"Pity? Me?" Runthral was triggered by the words, fumes of mist thrusting out his nose in response as the floor turned granular. He had been riled up to the extent he was about to crash out and take down the Dorm.
Primary Nature–Subtle Terrain Domination!
The entirety of the space in a radius of 180 metres around Runthral fell under his will, obeying his every thought. He was releasing his ability wantonly, disregarding everything out of anger towards Torq.
A few more seconds, and the entire place might collapse. Of course, there was no way something like that was happening, as Torq had zero room for tolerating childish outbursts.
"What...?" The surroundings reverted to normal in less than a tenth of a second since Runthral had unleashed his power. Moreover, when the surroundings reverted, the potency of his outburst plummeted to a fraction of the original.
And then, as if enacting his wildest nightmares, he stared at another figure of himself staring back at him and wielding his power at a level of skill far better than his own. "H-How?"
"How is this possible?" Runthral shouted, "You...fucking thief! You stole my ability? I KNEW IT WAS YOU!"
"Well, you wanted me to unleash my trump card time and again," Maintaining Runthral’s appearance, Torq chuckled, "Well, there you have it. When I fully unleash it, I can steal your power."
He had locked the air in the corridor to ensure the contents of his conversation wasn’t being listened to by anyone else. Once he had conveyed his intention, he deactivated his Empyrean Snapper Pet transformation and walked towards a stunned Runthral, who seemed unable to react in the slightest.
Shock! Fear! Insecurity!
Runthral was feeling a mixture of emotions for the first time in his life, at levels he had never expected to. Until now, at the very least, he had his status, identity, and overwhelming power to rely upon, irrespective of what he faced.
But now, the fact that Torq stole not only his appearance, but also his power and could even wield it at levels superior to his own, meant his identity was under a crisis now. ’Am I...am I no longer desired here?’
Boiboi was already born with superior talent. Runthral had value only because he was the Clan Deity. If he lost that identity too, then he...
’I’ll become nothing!’ His expression collapsed, promptly morphing into determination as a spike jutted out of the floor and stabbed Torq. But right before impaling the latter through the head, it stopped, as the power of Subtle Terrain Domination fueling it was reduced to less than half.
The stolen portion, which was more than half, acted against the spike, suppressing it down to the floor.
"Grr!" Runthral grunted as veins bulged on his forehead. He glared at his mirror replica that was using his own power against him.
"Hehe," Torq was all smiles as he extended his hand and patted Runthral on the cheek, "Don’t shit yourself, little bro."
The spike retreated slowly into the floor as Torq taunted. They were twins, and the first born was Runthral. Boiboi was born a few minutes later. Therefore, Torq calling the other party ’little bro’ was only meant as a taunt.
"Don’t lose faith, little bro." Torq commented once the spike had fully retreated into the floor, "You’re still the Deity, no matter how weak or lacking you turn out to be."
"I’m merely a thief." He patted Runthral’s cheek a couple times before mist burst out of the back of his hand in a funnel shape, generating thrust that sent his palm reeling into Runthral’s cheek, grandly deforming the impact area.
Splutter!
Runthral’s blood formed an arc in the air and splattered all over the corridor walls. His jaws had been dislocated, and it seemed the tongue had been bit into during the dislocation, causing blood to spew out.
While Runthral was in a daze, having never been slapped by someone before, cracking sounds reverberated from his jaws as his Prana relocated the bone and mended the damage in a matter of seconds.
’I...was slapped? Me?’ His thoughts were damn slow, the slowest they had ever been. Even at birth, his brain processed information at a faster rate. He was in shock, extremely so, for even Raurau, his father, addressed him with respect since birth.
Every Cooter Clansman treated him with absolute respect. So, never in his wildest dream did he ever fathom about being slapped by a Cooter Clansman, much less Boiboi, someone he looked down upon the most.
"Since you’re constantly trying to kill me, it is only fair you receive some slaps, right?" Torq deactivated his Empyrean Snapper Pet and calmly paced behind Runthral, staying away from the latter’s line of sight as scratches ran deep across his body.
For the next few seconds, while the wounds healed, he took advantage of Runthral’s shaken mental state and stayed out of sight. And once he had healed fully, he calmed paced to the front, glared at the other party, and then delivered his ultimatum, "I will be graduating today, Runthral."
"And you cannot stop me."
"You..." Runthral’s expression widened in shock, "But how? That shouldn’t be possible!"
"I’m stealing your accumulation to reach the peak of the Spirit Stage." Torq burst into laughter, "The harder you damage my growth, the more I’ll steal from you."
"Unless you wish to be nerfed to the ground, stay away from me until graduation." Torq waved his hand and walked away, "I know you’ll come after me once you regain your confidence."
"I say, feel free." He harrumped proudly, "It’s the job of the older brother to put his younger brother in place."
"And I’ll always be the wall you can never surpass."
Coolly, Torq walked to the end of the corridor and paced through the flight of stairs. Gradually, he reached his room and cringed, ’I’m not a fan of these dialogues, urgh!’
"The things I have to do." He seemed to be grumbling at first glance, but in truth, he was having fun, ’I missed such banter.’
"Once I graduate, I’ll be actively facing increasingly stronger enemies." Slumping on the bed, he sorted through his thoughts, "In the bit over a dozen days of peaceful life left, let me enjoy everything."
"Once this is done," He uttered softly, as if pleading, "Showcase me your best sights, Sumatra."
"If I were to succeed, don’t you think I deserve a sightseeing trip?"