Shin’s cosmic wings flapped in unison, bursting the Prince out into the open, free from the protection that his Celestial Dragon Avatar provided. In fact, the Celestial Dragon had been purged from the material plane and took residence back within Shin’s spiritual soul, too unmotivated to come out. With the Cosmic Butterfly’s wings attached to Shin’s back, there was no need for the Celestial Dragon to do all the heavy lifting.

Space-Elements glittered down the cosmic wings, turning Shin’s figure illusory. In his current state, one would be hard-pressed to pinpoint his exact location and launch a satisfactory counter-attack. And that was precisely the case with the Prince of Time. Within his protective sand sphere, Lukman heightened his senses to the maximum. The attack that he had been preparing for the last few seconds was at its completion, and all he needed to do was to target his opponent. Unfortunately, Shin’s cosmic wings made the job all too difficult. Not to mention, there was an element of uncertainty when it came to Shin’s new ability.

‘Those wings should be his Spirit Venerate ability… I’d never heard of Shin creating butterfly wings before,’ Lukman instantly deduced the true nature of the uncertain variable. ‘Though I don’t know what ability it has, I doubt it would be any weaker than his other broken spiritual abilities. I guess I’ll have to play it safe!’

The desert vortex grew ten times bigger than it was before with Lukman’s single thought. Winds that ripped through the sky at speeds that would uproot mountains took over the atmosphere, blowing all types of debris from the sandy surface beneath. In no time at all, fifteen humongous tornados, filled to the brim with Lukman’s own created sand, took over Kjlose Yard. It looked like an armageddon had just descended upon the poor Land of Dreams, tearing up much of the natural surface, or what little that was left of it.

Lukman had shifted his tactics. If he couldn’t find Shin when he was shrouded by Space-Elements, the Prince of Sand would blow the entire battlefield away. No matter how elusive Shin was, there was no feasible way that the man could evade a wide-area attack such as the sandstorm apocalypse that Lukman was unleashing. Tearing winds seared through the sandy plains, and encroached on Shin’s location at blinding speeds. In just a few moments, the skies would become the Prince of Sand’s domain, and Shin would be forced to ground himself.

However, at the bottom, numerous whirlpools in the sand were lying in wait. Once Shin landed, Lukman’s created terrain would wreak more havoc than the Prince of Water could bear. The skies weren’t safe, the ground wasn’t safe. There was nowhere that Shin could evade to, which left the man with one option. To face the staggering attack upfront and risk his body being ripped to shreds.

Or so that was what Lukman thought…

“...” Shin stood still, allowing the rapid winds to inch closer and closer towards his vulnerable body. Though Shin has cast his Spiritual Body Enhancement and had the defence of a fortified dome, the Prince of Sand’s cataclysm would unquestionably force Shin to shed a limb or two. However, the man wasn’t perturbed. His eyes never left Lukman’s protective sphere. They were wholly focused on one point, even as the tornados were at his doorstep.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The spectators looked on in horror, not knowing if Shin had just given up and accepted his fate. Some weak-willed individuals even looked away, unwilling to watch the bloodshed that was about to occur. Though, Kanari didn’t share the same worries as the rest of them. She had utter faith in her husband, particularly since she’d seen what the cosmic wings were capable of. Holding her chin high, the Princess waited in anticipation to see her husband carry himself to victory.

Shin remained unmoving, even as the tornados were just five metres away from ripping his head off his body. He could feel the blistering winds picking on his scaly exterior all while sand entered into his eyes, ears and nostrils. It was getting hard to withstand the pressure from Lukman’s attack, but Shin didn’t have to hold still for much longer. It was now… The perfect time to strike.

‘Three… Two… One… NOW!!!’

In a blink of an eye, the cosmic wings behind Shin glimmered like the patch of the night sky, and an astral sound echoed out. If not for the staggering whirlwinds that shrouded Shin’s image, Lukman may have picked out the strange phenomenon and pulled back his attack. However, the Prince of Sand had committed his all, and therefore, wasn’t able to see that Shin had disappeared from the place he was meant to be.

Slamming his palms together, Lukman willed his final sandstorm to wreak havoc in Shin’s prior location, and the fifteen tornados slammed into one another. The Sahara Desert had its fair share of sandstorms during its day, but even it hadn’t faced a sandy catastrophe quite like this. Winds tore through everything that laid before its path as sand rained down from the heavens like meteor showers crashing onto the planet. Any being, be it a cultivator or a Spirit Beast, would find it impossible to withstand the pressure from all fronts and crumble to the attack, and Shin was no exception. His Celestial Dragon Avatar could only protect him from so much and against that worldly disaster, there was nothing much that Shin could do but pray for a quick death.

Fortunately, the Prince of Water didn’t have to face that attack head-on… Why?

As Lukman’s final attack settled, time came straight to a halt. The immense spiritual energies that the Prince of Sand spewed out faded away rapidly and the blistering whirlwinds calmed. There was not much action left in Kjlose Yard, except the falling particles of sand which trickled down like harmless snow. Many of the spectators opened their eyes, assuming that Shin’s body had been torn apart and heaps of blood and flesh would be raining down from his original position. However, instead of the gory scene that they’d all expected, there was nothing there.

In the meantime, within Lukman’s sand sphere...

“Y-you…” The Prince of Sand’s eyes glazed, delirious and weakened. Blood trickled down the left side of his mouth, staining his clean and pristine robes. The sand sphere, now void of any mana, was melting away rapidly, allowing all of the onlookers to witness the perplexing scene which was unfolding within.

Shin, which should have been utterly mauled by Lukman’s cataclysmic ability, was floating right in front of the Prince of Sand with a spear thrust directly into his belly.

“H-how?” Lukman weakly worded out. All of his calculations were perfect. He’d even analysed all of Shin’s known abilities beforehand in preparation for the rematch. Yet, Shin had come out triumphant again.

“I’d never told you my Spirit Venerate ability, right? Let me tell you then.” Shin chuckled, leaning in close so that his lips were just an inch away from Lukman’s ears. “Teleportation.”

“A-Ah...” The Prince of Sand threw his head back in understanding. However, Lukman wasn’t in awe or anything. Instead, a wave of disappointment and sadness filled his weakened expression. “I see… So… You’ve abandoned your element.”