CHAPTER 61: MANA DOMAINS(2)

Runes started to emerge from the Rune Magus’ body.

They attached themselves to the fabric of reality. The runes appeared ready to fuse but they didn’t.

Instead, they detached from reality and brought new runes with them.

"The Will of Reality."

Unlike other times when runes left the Rune Magus to fuse with reality, the reverse was happening.

Runes left reality and started fusing with him.

The space around him took on a bright golden glow as more runes fused with his existence.

Waves of mana rolled out of him and encompassed the space around him - the entire domain created by The Void Magus.

The latter tilted his head to the side and let out a small smirk that quickly faded into a scowl.

Now where the Rune Magus once stood was a being made of golden energy. It had four heads and six arms.

"Collapse." Its voice forced reality to bow and bend before erupting.

Cracks ran through the desert and the other mana domains. The world tree creaked as golden sap poured out the cracks that ran through it.

Yggdrasil branches and twigs fell off its celestial body and crumbled into fine dust amidst the chaos that was starting to unfold.

The liquid flames that only existed to incinerate everything in existence started to change state.

They became glass-like flames that shone with a black light, which drained the warmth of everything in its vicinity, further plundering the surroundings into a blizzard.

Rufus, who was now the Colossus, raised one of his hands and pushed it against what seemed to be nothing.

Space and perhaps even time started to bend around his hand.

Reality started to give in to his will and break even more.

Runes left his body and formed a massive tapestry that hung brightly in the sky like a second sun.

Damien waved his hand to the tapestry, and darkness or something more primordial consumed it, but it was too late.

It had already completed its function.

A massive hurricane of mana and world energy from the real world started to storm the desert that was Void Magus’ mana domain.

The combination of the two energies lifted the sands and caused a massive tornado of black sand.

The World Tree fixed its roots on the expanding cracks and enlarged them while the black flames burned at the very fabric that made up the domain.

The Void Magus, on the other hand, wasn’t idle either.

He waved his hand, and the beast that appeared to be made of nothing materialized.

These creatures lunged at the domains of the other three.

Some attached themselves to the tree, others to the flames, and the rest to the Colossus, all with different effects.

The World Tree started to wilt as the beasts fused with its structures and changed its nature.

Its xylem started drawing water from the body while its parenchyma stopped providing support to the plant.

The flames found themselves simply vanishing from existence with no trace whatsoever.

The Colossus became unable to control reality to its full potential. Instead, reality seemed to start controlling it.

With a smile, Victor strengthened his mind and the World Tree responded accordingly.

Its roots shot at the beast and started absorbing them on contact while the flames adapted.

"My flames can burn everything, so why can’t they burn nothing?" Aaron deduced the nature of Damien’s power and executed his plan.

His flames simply stopped burning everything and so they burned nothing.

The Rune Magus released a pulse of mana that filled the nothing.

Beads of sweat ran down his head as he forced his domain to remain stable.

"Rufus’ domain would have been enough in itself to shatter mine. Your participation in the matter only proves your incompetence to achieve such on your own." Damien spat with a wry smile.

"Nice try." Victor chuckled lightly.

A large tear spread in the domain as multiple smaller cracks connected.

With a boom, the domain ripped apart and the three magi with their domains were thrown into the real world.

_________

All four magi now floated above an empty ocean.

The World Tree had settled its roots into the ocean while its branches still touched the atmosphere.

The Rune Magus was still in his colossal form while the waters behind Aaron had turned to liquid flames.

Three out of the four magi looked above them and could see a massive sphere of darkness dissipating into pure nothingness.

"It seems that I might have underestimated your combined might." Damien sighed as his eyes took all of their movements in.

"Aaron. You are a powerful mage with a lot of potential, but most of the time you are either silly or too confident. The only reason why you survived the fight with Emperor Kai is that most of his might lies in his domain." Damien called out and reprimanded him.

"Victor. You managed to get the blessing of one of the first magical entities, The World Tree, and yet you still fail to use its power effectively."

"And finally, Rufus. The almighty Rune Magus. I must say that I have no notes whatsoever about you. Your magic is as strange and elusive as mine." Damien stroked his chin with a sly smile.

Squinting his eyes, Rufus ignored the plain mockery of his habit yet kept his domain active.

"None of us has gone all out in a long time," Aaron spoke out of the blue.

A wide smile spread on his face.

"I see improvements, learning opportunities, and a means to see where we still lack if we go through with this."

"And that says a lot because I have only one eye." He chuckled before brandishing his sword.

The glass flames burst out in infinitely more intense heat.

The World Tree fixed its roots firmly into the waters and its trunk strengthened.

Waves of shadows that threatened to drown everything started to leak out of Damien’s body.

Letting out a sigh, the golden glow of Rufus’ domain brightened.

And then they clashed and the world groaned.