…

Back at the platform...

​​

Zushuatri furrowed his brows when he felt the overbearing and domineering power of the heavenly lightning that danced above the firmament. He understood that there was only one reason heavenly lightning would ever appear in the Mortal Realm and that was when someone or something was going against the natural laws of the world itself.

One such thing was a legendary realm existence who had broken through and stepped onto the path of divinity, ascending from the plane of mortals into the Divine Realm. The heavenly lightning acted as a natural guard of the realms as it forced legendary existences that had stepped onto the path of divinity to ascend into the Divine Realm, otherwise, they would perish into nothingness!

There was once a legendary existence who had stepped onto the path of divinity and tried to overcome the heavenly lightning, however, every time he fended it off it would more than double in strength and return even stronger than before. In the end, that existence was completely erased from the world by the heavenly lightning! This was also one of the reasons why even those who had already entered into the Divine Realm did not dare try to forcibly descend upon the realms below the firmament.

This was usually the only reason that heavenly lightning ever appeared. However, there were extremely rare cases where one would perform an act that was never meant to be done, similar to stepping onto the path of divinity. This was the current case where Sage had unknowingly fused two Domains. It may have not been so bad if it were just two lower Domains, but it was actually two of the main upper eight Domains!

"This was never meant to be... Truly, never meant to be." Zushuatri said to himself as slightly shook his head and released a deep sigh.

"As the master of the Sky Palace, I am unable to sit back and watch as those under my protection are put into harm's way. Also, as her master, I knew that this day would come eventually. It would seem that this old man still has some use left in this world." Zushuatri, who was just near the platform on the Sky Palace, had suddenly appeared hundreds of meters in the sky above it. What a terrifying movement skill worthy of someone who was considered a peak legendary existence!

All of a sudden, a tear in space appeared a few meters away from Zushuatri as a woman with beautiful pink hair exited the void as it closed behind her. To compare her to a fairy would not be an exaggeration as her beauty was almost otherworldly by nature. This woman bore a striking resemblance to one of Zushuatri's students, Sage. The only difference was that her appearance was more refined and the aura around her was one of maturity.

This was the same woman Zushuatri chased away from his Sky Palace earlier. She was a dangerous existence in the legendary realm, Savarosa.

"You still dare come back when I've already chased you away?" Zushuatri said with a serious facial expression. If Savarosa chose to make a move now, then how was he supposed to protect those on his Sky Palace? This was the worst possible time that she could have shown up!

A small smile found its way onto Savarosa's lips as she responded, "Is this is the welcome I get when I have traveled all this way to lend you a hand, Zushuatri? Your students must be just as ungrateful and ill-mannered as their master. I have to say, this concerns me greatly since I have allowed you to care for 'it' for so long."

Zushuatri scoffed, "You've come to help? Do you think that I don't realize what you're up to? If you want to take advantage of this chance to act, hmph, then you'd better be prepared to pay a heavy price to do so."

Zushuatri did not want to fight Savarosa under these circumstances, however, he would not back down and submit if left with no choice.

"I am hurt that you think so little of me. However, it matters not what thoughts you hold towards me." Savarosa's said as her gaze locked onto Sage who was currently in the Living Forest.

Zushuatri observed Savarosa's actions carefully. If she made any sudden suspicious movements, then he would not hesitate to take action!

"Ah, what a beautiful sight to behold... After all of these years, truly what a beautiful sight to behold." Savarosa said to herself as she observed and sensed the raw untamed power of Sage's Maelstrom Domain. While it was still unstable, once it settled down and stabilized, its power would dwarf that of a main upper eight Domain. It would step into the same league as the Four Origin Domains. No, it was even possible that it would surpass it!

She then turned her attention towards the firmament as she continued, "You cannot handle the power of this level of heavenly lightning alone, you should know this well. That heavenly lightning is after something precious to me that I cannot allow to be damaged. You, on the other hand, cannot allow any harm to fall upon your precious Sky Palace and the people residing there. Therefore, for the time being, shall we form a temporary truce?"

The smile on Savarosa's face was one that felt plastered on and lacked any true sincerity, however, given the present situation... Could Zushuatri afford to refuse?

He would agree to the truce, but one thing was for certain. Zushuatri knew that no matter the circumstances, Savarosa could not be trusted!

…

The temperature in the surrounding area began to fall rapidly. It did not stop until one felt a chill that pierced through their skin directly into their bones. This range of this effect was enough to cover the entire Limit Zone and affect all the participants that were inside. Of course, this bone piercing chill came from Sage's Maelstrom Domain.

"Where the heck is this chill coming from?!" One of the spectating participants exclaimed.

"I have to get away from here!" One of the participants retreated to the edge of the Limit Zone. The other participants followed after them, but even after they reached the edge of the Limit Zone that bone-piercing chill did not disappear in the slightest.

First, there was a dreadful and terrifying power that sent chills down their spine. Then, this chill suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was affecting them even though they were already this far away. Just what was going on?!

Kayn saw the other participants trying to escape from the Limit Zone as he reached his hand out in the sky and touched the transparent barrier that prevented them from leaving.

"Although it's not allowed, I'm sure old man Zushuatri won't blame me under these circumstances." Kayn said to himself. After the participants realized that the barrier was open, they fled as far away as possible from the Limit Zone! Once everyone had left, Kayn reinforced the barrier to embrace for the potential incoming disaster. Though even with the reinforcement, it was like trying to use a pebble to stop a mountain. But, something was better than nothing.

Kayn also noticed that an unexpected guest had arrived within the vicinity of the Sky Palace. It was the same presence that had paid a visit to the Sky Palace earlier, however, they did not seem to be fighting with Zushuatri. Kayn then turned his attention towards the Living Forest where only two individuals remained, Izroth and Sage.

"If it comes down to it, I may not have any other choice but that one. You won't blame me, right old man?" Kayn said as his gaze landed on Sage. However, although his gaze contained a hint of sympathy, there was a hint of ruthlessness mixed as well. In the end, if necessary, he would do what had to be done.

…

'This is...'

Izroth inwardly furrowed his brows as he deactivated his Energy Vision Sense as it had become useless. Ever since Sage used her Maelstrom Domain, it was as if the entire Limit Zone was just a giant ball of unrecognizable flames that made it impossible for Izroth to distinguish the difference between anything. It was similar to sensory overload and gave him a slight headache that he quickly recovered from.

'My Energy Vision Sense is still too weak. As for this Domain, it seems that it's even more powerful than Roudin's Mountain Domain. However, I'm still unable to discover what's causing my Soul Sense to react in this manner. With my Energy Vision Sense not working properly, I can only maintain a heightened level of vigilance.'

Unlike with Sage's Wind Domain where small squalls the size of one's fists formed behind her, the Malestrom Domain she used was quite different. Just by being within its area of influence, Izroth was losing 4% of his HP every second. Even with his in-battle HP regeneration and resistances, he still received 453 damage per second. This meant that if he did not somehow continuously regain his HP, then he would be dead in less than 1 minute without Sage lifting a single finger!

'It's a good thing that I maxed out the Soul Steal stacks for the Life Reaping skill attached to the Ring of The Exiled One, otherwise, I could only rely on my 6% lifesteal and HP potions to sustain myself. However, that would be insufficient. As for her...'

At the moment, the look in Sage's eyes resembled that of someone who had lost themselves and was blind to everything around them. It may have been due to its overbearing nature, but it seemed as if the power of the Maelstrom Domain was consuming her. Though since Izroth did not have any real knowledge when it came to Domains, it was just a guess that he made with a simple observation.

"Why is that trash still here? Disappear." Sage said and as soon as the word "disappear' left her mouth, an overwhelming gale of strange and corrosive icy winds sped towards Izroth.

Izroth reacted immediately as he used his Flickering Steps to avoid the attack, however, no matter what move he made or how hard he tried to shake off the attack, it locked onto him and followed his every move. As long as he was within the influence range of Sage's Domain, which was the entire Limit Zone, it did not seem as if it would cease its chase.

Izroth also noticed that marks of black and corrosive frost started to materialize at different areas of his body after Sage's Maelstrom Domain was formed. Ever since these corrosive marks appeared, his overall agility and response time had been reduced and he had no way of knowing how to get rid of them. However, the strange thing was that similar marks had appeared on Sage as well.

'Although the overall power is much greater than what she used back in the Boundless Sea, her control is incredibly lacking. Could it be that she doesn't use this power often? Or... Is it something completely new to her? If that's the case, I can't give her the opportunity to stabilize that power. It seems I'm left with no other choice. '

The attack Sage launched earlier was closing in fast on Izroth and it only seemed to speed up over time! No, rather it was Izroth slowing down.

'Second State: Heavenly Cloak... Full Mantle.'

BOOM!

The attack finally caught up to Izroth as it caused a contained and concentrated explosion to occur. However, the power behind the explosion was devastating despite its humble area of containment. But, as the dust settled down and cleared, one could see a deep, dark, and saturated purple loosely flowing mantle that looked somewhat damaged and torn.

It was formed purely from the lightning element and it covered Izroth from head to toe. Even his head was covered with a hood that completely hid his face in the process. The only thing visible was a violet aura where Izroth's eyes would be located.

'I can't maintain the Full Mantle of the Second State: Heavenly Cloak for very long, therefore... I'll end this in one go.'