The chains coiled around him pulsed with a contradictory blend of crimson and sky blue — ice that refused to melt, fire that refused to go out. He tightened his grip on the twin Pharaonic Khopesh, and his hands moved with fluid grace — mimicking the flowing Loom threads only he could see.
[Kily: Countdown: 4:10][Ability: Potential Accumulation — Sub-atomic activation in progress.]
Every defensive lapse from Zis, every stiffening of his joints, every "probability of failure" that flickered on the horizon — Ice consumed them all. He channeled this raw chaos into a surging wave of power that set his veins on fire.
Ice's right blade launched in a horizontal arc, targeting Zis's side. The strike wasn't just fast — it was soaked in absolute uncertainty. Not the product of thought. An instinctive reaction from a body that had just recently woken to its own ferocity.
Zis (stuttering in disbelief): "How… how did you read…"
Before the sentence was finished, the impact exploded.
The pain didn't come from the steel alone — but from the concentrated molecular pressure of the fabric compressed inside the ancient hilt.
The point of contact erupted in a blazing ruby flash, hurling Zis backward several meters and leaving behind a trench of scorched ice.
Ice fixed his crystal blue gaze on his fallen opponent, his voice dripping with nihilistic cold:
"You didn't kill me, Zis… you woke me up."
Dance of Dust and Existential Frost
Zis burst into hysterical laughter, wiping a sticky blue liquid from his mouth as a darker madness ignited in his eyes:
"1%? It seems I was far too merciful, Ice… let's raise the stakes!"
The entire realm shook with the surge of the dragon's latent power.
In the eye of the storm stood Ice — wrapped in the cloak of "Superior Instinct." His white hair fluttered like shards of sharp glass. His blue eyes didn't blink — dissecting reality, perceiving the Loom's threads like cold iron bars.
The Collision: Speed of Lightning
They ignited at the same moment. Vanished from sight. In their place — violent flashes from clashing void and gold.
Crash! Scream!
The Khopesh met Zis's claws in a frantic chain of counter-attacks. Ice slid through the air as if swimming in a liquid void, evading the dragon's claws by millimeters. When Zis stumbled, Ice recoiled with a serpent's strike — which Zis blocked at the last second. Every collision generated shockwaves that tore through the Loom's balance.
Despite the ferocity, no blood was spilled from either side. This was a duel of kinetic perfection.
The Trick: Sand Blade
In a treacherous split second, Ice drove a decisive vertical blow. Zis raised his massive forearms to catch both blades and crush them with overwhelming force — believing physical superiority would decide the matter.
A cold smile settled on Ice's lips.
The moment Zis's fingers touched the metal, Ice whispered:
"Sand dissolution…"
The Khopesh crumbled into millions of glowing golden grains. Zis grasped at nothing — and instead of crushing steel, he found sand flowing like conscious serpents, coiling around his wrists and fists with crushing force, holding him in place.
The Finale: Existential Stillness
Ice seized the dragon's confusion. He pressed both palms directly onto the sand restraining Zis, calling upon his innate unique gift: [Existence Freeze].
"Don't freeze as matter," Ice commanded. "Freeze as motion."
A strange, deep frost slid from Ice's palms, seeping through the sand into Zis's limbs. This was no ordinary ice. It was a void that stopped the flow of momentum itself.
Zis's hands were paralyzed — not from cold, but because Ice had frozen the laws of movement inside them.
Zis (a suppressed scream of helplessness): "What have you done? I can't feel my hands… even my energy aura stopped!"
Ice stood tall before him — sand and ice still enveloping the dragon's arms as the air itself began to crystallize, reviving his blades in his hands once more.
Symphony of Bloody and Dead Sand
Zis staggered backward, his body trembling under the shock of "Motion Freeze." He looked at Ice — who was no longer entirely human.
Blue pulsing veins across Ice's neck and face. His sweat evaporating into cold vapor.
Zis (voice thundering like storm): "You've insulted my pride enough, wretch… prepare for the 'True Dragon Momentum'!"
A halo of jet stone exploded from Zis, shattering the crystalline shackles. Not his hands — his massive tail launched at a speed exceeding sound, ripping the ground from beneath Ice.
Life Siphon: Red Fuel
[Kily Alert: Loom reserves critical!][Warning: Bio-Combustion Protocol activated… converting hemoglobin to momentum energy.]
Under the enormous internal pressure, blood scattered from Ice's nose and ears. And yet — he never touched the ground.
The moment it appeared, the surrounding Loom consumed it — transforming his aura from dark blue to deep glowing violet. Every drop that fell increased his speed and molecular awareness tenfold.
Kinetic Fusion: Blind Instinct
Zis struck like a black meteorite. The duel crossed its boundaries into a state of "Kinetic Fusion."
Zis launched balls of concentrated collapse — but Ice didn't block them. He touched them with his blade, transforming them midair into harmless falling dust.
Steel met claw.
A metallic echo, deafening.
Every strike was calculated. Ice applied "Existence Freeze" at the precise moment of impact — halting Zis's momentum for a fraction of a second, enough to deliver a devastating counter-strike.
The Hollow Grave
As Zis drove a devastating punch, Ice shattered his right blade by force of will — transforming it into a localized sand vortex.
He wasn't targeting the dragon's limbs. He drove the sand into Zis's open wounds.
Ice whispered in a voice sharp as a blade:
"Sand doesn't just bind flesh. It seizes the essence from the inside."
The grains invaded Zis's pores. Ice took control of the molecular material inside the dragon's body. Zis froze from the inside out. His scream wasn't from physical pain — but from the terror of feeling his internal organs stop existing kinetically.
Impending End: Death's Toll
[Countdown: 0:59 seconds][Warning: Blood pressure critical… imminent cardiac failure.]
Ice stood swaying on the edge of death — his pale face covered in blood, his eyes burning with the light of ancient pharaohs.
The twin Khopesh reappeared — not from air, but from a mixture of sand and clotted blood, glowing with a dark lustre like raw agate.
Ice let out a broken, blood-stained laugh:
"Zis… this last minute is going to be the longest minute of your life."