The Broken Halo

The first refinement cycle began with a single heartbeat.

Badum!

The demonic energy of the Furnaceback Centipede gathered around Simon’s Infernal Heart moved into his Chaos Flame.

The flame immediately grew violent.

It burned through the foreign nature of the Furnaceback Centipede’s energy, stripped away everything that did not belong to Simon, and changed what remained into his own elemental Chaos.

Simon then forced that Chaos into the shallow engravings covering his heart.

The process was simple to understand, but it was not simple to endure.

A crushing pressure spread through his chest as the Chaos sank into the flesh, vessels, and pathways of his Infernal Heart. Wind surged first, followed by space, shadow, fire, ice, and earth.

Simon controlled all six carefully.

None could be allowed to overwhelm the others.

Before devouring the centipede, his Infernal Heart was already around twenty percent (20%) refined. He had been close to becoming a Prime Archfiend, but the final distance required more energy and more careful tempering.

Now, energy was not the problem.

He had devoured a Half-Step Abyssal Beast.

The amount of demonic energy contained in its enormous body was enough to make the energy of ordinary Archfiends look insignificant.

The first cycle ended.

Then Simon began another.

And another.

In each cycle, his Chaos Flame purified a portion of the centipede’s demonic energy. And each time, Simon turned that power into his personal Chaos and drove it deeper into the engravings of his heart.

Dark sweat appeared across his skin.

Small amounts of black blood leaked from his pores as impurities were burned out of his heart and body. The smell was foul, but Simon ignored it.

Twenty-one percent.

Twenty-three.

Twenty-five.

The closer he came to the first threshold, the heavier his heartbeat became.

His Chaos Flame grew restless. The six affinities pulled in different directions, while the Infernal Heart resisted the power being pushed into it.

Simon’s expression remained calm.

’Rushing because I have enough demonic energy would be foolish. I still have time.’

He controlled every stream and completed one final cycle.

Twenty-six percent.

BADUM!

His Infernal Heart contracted violently.

Every trace of Chaos surrounding it was pulled inward. For the briefest moment, the flame almost disappeared into the heart.

Then it erupted.

BOOM!

Elemental Chaos rushed through Simon’s pathways. His muscles tightened, his bones creaked, and the physical essence waiting inside his body finally found more room to settle.

Strength entered his arms, legs, back, and chest.

The pressure that had previously threatened to tear him apart became easier to bear.

Simon had become a Prime Archfiend.

But that was not all.

His eyes remained closed and his focus was still completely on his body.

Too much of the centipede’s demonic energy remained.

There was no way a Half-Step Abyssal Beast’s demonic energy was only enough for a single minor rank advancement.

The next stage began immediately.

From twenty-six to fifty percent, the easy portions of the Infernal Heart had already accepted Chaos. Simon now had to refine deeper layers.

And the resistance increased as a result.

Every cycle took more control than the last, but the energy continued flowing without pause.

The High B grade earth affinity proved useful. Its heavy and stable nature strengthened the heart’s structure whenever the wind became too violent or space caused the surrounding pathways to distort.

Simon did not allow earth to dominate though. He used it as a container.

Wind moved.

Space twisted.

Shadow spread.

Fire burned.

Ice cooled.

Earth held everything together like how a planet held all the elements in place.

The six forces entered the Infernal Heart as one controlled form of Chaos.

Thirty percent.

Thirty-eight.

Forty-five.

Time passed without Simon moving.

At fifty percent, the deeper portions of his heart pushed back fiercely. Pain travelled from his chest into his spine, and thin cracks appeared in several demonic pathways.

Unholy Regeneration repaired them while Simon continued without stopping.

He completed another refinement cycle.

Fifty-one percent.

His heart contracted again.

This time, the force was stronger.

The Chaos Flame disappeared inward, then burst out with enough power to send a wave through and out of Simon’s body. Dust fell from the cave ceiling, and the dry husk of the Furnaceback Centipede shifted against the wall.

Simon crossed into the Superior Archfiend stage.

More of the stored physical essence fused with him.

His bones became denser. His muscles compressed and strengthened without becoming larger, while his organs adjusted to the stronger Chaos travelling through them.

The improvement was immense.

Yet the demonic energy he had devoured was still not exhausted.

’A Half-Step Abyssal Beast truly is on another level... Reminds me of the good old days.’

A hint of nostalgia flashed through Simon’s mind before he shook his head slightly and continued.

Superior to Supreme was where the refinement became brutal.

The portions of the Infernal Heart that remained untouched were the most resistant. They did not accept Chaos easily, and forcing power into them carelessly would damage the balance Simon had created.

His progress slowed.

Fifty-eight percent.

Sixty-four.

Seventy.

Every increase demanded several cycles.

The Chaos Flame refined the energy, while Simon’s Will controlled the six affinities and pressed them deeper. The Infernal Heart became less like ordinary flesh with Chaos engraved inside it and more like an organ that had been created to contain Chaos from birth.

Each heartbeat released purer power.

Each heartbeat strengthened his entire body.

At seventy-five percent, Simon paused for the first time.

The remaining energy still pressed around his Infernal Heart, but the next threshold was more dangerous than the previous two. Wind wanted to surge ahead. The new earth affinity wanted to sink deeper and stabilise everything by force.

Simon corrected both.

’Controlled coexistence. Not equality.’

He began the next cycle.

The six elements entered the Chaos Flame.

They were refined.

Balanced.

Then driven into the final untempered section required for the threshold.

Seventy-six percent.

BADUM!

The entire cave shook.

Simon’s Infernal Heart pulled every nearby trace of Chaos inward, compressed it for a single breath, and released it throughout his body.

The power did not explode wildly.

It moved with terrifying order.

His pathways expanded. His blood flowed faster. The physical essence of the centipede flooded into the stronger foundation his new rank provided, and Unholy Regeneration repaired every tear created by the sudden growth.

Simon had become a Supreme Archfiend.

Still, he did not stop.

The remaining demonic energy was enough to push him farther, although every percentage beyond seventy-six became increasingly difficult.

Eighty percent.

Eighty-five.

Eighty-nine.

At ninety-two percent, the final stream of usable energy from the Furnaceback Centipede entered the Infernal Heart.

His Chaos Flame burned it clean and drove it into the engravings.

Then the flow ended.

Simon did not force more progress with his own reserves.

The final portions of the Infernal Heart were the most difficult to refine, and his six-affinity balance remained temporary. Advancing recklessly now would turn an extraordinary gain into damage he might regret later.

There were also other reasons as to why he decided to stop here and continue.

Silence returned to the cave.

Simon’s heartbeat echoed through it like a slow drum.

Ninety-two percent Infernal Heart refinement.

A Supreme Archfiend.

Simon slowly opened his sky-blue eyes.

Blackmoon had entered the convoy as a Minor Archfiend.

But the demon who opened his eyes inside the cave was now a terrifying Supreme Archfiend.

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