Liam smiled, a calm confidence emanating from him. "You are already dead, Grakk," he stated firmly. "It's time for you to accept your fate."
With a mere thought, Liam manipulated the soulscape around them. He thought it would be difficult but it came to him naturally and effortlessly.
The massive mountain upon which the orc stood began to tremble, fissures spiderwebbing across its surface. Grakk's eyes widened in surprise as the ground beneath him split into two colossal halves.
"NOOOOO!" Grakk bellowed, struggling to maintain his footing as the mountain crumbled. He attempted to leap to safety, but the shifting terrain thwarted his efforts.
"This is my realm," Liam declared. "Here, I control reality."
As the mountain collapsed, Grakk plummeted into the abyss below. Yet, instead of falling into darkness, the orc somehow stabilized himself and flew up in the air.
Liam could clearly sense his soul energy dwindling but the orc was not willing to let go and submit. Raging in anger the orc tried to summon the soul energy swirling around them.
"You want to siphon my soul energy to fight against me?" Liam snorted coldly. If something like that happened, then win or lose, he would be the one with the injured soul.
With a wave of his hand, Liam instantly dispersed the soul energy that was gathering around the orc.
Grakk was visibly surprised at the level of control Liam had over his soul space.
Liam had never done something before but he had developed strong control over his soul by repeatedly banging his head against the wall that was his soul strengthening technique.
The technique he had obtained from the Spire, from the academy run by that mysterious god was not ordinary. Just for practicing the first part to a conclusion, he had already multiplied his soul strength many times over and had also developed tremendous control over the energy.
And now, this encounter had given him the extra push he needed to put it all together. In fact, the danger from trying to subdue a soul far superior to him with respect to level and dao had catalyzed his progress and made him even stronger by leaps and bounds.
The fact that he could now enter his soul space and manipulate it from within opened a lot of doors for him.
Seeing Liam absorbed in his own world and treating this fight like a sparring duel, waves of fury erupted on the orc's face. He gnashed his teeth and summoned another spear. This time the spear was a lot bigger and longer and radiated even more potent energy. The orc poured all of his remaining soul energy into the attack.
"When I, the Grakk did not survive the providence, why do you get to live!" With a loud roar that shook the entire world, the orc sent the spear forward once again. "If it were not for you, I would have never died. Perish, you insect!" His guttural roar contained all of his regrets.
Liam's eyes widened as he saw the colossal spear hurtling toward him, its sheer force causing the very air around it to distort and his soul space to shudder. It even looked like the attack might just annihilate his entire soul space.
Was his soul space really not enough to contain this orc?
Liam immediately closed his eyes. He could not afford to be distracted now. One wrong move and he would explode from inside out, his soul shattered to nothingness. He let go of all of his thoughts and even his opponent and focused only on the world around him, the one he was currently standing inside.
No. He needed more time.
"Give me more time!" He gritted his teeth and shouted and the next instant the world slowed down. The spear attack was still aimed at him but its speed was now reduced. Instead of arriving in the blink of an eye, he had now one breath to figure this out.
But that was not enough.
Liam still teetered on the edge of collapse as destruction followed the path of the spear. It tore the space as it flew toward him, worsening the small injury on his soul little by little.
Liam shuddered with pain but he remained focused. Soon he felt raw power that enveloped the soul space like a cocoon. Akin to a ceiling, the sky of the world they were standing in started to light up, one twinkling star after another appearing above them.
The orc now listless looked up at the sky in awe. He could feel it. The raw power contained in each of these stars. But that was not all. The stars connected with each other in unique patterns forming peculiar shapes.
Liam's lips curled upwards as finally he could sense his runes of power inside the soul space. Not just one or two. All three hundred fifty three of his runes illuminated the soul space, they formed intricate patterns across the sky, connecting like constellations in a cosmic fabric. Each rune pulsed with energy, resonating in harmony with the others. The entire realm was bathed in a radiant glow, the sheer power of the runes pushing back against the destructive force of Grakk's spear.
The colossal spear, once an unstoppable force, began to falter in its trajectory. The overwhelming energy from the runes acted like a gravitational field, slowing the spear's advance. Cracks appeared along its surface as the harmonious vibrations of the runes disrupted its integrity. The soul tears that filled its path also got instantly healed.
Liam had finally connected to his soul space and achieved complete harmony with his soul strength. The power that resulted from the massive breakthrough was explosive.
The runes above shimmered brilliantly, their collective resonance creating a harmonious symphony that permeated every corner of his soul realm. Beams of light descended from the celestial patterns and converged upon the spear. The destructive weapon began to disintegrate under the combined might of the runes, its malevolent energy neutralized by the pure force of his soul.