[Celestial void]
The moment my blade moved, the world itself seemed to pause for a heartbeat.
SWOOSH!
A sharp arc of void energy surged forward, consuming the approaching swords in its path. The slash didn't just destroy them—it erased them from existence. The space where they once hovered was left trembling, distorted, like reality itself rejected what had just occurred.
[Celestial Void] wasn't just an attack. It was annihilation.
A gap carved through endless swords. For a moment… I could breathe.
But that moment was short-lived.
"Interesting," Rein's voice echoed across the domain, his tone laced with amusement. "You've used that form already? Then let me raise the stakes."
[Domain Compression: Phase Two – Absolute Loop]
The pressure multiplied.
The sky darkened inside the domain, time folding upon itself. Thousands of swords twisted mid-air, beginning to spin like a hurricane. The environment grew chaotic—winds howled, debris levitated, and mana particles distorted the air around me. Gravity itself felt… wrong.
"What the hell is this…?" I muttered, knees slightly buckling. The pain from earlier wounds was returning—sharper now.
I tried to move, but my body felt heavier, like I was walking through molasses. Time wasn't flowing properly in here. Every breath, every blink—it all felt delayed, reversed, accelerated. My perception was fighting against the very laws of nature.
"Do you feel it now?" Rein's voice echoed again. "This is the domain of time—not something you manipulate with power alone, but with understanding."
I gritted my teeth.
"Understanding…? I don't even know how it works!" I screamed.
"You will. Or you'll die trying," he said coldly. "Such is the weight of wielding the forbidden."
The next wave of swords moved.
This time, they didn't just fly toward me. They phased in and out of existence, teleporting mid-path. Some reappeared behind me, others cut through dimensions and bypassed my defenses entirely.
"Arghhh—!" I twisted my body, barely avoiding a blade that grazed my cheek, drawing a line of crimson.
The world kept glitching.
I tried Flash Step again, but my movement desynced—landing me a few meters off, and a sword pierced into my thigh.
Blood splattered.
Pain flared.
"Fuck...! What do I do now?"
A memory flickered.
—Olivia's calm voice: "Add your will into the blade, Noah. Your sword isn't just a weapon. It's a part of your soul."
Will…?
I gripped my sword tighter, pressing it against my forehead.
"I… don't want to lose anymore," I whispered.
Not to fate.
Not to anyone.
Not to myself.
"If time won't obey me… then I'll cut through it."
A faint glow began to rise from my body.
No notifications.
No system prompts.
Just me—and the will to keep going.
I took a deep breath, centering my focus.
I closed my eyes—and felt it.
A rhythm.
The pulse of the domain.
Everything around me was looping, repeating, caught in a recursive cycle. If I could just… tap into that rhythm, maybe…
I moved.
Not with speed.
But with precision.
My blade slipped between timelines—cutting through two swords before they even materialized.
I wasn't just reacting—I was anticipating.
For the first time… I wasn't fighting against time.
I was flowing with it.
Rein's eyes widened slightly as he watched from the outside.
"Hah… that brat," he muttered. "He's really starting to feel it..."
Inside, I was dancing with death.
Blades brushed past me like whispers. Sparks flew with every parry. My footwork adjusted instinctively, carried by the current of mana rippling through time itself.
I was still bleeding.
Still hurting.
But I was alive.
And now… I was fighting back.
"Eclipse Blade Art…" I whispered, preparing for another strike. "Sixth Form…"
Wait—
There's no sixth form.
But my body kept moving.
My blade… shifted.
The glow intensified.
Cracks of light formed along its edge—like the fabric of space was splitting.
[You have created a New Skill.]
['Eclipse Blade: Sixth Form – Chrono Severance' has been temporarily unlocked.]
I didn't have time to read the details.
My instincts took over.
I swung the sword.
Time… stopped.
Not entirely. Just for a second. Just for the space in front of me.
Every sword within a ten-meter radius froze mid-air.
And then shattered—like fragile glass under pressure.
The domain groaned. Reality trembled.
And I collapsed to one knee, panting heavily.
Rein clapped slowly, stepping closer.
"Congratulations, Noah," he said with a proud, terrifying smile. "You've taken your first step into the realm of true monsters."
I didn't respond.
I was too exhausted. Too broken.
But I was smiling, too.
Even if I was on the verge of passing out.
Because now, I understood.
Time… wasn't my enemy anymore.
It was my blade.
To be continued…