Time flows. Beyond the boundary of the Material World and the Realm of the Imagination. The sky, the celestial sphere, turns. Stars rise, snow falls. A light dusting settles on Fernandez’s shoulders.
– Sssss…
Droplets cling between breaths, and the cold wind chills his lungs. Soon, the snow turns to sleet, then to heavy rain. His hair soaks and drips.
– Hoo…
A low exhale fades, and soon the sun rises. Summer rain scatters in the hot day’s wind, and again, the autumn breeze blows, the rain surging like waves.
Snow falls once more. Layer upon layer on Fernandez’s rock-solid body. Snow piles, melts, rain falls, flows, and freezes again…
‘It melted.’
Fernandez stood frozen, his sword plunged into the ground. Slowly sinking into his consciousness, focusing solely on the flow of magic beneath. Sadarkelisa’s cries, rage, and screams echoed from afar, scattering like foam on waves. She couldn’t physically hinder him.
So. It’s a matter of time. Only time was the issue. Sadarkelisa forcibly accelerated time, twisting the flow of magic into complexity. Because of this, her illusions warped beyond her control, but the same was true for Fernandez.
The magic enveloping this Realm of the Imagination was too twisted to recklessly interfere with. The dense, divine-level magic constructing this world made it extremely tricky to dismantle with mere technique.
But he doesn’t give up. Again. Bit by bit. Bit by bit.
‘It melted.’
The magic. No, the divinity melted. A tiny part, but definitely. Fernandez, with closed eyes, felt the change in magic. His, and hers, both slowly melting away.
[Give up!!]
Sadarkelisa’s cry echoed. Ridiculous. Does she think he’ll let her go if he gives up? Twisted time perception made time flow both agonizingly slow and terrifyingly fast.
For a mortal, it felt like time that would erase even the soul’s trace. Like the giants of ancient myths, turning years into moments, crossing them like stepping stones. Time, with a form beyond mere concept, brushed past him.
Beyond physical cold and heat, it gnawed at the soul, decaying it lightly as if it would vanish. No being is eternal, not even magic. Even divinity is treated as a consumable resource under time.
Thus. It melted. Sadarkelisa’s desperation wasn’t limited to Fernandez. She was consuming herself too.
But time is relative. The time Fernandez experienced had substance, yet he sensed the time in the Material World wouldn’t be long.
So. This moment is an illusion. His goal and purpose are focused on the Material World; other realms and dimensions are not his concern.
At this moment, only one thing concerns him. Sadarkelisa’s soul.
“It melted.”
Fernandez slowly opened his eyes. In that moment, Sadarkelisa also narrowed her eyes, glaring at him.
[What nonsense!]
“Your soul is visible now.”
Crunch, his stone-like fingers broke free from the sword hilt with a loud sound. The knot of magic. The storm-like flow of time and concepts became visible.
The massive Hellish Magic and the will of the Great Demon drifting beneath. The vortex. The analysis of that flow was now complete.
He had spent decades, perhaps centuries, under that perception of time, slowly observing and adjusting the flow.
Now, the end was in sight. Between the flows. In the gaps. The bare soul she possessed was faintly visible.
-Crunch.
His fingers bent joint by joint, making rough sounds. Like dust-covered rocks moving, rough and slow. Crunch, crunch. The sound of bones nearly crushing continued.
The pain of illusion. Fernandez coldly glared at Sadarkelisa even as his body crumbled under the pain. If that much time had physically passed, his form wouldn’t remain.
It’s phantom pain from the soul. So, no need to hesitate. Pain without life-threatening danger is just a physical obstacle. Fernandez lifted his sword like pulling out a key.
-Pssst…
Ashes scattered. He carefully observed Sadarkelisa’s hardened face. One step forward.
[Don’t come closer!]
-Crack!
A violent sensation like jamming rocks between cartilage. Fernandez’s senses went wild, his body momentarily freezing. But with a gloomy blue glow in his eyes, he took another step.
‘It melted.’
The dragon’s dignity was melting. Along with his divinity. His hand, not holding the sword, twisted, producing a clear sound like a lute string.
-Ting!
The dragon’s body shrank. The presence and magic enveloping her slowly faded. In reaction, Fernandez’s body grew heavier.
‘To drag down divinity, as a sacrifice, divinity!’
-Ting!
To chip away at the dragon’s dignity, the supreme divinity of the immortal, and bring it down to his level, he was burning his own divinity. One move, the Beastman’s hand was caught—
-Flare.
The divinity burned, and a white halo flashed behind his back. Ting, with a sound like a string snapping, part of the halo tore off, directly striking Sadarkelisa’s divinity.
Another step. Sadarkelisa screamed as if convulsing.
[The divinity you built. The achievements you made. Are you willing to abandon it all? Your power, your dignity, completely?]
“I’ll just build it again.”
[Nonsense! You destroyed worlds, subdued dragons, and tamed Great Demons! Can you rebuild that level of dignity, that divinity?]
“My goal isn’t power.”
He was already sick of it. Fernandez looked down at the woman driven to the wall, trembling in fear. Ashes scattered from her body.
Behind Fernandez, remnants of burned divinity scattered like unfolding wings. Divinity is more conceptual than material, and each fragment of manifested divinity was his achievement, his belief.
Thus, the process of losing his accumulated achievements brought a crushing sense of helplessness. He was tired. He wanted to drop his arms and rest, even for a moment. Watching Sadarkelisa’s gasping eyes, Fernandez twisted the hilt and lowered the blade.
[Fine. Do you regret it now? Good. It’s not too late! Sadarkelisa will help. Take her hand. Burn the world again, build your power, your dignity. Even against those celestial gods—]
“No divinity, no achievement, no magic… no power is eternal.”
