Linfer, confused, furrowed his brows as he felt this overwhelming energy enveloping him. He raised his eyes to the sky, searching for the source of this mysterious power.
"What...?"
The snow around him began to darken, each flake losing its whiteness and turning into a frigid blackness. The temperature dropped abruptly, and the entire valley was covered in a thick layer of black ice, stretching as far as the eye could see. Linfer felt the power, but what unnerved him was that it seemed to come from everywhere—the earth, the sky, even the wind itself.
Icy stars formed all around him, shimmering in the growing darkness.
"It's...!"
Then, a flash of understanding crossed his mind. He clenched his teeth.
"He's already Origin 7! Retreat!"
Before he could even finish giving his orders, a deep, icy voice pierced the air like a verdict.
"Stasis..."
Suddenly, the temperature plummeted even further, so abruptly that the entire world seemed to freeze. The snowflakes, the wind, the Wendigos around him—everything stopped, immobilized in a deathly silence. The only sound that resonated in this frozen new reality was the footsteps of Leviathan. Each step he took left behind a frozen star of frost in the air, icy marks suspended like traces of an inconceivable power.
Linfer, immobilized as well, could barely move his eyes, his body completely frozen in the glacial stasis. His pupils darted frantically, trying to comprehend what was happening. Then, he saw Leviathan approaching, walking through the air as if even gravity itself had yielded before his power.
"Linfer..." Leviathan said, his voice tinged with disappointment. "Don't tell me you think these... things could help you win against me?"
Leviathan's gaze lowered to Linfer's soldiers, his eyes filled with contempt. He slowly shook his head, disappointed, almost weary.
With a simple snap of his fingers, the fate of Linfer's army was sealed. A dull thud resonated, and instantly, three-quarters of the army were impaled by black ice spikes emerging from the ground and the air. Their bodies could not regenerate, every attempt at healing annihilated by Leviathan's "Law of Stasis," which suspended all life, all energy, all regeneration in absolute silence.
Linfer, also trapped in this prison, struggled desperately to move. Every muscle in his body trembled with effort, but in vain. He was powerless, a witness to the destruction of his army without being able to react.
Leviathan raised a massive fist, covered in black frost, and without a word, unleashed a quarter of his strength on Linfer.
The impact was devastating. Linfer, propelled at a blinding speed, crashed through several mountains, and his cry still echoed as he flew through the snowy landscape, an explosion of ice and rock marking each point of impact. When he finally landed, his face was nothing but a mass of flesh and blood.
"Aaaahhh, damn it!!!" he roared, regaining control of his body, struggling against the pain and humiliation. He desperately tried to regenerate the right side of his face, but failed. "Fuck, you've ruined my handsome face!" he screamed again, frustrated by the impotence of his own power against Leviathan's "Law of Stasis."
Linfer, with supernatural speed, dissipated into a mist of blood, his body disintegrating to instantly reappear before Leviathan. His sharp claws were ready to tear at his brother's throat, a glint of madness in his eyes.
But Leviathan, as impassive as ice, slowly pivoted, grasping Linfer's hand with an unyielding, firm grip. Linfer's attack came to an abrupt halt, as if it were nothing but a mere game for Leviathan.
He attacked with a desperate frenzy, his blows sweeping through the air with unparalleled violence. Each movement was imbued with hatred and determination, but Leviathan remained unperturbed. He blocked each blow with disconcerting ease, his movements precise.
With a single hand, Leviathan broke Linfer's arms with ruthless precision, each crack of bone resonating like a death knell in the icy air. Linfer screamed in pain, but it only fueled his rage. Yet, Leviathan showed no signs of weakness or difficulty.
Finally, Leviathan grabbed Linfer by the throat, lifting him effortlessly. Linfer struggled, but it was as if his efforts were futile against his brother's relentless strength. With a powerful gesture, Leviathan sent Linfer flying away.
Every time Linfer got back up, his broken bones and raging anger fueling him, he charged again, but Leviathan mastered him with such ease that he didn't even need to defend himself with both hands. The spectacle was humiliating. Eventually, after being thrown against the mountain's walls once more, Linfer, his body broken and his mind enraged, shouted:
"Just kill me, damn it!"
Leviathan stood tall, impassive, his face barely visible. A heavy silence settled before he replied, his grave voice resonating.
"But what are you talking about, Linfer? You're my little brother. Why would I kill you?"
Linfer, still in shock, furrowed his brows, confused. "What?"
Leviathan slowly shook his head, disappointed. "Our true enemy is the Elysian. I have no intention of killing a member of my own family, even if our father, Octavius, leaves a free path. I won't kill a family member just to access his throne."
Leviathan, despite his power, did not share this thirst for familial destruction that Linfer thought he had. In fact, looking at him now, he seemed to care little about becoming emperor. Leviathan stood before him, an unyielding rock, and with the humiliation of defeat, Linfer felt a deep hatred for his brother.
The silence stretched as the two brothers faced each other. He released his power, allowing Linfer to slowly begin regenerating his face and broken limbs. Energy flowed back into his body, and although painful, the healing was a relief.
Leviathan fixed him with a gaze for a moment, before turning away, ready to depart. "We'll see each other later, on the Elysium continent. In the meantime, become stronger, Linfer. And stop acting like a kid, you're over a hundred years old, damn it."
With those words, Leviathan disappeared in a breath of frigid wind, leaving behind a floating frost star in the air, like a signature.
"In our next battle, I swear I'll tear you apart!"