Chapter 220
The green was not the color of material explosive destruction.
The massive detonation that followed did not originate from TNT or an atomic bomb, but from the release of life energy that was so primordial, so pure, and so diametrically opposed to all of Aldraya's decay and distortion.
"Beyond its elemental power."
The bright green radiating from the back of Ilux's hand was not merely a new element or a variation of the five primordial elements he had already displayed.
It was the manifestation of something deeper, more fundamental, and beyond any category.
This was the true power that formed the foundation of all of Ilux Rediona's elemental abilities.
Often misunderstood as a sixth element, this power was in truth not a "thing" that could be classified at all, but a principle, a meta-ability that governed and transcended every rule.
That power was called the Alteration of Perception.
Its essence was not the direct manipulation of matter or energy, but mastery over how reality is understood, accepted, and acknowledged by everything within it.
Its user, in this case Ilux, could in theory do anything, dominate anything, and tear apart any order.
However, there existed one absolute limitation that could not be crossed.
He had to understand, with indisputable clarity, the true limit of the power he was facing.
This power was not a baseless wish-granting machine, but a final instrument that could only be used perfectly when understanding of the opponent had reached its absolute peak.
The fact that Ilux had now brought this ability to the surface was a statement that shook the battlefield.
It meant that through the entire battle, through observing conceptual erasure, elemental absorption, and reality distortion performed by Aldraya, Ilux had arrived at a conclusion of inner certainty.
He had mapped, analyzed, and ultimately understood that Aldraya's limits could not exceed what had already been shown.
He had found the edge of the abyss of his master's darkness, and from there, he could dictate the perception of what was possible next.
And the application he chose was the Siphoning Illusion.
This was one of countless ways the Alteration of Perception could manifest.
With this ability, Ilux could impose a "reality" in which he possessed the power to absorb anything he desired.
This was not ordinary energy absorption like what he had previously performed or attempted to block.
This was conceptual absorption, in which properties, power, essence, and perhaps even Aldraya's own suffering and distortion could be siphoned and claimed or neutralized, all based on the new perception Ilux forced into the framework of this battle's reality.
"Devotion."
Ilux's intent had reached a clear and bold point.
He no longer intended merely to wound or restrain.
His objective was now forced extraction, a radical intervention meant to heal or at least strip away the source of madness.
His focus was fixed on the writhing flesh enveloping Aldraya, a vicious organic structure that was not merely physical armor, but the embodiment of suffering, distortion, and inner screams calling out their own name from within the soul of his master.
He intended to siphon it, to tear it out by the roots, along with the entire insane energy system that animated it.
All preparations had been completed.
The golden chain coated in black fire bound tightly, restricting physical movement and attempting to suppress energy.
The golden wind carrying pulsar remnants continued to pour down, applying relentless cosmic and spiritual pressure.
And most importantly, the Siphoning Illusion had been activated, reaching out, grasping, and preparing to siphon approximately nine percent of the core "something" that had turned Aldraya into what he was now.
It was a critical percentage, enough to destabilize the structure of darkness and potentially open a path for Aldraya's original consciousness to resurface.
Yet, on the brink of success, Aldraya delivered his final response.
From his distorted mouth or the core of his existence, another word was spoken, with pressure and conviction deeper and denser than before.
'Devotion!'
The word was not merely an utterance.
It was a supreme command, a declaration of allegiance that incinerated all doubt and interference.
As the word was released, everything exploded.
Not an ordinary physical explosion spreading outward from Aldraya's body, but a horrifying release of momentum concentrated around the point where he stood.
The resulting detonation was so overwhelming, so absolute, that the universe within the domain itself seemed reluctant, or even incapable, of rejecting the instruction contained within it.
The obedience of nature to the principle of "Devotion" spoken by Aldraya instead amplified the explosion itself.
A terrifying paradox was born.
The detonation itself occurred only once, but because the already-subjugated reality echoed and repeated the command, the sound of the explosion reverberated many times over, filling every crevice of space and time within the domain, creating a symphony of destruction born from a piety that had transformed into the most final weapon of annihilation.
"Everything is within grasp."
When the final "Devotion!" erupted from the depths of Aldraya's existence, its impact surpassed all physical expectations.
The air around him did not merely tremble or shake—it came alive, pumped by the pulse of an ancient and vast consciousness.
The sound itself was not just a pressure wave striking the eardrums.
It was a primordial trumpet, a call that awakened cellular memory, genetic recollection within every particle, atom, and spirit inside the distorted domain.
Every being, from dust to Ilux's own consciousness, was instantly reminded of its origin, connected to a greater order, a cosmic hierarchy long forgotten amid the chaos of battle.
The horrifying momentum released was not meant to destroy or annihilate.
Its purpose was deeper and more terrifying.
It sought to confirm.
An absolute acknowledgment.
Moments after the sound wave propagated, every particle around Aldraya—dust, energy, the remaining light—began to glow with a dim, gently pulsing light.
That light pulsed in unison, a slow and profound rhythm resembling the heartbeat of the universe itself, a truth once unseen but now forced into manifestation.
Ilux's golden chain, which bound Aldraya so tightly, began to vibrate violently.
The vibration did not originate from physical impact or brute attempts at escape.
It emerged from within, from each individual link.
Every metal ring suddenly "remembered."
They remembered that their base material, the noble metal, was originally stardust expelled from a supernova explosion.
And that stardust itself was part of a vast cosmic cycle, an order of birth, life, and death that existed under the authority, or at least the supervision, of something higher.
In this moment, that authority was held by Aldraya as he proclaimed his "Devotion."
The chain was no longer a tool of imprisonment, but a trembling witness, realizing its own chain of command.
At the peak of this cosmic resonance, Ilux's Siphoning Illusion suffered total failure.
It no longer found any "target" that could be absorbed.
Instead, it encountered a powerful backflow of existence.
A collective consciousness from all that had ever lived, was living, and would live whispered to him with a single voice that sounded like a low rumble from the depths of time.
The whisper said.
'We are under his supervision.'
This was a declaration of ownership and supreme authority.
To be continued…