"Valen, relax," I said, my voice calm but edged with steel as my eyes locked onto his. The air around us thickened, heavy with his aura as Valen Ashbluff, mid Radiant-ranker, let his power surge. His eyes gleamed with the dark promise of battle, and the weight of his astral energy bore down like a mountain threatening to crush me.
He didn't reply. Instead, his daggers—wicked, gleaming things—materialised, spinning in a deadly dance around him, tethered to his will through Dagger Unity. The surrounding space seemed to ripple and twist in his presence, a canvas he could bend and break at will.
"Hooo," I exhaled, steadying myself as he shifted, the subtle movements of a predator ready to strike.
And then he did.
The space between us dissolved in an instant as Valen warped the axis, his figure flickering like a shadow made real. His daggers thrust forward, aiming for my heart with precision and speed that made the air itself shudder.
Instinct took over. I raised my sword, meeting his attack with a clash that rang like a bell tolling for battle. Sparks flew, his daggers grinding against my blade as his dark astral energy writhed around us.
"So this is what you want?" I said through gritted teeth, my strength matching his ferocity. "Fine. A fight it is."
The impact sent me skidding back, the ground beneath my boots carving jagged grooves into the twisted landscape. Valen gave no quarter. Over a dozen daggers materialised, each radiating deadly intent, before they hurtled toward me in a torrent of death.
I didn't flinch. Instead, I swung my sword downward in a graceful arc until its tip kissed the ground.
Fourth movement: Pond of Tranquility.
The moment the blade touched the earth, a ripple of calm radiated outward. The daggers, once vibrant with energy, faltered, their momentum bleeding away as the tranquil force of my technique cut through the chaotic mana around me. The deadly projectiles clattered to the ground, harmless.
Valen's eyes narrowed, but his lips curved in a faint, dangerous smile. He wasn't done. Neither was I.
"Luna," I whispered, my voice steady despite the storm brewing around us. "Give me everything."
Her response was immediate, a silent pact etched into the fabric of my being. Her mythical energy surged into me, deeper and more complete than ever before. My body shifted subtly, the human limitations of my form giving way to something more—something other. My spells, once mortal constructs, now thrummed with the ethereal power of a qilin.
The battlefield stilled for a heartbeat as I inhaled, the air charged with potential. My astral energy coiled and surged, brimming with a force that felt unyielding, untameable.
"Come, Valen," I said, my voice quieter but sharper than any blade. "Let's finish this."
He answered with a frown, and the battle resumed with a fury that bent the world itself.
The moment I opened my Sword Domain, the oppressive warping of space that Valen commanded faltered, my domain establishing a foothold against his overwhelming presence. His sharp eyes narrowed but betrayed no surprise. Instead of countering my Domain with one of his own, he shrouded himself in the infamous Shadow Armor of the Ashbluff family, a dark and impenetrable sheath of mana that clung to him like a second skin.
'He's not holding back anymore,' I thought as the air around him grew denser, more menacing. But then again, neither was I.
His movements were precise—calculated, even—but they were too predictable.
It was time.
Second movement: Hollow Eclipse.
My sword ignited with layers of astral energy, their brilliance dimmed by scattered void-like patches of dark magic. It wasn't just power I imbued into the strike but something more primal, more devastating: the very essence of hunger, the gnawing, endless void that consumes all. The weapon in my hand became an avatar of annihilation as I swung.
But even that wasn't enough.
Facing Valen Ashbluff, one of the most formidable Radiant-rankers alive, meant I couldn't stop there. My blade splintered, shattering into thousands of spectral fragments, each a deadly echo of my intent. The spectral swords surged forward, aided by the amplifying force of my Sword Domain, converging on him with lethal precision.
Valen responded in kind. His twin daggers, humming with dark astral energy, flickered into motion, intercepting my strikes mid-air with an ease that was almost infuriating. He moved with the grace of a predator, and as my Hollow Eclipse cleaved toward his chest, he met it head-on.
Clang!
The sound of our clash rang out like a thunderclap. His daggers, infused with the techniques of his Grade 6 art, caught my blade in a perfect lock. The force of the collision sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, and for a heartbeat, the world seemed to hold its breath.
I didn't wait for him to counter. My qilin-enhanced leg moved with the speed of light magic, aiming a devastating kick at his ribs. He deflected it with a sharp elbow cloaked in Shadow Armor, the impact reverberating through my body. Gritting my teeth, I shifted my weight, bringing my other leg around in a follow-up kick.
His defense held, but only barely.
I pressed the advantage. Drawing my sword back, I thrust forward with relentless precision. My movements became a blur as the Tempest Dance Technique came alive, weaving strikes and kicks into a wild yet calculated storm of destruction. Each blow was met with fierce resistance as Valen's daggers clashed against my astral blade, our bodies breaking and mending in a cycle of destruction and regeneration.
Still, I pushed harder.
The tempo of my strikes increased, each one carrying the weight of my intent. Another Hollow Eclipse formed, its power more refined, more devastating than before. As I brought it down with a crackling arc of energy, I felt the shift—the subtle faltering in Valen's stance.
And then it happened. His knee buckled, the strain of my unrelenting assault finally forcing him to yield, even if for a moment.
It wasn't victory, not yet. But it was a crack in the invincible façade of Valen Ashbluff.
"You're remarkable," he said, his voice calm despite the strain, a flicker of respect in his gaze. But I didn't respond. My focus was absolute, my determination unwavering.
The battle wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
Dark chains of magic spiraled into existence, their jagged edges carving through the fabric of my Sword Domain with an unrelenting hunger. Valen's nine-circle spellcasting was a thing of nightmares, each link of those chains a testament to his mastery over dark astral energy. They whipped toward me, serpentine and deadly, promising nothing short of obliteration.
My eyes narrowed. I stepped back, the air around me shimmering as I activated Pond of Tranquility once more. My sword descended in a smooth arc, cutting apart the mana around me, nullifying the chains before they could tighten their grip. The calm surface of the Pond reflected my resolve even as it shattered the chaos.
But Valen was far from done.
Before I could fully raise my head, a dagger sliced through the air toward me, its edge gleaming with a murderous intent that left no room for hesitation. Instinct took over. I surged forward—not away—and headbutted the dagger. A dull pain exploded in my skull, but the blade was deflected, knocked off its deadly trajectory.
The reprieve was fleeting. More daggers followed, a swarm of shadowy death spiraling toward me, each one imbued with the same relentless malice. And behind them, Valen loomed, his movements a blur, closing the distance faster than I could fully process.
Enough.
Third movement: Stellar Cascade.
In an instant, the battlefield transformed. Space and time twisted under the weight of my magic, and the world around us became a celestial storm. Stars rained down, luminous and unyielding, each one carrying the essence of my swordsmanship. My blade moved like a conductor's baton, weaving through the celestial chaos, striking down dagger after dagger in a symphony of destruction.
Valen was undeterred. His daggers multiplied, forming a dark constellation of their own, a counter to my Stellar Cascade. His barrage met mine, the two of us locked in a cosmic duel, stars clashing against shadows in an endless cascade of power.
For a moment, it was sheer chaos. The air crackled with energy, the ground quaked under the strain, and the very fabric of reality seemed to bend and twist around our clash. But there was no denying the gap between us.
I was a high Immortal-ranker. He, a mid Radiant-ranker. His power was vast, but in this instance—within the cascade of stars—I held the upper hand.
I surged forward, my foot finding his abdomen with a resounding impact. Valen's Shadow Armour absorbed the brunt of the blow, but the sheer force sent him hurtling to the ground, his landing shaking the earth beneath us. Above him, I floated, a specter of light and determination, my sword gleaming with the promise of another strike.
I exhaled slowly, the chaos around us settling into a tense quiet. My Sword Domain flickered for a moment, not dissipating but condensing. It was no longer a vast field—it was a singularity.
Everything—my focus, my power, my intent—condensed into a single point.
First movement: God Flash: Singularity.
And then, in a flash of pure intent, I vanished.
When I reappeared, it was directly before a retreating Valen. My sword swung upward, cutting through the air with the force of a collapsing star—mana compressed to astral energy, focused to a single, devastating point.
The explosion was instantaneous.
BOOM!
Valen's form disintegrated, utterly obliterated, but his essence endured. His daggers had instinctively risen, shielding the vulnerable threads of his soul from the brunt of my assault. Even now, his body reformed with unnerving speed, the dark astral energy stitching him back together as though time itself bent to his will.
We stood still, caught in the tense silence that followed destruction. His eyes, sharp and unyielding, met mine.
"Calmed down?" I ventured, though my grip tightened on my blade.
Valen's lips twisted into something between a smirk and a snarl. "Arise."
The word reverberated, heavy with command. My heart sank as shadows coiled behind him, and I braced for what I thought was the summoning of his infamous army—the millions of cursed dead that answered his call.
But the air around him shifted.
This was no ordinary necromancy.
Behind Valen, a colossal gate took shape. It loomed like a dark monument, its ancient surface etched with runes that pulsed faintly, like embers of a long-dead fire. The gate's aura was suffocating, a well of unfathomable power that clawed at the edges of reality itself.