Ascension of the Immortal Asura

The chains latched outwards onto the air around him as if grabbing onto something corporeal. There was nothing visible, but John knew the chains had attached to his threads of Karma. He felt true surprises for the first time in a long time, as Karma was a very abstract concept to him and almost everyone he met. 

He had not expected a Dao Transformation opponent to be able to deal with Karma, as even he himself was unable to do so yet. 

"How…how are you able to interact with Karma, especially the Karma of others?" John asked curiously, his mind racing with questions. 

"Like I said," Ishnai replied, her voice still like that of a thousand people speaking. "Karma is one of the many fundamental forces of power and energy of this universe. Once you begin to understand it, you can interact with it, as well as interact with the Karma of others. With someone like you, who is unable to hide or obscure your Karma at all, interacting with your Karma is incredibly easy."

"I see," John said thoughtfully. "So, what does this Mage Art do exactly? Are you going to read my Karma? Tell my fortune?"

While Karma was no doubt a profound concept beyond his current understanding, he didn't know exactly how it could be used in battle. He felt as though he could rip the chains off him through great effort, but decided against that action for now. If the Mage Art reached a level that could harm him he would take action, but for now he would sit back and learn. Perhaps he would learn something about Karma, at least enough to be able to mask his own Karma.

Ishnai smirked at his comment, especially the quip about reading his fortune. Most who dealt with Karma were scryers and prophesier's, dealing with the abstracts of fortune and future telling. 

"The Seraph of Karma is a physical manifestation of the Dao of Karma," Ishnai decided to entertain his questions, clearly not worried about him using the information she gave against her. "Through its hand and my comprehensions of the Dao of Karma, I can interact with your unseen threads of Karma. As I mentioned before, Karma is not just something incorporeal, but is a real, true source of power."

"I see," John nodded. "So, you're going to empower yourself using my Karma?"

"Yes," Ishnai said, smirking again. "But not only your Karma, but yourself as well!"

Boom!

The seraphic angel floating behind Ishnai exploded with power, becoming so white that it was almost blinding. An arcane energy surged from the angel though the chain towards John, the chain itself glowing with power as well. After reaching John, it did things unseen with his Karma, then turned around, surging back towards the angel. 

The energy hit the angel, at which point another chain shot out of it, latching onto Ishnai's back. Ishnai shuddered for a moment, her eyes rolling back for a second. Then her aura began to rise once more, her eyes snapping open and locking onto John with focused purpose.

"Let Death be your Measure, and Regret your Judgment," she said, her voice growing even more alien. 

Boom!

Both Ishnai and the seraph exploded with power, like twin beacons of white fire. John felt a profound energy slam into him through the chain, nearly knocking him off his feet. He groaned lightly and stabilized himself, not taking any true damage in whatever just happened. His eyes widened a moment later as he felt his Qi churn within his body, moving without his command. 

Some of his Qi roiled as if out of his control, then surged through his meridians and out into the chains latched onto him. 

"What?" he couldn't help but ask, unsure of what was going on. For the first time in a very long time, he was not fully in control of his Qi.

"Karma is a source of power, but so are you," Ishnai said, her smirk gone and replaced by a look of pure arrogance, like a king looking down on a lowly subject. "Each life you have reaped has sowed a thread of Karma. Through those threads, the Seraph of Karma is able to strengthen itself off your Karma, while I use your Qi to strengthen myself."

"How…how is that even possible?" John couldn't help but ask. He was completely taken aback, as this was by far the most obscure and arcane battle art he had ever fought against. He could rip the chains off his body, but still didn't feel any grave danger and so opted against such an action.

Ishnai ignored his question, and continued to speak of her Mage Art. "Each thread of Karma is judged by the Seraph, which is then strengthened by your Qi as well as your Karma. The greater your regret for each life you have taken, the more your Qi is drained."

"That's…actually amazing," John couldn't help but praise, feeling his Qi slowly be drained from his body. In terms of pure abstract profundity, this Mage Art was unmatched when considering all the Arts he had faced up to this point. 

"Your cloud of death is far greater than any I have fought against! It is like a tempest of death, a storm of destruction. I see flickers of your karmic memories. Memories of those you have killed. So many. So many deaths…Your Karma is incredible, and your regrets must be even moreso. I will feed off this power, growing to a level that you cannot hope to fight," Ishnai said, her eyes glowing white and her face becoming almost like that of the seraph behind her. 

As his threads of Karma continued to be judged, his Qi continued to be drained through the chain and into the Seraph. As it did so, the Seraph continued to become stronger, more lethal.

John watched the process unfold, then chuckled lightly. "You're right about how many lives I've taken," he said to Ishnai, then shook his head. "But as far as regret goes, I do not regret a single life I have taken."

"Impossible," Ishnai muttered. "So much death and not one regret…I refuse…" her voice trailed off as she fell silent for a moment, clearly feeling something through the chains linking her, John, and the Seraph of Karma. 

The Seraph continued to grow for a short time, while John felt his Qi continue to be drained. When his Qi drained ten percent, the process finally stopped. He tilted his head to the side, curious why the process had stopped.

"Is that all?" he asked, his question cut off by a sudden cry of euphoria from Ishnai.

"This Qi of yours! So pure. So potent. It's unlike anything I've ever felt before!" she exclaimed, shuddering from the overwhelming power she felt. She floated in the air for a few seconds, head back, arms outwards, basking in the overwhelming power coursing through her. She then began to laugh maniacally, as if her mind was completely ensnared by the power coursing through her.

She then waved her hand, slashing her scepter through the air towards John. As she did so, the Seraph mimicked her action, the scale of Righteousness disappearing, replaced by a copy of her scepter, only much larger.

Boom!

A beam of incredible power, tinged with the Dao of Karma, pierced towards John. He frowned as it approached, but didn't take any action to defend against it. The beam slammed onto him with incredible power, drowning him within.

The crowd gasped and the announcer spoke frantically as the beam of power enveloped John, completely drowning him in its ruinous power. 

Boom!

After slamming into John, the beam of power exploded outwards, drowning most of the arena in its remnant power. The arena shook violently and the defensive formations flared to life, protecting the spectators from being harmed.

"So…so much power!" Ishnai said as the explosion began to fade, her alien-sounding voice brimming with euphoria. "I have no idea how you came to obtain such pure and potent Qi, but you are unworthy of the powers you possess. Still, using your own power to defeat you is judgment enough for now. Your Karma has been read, and you have been judged."