Chapter 13: The Battle Beyond Reality
The cold mountain wind continued to howl across Black Mountain.
For several moments after Astraith finished explaining the nine levels of Dominion, neither of them spoke.
Silence surrounded them.
Above, countless stars illuminated the heavens.
Below, kingdoms slept peacefully, completely unaware that two beings capable of shaking existence itself stood upon the same mountain.
Astraith’s golden eyes remained fixed on Vlox.
The more she looked at him, the more conflicted she became.
For fifteen hundred years she had stood at the peak.
For fifteen hundred years no opponent had managed to challenge her.
Kings feared her.
Dragons respected her.
Even ancient beings older than civilizations treated her with caution.
Yet the man standing before her...
Made her heart race.
Not because she feared him.
But because she finally felt she had found someone capable of standing beside her.
Vlox noticed her unusual expression.
"Something on your mind?"
Astraith immediately looked away.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
For a being who could erase universes with a thought, it was surprisingly difficult to maintain composure.
"I’ve searched for fifteen hundred years."
Vlox blinked.
"For what?"
The Celestial Dragon remained silent for several seconds.
The answer felt strangely difficult to say.
Finally, she spoke.
"For someone capable of standing beside me."
The wind carried her words into the night.
Vlox remained quiet.
Astraith continued.
"Do you know what it’s like to spend centuries alone?"
Her voice had become softer.
"To watch kingdoms rise and fall?"
"To watch heroes become legends?"
"To watch everyone you know disappear while you continue living?"
A trace of loneliness appeared within her eyes.
"For fifteen hundred years I searched."
Her gaze returned to him.
"And when I saw you..."
She paused.
A small smile appeared.
"...I knew."
The mountain became silent once more.
Vlox stared at her for several seconds.
Then he asked the most straightforward question possible.
"So basically..."
A grin appeared on his face.
"You’re interested in me?"
Astraith froze.
Completely.
The mighty Celestial Dragon who could destroy multiverses suddenly looked more nervous than a child caught doing something embarrassing.
Several seconds passed.
Her face slowly turned red.
Then she answered.
"...Yes."
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
Vlox laughed.
Not mockingly.
Genuinely.
The sight immediately annoyed Astraith.
"Stop laughing."
"I’m trying."
"You are not."
"I’m really trying."
"You absolutely are not."
For several moments the mountain echoed with their conversation.
Then Vlox’s expression changed.
The playful smile disappeared.
In its place appeared something far more serious.
"Then let’s fight."
Astraith blinked.
"Fight?"
"Of course."
Vlox shrugged.
"You’ve waited fifteen hundred years."
"You deserve to know whether your instincts were right."
The Celestial Dragon stared at him.
Then a smile slowly appeared.
Not the smile of a woman.
Not the smile of a dragon.
But the smile of a warrior.
A warrior who had finally found a worthy opponent.
"Very well."
The moment those words left her mouth-
Reality shattered.
BOOM!
The sky cracked apart.
Space folded inward.
Entire dimensions twisted like paper.
Without warning, both figures disappeared.
Countless realities flashed past them.
Universes.
Timelines.
Dimensions.
Higher planes of existence.
Lower realms.
Infinite possibilities.
They crossed them all in less than a heartbeat.
Finally-
They arrived.
In Vast Multiple Multiverse.
A battlefield capable of containing their power.
Silence filled the endless void.
Then-
BOOOOM!
Reality exploded.
Astraith attacked first.
Golden energy erupted around her body.
The pressure generated by her Dominion instantly crushed thousands of surrounding realities.
"Celestial Dragon Art..."
Her golden eyes ignited.
"Starbreaker Fang."
A beam of condensed draconic energy erupted forward.
The attack pierced through countless universes.
Entire cosmic structures evaporated.
Dimensions vanished.
Existence itself trembled.
Yet Vlox simply stepped sideways.
The attack missed him completely.
Astraith smiled.
"Good."
The next moment she vanished.
BOOM!
Her fist appeared directly in front of Vlox.
The punch carried enough force to erase multiversal structures.
Vlox raised one hand.
Their fists collided.
The result was catastrophic.
KRAAAAAAAASH!
An endless shockwave exploded outward.
Thousands of realities shattered instantly.
Galaxies disintegrated.
Stars collapsed.
Dimensions fractured.
Yet neither moved.
Astraith’s smile widened.
"Excellent."
For the first time in centuries-
She was enjoying herself.
Then she attacked again.
"Celestial Dragon Art: Heaven Rend."
Golden claws materialized across reality itself.
Each claw stretched beyond dimensions.
Entire multiverses were sliced apart.
Vlox calmly raised his hand.
"Void Authority."
Darkness gathered around his fingertips.
"No."
Astraith immediately realized her mistake.
It wasn’t darkness.
It was absence.
The complete lack of existence.
"Silent Collapse."
The claws vanished.
Not blocked.
Not destroyed.
Erased.
As though they had never existed.
Astraith’s eyes widened.
Then she laughed.
A genuine laugh.
The kind she hadn’t experienced in centuries.
"Again!"
BOOM!
The battle intensified.
Astraith unleashed attack after attack.
"Cosmic Dragon Roar!"
A shockwave capable of erasing universal structures erupted from her mouth.
"Infinity Scale Barrier!"
Golden dragon scales formed around her body.
Each scale contained an entire reality.
"Astral Sovereign Flame!"
Silver fire spread across existence itself.
Anything touched by the flames ceased functioning according to normal laws.
"Celestial World Breaker!"
A punch descended.
The multiverse itself cracked.
Yet Vlox remained calm.
Always calm.
Always composed.
"Void Step."
Space lost meaning.
Vlox appeared behind Astraith instantly.
"Existence Severance."
A slash cut through dimensions.
"Null Horizon."
Entire realities vanished.
"Absolute Erasure."
Everything touched by the attack simply disappeared.
The battlefield became chaos.
Galaxies became weapons.
Universes became projectiles.
Multiverses collided against one another like crashing waves.
Each exchange created enough energy to destroy countless realities.
Yet neither combatant slowed.
Astraith’s excitement continued growing.
For fifteen hundred years she had waited.
For fifteen hundred years she had searched.
Now-
She finally found someone who could keep up with her.
Someone who understood what true battle felt like.
Someone who wasn’t afraid.
Someone who stood beside her rather than beneath her.
The realization filled her heart with joy.
Then she decided to stop holding back.
Golden light exploded outward.
Countless realities trembled.
Infinite dimensions shook.
Even the concept of distance ceased functioning.
Astraith floated above the battlefield.
Her silver hair danced within a storm of cosmic energy.
"Apex Dominion."
Her voice echoed across existence.
"Dragon Emperor Ascension."
BOOOOOOM!
Infinite golden light engulfed reality.
The Seventh Dominion fully awakened.
Time stopped.
Space froze.
Causality shattered.
Concepts trembled.
Countless realities bowed before her authority.
At that moment-
Astraith looked invincible.
A true ruler standing above existence.
Then she looked at Vlox.
And her smile disappeared.
Because Vlox hadn’t moved.
Not even once.
He simply stood there.
Watching.
Calm.
Unmoved.
Untouched.
Only then did Astraith understand.
He had been holding back.
The entire time.
The realization sent a chill through her body.
Not fear of death.
Fear of witnessing something beyond comprehension.
For the first time since the battle began-
Astraith became nervous.
Vlox slowly raised one hand.
Darkness gathered around his fingertips.
No.
Not darkness.
Nothing.
The absence of existence.
The origin of emptiness.
The end of everything.
Astraith’s instincts screamed.
Every part of her being warned her.
Danger.
Absolute danger.
Yet strangely-
She smiled.
Because she finally understood.
The person standing before her truly existed beyond everything she knew.
Vlox looked at her.
Then quietly spoke.
"Origin Authority."
The battlefield became silent.
Even reality seemed afraid.
Then he uttered a single word.
"Nothing."
No explosion occurred.
No light appeared.
No sound existed.
Everything simply ceased.
Astraith’s ultimate attack vanished.
Her Dominion vanished.
The battlefield vanished.
Reality vanished.
Only Vlox remained.
And Astraith finally understood the gap between them.
It was immeasurable.
Not because she was weak.
But because Vlox existed on a completely different level.
A level beyond her imagination.
Several moments later, reality slowly reconstructed itself.
The battlefield returned.
The stars returned.
Existence returned.
The battle was over.
Astraith slowly fell to one knee.
Defeated.
Yet smiling.
Because for the first time in fifteen hundred years-
She had no regrets.
She had finally found the person she was searching for.
Vlox approached her.
Then extended his hand.
"How was the fight?"
Astraith looked up.
A blush slowly appeared on her face.
Then she smiled.
A genuine smile.
"It was everything I hoped for."
And perhaps...
Much more.