In the next second, the surrounding area abruptly changed.
Pillars of flame erupted all around, spiraling high into the air.
But it wasn't just fire. From every corner of the battlefield, the other elements awakened.
Torrents of water surged forth, crashing like tidal waves across the earth. Jagged spikes of earth shot up, their edges sharp as blades.
Winds howled, spinning into violent cyclones that tore through the battlefield. Lightning cracked overhead, wild and uncontrollable, arcing between the swirling clouds.
The other elements also raged, and the Stellaris army was caught completely off guard. However, what happened next made many of their hearts stop.
Without warning, the sky darkened.
The blazing sun suddenly flickered, then vanished completely.
Darkness fell over the battlefield, a deep, unnatural void that sent a wave of shock through the Stellaris ranks.
The temperature around them plummeted. Their vibrant orange armor, once glowing with the heat of the sun, now dulled in the sudden cold.
Lyanna wouldn't be Lyanna if she hadn't planned for every eventuality. She knew the Alverians wouldn't attack unless they were certain the Ravensteins would lose the war, which made her suspect that other families were involved.
Before the war, or even the threats of war began, she had ensured that the Ravenstein estate was surrounded by runes designed to counter the bloodlines of each tier one family.
For the Stellaris, it meant creating a space that blocked out the sun. Aside from that, the entire area was filled with elemental energy. This was the Ravenstein domain.
It was as though a cold shroud had settled over the Stellaris family's army. The absence of the sun felt like a death sentence to many of them.
However,
"Pfft,"
Hellios burst into intense laughter, a sound that made Avalon narrow his eyes. Hellios was known to always wear his emotions on his face. The situation should be dire for the Stellaris family, so why was he laughing?
"Oh, Avalon! I told you, I will relish every single moment of this,"
The gazes of Avalon, the elders, and the sanctum masters flashed dangerously. Just as Avalon was about to give the go ahead to attack, he suddenly paused, his eyes widening in shock.
Avalon placed the communication artifact on his palm, making sure the elders and sanctum masters could hear.
"Repeat what you said, Ana," Avalon asked.
"The Stellaris attacked and destroyed 3 of the aegis nodes!" Anastasia's panicked voice rang out.
The expressions of the elders and sanctum masters darkened, the air becoming heavy.
The aegis nodes.
Each sector of the human domain was fitted with an aegis shield, a smaller and less advanced version of the shield that enclosed the entire planet.
Despite there being strict regulations governing its use, each sector and tier one family kept it for one purpose: to block out other paragons from blatantly attacking and destroying their sectors.
Each sector was fitted with an advanced artifact that detected when a paragon moved toward their sector. The paragons of the human domain had pushed for this safeguard, and the others were forced to accept it.
This alert artifact made it easier to activate the shield in time. As soon as the alert was triggered, the aegis shield would be activated.
However, for such an advanced system to function, certain conditions needed to be met. A total of 5 nodes around sector three were required. If even one node was damaged, the shield wouldn't function at full capacity.
But now, a total of 3 nodes had already been damaged.
None of them knew how this was possible, but the hearts of Avalon and the others quickened as they realized the implications.
Anastasia confirmed their worst fears in the next second.
"The Stellaris paragon is on the move!"
Anastasia's words were followed by the entire sector erupting as a loud, intense alarm reverberated through the space.
The millions of citizens who had paused to watch the Vermore family massacre snapped out of their thoughts, their expressions darkening.
That alarm… there was no one who didn't know what it meant.
The streets erupted into panic as chaos ensued.
Sirius, Ketaro, and Burodo's heads snapped toward the direction of Ravensspire. Without wasting a single second, their forms blurred as they sped toward the estate.
Lyanna tore her gaze away from Ferro, who was held by the throat. Thousands of thoughts flashed through her mind as she received a report of the current situation from Anastasia.
She had expected some sort of scheme, but the involvement of a paragon was something she never imagined possible. She hadn't even considered the nodes.
To her, it was the most foolish decision anyone could ever make.
"Shit."
Lyanna's grip tightened, crushing Ferro's neck and killing him instantly. With intense speed, she rushed toward the Ravenstein estate.
For the first time in what felt like forever, her heart was racing— not because of the incoming paragon, but because of that man.
The only man who could make her dark heart tremble.
Magnus Ravenstein.
If they were already aware of the incoming paragon, then he was too. When Magnus got angry, carnage was sure to follow.
She could feel it in her bones. He was already on his way.
The speed at which paragons moved was incredible. Depending on the sector from which the paragon was approaching, the people had at most a minute to prepare.
The Stellaris family domain was in sector 5, just one sector away from sector 3. To the people of sector 3, the seconds that passed felt like a mere blip.
One moment, everyone was running for their lives, scrambling for cover, and in the next, it was as though a second sun had appeared in the sky.
The heat in all of sector 3 tripled as Luminous Stellaris gazed down at the land with a wide grin on his face.
The air became heavy, as though gravity had multiplied manifold. People's skin began to sizzle, the heat so intense that abrupt fires ignited.
"Paragon Luminous!"
The two shadow commanders of the Sentinel Guardians appeared in the air, bowing toward Luminous in respect.
"This is against—"
But Luminous simply cast them a glance. Their bodies suddenly erupted into flames, turning to ashes in an instant.
Luminous fixed his gaze on Ravensspire, where the Ravenstein estate stood. An intense sunbeam shone, and in the next second, the rune world began to burn, revealing the Stellaris army and the Ravenstein estate.
The grin on Luminous's face widened as he stretched his arm forward.
"Burn for your sins, monkeys."
It was as though a god had spoken, his voice resounding across the entire sector 3.
At that moment, Sirius and Lyanna appeared in a blinding flash of light, having used a teleportation port close to their locations. Nathan also rushed out of the estate.
They appeared beside Avalon, their expressions intense. Despite the fact that a paragon seemed ready to turn them to ashes, his overwhelming aura freezing them in place, none of them showed even a hint of fear.
Instead, it was as though a silent consensus had been reached.
Among the Ravenstein family members present, there was no one who didn't know who Magnus Ravenstein was.
Just as Luminous appeared prepared to attack, an intense thunder rumbled.
Thick clouds gathered high in the sky, and the entirety of Sector 3 descended into darkness.
Luminous's gaze snapped to the side, his expression turning serious.
"Magnus?"
His aura exploded, an intense golden light illuminating Ravenspire in a blinding radiance.
"Bring it on!"
His voice boomed, shaking the air.
As his words echoed, a deep, thunderous rumble rolled across the sky. The thick clouds above churned violently, black and ominous.
Avalon's eyes flashed as he suddenly roared at the top of his lungs,
"UNLEASH YOUR DOMAINS!"
Sirius, Lyanna, Nathan, the elders, and the sanctum masters instantly responded. In an instant, the battlefield erupted with a surge of overwhelming power.
As though it had already been planned, multiple figures around sector 3 suddenly exploded outward in bursts of different colored light, pillars of energy splitting the sky.
Dekai floated upwards, his eyes igniting with an intense red. Each pillar of light suddenly converged around him, an immense power building before it exploded in a burst of light that radiated outward, encompassing all of Ravenspire and beyond.
Suddenly, the world slowed, and a bolt of lightning tore through the air, shooting toward Luminous at world-ending speed.
Magnus had appeared.
He hadn't slowed, neither had he faltered—there was no need for useless words.
The streak of lightning and Luminous clashed, and for a moment, there was absolute silence—a silence so profound it felt as though the universe had been snuffed out in that single heartbeat.
Then, everything erupted.
The sky shattered with a deafening roar, as though the heavens themselves were being torn apart. The sheer magnitude of the impact sent shockwaves blasting outward.
Despite the combined domains of many covering Ravenspire and more, the entire Sector 3 shook violently, the ground splitting open beneath the immense pressure.
Entire sections of the earth were torn apart, cracks snaking out from the point of collision as if the world itself were breaking.
Above, the clouds convulsed, twisting into a vortex of black and gold, swirling with chaotic energy.
This was an event the human domain would never forget.
In history, humans had faced great disasters—earthquakes that split mountains, storms that tore through cities, and even apocalyptic fires that threatened to consume the land.
Each of these moments had left scars on the world, reminders of nature's uncontrollable power. However, what was occurring today was something far beyond even those terrible forces.
This was no mere calamity of nature, no earthquake shaking the ground, no storm ripping through the skies.
It wasn't an apocalypse, though it felt as though the world could end with every strike. It wasn't a storm, though the winds howled and the earth shook beneath the weight of their power.
This was something different, something more devastating, more profound.
It was... the clash of paragons.