"Huh."
Wisps of white aura leaked from the corners of Oboro's mouth. His eyes were unnaturally bloodshot, almost completely red, and every part of his body radiated a strange mental energy.
This was no ordinary aura, Ike could clearly sense that it carried an intention, a will of its own.
Normal Nen users would use Ten to keep their aura close to their body, preventing it from escaping. But this hazy state was different, as if Oboro's life energy had become too powerful to contain, radiating purely outward. It felt like "training" taken to the absolute extreme.
"What is that?"
Ike couldn't help but step back.
He noticed that Oboro seemed to be unconscious, caught in a state between coma and delirium. The aura surrounding his body surged, manifesting countless shadowy figures that flickered and overlapped: a white-haired teenager with facial markings; muscular warriors wearing horned helmets and wielding large swords; an elderly man with flowing hair and beard, a clock-like object floating beside him; a demonic werewolf; and a mysterious figure holding a brass lamppost.
These aura constructs kept shifting and changing. In a matter of seconds, Ike witnessed at least a dozen different figures. They intertwined with Oboro's body, making him appear to be possessed by a host of ghosts - a frightening sight.
Meanwhile, the space behind Oboro rippled like a malfunctioning screen, with mosaic-like pixels raining down and dissolving into flame-like mental energy when they hit the ground.
This is impossible!
The situation defied Ike's understanding. How could anyone survive such injuries? Even with the bleeding stopped, the wounds should have been fatal.
"It's useless," Ike said, his expression cold as he regained his composure. "No matter what you do, you can't bridge the gulf between us."
The ceremony was still going on. He was invincible.
He flickered forward, appeared in front of Oboro and threw a punch. Although he was a Manipulator who preferred to fight at close range, the power coursing through him now made him abandon his usual tactics.
As he struck, Ike felt his strength falter, forcing him into a weakened state. A shield of light materialized around Oboro's body, accompanied by rainbow-colored auras.
His fist shattered the shield and connected firmly with Oboro's body.
"Mere tricks!" the old man declared dismissively.
But the attack that had easily torn through flesh before was now stopped by skin as hard as steel!
"!!!"
Ike recoiled in shock.
Looking up, he saw countless shadowy figures on Oboro's body staring at him - not just humans, but strange creatures as well. His opponent's body had fundamentally changed.
"His defense"
Before Ike could finish the thought, Oboro raised a finger and slowly reached for his forehead.
Ike immediately retreated like a startled bird.
But his current speed was nothing compared to Oboros. His opponent seemed to cross space itself and appeared behind him. Ike's throat barely had time to constrict before a shadow ripped his head from his neck.
The fifth resurrection!
For Ike, vision returned after only a brief darkness as his consciousness settled into a newly grown head. An even more incredible power than before surged through his body!
Before he could rejoice, darkness claimed his vision again as mind and body separated.
He was killed again, at the exact moment of resurrection.
The pattern repeated itself.
As his consciousness recovered from several mental short circuits, Ike realized something: Oboro calculated the exact moment his body and mind would reconnect during resurrection, and then struck at that precise moment.
But how was his opponent matching his increasingly rapid resurrections? In Ike's eyes, his opponent had suddenly become incredibly powerful in every aspect - mind, speed, strength, everything.
Bang!
As Oboro moved to strike again, Ike, his power now doubled, finally managed to react and kick his opponent away.
The old man panicked.
He couldn't die again. The fusion of the queen insect and the ritual had sent a message through his subconscious: only one sacrifice remained.
Another death would end the ritual!
After forcing Oboro back, Ike commanded his stone puppets, now as lifelike as flesh and blood, to surround his target.
With a flick of his fingers, several massive stone figures merged, split, and seamlessly reassembled to form a smaller but more powerful puppet. Its body was covered in tribal totems, and its material was no longer simple stone, but had a crystalline texture.
They were perfect replicas of the warriors of the Bozwa tribe.
Ike's mental abilities had evolved!
Victory would still be his!
Or so he thought.
BOOM!
A thunderous roar filled his ears as a tremendous force launched him into the sky.
Ike looked down to see all his puppets shattered by Oboro's slight frame. A shadow resembling a stone man had manifested around his opponent, its roar sending enemies flying like comets hitting the earth with devastating force.
Everything around them exploded upward.
The entire underground space began to show signs of collapse.
Though the force was immense, Ike's current level of power meant that the damage was minimal. He prepared to counterattack, but realized with horror that he couldn't move while airborne.
There was no defense.
An unseen force held him completely still.
As with his repeated deaths, no matter how quickly he resurrected, Oboro always found his opportunity.
He is using the control to amplify and delay the 'vital point' of my brief resurrection!
Those are rules!
Ike's pupils narrowed as understanding dawned. His opponent's mental abilities contained rules!
Similar to the rules of the ceremony, though simpler and less complex. But equally effective.
His guess was close to the truth, but not quite right. It wasn't control, it was a knock-out effect.
Malphite's R skill: unstoppable!
What worried Ike even more was his continued inability to move as he fell.
A ball of compressed mental energy flew towards him and held him in place.
Morgana's Q Skill: Dark Bond.
Now that was true control!
"No!"
Ike hit the ground, his extremities growing cold. As he looked at the figure approaching him, he felt the presence of death for the first time.
Constant control meant no chance to resist.
That meant
No matter how strong you were, if you could only passively defend yourself with mental energy, your defenses would eventually break.
"Damn it!" the old man shouted, his voice shaking.
"Wait! Wait!"
"I promise! I agree to your terms!"
But Oboro's condition remained abnormal. He could not understand or hear the cries.
Acting on pure instinct, he looked at the frightened old man and gave him a smile.
Like a child who'd just been given candy.
An innocent smile.
His body and the space around him continued to shatter into pixel-like fragments of varying sizes.
But for Ike, that smile meant only one thing: despair.