When Ziz saw this, she sighed and said, "If little brother is getting serious, then so should I." She turned to face her opponents.
The essence Lords of Time and Space were the most cunning of the group, not due to their strength, but because of their control over fundamental laws. Time and Space were the principles governing all existence, and these two were their masters. They used long-range attacks like Ziz and could easily evade her feathers by altering timelines and warping spaces, ensuring her attacks missed their targets. The Time Essence Lord would manipulate the timeline of Ziz's attacks to strike her instead, effectively using her own assaults against her. Meanwhile, the Space Essence Lord employed transparent, glass-like fragments of space to slice at Ziz and teleport her feathers to strike from unexpected angles. Ziz had managed to hold her ground thanks to the feathers she used for defense, as they were essentially controlling the reality around her.
"Ziz, you know it's impossible to defeat us. We are the essence of Time and Space. Even though light can be obscured or darkness can be outshined, Time and Space are unchangeable," said the man in a golden robe, the Essence Lord of Time.
"We are eternal and ever-present. Surrender now, and we may spare you," added the man in a silver robe, the Essence Lord of Space.
"While it is true that Time and Space can't be destroyed," Ziz said, her body covered in brown feathers and a massive pair of wings sprouting from her back, her long brown hair growing even longer and silkier, "their sentience can be challenged."
With that, a golden bow adorned with crimson runes materialized in her hands. She plucked a feather from her chest and nocked it as an arrow. The feather transformed into a bronze-colored arrow as she drew the bowstring, aiming at the Essence Lord of Time.
"This is futile," said the Essence Lord of Time.
"This fruitless endeavor will yield no results," echoed the Essence Lord of Space.
"We'll see about that," Ziz said, releasing the arrow.
The arrow shot forward at incredible speed towards the Essence Lord of Time.
"You never learn," said the Essence Lord of Space, opening a spatial tear to divert the arrow. But the unexpected happened—the arrow passed through the spatial tear as though it were nonexistent.
The two essence lords' eyes widened in surprise, but they quickly reacted. The Essence Lord of Space opened more portals and sent spatial blades after the arrow, while the Essence Lord of Time tried to reverse the arrow's timeline or redirect it. However, nothing they did could slow its momentum.
"Damn it! Why won't it budge?!" exclaimed the Essence Lord of Time, attempting to evade the arrow.
"This is futile. Your attempt is pointless," Ziz said with a mocking smile.
"You insolent—" the Essence Lord of Time began, but was cut off as the arrow struck his right arm.
"How did you manage this? How did our Laws have no effect on it?!" the Essence Lord of Space demanded, both furious and astonished.
"It's simple. The Laws of Space allow you to control coordinates, correct? So if something passes through the void, where you have no control, it can't be manipulated. As for Time, you can't control the timeline of a being that has existed since the origin of existence. Time governs only what has a beginning, not what has always been. That's why we are called Primordials. So, you've got nothing on me," Ziz said with a wide, alluring smile as she nocked five more feathers, transforming them into arrows and shooting them at the essence lords.
Meanwhile, in Leviathan and Zen's battle...
"Looks like we're the ones in control now," Leviathan said, his body now covered in scales with a red horn on his head, though he still looked beaten.
"Yeah, so what? As long as I can take you down, we've pretty much won," Zen replied, his injuries less severe than Leviathan's.
Leviathan laughed loudly and said, "Let's see you try." He charged at Zen with his black spear.
With a sigh, Zen remarked, "I seriously don't know if this is a real fight for you or just a game," as he raised his spear to meet Leviathan's.
"You can consider this a warm-up for when I face Father," Leviathan said, their weapons clashing. Their spears moved with such speed that ordinary observers could barely keep up. Their weapons met in flashes of steel, occasionally striking their targets. Despite Leviathan taking more damage, Zen wasn't faring much better.
Behemoth, now in his childlike form, watched with a smug smile.
"Come on, guys, you were powerful just a moment ago. What's happening now? I just had a little power-up, and you're already looking rough. How can you call yourselves the Essence Lords?" Behemoth taunted.
The Essence Lord of Light gnashed his teeth. "You bastard, you will pay for this!"
The Essence Lord of Darkness added, "We will take you down and ensure your death. That is a promise!"
"Yeah, yeah, say that when you don't look like that," Behemoth said matter-of-factly.
The Essence Lord of Light was severely injured, missing an arm, a leg, and part of his torso. The Essence Lord of Darkness had similar injuries, though her torso and arms were intact, but her legs were missing from the waist down.
"You should give up. You've lost!" Behemoth declared, pointing his sword at them with the air of a king addressing peasants. The essence lords clenched their fists with menacing expressions, but they were powerless to act.
With a condescending smile, Behemoth said, "The only true challenge here is Father and Brother Zen. You're nothing... but cannon fodder!"