Arthur stood before Duncan, king of the ice-elves and the greatest Cyromancer in the Myopan realm. The person he was facing today was very clearly not the actual man. For starters, he was only half-elf, and he had the physique of a warrior, not a mage. Arthur wasn’t sure what kind of body-possession was going on here, but it meant he had a chance.

  Especially with the domain handicap Duncan had been given. The fact that they were allowing him to battle in the Territory of his newest soul splinter meant they were still severely underestimating him. While they’d probably be able to turn their noses up at it in their original bodies, today, that wasn’t the case. It seemed that Ezrial was the only one aware of just how powerful The House of the End was, and he had a knowing smirk on his face that he wasn’t even trying to hide.

  “Really, Ezrial,” the dwarf snorted. “Are you really so happy that your daughter's lover is about to get beaten black and blue. I guess the stereotypes about fathers-in-law and their egos aren’t so far-fetched.”

  Ezrial smiled. “Nothing so banal as that Thralia. I think we’re all in for a surprise today.”

  Thralia stared at him in amazement, which quickly morphed to disbelief when she realised he wasn’t joking. “You truly believe that, don’t you. That he might win. You're not just pulling my leg.”

  “Ezrial does not jest,” the polymorphed dragon rumbled, his voice the sound of distant thunder. “This house is not what it seems. My true form is restless in its sleep. To feel discomfort from this little thing when I bathe in the hearts of stars. I fear Duncan will be made a fool today.”

  Igneus snorted, but he didn’t contradict the dragon's words. Duncan, meanwhile, had taken the words to heart, and his earlier expression of irritation had morphed into one of caution. The king of the ice-elves hadn’t reached his level by ignoring the warnings given by others. Arthur wasn’t very happy with that. The only advantage you had when facing a vastly superior foe was that they tended to underestimate you. Take that away and… Well, he wasn’t screwed exactly, but it stripped him of the element of surprise.

  “I will not lie to you, Arthur Ward,” Duncan finally addressed him. “I came here today with the intention to kill you. Make no mistake, I hold no grudge against you. I merely feared what you may become. A poor excuse, most would argue, but I am not a man who scares easily.”

  “That being said, Arthur, I will also be the first to admit that I may have let fear cloud my judgment. Only time will tell if I should have listened to my baser instincts.”

  Lantris watched on from the side, nodding and smiling like a proud older sister. Arthur was cataloguing all the byplay here, analysing how these people interacted with each other. Knowing where they all stood and what made them tick would be incredibly important when navigating the dangerous waters of negotiation later.

  The Weaver waved an arm, and everyone besides the two combatants was whisked into the sky. “No one has any complaints with me overseeing this sanctioned duel, right?” she asked.

  No one spoke up.

  “Are the fighters ready?”

  “No, but I don’t think that's grounds for calling this off,” Arthur replied.

  Duncan merely nodded.

  “Unfortunately, I don’t call the shots, Mr Ward,” Makora said. “Let the council be my witness. The sanctioned duel is now in motion.”

  ~~~

  Arthur didn’t hesitate. He let his domain billow outwards and activated Augmented Recovery, boosting his health recovery by over a thousand percent. The house's 500% bonus was additive, not multiplicative, sadly, but Arthur's regeneration right now was higher than it had ever been. Just as he was about to activate his shadow crest, everything froze. The oxygen around him was now locked in place, refusing his attempts to breathe it in. It wasn't just the oxygen, either; everything within a mile had simply stopped moving. He hadn’t sensed Duncan using any magic, which could only mean one thing.

  “Is this your first time facing someone who’s mastered a law?”

  Arthur attempted to nod, but failed to do so. Laws were a tier above simple concepts, the rules fundamental to reality. It was a level of power accessible only to those who’d broken through the class barrier, and even then, the level of mastery Duncan possessed was something else entirely.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “This battle will be over far sooner than I expected then. The Laws of Motion I’ve mastered make it impossible for you to move. Even ether ceases to function when I dictate it. Without even a concept to your name, this fight is already over.”

  Arthur tried to move again, truly tried compared to the previous reflexive nod of his head. The Law held him in place, or at least it tried to. Arthur's insane investments into Draconic Vitality meant the impossible was merely difficult here. His first reality breaker title also reduced any kind of restriction placed on him by 10%. With all his advantages working in unison, Arthur was certain he could move simply under the power of his body. With his concept enhanced green flames burning through him, though, it merely felt like gravity had increased twofold. Annoying, but far from the worst thing he’d dealt with. Sadly, the same benefits didn’t extend to any external usage of ether. The moment it left his body, the energy was frozen, rendering many of his skills useless. The only magic unaffected, as usual, was his soul affinity.

  Without being able to shadow step, Arthur was forced to bound over to his foe the mundane way. Duncan only had time to widen his eyes in surprise before Arthur stood before him. Sadly, that wasn’t enough to get the jump on the man. Space seemed to momentarily stretch between Arthur’s fist and the elf's face, allowing Duncan to easily slip his punch. Arthur continued his onslaught, launching blow after blow, a relentless machine hellbent on landing a single strike. Nothing connected. It was like he was fighting someone on another plane altogether; distances just didn’t affect them the same.

  Repeating the same thing again and again and expecting a different result was the height of stupidity, but Arthur continued for another minute. Duncan disengaged and teleported backwards. Either that or he was using the law of motion to accelerate himself far beyond Arthur's ability to perceive.

  “You have a decent grasp of melee combat, Arthur, but it's clear you learned a pre-system art. It's one created for humans by humans. You’re far beyond that now.”

  “I’ve been working on it.” Arthur gasped, panting for breath. Somehow, the sound of his voice still travelled through the frozen air. The law of motion holding all the oxygen around hostage made every breath he managed to take valuable, especially when fighting Duncan drained his stamina far faster than he’d thought possible.

  “Still, if this is all you have to show us, I think we should bring the battle to a close. You can use your Soul Splinters, by the way. They’re a part of your arsenal, same as any other skill.”

  Arthur sighed. “I wanted to see what I was capable of myself first. It looks like I was overestimating myself, though.”

  Duncan shook his head wryly. “The fact that you can ignore a mastered Law's effect with your body alone speaks for itself. You have nothing to be ashamed of today. This was an unfair challenge from the get-go.”

  Arthur grinned. “You’re right. It was an unfair battle.”

  For the first time, Arthur allowed Duncan to feel the full effects of The House of the End. The results were immediate. While his original body may have been able to shrug off the effects of Arthur's Territory, Duncan’s current vessel wasn’t up for the task. For the first time in decades, the king of the ice-elves stumbled backwards and dropped to his knees.

  “Impossible,” Igneus whispered from up above, his words clear and loud in the deafening silence that had fallen over everyone. Duncan suddenly losing 60% of his powers meant his iron-clad control over everything slipped away. The wind began to blow again.

  Duncan tried to stand up, only to fail and fall back down. He was disoriented, uncertain for the first time in millennia. “How? How are you doing this?”

  Arthur raised an eyebrow. “Well… you were kind enough to donate some of your magic to my house. I’m guessing some of the negative effects you're feeling come from there and whatever the vampire lady gave me. It's a shame none of your other friends decided to donate too. Imagine how powerful this thing could have been.”

  “It would have imploded,” Ezrial answered from above. "It's practically bursting at the seams already with the extra stuff you added. Anything else and it would have failed, destroying a third of your soul in the process. Why do you think I didn’t throw my magic into the mix?"

  Now that was a sobering thought. It would do well to remember that there were limits that existed for a reason. Unchecked ambition was just arrogance, a disaster waiting to happen.

  “What do you say then, Duncan?” Arthur asked, "Think you can still carry on?”

  The king of the ice-elves snarled, finally managing to get back to his feet. “Don't count me out of it yet, boy.”

  Duncan launched himself at Arthur, finally going on the offensive. Arthur attempted to meet his charge, but found that his lower body had been engulfed in ice. Duncan was finally taking him seriously. He'd used magic for the first time.

  With his lower half temporarily out of commission and missing his right hand, Arthur struggled to defend himself against the massive blade of ice that Duncan attacked with. It crashed into a hastily-made shadow gauntlet, breaking it instantly and cutting into his flesh. Spikes of ice grew from within the wound, penetrating through muscle and tearing apart his joints. Arthur's Augmented Regeneration worked against the damage, but it was a losing battle. It was only when he threw his healing ether into the mix along with his green flames that the spreading ice was halted.

  In those scant few moments, Duncan delivered another two debilitating blows, one to his stomach and another to his chest. Arthur's heart ceased beating as a spike of ice grew through it.

  Duncan smiled at Arthur. "You're a strong man, Mr Ward. Perhaps the greatest I have ever met." The smile hardened. "You're still a century too early to face me, though."

  "I'm lucky I never fight alone then."

  The ice elf's eyes widened in surprise before Wovan crashed into him.

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