Salomé clenched her fists, her eyes blazing, and did not back down in front of Isissis 1. At her side, Zelongue and Ysolongue simultaneously activated their Ōculus Vorago, their irises igniting with an intense light that seemed to want to tear the sky apart. A wave of power radiated around them, resonating through the layers of the universe and reaching Madhurya.
Salomé: "Now, it's our turn!"
The three of them rushed forward, their attacks synchronized, seeking to overwhelm Isissis with the combined power of their Ōculus Vorago. The sky tore apart with bolts of energy, mana waves intertwining in a blinding whirlwind. The ground vibrated, cracked by the raw force of their offensive.
But Isissis 1 did not flinch. Even the pressure of these attacks, capable of tearing worlds apart, was nothing against him. His yellow eyes shone, and a smirk appeared on his face. Slowly, he raised a hand, and time seemed to freeze around his fingers.
Isissis 1: "You think you can intimidate the master of Madhurya with mere reflections of ego? Pathetic."
In an instant, he activated his pure meta-conceptual manipulation. The Meta-Concepts — Orthinésie, Dravellion, Zeerât, Myâtrhe, Arenhâl, Thozéïn — bent to his will. The light of the Ōculus Vorago of Salomé, Zelongue, and Ysolongue started to flicker, as if absorbed by an invisible gravity.
— Paralysis Induction.
Their eyes, symbols of domination and anticipation, were shrouded in a black mist. Zelongue and Ysolongue, once Great Mythical Beings, were instantly reduced to mere mortals. Their presence dissipated, their mana scattered into cosmic dust. The Ōculus Vorago ceased functioning, as if they had never existed.
Salomé felt an overwhelming pressure gripping her. Everything she had built with her will, her domain of domination, her Ōculus Vorago, seemed to collapse under an invisible, yet tangible weight. Her heart raced, but she did not give up. She took a deep breath and focused all her mana into her eyes, fusing the Ōculus Vorago with her domain: Predominance.
A blast of light and pure power exploded around her. Her eyes became suns of force, radiating power capable of subjugating everything they perceived. Predominance acted as an absolute judgment: imposing hierarchy, rewriting precedence, and redefining who could exist before what. Even the slightest hostile mana breath was crushed.
Yet Isissis 1 showed no sign of fear. He raised his hand again, and this time, Salomé's Predominance was targeted at its very essence. The flows of mana, the projections of domination, everything was dissolved into metaphysical space. Isissis applied his Meta-Concepts to remove all precedence and annihilate the accessionality of their power: what had just been created by them disintegrated before it was even fully formed.
The voices of Salomé, Zelongue, and Ysolongue were suddenly muffled, silenced under the conceptual weight. Predominance, normally capable of constraining superior forces, was erased from existence as if it had never been summoned. The mana flows defining their bodies and avatars were absorbed, redefined, and even their identities seemed threatened with nullification.
Salomé clenched her teeth, her violet mana wings beating with uncontrollable rage. She knew all resistance had to be intelligent: to strike head-on against a being who manipulated the very foundations of possibility was suicide. But the flame of her will did not extinguish. She focused her energy on a single point, targeting the dissonance left by Isissis's manipulation, trying to exploit the slightest conceptual fissure.
Around them, the world seemed to melt under the pressure of Isissis's Meta-Concepts. Every movement, every breath of mana was recalibrated by the primary secondary god. Even sensations, thoughts, and spatial perception were redefined to subdue the attackers. The Ōculus Vorago, once instruments of anticipation and judgment, had been neutralized and their potential dissipated.
Yet Salomé did not move. Her eyes shone, her wings blazed, and despite the crushing pressure, her will projected a wave of resistance. Predominance, although hampered, sought to reform in the resonance of her being. A silent but titanic confrontation settled: on one side, the absurd and absolute control of Isissis 1 over the very structure of reality; on the other, the rage and determination of a young fighter capable of reshaping the influence of her Ōculus Vorago through fusion with her domain.
Salomé: I will not lose to you!
Isissis furrowed his brow and regarded her: You can do nothing. If I let you attack me again, it's simply because I don't want to get bored too quickly.
He raised his hands and declared: Primordial Restrictions!
Orlongue, Kai, Lingyin, Shushu, and Jin Muleo froze instantly. They were there but like unreal statues, suspended in the impossible, deprived of any autonomy.
Salomé, worried, turned her gaze to Isissis: What did you do to them?!
Isissis smiled faintly: I'm just making sure they don't spoil our little game...
Then, without warning, he charged at her in a flash. Ysolongue and Zelongue, powerless, could only scream: Watch out, Salomé!!!
Then they too were instantly put to sleep.
Salomé, still the only one able to act, saw Isissis materialize a lance of pure light, rushing straight at her. She reacted instinctively, creating her violet mana sword, and crossed blades with the lance. A titanic shockwave pushed them both back, raising dust and surrounding air. Isissis smiled, amused: Pretty!
Salomé blinked, her sword still in hand, and noticed Isissis had disappeared: What did you do?!
Without waiting for an answer, he reappeared and launched a new attack. Salomé dodged with an agile leap, grazed by the edge of the lance, and performed several backward somersaults to gain ground.
She then summoned a larger and more concentrated mana sword, her violet aura burning around her. She charged, striking with deadly precision and agility, but Isissis parried each blow with disconcerting ease.
"You like this, huh, little one?" he taunted, a smile on his lips.
Salomé did not answer. She continued her assault, hitting, dodging, spinning, searching for an opening in this wall of absolute mastery.
Isissis shrugged and said: Close combat… maybe it's the only thing that lets you face me.
He suddenly vanished, and before Salomé could react, he reappeared behind her. Click! A violent clash echoed as their blades met again.
"My Primordial Domain," declared Isissis in a voice that seemed to vibrate through the very air, "dominates all things, from Madhurya to the centers of universes. In magical power and domination, I am the absolute prince."
Salomé felt the weight of this declaration pressing on her like a cosmic burden. Every breath, every movement seemed slowed by the mere presence of her opponent, and she knew that to continue, she would have to push her limits like never before.
Isissis struck again, his lance of light slicing the air with impossible speed. Salomé barely ducked, narrowly avoiding the attack, her mana sword shining violently before her.
Salomé, panting but determined: You talk way too much for a big kid who's just having fun!
Isissis furrowed his brows, his expression darkening slightly: Shut up. I could end this fight with a snap of my fingers. Just be glad I choose to have a little fun!
Without warning, he leapt at her, and their two blades clashed in a deafening crash. The collision made the ground tremble and raised waves of energy around them. Each strike, each movement seemed calculated with perfect precision, as if every fiber of their being anticipated the other's.
They struck and countered at dizzying speed, their swords drawing trails of light in the air, illuminating the dark sky around them. Their exchanges were equal, neither seeming able to gain the upper hand. The impacts echoed like reverberations through the entire space, shaking the very atmosphere of the battlefield.
But then, little by little, something changed. Salomé, her yellow eyes blazing, began reading Isissis's intentions, anticipating his strikes before they materialized. Her movements became more fluid, more precise, and her blows, though still parried, occasionally forced Isissis to step back.
Isissis frowned, a flash of irritation crossing his face: So that's how it is... He tried to speed up the pace, to crush Salomé under an avalanche of radiant blows, but she parried and counterattacked with a vigor he hadn't expected.
Their swords clashed again and again, producing sparks of pure mana. Shockwaves echoed in the air, sending shards of light and smoke around them. Salomé, feeling her concentration sharpen, forced an opening with a complex combination: an upward strike, followed by a horizontal sweep, then a quick thrust toward Isissis's abdomen.
The final impact left Isissis slightly off balance, and for the first time, he felt a contact that should have hurt: Salomé's sword struck his stomach.
But in an instant, his smile returned, cold and cruel: the blow had no effect on him. He straightened as if nothing had happened, his eyes shining with contained irritation.
Salomé stepped back, panting, her draconic mana wings vibrating slightly around her. She immediately understood that despite her progress and growing anticipation, Isissis's strength still far exceeded anything she had faced so far.
Yet something in the air had changed. The intensity of their exchange, Salomé's precision and determination, were beginning to slightly disturb Isissis's rhythm. A subtle shiver, barely perceptible, betrayed his growing irritation.
The fight, until now perfectly balanced, was slowly beginning to tip, if only just a little, in Salomé's favor. And that, Isissis could not accept…