Primordial Heir: Nine Stars

BAM!

Power surged through Nero's body as he seized control of the prana swirling within his twin cores. He guided it with unshakable will, channeling it into the Law of Fire—and in the next breath, unleashed it upon the world.

With a thunderous roar, dark red flames erupted from beneath his feet, exploding outward in a spiraling wave. The ground cracked and hissed under the sudden surge of heat, and a blazing tide of fire surged across the forest floor like a living beast.

Trees ignited in an instant. Branches curled and snapped in the inferno. The flame wasn't just hot—it was furious, infused with Nero's indignation and disdain.

"If you think you can hide in the mist like a rat," he snarled, voice booming, "then I'll just burn it all down!"

KABOOM!

His declaration was punctuated by a second detonation—the roar of expanding fire consuming oxygen, ripping through the mist in jagged bursts.

Like a serpentine predator, the dark red flame writhed and slithered, hissing as it ate away at the thick, mana-laced fog. The mist didn't just dissolve—it was violently torn apart, shredded into steam as the flames devoured everything in their path.

Trees blackened and collapsed. Leaves disintegrated into ash midair. The heat distorted the very air, bending light around him in shimmering waves.

Within mere seconds, a full twenty-meter radius around Nero had been reduced to a scorched wasteland. The earth had turned black and brittle, stones glowed red, and any lingering trace of mist had been obliterated.

At the center of it all stood Nero—his silhouette wreathed in fire, cloak fluttering in the searing wind. His amber eyes blazed with unrestrained defiance.

He stood there like a monarch of flame, unchallenged, untouchable.

And any who saw him in that moment would understand—this was not someone you cornered.

This was someone who burned paths open with fire.

Suddenly, Nero's brows furrowed.

The mist he had just incinerated—was returning.

Like a tide reversing course, the dense fog surged back in with unnatural speed, swirling low across the scorched earth as though drawn by an invisible force. The air grew heavier, damp and stifling, a chill clashing against the warmth of his flames.

Above, the sky dimmed ominously. The light was snuffed out by the swift formation of a dark, swirling cloud, conjured unnaturally fast. With a low rumble, it began to rain—thin at first, then intensifying into a steady downpour that hissed on Nero's smoldering battlefield.

His flames sputtered and died one after another, steam rising as his fire was extinguished, snuffed out by droplets that carried far more prana than natural water.

"Tch... A rain spell," Nero muttered, jaw tight.

He understood immediately—a conjuration woven with the Law of Water. It wasn't hard for a specialized Mage, but still, it was impressive in scale and speed.

But Nero didn't panic.

He clenched his sword tightly, and the air around it began to distort, fire curling to life once more.

This time, it wasn't red.

It was dark blue—a flame of concentrated destruction, purer, heavier, far more refined than the wildfire he had unleashed earlier. It coiled around the blade like a serpent of judgment, humming with suppressed intensity.

With a deep breath, he suppressed the greedy spell from sucking him dry, then Nero stepped forward and swung his sword upward in a clean, vertical arc.

''Heaven's Slash!" he mumbled, he didn't add Flame because he knew a lot of Law could be implemented in, so there was no need to specify.

There was a flash.

FWOOSH!

The fire on his blade erupted into a column of burning light, cutting through the air like a blade through silk. The flaming arc surged upward, splitting the sky itself—and with it, the dense raincloud that had just formed.

The cloud was severed.

The spell woven into the cloud's core—its structure, its control matrix, its prana threads—all of it came undone as if sliced by a scalpel guided by divine precision.

To anyone else with his level of strength, it would have been impossible. But Nero's special eyes, attuned to the flow of prana, allowed him to see the intricacies of the spell's formation. And he'd done what only a handful of people in the world could even dream of:

He cut the spell itself.

The rain ceased in an instant. The clouds unraveled like smoke, scattered into the ether.

High above, steam drifted across a now open sky, and below stood Nero—his blade still glowing, shoulders steady, gaze sharp.

Far within the mist, the demonized human froze, eyes wide in disbelief.

"What the fuck? He... he actually dispelled it?" the creature whispered, shaken.

He had underestimated the boy. Gravely.

"It seems I've made a mistake. If I let him grow, he could become a threat to everything we're working for... I need to eliminate him. Now."

Without another word, the monster's body began to twist and dissolve, melting into the mist like ink in water.

He drifted silently to a new position, his form now one with the fog, ready to strike again—this time with lethal intent.

Immediately, the demonized human's lips curled into a twisted grin. With a flick of his trident and a surge of cold, rushing prana, he channeled the Law of Water through his core, shaping it with terrifying speed and precision.

"Thousand Arrows!"

The sky darkened again—but this time, not with clouds.

Thousands of shimmering water arrows formed overhead, swirling into position like a celestial net. Each arrow pulsed with condensed prana, crystalline and razor-sharp, rotating in place before locking their tips toward one single target—Nero.

They surrounded him from every direction—above, behind, left, right—an all-encompassing cage of impending death.

Nero's expression shifted. His jaw tightened. His gaze sharpened.

"Fall," came the demonized mage's cold command.

At once, the arrows descended.

Whoosh—!

Like the wrath of the heavens, the countless water bolts shot toward him at blinding speed, cutting through the air like sonic spears. There was no time to dodge. No path of retreat. The rain of destruction was meant to end him here and now.