Before Von could react, the Dark Wings pounced.
A blade hissed toward his face—he tilted his head left. It missed by a breath. His hand snapped out, catching the wrist mid-swing, but the force of wind magic behind it shoved him back. Another attacker compressed air and fired a burst of wind at his chest.
Two more emerged behind, grabbing his arms.
A fourth dropped from above, pressing down with overwhelming force.
They weren't amateurs. These were trained assassins of Egotheon—coordinated, efficient, and relentless.
Lotus Eyes: Activated.
The world slowed.
Muscle tension, wind flow, heartbeat rhythm, hesitation—everything exposed.
"Fine," Von whispered. "You want to delay me? Let's see if you can."
A sigil ignited under his boots, pulsing outward in arcs of runes.
"Fourth Circle Maho: Arcane Zone – Time Dilation!"
The world shattered.
In a blink, the terrain twisted—fading into a new dimension drawn from Von's soul.
The Arcane Zone manifested.
A gray, windswept field opened around him, cracked with time's erosion. In its center stood a colossal, dying World Tree—its bark charred black, its limbs heavy with age. Of the thousands of branches it once bore, only one single golden leaf remained, trembling in the breeze.
Above, a pale sky hung frozen, with a dim sun locked in an eternal twilight.
This was Von's Arcane Zone—his truth made manifest.
A world where everything had already fallen. Where only one last thread of time endured.
Fifteen minutes. That's all he had here. Most could barely survive ten.
But for Von—who had battled destiny for lifetimes—fifteen minutes was more than enough.
Time bent.
The grip on his arms loosened—no, it was rewinding. He reversed the sequence of the ambush before their eyes could catch up. He was gone—reappearing behind one of the assassins.
A burst of wind shot past him. He tilted slightly, letting it miss with perfect timing.
Snap.
He struck the nerve cluster behind the neck. One fell.
The others scattered, instincts overwhelmed by confusion.
Von stood still, calm in the storm.
The golden leaf above shimmered faintly—reminding him of what was left, what still mattered.
"You came to delay me," his voice echoed through the Zone, resonant like tolling bells.
"But in this space..."
Time cracked like glass beneath his feet.
"You're already too late."
Everyone who had once charged at Von froze mid-strike.
Time had stopped.
Only Von remained in motion, breathing softly amid a battlefield trapped in stillness.
"Let's do this slowly," Von said, his voice echoing through the hollow silence. "We've got all the time in the world."
He turned to the one nearest him.
Clock Hands: Engaged.
Two shimmering blades of compressed aura extended from his wrists. Moving like a shadow, Von mimicked the motion of sliding a sword into the attacker's chest.
A moment later, reality caught up.
A clean hole opened in the man's body—his flesh disintegrated, collapsing into sand. No scream. Just silence.
"I'm in a hurry, but..." Von walked to the next one, blood beginning to drip from his nose. "I've been in a bad mood for a whole week. So you guys... you're just unlucky."
Another one turned to dust.
"You know," he said, "everything—flesh, bone, skin—it all becomes dust. No matter how long you live or how much you've done."
He stepped over a cracked branch.
"But don't worry. You're just stray dogs adopted by Egotheon."
He didn't even swing. He just touched the third attacker's shoulder. Gone. Sand.
One by one, they vanished—dissolving into the earth of Von's Arcane Zone, feeding the roots of the dying World Tree above. The golden leaf trembled slightly in the still air.
Blood continued to flow from Von's nose. He was straining.
Then, silence.
All enemies erased.
Von stood still, then looked up.
"Come out now!" he roared. "I know your 'great and mighty' Egotheon didn't just send small fries after me!"
No response.
He exhaled, staggering slightly.
Then he extended a trembling hand toward one of the giant roots of the World Tree. He rotated his palm—reversing time in a localized zone.
The soil shimmered, rewinding.
A woman reformed under the root, just before she could activate her blessing.
"Shit," she cursed. "I knew this wouldn't work."
"You must be at least a Six-Finger," Von muttered, still wiping blood from his face.
Her left hand gleamed—six Roman numerals glowing, each symbol representing a divine blessing.
"Looks like you can't keep this... whatever magic this is, up for much longer." She smirked. "The mission was just to stall you. But if I can take your head… maybe Lord Egotheon will grant me another finger. Jackpot."
Von wiped blood again, smiling faintly. "You seem real happy, even though your team's dead."
"Team?" she scoffed. "They were beneath me. I'm the commander. There's no loyalty among us—only ambition. If they died helping me weaken you, good. I should thank them."
"Nah."
Von appeared behind her like a breath of wind.
Stab.
"Guess what pierced through?" he whispered.
She turned slowly—horrified.
"A dad joke." he grinned.
Then, like the others, she began to crumble.
"Wait—!"
Too late. She disintegrated, leaving only wind and silence.
The Arcane Zone undone, the twilight realm collapsing in a shudder of light.
Von fell to one knee, panting. His face was pale, streaked with blood.
"Damn it... he got me good..." He struggled to get up, "I've... got to call the others back... before... the whitening"
He collapsed.
Unconscious, in the middle of the forest, just hours from Windrise—his mission unfinished.