Ash blinked against the radiant glow of the mountaintop as Riya's voice returned in his mind.
[Master, I'm back—congratulations on passing your trials!]
He exhaled, relief and triumph mingling in his smile.
"Finally! Where did you disappear to?"
[I was always with you, Master. The link was just… blocked until now.]
He nodded, acceptance softening his expression.
"Makes sense. Now that you're back, I should break through into the Spiritual Foundation Realm."
He gathered the pills Kelton had given him—dozens of gleaming bottles in his hand.
[Master, proceed carefully. The next realm opens the path to your soul trait. You'll partially awaken your created soul trait. To fully unlock it, your first task must be completed.]
Ash nodded solemnly, then downed all the pills in one determined gulp.
A resonant hum coursed through him—his body burst with aura. Most would collapse after chugging so many pills, but Ash had his beloved Recursion, which adapted instantly to optimize intake and mitigate harm.
----
While Ash underwent his breakthrough in solitude, the world he'd left was in fiery motion. The Grand Throne Room echoed with tension. Nobles, commanders, and the princesses stood knotted in anticipation.
At the head, Vaerion and Selyra upheld their solemn watch.
"For nine months we've defended the barrier," Selyra declared, her voice steady. "Today, we strike."
She turned to her daughters—Ary, Selvira, Nyssari—each flanked by elite warriors.
"You three will lead the frontal assault. Their Domain Forging cultivators must fall."
They nodded sharp and assured—steel in each look.
Next, Selyra addressed the commanders:
"General Thalan, Commander Silverleaf, Captain Coldfire—you lead three separate battalions. Disrupt the Devil reinforcements. Infiltrate their staging worlds and lay escape runes for us."
Maps rustled, officers whispered, and one by one, the room emptied.
Only Vaerion and Selyra remained.
Silence settled like snowfall until Selyra broke it quietly:
"Tell me, Vaerion... have we sent anyone after Ash? His last message was nearly a year ago—saying he entered a Forbidden Land."
Vaerion's gaze was distant.
"No. We must focus on the Devils. The princes will return soon—four months remain on their journey."
Selyra did not respond. His indifference to their son—his silence as a father—festered inside her.
Without another word, she left the hall.
---
Selyra strode down the corridor, every echo reminding her of what was truly at stake—for her, for their family.
"Vex—find him for me," she whispered sharply.
From the wavering shadows melted a beautiful, lithe woman—the Queen's closest confidante, her loyal aide, and the power behind the veiled guard.
"Awww, Your Majesty, finding such a young boy in this entire world would surely be a task." she asked with a sly smile.
"Just find him—use your strange talents," Selyra sighed. She knew Vex loved to joke around, but right now her mind was stuck on her youngest.
"Hehe, fine... but you'll owe me one." Vex's laughter echoed as she slipped into the shadows, invisible once more but ever vigilant.
----
The three princesses hovered in formation over the world barrier, blades glinting in the first light of dawn. Behind them, more than 15,000 cultivators, each in Spiritual Foundation, massed in ranks of valor. Their breaths visible in the cold air. The distant rumble of the devils' forces beyond the barrier carried faintly, like thunder far off.
Behind Ary, Thalan Redmist's cavalry battalion, Mora Silverleaf's troops, and Brandis Coldfire's rose in three flanking wings, waiting in quiet readiness.
Ary's voice rang out: fierce, unadorned.
"There's no need for any fancy words. We will fight with the intent to destroy!"
She drew her sword—a blade of dark steel, tempered with light—and leaned forward. Without waiting for cheers, she launched ascended, out of the barrier, slicing through the air with purpose.
"GO!"
With that command, the mass of Spiritual Foundation cultivators surged like a sea breaking upon cliffs.
Selvira was already streaking to the left flank, Nyssari to the right. Their targets: the Domain Forging cultivators guarding the enemy's front lines. Their swords sang as they dove into battle, light against shadow.
---
CLANG!
The two blades shrieked against one another, space cracking from the sheer force of their collision. Selvira and the female devil were both hurled back, their feet skimming across the void like skipping stones. Neither wavered. The moment their bodies halted, their auras flared anew.
The female devil, clad in armor forged from abyssal ore, grinned with cruel delight.
"You finally came out from hiding, huh?"
Selvira said nothing.
Her lips were set in a straight line, her violet eyes cold and unreadable. She had no interest in banter. Ary relished combat like a dance. Nyssari wielded it like a scalpel.
But Selvira?
Selvira was a hammer.
Her right hand clenched tightly around her blade's hilt. A subtle flicker of black and crimson energy coiled around her frame. Then her lips moved, just barely.
|Chains of Dominion|
|Domain of Domination|
In an instant, her aura detonated outward. Invisible chains snapped into place around her form, pulsing from her like living commands—ethereal bindings that didn't restrict her, but instead crushed the will of her enemies.
Then—two rings expanded outward with Selvira at their center. One black. One blood red. This was her Domain of Domination. The effect intensified.
The battlefield twisted beneath her boots, reality itself yielding to her decree. Within this space, her strikes weren't just blows—they were laws. Each time she made contact with her enemy, whether blocked or clean, her strength surged.
The devil's smirk faltered.
"What… is this pressure?"
It hit like a collapsing star.
Selvira's innate ability, Chains of Dominion, wasn't just energy—it was like a verdict. A sort of premature law. It declared Selvira as the only dominant presence in this space.
All who opposed her… would kneel, or be broken.
With a burst of wind, she vanished from sight—reappearing above the devil with a downward strike that cracked the void.
The battle had begun in earnest.
And Selvira's style was exactly as promised.
Relentless.
Unyielding.
Dominating.