Chapter 35: Lords of the Domain
Morde's body jerked uncontrollably left and right, up and down in response to the fifty cuts. Blood spurted from everywhere. His eyes were completely closed. His consciousness was fading in and out.
Flower raised her dagger to deliver the final, lethal cut. A cold smile of victory was frozen on her lips.
That moment arrived.
Morde's closed eyes suddenly opened, unconsciously. From the depths of his throat, a scream from the very core of his existence rose and burst forth:
"DOMAIN OPEN!"
Flower's eyes widened in horror. The air around Morde instantly condensed, vibrated, and darkened. It joined above them like a dome of absolute darkness that swallowed even light. Morde's voice transformed into a proclamation from within the shadows:
"DOMAIN OF SHADOWS!"
The same millisecond, in the Barren Wastes...
Swain's monstrous claw was about to descend upon Kai's head. Swain saw Kai's empty, white eyes, understood he had no consciousness. But it could no longer be stopped. The blow had to be completed.
At the moment of contact...
Kai's lowered head suddenly lifted. His empty eyes locked onto Swain's. A scream fueled by a final spark rose from his exhausted body:
"DOMAIN OPEN!"
"DOMAIN OF SPIRITS!"
A pure, blinding white light explosion pierced through Swain's crow cloud and dark energy, enveloping everything. The light rose in a dome shape and sealed above them. Swain and Kai were now in the Domain of Spirits.
Everything was filled with white orbs, a seemingly endless void. It was infinity itself. And all around this void, semi-transparent, spiritual entities appeared, watching them, speaking in silent whispers.
At first, pure astonishment appeared on Swain's face, followed by exuberant pride. "You did it, Kai!" he shouted, his voice echoing. "Come on! Let's see what the power of this Domain is!"
Driven by his old warrior instinct, he lunged forward. But he froze mid-step. The expression on his face shifted from surprise to utter shock.
"W... W-What is this?!"
The ultimate technique, "Awakening of the Crow God," had instantly dissipated, fading away. Even more shocking was his left Devil's Arm. The crimson energy on it had extinguished, turning it into a dark, pulseless limb. It wasn't just visual; Swain probed within and felt the connection to that immense power severed.
"My powers... canceled? How is this possible?!"
Meanwhile, at the center of the Domain, Kai rose. He stood upon the white orbs, and all the spiritual entities around him bowed toward him in a gesture of respect. Kai was the lord of this realm.
And there was a difference. His exhausted, half-dead state was gone, replaced by a calm, authoritative power stance. A new understanding shone in his eyes.
Without looking at Swain, he said, "Spirit Leap."
And he moved. But this was different from his previous uses. Twice as fast, twice as sharp, his energy more dense. He appeared right in front of Swain in an instant.
Swain instinctively tried to counter. "Devil's Arm – Black Covenant!" he thought, trying to gather energy. But nothing happened. The energy dissipated within the Domain's white void before it could even form.
"What kind of Domain power is this?!" Swain cried out, a note of genuine desperation in his voice for the first time.
Kai didn't answer. He simply extended his hand. "Spirit Shockwave."
Before Swain could do anything, an invisible force struck him in the chest. It was as if he'd been hit by a giant's fist. He was sent airborne. As he floated, blood gushed from his mouth and nose, his eyes rolled back. His consciousness blurred.
So... this is the Domain's power... was all he could think. It cancels all technical powers... even... weakens my will. My desire to fight... is fading...
Then he crashed to the ground. Hard, yet with the strange softness of the Domain.
Kai walked confidently to Swain's side. He was filled with a sense of victory. He raised his hand to deliver the final blow, to complete this training.
"Ultimate Technique: Spiritual Binding!"
But nothing happened. Kai was surprised, tried again. Again, failure. A lightning bolt flashed in his mind. I understand. This Domain's rule. Ultimate techniques cannot be used. Only basic, pure spirit power works.
As this happened, from outside the Domain, Po watched everything with awe and astonishment. He was also under the Domain's effect and couldn't access his ocean power.
What kind of Domain power is this? he thought. I can't use my powers either. I think... no one can use powers here except Kai. He... has now surpassed us all.
Once Kai grasped the situation, he turned to another technique. He joined his hands together, forming a crescent-shaped blade of pure spirit energy.
"Spirit Blade – Spirit Cleave!"
The deadly white crescent began to advance slowly but inevitably toward Swain lying on the ground.
Swain watched helplessly as this blade of pure energy approached him. He could do nothing. The Domain hadn't just rendered him powerless; it had stripped away his will to resist.
But just as the crescent came within a meter of Swain, the white dome began to tremble and dissolve instantly.
Kai was surprised. "What's happening? Did the Domain's duration end? But it hasn't even been 20 seconds!"
The light faded, the spiritual entities grew faint. And the moment the Domain collapsed, Swain's power connection returned instantly. His eyes snapped open.
He seized the opportunity. "Black Wings!" he shouted.
Enormous, feather-covered crow wings burst open from Swain's back. Beating his wings, he took flight and managed to evade the Spirit Blade crescent as it passed right beneath him.
The same millisecond, in the Ice Realm...
Morde's opened Domain of Shadows had enveloped everything. An absolute darkness that devoured light. Flower could barely see her hand in front of her face. A cold sweat trickled down her back.
"WHAT KIND OF DOMAIN POWER IS THIS?!" she shouted, her voice trembling with panic.
From the sidelines, King Task watched with admiration. His eyes held a glint of pride and victory. "That's it, Morde! That's it! Show your power!"
At the center of the darkness, Morde rose. As the lord of the Domain. The fifty cuts he had received earlier, the bleeding wounds... they were still there, but they seemed to no longer affect him. He had pushed the pain aside, focused solely on power.
He lunged forward. Using only one simple technique:
"Shadow Shock."
But this was not the Shadow Shock Flower knew. It was twice as fast, its energy twice as dense and destructive. It flashed through the darkness like blue lightning.
Flower instinctively tried to defend. "Glacial Dream!" she thought. But nothing happened. The ice energy in her body was dim, unreachable. Like Swain, she felt her powers had been canceled.
Pure fear filled her. And this fear multiplied with the whispered, eerie laughter of the shadowy entities surrounding her. They were watching her.
Morde appeared right in front of Flower like a ghost from the darkness. He held the same powerful Shadow Shock in his hand.
Flower couldn't move. Frozen by fear. Like prey awaiting the predator's final strike.
Morde delivered the attack.
"GUARRGH!"
The dark energy struck Flower in the chest. Blood gushed from her mouth and nose in a spray. As if all her strength had been drained, she knelt on the spot. She couldn't breathe, only coughed.
Morde didn't hesitate. He formed a Shadow Sword. A perfect, deadly manifestation of dark energy. He raised it toward Flower's neck.
"Morde, stop! That's enough! You've opened your Domain! Don't kill her!" shouted King Task, his voice ringing with a sharp command.
But Morde didn't hear. His eyes held only victory and a primal anger given by the shadows. The sword was a tenth of a second away from Flower's neck.
"MORDEEEEEEE! STOOOOOP!"
King Task shouted with all his might, a command from the depths of his soul with such absolute authority that it seemed to tear through the Domain's darkness itself.
The haze in Morde's eyes instantly cleared. His consciousness returned. Just as the Shadow Sword was about to make contact with Flower's neck, it instantly disintegrated into dust.
Morde stood panting, looking around. Flower was coughing on the ground, and he was standing in a victory pose. "Just now... what happened? What did I do?"
The dark dome began to slowly dissipate. Daylight seeped back in.
"Keep your Domain closed, Morde. It's over," Task ordered in a calm but powerful voice.
Morde instinctively obeyed. The Domain of Shadows instantly dissolved, leaving behind only shattered ice and traces of blood.
King Task approached them. "Are you in your right mind?"
Morde shook his head, still dazed. "I think so..."
"You opened your Domain, Morde. Congratulations," said Task with a broad smile. "And I think this is one of the most powerful Domains I've seen so far. It cancels powers. Incredible. Don't you think so too, Flower?"
Flower was still kneeling, trembling. Her eyes stared into space.
"Hey! Flower! Snap out of it!"
Task's voice jolted her. Flower's eyes focused, and she slowly shook her head. She spoke in a pale, exhausted voice: "My King... just now... I felt I was going to die. Such a Domain power cannot exist. This is the most terrifying Domain I've ever seen. I... I won't train with Morde again. I can't... die so simply."
King Task burst out laughing. "HAHAHAHA! I think you're right, Flower! But training time is over now." His smile vanished instantly, replaced by icy seriousness. "Now it's war time."
In the Barren Wastes, Swain had landed and retracted his wings. The effects of the Domain Kai had opened were completely gone. Swain fully deactivated his form, returning to his normal state.
Kai, however, was paying the price for opening the Domain. All his energy was depleted, his legs wouldn't hold him. As he was about to collapse to the ground, Swain and Po quickly ran to his side.
"Hey, Kai! Are you okay?" Po asked anxiously.
Kai shook his head with difficulty, breathing hard. "I'm at... my limit. But I need... some rest. I can only... open this Domain once at my current strength. It drained all my energy."
Swain placed his hand on Kai's shoulder. The expression on his face had shifted from the merciless trainer to that of a proud mentor. "It doesn't matter, Kai. That was the goal anyway. We're returning to the palace. War is now inevitable. Rest well. Because we are now past the point of no return. And you," he said, looking into Kai's eyes, "are now ready."