Rivers of the Night

Theron's heart was frozen over in an instant of time, all of his inner organs ceasing functions. His soul was the only part of him that remained even the slightest bit alive. Even his pupils, which tried to constrict on instinct, found themselves unable to move in relation to his irises.

'Dammit.'

Theron's soul roared with a hidden might, unleashing all four of his Mandates at once in a torrent of soul pressure.

The four worked in conjunction—his Chilling Path and Heat Darkness Path coming together, while his Heated Path and Chilling Dark Path fused as one.

The latter formed a barrier of astounding heat, the former forming a strong domain of repelling chill.

Theron's two Darkness Mandates were both focused on restraint. His Heat Darkness Path suppressed heat, giving him even greater control over the cold. He could probably flash-freeze a Touching Cloud Realm expert in the blink of an eye when these two Mandates worked together.

However, right now he was using it to give himself greater control over the Ice Mana in the air. The chill was too great with his flames snuffed out, so he had to force it further away.

As for his Heated Path and Chilling Dark Path, they came together once more to form a blazing violet flame even more oppressive than the first.

Whatever that presence was earlier had managed to snuff out his flames in an instant. But his flames hadn't had the support of his other two Mandates at the time, and he was also trying to preserve his stamina, so he wasn't using them to their full capacity.

Theron's aura thrummed, and a pair of Echoes manifested into the world. His Immortal Jellyfish and Impenetrable Octopus Echoes bloomed, forming tendrils of silk that flowed into the region.

With a thought, Theron cast [Shadow Flush], the silky strands fusing into the cloak of darkness that formed over his body in a mesh of black, violet, and deep, dark blues.

Theron's grip over his spear tightened as he regained control over his body. He roared, and the ice forming over him shattered.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood that turned to mists of ice, his body shuddering under the load. Even his lips were a bit blue as he stumbled back before stabilizing to a stop.

If he had reacted just a moment slower, he would have died.

Theron looked up solemnly. What must have been half a kilometer away, through the whipping winds of the falling snow, he saw a wolf with fur as white as snow. On its back, a wispy figure sat. It was vaguely humanoid, but the power it was radiating was unlike anything Theron had sensed until now.

Quasi Dome of Heaven.

'Not good.'

These were the only two thoughts Theron spared toward the graveness of his situation. He had been ready for something like this to happen already. What mattered now wasn't sulking.

The faint edges of the vaguely humanoid figure danced in the wind, revealing a face as gaunt as a skeleton's before the aura that formed its flesh snapped back and hid its grotesque features in a face that was almost mask-like.

It wasn't the humanoid that had acted just now, but its mount—a wolf-shaped Ice Spirit Beast. What was especially bad was that both of them were in the Quasi Dome of Heaven Realm.

It could be said that Theron's luck wasn't all that good. He had yet to run into a Treading Cloud Realm Ice Spirit Beast, but this was the first threat beyond the Ascending Cloud Realm that bore down on him.

Theron's breathing grew even, and he slowly exhaled a breath. Flickering flames of raging violet danced around him, licking against his very skin, and yet burning everything but him.

He stared intently at the threats that stood half a kilometer from him. Neither moved, but they stood at the entrance of one of the forks in the valley—coincidentally the very fork Theron would need to enter if he wanted to make it deeper.

Maybe it wasn't a coincidence at all. This was exactly what should be expected.

They vanished.

Theron's mind blared warnings at him. He couldn't use his Third Eye, but Mandates gave you a oneness with the Heavens that built toward the Dome of Heaven Realm.

If your senses were sharp enough, you would have an intuition toward danger and a feeling for what was most likely to happen next.

Maybe at the highest levels of cultivation, you could even peek into the future, or reverse time to watch what had already happened.

For now, it was enough for Theron to tell that his situation had just become worse.

Theron hurriedly turned, spinning and crossing his spear over his body.

BANG!

He had never felt a blow more powerful in his life. His spear bent toward him, shattering his ribcage and sending him rolling along the ground as though some sort of rag doll.

Theron's mind spun, but he bit his lip. In the noise of pain, he barely managed to regain some of his bearings, slamming the tips of his feet into the ground and popping himself up.

Leaping high into the air off the momentum of his roaring calves, Theron summoned the Alpha.

Crimson fur flashed in Theron's vision, appearing beneath him. The Alpha's claws landed on the heavy snow and dense ice, drawing a sharp line across them as they both skidded to a stop.

Theron's illusory violet flames extended from himself and onto the Alpha's body, a ring of chilling ice-blue forming in the ground around them as though summoning the two through a magic circle.

In that moment, Theron felt as though he had not just one pair of eyes, but two. His [Entangling Blood Vein Pupils] and that of the Alpha's formed into a single entity, and the scope of their Mana Control extended.

Holding out his spear, Theron didn't feel the Ice Spirit Beast wolf vanish again.

He could see it.

The Alpha moved.