A few moments earlier.
The outer domain was a chaotic storm of crimson and black.
Yaro, the Blood Marquis, gritted his teeth as he deflected another massive claw of darkness with a shield of crystallized blood.
’Tch...’
He had to admit, the Night Devourer was a far more difficult opponent than he had anticipated. Even at full power, he was struggling to gain ground. It didn’t help that the beast had suddenly shrunk its domain once more, condensing the darkness until it was as hard as steel and heavy as lead.
’Where is the signal?’
He scanned the shifting shadows, his patience wearing thin.
His Master had been clear: ’Keep the wolf busy. You will know when the time is right.’
"But when?" Yaro muttered, launching a spear of blood that shattered harmlessly against the void.
Just then, the world tilted.
"Gah-!"
A sudden, soul-tearing pain erupted from deep within his chest. It felt as if someone had poured molten silver directly into his spiritual veins.
Silver-blue flames burst from his skin, eating away at his bloody aura like a hungry beast.
"This is...!"
He recognized the signature. It was his master’s secret resonance art, [Sanguine Substitution]!
His Master had been hit. And as his loyal shield, Yaro was paying the price.
"Now!"
Despite the agony blinding his vision, Yaro realized this was the opening.
He ripped his hands through the air.
RIIIP.
A blood-red portal tore open space, connecting the outer battlefield directly to the source of the bond. He didn’t hesitate, stepping through the rift just as a massive jaw of darkness snapped at where he had been standing.
Thud.
Yaro stumbled out onto the invisible floor of the Sanctum, gasping for air as the flames on his chest slowly flickered and dimmed, having consumed enough of his vitality.
He quickly composed himself, scanning the pitch-black surroundings.
His eyes landed briefly on a motionless figure lying a few meters away, a half-elf, crumpled on the floor, bleeding from the mouth, showing no signs of life.
The strange black cat was standing near him, looking bored.
’Fresh blood.’
Yaro instinctively extended a trembling hand toward the boy. If he could absorb that lingering life force, it would ease the burning pain in his soul significantly. After all, it was common sense that an elf’s vitality was several times higher than an ordinary person!
Swish.
But before his blood mist could reach the body, the floor turned liquid.
Gulp!
The shadows beneath the boy surged upward and swallowed him whole, dragging him deep into the abyss of the domain before Yaro could claim his prize.
"Tch."
Yaro clicked his tongue in annoyance, lowering his hand.
He turned his gaze forward, ignoring the escaped prey. It landed on the beast’s treasured heart, which had already been reinforced with complex, glowing chains of golden light, sealing its pulsating violet energy within a cage of absolute domination.
"So..." Yaro murmured, clutching his burning chest. "This is what Master meant when he said he would tame it with his own hands..."
He wasn’t worried about his master since he had reassured him many times.
"Then, we only have to wait."
He added, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He reached into his robe and pulled out a high-grade recovery potion, the glass vial glimmering with red liquid.
However, just as he was about to unstopper it and swallow the contents, his senses rang in extreme alert.
Crack.
The sound wasn’t loud, but it pierced the silence like a gunshot.
Suddenly, the already cold temperature of the sanctum dropped precipitously. It didn’t just get colder; the very concept of heat seemed to vanish.
His breath turned into ice crystals instantly.
The potion in his hand froze solid, shattering the glass vial.
Even the black cat, a mythical beast of unknown nature, hissed and arched its back, its fur standing on end as frost began to creep up its paws.
"This is... Absolute Zero?!"
Yaro instantly realized the nature of this chill. It wasn’t natural ice magic. It was the authority of a ruler!
KRRR-CRACK!
At that exact moment, the impenetrable darkness of the domain tore open—no, it froze instantly. The black walls turned into translucent, white barriers, transforming the sanctum into a jagged ice prison in the blink of an eye.
There, hovering in the center of the frozen breach, was a figure.
It had massive, crystalline ice wings that spanned the width of the room. It wore long, flowing robes made of drifting snow.
But it was the head that made Yaro’s blood turn to slush.
It had no face. Where a head should have been, there was only a swirling, silent white vortex.
"What... is this?"
Yaro cursed, his body trembling uncontrollably for the first time in decades.
Although the creature had no visible eyes, he could feel it. The weight of its attention was pressing down on them, heavy enough to crush a soul.
It was looking at them, judging them.
"Damn it!"
Gritting his teeth against the encroaching frost, he hastily crushed the frozen shards of the potion in his hand, swallowing the ice chunks whole to force some healing energy into his body.
He raised his blood barriers, getting ready to fight for his life.
WOOSH.
But the creature had already launched itself.
It moved with impossible speed, closing the distance of dozens of meters in a fraction of a second.
The white vortex swirled violently, promising erasure.
"Gah-!"
Yaro braced himself for the impact, channeling every drop of his remaining aura into defense.
Zzzzt!
But just inches before the creature could reach them, space distorted.
A vertical portal snapped open directly between Yaro and the entity, a colorless tear in reality.
Vwoom.
Like a vacuum, the portal swallowed the charging creature whole.
Snap.
It closed instantly, vanishing as if it had never been there.
The ice wings, the snow robes, the terrifying vortex...
All gone in a heartbeat.
"..."
Deathly silence enveloped the frozen sanctum once more.
Yaro stood frozen, his arms still raised in a defensive posture, waiting for an obliteration that never came.
One second passed. Two.
Nothing.
He slowly lowered his arms, his breath misting in the freezing air. He looked at the empty spot where the calamity had been just a heartbeat ago.
"Gone...?"
He whipped his head toward the black cat, expecting to see the beast glowing with power, expecting to see a sign that this was another one of his Master’s calculated moves.
But the cat was just staring at the empty air, its ears twitching slightly in confusion. It sniffed the frost, then turned around and sat back down near the Core, as if deciding the anomaly was no longer its problem.
Yaro slumped against the jagged ice wall, his legs finally giving out. His heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum.
He didn’t know what that thing was. He didn’t know where it went.
He only knew one thing.
"I... survived."