★256
The Stars clashed across their respective battlefields, the Cardinal World, Kalidor, the Divine Land, while Acamar watched over the Pond, and Antares, travelling at a speed beyond time itself, all were abruptly brought to a halt by a greater, primordial Time.
The Ontic Layers and their Realms, the Overseers and their domains, everything within the Beta-Omega Layer, along with the Spiritual and Conceptual Planes, fell victim to this Type 0 Time Stop.
The Star God, existing in a realm beyond Energy constraints, remained unaffected, as did the two Goddesses: Erekayla, who created the Meta Notions, and Ereshkigal, who's mere presence made them irrelevant.
Ontologions dictated what was to be halted, while Kaironex and Chronoceptors ceased their flow, sustained by the support of Logosark.
(Why not Aeolynths? Well, Meta Time Stop is only affecting the Beta-Omega Layer, not all of Existence. Even if that's the case, Aeolynths is still active because it's totally unbound by any Time Stop. Existential Motion at its peak;)
I, the writer, was left untouched to document this event, even though those around me had completely frozen.
Acamar's body released a pulse of golden aura, the particles neutralising the Time Stop. He broke free instantly, standing tall as the currents of frozen time dissolved around him.
Meanwhile, on the other side. Antares' left pupil vibrated violently, then burst, leaving a trail of blood. He opened his eyes slowly; the red glow in his left pupil confirmed that Time itself could no longer hold him.
Adhara, the caster, was affected as well, though he was guaranteed to escape the moment he completed the spell.
Blinking, Adhara saw Mors frozen before him. Seizing the opportunity, he drove his broken blade toward her heart, but it failed to pierce her flesh. In that instant, she, the embodiment of Death from Beyond, broke free as well and flipped backward.
But her gaze was focused somewhere.
"You bastard!"
Between his palms was a Supreme Art taking shape as a beam in the material world.
'I was warned not to use this unless I'm completely out of options and can't win. God's Grace as a beam is an indestructible and unblockable force. Even I, don't know its full capabilities. Perfect trump card.'
With Mors distracted by something he couldn't see, he let it loose. Without turning, she spread her palm, slowly turning the God's Grace Beam into black ash.
"You can't resist me."
A voice called out, and Mors unexpectedly lost control, causing what's left of the Beam to explode and erase everything in its path. Meta Time Stop wears out the moment the beam landed on its target as time continues to flow.
The area was cleared, and Mors can be seen standing unharmed after taking a direct hit from a Grace Beam.
As though trying to grasp something that only she could see, she slowly gestured with her fingers toward an empty area.
"Y.. you can't do this to me. I...I'm not yet done..."
She spoke those final words before her body dissolved into drifting purple ash, vanishing without a trace.
Adhara stood motionless, momentarily stunned, but the sight of his fallen enemy was all that mattered. The cause of death was irrelevant; victory alone held his attention.
'Someone killed her. I don't know who intervened but, it's a win on my side. Alnath is facing Diavolos, I should probably give him a hand. But first, let's see how it plays out.'
With that, Adhara departing, defeated yet victorious.
To be continued...