Temporal Dominion

Lucian moved swiftly through the quiet forest, his mind still tangled in the aftermath of what had just happened at the stone shrine.

The vision. The voice. The overwhelming rush of time energy.

Something inside him had changed. He could feel it—the way the air felt slower, the way his thoughts processed movements before they even happened. It was subtle but undeniable.

"I need to get back before someone notices I'm gone."

He picked up his pace, dodging between towering trees, but then—

A chill ran down his spine.

His instincts screamed.

Something was wrong.

Lucian's steps faltered. The night air had grown still, unnaturally so. The distant rustling of leaves had gone silent.

And then—

A massive shockwave tore through the forest.

Lucian barely had time to react before a blazing force of kinetic energy ripped through the trees, aiming straight for him.

His body moved on instinct.

He twisted—**vanishing in a burst of temporal acceleration—**just as the attack obliterated the spot he had been standing on.

A crater formed in the earth. Trees snapped like twigs from the sheer impact.

Lucian's heart pounded as he skidded to a stop several feet away. His breath was sharp, his body tense.

Then, a familiar voice cut through the smoke and debris—cold, dripping with murderous intent.

"You're still standing? Too bad. That was meant to kill you."

Darren Voss stepped into the clearing.

His once-arrogant smirk was gone. His eyes burned with something much darker—hatred.

Lucian's stomach twisted. This wasn't like before.

Darren didn't just want to beat him.

He wanted him dead.

The air around Darren crackled with violent kinetic energy, but Lucian's eyes caught something else.

A faint black aura coiled around Darren's arms, flickering in and out of sight like smoke.

Lucian's pulse spiked.

"That energy… it's unnatural."

Darren vanished.

Lucian's instincts screamed, and he barely twisted in time as a fist wreathed in explosive kinetic force tore past his head.

The sheer pressure of the missed punch sent shockwaves through the air, splintering trees in a ten-meter radius.

Lucian's breath hitched.

"If that had hit me—"

Darren's voice dripped with amusement. "What's wrong, Lucian? You were all high and mighty before. But now—"

His grin widened.

"You're just prey."

Lucian clenched his fists.

This wasn't just Darren's usual strength. Something was amplifying him.

The fight hadn't even begun, and yet—

Lucian knew.

This wasn't a duel.

It was a hunt.

And he was the target.