Rivers of the Night

The twins frowned, their gazes sharpening slowly as they both unsheathed their swords. Each one was narrow and almost willowy—not narrow to the point of being needle-like, but close to this in thickness alone.

In terms of blade length and width, they seemed longer than the usual sword, yet shorter than a katana. Each was easily a meter or so in length, and in the shining, shimmering snow, just as easily vanished to the naked eye as their wrists twisted and angled.

Lilac shot forward, Violet a step slow. At first, it seemed an accident until their auras hummed into one, Theron's eyes blurring as he seemed to mistake them for a single person.

By the time his eyes regained focus, he found a blade at his throat.

No, not just at his throat, but slicing into his skin. Everything was happening so fast he didn't even have the time to register the spike of pain.

Interesting.

There was no other choice. Theron's Mandate roared to life, an overwhelming chill spilling out into the surroundings, jetting out from his neck.

His blood froze over, catching the sword in a jagged mesh of iced crimson.

The blade slowed just enough for Theron to sway to one side. Tapping a foot to the ground, he accelerated backward, activating [Shadow Step] to slip out of the way of a blade that came from Violet's follow-up.

Theron landed deftly on the ground. He reached up a hand, touching his neck. Splotches of blood had turned into a sheath of crimson ice that covered him nearly down to his collarbone.

His fingers clenched, his blood shattering into a fine rain that revealed the cut on his neck.

He was careful not to use true Blood Mancy, though he could when it came to his own body. Instead, he simply used the overwhelming chill of his Mandate to freeze over his blood instead. The indirect path seemed like a small difference, but with so many experts watching, it was that difference that would be the shield between him being treated as a genius versus a Demon Chosen scourge to be hunted down and killed.

Lilac shook her wrist, her blade vibrating and shattering the ice that formed over it. Her expression and that of her sister's were extremely wary. It was hard to believe that Theron had survived that, but more shocking than that…

How could a Dark Mancer make them feel cold as Ice Mancers?

'Their Echoes are connected.'

Theron suddenly realized that it wasn't Lilac flicking her sword to clear it of ice—it was Violet.

The difference didn't matter to him originally; he didn't even know which was which.

They were fraternal twins, not identical twins… or so Theron thought. But they seemed to seamlessly switch their faces.

Just how when Theron was attacked, Lilac had gone first and attacked from the back, but it was actually Violet's sword that nearly decapitated him.

Their stores of Mana were pooled together, identical to one another. Somehow, Violet was able to ride the wave of Lilac's attack, reforming her body within the mesh of the latter's Mana. While Theron had been focused on Lilac's sword, Violet suddenly appeared within it and nearly took his head.

Theron hadn't sensed the change until it was almost too late because there was nothing to spot. The Mana was an attack he was already waiting for. What he didn't expect was for a person to suddenly pop out from within it.

These twins couldn't just swap places with one another; they could literally form a domain between the two of them, allowing them to construct and deconstruct themselves within the Mana of their sister as though they were Dark Mancers instead of Ice Mancers.

They must have a special constitution that made their bodies, in large part, formed of Ice Mana. They were essentially as close to an Ice Spirit as a human could get.

Alone, this ability was powerful, but not shocking enough to warrant Theron's wariness.

Together, especially with how seamless their silent communication was even without Third Eye, they were deadly.

This pair was a shocking threat.

And yet, Theron's gaze remained deathly calm. He took a breath, and a large amount of Mana rushed toward him. At a speed visible to the naked eye, his wound began to seal itself and heal.

The eyes of the twins opened wide.

Celestial!

They would know this well. They, too, were Celestial talents. It was why they were capable of doing what they were doing now.

But their surprise toward this only lasted for a short moment before Theron's Mana flared. Dark and Water Mana danced, fusing into a single wellspring of dark blue that snaked across the skies like dancing silk.

His Echo activated as he exhaled a breath.

The twins stood back to back, their blades both pointed toward Theron. Ice Mana rotated around them as their grips tightened. They knew they had gotten themselves into a tricky situation.

But who would come out on top wasn't decided just yet.

BANG.

The trio moved at once.

The sight of Theron throwing disciples down the valley was received about as well as one might expect. Somehow, even with all of the disciples participating, Theron managed to become the center of attention again and again.

However, it was a matter the Hall couldn't take direct action on. What Theron had done was the smartest thing to do. If the twins insisted on targeting him, he couldn't just leave others lying around who could stab him in the back at the worst, most inopportune time.

Then all of this was forgotten the instant Theron escaped losing his head. The burst of Mandate was so oppressive his screen nearly cracked, surges of Ice forming over it. The chill was so great that even Lilac and Violet had shivering bodies when facing it.

Just what level of Mandate was that?

And yet, before they could even grapple with this…

Theron fused his Dark and Water Mana into a single entity, summoning his Echo for the very first time.

Celestial.

A Dual Resonance Celestial.