Ascension of the immortal Asura

John's maniacal words echoed throughout the Yang Lotus Realm as he sped towards the Yang-Sovereign. A trail of black and red Qi spread behind him, like a blight tainting the realm. A wild, bloodthirsty look dominated his face as he laughed loudly, his eyes glued to the Yang-Sovereign like a hawk.

"Slaughter! Maim! Destroy!" John roared as he neared the Sovereign, who just now recovered from his shock at John's sudden and terrifying transformation.

While the Sovereign had never seen or fought a true Asura, he had read accounts and seen drawings of them. The creature before him now was so similar that it was almost as if John had truly become an Asura, something he had no idea was even possible.

At the same time, the Yang-Sovereign felt the increased power emanating from John, reaching a level that could truly threaten him. Recovering quickly, he put away his flail and raised his hand before him, connecting his three fingers in a circle as he had done just moments ago when unleashing his Pure Yang Supernova.

The Yang Qi surrounding him began to race towards him, the power contained within his hand busting alight with blinding brilliance. He watched as John sped towards him like a demon, the Lotus realm trembling under his speed and might.

Unlike before, John showed no signs of retreating. Instead, his speed increased as he raced towards the Sovereign, who smirked as the power in his hands increased, the miniature sun becoming smaller and denser.

"Perish, vile creature," the Yang-Sovereign said as he prepared to unleash his Pure Yang Supernova in the instant before John reached him, ensuring the maximum damage possible.

"Hahaha, you shall know....ANGUISH!" John cried out, his laughter frenzied and maniacal as his aura suddenly exploded outwards. Thanks to his newly acquired power and the perspective it brought, John was finally able to understand the missing pieces to the domain of pain the Asura had used, one he had desperately tried to emulate.

His human perspective had been his shortcoming, obscuring his ability to see the true nature of the domain. He had tried to create a domain in which everyone but himself was affected, giving him a boost over his opponents.

Now that he had embraced the mental state of a true Asura, that perspective had shattered, allowing him to see the truth.

All shall know pain, and all shall be drowned in anguish, himself included. The domain of pain was not a self-excluding domain, it was an all-encompassing domain. Pain was not an enemy, it was a friend. Pain gave him clarity. Pain gave him strength. Pain gave him resolve. And more importantly, pain caused his enemies misery. Caused them unimaginable anguish. Caused them to suffer.

To create the ultimate domain of pain, he needed to embrace the concept of pain to its fullest, using it on both enemies and himself alike. He could not make a true domain of pain while excluding himself from the effects. There were no exceptions, not even himself. Pain and anguish were absolute. Only when pain was absolute, could his domain be absolute.

'Asuraic Domain - Domain of Anguish!'

Boom!

Without any warning at all, a domain of black and red burst into power around John, its power instantly mixing with the potent Yang Qi surrounding them. This domain enveloped the Yang-Sovereign and the surrounding area for miles in each direction, blasting against the Sovereign before he could react.

A surprised cry of pain left the Sovereign's mouth, his face twisting in pain as an overwhelming pain assaulted his body, mind and soul. Murmurs of slaughter, destruction, and other vile actions clawed at his soul, while his body felt a physical pain great enough to cause his body to shudder and twist. It was a power that made his every thought be filled with pain, every movement of his body be thick with agony. It was a power that was impossible to resist, which also made it impossible to fight with his full strength.

Boom!

Overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of physical pain and mental anguish, the Yang-Sovereign lost control of his Pure Yang Supernova. It began to ripple in his hand as it became unstable, and he desperately pushed through the sudden pain to regain control; but it was too late.

Boom!

The half-formed sun in the Yang-Sovereign's palm exploded right in his face, a cataclysmic explosion bursting into existence directly in front of him, as well as John.

A wide-eyed grin appeared on John's face, one looking more like an Asura than a human at this point, as he increased his speed once more, diving headfirst into the horrific explosion. The explosion blasted onto his body with ruinous power, instantly destroying his skin, rupturing muscles and organs, and fracturing bones.

A spurt of blood burst from his mouth as well as open wounds on his body, blood that was instantly incinerated from the heat of the Lotus domain. The explosion fought to push him backwards, but John only increased his power, ignoring any wounds and embracing the pain they brought as he surged forward into the explosion.

Then his scythe slashed forward with full power as he approached a dark figure within the explosion.

Bang!

The scythe blade slammed against the Yang-Sovereign's hastily raised flail, one he had managed to raise just as he saw John appear. The Yang-Sovereign's body was covered in deep wounds from his destroyed battle art, his skin charred in many places, blood dripping from several open wounds.

"Gah!" The Yang-Sovereign cried out in pain as he shot backwards through the sky, his defense instantly overwhelmed by John's impossible strength. It was the first time in this battle that he had completely lost out on an exchange, causing panic to arise within the Sovereign.

The Yang-Sovereign shot out of the explosion, his body leaving behind a trail of blood and ash.

"Dieee!" A sinister cry followed as John shot out of the explosion an instant later, his arm that he had used to attack the Sovereign completely shattered, the arm held together by flesh and sinew. That flesh and sinew sizzled and was cooked by the heat of the Lotus realm, but the healing factor within John's body fought against it, starting to reform his broken arm anew.

His aura still enveloped both the Yang-Sovereign and himself, continuing the onslaught of pain and anguish both felt. The Yang- Sovereign grimaced against the pain, his body slowly but surely healing from his Yang-based healing abilities.

"Come on!" John roared, his face twisted to an unrecognizable state, his tone completely insane. "More! More! More! More pain. More slaughter. More struggle! More death!"

Boom!

John exploded forward with shocking speed as he put away his heavy scythe, his heel slamming down on the Yang-Sovereign's chest before the Sovereign could fully react. The sound of breaking bone and tearing flesh rang out as John's leg exploded into a mist of blood, his flesh rupturing and bones breaking under the force of the impact.

At the same time, the Yang-Sovereign coughed up another mouthful of blood, his ribs fracturing from the force of the kick. His body shot downwards through the Lotus realm, screeching towards the internal wall of the Lotus. He watched as John's maniacal smile grew wider, seemingly ignoring the pain of the domain and the anguish of his leg nearly shattering apart.

A cry of pain and effort boomed from the Yang-Sovereign's mouth as his power exploded once more, finally able to recover slightly from the pain and sudden onslaught. His flail reappeared in his hand, which he swung outwards with incredible power, the striking head rising upwards towards John who was speeding towards him once more.

"Hahahah, good! Resist! Fight! Suffer!" John roared manically as he sped towards the striking head, his scythe reappearing in his healed hands, swinging outwards with the power of a true Asura.

Che!

A brilliant sword-image suddenly appeared, cleaving apart all Yang Qi and slamming into the striking head. The sword-image exploded into a shower of Sword Qi, but did enough to blast the striking head aside, causing it to burst past John and into the distance.

John's head snapped to the side, his wide eyes glued to the distant Sword-Saint who hovered just outside the reaches of his Asuraic Domain.

"Fuck off!" John roared, his blood red eyes brimming with rage and fury. "Do not interrupt my feast, or I'll kill you next!"

...

[Poster notes: I made a mistake while posting the last chapter and posted an incomplete chapter, so feel free to read it again to make sure you didn't miss anything] - Gus