Enlightenment.
It was something many people sought—a moment when the mind went beyond its usual limits and saw truths that were normally hidden.
It brought clear understanding and a strong connection to the world, where knowledge and power came together.
Many great individuals had said it was the key to fully mastering one’s abilities and reaching a higher level. But Atticus hadn’t really given it much thought before.
Now, he was realizing just how important it was—he had gained enlightenment.
It felt completely and utterly surreal, as though what he had assumed was the truth before, wasn’t.
Domain.
Atticus had been focused on forming his domain because this was what everyone told him was the next stage of power. However, Atticus had never once stopped to think that even though it was the way of the entire Ravenstein family, it didn’t mean it would apply to him as well.
Atticus had known that his bloodline was special from the moment he awakened it. Not only could he utilize multiple elements, but his connection to the elements was also unmatched. What usually took so much effort for others, was done with little to no effort by him.
These trains of thought led him to his current state.
Unleashing a domain would enable him to control the element within a certain range with absolute authority. However, so much power was wasted in creating it—power that he desperately needed now.
Even if Atticus unleashed his domain at this moment, he still wouldn’t be able to stand up to a grandmaster+ rank; the difference was simply too vast.
Atticus had no idea if it was because of desperation, but his next actions felt instinctual, as though he knew exactly what to do before he even started doing it.
The pillar of light reached the skies just below Seraphina’s massive construct and then began to unravel—its crimson edges expanding outwards in every direction, growing wider and wider, engulfing the landscape in its fiery embrace.
The ground trembled as the heat from his domain spread, igniting the air with roaring intensity.
Yet, just as the fire began to reach its peak, something changed. The air around him thickened, time itself seemed to halt, as though the world was holding its breath.
And then, all at once, the unraveling fire snapped back. In an instant, the wide-spread flames reversed course, converging back toward Atticus with terrifying speed.
The shockwave of energy surged inward, the sky darkening as every last flicker of fire was drawn to him, creating a vortex of fiery fury.
In the middle of this carnage, Atticus stood at the heart of it all, his body glowing brighter than the sun.
Every fire molecule in the vicinity clung to him, forming a radiant aura of molten orange and deep crimson, swirling around him like a living storm.
His entire form began to shift and change, his skin taking on the appearance of molten rock, his veins glowing with liquid fire as though his blood had become magma.
His hair, now wreathed in flames, crackled and danced wildly, giving him the appearance of a living inferno.
As the transformation took hold, the ground beneath him cracked and hissed, unable to withstand the raw heat radiating from his body.
His eyes blazed with the same molten glow, their intensity piercing through the thick smoke that now cloaked the area.
Atticus exhaled, thick smoke streaming from his nostrils. He had no idea where the enlightenment for this current state had come from, but instinctively, he knew the exact name to call it.
“Fire Domain Fusion.”
Elysia, along with everyone else in the area, trembled, unable to believe their eyes. Wasn’t this monster about to form his domain? What was this new form?
‘Instead of letting the energy form a domain with a certain radius, he converged the whole thing around himself, temporarily absorbing all the energy,’ Seraphina’s eyes widened.
As a paragon, her perception was too great not to understand exactly what Atticus had done. It wasn’t just about him being 16 years old anymore—no grandmaster+ rank had ever achieved such a feat.
Shrinking and absorbing the energy of a domain? The kind of unity with the element required for that was beyond imagination.
Everyone’s mind was racing, trying to comprehend the events, but Elysia wasn’t given time to think.
She suddenly met Atticus’ gaze through the thick smoke, and it was as if her mind went blank.
‘What the hell…’ Elysia tried her best to stop her body from trembling, but it was no use. The killing intent hadn’t diminished; it had multiplied, blanketing the entire scene.
Instinctively, Elysia took a step back, but a wave of force suddenly radiated out from Atticus as he unleashed his aura. It felt as though the weight of a world had descended upon her shoulders.
Her legs buckled, and as she quickly turned her gaze back towards Atticus—he was gone.
The ground where Atticus once stood suddenly imploded with such force that the entire estate quaked, as if an earthquake had struck.
The violent rumble sent cracks spider-webbing through the earth, and before Elysia could react, the deafening roar of the explosion filled her ears.
She felt it before she saw it—the sudden, unbearable pressure of killing intent bearing down on her from every direction.
Her instincts screamed at her, and without thinking, Elysia threw her body to the side. The hiss of a blade cutting through the air was the only warning she had, and a hot splash of blood filled the space where she had just stood.
“Huh?” Her mind struggled to comprehend what had just happened. She glanced down in disbelief, staring at the stump where her arm used to be.
Blood poured from the severed limb, staining the ground beneath her as her mind failed to catch up with the reality of her body’s destruction.
Elysia’s gaze locked onto the katana in Atticus’s hand, its edge gleaming crimson in the light of the flames that wreathed his body.
The air around him shimmered with intense heat, every movement trailing searing embers. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding erratically as she tried to steady herself.
But there was no time. In the next instant, a sweeping kick crashed into the side of her face with the force of a sledgehammer. The impact was catastrophic.
Her vision blurred, her world spun, and her body was hurled through the air, flames licking at her flesh as the heat scorched her skin.
The sheer force of the blow sent shockwaves through the air, parting it as she flew, her legs flailing helplessly.
