(T/N): Okay I have updated the way I will be addressing them, refer back to the previous chapter at the top to see along with some extra info
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Spark... stop... must..."
From the Flame Reaver's charred body, a high temperature capable of incinerating souls erupted.
Two forces, originating from the same source yet vastly different, collided with a resounding boom at the pinnacle of the Divine Enlightenment Tree Court.
There were no superfluous words.
the Flame Reaver waved his left hand, and the space behind him twisted. Eight gray phantom doppelgangers, identical to him, roared out, exuding murderous intent.
At the same instant, Phainon made the exact same movement.
Eight more substantial black-robed phantoms met them head-on.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sixteen phantoms engaged in fierce combat, each collision producing a dull sonic boom.
Sword lights intersected, tearing through the air and leaving deep slashes on the massive tree canopy platform.
The entire battle devolved into a dazzling gray storm.
And at the center of the storm, the battle between the two main bodies reached an inconceivable level.
the Flame Reaver's figure ripped through space, suddenly appearing behind Phainon. His Dawnbreaker, carrying the obsession to incinerate all things, chopped down.
Phainon didn't even turn his head, parrying with an upward slash of his sword.
Clang—!
The sword edge precisely blocked the opponent's attack, and the sparks that flew off left a dark trail of spatial cracks in the air.
Burning body temperature, identical techniques.
Whether it was the space-tearing teleportation or the mountain-shattering cleave, the two were like mirror images of each other.
This was battle instinct accumulated over thirty million cycles, etched deep into their souls.
Neither could break the other's moves.
This was not a battle at all, but an indecisive dance of mirrors.
"What... what exactly is going on?"
Trianne fluttered her small wings, suspended in mid-air, completely dumbfounded.
The scene before her had entirely surpassed her understanding.
"Don't just stand there, hurry and go!"
Stelle yanked Anaxa off the ground, slung him onto her back, then reached out with her other hand and directly pulled the stunned Trianne into her embrace.
"I'll explain everything to you later!"
Before she finished speaking, she pushed off with her feet, charging towards the edge of the platform.
Boom—!
Behind them, an earth-shattering roar echoed, and the entire ground shook.
The giant tree that supported the heavens and earth groaned under the strain of this terrifying battle between "the Flame Reaver and Phainon," and countless enormous branches and leaves snapped and fell.
"Damn it!"
Stelle cursed under her breath, pulling out her Flame lance without hesitation and slamming it into the ground, barely stabilizing herself.
Immediately, a circle of warm flames enveloped her, and an invisible shield blocked the falling debris and branches.
Castorice looked in surprise at the flames covering her, a warm power protecting her body.
"Your Excellency, these flames... they're so warm."
"Yes, they are." Trianne also felt the pure power of protection, a warmth that seemed to come from the sky.
"Enough talk, let's go!" Stelle, carrying Anaxa on her back, moved with lightning speed, "If we don't leave now, those two are really going to tear this place apart!"
The group ran frantically along the violently shaking tree trunk until they rushed out of the Divine Enlightenment Tree Court's area and reached a relatively safe cliff, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Stelle put Anaxa down, then leaned against a rock and sank to the ground, gasping for breath.
"I should have called Dan Heng to come with me... No, he still needs to research how to deal with those old fogeys in The Senate," she muttered to herself.
Beside her, Castorice remained silent for a long time, but finally couldn't hold back.
She looked at Stelle, her eyes complex.
Stelle had indeed ignored her 'death' authority and directly touched her.
But the more crucial question was... why were there two identical black-robed figures?
Moreover, the black-robed figure who appeared later seemed to be Stelle's partner!
She wanted to speak several times, but seeing Stelle's tired appearance, she swallowed her words.
"When you find a problem, you should be brave enough to explore it."
Anaxa's weak voice sounded. He leaned against the rock wall, his sharp gaze first sweeping over the hesitant Castorice, finally firmly locking onto Stelle.
"Those two... unbelievably powerful black-robed figures up there, what exactly is going on?"
Stelle sighed deeply, a look of world-weariness on her face.
"This matter... it's a long story, and it goes back a very, very long time. We'd best return to Okhema first, and I will tell everyone the truth."
—
Meanwhile, at the pinnacle of the Divine Enlightenment Tree Court.
The battle between Phainon and the Flame Reavercontinued.
Their strengths were already evenly matched, each move and strike honed by thirty million cycles.
However, Phainon was, after all, different.
His cycle, from the moment he encountered the Astral Express, had already embarked on a completely new path.
On this path, he was no longer alone.
He had his companions from the Express crew, and the company of the Chrysos Heirs.
If the journey of flame chasing was a journey of constant loss, then the journey of trailblazing was a journey of constant gain!
Erudition, The Hunt, Harmony, Nihility... the glances of countless paths had built a foundation within him far beyond the Flame Reaver's imagination.
The next instant, he was no longer confined to mere sword skills. He snapped his fingers and unleashed the authority of Omniscience and Omnipotence.
Within this area, all unknowns became a hundred percent probable pre-enactment.
And then.
[Emotional Threshold: 700%]
Phainon entered a semi-complete burning state.
Boom!
A cluster of golden flames ignited from his white hair with a roar, and his pupils turned the color of molten gold.
Immediately after, his right arm, which held the sword, along with that Dawnbreaker, were both set ablaze by the scorching flames!
No longer an imitation, no longer a duel of the same origin.
This was an authority unique to The Hunt.
the Flame Reaver's movements, for the first time, showed a pause. "Power... strange... not mine..."
He mumbled, yet simultaneously raised both his ritual sword and the Dawnbreaker, charging towards Phainon.
Phainon tightly gripped his Dawnbreaker with his left hand, meeting the charge with ferocity.
This sword strike was no longer mere power and speed.
Within it, contained the calculation of Omniscience and the lock-on of The Hunt!
Boom—
A powerful energy clash, and the entire giant tree vibrated once more!
Once all the dust settled.
the Flame Reaver and Phainon had swapped positions.
the Flame Reaver slowly turned his head.
Crack—
His mask shattered in response, scattering into countless fragments.
Revealing, beneath the mask, a face that could no longer be called a "face" at all.
That face was like porcelain that had been smashed countless times, then haphazardly pieced back together, covered in cracks and charred holes, no longer resembling a human in the slightest.
The golden flames around Phainon slowly receded.
He then removed his own mask.
Beneath the mask was a face of flawless beauty, as if crafted by a god.
The two faces—one shattered like a hellish scorched earth, the other perfect like a heavenly icon—formed an extreme and cruel contrast.
"Who... exactly?"
the Flame Reaver's hoarse, broken voice, for the first time, was filled with pure confusion.
"Strength... not... Phainon..."
"You shouldn't ask who I am," Phainon's voice was calm and gentle. "You should recall, what else was the obsession that sustained you through over thirty million cycles, besides preventing re-creation?"
the Flame Reaver's hollow eye sockets met Phainon's ice-blue eyes.
He had never forgotten.
A hopeful prophecy, whispered repeatedly in the delirium of over thirty million cycles of despair:
"Thou shalt bear the scorching sun, until the gray dawn appears."
"Gray... hero!"
"She has already arrived." Phainon's gaze pierced through time and space, falling upon the figure of the gray-haired girl on the distant cliff.
"And you have already met her. I, in the name of 'Phainon,' assure you, she is the answer we have awaited for over thirty million cycles."
"She will carry our hope to the next cycle. In the next cycle, Amphoreus will usher in the true dawn!"
He looked at this self, who had struggled in pain for countless The Power of Years, and continued:
"Now, stop."
"We still have many enemies to resolve; I need your strength."
the Flame Reaver's body trembled, and he asked hoarsely, "We...? And... who else?"
Phainon's gaze turned towards Okhema.
"Phainon of this cycle."