The moment he did, both sides of the valley reacted violently. Waves of fire roared higher, and blizzards swept outward like furious storms. The heat scorched his left side, the cold bit deep into his right, and the opposing energies clashed in the center of his body, testing his strength and balance.
Max didn't move. His expression remained calm, his aura steady. The red lightning around his body flickered faintly as he used the Storm King's Inheritance to stabilize the two conflicting forces. Slowly, he began walking deeper into the valley, step by step.
The deeper he went, the more intense the balance became. It was like walking on the edge between two worlds—one of eternal fire and one of endless ice. Yet Max could feel something in that tension, something he had never sensed before.
"Flame and frost… destruction and stillness," he whispered softly, his eyes gleaming faintly. "Perhaps the key to this trial isn't in resisting them, but in understanding how they coexist."
