It felt like the sky itself had shattered.
A force so immense, so overwhelming, surged through the battlefield that I could hear it, a deafening, distorted echo that rang in my bones.
My vision blurred for a split second as a pressure I didn’t recognize pressed against my entire being.
My knees almost buckled, my breath caught in my throat, and it took everything in me not to collapse right then and there.
Beth let out a sharp gasp beside me, staggering as she clutched her head.
"What the—"
But I already knew what was happening.
Someone was breaking through.
And then, just like that, the invisible weight bearing down on us snapped apart like glass.
A figure emerged from the chaos, stepping forward with slow, deliberate movements.
His dark hair was tousled, his breathing heavy, but his eyes, those piercing, unwavering eyes, were sharp as ever.
Edward.
I could only stare in disbelief as he stood there, his presence radiating a power that made the air feel electric.
"Hmm" The orc lord muttered.
He adjusted his grip on his weapon, shifting his stance slightly.
He had been unfazed by nearly everything so far.
But now?
Now, he looked... unsettled.
Beth groaned beside me, shaking her head as if trying to clear it.
"What the hell was that? It felt like, like—"
"Like time itself cracked," I murmured. Because that was exactly what had happened.
Edward had broken through the time freeze.
Not resisted it.
Not found a loophole.
He had shattered it.
And if I was feeling the aftershocks this strongly, I could only imagine what it had done to the orc lord.
But the monster before us looked, just slightly shaken.
I exhaled sharply, my chest rising and falling as the tension in the air thickened.
My body still felt heavy from the aftershocks of Edward’s breakthrough, my limbs sluggish as if they were wading through an invisible current.
But what really threw me off, what really sent my thoughts spiraling, was him.
I turned to Edward, my gaze locked onto his with a mixture of disbelief and something dangerously close to awe.
"You... actually broke through it," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. "I never expected you to be able to pass through a time freeze like his."
The orc lord’s time freeze, it wasn’t something that could be fought against.
It was absolute, unrelenting.
And yet... Edward had shattered it.
Edward has done many crazy things, but I never expected him to be able to pull this off.
Edward ran a hand through his disheveled hair, his expression unreadable.
"It just... happened."
I narrowed my eyes.
"That’s not an answer."
"I don’t have a better one," he admitted, shaking his head. "One second, I was stuck. The next, I wasn’t."
His jaw clenched as if the memory of it frustrated him.
"But that’s not the part we should be focusing on."
A strange unease settled in my stomach at his tone.
"What do you mean?"
Beth, who had finally steadied herself after nearly toppling over earlier, was rubbing her temples as she gave Edward an unimpressed look.
"Wow, care to explain what that epic entrance is for?"
Edward didn’t answer.
And Beth continued.
"Oh, great. Another vague response. Care to also explain about that?"
Edward let out a slow breath, scanning both of us before his eyes flickered toward the orc lord.
The massive creature had remained still, his expression unreadable, though there was something different in the way he stood now, something less certain.
Edward’s next words made my entire body tense.
"Did you notice that our movements are getting slower?"
I froze.
And then I really paid attention.
My fingers curled slightly, experimentally, and I felt it, resistance.
Not like fatigue, not like exhaustion.
It was as if the very air had thickened around me, dragging against my every motion.
Beth shifted uncomfortably, lifting her arm and frowning as she tested her own movements.
"What the hell..."
Edward’s gaze darkened.
"It’s subtle. Almost unnoticeable. But it’s there. We’re not just reacting slower because of shock or exhaustion. We’re actually slowing down."
A strange silence settled between us, heavy and suffocating.
Every breath I took felt slower, every movement dragged down by an unseen force.
It was like sinking into thick, icy water, the kind that clung to your skin and refused to let go.
I exhaled sharply, forcing my muscles to respond as I turned my gaze toward Edward.
The pieces were beginning to click into place.
"It looks like... this is how the orc lord’s freeze works," I muttered, my voice strained.
Beth and Edward both looked at me, waiting for me to explain.
"The longer we spend inside it, the stronger it becomes." My hands clenched into fists, the sluggishness spreading like a creeping frost. "It’s not just a one-time effect. It’s gradual. The more time we stay trapped in this, the deeper it pulls us in."
Beth let out a slow breath, shifting her weight as if testing her movement again.
Her brows furrowed.
"That... actually makes sense. I didn’t notice it at first, but now that you’re saying it, yeah. It’s like quicksand. It’s subtle, but once you realize it, you can feel it."
Edward remained silent, his expression unreadable.
But something about him was different.
It wasn’t just his presence, it was something more.
I turned fully toward him, narrowing my eyes.
"Edward..."
He met my gaze, but he didn’t speak.
I took a step closer, ignoring the way my body resisted the movement.
"Your radiation..." My breath hitched slightly as I observed him more closely. "It’s getting hotter."
Edward’s jaw tightened, his fists clenching at his sides.
The air around him shimmered, distorted like heat waves rising from scorching pavement.
It wasn’t something visible to the naked eye, it was something felt.
A pressure, an intensity that hadn’t been there before.
Beth noticed it too.
"Hold on. What’s going on with you?"
Edward exhaled, but his breath came out slow, too slow, like it was being dragged through thick syrup.
"Edward--"
"It’s my ability Amber, I must to use it to fight, i don’t care if this would make people not to be able to join me to fight..."
I stared at him for a long moment.
"Maybe I am made to fight alone," Edward said slowly.
I didn’t answer, instead I turned my attention back at the orc lord.
The orc lord’s freeze was meant to trap, to slow, to render everything motionless.
But Edward’s presence was burning through it.
That is probably how he could pass through it.
Heat against ice.
Time against will.
And right now, I didn’t know which one was going to win.