Chapter 314 -: 313 Crisis?
"Next dream?"
Julius echoed, his voice carrying unmistakable disdain as a contemptuous smile slowly spread across his face. Although he stood within her realm, he had no intention of denying the truth she had spoken.
She was right.
This place belonged entirely to the Ice Queen. The endless world surrounding him had been born from her Domain, a prison woven from dreams where reality itself bent according to her will.
Once someone was trapped inside, they would continue drifting through one dream after another until either their mind broke completely or they forgot the reason they had ever struggled in the first place.
Escaping such a prison was never easy. Domains were absolute manifestations of one’s will, and the only reliable method of resisting one was with another Domain of equal strength.
Unfortunately, Julius possessed no such power.
He had yet to undergo the Heavenly Trials, meaning he had never awakened a Domain of his own.
Fighting her through brute force was impossible. Even so, impossible did not mean hopeless. Every dream, no matter how flawless it appeared, possessed an origin.
It always required something to sustain its existence, a single point that anchored the illusion together.
As long as that anchor remained intact, the dream could continue endlessly, but once it was destroyed, the entire construct would inevitably collapse.
Julius’ eyes narrowed as the answer became painfully obvious. The anchor of this dream was Lyra herself. More precisely, it was the fragment of her soul maintaining the illusion from within.
Destroying this version of Lyra would inflict immense damage upon her soul in the real world, enough to disrupt the Domain and leave her unable to continue weaving dreams. It was a brutal solution, but it was the only one available.
A cruel smile slowly widened across his face as his fingers tightened around her throat with even greater force.
"Let’s see how you escape me now," he said quietly, his voice devoid of pity.
His grip became increasingly merciless, crushing not only her physical form within the dream but striking directly at the soul sustaining it.
Agonizing pain surged through Lyra’s entire being, forcing the mocking smile from her lips almost instantly. Her eyes widened before turning bloodshot as cracks of pain spread across her expression.
Instinctively, she clawed desperately at Julius’ arm while her legs kicked wildly beneath her, trying to create even the slightest distance between them.
Yet every attempt was meaningless. Within this dream, she possessed no magic, and none of the overwhelming strength she wielded in reality.
Because of the nature of the illusion, she existed only as an ordinary woman.
The absolute ruler of the dream had willingly restricted herself to maintain its authenticity, leaving behind nothing but a fragile human body incapable of resisting the monstrous strength Julius now displayed.
Julius watched her futile struggle with growing satisfaction, the corners of his lips stretching into a grin that bordered on madness.
"What happened?" he sneered.
"You can’t do anything now, can you?"
The arrogance she had displayed only moments earlier had completely disappeared beneath the pain ravaging her soul, and for an instant, Julius truly believed victory was already within his grasp.
However, the confidence on his face disappeared just as quickly when Lyra suddenly smiled once more.
Despite the agony twisting her features, a calm, knowing smile slowly returned to her lips, carrying the certainty of someone who had already accepted the outcome.
"Indeed... I can’t do anything," she whispered through strained breaths. "But don’t forget... this isn’t my real body."
As those words left her mouth, she slowly lifted one trembling hand toward Julius’ chest.
The movement itself appeared harmless, yet the instant her fingers approached the center of his sternum, Julius’ face lost all color.
In that single moment, he understood exactly what she was doing. Although the body before him was merely a projection within the dream, her true body still existed outside, maintaining the Domain.
By reproducing the actions of her real self through the illusion, she had established a perfect synchronization between the two.
The hand reaching toward his chest within the dream was no illusion at all. It mirrored the movement already taking place in reality.
Realizing he had only an instant left, Julius acted without the slightest hesitation. His fingers tightened violently before twisting with overwhelming force.
A sharp crack echoed throughout the workshop as Lyra’s neck snapped instantly, her body falling limp in his grasp. Yet even as life faded from her eyes, Julius knew he had been too late.
****
Outside the dream, Jasmine stood frozen at the edge of the arena, unable to tear her eyes away from the two motionless figures standing upon the shattered battlefield.
Kavin remained perfectly still, his body completely frozen in place as though time itself had abandoned him.
A short distance away stood Lyra, equally motionless after invoking her Domain only minutes earlier.
To everyone watching, almost nothing had happened since then. Only a few minutes had passed in the real world, yet for reasons Jasmine couldn’t explain, an unbearable sense of unease continued growing inside her chest.
Every instinct she possessed warned her that something terrible was unfolding beyond what anyone present could perceive.
"What’s happening...?" she whispered under her breath, her eyes never leaving the arena.
Earlier, Lyra had unleashed her Domain, and the moment it enveloped Kavin, he had become completely unresponsive.
Jasmine understood almost nothing about Domains beyond their terrifying reputation, but she knew they weren’t battles fought through ordinary means.
They were clashes of consciousness and will, conflicts invisible to everyone standing outside.
She couldn’t see what Kavin was experiencing, nor could she help him even if she wanted to. All she could do was watch.
Yet the longer she stared, the stronger the feeling of urgency became. It coiled around her heart like an invisible hand, refusing to loosen its grip no matter how many times she tried convincing herself everything would be fine.
Then, without warning, Lyra moved.
Her battered body, already covered in countless injuries from their earlier battle, took a slow, deliberate step forward.
Then another. Every movement appeared heavy, as though she were carrying an unimaginable burden, yet she continued advancing until she stood directly before the motionless Kavin.
Jasmine’s heart sank. A dreadful possibility surfaced within her mind. Was it over? Had Kavin already lost inside the Domain?
If Lyra chose to end the battle now, there would be nothing anyone could do to stop her. The moment she placed a blade against his throat, everything they had risked to reach this point would come crashing down.
Their plans involving the 101 Treasure Tower would become meaningless, forcing them into an even more dangerous situation with no guarantee of survival.
Lyra slowly raised her hand.
Her long, pale fingers extended toward Kavin’s chest before gently pressing against the center of his sternum.
The instant Jasmine saw that simple motion, her entire world crumbled.