I did not waste another second.
"Node 3 activate."
The moment the words left my mouth, the runes along my spine ignited, one after another, and a surge of power rushed through my entire body. My heart thudded heavily, my muscles tightening as every stat pushed forward, my senses sharpening instantly.
I didn’t stop there.
My Saint Body activated.
A silver glow spread across my skin, thin at first, then dense, wrapping around me like a second layer. The pressure inside my body rose sharply, but this time I didn’t hold it back.
I let it flow.
Then, I activated my domain.
"Veritas Dominus."
The void responded.
Even inside her dream-based domain, something shifted. High above me, where there should have been nothing, violet clouds began to form. They churned violently, spreading outward, pushing against the endless darkness.
The space trembled.
And then it descended. The ancient tablet emerged from within those clouds, vast and overwhelming, its presence alone enough to distort the space around it. Chains extended from both sides, glowing faintly crimson, anchoring it as it lowered into the void.
But this time, it was different. The tablet glowed silver. My Saint Body and my domain resonated with each other, the silver light spreading across its surface, merging with the violet glow that surrounded it.
I raised my hand slowly. Dream energy began to gather as I tapped into my comprehension of dream laws. The same law she was using, I pulled it into my control, weaving it into my domain. The violet clouds thickened, shifting, responding to my will as I infused my own dream laws into the space around me.
The two domains clashed. The tablet continued descending.
And as it did, her domain began to resist. The void around me flickered, distortions forming as her control tried to suppress mine, but I didn’t slow down. I pushed harder, forcing my domain deeper, anchoring it with my will.
The tablet dropped further. And then it broke through.
A deep crack echoed across the void as her domain fractured at that point of contact. The darkness split, like glass under pressure, and for the first time since the fight began, I had space.
My own space within her domain.
Without hesitation, I moved.
"[Essence Rebellion]."
My domain reacted instantly. The violet clouds surged, the tablet pulsed, and a violent pull spread outward from me. Essence from all directions began rushing inward, drawn toward my domain in an uncontrollable flow.
The entire battlefield turned unstable.
Energy twisted.
Space distorted.
Even the structure of her domain began to falter under the strain. It flickered, cracked, and groaned as if it was being forced apart from within.
The pressure built rapidly until right in front of me something shattered.
Like a glass barrier breaking, a section of her domain collapsed, fragments dissolving into nothing as the distortion cleared.
And there she was.
Aurora.
Standing calmly within that opening.
She raised her hands slowly, and began clapping.
"Your domain is strong," she said, her voice steady, almost approving. "And you are well versed in dream laws."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"I must appreciate you for that."
The moment she became visible, I did not hesitate.
The silver glow around my body intensified as I drew in Essence, compressing it rapidly into my right hand. The space around my fist distorted under the pressure, the energy condensing to a point where even the light from my domain bent inward.
"Absolute Destruction."
The attack launched instantly.
A streak of dense silver energy tore forward, carrying enough force to rip through everything in its path. As it moved, the space between us warped, the sheer weight of the strike pressing down on the surrounding void.
Aurora did not move.
She simply raised her hand.
"Dream Manifestation: Null Frame."
The space in front of her shifted.
It did not form a barrier in the usual sense. Instead, a thin layer appeared, almost invisible, like a sheet of reality itself being rewritten. The moment my attack reached it, the silver streak slowed because the space it was moving through had changed.
The impact followed.
A violent clash erupted between the two forces, sending waves of distortion across both domains. My attack pushed forward, tearing into the structure she had created, while her technique held its ground, stabilizing the space around it and resisting the force head-on.
The void cracked.
My domain surged in response, violet clouds churning violently as the tablet above pulsed, feeding more power into the attack. The pressure increased, forcing her construct to bend, fractures appearing across its surface.
Her domain flickered and weakened. The silver streak pressed deeper, tearing through her Null Frame, forcing her to take a step back for the first time. The clash spread outward, shaking everything around us, the boundary between our domains becoming unstable as the force of the collision expanded.
Then the attack dissipated violently.
Residual energy exploded outward, tearing through the surrounding space before fading away, leaving behind a distorted and unstable battlefield.
Aurora lowered her hand slowly.
Her expression had not changed much, but there was a slight shift now.
Acknowledgment.
"Your output has improved," she said calmly. "But you are still approaching this too directly."
She took a step forward.
"Dream laws are not about creating illusions," she continued. "They are about defining reality. If something can be imagined with enough clarity and control, it can be imposed as truth."
Her gaze met mine.
"I do not block your attacks. I change the conditions under which they exist."
I listened and instantly understood what she meant.
Before she could continue, I moved. But this time I did not use my space comprehension. The dream energy around me surged, aligning with my will as I shifted my position by redefining where I was.
One moment I stood in front of her.
The next, I was behind her.
The transition was seamless, as if that had always been my position to begin with.
My body glowed brighter, silver light mixing with the faint traces of dream energy as I pulled everything into my right arm. Every ounce of strength, every bit of force I could gather, compressed into a single point.
My fist tightened.
And then I struck.
The impact landed cleanly against her back, all the force concentrated into my knuckles as the blow exploded outward. The space around us shattered under the pressure, the shockwave ripping through her domain as her body was launched forward.
She didn’t stop.
She flew straight ahead and collided with the same invisible wall I had hit earlier, the impact echoing across the void. I cleanly heard her bones crack and fracture.
I exhaled slowly, lowering my hand as the silver glow around me flickered.
"I win the second round." I said with a chuckle.