I let out a small chuckle and shifted my focus back to the three Eternal commanders.
They had recovered. And now they were coming. These weren’t enemies my summons would struggle to hold, but they weren’t something to take lightly either.
They stopped a short distance in front of me, floating in place.
"Greetings, gentlemen," I said with a faint smile. "I hope I didn’t interrupt your war campaign."
The one in the center looked at me, his expression unchanged.
"Billion Ironhart," he said.
There was no surprise in his tone.
"We did not expect you to arrive this soon," the one to his right added. "But now that you are here... we will deal with you."
I tilted my head slightly.
"Deal with me?" I said. "How exactly?"
Then I smiled a little wider.
"Actually... no need to explain."
I raised my hand.
"Let me deal with you first."
A ripple spread outward from me.
Space twisted.
Then it tore open.
Right in front of me, a massive vortex formed, its edges jagged and unstable, like a mouth ripping through the fabric of the void itself. From within it, a violent pull emerged, dragging everything toward its center. Its target the Eternals.
The three Eternals reacted instantly.
Their auras surged.
The one on the left stepped forward first, raising his hand as a dense layer of deathmist expanded outward, pressing against the pull and slowing its effect. The one on the right followed, weaving his own law into the space around them, anchoring their position as the distortion tried to drag them in.
The one in the center moved and a wave of energy spread from him, stabilizing the space directly in front of the vortex, forcing it to resist its own collapse.
I watched them closely, my smile fading into something sharper.
"Not bad," I said quietly.
The three of them moved at the same time.
Deathmist surged forward, colliding directly with the vortex. At the same moment, space itself tightened under their control, compressing the distortion from the outside.
The vortex began to shrink. The pull weakened.
Until finally, it collapsed completely.
Silence returned for a brief moment. The three Eternals stood there, unharmed.
I brought my hands together in a light clap.
"Full marks," I said, watching them. "That was clean. Let’s see how you deal with this."
I summoned my law construct out. The cube appeared in my palm.
It pulsed once under my will, then left my hand and floated forward. Mid-air, its shape shifted, edges stretching and unfolding until it became a door—tall, ancient, its surface marked with faint runic lines. At its center, a clock appeared.
The door opened slightly.
And in the next instant, a force spread out. It locked onto them. This time, the three Eternals reacted immediately.
But it was already too late. The construct had anchored itself. In time as well.
Their bodies stilled, not completely frozen, but restrained in a way that went deeper than physical force. Every movement they attempted was delayed, dragged against something unseen.
The clock ticked.
Once.
Then again.
With the second tick, the flow of time around them shifted.
It accelerated. The space around the three Eternals began to compress, as if moments were stacking on top of each other, crushing them from within.
Their auras surged.
All three of them pushed back at once, deathmist erupting outward as they resisted the pull, forcing stability into their surroundings.
All of them summoned their domains together.
The first expanded into a burning field, dark flames rising and twisting, filling the space with oppressive heat and pressure. The second formed a dense storm of deathmist, layered and shifting, swallowing everything around it. The third one formed a domain of weapons made of deathmist.
Three domains.
For a moment they held.
I watched them quietly and then willed the construct to move faster.
The clock ticked again.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
With each tick, the pressure increased.
The flow of time around them surged further, no longer just accelerating, but collapsing inward. Their domains began to crack under the strain, fractures spreading across their surfaces as the force overwhelmed their control.
They pushed harder. But it wasn’t enough. The domains shattered.
Exploding outward in fragments of energy.
The backlash hit them instantly.
All three staggered, their bodies trembling as black blood spilled from their mouths, their control breaking under the collapse.
The door opened wider.
And the pull intensified.
This time, there was no resistance left.
Their bodies were dragged forward, pulled toward the opening as the force devoured everything around them. Their voices rose, distorted, breaking under the pressure as they were consumed and then gone.
The door closed.
A surge followed.
Essence and deathmist rushed into my body at once, drawn in without resistance, both streams flowing directly toward the dawn core. I could feel it respond immediately, absorbing everything, refining it, stabilizing it as if this was exactly what it had been waiting for.
I let out a slow breath and flicked my hand. The construct collapsed back into a cube and then dispersed completely.
"Alright," I said quietly, "let the party begin."
I released the restraint on my physical strength.
From my fingertips, a silver glow began to emerge. It spread quickly, flowing across my arms, my body, until within seconds I was fully enveloped in it. The space around me reacted subtly, bending under the weight of it.
I rose higher into the air and summoned my domain.
"Veritas Dominus."
A deep thunder rolled across the battlefield.
The sky above shifted as vast violet clouds gathered, swirling with heavy energy. From within them, something began to descend.
The ancient tablet. But this time it was different.
A silver glow covered its surface, layered over the familiar structure, giving it a heavier, more absolute presence. The two massive chains extending from it still burned crimson, their color sharp against the silver.
The scale alone changed the battlefield.
The tablet descended until it stood above everything, its size dwarfing nearly every structure present, everything except the towering black crystalline spikes.
For a moment the battlefield paused as both sides felt the pressure from my domain.
I spread my arms slightly, looking up at it.
"Let’s see..." I muttered under my breath. "How far these chains can go."
I had never used them like this before.