Rein had been fighting his reflection for hours.
The Lost Forest had become a battlefield of shattered earth, broken trees, and deep craters. The area surrounding them had been devastated by the repeated collisions of Dominion energy, yet neither combatant had managed to secure a decisive victory.
Every technique Rein used was answered, every law he imposed was countered. Even when he managed to gain the upper hand, his reflection would find a way to turn the situation around.
It was as though he were fighting against a version of himself that had already experienced every possible move he could make.
Rein stood in the middle of the battlefield, breathing heavily. His golden eyes remained fixed on the figure standing several meters away. The reflection looked just as exhausted as he did Yet neither showed any intention of giving up.
Rein reached for the upper clothing David had given him and pulled it over his head. He tossed it onto a nearby rock, then rolled his shoulders as he studied his opponent.
"You represent my limit," Rein said, a faint smile appearing on his face. "It's impressive and kinda pathetic at the same time."
The reflection remained silent and Rein lowered his stance. "The only thing left to do now is surpass my limits." The two moved simultaneously. Their feet struck the ground, and the distance between them disappeared. Both planted their left feet forward and their right feet backward, settling into nearly identical fighting stances.
Their fists moved at the same instant, The first punch connected. Then came the second. Neither attempted to retreat. Their fists collided repeatedly as they exchanged blows at a pace that would have been impossible for an ordinary person to follow. Rein attacked with his left, followed with his right, shifted his weight, and immediately launched another combination.
His reflection mirrored every movement.
Their exchanges became a blur. One minute passed. Then another. In the span of two minutes, they had thrown a thousand punches at one another neither had gained a decisive advantage.
Their fists finally collided against each other's faces, sending both fighters staggering backward.
Rein barely moved he stepped forward. His right fist drove upward beneath the reflection's chin, lifting it off the ground. Before it could recover, Rein's left fist struck its right side. His right followed immediately, connecting with the opposite side. The reflection's body twisted in the air.
Rein rotated his hips and drove his right foot into its torso.
The kick sent the reflection flying into the forest. It crashed through several trees before landing on its feet. Rein was already moving. He dashed after it, his golden eyes fixed on his target but the reflection raised its hand, Dominion energy spread through the space around Rein.
Area Lock…the law seized his movement. Rein's body stopped in midair and the reflection appeared directly in front of him. A kick struck beneath Rein's chin. His body flipped backward.
Before he could regain his balance, the reflection turned and drove another kick into his side.
The impact sent Rein through several trees. He finally came to a halt after crashing into the ground. For several seconds, the forest remained quiet then Rein moved. He pushed himself upright, one hand resting against the ground. A small amount of blood escaped his mouth.
He spat it onto the dirt and wiped his lips with the back of his hand.
"Seriously," he muttered. "You're annoying." He straightened up but something changed. Golden Dominion energy began emanating from his body. At first, it was little more than a faint glow. Then it expanded, spreading across the battlefield as the air itself seemed to grow heavier. Rein's eyes turned gold.
His short golden hair began to grow, extending upward as his power surged.
Behind him, a spiritual silhouette appeared…It was Rein. Not a separate being or another reflection. It was a manifestation of the Dominion God whose power had become part of him.
The silhouette stood silently behind Rein, its presence stretching across the forest.
Rein looked toward his opponent. His expression had changed, he was no longer thinking about how to defeat the reflection using the abilities he had already mastered. He was thinking about what those abilities actually were.
Dominion energy….He remembered the conclusion he had reached during his battle with Var.
Dominion was connected to laws. It could establish conditions, impose restrictions, and dictate what could or could not happen within a designated area but he had always approached it as a power that manipulated existing rules.
"What if that understanding had been incomplete? If Dominion energy is the same as law energy..." Rein slowly opened his right hand."Then I'll just impose my rules on reality." The spiritual silhouette behind him brightened as Rein stepped forward. The ground shattered beneath his foot.
"Law of Speed." He vanished. The reflection didn't even realize it had been struck. One moment, it stood in the middle of the forest. The next, its body was flying across the enormous region of the Lost Forest. Trees shattered in its path, the ground broke apart beneath it. It crossed a vast distance before finally managing to regain control of its body, twisting in midair and landing on the ground.
The reflection immediately looked around but Rein was nowhere to be seen. It turned toward the sky. Nothing…It searched the surrounding forest, Nothing. Its senses stretched outward, attempting to detect the Dominion energy that had struck it but Rein had already disappeared from its perception.
Then suddenly it felt a Pressure. An immense presence emerged behind it. The reflection turned and Rein stood directly behind it. His golden eyes met its own. For the first time since its existence began, the reflection experienced something it had never encountered before.
Fear. It couldn't understand the sensation. It had copied Rein's techniques. It had replicated his abilities. It had countered his laws. Yet now, standing before the original, it felt an instinctive need to retreat by taking a step backward but Rein moved first.
His right hand seized the reflection's face. The grip was firm. The reflection struggled, but the pressure surrounding it prevented it from escaping. Rein studied its expression. "So you can feel fear, huh?" His golden eyes narrowed. "Interesting."
The spiritual silhouette behind him raised its head. Golden energy gathered around Rein's hand.
"Authority of Dominion — Law Creation: Golden Erasure." Golden flames erupted. They spread across the reflection's body, engulfing it completely. The reflection attempted to counter the attack. It summoned Dominion energy.
It tried to establish a law, It attempted to cancel the flames but Rein's authority had already imposed a new condition upon its existence. The golden fire continued burning.
The reflection's body began disappearing. Its form dissolved beneath the flames, leaving nothing behind. The battlefield fell silent.
Rein released his hand. The spiritual silhouette faded behind him and his golden hair gradually returned to its original length, and the intense pressure surrounding his body receded.
He glanced around. The forest stretched across the horizon, its landscape altered by the battle.
Rein looked toward the region where he had first fought the reflection.
Then he blinked and the world shifted. In the next instant, he was standing exactly where he had begun. The distance he had crossed was enormous, yet returning had required nothing more than a single movement. Rein looked down at his palms. "So that's what Authority is like..." He slowly closed his fingers.
"It's the ability to affect the fundamental structure of existence." His eyes lifted toward the sky.
"And that speed..." A faint smile appeared on his face. "I was massively faster than light." He had always known that his speed was extraordinary but this was different.
He hadn't simply accelerated his body. He had imposed a law upon reality, allowing his movement to transcend the restrictions that had previously defined it. For a moment, Rein remained silent. Then he sensed something in the distance…a dark cloud was forming far beyond his battlefield. It was enormous.
Black clouds gathered above the forest, accompanied by flashes of lightning that illuminated the surrounding sky. Rein recognized that presence immediately. He glanced toward it the he smiled faintly. "He's having the fun of his life, for sure."
The black clouds spread across the Lost Forest. Lightning flashed within them. At the center of the storm stood Eryndor Nasarik. He faced his reflection with a relaxed smile, his black hair moving gently in the wind. The reflection stood several meters away neither spoke. Eryndor raised his right palm.
Then he pulled it downward and the sky answered. Multiple bolts of lightning descended from the black clouds. The reflection immediately moved, dodging the strikes as they tore through the ground around it. The earth exploded beneath the lightning. Eryndor watched it move.
His smile widened.
The reflection lowered its stance and rushed toward him, Eryndor stepped forward. He rotated both arms in a smooth, circular motion. The movement seemed almost casual. Yet the moment his arms completed the rotation, the reflection's body abruptly shifted. Its feet left the ground.
Its entire body turned upside down, as though an invisible force had seized it and reversed its orientation. Before it could recover, Eryndor was already in front of it. He drew back his fist then punched the reflection directly in the stomach. The impact folded its body around his fist.
The reflection was launched backward, flying through the air and disappearing into the depths of the forest.
Eryndor lowered his hand. The black clouds rumbled overhead. He watched the direction in which his reflection had vanished, his expression carrying the same quiet amusement.
"Come on," he said. "We're only getting started."