QUANTUM GATE

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

The atmosphere crackled with the tension of impending doom as Azmond stood enveloped in the swirling energies of his formidable technique, |QUANTUM GATE|.

.......

|QUANTUM GATE|

A technique that Azmond acquired after completing 1000 refinements in the Body Refinement Realm.

Furthermore, it's a technique that's an evolved version of the Divine Gate technique which was subsequently evolved from the Heavenly Gate technique.

Every single one of these techniques corresponds to the 3 secret minor realms in the Body Refinement Realm (13th, 14th, 15th) that you can reach as long as your innate talent and will to defy are high enough.

Every single one of these techniques and even the very minor realms themselves embody a small part of a fundamental law of creation.

With the Quantum Law being the most lethal one of them all… and also the hardest to achieve...

...

It's a law that can even begin to warp the very fabric of reality…

Although Azmond was still far from reaching the level necessary to fully alter the fabric of reality, he was capable of warping space in a small area for a very limited amount of time.

*****

RUMBLE!

The very air seemed to shiver with the weight of the impending cataclysm. Crystalline, her eyes widening slightly in awe and uneasiness, felt a surge of anxiety coursing through her.

......

"...."

The Goblin King, despite his defiant grin, couldn't ignore the growing pressure around him. His arrogance wavered for a moment as he realized the gravity of the situation.

The battlefield, scarred and battered from their relentless clash as mountains, hills, lakes, and anything within hundreds of miles wasn't left unscathed, a battlefield that became the stage for the final act of this otherworldly clash!

WAAAA!

As Azmond's power reached its peak, the ground beneath them trembled. The air distorted with the intensity of the energy gathering around him.

The Goblin King, recognizing the imminent danger, summoned every ounce of his magical prowess, creating a massive protective barrier that shimmered like a wavering mirage.

WSHIING!

....

"..."

Crystalline, torn between fear for Azmond and a growing thirst for revenge against the Goblin King for hurting Azmond, felt a strange pull toward the unfolding spectacle. Her internal turmoil manifested in an eerie glow around her, a manifestation of her conflicting emotions.

In the midst of this supernatural maelstrom, Azmond's voice cut through the charged air, devoid of any emotion. "Witness the power that transcends realms, Goblin King…"

"|QUANTUM GATE| shall be the last thing you ever hear," he declared with a cold gleam in his eyes.

WAAA!

With those chilling words, Azmond unleashed the accumulated energy, and the very fabric of space seemed to warp around him!

A spiraling vortex of ethereal light and darkness emerged, drawing everything into its cosmic embrace.

"!!!!"

The Goblin King, trapped within the gravitational force of Azmond's unprecedented technique, struggled to maintain his composure. His magical barrier flickered, resisting the gravitational pull but inching closer to the inevitable collapse.

...

"..."

Crystalline, her eyes fixed on Azmond's form, felt a surge of conflicting emotions. The desire to run up and try to assist him despite the consequences of her actions clashed with the fear of losing Azmond to the abyss he was unleashing upon the Goblin King.

An abyss that he might get dragged into himself if she were to recklessly run up to him now...

.....

OOOM!

As the |QUANTUM GATE| expanded in the form of a disorienting blend of colors and energies, Azmond stood at its epicenter, his figure distorted by the sheer magnitude of the arcane forces at play.

"ARGHHH!!!"

The Goblin King, defiant to the end, roared against the encroaching void.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The clash of their powers reached a fever pitch, causing shockwaves that echoed through the vast lands below.

The battlefield seemed to exist on the precipice of reality, a place where the laws of magic and nature intertwined in a chaotic dance!

.....

"..."

Crystalline, torn between affability and vengeance, felt a surge of power within her. Unbeknownst to her, a subtle transformation occurred as her very essence resonated with the energies unleashed.

A newfound strength surged through her veins, but the price was a major one… A price that she would soon have to pay if she let the power she was gaining stay a part of her.

.....

RUMBLE!

As Azmond's technique neared its climax, a blinding burst of light erupted!

The |QUANTUM GATE| reached its pinnacle, folding the fabric of space and time. In that moment, the battlefield became a cosmic tapestry, threads of reality unraveling as Azmond's power transcended the vast difference in power between Great Realms!

WAAaa...

When the brilliance faded, only echoes remained. The once-war-torn landscape now stood in an eerie silence. Crystalline, her heart pounding, scanned the aftermath, looking for Azmond.

'Please be there... Azmond… I don't know why… but I don't think I can live in a future without you.'

Tears began to form in Crystalline's glistening green eyes as she continued to wait with bated breath for the remnant energies obscuring her view to pass.

'...Even though I just met you… Why?... Why do I have these feelings of loss and fear when I think of a future without you in it…'

Crystalline's thoughts began to spiral down a rabbit hole of emptiness when she finally saw a lone figure in the middle of the battlefield… worry and trepidation filled her heart as she started to pray with all her heart… pray that the standing figure was the only man she wanted to be next to her—pray that Azmond was still left standing…

....

And it looks as if her prayers were answered as…

"..."

There, in the center of the surreal tableau, Azmond stood, his robes tattered, his form marked by the toll of his unparalleled feat.

He had crossed 4 major Realms in battle and won… A feat that shouldn't even be possible and yet… Azmond accomplished it!

The Goblin King, however, was nowhere to be seen...

....

*Tap Tap*

Crystalline, with a mixture of relief and sorrow coursing through her, approached Azmond.

"..." His eyes, once ablaze with the thrill of battle, now held a profound weariness. The cost of wielding such immense power was etched on his face.

.......

Azmond only had partial comprehension of the Quantum Gate due to his lack of cultivation base, so releasing the Quantum Gate prematurely like he had just done was not without its consequences...

.....

"...You… Dummy," she whispered with relief and… a hint of obsession in her voice.

"..." Azmond lightly nodded, the gravity of his actions settling upon him. "I told him not to blink… and now look at him… Those green piggies never learn, do they? Haha~"

His words reverberated, followed by a gentle laugh, until he suddenly realized the hidden emotions conveyed by Crystalline's words.

"...And is that worry over my safety I see on that pretty face of yours~?" Azmond asked with a slight playful grin forming on his exhausted face as he inched ever closer to her

"...Idiot…" Crystalline responded with a dark shade of red forming on her plump cheeks as she looked away from the bloodied Azmond.

"Heh… You really are so cute, aren't you, my Crystalline~?"

A kind yet obsessive smile emerged on Azmond's chiseled features as he lovingly gazed at her.

"...Dummy…"

Crystalline was practically as red as a tomato as she looked in the complete opposite direction of Azmond, with a small, cute pout on her chipmunk-like face.

....

Her cold exterior had all but completely disappeared when she was around Azmond…

He just seemed to know exactly what to say to make that ice sheet melt away...

....

"...Yah I know," Azmond replied with a smile that could light up the world as he gently turned Crystalline's chin toward him and looked directly into her big beautiful green eyes.

"But I meant every word I said," he continued with that same bright smile of his.

"...Dummy…" Crystalline was practically on the verge of fainting as she looked directly at Azmond's perfect face and saw that annoyingly beautiful smile.

'...This man is seriously…' A slightly obsessive look suddenly appeared in her eyes as both of her shining emeralds started to darken by a considerable degree.

'...So Annoying…'

Her black hole-like eyes were practically capable of sucking in everything around her on the same level as Azmond's Quantum Gate.

Crystalline's pupils started to take on the shape of hearts as she stared directly into his deep blue eyes, which were starting to take on the same darkness as hers when he looked at her...