Entering the rift, Aqua slipped through to the other side, only to be t by a completely different world.
It was a realm forged entirely from flas.
Structures rose like living infernos, their forms flickering and reshaping with every passing second.
Rivers did not flow with water, but with molten, blazing essence.
Even the air itself shimred with heat, thick with volatile gases like sulfur that burned the lungs with every breath.
Aqua materialized within this fiery domain, and imdiately, the world reacted.
It rejected him.
As one who carried an origin bloodline tied to water, this place stood in direct opposition to his very existence.
The flas around him wavered unnaturally, as though resisting his presence, as if the world itself sought to push him out.
"Another intruder has passed through the gate!" a sharp voice rang out.
From below, Aqua spotted them, small figures moving with urgency.
Fla-born beings, their bodies flickering with inner fire, their bloodlines clearly aligned with this burning world.
"At least they remain small here," Aqua thought calmly, recalling the absurdly massive Adrian who had once forced him to grow just to et his gaze.
Taking a slow, steady breath, Aqua adjusted himself.
His form shrank, his size reducing smoothly until he stood equal to the fla spirits below.
"Attack! Don’t let him escape! This one is special, he can alter his size!" a commander barked.
The voice ca from a fla-scaled lizard man, his body radiating heat far more intensely than the others.
Within monts, Aqua found himself surrounded.
"You," Aqua said, his voice steady and cold.
"Take to the one in charge."
Before the lizard man could react, Aqua vanished and reappeared directly in front of him.
The sudden shift shattered the commander’s composure.
Fear flooded his expression as he stumbled back, his boots scraping against the heated ground.
"Stay away from !" he cried, retreating in panic.
Aqua’s expression hardened. The reaction only irritated him.
In a swift motion, he reached forward and seized the lizard man by the neck, his grip firm and unyielding.
"I said," Aqua repeated, his voice dropping into sothing far more dangerous, "take to your leader."
His eyes glowed faintly as he invoked the power of his rman bloodline, hypnosis and compulsion weaving silently into his words.
Under that invisible pressure, the lizard man stiffened.
Then, he nodded.
Without resistance, he turned and began to lead the way.
The surrounding guards watched in stunned silence. Not one of them dared to interfere.
To subdue their commander so effortlessly... this was far beyond their level.
The lizard man guided Aqua toward a towering structure, its fra flickering with controlled flas, more stable and refined than anything else nearby.
As they approached, Aqua’s gaze shifted.
Beside the building, several captured soldiers lay scattered across the ground.
Their bodies were drenched in sweat, their lips cracked, their movents weak and sluggish.
Dehydration.
They were on the brink of death, re hours away from collapse.
Aqua said nothing, his expression unreadable as he followed the lizard man inside.
"Bora! What madness is this?" a guard snapped the mont they entered.
"How dare you bring a foreigner in here without restraints?!"
Bora remained silent, his steps steady and unbothered as he continued forward.
"Damn you, Bora! Kill him!" another voice commanded.
This one stood out, larger, more muscular, his presence far more imposing than the others.
The order had barely left his mouth before they moved.
Fla spears ignited in their hands as they lunged toward Aqua and Bora simultaneously, heat surging violently through the corridor.
Aqua exhaled softly, almost bored.
"I don’t have ti for this."
He raised a single hand.
From his fingertips, compressed streams of water shot forward, sharp, precise, and deadly.
The bullets pierced through their heads in an instant.
One after another, they dropped.
Silence followed.
"Bora! Damn you!" the muscular lizard man suddenly exclaid, his tone shifting completely.
"Why didn’t you tell he was a distinguished guest of our lady? You almost made commit treason!"
A strained, overly eager smile spread across his face.
Aqua stared at him, speechless.
The sheer audacity...
To discard his fallen comrades so easily, to twist the situation without hesitation, it was almost difficult to comprehend.
"Dear sir," the lizard man continued, bowing deeply, "please allow to escort you instead. I know the way better than Bora."
Without waiting for approval, he quickly stepped forward, gesturing respectfully as he led Aqua onward.
Their pace quickened as they ascended the structure, moving toward its highest level.
The lizard man even rushed ahead to open the door for him, his servility exaggerated and desperate.
The mont the door opened, the atmosphere changed.
The room beyond was vast, far larger than anything else in the building.
It felt like an entirely separate domain, its space stretching wide, the flas here calr, more controlled.
Aqua stepped inside.
Two massive drakes lay sprawled across the floor, their enormous bodies rising and falling slowly as they rested.
The instant Aqua crossed the threshold, their eyes snapped open.
Sharp. Alert. Dangerous.
"He’s a dangerous foreigner!" the lizard man suddenly shouted from behind. "He killed most of our n!"
Aqua didn’t even turn.
"Of course," he thought.
He continued walking toward the drakes.
As for the lizard man, he didn’t make it another step.
His body suddenly burst apart, dissolving into a cloud of fla mist that scattered into the heated air.
From the very beginning, Aqua had already injected him with Primordial water.
The effect had only been delayed.
Unbothered, Aqua kept moving forward, his steps calm and asured, until he stopped just a few tres away from the massive drakes.
Between them sat a young lady.
Her presence was striking.
Two elegant red horns curved from her head, smooth and refined.
At the center of her forehead rested an erald-like gem, faintly glowing with an inner light.
Her skin was flawless, almost luminous against the fiery surroundings, while strands of deep red hair cascaded gently over her shoulders, swaying slightly with the heat in the air.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice steady, her gaze fixed on him.
"Knowing my na isn’t necessary," Aqua replied without hesitation.
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
"Then being torn apart should be necessary," she said lightly, as if discussing sothing trivial.
Aqua didn’t react.
"Let’s not escalate things," he replied calmly.
"I don’t want to damage your pets. Just give the information I need, and we won’t have to push this any further."
Her smile didn’t fade.
"For soone not even in the Nexus rank, you are far too arrogant," she said. "Trying to challenge a Primordial? Try not to be so conceited."
Aqua shrugged slightly, completely unfazed.
"At least I know I won’t lose," he said. "And when it cos down to it, you’ll suffer more losses than I will. I’m standing in your turf."
Her eyes narrowed just a fraction, though her expression remained composed.
"You might be in my turf," she replied, her tone calm yet edged with sothing deeper, "but don’t forget—I can just as easily move to yours and level it completely."
"That’s not my turf either," Aqua answered plainly.
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