Lucien moved.
The instant the ritual barrier fractured, he surged toward the opening...
...and made it less than ten steps.
The air detonated.
Three figures crashed down before him. Stone exploded outward as their feet struck the ground.
Nephralis.
Their flames burned tighter now.
"You're not passing," one said coldly.
"Not while we still breathe."
Lucien stopped.
He could feel it immediately.
Even suppressed, their bodies were terrifying.
Celestial-realm flesh was forged in places where space itself tore apart, where void turbulence shredded lesser existences. A body that could survive that… would not shatter from brute force alone.
Lucien exhaled.
Divine energy folded inward. It wrapped his limbs, sinking deep into his muscles and bones.
His aura sharpened.
"Then I'll break you," he said calmly, "properly."
The first Nephralis struck.
A flame-reinforced fist screamed toward Lucien's head...
...but Lucien slipped sideways in a blur.
