward the bean on the ground.

Having a lot of practice in that department as the space around them suddenly erupted in a brilliant white light.

THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Then, a towering explosion tore through the heart of Camelot, utterly eviscerating the crater that had once held his castle which had cradled Arthur for the last century.

The battle from the castle gate came to a stunned halt as even Merlyn ceased his fight beside Alexander, who turned sharply toward the blast.

Even the undead faltered, their soulless eyes fixed on the rising plume of smoke and fire.

Because it was then that from the swirling devastation, a lone figure slowly began to emerge.

"Please." Merlyn and Alexander muttered simultaneously, exchanging a glance before scoffing and turning their eyes back to the unfolding scene.

Then, through the thick smoke and swirling debris, the victor of the battle revealed himself, Arthur Pendragon, standing tall amidst the ruins.

"No-"

"YES!" Merlyn interrupted Alexander’s words, the gerbil watching breathlessly as the half-figure of Merlyn slowly crawled onto the broken steps, quickly trying to make his way towards the brilliant form of Arthur.

The Captain Britain Corps all bowed in respect and in doing so, Asterion lifted his rageful gaze, but the fury drained from his eyes instantly.

"Ricky-.............lost?" Asterion’s words broke almost immediately the second they left his lips, his heart shattering and his eyes falling to the ground.

Morgana didn’t say anything, she couldn’t, and instead her eyes welled with tears, but she quickly wiped them away before anyone could see.

However for all the heartbreak, Merlyn was emphatic, nearly trembling with delight.

So much so he laughed all the way towards Arthur, pulling himself closer towards his perfect creation who had become the victor in this brutal fight.

His eyes glittered with manic triumph, a smile splitting his face so wide it was almost grotesque.

"At last!" Merlyn cried, hands outstretched as if to embrace a long-awaited salvation.

"You’ve done it! My king, you’ve finally done it!" Merlyn cheered loudly, his entire being radiated exhilaration, like a man watching all his carefully laid schemes come to glorious fruition.

"Now my king, your subjects, they await your return show them-"

SNORT

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Arthur suddenly burst into laughter, clutching his stomach as Merlyn’s smile froze mid-grin, and Alexander’s head snapped back up, eyes narrowing.

At that moment, the gerbil understood everything.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Now Alexander was laughing too, almost uncontrollably, recognizing that maniacal laughter all too well.

Merlyn, who was positioned just a few steps away, didn’t need to close the remaining distance as Arthur was already moving toward him.

But as Arthur descended, his appearance began to ripple.

"Oh man, the look on your f*cking face." Arthur wheezed, wearing an expression Merlyn had never seen on him before.

A sleazy smile.

It was then that Arthur’s voice shifted, cracking and warping as his body shimmered, until finally, it was Ricky standing there, with that trademark grin splitting across his battered face.

The true victor, at last revealed.

"No I-"

"PRICELESS!" Ricky laughed, descending the stairs as Merlyn held his head in disbelief at what he was seeing.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ricky yelled out, holding his hands in the air while cheering with all his lungs capacity.

"Ricky, Ricky, Ricky-" Ricky started to chant his own name, pumping his fist while beckoning everyone to join in.

"Ricky, Ricky, Ricky-" Asterion delightfully joined in, mimicking Ricky’s gesture of pumping his fist as the whole coven started to join in as well.

"Ricky, Ricky, Ricky-" Alexander laughed heartily, cheering for his comrade on his vaillant victory as even Bucephalus begrudgingly joined in.

Even the undead started to make noises, praising their master as the six round table undead all were compelled to follow their masters orders.

"Ricky, Ricky, Ricky-" Then, everyone on Ricky’s side started to chant his name before he looked towards Morgana with her arms crossed.

"Come on, you know you want to~" Ricky hummed, wiggling his eyebrows towards Morgana who rolled her eyes but raised her fist into the air.

"Ricky, Ricky, Ricky-" Morgana chanted, joining in as Ricky held his hand into the air while closing his eyes at his victory.

Except, it had become so much more.

What was meant to be nothing more than a mere spectacle put on by Ricky suddenly stirred something deep within the Whispering Void, something that clung to the thin thread binding him to it.

That thread stretched all the way to the netherworld, to the void itself, and to the very heart of that realm.

The Whispering Void.

Beneath its surface, down in the crowded underlevels, lay chasms unnervingly filled with nothing but countless pebbles.

Whispers cloaked this sea of stones, each pebble a malformed echo of horrors twisted into words.

Among them, one distinct stone carried the whisper of Ricky’s name, as if his presence had somehow been etched into that tiny fragment.

The murmurs surrounding his pebble began to swell, growing louder, reverberating through the void until they made the small stone quake with a haunting resonance.

They were his tales, his whispers, spoken by countless mouths, and within that very same pebble there ran a familiar faint crack.

Every void, every eldritch world, is different.

Each possesses its own unique properties, its own powers, and its own set of demands.

And Ricky had finally met that demand.

CRACK

The pebble that carried Ricky’s whisper began to fracture, trembling violently as it started to blossom.

For the demand of the Whispering Void is notoriety.

The more a name is spoken, the more it basks in its own infamy, the stronger the connection, and the pull, to the void becomes.

"Alright, time to make you my slave." Ricky said suddenly, barely noticing his eyes darkening as he stretched out his hand and in result, the ebony blade into his palm.

Merlyn wasn’t paying attention either, he simply stared at the ground, muttering something incoherent, as if he couldn’t believe what was happening.

"Now, without further ado, Merlyn, let’s-" Ricky said, no longer human humming in his free hand as he prepared to utter something demeaning to the defeated wizard.

Only for a tree to suddenly sprout in the distance.

"I can’t allow you to do that."