Kyle could feel the situation around him—the scent of blood, the cries, the turmoil and carnage engulfing everything. Taking a deep breath, he struck four of the seven bodies flying with a brutal blow. His eyes flared white, the air around him snapping with pure energy as he muttered softly.
"Celestial Domain."
The name of the skill was different than before. No longer Ice Domain—it was now Celestial Domain, absolute in its authority.
The moment the two words left his lips, a wave of biting cold spread in all directions.
A massive cold domain formed over the battlefield, freezing everything it touched.
Those nearest Kyle were the first to freeze into ice sculptures, and then every surface, every shadow, every tendril tied to the law of death stilled under the oppressive cold.
Even the spreading, devouring darkness halted, solidifying into jagged structures alongside the countless formless beasts.
The horrified faces of those escaping or struggling against the darkness were also frozen, their bodies ensnared by the frost.
It didn’t end there. The frigid wave surged outward, nearly turning half of the Celestial Realm into a vast expanse of glistening ice.
It was as if time itself had been forced to stop beneath the pristine white blanket.
For a second, there was utter silence. The once-dark expanse now shimmered with a natural cold brilliance, casting an almost surreal, tranquil light across the battlefield.
Azazeal’s eyes flickered with madness, a dangerous spark igniting within him as he quickly shattered the frost restraining him, unlike everyone else. The darkness within him screamed furiously, thrashing violently like a wild beast, urging him to destroy the strange cold domain along with its owner.
With a roar that echoed across the frozen battlefield, he lunged at the figure, hovering at the heart of the cold stillness, shattering the jagged structures around him. The tall figure opposite him was a stark contrast to him, glowing in an ethereal aura, while he looked as if he had risen straight from hell.
"I will kill you!"
His screaming words reverberated through the air. In that moment, a massive Celestial symbol finally unfurled above him. It was a pitch-black flower with a familiar blood-red, majestic crown sitting at its center, glowing with a strangely eerie yet stunning beauty.
The crown pulsed, its power beginning to erode the ice, but the cold, natural power retaliated with an equally stubborn force.
Kyle tilted his head, dodging the onslaught of attacks, no longer holding anything back.
His fingers trembled, a silent testament to the immense power he had just unleashed to halt everything around them, countering Azazeal’s power. It would have been fine if he only needed to stop time within his own domain. But... he had to restrain Azazeal’s overwhelming power as well, and the effort pressed against him like a tide, threatening to overwhelm him. Every instant demanded every ounce of his strength. Yet the faint smile curving his lips revealed his delight.
"Now it’s just you and me."
He chuckled, calling forth every one of his natural laws. Beneath him, a colossal pure white snowflake materialized, its intricate edges glowing with so many vibrant colors that they were nearly impossible to count.
Seeing the scene, Nature, which had been crying dejectedly while watching the utter devastation yet unable to intervene, finally shut up. It began patching the broken sky, silently observing Kyle, even attempting to send more natural power to help him, only to realize it couldn’t cross the cold domain.
Ultimately, Nature just watched from afar, silently hoping the battle would end soon—so the realm wouldn’t suffer any more than it already had. Yet deep down, it knew that since the balance had shattered, no matter who fell in the end, the scars of this battle would take hundreds of years to recover.
A sonic boom shattered the ice around them as Kyle’s natural laws collided with Azazeal. This time, he didn’t absorb the power of the collision, and the explosive impact thundered everywhere, capable of deafening anyone weaker than them. The snowflake beneath him trembled slightly, protecting the living isolated in the ice.
Everything else was left to shatter into fragments, scattering amidst the frozen battlefield like shards of glowing crystal under the immense force of their clash.
It was Kyle who was flung back, his figure hurtling through the air with blinding speed, crashing into numerous distant structures before he finally forced his body to a halt.
A thin trail of blood slipped from between his sealed lips, staining the frozen ground in crimson as he pushed himself back up.
His fingertips trembled. A thin layer of ice spread over his body. Before he could even draw another breath, seven massive blades formed from the law of death tore through the sky above him, plunging straight toward his figure, which looked tiny in comparison.
Kyle’s eyes chilled at the sight. All around him, many people were frozen solid in ice.
Just now, his body had hurtled far across the battlefield, reaching the city closest to the land where the entrance of the Layer of Ancients once stood. Despite the crushing pressure of freezing time in a large area to confine the chaos within the ice, Kyle still mustered every ounce of his power to stop the blades. The space above him cracked open to swallow and obliterate the blades, the force nearly forcing him to his knees.
However, he gritted his teeth and quickly absorbed the blades’ power regardless. As his focus shifted, seven figures appeared around him, reaching to dig out his heart—only to be impeded by the large ice spikes that surged from the ground to shield his body. Kyle’s eyes flickered as he watched the sharp nails stop just an inch from his heart from all directions. A low growl—a chorus of voices—rumbled in his ears as the seven figures swiftly retracted their hands and smashed through the spikes.
With a sharp crack, the ice shattered. But Kyle, having already destroyed the blades within the space fissure, shot into the sky before another strike could reach him. He wanted to lead the seven figures pursuing him into a separate space to minimize life casualties as much as he could. Familiar cold flames erupted around him, shielding him as a massive skull formed from dark power suddenly opened its maw in the sky directly above him, ready to swallow him.
His form blinked from one spot to another as he flew even higher, toward the floating territories of powerful clans and Rulers. A curse slipped from his lips when someone grabbed his leg, yanking him out of the void before he could disappear again, slamming his body into the nearest floating territory.
A large portion of the base of the massive floating mass of land exploded on impact, shattering the frost and hurling shards of ice and broken debris in every direction.
Azazeal immediately rushed toward the destruction, scanning the scattered debris for the familiar figure. An indifferent voice reverberated behind his seven bodies.
"I’m here."
All seven heads snapped around at once. Under the obsidian eyes, Kyle spat out the blood gathered in his mouth. A thin layer of natural energy swirled around him, forming a new set of form-fitting clothes to replace the tattered ones. He lifted his hand, and a large ice sword materialized in his grasp.
Kyle had barely pointed the sword toward the seven figures, ready to taunt them with a haughty ’now come at me,’ when a storm of relentless attacks rained down on him.
Clenching his jaw, he invoked the natural law of space, quickly creating a separate realm to isolate himself and Azazeal. He merged the power of every natural law he knew with his sword strikes. The beautiful Celestial symbol between his collarbones shimmered every time he attacked. Little snowflakes formed beneath his feet with each step he took in the air, painting the space with an otherworldly, icy elegance.
But in the end, he was just one person.
Halting time across such a vast space to contain the ever-consuming darkness and protect lives was already draining him. He had mixed the natural law of balance with many others to maintain the state, hoping that time wouldn’t resume until either he or Azazeal fell—or until they both did. Now, it was all up to who could hold on longer.
Suddenly, Azazeal shattered the separate realm Kyle had formed, sending him flying back once again. Fortunately, they were in the sky, so Kyle didn’t have to worry about accidentally harming anyone else. Steering clear of the floating territories, Kyle quickly regained his balance. Raising the sword he had forged with the power of his Celestial symbol, he unleashed his sword art. In an instant, the art name flashed in his mind.
Void Shattering Strikes.
The feeling of using the art was very familiar and overwhelmingly powerful.
Though he hadn’t wielded the sword much recently, his proficiency had not diminished.
It took a moment to find the perfect stance, but as he slashed downward, a thunderous boom erupted, forming a crater in the void.