Nathan’s spirit vision blurred.

  All he could hear was Lachlan’s roar and the terrifying crackle of lightning. Emrys’s protective dome had collapsed—he was sure of it—just before his vision failed. Lachlan was charging forward, a weapon resembling a small spike in his hand.

  Zeryn grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. The wind whipped their clothes into a frenzy.

  Silence fell, broken only by the soft whisper of dust settling.

  Nathan cracked open his eyes. The second sun had vanished. He blinked, waiting for his vision to stabilize. The scene before him sent a lump to his throat.

  Lachlan’s soldiers had nearly all fallen, annihilated with a chilling thoroughness. Their clothes were gone, disintegrated into atoms and returned to nature. Their bodies had met the same fate, leaving small dunes of fine sand scattered across the battlefield.

  A wave of horror washed over Nathan. The desolate landscape of dust wasn’t from collapsed buildings or structures. They were human. Decaying to their final form. The state of high entropy.

  The thought of his feet buried in the remains of those soldiers brought a dry heave, but his empty, exhausted stomach had nothing left to give.

  He quickly scanned for the Verdant Spire Sect disciples. One glance confirmed their losses. Frank and Elen were still holding their ground behind a newly erected mana shield, but both were grievously wounded, blood seeping through their clothes.

  The other sects and organizations were in no better shape. Only Prince Daniel’s personal guard remained completely unscathed. Nathan frowned. The safety of the royal faction raised a new hypothesis: they weren’t among Maelivar’s targets.

  Why?

  Zeryn stood up, his features contorted. His usually sleek hair was matted, refusing to move with the wind. Both the sword prodigy and Nathan turned their gaze toward the figure kneeling before them.

  Blood streamed from every part of Lachlan, not just his mouth, but his nose, eyes, and ears. Through his soaked clothes, the burst blood vessels beneath his skin were visible.

  Standing on the plateau, Arthur Merinor smiled. He patted his wounded sister’s shoulder and took a step forward.

  “Accept your loss,” Arthur said, his voice ringing out. “You cannot win! That’s an undeniable truth! A fact that is stronger than heaven. You cannot break it.”

  Lachlan, head bowed low, raised a hand. Blood gurgled from his mouth as he tried to speak, but no words came. The Major wanted to argue—that much was clear—but he couldn't.

  “What do you think of my Intent?” Arthur’s gaze shifted to Zeryn. “You, the sword prodigy, have already reached the third step of Sword Intent. You must understand me better than anyone, right?”

  Zeryn ground his teeth, the sound grating in Nathan’s ears. It wasn’t indignation or anger. It was a reluctant acknowledgment. Arthur Merinor not only possessed a Rare Aspect, but he also held an audacity that no one could match. An intellect that surpassed all others.

  “But I think I’m better than you, Zeryn Valtaris,” Arthur said, his voice heavy with sincerity, not sarcasm. “Sword Intent, as prestigious as it may be, is still a path well-trodden by your predecessors. So, though difficult and rare, you can still trace their steps to perfect yourself. As for me, I don’t have that privilege.”

  Lachlan once again tried to speak, only producing a gurgling sound.

  “Don’t try harder, Major.” Arthur’s features softened into a mask of concern. “I don’t want you to die too soon. Ah, where was I? Right, Intent. You see, Adrian didn’t even last long enough after I used it for me to have time for bragging. My greatest feat. Or it could be the first one ever in history. Oh, yes. I’m the pioneer of our time, don’t you think? The Unprecedented and Unrepeatable. That would be a great title for future generations to remember me by.”

  Nathan silently nodded. His understanding was limited, but it was enough to know that Arthur was terrifyingly dangerous. Sword Intent or any other “common” Intent was still incredibly rare. It had taken several generations for the Verdant Spire Sect to produce two disciples with Intent: Xander and Zeryn. So, for a Rare Aspect, it was like searching for a needle in the ocean. There were too few individuals who possessed the Entropy Aspect to even begin to fathom its Intent. Any attempt was a step in the dark. One wrong move, and it would be an irrecoverable disaster—a risk few would dare to take.

  Yet, Arthur had succeeded in creating his own Intent.

  “The human mind is an uncharted territory for the Entropy Aspect,” Arthur lectured, his voice full of the enthusiasm of a passionate teacher. “You know the body is a detailed and complex machine, constantly working to maintain the existence you call ‘you.’ Billions of atoms have only one combination to create you. Our human body is such a miracle, don’t you agree? Billions of atoms have countless ways to combine, yet the circumstances still arise to create different individuals. Nature is a wonderful thing.”

  Arthur’s gaze turned distant. “But nature is also a bitch. It has limitations, and I have to break them step by step to be powerful. To master the process of making things go from a low-entropy state to a high-entropy state is a pain in the ass. So I shifted my attention. Into the human mind. You see, the human mind also works on the concept of entropy.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Why are you telling us this?” Nathan asked, frowning.

  “Oh, Nathan.” Arthur shook his head. “You’re a special case, yet you don’t think like me? A victory where the enemy doesn’t know the reason only instills fear. There’s no respect, no sense of utter defeat. And that’s precisely what I want.”

  “You’re confident that we cannot find a way to break your Intent?”

  “Is that a question or a statement?” Arthur chuckled. “Of course, there is a way. There is always a way. That’s the law of nature. But can you even grasp the nature of my ability?”

  “Enlighten us then,” Zeryn said, his voice tight with frustration.

  “Ah, good, good. Your Major has just experienced the state of high-entropy to his mind. That is not pleasant, huh Major?”

  Lachlan answered by clenching a fistful of dust from the ground.

  “We, as humans, are always in a constant fight within ourselves,” Arthur said. “Our mind is a mess, don’t you agree? And you have to clean it up, make it think straight every second. To fight depression, sadness, grief, anger, lack of motivation, aimlessness. You have to walk a narrow path between the messes in your mind to figure out a way. To not lose it. To not go crazy. And that’s even truer for a cultivator, where you have to fight your Internal or Demonic Tribulation. Your inner demon.”

  Then, the realization struck Nathan. That was why the higher-Phase Tier 3 cultivators hadn't been sent here after Adrian. It wasn't just because Adrian was a test of the destructive power Caelindor could bring, but also because of Arthur's Intent. Cultivators closer to Tier 4 had higher spiritual instability, making them more susceptible to the Entropy Intent. The probability of them going mad when facing Arthur was too great to even consider sending them.

  “Cultivators don’t just use brainwaves,” Arthur said. “We also use spirit, something outside of nature. And since it’s outside of nature, I can’t accelerate its entropy. So, I thought a lot about this problem. And finally, I broke through the veil, entered the room you call the mind, and pierced through it, collapsing your spirit.”

  Arthur floated up as if to make himself more visible. “Even your basic movements, thoughts, and speech require a lot of effort to force your mind into submission. You cannot change how you work and operate. Hence, you cannot stop me. You cannot stop my Spirit Entropic Intent! Now, I can truly say no one or nothing escapes from Entropy.”

  The morning sun had fully risen behind Arthur, casting his face in shadow. He looked ominous, not radiant. His tattered clothes fluttered in the wind, his gaunt frame making him look as if he had just stepped out of the ninth hell.

  “And now, your Major has suffered from it. Accept defeat, and you shall have a chance to live. To run. To survive.”

  A heavy silence descended upon the entire battlefield; people didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly. The Maelivar soldiers holding spears halted their advance, retreating to a safe distance. Through the gaps in their armor, fearful eyes watched.

  All eyes fell on the grimy figure kneeling on the ground. Blood had pooled into a dark puddle beneath Lachlan's knees. His hair was a tangled, scorched mess. His hands trembled, not just from Arthur’s pressure, but from the weight of his invisible responsibility.

  Nathan discreetly contacted Argentius. The beast affirmed it could join the fight. Still, Nathan didn't place too much faith in his companion. Even Lachlan and Zeryn had been rendered helpless.

  His final option was the fishing rod from the man in white. He was unsure how to use it, but Darkan had given him some instructions after tinkering with it. The price was having all the mana in his body drained in an instant. This item was, after all, a weapon used by a Tier 6 being; for a Tier 2 like him, it was far too much to handle.

  “No!” Lachlan’s hoarse voice rose, not a shout or a roar, just loud enough for everyone to hear. “I can still fight! My men can still fight!”

  Stamping feet and a unified shout answered his call. “Until our last breath!” Their numbers, now barely a hundred, meant the cry lacked its former might and vigor, but their eyes remained as steadfast and unyielding as ever.

  “Oh,” Arthur uttered, a smile playing on his lips.

  Lachlan pushed himself to his feet, spraying blood with the movement. He lifted his head. The once imperious, mocking face was gone, replaced by a grim visage streaked with blood and absolute determination.

  “Our fight is not over, Arthur,” Lachlan said solemnly. “I’ll let you see, you are not the greatest of all time. Not even this time.”

  Arthur held out a hand, beckoning provocatively.

  Emrys stood up, her face ashen and wrinkled. A solid protective dome was once again created.

  Without a signal, both Zeryn and Nathan advanced to assist Lachlan.

  His friend muttered something. A moment later, a clanging sound grew louder, escaping the invisible realm of Sword Intent or Sharp Aspect.

  The swords of the fallen soldiers on the ground trembled, then one by one, they rose into the air. The sound of metal rang out like the cheers of soldiers who had already passed on, rejoicing that they could still be of service even in death.

  Hundreds of swords danced behind Zeryn. A red glint appeared in his eyes, blood seeping from them under his intense focus.

  Triggered [Mind of Tranquility]. One credit given.

  Triggered [Mind of Tranquility]. One credit given.

  Triggered [Mind of Tranquility] x 9…

  Notifications flooded the system. Even protected by the passive skill, Nathan couldn’t avoid the sharp pains in his head. To reach the spirit, Arthur needed to penetrate the mind's defenses. And now, the curious gaze of the master of the Entropy Aspect once again fell upon Nathan.

  Zeryn is trying to hold it together. Nathan understood.

  He immediately charged forward to draw the enemy’s focus to himself.

  His foot slammed into the ground, launching him into the air. The force was wrong. The distance he created wasn't nearly as far as he'd estimated.

  Impossible!

  Triggered [Amplifying Strike]. One credit given.

  !!!error!!!

  [Amplifying Strike] nullified.

  Triggered [Flowing Strikes]. One credit given.

  !!!error!!!

  [Flowing Strikes] nullified.

  Triggered [Rebound]. One credit given.

  !!!error!!!

  [Rebound] nullified.

  System is identifying the issues…

  System cannot determine the cause…

  For the first time since joining the war, Nathan's heart skipped several beats. His breath caught, and every seemingly basic action suddenly became difficult.

  He halted his advance, cold sweat breaking out on his back and neck, running down to his heels. His eyes widened at the intense focus of Arthur Merinor's stare—a bottomless pit he was falling into uncontrollably.

  Arthur smiled. Nathan took a step back.

  The battle was decided before it even began.