After calling out Lucan, there was an eerie silence that followed.
Then suddenly—
A crack opened in the void.
It tore through space like a blade across a fabric. From within it, a figure slowly stepped out, one foot emerging into the void that had just witnessed Aeris erase one of his commanders without effort.
Lucan.
He wore a long, black-and-crimson coat, the high collar accentuating his regal yet dangerous presence. The coat was open at the front, revealing segmented armor beneath, fitting him like a second skin. Matte black with subtle red undertones shimmered faintly beneath the distant, dying stars. Loose black pants tucked neatly into sturdy armored boots completed his attire.
He strode forward calmly, hands at ease, as if he was taking a casual walk rather than confronting a deadly enemy.
His face appeared youthful—twenty-five, maybe thirty—but his eyes held a coldness, an ancient indifference that suggested centuries of experience. His deep red hair, nearly black in some places, fell just above his shoulders, the ends fading into streaks of white. A neatly trimmed goatee framed his sharp jawline.
Lucan didn't speak immediately.
Instead, he studied Aeris quietly as space itself seemed to ripple subtly, adjusting to his overwhelming presence.
Then, a slow, mocking applause broke the silence.
"Clap, clap, clap."
"Congratulations," Lucan said, smiling slightly. "I must admit, you surprised me. I never imagined you'd be this strong."
Aeris remained silent, her golden eyes fixed on him, cold and unblinking. Her body was tense, her stance ready for immediate battle.
Lucan chuckled lightly. "Why are you in such a rush? Shouldn't we talk first? Perhaps about your husband, Theren? What do you think, Empress Aeris Dewglen?"
"Keep my husband's name out of your mouth!" Aeris shouted fiercely, golden energy erupting violently from her body.
The shockwave surged outward, forcing Lucan to take a small step backward, his smile briefly faltering. Stars flickered unsteadily, and distant planets shuddered under the oppressive force. The fabric of space itself fractured slightly, cracks momentarily forming and resealing.
"I have nothing to say to you," Aeris said coldly, her voice unwavering. "Prepare yourself—I'm coming."
Without another word, she shifted her body lower, her limbs tensing. One leg extended far behind her, the other bent sharply under her, anchoring her weight. Her torso leaned forward, shoulders square, and both arms stretched out—one coiled slightly back, fingers curled like claws, the other reaching forward, palm open as if already reaching for his throat.
Hmmm… Her cultivation is just at the early stage of the Sacred Emperor Realm. How is she radiating energy equal to a peak-stage Sacred Emperor? Lucan thought, narrowing his eyes under her crushing pressure.
He tilted his head, cracking his neck sharply, and rolled his shoulders to warm up. His body remained loose, yet perfectly poised.
"You surprise me more and more," he muttered, eyes locked onto Aeris. "You seem as strong as I am…"
Then he gave a faint smirk.
"I should show you then the difference between you and me… let's—"
Before he could utter another word, Aeris sprang into action.
One second she was a hundred meters away—the next, she appeared directly before him, her body snapping forward like a loaded spring. One leg trailed behind, her fist pulled back, ready to strike. Behind her, the void cracked violently, a thunderous explosion echoing as space itself warped under the force of her movement.
Lucan barely managed to raise both forearms to block—
BOOOOOM!
Their collision unleashed a shockwave that rippled through space. Nearby stars flickered chaotically, distant planets cracked and trembled, some even knocked from their orbits.
Lucan gritted his teeth, sliding back mid-air.
Before he could recover, Aeris shifted low under his guard, then twisted her hips and unleashed a powerful straight punch to his midsection.
CRACK!!!
Lucan felt his body fold sharply under the blow, pain exploding through his chest.
"Ghh—ARGHH!"
He launched backward uncontrollably, tearing through space like a projectile. He crashed straight through a nearby planet, obliterating its core effortlessly. Debris and molten rock exploded outward, but his momentum carried him forward relentlessly.
Another planet loomed ahead—
KRAAM!
Lucan slammed into its surface, causing the planet to tremble violently. Massive fissures spread out from the impact, volcanoes erupting furiously. Lava sprayed high into the atmosphere as the unstable world shook beneath his fallen body.
Lucan groaned, struggling to rise. Blood dripped from his mouth, trickling slowly down his chin. His breathing was ragged, eyes filled with fury and disbelief.
Then suddenly, Aeris appeared right in front of him, her golden eyes icy and emotionless.
With a roar, Lucan surged forward, red energy blazing from his fists. Aeris blocked low, countered high, and the two erupted into a furious exchange—striking, dodging, parrying at blinding speeds, carving trails of destruction across the scorched terrain.
Lucan roared, throwing a brutal overhead strike that Aeris narrowly sidestepped. She retaliated with a sweeping arc of her arm, crashing into his side and sending him tumbling across the molten terrain.
As he rolled to a stop, dust rising around him, Aeris stepped back slightly and stared at him.
"Stand up," she said quietly. "Is this all you can do?"
Lucan groaned, pressing one hand to the ground, then rose slowly to his feet.
He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, eyes sharp, glowing faintly.
His face shifted—gritting his teeth, enraged.
What remained of his coat and armor fell in ragged pieces. His torso was bare now, riddled with bruises and scorch marks. His pants were nearly shredded, and his entire body trembled from the accumulated blows.
But then—
The wounds began to vanish.
Bruises faded, skin mended, muscle realigned.
And in seconds, his clothes reformed in a flash of aura—his long black and crimson coat returning over his body, arcane seams glowing faintly. The segmented armor reformed over his chest.
Then, with a fierce shout, Lucan unleashed an immense burst of aura.
BOOOOOM!!!
An immense aura burst from him like a storm. The entire planet trembled under its pressure. Volcanoes erupted around them, lava bursting skyward as the sky darkened and the crust beneath cracked violently.
The ground shattered. The air bent. Lightning forked across the red horizon.
And then—
Lucan and Aeris clashed again.
From a distance, it looked like pure light crashing through the land. Blinding streaks—white, gold, red—raced across the planet's surface in a wild dance. Every impact shattered mountains. Every movement tore through the terrain.
The battle had become an abstract of motion.
Then zooming in—
Their fists collided.
Aeris and Lucan slammed into each other with enough force to warp the atmosphere. The moment their knuckles connected—
KRA-KOOOOOOM!!!!
A column of light exploded outward like a pillar.
The shockwave spread through the planet. Cracks split across the surface in all directions, lines of destruction racing outward like spiderweb.
And then—
The planet shattered.
It split clean down the center, fragmenting violently, chunks of its core erupting into space as the shockwave tore it apart from the inside. Molten debris scattered into the void.
In the middle of it all, surrounded by the chaos and fire of an exploding world—
Aeris and Lucan hovered, facing each other amidst the ongoing destruction.
They then separated, drifting several thousand meters apart.
Their eyes locked.
Lucan extended his hand to the left. A faint ripple tore through space, and from the distortion, a massive sword slowly emerged. The blade was thick—almost the size of his torso—with a wide flat edge and deep angular ridges carved along its sides. Its heavy shape and unnatural symmetry gave it a brutal, oppressive aura.
Lucan grabbed the hilt with one hand and pulled it out completely.
"Did you have fun punching me?" he said, rage flashing across his face.
"Let's see how you react to this," Lucan added, smiling as he took the sword and lowered it in front of him—its point hovering just above the void as if resting on solid ground.
Aeris narrowed her eyes, scanning for any signs of attacks from Lucan.
Then immediately she understood what he was trying to do.
Without hesitation, she moved.
"What do you take me for?" she snapped, appearing instantly in front of him, her fist already cocked to strike. "You're truly naive if you think I'll let you activate a domain in front of me."
At that moment, Lucan rotated his sword to the left.
It began to glow faintly red.
Suddenly, Aeris—who had already appeared in front of him—felt her body slow dramatically, as if time itself had fractured around her.
She could still feel herself advancing… but at a pace slower than a snail's crawl.
Something's interfering with time...
Then she heard Lucan speak calmly.
"Temerion," he said, "a divine artifact once used by my father when he was still in this galaxy. It's said to be able to control time… even strike the past."
Lucan slowly stepped backward, now safely distancing himself as Aeris's eyes followed him, still trapped in temporal drag.
"Of course," he continued, "I can't use its full power. But this much is enough—to slow you down long enough for me to activate my domain without interruption."
Then his aura surged.
"Absolute Domain: Horizon Cage."
As his words echoed, a vast field of qi expanded from him, quickly spreading through the void. What started as a few thousand meters in radius grew into a full five-kilometer-wide domain.
Aeris's time-slow effect finally broke. She stepped back immediately, her eyes scanning the environment, ready to assess whatever rules this domain enforced.
She knew how it worked, only cultivators who reached the peak of the Sacred Emperor Realm could manifest an Absolute Domain. It was a mark of mastery over one's own energy, will and laws. And once inside, there was no easy way out. Unless the creator was killed, or the domain shattered from the outside, escape was impossible.
She felt Lucan's energy saturating the void around her. It was immense. But she didn't feel sealed. Her qi flowed freely. Her body moved without resistance.
Strange… no suppression at all?
"What kind of domain is this?" she said, glancing around with a mocking smile. "Are you sure you activated it correctly?"
Lucan chuckled.
"Don't be impatient, Empress."
"You're strong—able to match and even surpass me in speed and strength, despite still being at the early stage of the Sacred Emperor Realm. But this domain will show you…"
He raised his sword.
"…that physical ability isn't the only thing that separates the stages in the Sacred Emperor Realm."
In the next moment, the domain lit up.
Thousands of sword-shaped qi constructs materialized throughout the void, so densely packed that it became hard to see anything else.
Then they surged toward Aeris like a flood.
Swish, swish, swish…
Seeing the incoming barrage, Aeris instantly teleported to another point within the domain to avoid them.
But the moment she initiated the teleportation, she felt something shift—an unsettling tremor in space.
What was that…?
Though she successfully teleported, the moment she reappeared at her new location—
The sword qi was already there.
Too late.
"Vsssh! Shiiing! Shlak-shlak-shlak!"
She was instantly swarmed. Her body disappeared under the onslaught, drowned in a flurry of red sword light.
"Ghhk—! Graaagh!"
Her screams echoed as blade after blade struck her from every direction. Her body was no longer visible—only the storm of swords remained.
"GYAHAHAHAHA!" Lucan laughed with madness in his voice. "What will you do now, Empress?!"