His eyes swept over the entire area, both hands gripping the handle of the Icy Axe tightly, veins bulging beneath his skin.
His gaze sharpened, and he started running, swinging the Icy Axe as the fallen cliffs blocking his path split cleanly in two. The ground trembled, creating gusts of wind that swept the clouds of dust away.
Enatur leaped forward, pressing on, running as fast as he could. Each swing of the Icy Axe in his hand shattered the collapsed rocks that tried to block him.
From time to time, he jumped over boulders, rolling and maneuvering like a professional parkour athlete.
The rain of swords continued to pour endlessly upon the ground, and so did his struggle, dodging each one that threatened to impale him.
Sweat drenched his body. His breathing grew heavier. Dust clung to his skin and clothes, mingling with bruises and cuts.
A few swords fell directly above his head. Enatur swung the Icy Axe, deflecting several blades, though a few managed to graze his arm and shoulder.
A stone the size of a cup dropped and struck his head, blurring his vision. His body staggered, balance faltering for a moment, but he managed to steady himself and continued running forward.
Blood trickled down his forehead, through his eyes, and across his cheeks, clouding his sight. Each breath he drew felt like swallowing fire. The unnatural heat seared his skull, a constant reminder of his draining energy.
Every swing of the Icy Axe felt heavier than the last. His knees began to buckle, his once swift stride now slowed by exhaustion.
High above, Yunia hovered in the air, her eyes fixed on Enatur's position. Her face remained calm, her gaze as cold as ice, but her hand clenched so tightly that her nails pierced her palm.
She exhaled, her glowing palm healing the wound instantly. Closing her eyes, she raised her left hand and snapped her fingers.
The rain of swords stopped. Enatur's eyes scanned the surroundings. The dense clouds of dust slowly faded. The planet, once filled with towering cliffs, was now a wasteland of collapsed stone.
Millions of swords were impaled across the land, forming a graveyard of blades that stretched beyond sight.
Enatur's legs trembled, barely able to support his weight. Blood flowed from the wound on his head, his breath ragged, yet he still stood tall.
Yunia landed gracefully in front of him. Her piercing gaze focused on Enatur like a lion stalking its prey. A sword in her hand, she walked slowly toward her exhausted son.
"Mom, you're truly amazing! Without limits, you can open thousands of dimensional spaces and summon millions of swords like these! The Goddess of Space and Time, indeed true to your title. So this is the power of the Divinity Tier."
Yunia said nothing. Her sharp eyes stayed locked on her son.
Enatur gritted his teeth, sweat pouring, his blood freezing in his veins.
"Are you really serious about dueling me now, Mom?"
"If so, I'll have a hard time surviving this!"
In an instant, Yunia was already before him, her sword wrapped in blazing red light, swinging down in a deadly arc. The slash trailed like a crescent moon. Enatur shifted his body sideways just in time.
With one swing, the ground split open, forming a deep chasm. The crack raced outward as far as the eye could see, sending waves of raw energy through the air.
Enatur narrowed his eyes.
"So that's it, you stopped time for a few seconds to attack me. You used to teach me dirty tricks like that when I was little."
Yunia and Enatur moved in opposite directions, their eyes meeting for a brief moment as they crossed paths. Yunia smiled faintly at him. Enatur felt something lurking behind him, even though nothing was there.
A faint rumble echoed from afar behind him, growing louder. It was the sound of the ground cracking, rushing closer.
"Could it be?!" Cold sweat trickled beneath his skin. He shifted to the right, dodging the unexpected slash from behind.
His face turned pale, his eyes widened, his jaw dropped as he looked at Yunia.
"Did Mom's sword slash just circle around the planet?!"
The planet began to lose its balance. With a single swing, it was split in half, a massive chasm widening until even the planet's core was exposed.
Enatur's stomach turned; nausea twisted inside him.
"What kind of power is this, Mom?!"
A violent quake shook the ground beneath him. Collapsed cliffs rained down from above. Lava burst from the planet's surface.
Yunia darted toward Enatur. He flew, keeping distance from her. Enatur weaved in a zigzag motion to confuse Yunia, but it was useless.
Yunia flew faster, catching up to him, gliding right beside him. She swung her sword, challenging Enatur head-on. Enatur managed to block her strike with the Icy Axe.
Unfortunately, the Icy Axe was fragile, it shattered easily. Enatur opened his storage space, pulling out two daggers.
Yunia unleashed a flurry of slashes at blinding speed, raining down countless blows. The two clashed, exchanging strike after strike.
The air between them roared. Each collision of blades erupted in bursts of sparks too brief for the eye to catch. Enatur no longer saw Yunia's sword, only streaks of silver light slicing through the air. His hands went numb from the constant vibration of his dual daggers.
The rhythm of his swings faltered. His pace slowed. He stepped back, retreating inch by inch.
Enatur flew backward, putting distance between them, gasping for breath. Yunia chased him, her sharp eyes never leaving him.
He dived into the massive chasm created by Yunia's earlier slash, flying in zigzags to dodge falling debris from the crumbling cliffs.
Enatur stretched his arms behind him, opening a dimensional space, summoning five dagger chains that shot toward Yunia.
With a single swing of her sword, the dagger chains shattered into pieces, splitting the planet horizontally.
Enatur continued flying forward, opening more dimensional spaces to unleash more dagger chains. They shot toward several massive fragments of the broken cliffs.
"HIYAAA..." Enatur pulled the fragments with the dagger chains, veins bulging beneath his skin. He swung the chains, hurling the debris toward Yunia.
A total of eight massive fragments were thrown her way. Yunia tightened her grip on her sword and swung at incredible speed, destroying all eight with ease.
Chunks of the planet and shattered debris blocked her pursuit, forcing Yunia to stop. She slashed repeatedly, cutting through the obstruction.
"Success!"
Enatur muttered.
The planet split into multiple sections. For a Goddess capable of bringing apocalypse to civilizations, destroying a planet was as effortless as breathing.
Yunia's eyes swept the surroundings, searching for Enatur's trace. The sky froze. The temperature dropped drastically. Cold air mixed with the scent of frost. Yunia looked up, narrowing her eyes.
"Icy The Great Sword!" Enatur had copied Yunia's Great Sword, though only a quarter of its true size. He hurled it toward her at immense speed.
Yunia only exhaled softly. That was right. With just one finger, the blade's motion stopped.
Her five fingers curled, gripping the sword's tip. Cracks spread from the edge of Icy The Great Sword, spiderwebbing outward until the entire blade shattered instantly, breaking apart like fragile glass.
Her once-cold gaze suddenly widened, pupils contracting. She realized it too late. Something was behind her, no time to dodge.
A dimensional portal opened right behind her. A hand emerged from the glowing void, its index finger pressing gently against her neck, like the point of a blade.
It was Enatur's hand, just stepping out of the portal space.
"Checkmate, Mom."
Her shoulders dropped slightly as a soft breeze brushed against her chest. Her pupils trembled. There was nothing she could say, nothing she needed to. The silence between them was louder than any explosion.
"Surviving like this is such a pain... old granny," Enatur whispered. His voice was hoarse and dry.
His vision blurred. The rush of adrenaline drained from his body. His muscles felt torn apart, like his soul had detached from his flesh. But his index finger refused to leave his Mom's neck.
Enatur smirked. "I know you wanted to test my strength because you doubted me, didn't you?"
Yunia said nothing, her eyes distant and unreadable.
Enatur leaned closer, his breath brushing her ear. "You don't have to worry, Mom. I'll keep growing stronger... until you never have to worry about me again."
"Even if I can't use spiritual energy. Even if I have to crawl from the depths of despair itself..."
His breathing grew heavier, ragged.
"This body... I control it. Not the Soul Core within me. I am the master of my own life. Whether it's the curse of the Soul Core or spiritual energy..."
"All of it will bow under my control."
His eyelids grew heavy. Enatur released his finger from her neck. His body wavered, staggering uncontrollably.
The will to move faded, replaced by the primal urge to rest after being pushed beyond his limits, to lie down, close his eyes, and never rise again. His body began to yield to gravity, and his vision darkened.
Yunia closed her eyes. Tears rolled silently down her cheeks.
With a gentle motion of her hand, Enatur's body rose into the air, weightless. She opened a dimensional portal, carrying his body back to the Vermillion Realm, and brought everyone home to the mansion.
After that, Yunia received unexpected news from Hera, information that made the burden she had carried for the past ten years feel lighter.