Desperation's End

*The verdict is Death.*

## Summary

Desperation's End is a peak-quality skill Zac received for completing his level 125 skill quest for his Fetters of Desolation Skill Quest while in the Orom World taking over four years to complete. The skill takes a relatively long time to activate and requires infusement with both his Death Dao and his Conflict Dao to activate. It summons an axe haze and two singularities. The two singularities are under the control of the user and can empower the strike from the axe haze, hold a target in place to receive the axe haze strike, and possibly other options.

Zac used the lesser enlightenment reward of his Flamebearer of Zecia (2/?) quest to create the skill fractal to upgrade Desperation's End to D-grade with enough alterations to change it's name.

## Skill Quest

* Another few days passed until he reached level 125 there as well, prompting him to gain a second class quest as expected.
	+ Desperation’s End (Class): Extinguish one million souls. Reward: Desperation’s End skill. (0/1,000,000). **Book 9, Page 328**
* He’d just killed four beasts, yet the progress remained zero. Zac was certain the beasts were real, rather than some sort of constructs or illusions. He even sensed the beasts’ souls dissipating soon after he killed them. **Book 9, Page 377**
* He’d felt it upon delivering that final strike. His Dao-braided strike crashed into the panther’s skull, destroying its soul before it had a chance to dissipate. A moment later, some minute flakes had disappeared into his body, though Zac couldn’t see where they went. **Book 9, Page 379**
* The bristled lizard released one last sorrowful wail as it helplessly watched the axe descend, but its lamentations were cut short as Zac’s strike cut through its thick skull and extinguished its soul with one practiced motion. **Book 9, Page 527**
	+ [Desperation's End (Class): Extinguish one million souls. Reward: Desperation's End Skill (1,000,000/1,000,000) COMPLETE] **Book 9, Page 527**
* It had taken more than four years, most of which had been spent ceaselessly fighting in the Wilderness, but he finally made it. One million souls had been extinguished, turning Zac into what could best be described as a walking calamity to the beasts that made this place their home. **Book 9, Page 527**

## Skill Location

**Right Bicep**

* He was going all out from the start, and a massive Dao Braid entered a skill fractal on his right bicep along with almost a third of his Miasma. **Chapter 850**

## Skill Window

[E] Desperation's End - Proficiency: Early. Bind them. End them. Upgradeable**. Chapter 898**

[D] Desperation's End - Proficiency: Early. The verdict is Death. Upgradeable. **Chapter 1,170**

## E-Grade Early Proficiency

* Billowing waves of darkness poured out from his back the next moment, ... the energy condensed into a grid of strings that looked both like some sort of skeletal wings ... five meters in every direction, ... One shimmering orb of utter darkness soon congealed at each tip, while **[Black Death]** ... started radiating a gray haze that lacerated the air around it. ... swung his weapon in a sharp overhead arc, causing the insanely sharp haze to rush forward ... transformed into a metallic skull with a huge scar on its forehead. ... its jaws opened far beyond what should be possible. Before disintegrating, the skull unleashed a soundless wail that contained such force that it formed a barely visible blade that shot forward with almost impossible speed. ... creating a trail of destruction that slowly expanded outward. ... The two wing-like appendages on Zac’s back flapped, and they suddenly expanded five times in size. ... before being absorbed by the two orbs at the ends. With that, a set of soul-chilling runes appeared at the surface of the orbs, at which point Zac finally released them. The two singularities shot forward with such force they tore straight through space, reappearing right next to the blade ... The blade and two orbs crashed into each other the next moment, ... the cataclysmic eruption that followed. Death and Conflict fused into one, and nothing could withstand its might as a black inferno ripped the whole canopy to shreds. **Chapter 850**
* For example, those two singularities were actually controlled by him when he shot them out. That probably meant there were other ways to use them than simply bashing them into the conjured blade. **Chapter 851**
	+ Two balls had appeared next to him already, and space sealed as the aspects of **[Desperation's End]** converged. It managed to restrain even a thrashing Hegemon long enough to complete the strike, and he could only look on with desperation as he met his end. A silent swish of a solitary blade, followed by a muted thud as the Hegemon's head fell on the ground. **Chapter 905**
	+ The haze swallowed the two crackling orbs of destruction, and Uthar knew he couldn't wait any longer. ... The impregnable wall of **[Gaia's Sanctuary]** shattered, split in two by an unstoppable edge. **Chapter 1,008**

## E-Grade Peak Proficiency

* The skill had changed quite a bit while Zac improved the skill to peak proficiency, much like how the wooden hand of **[Arcadia's Judgment]** grew more impressive. **Chapter 1,100**
* By now, the skull was twice the size of Early Proficiency and covered in dense scars like it'd seen a thousand wars. **Chapter 1,100**
* Each skill upgrade had added another restrictive orb, and reaching Peak Mastery had done away with the framework wings entirely. **Chapter 1,100**

## Upgrade to D-Grade

* Zac had come away like a bandit, figuring out upgrades for the strongest attacks of his two classes, **[Arcadia's Judgment]** and **[Desperation's End]**. Both fractals had seen enough change to warrant a new name, but it was nothing compared to **[Conformation of Supremacy]**'s transformation. **Chapter 1,166**
* Of the three skills he used Ultom's insight on, **[Desperation's End]** retained most of its original patterns. ... the problem came from the restriction. Simply put, it wasn't needed. ... It needed speed, sharpness, and intractable power to cut through any last attempts at resisting fate. Zac felt that was exactly what he'd accomplished with his new **[Desperation's End]**. **Chapter 1,170**

## Commentary

* **[Desperation’s End]** had a glaring weakness, being the slowest skill to activate between both his classes by far. **Chapter 851**
* Not even his **[Arcadia's Judgment]** contained this level of raw power, ... **Chapter 851**
* The Void Energy wouldn’t allow him to instantly deliver a strike, but it would drastically cut down on his casting time by instantly conjuring fully-formed singularities and wings. **Chapter 851**
* Furthermore, the skill was a novel expression of the fusion of the two Daos that made up the foundation of his class; Axe and Pale Seal. **Chapter 851**
* His only real ranged skill was **[Desperation's End]**, ... **Chapter 924**
* He'd hoped that the Peak-Quality **[Desperation's End]** would be enough to split the mountain in two before they reached this point, but the defenses of Earth Cultivators were just too sturdy. **Chapter 1,008**
* However, the combination of his upgraded **[Adamance of Eoz]** and Cosmic Core had made his skill roughly twice as durable. **Chapter 1,100**
* The new fractal wasn't the most complex, but it had the highest number of runes and connections of his skills. **Chapter 1,170**