Chapter 10: The Blade That Cuts Time
Dragon Capital Academy.
The Floating Island: Dragon's Roost.
Midnight.
The Dragon's Roost was the crown jewel of the Academy. It was a floating landmass, roughly ten acres in size, suspended in the sky by ancient anti-gravity arrays.
It had its own weather system. While the city below was sweltering in the summer heat, the Roost was perpetually cool, bathed in the light of artificial moons.
Ye Han stepped off the teleportation platform.
He took a deep breath.
Whoosh.
The mana here was thick. It wasn't gas; it was almost liquid. Every breath filled his lungs with pure, filtered energy. For the first time since his Awakening, the hunger in his cells settled down slightly.
'Not bad,' Tiamat's voice echoed, sounding pleased. 'This place sits on a Ley Line Node. The mana density is 1200% compared to the surface. It is barely acceptable for a Sovereign's nursery.'
Ye Han walked through the private gardens. Rare herbs that would sell for millions on the black market grew here like weeds. He ignored them.
He walked straight to the Star-Forge.
It was a massive domed building made of obsidian and star-metal. Inside, the heat was intense. A magical fire, fueled by the Academy's core, burned eternally in the center.
Ye Han stepped inside.
The heat tried to attack him, but his Glacial Aura pushed it back. The fire in the forge flickered, dimming as he approached.
"Fire yields to Winter," Ye Han muttered, repeating his mantra.
He walked to the central anvil.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Blood Ruby—the crystallized sphere of Ye Xiao's blood he had extracted in the arena.
'Are you ready?' Tiamat asked. Her tone was serious. 'Breaking the Second Seal is not like the first. The first was a passive release of aura. This is an active extraction of an Object. If your body cannot handle the weight of the weapon, your arm will shatter.'
"My body is diamond," Ye Han said calmly. "And my will is absolute. Let's do it."
He placed the Blood Ruby on the anvil.
He closed his eyes.
Soul Space.
Ye Han stood on the frozen ocean of his mind.
The nine massive chains still dominated the sky. The first chain lay broken in glittering dust.
Now, Ye Han looked at the Second Chain.
It was different from the others. It wasn't made of gold. It was made of Grey Iron, etched with runes that hurt the eyes to look at. It pulsed with a heavy, metallic rhythm.
[Seal of the Armory.]
Tiamat materialized next to him in her human form. She pointed at the chain.
"The Azure Dragon blood acts as a corrupted key," she explained. "It tricks the lock into thinking a Dragon is present. But to turn the key... you must inject your Sovereign Will."
Ye Han nodded.
He reached out with his spiritual hand. He grabbed the colossal Grey Chain.
Burn.
It didn't burn with heat; it burned with Weight.
Ye Han felt like he was trying to lift a neutron star. His spiritual knees buckled. The sheer mass of the concept locked behind the chain threatened to crush his soul.
"Heavy..." Ye Han gritted his teeth.
"Of course it is heavy!" Tiamat shouted. "It is a weapon from the Eternal Realm! Even a replica weighs more than a mountain! Pull, Ye Han! PULL!"
Ye Han roared. His silver-diamond hair whipped around him in the spiritual wind. His dragon eye glowed with blinding intensity.
"I... am... the Master!"
He channeled every ounce of his arrogance, his pride, and his cold determination into his grip.
Creak.
The Grey Chain groaned.
Outside, on the physical anvil, the Blood Ruby began to melt. It turned into a red mist that swirled into Ye Han's chest.
Snap.
In the Soul Space, a hairline fracture appeared on the link.
"BREAK!"
Ye Han pulled with the force of a god.
BANG!
The Second Chain shattered.
The explosion in the Soul Space was deafening. Grey light flooded the world.
From the debris of the broken chain, an object descended.
It fell slowly, spinning.
It was a sword.
But it wasn't made of steel. It looked like it was forged from the deepest, darkest ice at the bottom of the universe. The blade was translucent, yet it seemed to swallow light. Runes of blue fire danced along its edge.
Ye Han reached out and caught the hilt.
[System Alert: Second Seal Broken.]
[Weapon Unlocked: Frostmourne - The Sword of Deleted Time (Sealed State: Tier 1)]
The Star-Forge.
Real World.
Ye Han opened his eyes.
The Blood Ruby was gone.
In his right hand, he was holding nothing.
Or rather, it looked like nothing at first.
Slowly, the air in the forge began to scream. The heat was sucked out of the room so violently that the magical fire in the pit was extinguished instantly.
Frost began to crawl up Ye Han's arm, turning his sleeve into ice.
In his grip, the weapon materialized.
It was a Longsword. The blade was 1.5 meters long, slender and elegant. It was semi-transparent, like a shard of glass, but inside the glass, a blue nebula swirled. The guard was shaped like a dragon's skull, and the hilt was wrapped in leather made from the skin of a Void Beast.
It was beautiful. And it was terrifying.
Ye Han tried to lift it.
His arm trembled. The veins in his neck popped.
"It weighs... a ton," Ye Han gasped.
Physically, it shouldn't weigh that much. But conceptually, the sword was "dense." It carried the weight of the laws it governed.
'Swing it,' Tiamat whispered. 'Test it.'
Ye Han gripped the hilt with both hands. He widened his stance.
He looked at the massive adamantite anvil in front of him. Adamantite was the hardest metal on Earth. S-Rank hunters had trouble scratching it.
Ye Han raised the sword.
"Cut."
He swung.
There was no sound of metal hitting metal. There was no spark.
The blade passed through the adamantite anvil as if it were smoke.
Ye Han stumbled forward, the lack of resistance throwing him off balance.
He looked at the anvil. It looked untouched.
"It failed?" Ye Han frowned.
'Look closer,' Tiamat said.
Ye Han leaned in.
A thin blue line had appeared on the anvil.
Then, the top half of the anvil began to slide. It slid off the base and hit the floor.
Thud.
Ye Han looked at the cut surface.
It wasn't smooth. It was Mirrored.
But more strangely, there was a layer of grey mist hovering over the cut.
Ye Han reached out to touch the cut surface.
'Don't touch it!' Tiamat warned sharply. 'That isn't cold. That is Stasis.'
"Stasis?"
"Frostmourne does not just cut matter," Tiamat explained. "It freezes the Time of the object it cuts. That cut surface is frozen in a single millisecond of existence. If you touch it, your finger will be frozen in that same millisecond forever. You will never be able to move it again."
Ye Han pulled his hand back.
He looked at the sword with new respect.
"A sword that severs the timeline of the target," Ye Han murmured. "Deleted Time."
He swung the sword again, this time slashing the air.
A rift of grey mist lingered in the air for three seconds before fading.
"It eats mana like a beast, though," Ye Han noted. Just holding it for two minutes had drained 10% of his massive mana pool.
"I can't keep it materialized forever."
He willed the sword to vanish. It dissolved into blue motes of light and returned to his Soul Space.
Ye Han slumped against the cold forge wall. He was sweating—cold sweat.
"Two seals down," he panted. "Seven to go."
'The Third Seal,' Tiamat said, 'governs Armor. The Sovereign's Scale. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. You have a weapon now. You are ready for the Red Gate.'
Two Days Later.
Dragon Capital - Central Command.
Briefing Room.
The room was filled with the elite of the elite.
General Vance sat at the head of the table. Beside him sat Dean Ouyang. Around the table were five S-Rank Hunters, including Ye Tian (who had flown in from Azure Dragon City) and the Guild Master of the White Tiger Guild.
But all eyes were on the young man sitting at the end of the table.
Ye Han was wearing a custom-made combat suit given to him by the Academy. It was black with silver trim, made of Dragon-Silk. He looked relaxed, spinning a pen in his hand.
"Let's review the mission," General Vance said, pulling up a holographic map of the Pacific Ocean.
"The Red Gate: Mariana Trench."
"It appeared 48 hours ago. The mana readings are stabilizing. This indicates it is a Type-3 Dungeon—a Raid Type. We enter, we kill the boss, we leave."
Vance looked at the team.
"The Strike Team consists of:
* Ye Tian (Berserker, S-Rank) - Tank.
* Li Feng (White Tiger, S-Rank) - DPS.
* Sarah Miller (American Federation, S-Rank) - Healer.
* Ouyang Feng (Mage, S-Rank) - Crowd Control."
Vance paused.
"And... Ye Han (Sovereign, SSS-Rank) - Wildcard."
The S-Rank hunters exchanged glances. They were veterans. They had cleared dozens of Red Gates. But working with an 18-year-old rookie, even an SSS-Rank one, made them nervous.
"Kid," Li Feng, the White Tiger Guild Master, grunted. He was a massive man with scars all over his face. "I saw the videos. You freeze things. Good. But in a Red Gate, the monsters have high resistance. Can you freeze a Kraken? Can you freeze a Tsunami?"
Ye Han stopped spinning his pen.
"Can you kill a god?" Ye Han countered.
Li Feng frowned. "What?"
"If you can't," Ye Han said, "then stop asking stupid questions and focus on keeping the aggro off me."
Li Feng slammed his fist on the table. "You insolent—"
"Enough," Vance commanded. "We launch in one hour. This is an international joint operation. Do not embarrass the Alliance."
Ye Han stood up. "I'll be in the transport."
He walked out.
Ye Tian sighed, rubbing his temples. "I apologize for my son. His power... it affects his personality. He is becoming more 'Dragon' every day."
Ouyang Feng watched Ye Han leave. "Let us hope his bite is as strong as his bark. Because the readings from this Gate... they are strange. They are not just Red. There are traces of Black."
The Pacific Ocean.
Drop Zone.
14:00 PM.
A massive carrier ship floated near the swirling vortex of the Red Gate. The gate was hovering above the water, a massive red eye bleeding energy into the atmosphere.
The Strike Team stood on the deck.
"Gear check!"
Ye Tian hefted his massive battle axe. Li Feng sharpened his dual claws. Sarah Miller checked her staff.
Ye Han stood with his hands empty.
"Where is your weapon?" Sarah asked. She was a blonde woman with a kind face, a top-tier healer.
"I carry it with me," Ye Han said cryptically.
"Entering the Gate in 3... 2... 1..."
The team jumped into the vortex.
Inside the Red Gate.
Location: The Abyssal Archipelago.
They landed on a black sand beach.
The sky was blood red. The ocean was black oil. In the distance, massive islands made of jagged rock pierced the sky.
"Atmosphere check," Ye Tian ordered. "Gravity is 2x Earth normal. Air is toxic but breathable for S-Ranks."
Rumble.
The black ocean began to boil.
"Contact!" Li Feng shouted. "12 o'clock!"
From the oily water, hundreds of creatures emerged. They looked like humanoid fish-men, but they were covered in spiked coral armor and wielded tridents made of bone.
[Monster: Deep Sea Marauder]
[Rank: B-Grade]
[Count: 500+]
"A horde!" Ye Tian roared. "Formation! I'll take the front!"
Ye Tian charged, his aura exploding in red light. He swung his axe, creating a shockwave that decimated the front line.
"Tiger Claw!" Li Feng leaped into the fray, shredding monsters with incredible speed.
Ouyang Feng floated up, raining lightning down on the horde.
It was a symphony of destruction. The S-Rank Hunters were powerful. They were slaughtering the B-Rank monsters.
Ye Han stood on the beach. He hadn't moved.
"Ye Han!" Sarah shouted, casting a shield on herself. "Do something! Don't just watch!"
Ye Han was looking at the ocean.
'Not them,' Ye Han thought. 'These are just the ants.'
He sensed something deeper. Something huge.
'Tiamat. Is it here?'
'Yes,' Tiamat hissed. 'Below the surface. It is watching.'
Suddenly, the ocean exploded.
A tentacle the size of a skyscraper shot out of the water. It wasn't flesh; it was made of blue, translucent slime that sizzled with electricity.
It slammed down on Ye Tian.
"Block!" Ye Tian crossed his arms.
BANG!
The S-Rank Berserker was swatted like a fly. He flew backward, crashing into the black sand, coughing blood.
"Tian!" Sarah screamed, casting a heal.
Another tentacle shot out, grabbing Li Feng mid-air.
"Let go!" Li Feng slashed at it, but his claws bounced off the slime. "Physical immunity?! It's a Slime Type!"
From the depths, the main body rose.
It was a colossal jellyfish-like entity, floating in the air. Inside its transparent body, thousands of human skulls floated.
[Dungeon Boss: The Gelatinous Emperor]
[Rank: Peak S-Grade (Mutated)]
[Abilities: Physical Immunity, Lightning Aura, Acid Rain]
"It's the Boss!" Ouyang Feng shouted. "It's guarding the entrance! This isn't a raid; it's a trap!"
The Emperor pulsated. A wave of acid rain began to fall.
"Shields!" Ouyang cast a barrier, but the acid ate through it in seconds.
The team was in trouble. Physical attacks didn't work. Magic was being neutralized by the acid.
"Ye Han!" Ye Tian shouted, standing up shakily. "Run! Get out and warn the fleet!"
Ye Han looked up at the floating jelly-mountain.
"Physical Immunity?" Ye Han asked.
He walked forward. The acid rain fell on him.
But before the drops could touch his skin, they turned into hail. They bounced off his invisible aura.
"Hey, Jellyfish."
Ye Han stepped onto the air, walking up toward the boss.
The Emperor roared—a gurgling, wet sound. It sent five tentacles rushing toward Ye Han.
"Li Feng asked me a question earlier," Ye Han said, his voice amplified by the cold air.
"He asked if I could freeze a Tsunami."
Ye Han reached out his right hand.
The air around him darkened. The temperature dropped so fast that the black ocean below flashed-froze into a solid sheet of ice.
[Sovereign Art: Glacial coffin.]
Ye Han clenched his fist.
The five tentacles stopped. The slime turned white.
The freezing effect raced up the tentacles toward the main body.
The Emperor panicked. It tried to detach its limbs.
"Too late," Ye Han whispered.
He didn't just use ice. He pushed his mana into the Second Seal.
A ghostly image of a sword appeared in his hand.
He didn't draw the real Frostmourne yet—that was for the kill—but he channeled its Stasis aura.
[Concept: Halt.]
The freezing process accelerated instantly. The Emperor, a creature of liquid and electricity, turned solid.
In three seconds, the skyscraper-sized monster was transformed into a floating iceberg.
The acid rain stopped.
The S-Rank team on the beach stared, their mouths agape.
Ye Han hovered in front of the frozen boss.
"Physical immunity means nothing," Ye Han said, tapping the frozen surface of the monster, "if you are a solid."
He looked down at Li Feng, who was still wrapped in the frozen tentacle.
"Now," Ye Han called out. "You can hit it."
Ye Tian and Li Feng exchanged a look of pure shock.
"He... he changed its state of matter," Ouyang Feng gasped. "He turned a liquid boss into a solid block. Now physical attacks will work."
"Attack!" Ye Tian roared, regaining his morale. "Shatter it!"
The team unleashed their ultimates on the frozen boss.
CRASH!
The Gelatinous Emperor shattered into a million pieces of ice.
[Boss Defeated?]
No.
As the ice settled, the system did not chime.
Instead, the black ocean began to drain. A whirlpool opened in the center of the frozen sea.
From the whirlpool, a voice emerged. It wasn't a monster roar. It was a voice speaking in an ancient, guttural language.
"Who... dares... touch... my... pet?"
Ye Han's eyes narrowed. The golden slit in his right eye vibrated.
'Master,' Tiamat warned urgently. 'That language. That is Abyssal High-Speech.'
'High-Tier World?'
'Yes. The Boss was just the gatekeeper. The real enemy... is coming through.'
A hand reached out of the whirlpool.
It was a humanoid hand, covered in red scales, holding a trident made of black metal.
[Warning: Dimensional Breach Detected.]
[Entity Rank: SS-Grade (Suppressed)]
A Naga General from a High-Tier World climbed out of the abyss. He stood ten meters tall, radiating an aura that made the S-Rank hunters on the beach fall to their knees vomiting.
The Naga looked at the frozen remains of the Emperor. Then he looked at Ye Han.
"A Sovereign?" The Naga sneered. "On a trash planet? How delicious. I will harvest your soul for the Sea God."
Ye Han didn't flinch.
He reached into the void.
Grey mist began to swirl around his hand.
"Harvest me?"
Ye Han smiled, and the temperature dropped to a point where even time seemed to shiver.
"I hope your neck is harder than your pet's."
"COME, FROSTMOURNE!"
Blue light exploded. The Sword of Deleted Time materialized in the physical world for the first time.
Chapter 10 End.