Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 84: Interlude: The Sun

["If the First Impact brought the creatures of fantasy to this world, and the Second Impact welcomed the structures of a faraway land here, then the Third Impact brought the greatest threats of all. Beings capable of mass destruction, entities of godlike strength and presence."]

[Shandong Province, China]

From atop the tallest skyscraper in the city of Rizhao, the man of an athletic build, dressed simply in a black t-shirt tucked into white sweatpants, looked onwards at the neighboring city–Qingdao.

At least, he observed what was left of it; the entirety of the port city was left as a smoldering region, bathed in flames that filled the sky above it with smoke.

Not a single structure remained standing within the boundaries of Qingdao, all having fallen to the wrathful inferno that endlessly burned the land.

The youthful man of messy, dark hair kept into a ponytail cupped his hands around his eyes as if using them as binoculars, looking at the faraway hellscape, "Yup…It's all gone. All because of you."

In the center of the once prosperous city, now only a barren, charred land where flames sang a symphony of chaos, a lonesome figure sat amongst the heat as though it were a paradise.

As if carved in the image of a Greek god, flesh of golden light that shined like the sun itself with a great mane that flowed like a waving flame.

It was with his discerning eyes that the man atop the skyscraper unveiled the true name of the entity that was far too bright to look at–

["Major Arcana: The Sun"]

While peering at the embodiment of the burning star, the man found himself being looked at in return.

The Sun held a wide smile, caressing his beard of fire as if welcoming the one from afar to come to him.

"Cocky bastard," the youthful man remarked with an excited smile of his own.

With an agile flip without fearing for the lethality of heights, he jumped from the summit of the skyscraper down, letting himself plummet. The eccentric man stared down at the quickly–approaching pavement without flinching, allowing himself to land on the street.

Beneath his feet and the knuckle he landed upon, the concrete was shattered into a small crater, though he remained unharmed by the fall that could kill anybody else.

It was with a flicker of swift steps that the man brought himself to the border of fire; where the ashen wasteland cut off from the still-standing cityscape.

"Status," he uttered.

[Level: 57] [Path: 235000/320000]

<Vitals: Healthy>

<Qi: Healthy>

Checking that he was indeed in peak condition, the fearless person found himself greeted at the border of fire by the all-too-bright presence of the Sun.

The figure towered well over three meters in height, carrying with itself a heat that made the flames feel like nothing more than a light breath.

"You can't cross wherever your flames haven't claimed yet, can you, big guy?" The man asked, pointing at the wall of fire.

"--Have you come to be turned to ash to be trampled on, mortal?--" The voice of the Sun quaked the wind like that of a tempest, bolstered by a deepness like that of a chasm.

The youthful man of confidence and eyes like that of a cosmic kaleidoscope pressed his thumb against his own chest with a smile of confidence that didn't burn away in the overwhelming presence, "I have a name, make sure to use it–"Polaris." That's the name of the guy who's about to put the Sun out."

"--Cross that border, and perhaps you'll help me remember your pitiful name, mortal–," the Sun provoked, pointing down at the line of fire.

Bringing his knuckles together, the challenge was welcomed by the man as tattoos manifested onto his skin, holding a bright-scarlet glow like that of an awakening flame. The roots of his hair exhibited the same burning shine like that of pure flames.

["Dao of Eternal Fire"]

Passing through the blazing wall brought no harm to the mortal, as he stepped right up to the Sun without any fear in his body, matching fire with fire. It was thanks to the unique system bestowed only to him–

[Xianxia System]

"--You step into my domain–the domain of the Sun with fire as your strength?" The one of a light-forged body asked. "Is it arrogance or ignorance? Show me.--"

"Gladly–" Polaris responded, moving his fists to take a stance.

Before he could even ready himself, the man found a force driving against his abdomen.

'Ah, he's fast, isn't he? I didn't even see him,' Polaris thought as the burning impact curled, flinging him straight upward.

In a mere moment, the velocity he traveled found himself entering the bounds of the sky with clouds at his reach. Hundreds of meters, maybe thousands? It was difficult to tell, as the fire-engulfed land below became a puny sight as clouds moved below him.

There wasn't even a chance to get his lungs to breathe in again before that unmatched radiance pierced the skies right below him.

"--Arrogance and ignorance both, perhaps?--"

Before he could react, the burning presence of the Sun arrived beside him in the sky before the mighty fists slammed down against his back. He was shot right back down to the ground, striking the charred soil.

Polaris lifted himself with a single push of his palms, hopping up to his feet as he shook the dirt off of himself. There wasn't a single scratch or bruise on him, though the godly strength of the Sun rang through his body like a dull ache nonetheless.

In front of him, the radiant figure touched down like a comet, halting his pursuit for the moment.

"--You are still standing, mortal? I'll admit, you are an intriguing existence, one that is beginning to make my body boil with excitement. Can you endure my elation?--"

'Alright, it was fun trying that, but that's not the right path…I'll give this a real shot now,' Polaris thought as he brought his fists together.

["Dao of Roaring Thunder"]

That ink on his body shifted from a crimson to an azure shine, turning the flow of fire into electricity that coiled around his limbs. As a bolt of lightning, the man flickered across the ashen land.

In that instinct, he struck the Sun, returning the favor with a strike right to the golden being's abdomen. Even for that brief moment of contact, Polaris felt the heat pressing against his hand with such intensity it might burn away entirely.

Though he landed the swift strike, he found himself stepping back with a flicker of lightning once more.

The Sun remained standing in the same spot, with only sparse trickles of electricity and steam at its stomach, "--Come now. If you are going to walk into my domain and challenge me, then commit to it.--"

"Alright, if that's the case, then–" Polaris obliged, raising his hand.

In the view of the Sun, though the human man lifted his arm, holding nothing, it appeared as if he held a sword, one larger than any other.

["World-Cutting Sword Intent"]

Brought down, Polaris swiped his hand, bringing with it the manifestation of what did not exist in a physical sense, only brought to reality through sheer focus and will: a sword large enough to split the burning wasteland.

The colossal slash caused the clouds above to be parted before the burnt land met the same fate.

"Well, I assumed it'd miss. Ah, well," Polaris casually remarked, looking at the gaping ravine now left in the barren land.

Despite the overwhelming scale of the willed strike, the embodiment of the Sun remained in one piece.

Yet, the fearsome entity looked clearly surprised by the devastation of the mortal's strike, holding two clear cuts into his golden flesh on his forearms, "--Superb! Superb, mortal! Show me more! If you entertain me, I will treasure your ash for eternity!--"

Each stomp forth the Sun took erupted with a flare of solar energy, bursting with divine heat as the blazing figure smiled with excitement. Without letting such a destructive figure approach freely, Polaris moved like a flicker of lightning, bouncing from spot-to-spot across the ash-turned city.

Just as he moved with such erratic pace, crossing miles in a blink, he found himself matched by the inexplicable agility of the Sun. From one spot to the next, into the sky and descending back to the ground all within a moment, he found that heat chasing right beside him.

In the corner of his eye, he could see it as he touched down to the charred soil; the burning smile of the ungodly being.

Just as he came to a stop, spinning around, the blazing existence greeted him head-on. Polaris shot his hand forth, generating a call of thunder that emitted an electric shock wave. The powerful force, intertwined with a flurry of thunderbolts tore across the land, though only brought the Sun to stumble back with an ever-burning smile.

"--Do you believe such meager elements can peel my flesh?! Nonsense!--"

In return, the grandiose figure lifted his foot to then bring it down with greater might. Ripples of solar radiance traversed through the cracks in the soil, boiling it up into an eruption of heat.

Polaris moved back as a bolt of fleeting lightning, avoiding the grasp of the all-melting heat. As he slid away on fickle electricity, he pushed his hand forward like that of a thrusting weapon as the flaming one rushed right towards him—

["Heaven-Piercing Spear Intent"]

The air was turned, torqued by a supreme, penetrative force that thrust itself right at the Sun. It shook the skies, carving up a mile of land, yet falling short of bypassing the radiant flesh of the star-born one.

'What a pain in the ass. How is anybody supposed to deal with this thing?' The man thought, breathing out as he wiped sweat from his cheek.

The natural heat enclosed within the boundaries of the land claimed by the Sun was overwhelming.

Vanishing from his body was the glow of thunderous power, leaving the man standing there, baked in sweat before the solar being.

"--Has it become all too clear that you are a grain of sand waging war against a mountain? I had hoped for a more entertaining clash, but I suppose it is too much to expect from a mortal.--" The Sun pridefully remarked with clear disappointment in his booming voice.

Polaris steadied his breathing, even as it felt as though he allowed embers into his lungs, bringing himself to a calm as the heat continuously sapped his strength. For the being that existed as the manifestation of the Sun, it witnessed a glimpse at the bejeweled eyes of the mortal man–eyes not devoid of hope as once thought.

["Dao of The Boundless Cosmos"]

'If this fails, then it's confirmed,' Polaris thought, bending his knees before leaping straight up.

Like a rocket shooting towards the realm of the universe beyond the skies, he launched right into the clouds before coming to a stop. He looked down at the ruined remnants of what could hardly be recognized as a once prosperous city.

"From up this high, even the Sun starts to look small…" Polaris remarked with a smile, bringing his hand up, squeezing his fist shut.

A brightness flared up from the surface, enough to cover the entirety of the region below in that unmatched radiance. Polaris didn't avert his gaze as the light reflected off his dazzling irises, keeping his hand clenched as a force swirled around it.

Space itself bent and curved around his fist, being twisted into a force as easy to mold as dough. As he pulled his hand down, facing his palm towards the wasteland far below, he dragged the sky itself as though it were a feeble curtain.

From below, the brightly-burning figure shouted, launching up, "--Enough wasting time. Let us turn this land to ash!--"

The proclamation from the hot-headed entity was met with an appropriate response from the man in the sky, who kept a focused gaze on the radiant being from above. Amidst the Sun's swift ascent, it was quickly intercepted as the distortion brought by Polaris' grasp was brought down:

["Heaven-Earth Connect: Collapsing Star"] [24:59:59]

A hum filled the great, blue expanse, increasing in intensity until it became a blaring noise that rippled through the clouds.

"--This is?--" The Sun wondered as the sky above its view was warped around as if stirred by a ladle.

Like a train crashing through, the sky itself crashed down upon the one of golden flesh, slamming down into the burning remnants of Qingdao. The force of splendid gravity spanned the boundaries of the city, crushing downward with impunity.

A glimmer of universal power brought the ashen wasteland down, producing a perfect circle around its borders as the scope of the city claimed by the Sun was pushed down into the Earth.

"Hrrgh!--" Polaris strained himself as his muscles coiled and his veins bulged against his skin, pushing his hand down to command the grandiose scale of gravity.

Enough pushing incurred a result that bordered on an impossible sight; the remnants of Qingdao that did exist were no longer in sight. In place of the barren city was only a canyon bordered by flames.

"Haaah…." Polaris caught his breath, looking down at the aftermath.

He watched for a moment, peering into that deep chasm of darkness, waiting for a sign before one met his eyes: a flash of fire that began from a sparking ember.

"Shit," the dissatisfied remark left his lips.

As that flicker of light came from the man-made canyon, he moved himself across the sky in an instant. Just as he brought himself a city away, perching atop a towering building, he looked back in the direction of where the city once existed–

The nearby skyscrapers rumbled before the mere ember that persisted in that chasm was followed by a pillar of solar energy that pierced into the heavens.

'That confirms it. That monster is completely invincible during the daytime,' Polaris concluded, staring at the monument of fire in the distance.