The Devourer's Dominion

The night was thick with tension. The air, cold and sharp, carried an unnatural silence. Aetheron stood at the heart of a ruined temple, the floor beneath him cracked from the weight of past battles. Shadows stretched long in the moonlight, flickering as if alive. His body was tense, every muscle primed, his senses locked onto the figure standing before him.

A man draped in dark robes, his presence a void that seemed to consume the very light around him. The leader of the Sovereign's Hunters.

"You've taken what doesn't belong to you," the man's voice was deep, cutting through the stillness like a blade. "Power without understanding is a curse, boy."

Aetheron scoffed, rolling his shoulders. "Funny. That's what people always say when they're about to lose."

The man's eyes narrowed. In the next instant, he moved—no, he vanished. Aetheron's instincts screamed. He barely had time to raise his arm before a force slammed into him, sending him skidding across the temple floor. He dug his heels in, hands crackling with energy.

Fast. Too fast.

The moment he stopped, the man was already on him again. Aetheron twisted, narrowly avoiding a blade that carved through the space he had just occupied. He countered with a burst of raw energy, but the attack was swallowed by the darkness surrounding his opponent.

"Tch." Aetheron clicked his tongue. He wasn't used to fighting something that ate his power.

The man exhaled, stepping forward. "You wield the Sovereign's essence, yet you flail like a child. Is this the extent of your worth?"

Aetheron's jaw tightened. He wasn't about to be lectured by some shadow-cloaked bastard.

His aura flared, raw energy bursting from his body. Aetheron didn't hesitate—he dashed forward, vanishing in a streak of speed. This time, he struck first. His fist connected with the man's ribs, sending a shockwave through the air. But the man barely flinched.

Aetheron's eyes widened. What?

A hand shot out, gripping his wrist like iron. Before he could react, he was hurled through the air, smashing through a pillar. Dust and debris rained down as he pushed himself up, wiping blood from his lip.

"Still standing?" the man mused.

Aetheron smirked. "Barely felt that."

It was a lie.

The man sighed, almost disappointed. "Then let's end this."

The shadows around him moved, swirling like a living storm. In the next moment, they rushed toward Aetheron, twisting into blades, spears, tendrils of darkness aiming to tear him apart.

Aetheron's mind raced. His normal attacks weren't working. If raw power wasn't enough—

Then he'd take it further.

He inhaled sharply, his eyes gleaming with something deeper. The Sovereign's mark on his arm pulsed, the ancient power stirring awake. Aetheron clenched his fist, and the air around him shifted. The space trembled.

Then, he moved.

It wasn't speed. It wasn't teleportation. It was something else. One moment he was standing still, the next, he was behind his enemy.

The man barely had time to react before Aetheron's hand struck his chest.

Aetheron grinned. "Your turn."

A pulse of pure, consuming force erupted from his palm, slamming into the man like a tidal wave. The shadows screamed as they were ripped apart, the energy tearing through the void that had once protected him.

The man staggered, his cloak shredded, his face revealed—a scarred, hardened warrior, but now, his eyes held something new.

Shock.

Aetheron cracked his neck. "Looks like I do understand this power."

The man exhaled, brushing dust from his ruined robes. "Perhaps." His voice was quieter now. "But wielding power is not the same as controlling it."

Aetheron's smirk faltered slightly. He hated to admit it, but he knew the man was right. The Sovereign's essence inside him was growing. Each time he tapped into it, it responded with more force, more hunger. He wasn't sure where the line was—how much of it was his power, and how much was something else trying to consume him.

But that was a problem for later.

For now, the battle was his.

The man studied him for a long moment, then turned. "We will meet again, Aetheron." His form flickered, and then he was gone, fading into the darkness like a whisper.

Aetheron exhaled, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah. Looking forward to it."