He lifted his hand, and a thick, blood-colored mist burst from the ground around him.
"Domain—Blood Castle."
The world trembled. The air turned heavy, almost wet, and three massive crimson walls rose from the earth, closing in around me from the left, right, and behind. Their surface glowed faintly.
In front of me, Vaelix stood tall, and behind him a fortress of the same crimson color began to rise from nothing. Its high towers gleamed with a bright red glow that almost seemed alive and real.
"Open," Vaelix whispered.
The fortress gates split apart with a deafening crack. A flood of blood poured out, surging across the path like a living tide until it reached my feet. The ground vibrated under the pressure as the stream spread outward, swallowing everything.
Vaelix lifted his hand again, and the blood around him twisted upward, taking shape. In seconds, it became a giant tiger, its body made entirely of liquid crimson. It stood behind him, growling low, its form trembling with power.
"You have a domain," Vaelix said, his tone sharp with disdain. "But it’s nothing more than an imitation. Incomplete and unrefined. To be a Transcendent means shaping the battlefield itself. Everything within it obeys you ."
I tilted my head, calm despite the scene unfolding before me, and activated [Right to Insight]. My domain pulsed, runes flickering across my vision as my Psynapse connected deeper to the laws around me. The violet light of my eyes dimmed and then sharpened.
This was my first real fight against a Transcendent who wasn’t a phantom. I wanted to see what truly set them apart, to understand how their domains were built and what made them so complete.
When I looked closer at the crimson walls surrounding me, I could observe how they were created.
They weren’t simple barriers. They were made of laws themselves, woven tightly with Vaelix’s Essence signature. His will lived in every stone, every drop of blood.
Vaelix’s voice cut through my thoughts. "Since the day I reached this rank, I’ve been perfecting my domain. It’s not the greatest among the Ferans, but it’s mine. It matches my talent perfectly."
He raised both hands, and the runes circling his tiger glowed fiercely.
"Blood Art: Blood Sacrifice—twenty percent."
The blood which was flowing out of the castle churned and flowed inside the tiger. The tiger roared, its body swelling as its form expanded higher and higher until it towered nearly thirty feet tall. The air trembled with the sound, a roar so deep it rattled my bones.
I tore my eyes away from the crimson walls and focused on the roaring tiger instead.
Its form rippled like liquid fire, yet I could see the truth beneath it. The creature wasn’t just made of blood, it was a precise blend of laws, Essence, and the swirling crimson energy around it. Each droplet carried multiple Essence signatures, layered and bound together like threads in a single weave.
The Transcendent rank truly stood on a different level. It allowed the creation of domains and law constructs, but Vaelix had gone even further. He had merged both into one seamless form, turning his entire domain into a living extension of his will.
I studied the structure through [Right to Insight], watching how the Essence streams twisted and folded into each other. His control wasn’t born from raw power but from endless refinement, years, maybe centuries, of shaping this battlefield until it became perfect for him.
I let out a slow breath and closed my eyes for a brief moment, letting my thoughts settle.
By now, I understood what I needed to replicate a domain like Vaelix’s. The structure, the flow of Essence, the way he fused his laws into one field, it all made sense. And deep down, I was certain I could do it better than him.
When I opened my eyes again, I met his gaze. "You’re a talented Feran, Vaelix," I said calmly. "And honestly, I feel a little guilty knowing that I’ll have to kill a Transcendent today just to move forward on my path."
My eyes narrowed as I added, "But don’t worry. I’ll make sure your place doesn’t stay empty for long. I’ll replace you easily, with more Transcendents. Your absence will only be noticed for a while before someone else takes your spot."
Vaelix stared at me in silence for a heartbeat, then threw his head back and laughed. The sound echoed across the bloody domain, heavy and mocking.
"Human," he said, his grin sharp and full of pride, "many have stood where you are, claiming they’d end me. None of them succeeded. And none of them were a Grandmaster like you."
I nodded slightly. "That may be true, but none of them were me." I gripped my staff tighter, Essence swirling around me as the violet glow returned. "And right now, I’m angry... frustrated by everything that’s happened here in this realm. So let’s not waste time talking."
My Node was still active, humming through every nerve in my body, and my Psynapse had already crossed five thousand points. But I wanted more. I pushed further, activating Psynapse Fracture.
My mind buzzed violently as power surged through me.
My senses sharpened until every ripple of Essence around me felt alive. The world seemed to slow down, and I could see the faint nodes of Vaelix’s domain, the blood, the walls, even the air itself, woven together with Essence and laws.
I knew his greatest weakness now. His entire domain depended on Essence control through these nodes. Every construct, every drop of blood moved through his connection with the Essence and his will. And that was something I could interfere with.
I steadied my breath, let my perception sink into the churning blood and the constructs he had made, and reached for the Essence flowing through them. It resisted for a moment, but then yielded, like a door unlocking to my touch.
After a long time, I called on one of my class skills. "[Revert]."
The instant I spoke the word, the Essence inside his domain trembled. The thick blood swirling through the air began to thin, its shape unraveling as the Essence holding it together started to disperse.
"What?" Vaelix’s voice cracked in disbelief. His control faltered.
I lifted both hands, deepening my link with the Essence that bound his world together. My perception spread through it, commanding it as if it were part of me.
"Explode," I whispered.
A shockwave followed my voice. The tiger’s left leg detonated, blood and Essence scattering across the crimson field.
Vaelix stumbled back, eyes wide. "How is this possible?"