"A flawed Way is nothing compared to the real one. Why do you insist on fighting me? Time waits for no one, and you don't have the chance to do anything about it. Answer me, how did the portal end up in your hands?"

  A pen of light forms over Elder Ash's hands, reacting with the moon illusion behind him, and one by one, small stars begin to appear around him. Eventually, 20 stars form and a change occurs in his Way, the moon grows in size and its pressure grows with it.

  Serene Will clenches her teeth and holds her sword firmly without backing down.

  "You are just an obstacle I must overcome, through you I will discover what I am lacking."

  Around her, a blurred illusion can be seen, Serene Will does not meet the requirements, manifesting her Way fully is impossible, but this small change brings substantial changes to her body.

  Looking at the environment from her third-person view, Serene Will knows she can only manifest her Way for a single moment, and when that happens...

  "Moonlight."

  Elder Ash creates intricate patterns in the air with his pen, and the next instant, Serene Will is surprised. Dozens of sword cuts head towards her from all places and directions, cracks emerge from the ground releasing light magic, a single mistake could cost her life.

  On the other side of the battle, Elder Cloud scorns Coldness Divine for not being able to answer his question.

  "Is that weak man even good for anything? Why do you bring him along?"

  From their previous exchange, Elder Cloud can predict the relationship of these four hunters, the odd thing is that man is the lowest level in their group. Being expelled from the battle implies his incompetence, does he have no honor? Being defended by his own women.

  "Human, I'm surprised you've reached such a position maintaining your ignorance. Trying to understand everything will leave you with nothing, but it seems too late now."

  Coldness Divine's arrogant smile completely infuriates Elder Cloud. Is he nothing? You respond to kindness with insolence!

  "Little dragon, you misunderstand me."

  Elder Cloud unsheathes his sword, and the next instant, an extraordinary phenomenon occurs over his body. Golden armor protects him, but that's not all, a crown appears on his head, immediately his aura changes.

  "That man is your limiter. I've never heard of a hunter like you being able to manifest her Way at such an early level, it's incomplete, yes, but it makes me wonder. What will it be like when it meets the conditions?"

  He moves just one step, but Coldness Divine clenches her teeth. 'What's with that speed?! Our distance decreased so much with just one step!'

  Elder Cloud smiles and swings his sword. "King."

  The next instant, everything in front of him distorts and a huge crack forms in the ground. Had she not anticipated his attack and dodged promptly, Coldness Divine would have suffered mortal wounds.

  "But it's too late, you're married. If that man doesn't die, you'll never fulfill your destiny."

  "You know nothing!"

  Coldness Divine's Way may be incomplete, but unlike everyone present, even the elders, she is the one with the closest contact with it.

  Elder Cloud attacks again with his sword, but then his eyes widen.

  Coldness Divine appears in front of him in just an instant.

  "Teleportation?!"

  "You'll die without knowing the answer."

  From her fan emerge extraordinary flames, each reflecting an illusion, if one keeps sight of them for a while one will lose the mind and sense of reality.

  Elder Cloud uses his King Way to confront the instantaneous teleportations of Coldness Divine without understanding their origin. If this really were her ability, he would be able to predict her direction as long as his King Way continues to manifest, but he still can't counter it! Its origin differs from real teleportation!

  Lawrence takes a deep breath watching their battle from a distance.

  "Time?"

  Instinctively he can obtain the answer. "Is Coldness Divine's Way related to time?"

  He clearly remembers that when Coldness Divine fell in love with him, she had to dispose of her Dominance Way because it was no longer possible to maintain a Way that did not represent her. This prevented her from being under anyone, anyone at all, but after accepting Lawrence as her man, her Way would eventually fracture.

  "She said she would use that opportunity to create a Way more perfect than the former, but… this…"

  The battle continues, without anyone being able to hear his words.

  Elder Cloud uses his King Way to make his will absolute, no matter how slight, as long as it is an attack, everything around him will be destroyed. If it is a command, it must be obeyed completely, whether ally or foe, but none of this is effective against Coldness Divine!

  "Who are you? What grudge do you hold against my sect?"

  Coldness Divine mocks him. "Do I need a reason to kill?"

  "Each of you dragons, more arrogant than the last!"

  All his attacks destroy the surrounding environment, but Coldness Divine always appears in front of him, dodging the destruction and counterattacking with her strange flames. Elder Cloud hurriedly avoids her attacks, but his golden armor begins to lose consistency, returning to an illusion.

  Lawrence knows that their battle will not end soon, so he turns his attention to Serene Will.

  "Moonlight."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Elder Ash moves his pen, drawing in the air, each of his strokes becoming a reality filled with moonlight. His affinity is light magic, but by merging it with his Way, all his magics advance to the next level.

  A blade hundreds of meters long illuminates the surroundings, falling from the sky and cutting everything tangible in this world, regardless of its material.

  Serene Will again avoids his attack without even harming her body with the collateral effects of the devastation. Elder Ash frowns, it is not the first time he has launched an attack without form, without prior notice, but that woman always manages to elude them as if she knew beforehand what would happen.

  "I am surprised that a woman with such talent appears in the Divine Plane without even having heard her name before. Serene Will, why do you insist on making me your enemy?"

  His words may be spoken with majesty, but he does not stop the movement of his pen, attacking at the slightest opportunity.

  "Ha! Stopping me now will not solve anything, if you think you can create a gap between us, go ahead, try."

  The gap she talks about does not refer to combat, but to her relationship with her husband and his women.

  She continues, "No matter how much distance there is between us, we cannot rid ourselves of what binds us. You ask that I save myself and leave the others behind, but that is impossible."

  From Serene Will's gaze, Elder Ash understands that there is a backstory that prevents her from stopping this misunderstanding and clarifying the situation. Whether the origin lies in the present or the past, creating a gap in their relationship and being able to rescue what can be saved, is not something that can be considered.

  He sighs noticeably and then his gaze meets that of Elder Cloud.

  "Probing her talents has shaken my beliefs… There is no limit to what is established, eh. Even as an elder, I did not expect to find the understanding of my Way in this place."

  Both Serene Will and Coldness Divine hold onto their weapons, in front of them, both elders are revealing a power much greater than they have been showing since the start of the battle.

  "We have come to this place with a purpose." This time it is Elder Cloud who continues his words. "The feeling is bitter, believe it or not, but we can no longer prolong this encounter. The sect is soon to arrive, if I wish to consolidate my position, if they see that you are still alive it will cause irreparable damage to my name."

  While Elder Ash's pen acquires designs of constellations, the crown and aura of Elder Cloud acquire a nobility unparalleled.

  "King."

  "Moonlight."

  The manifestation of their Ways reaches the pinnacle of their current level, the moon looks more real than ever and the night expands its territory, while the architecture of the palace concentrates a majesty difficult to match.

  "Disappear."

  Elder Cloud's sword destroys the very air, the environment collapses preventing any entity from existing near him.

  In the distance and without a word, Elder Ash draws in front of him and then feathers begin to fall from the sky like rain, each reflecting a nostalgia and sadness that shakes the depths of their being.

  When they thought nothing could stop their attacks, the environment trembles, like a natural disaster destroying everything in its path.

  Countless vines emerge from the ground and merge forming two giant trees, strangely flowers of different types sprout from their branches and trunks. When both attacks imbued in their Ways attack these trees, both resist on equal terms.

  Smiling, Sky Petal shouts. "Now!"

  "Heaven's Division!"

  For a moment, the illusion behind Serene Will takes shape, there one can see a sky whose clouds are divided, as if a sword had torn the sky in two. But the most astonishing thing is not this, in that division, it is possible to observe a fissure, within which lies a world beyond the sky.

  "Forgotten Memories."

  Coldness Divine's Way is the strangest of all, it is intrinsically related to time and the illusion it represents is a book, a book whose words are written in an ancient language. Its pages move forward or backward depending on the intention of its master.

  Elder Ash tries to counteract Serene Will's attack, but without knowing when, a line of blood forms on his neck.

  "Cough!"

  His pen and his Way disintegrate into particles of light, he falls from the sky posing no threat.

  "W- What the hell?"

  Elder Cloud cannot believe what he sees in front of his eyes. There, a second Coldness Divine appears mysteriously and with her fan pierces his heart without even feeling a pinch of pain. He tries everything possible to prevent this illusion from becoming reality, but then his limbs begin to divide like pieces of crystals.

  His consciousness is lost in that instant and with it the palace disappears.

  For a moment Coldness Divine's gaze meets the eyes of the illusory Coldness Divine, this is something she had not planned, behind those eyes seems to lie something that even she cannot decipher. Once it disappears, she sighs and forgets what happened.

  In the face of this turn of events, Lawrence is glad and begins to laugh. It is then that he turns around and notices something strange.

  "A palanquin?"

  These single words cause chills in Coldness Divine.

  "Careful!"

  Immediately she uses her Way to its fullest, regardless of reaching the extremes of sacrificing her Way if it is for the sake of her beloved, but the event becomes even more heartbreaking when she sees in slow motion how a sword cut divides Lawrence's body in two.

  When he falls to the ground, her Way fades into the air and Coldness Divine weakens due to the side effect, coughing up blood. Even so, her wounds are nothing compared to seeing Lawrence's life disappearing before her eyes.

  "I've destroyed your limiter, you have nothing to worry about now."

  Beside her appears Elder Cloud. Contrary to the illusion, all his limbs are in place except his right arm, cut from his shoulder. The wound that should have destroyed his heart, instead destroyed his chest.

  The palace reappears once more, it is thanks to his Way that he still manages to stay alive despite his wounds.

  He looks indifferently at Coldness Divine. "I still can't decide whether to have you under me or use your dragon body as refining material, but well, I have time to think."

  "Bastard--!"

  "Shhh, quiet."

  His strike brings with it the order of a King. Coldness Divine, without her Way, could not resist this order and falls to the ground losing her consciousness.

  Then a light catches his attention and he smiles. "I thought you were dead."

  Serene Will wants to respond just like Coldness Divine, but rings of light emerge around her body from all directions, with no distance between them. Her body is divided by each of them, leaving her no time to respond.

  When the moonlight disappears, Serene Will's body is divided into small fragments.

  On the ground, Elder Ash clumsily rises while swallowing one medicinal pill after another. Had he not consumed a medicinal pill at the very moment his neck was about to be cut, the story would be very different.

  "I do not wish to repeat that experience-- Ha! It seems I was not the only one alive."

  Before Serene Will touches the ground, a golden light emerges from her body. Her wounds begin to heal at a great speed.

  She regains consciousness and observes from a distance.

  "Lawrence…"

  But his gaze does not meet hers.

  Lawrence says: "Sky… Petal."

  When called, she leaves everything aside and heads towards Lawrence. She is horrified to see how his body is divided in two, even more so how he manages to stay alive using his sacred magic.

  "I hear you Lawrence."

  "There is a way to… end them without this happening. It's stupid how… I didn't think of it before…"

  He coughs up mouthfuls of blood with each of his words. Sky Petal listens to each of them, and at the end of these, she nods.

  "I will pass on your words."

  The golden light disappears from his body and that of Serene Will, as soon as this happens, he closes his eyes.

  Lawrence has died.

  "I don't understand why he used his last breath in that way, that woman is nowhere near being saved. What do you think he was--?"

  Elder Cloud stops his words when he sees Elder Ash shaking his head.

  "Let them, they've already lost the battle." Elder Ash sighs and then narrows his eyes. "Why hasn't the sect arrived yet? How far did that man send the portal?"

  Sky Petal walks calmly and stops in front of Serene Will. She, like Lawrence, is beyond salvation. Lawrence simply bought her a few seconds of life, time she is not willing to waste.

  Serene Will sees Sky Petal and smiles, not taking long to use this valuable time wisely.

  "Sky, there is more than one... They exist for those who... observe them."

  "I will pass on your words."

  She takes her last breath and then closes her eyes.

  Serene Will has died.

  "What will you do next? I was surprised by that ability you demonstrated with those trees, it's unthinkable how without a Way you can--"

  This time it is Elder Ash who stops his words, interrupted by the phenomenon that happens behind that woman.

  An illusion appears behind Sky Petal and, unlike Serene Will and Coldness Divine, she manifests her Way perfectly.

  "Shall we begin?"

  Her face reflects an emotion rarely shown.