The battlefield split cleanly.
Not by distance.
Not by power.
But by purpose.
Inside the Time Barrier —
Everything moved slower.
The wind dragged.
The dust hovered midair like frozen stars.
But Kaelen?
He moved like none of it mattered.
Axiomfall rested in his hand—steady… humming… alive.
Blue.
But no longer just blue.
There was something deeper woven into it now.
Ancient.
Primordial.
Dragon.
Persephone stood across from him, wings stretched wide—black feathers dripping like liquid void, melting into the ground beneath her.
Her aura twisted the land.
Corrupted it.
Bent it.
But Kaelen didn't react.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't posture.
He simply looked at her.
Focused.
Gina—no, Persephone—smiled.
But it wasn't the same smile anymore.
There was tension behind it now.
A crack.
Because she felt it.
Her wounds…
Weren't healing.
"What did you do…?" she muttered.
Her voice wasn't playful anymore.
It was searching.
Calculating.
Kaelen tilted his head slightly.
"You rely on artificial circuits…"
He took one slow step forward.
"But you don't understand them."
Axiomfall lifted slightly.
A pulse spread out—soft… but absolute.
"Everything has a flow."
Another step.
"Time… energy…"
Closer.
"Even regeneration."
Persephone's eyes narrowed.
Kaelen's voice dropped—calm, surgical.
"I didn't cut your body."
He stopped right in front of her range.
"I cut the time your wounds exist in."
Silence.
Heavy.
Then—
She moved.
She vanished.
Reappeared behind him.
Claws tearing downward—
CLANG.
Blocked.
Effortlessly.
Kaelen didn't even fully turn.
His body shifted just enough—
Pivot.
Elbow slammed into her ribs.
Knee followed—clean, sharp.
Axiomfall flicked—
Three cuts.
Not immediate.
Delayed.
She countered instantly.
Black vines exploded from the ground—thick, writhing, infused with underworld energy.
They didn't just attack.
They hunted.
Kaelen jumped—
But the vines adjusted mid-motion.
Tracked him.
Predicted him.
Persephone laughed—but now it was sharp.
"So that's your trick…"
Her eyes gleamed with intelligence.
"You disrupt regeneration by tampering with temporal continuity."
Her hand raised.
The vines shifted.
Evolved.
They stopped chasing where Kaelen was—
And began targeting where he would be.
Kaelen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So you can learn too."
Outside the Barrier —
June—now Loki—spun his staff.
The blue crystal flared—
And suddenly—
Five versions of him stood across the battlefield.
Kaelven clicked his tongue.
"Tch… illusions?"
Jess shook her head immediately.
"No… each one has presence."
Gene yawned—but his eyes sharpened.
"Dream-layer splitting… he's dividing perception and reality simultaneously."
Loki grinned.
"Correct."
And then—
They attacked.
All at once.
Denma moved first.
A straight punch—
Explosive.
It cracked the air itself.
One Loki blocked—
But was sent skidding back regardless.
Kimotsu vanished.
"Sedo."
He appeared behind another Loki—
Blade descending—
But it phased through.
Faith stepped forward.
Hand raised.
Golden light spread across the battlefield.
"Idun."
The effect was immediate.
Fatigue vanished.
Wounds stabilized.
Minds cleared.
Gene stepped forward lazily.
"Alright… enough."
He snapped his fingers.
The battlefield tilted.
Reality blurred—
And suddenly—
One Loki flickered.
Another slowed.
Another glitched.
Gene pointed.
Half-asleep expression still on his face.
"Found you…"
"The real one isn't immune to dreams."
Kaelven grinned wide.
"Finally."
He vanished—
Appeared directly in front of the correct Loki—
And punched.
Hard.
Loki blocked—
But still slid back several meters.
His boots carving into the ground.
He laughed.
"You think deception is my only trick?"
The staff glowed again.
Reality bent.
And suddenly—
Everyone saw something different.
Denma stood alone.
Jess was surrounded.
Faith saw her allies bleeding.
Kimotsu saw Kaelen losing.
Mental disruption.
Layered illusion.
Psychological warfare.
Back Inside —
Persephone raised both hands.
The ground beneath them shattered—
Split—
Opened—
A massive black tree erupted upward.
Roots twisting through space itself.
Branches piercing the sky.
Leaves whispering like voices from the dead.
"Underworld Bloom."
Kaelen looked up.
Unimpressed.
He exhaled.
"One Breath."
Everything slowed.
Not just time.
But priority.
His perception dominated reality.
He stepped forward.
Roots struck—
Missed.
Vines wrapped—
He slipped through.
Space distorted—
He cut through it.
And in a single motion—
He appeared directly in front of her.
Persephone reacted instantly—
Claw aimed at his throat—
Kaelen twisted—
Minimal movement—
Maximum efficiency—
He slid past her attack—
And stabbed.
Not deep.
Not wild.
Precise.
Right through her shoulder.
She tried to regenerate.
Forced it.
Pushed everything into it.
Nothing happened.
Her eyes widened.
"No…"
Kaelen looked directly into her eyes.
Calm.
Cold.
Certain.
"I wasn't slowing your healing."
Axiomfall pulsed.
The dragonic energy within it flared faintly.
"I was removing the future where you heal."
Outside—
The team began adapting.
Breaking through illusions.
Re-centering.
Fighting together.
Inside—
Persephone finally understood.
For the first time since this began—
She felt it.
Not pressure.
Not fear.
Death.
Kaelen stepped closer.
Eyes glowing.
Presence overwhelming.
"Artificial power…"
Another step.
"Borrowed divinity…"
Axiomfall tilted slightly.
"None of it matters."
He stopped right in front of her.
"In front of someone who actually understands power."
And for the first time—
Persephone didn't smile.