Without a word, Jefferson unleashed the two Aether spears. They hurtled toward Rex, twin blurs of crimson light leaving fiery arcs in their wake.
"Again?!" Rex growled, his reflexes kicking in as he activated Time Control.
The world slowed, but this time, something was wrong. The spears didn't crawl at a snail's pace like before. Instead, they surged forward at the speed of a five-year-old on a sugar rush—still slow, but unnervingly faster than before.
"Twice as fast… no, three times!" Rex's mind raced. He clenched his teeth, feeling the heat of the incoming projectiles against his skin.
Desperation flooded him as he threw up the Aegis of Eternity. The blue bubble shimmered to life around him, its surface rippling like liquid sunlight. The spears struck the barrier with a deafening crack, their energy sending shockwaves across the shield.
The Aegis trembled, fractures spiderwebbing across its surface. Rex's breath hitched as he felt the strain. "It's going to break!"
Then, with a flicker of light, the spears dissipated, their power vanishing into thin air. Rex staggered, beads of sweat rolling down his face.
Jefferson stood motionless, watching with a calm that bordered on unsettling. His lips curved slightly, not quite a smile but close enough to make Rex's skin crawl. "Hmm," he muttered, arching an eyebrow.
Before Rex could catch his breath, another spear materialized in front of Jefferson. This one was different, its color a deep, unnatural purple that seemed to drink in the light around it. The air itself grew heavy, crackling with the sheer density of its Aether.
"Slowing down time won't help you here," Jefferson said, his tone low but unyielding. "This one will kill you."
Rex's heart pounded in his chest. His fists clenched, nails biting into his palms. The weight of the purple spear's energy pressed against him like a tidal wave, suffocating and relentless.
"Yeah, right!" he snapped, anger rising to mask his fear. He wasn't stupid; he knew exactly what Jefferson was doing now. This wasn't an attack. This was a test—a ruthless, no-holds-barred trial of his limits.
But the purple spear was unlike anything he'd ever faced. Its power was incomprehensible, a swirling mass of pure, raw energy that made his own Aether feel like a flickering candle beside a roaring inferno.
"One hundred times stronger," Rex thought, his stomach sinking. "How the hell do I dodge that?"
Cronus' voice slipped into his mind like a shadow. "You can't dodge it. Not with what you have now. But perhaps… there's another way."
Rex's breath quickened as the purple spear began to move, its trajectory aimed squarely at his chest. The sheer force of its presence felt like standing before a hurricane.
"Dammit, Jefferson," Rex muttered under his breath, his hands glowing faintly as he prepared for the fight of his life. "If you wanted to test me, you could've just asked."