Within the endlessly looping time dimension, the heaven-piercing sword pillar descended, carving out a devastating chasm that tore through the void itself.
When the blinding light finally faded, Zhou Tianyu stood with a grim expression, his eyes burning with killing intent.
"Do you think this can stop me?"
Ancient One appeared beside him, blood trickling from her lips. The Time Stone glowed faintly with green light. The shattered void instantly restored itself, as if time had reversed.
Zhou Tianyu still held his sword aloft. The massive sword pillar remained, surrounded by the sun, moon, stars, mountains, and vegetation, radiating terrifying energy.
Ancient One had reversed time.
This space was now trapped in a loop. Unless an overwhelming force could shatter all laws in a single strike, Zhou Tianyu would remain imprisoned here forever.
"It cannot stop you, but it can delay you."
Her voice was calm, but her resolve was absolute. She only needed to stall him until everything outside reached an irreversible conclusion.
"B*tch!"
Zhou Tianyu's fury surged. Even his usually cold face twisted into something feral.
He had only one option left.
Use all remaining exchange points to unlock the third seal of the Xuanyuan Sword.
But doing so meant losing his final trump card. Without exchange points, any fatal mistake would mean certain death.
Still, remaining trapped here was not an option.
As for compromise, that was impossible.
Zhou Tianyu's nature allowed no retreat in spirit. His pride and his sword both moved forward without hesitation.
He had faced worse situations before. Each time, he survived and grew stronger.
He welcomed adversity.
He could lose, he could retreat, but fear and surrender did not exist in him.
Contradictory, reckless, insane.
That was who he was.
"Unseal the third layer of the Xuanyuan Sword."
The decision came instantly.
As his exchange points were consumed, the Xuanyuan Sword erupted like a blazing sun. The images surrounding it shifted. The carvings of mountains and nature transformed, revealing scenes of ancient civilization.
Near the hilt, depictions of farming and livestock seemed to come alive, pulsing with vitality.
The sword trembled violently.
Space around it cracked and collapsed in massive sections.
The already colossal sword pillar expanded further, piercing into the infinite void, carrying a majestic aura of kingship and boundless life.
Zhou Tianyu's right hand alone was no longer enough.
He gripped the sword with both hands.
Ancient One's expression changed completely. A chill ran through her soul.
"Die!"
Zhou Tianyu brought the sword down.
The descending beam seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth apart.
"Eternal Banishment."
Ancient One's body rapidly aged as she forced the Time Stone beyond its limits. Her life burned away in exchange for power.
She tore open a passage to another dimension.
The Dark Dimension.
"Ancient One, you dare show yourself again!"
A massive presence roared.
A being formed of pure dark energy and flame loomed across the strange world.
Dormammu.
Sensing her weakness, he immediately prepared to strike.
But before he could act, the sword descended.
The overwhelming pillar of light struck without warning. Dormammu's enormous form took the full impact, nearly splitting apart as a massive rift tore through the dark void behind him.
Ancient One seized the moment and escaped.
"Damn it!"
Dormammu roared, his body reforming, though the damage lingered.
Meanwhile, Ancient One returned to Kamar-Taj.
Her body had aged by centuries. She collapsed onto the ground, coughing blood. Her wrinkled face was drenched in sweat, her aura weak and unstable.
To drag Zhou Tianyu into the Dark Dimension, she had forced the Time Stone beyond its limits, sacrificing her lifespan to succeed.
Without that, she could not have moved him at all. The sword's power had already begun distorting space and time.
Now, she was barely alive.
But she could not die yet.
She had to wait for the next Supreme Mage.
As for Zhou Tianyu, he would not escape the Dark Dimension anytime soon.
Within that endless darkness, Zhou Tianyu stood calmly, holding the Xuanyuan Sword at his side.
In front of him, Dormammu had reformed, yet his roar carried something new.
Pain.
Zhou Tianyu recognized him immediately.
Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension, master of dark magic.
Once a sorcerer, he had abandoned his physical form to gain absolute control over this realm. Here, he was nearly omnipotent.
He could manipulate energy, reshape reality, control dimensions, and wield endless power.
A god within his domain.
That was why Zhou Tianyu's expression had been serious.
But now, something changed.
"It hurts... why is it not healing?"
Dormammu's voice trembled with disbelief and anger.
A wound remained on his body.
It would not close.
A sacred force lingered within it, suppressing his dark energy.
The Xuanyuan Sword, with three seals released, was far from ordinary.
Zhou Tianyu's expression relaxed slightly.
His grip tightened.
"Who are you!"
Dormammu leaned forward, his flaming face filled with rage.
Zhou Tianyu said nothing.
The killing intent in his eyes deepened.
The next moment would not be a conversation.
It would be slaughter.
Far away, in the cold and silent universe, a massive comet, nearly the size of Earth, streaked toward Neptune, dragging a blazing tail behind it.
A quarter of Neptune's surface had already been destroyed.
Amid the devastation, Lucien stood.
Golden-white flames flowed across his body. Blood dripped from his lips as he stared upward, his breathing heavy.
His hands drew back to his waist, forming a calyx shape as immense energy gathered.
In the distance, among shattered ruins, Theo knelt on one knee. His left hand had regenerated, though his face remained pale.
With his right hand, he continuously pulled downward.
The comet responded.
That enormous mass, capable of crushing a planet, was being dragged down by his power.
It was a terrifying sight.
Like dragging the heavens down to crush a single man.
Like using a mountain to kill an insect.