The Devourer's Dominion

The moment Lorien's fingers touched his sword, the air twisted.

Aetheron didn't just feel it—his Dominion recoiled, instincts screaming danger in a way he'd never experienced before.

Lorien's blade hadn't even left its sheath.

Yet the battlefield had already changed.

Aetheron's grip tightened. He couldn't move carelessly. Not now.

Lorien's eyes flickered in the dim light. "You felt it, didn't you?"

Aetheron didn't respond.

He was focused.

Watching.

Waiting.

Then—Lorien vanished.

Aetheron barely had a second to react before a cold pressure scraped against his side. He twisted, barely avoiding a cut that he never saw.

Shit—

His foot hit the ground, shadows surging up around him, but—

Another slash.

Faster. Sharper.

Aetheron barely dodged again, his Dominion flaring out—but there was nothing to grasp.

Lorien wasn't attacking from a distance. He was right there.

But his blade—

It didn't exist until it was already cutting.

Aetheron's pupils shrank.

This wasn't just speed.

It was something else.

His mind worked fast, breaking it down. Lorien wasn't teleporting. He wasn't turning invisible.

His attacks were just—unseen.

Aetheron grit his teeth, feeling the sting of a shallow cut along his forearm. The first real damage Lorien had done to him.

He needed to counter—fast.

Aetheron exhaled, forcing his Dominion to sink. The battlefield dimmed, space bending under the abyssal weight.

Lorien's next step hesitated.

There.

Aetheron lunged.

His shadow blade lashed out, aiming for Lorien's midsection—

But missed.

Aetheron's eyes widened.

Lorien had already moved.

Then—pain.

A cut across his ribs. Shallow, but felt like it reached deeper than it should.

Aetheron jumped back, eyes narrowing.

His Dominion didn't react fast enough.

Lorien's attacks weren't just unseen. They were delayed.

Like they had already happened before he swung.

Aetheron clenched his jaw. That's why I can't counter.

The moment Lorien decided to strike, it was as if the blade had already cut.

And that meant—

Aetheron's breath slowed.

He couldn't rely on his eyes. Or his Dominion's reaction.

He had to move before the attack existed.

Lorien exhaled. "You're still standing. That's rare."

Aetheron rolled his shoulders, wincing at the wound. "Yeah, well. I don't go down easy."

Lorien smiled faintly. "Then let's see how long that lasts."

And then—he vanished again.

But this time—

Aetheron moved first.

His foot slammed into the ground. The abyss beneath him sank, swallowing the space around him.

Lorien appeared—but his step stuttered.

Aetheron saw it.

A fraction of a second.

And that was enough.

His blade swung—

And Lorien's attack met it midair.

Aetheron's Dominion howled as the impact cracked reality itself, sending a ripple through the battlefield.

Lorien's eyes widened.

Aetheron grinned, blood dripping from his lips.

"Guess I caught up."

Lorien exhaled, stepping back. His sword shimmered, the strange delayed cut still hovering in the air like an unfinished painting.

"You did."

Then, for the first time—Lorien tightened his grip.

Aetheron's grin faded.

Because the pressure in the air—

Just doubled.