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Chapter 17 - The Living Army

Arcon rose slowly, her golden eyes burning like twin suns, her breathing controlled but heavy. She had fought her way through hell to reach this point. Drevin's plan had been meticulous—scattering the Order's forces, plunging them into isolated battles and chaos. But Arcon had cut through them all—one by one. Bleeding. Bruised. Unstoppable. And now, she had finally arrived at the real threat.Her gaze flicked to Benedict and Kalen, instantly assessing their conditions. She knew their limits. Their capabilities. She knew exactly what needed to be done.Drevin, however, wasn't one to take chances. The moment he saw her, his instincts screamed retreat. Without hesitation, he stepped into the Weave, tearing open a rift. And then—he stopped.His left leg and arm were barely slipping into the fold of reality—Arcon's fingers twitched. Time slowed.Drevin's exposed limbs froze, as if the Weave itself had betrayed him. His expression barely had time to register shock before—she yanked him back. With a flick of her wrist, the frozen parts of his body were violently ripped free from the rift, dragging the rest of him out with it. Drevin stumbled as the rift snapped shut behind him, his golden eyes narrowing."…You're fast," he admitted, rolling his shoulder.Arcon didn't acknowledge the compliment. "You scattered my teams. That was a mistake."Drevin's smirk didn't fade. "Was it?"Her voice was absolute. "Kalen. Initiate Time Dungeon. Now."Kalen, barely able to stand, his bloodied fingers trembling as he fought to stay conscious, pressed his palm to the ground. The Weave shuddered, collapsing inward, folding space itself into an enclosed arena. The air thickened. Time warped.Drevin's expression darkened. He had known Arcon was dangerous. But this—this was her domain.She moved first.Reality itself bent as she vanished in a burst of speed—reappearing directly in front of Drevin.Drevin barely managed to twist away, his body flickering as he attempted to step through the Weave—but he couldn't. The Weave's response time had slowed. His escape routes were sealed mid-thought. For the first time, Drevin was being hunted.She swung. A single palm strike distorted the air, creating a gravitational vacuum.Drevin countered, folding space behind him, attempting to phase-step out of range—but Arcon had already predicted it. She froze his exit point.Drevin snapped backward violently, as though he had hit an invisible wall. He crashed to the ground but recovered instantly, rolling into a defensive stance. His golden eyes burned with recognition."…You're terrifying."Arcon didn't respond. She simply raised her hand. And the real fight began.Drevin attacked with absolute precision. He shifted the Weave mid-combat, creating rifts that turned his movements into afterimages, striking from multiple angles at once. Arcon evaded them all.She didn't block. She didn't counter. She adjusted time around her body, making every strike miss by mere fractions of a second.Drevin growled. He had fought countless opponents, but never anyone who could negate combat itself. He switched tactics instantly. A rift expanded, swallowing half the battlefield. If he couldn't attack her directly—he'd erase the battlefield itself.The Time Dungeon collapsed, entire sections of reality being torn out of existence—Arcon exhaled.And for the first time—she lifted both hands.The moment Drevin's rift expanded to consume her—she stopped it. The Weave locked in place.Drevin's rift—a void designed to devour reality itself—froze.Drevin stared. "...No."Arcon flicked her wrist. The rift snapped shut.Drevin reeled back. She was controlling his own powers.For the first time in years, Drevin Korr felt something unfamiliar—doubt.Then, he smiled."…They call you the Living Army. I assumed it was exaggeration," Drevin said."You assumed wrong," Arcon replied.