The time dilation chambers of the Haven were less like rooms and more like living, breathing realms caught in a permanent, gentle twilight.
On the other side of the door Ash and Vaeloria found themselves standing on soft grass that felt springy. It was the color of pale jade, as a warm sunlight kissed their skin even though the skies had no sun whatsoever.
The sky stretched on forever, an emerald glow at the horizon melting into deep violet, dotted with slow-drifting constellations.
There was no wind, yet the air seemed alive, sweet and heavy with mana.
Across the vast expanse floated islands, no larger than palace balconies, suspended ten to thirty feet above the ground, linked by graceful arches of pure silver light.
Far away, an enormous tree grew upside-down from the violet sky, its roots spreading like frozen fireworks.
At the very center stood a single structure.
It was an open-air pavilion of black marble streaked with living gold, eight slender pillars supporting a domed roof where constellations slowly turned.
Just beneath the dome, pale fire spelled out: Training Hall.
After taking it all in, Vaeloria was the first to speak.
"Just where did you find this place?" She asked with genuine interest. Even in her time a place this mythical didn't exist.
Ash grinned before walking to the Training Hall.
"Well, someone owed me a big debt apparently." He said with a shrug. As he stepped into the training hall a panel showed in front of him.
[Welcome to the Lesser Chamber. Here, time flows at a 3:1 ratio, and the mana is twice as dense as outside, making atmospheric cultivation twice as effective. This hall is also the only place where combat is permitted.]
"So, it really is a time-dilated space here…" Vaeloria murmured as she read over his shoulder, silver hair brushing his arm like cool silk.
Ash turned as his golden eyes flickered to her.
'Hmm, I haven't tried appraising anyone yet.' He thought before trying. His eyes flashed white for a moment as a panel bloomed next to Vaeloria's head.
[Vaeloria Lunareth
Race – Celestial Fox (Ten-Tailed Sovereign Bloodline – SS)
Age – 230,000 years
Rank – S (Existence Level – 21,000)
Soul Brand – Lunar Apostate
Path – Path of the Dreambound Eclipse
Talents – Sovereign Dreamweave, Ninefold Starlight Veil, Eclipse Sovereign's Gaze, Moon-Devouring Regeneration, Eternal Night Dominion
Affinities – Lunar · Dream · Illusion
MP – 250,000,000
Remarks – The Moonbound Sovereign is eternally bound to the bearer of the Obsidian Contract. Increase strength to learn more...]
'Damn she's strong.' He thought, then aloud, "Of course it is. Did you think I'd lie to you?"
"Tsk, who knows? Humans are fickle like that." She said before walking into the center of the hall.
She turned around and looked at him with a frown.
'Although he's beautiful… he's weak.' She thought, remembering the curse she was bound to.
Just the thought of her situation made her frown.
By now her affection for Ash was close to hitting the first mark. She was at 45%; at 50 % she would begin to dream of him at night and even randomly through the day.
"You're weak… I will train you until you're to my likin—" Her words cut off short as she covered her mouth, cheeks flashing silver.
'What the hell?'
Ash smirked, already catching on.
He walked in, peeling off his shirt in one smooth motion, fabric whispering to the floor. Moonlight and starlight slid over carved muscle like water.
"What, until I'm to your liking?" He teased, voice low and warm. "Haha, I don't mind, Miss Sovereign."
Then the playfulness vanished. His eyes sharpened to molten gold.
"I was planning on busting my ass anyway. We have... let's just say eighteen months in here and I plan on being a monster by the time we finish."
The marble floor rippled. A circular arena thirty meters wide rose around them, barriers of silver light snapping into place.
Vaeloria's nine tails twitched seeing the shift in his demeanor. She smiled show her sharp teeth and spoke.
"Alright then.... Show me everything. And hold nothing back."
'I need to see exactly what I'm working with...' She thought
Ash cracked his neck. "Sure, just try to keep up."
---
He moved first—simple, brutal—mana wrapping his skin in a faint black-violet shimmer.
No techniques yet, just pure speed and power. Vaeloria met him head-on, her palm slamming into his chest with enough force to shatter kingdoms.
BOOOM!!
The impact cracked like thunder, yet Ash slid back only three inches, grinning wide. His Eyes of First Dawn flared golden light streaming from his pupils.
He caught every strand of lunar mana she spun before she could finish. When nine phantom foxes lunged in a blur, he slipped through them like mist, fingertips grazing her wrist.
[Affection 53 %]
Vaeloria's breath caught for just a moment before she steeled herself.
With a swipe of a claw forged from pure moonlight, she tore through space itself; Ash countered with Inferno Dominion, black paradox flames that froze the moonlight in place before shattering it into a spray of glittering dust.
'How does he have so many talents at such a low rank? Those flashing eyes must be one of them, and then there are those strange flames of his...' she thought before speaking up.
It was surprising that he could keep up, even with most of her power currently sealed.
"Where are your skills?" she asked, circling him. "And even without using skills, you're wasting mana like a child!"
Ash frowned slightly; he didn't know much about mana beyond the size of the pool, and he certainly didn't have any skills.
"I don't have any skills yet," he said simply, then focused.
She didn't reply but instead vanished into a dreamlike mist. Ash closed his eyes,
|Absolute Sol Invictus|
On his third move in the spar, his talent flared, and every photon in the arena bent to his will.
The mist vanished, revealing her mid-strike. He caught her wrist, spun her effortlessly, and pinned her against a pillar, forearm resting against her collarbone, their faces inches apart.
[Affection 55 %]
Her tails flicked, trailing across his bare back like silk lashes.
For a heartbeat, her eyes widened, pupils dilating. Ash leaned closer until his lips hovered near her ear. "You'll be dreaming of me soon, O' Sovereign..." he murmured with a grin.
BANG!
She shoved him off with a burst of lunar force that cracked the pillar behind him. Both of them were breathing hard, smiles sharp and dangerous.
Again and again, they clashed.
It was pure physical force, stolen light, frozen fire, dreamlike shadows, and impossible voids.
Every time she thought she had him, another unbelievable skill emerged.
She caught glimpses of the ancient monsters she'd once battled, creatures who toyed with civilizations for fun, and this boy moved effortlessly around the memory of them.
'Maybe... those chains finally did me a favor' She couldn't help but even she knew this was a lie. The curse was something that went against everything she stood for...
When they finally stopped, the floor was scorched in streaks of black and silver, pillars fractured, and the air thrummed with lingering power.
Ash stood at the center, shirtless, skin faintly aglow, barely breaking a sweat. Vaeloria's tails slowly stilled, her voice dropping to a tone almost reverent.
"You fight like you were born on the Primordial slaughterfields… yet you burn ninety percent of your mana on brute reinforcement. No skills. No techniques. Just raw talent piled to the heavens."
She stepped closer, moonlit eyes gleaming.
"We'll change that. With some Combat sense, Mana control, and Skill crafting.... Eighteen months is enough to turn a monster into a calamity."
Ash wiped a thin trickle of blood from his lip, grinning like a wolf that had just found its favorite new hunt.
"Then teach me, Miss Sovereign."
[+4 EL gained for intense training. Enhanced by 10...]
[EL +40]
[Total Existence Level: 361]