New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Seeing her float towards him, her face a mask of shock and fear; he smiled.

Her feet touched the cobblestones of the garden paths, and she immediately dashed toward Astaroth.

But before she could reach him, an invisible force locked her in place.

She struggled for a few moments before shouting out to Astaroth.

"How did you break my domain?! And where are we now?!"

Astaroth looked around, his smile still there. Then his golden eyes locked back on Titania.

"I don't know much about this power yet. It is quite new. Thank you for that, by the way. But I do believe this is what you call a domain."

Titania knew she hadn't misinterpreted his words now.

"You are a thousand years too young to know what a domain is, let alone have one. Which divinity did you sell your soul to, to get this power?" Titania growled at him.

Astaroth chuckled.

He understood why she said this.

When the knowledge had entered his mind, he realized this wasn't something he should have at all. The power required to use this skill went beyond what he had access to, even when melded under Royal Protection, and probably even Sublimation.

A domain required one to use enough Aether to bend the laws of the world into creating a world for him, where his power couldn't be ignored.

This was not a skill he should have. He also knew he wouldn't be able to cast it again before a long time had passed, and he had become much stronger.

The doppelgänger had left him with not only the knowledge, but also the power to cast it once.

After this, he would be left on his own to cast it again.

"It matters not how I got it. It only matters what I do with it. But I will not be too harsh on you. I understand what your goal was, and I respect it. But I refuse to lose. To anyone."

Walking slowly toward Titania, every step he took echoed on the cobblestone and made the woman twitch.

When he reached right in front of her, he slowly raised his hand.

"Sorry for the improper touching," Astaroth said, before sliding his hand in between her breasts and into her chest.

She felt his hand go in, but there was no pain.

But when he pulled it back, what she saw made her go pale.

In his hand, he was holding her soul.

The size and power he could feel from it impressed Astaroth. This woman was much stronger than she let on, even in their little spar.

"Be careful with that! You could kill me!" she shouted in panic.

Astaroth knew this, so he was handling the soul very delicately.

He knew if he shattered it here and there, he would kill the Fey, and not just in the training area. Lady Grove would die, even outside the training room, her soul forever destroyed.

He had pulled the soul without too much effort, but he knew if he ever reached this domain again, it wouldn't be this easy.

"Do not worry. I don't want to kill you. Only make you lose the fight."

And with a flick, he sent it back into Titania's chest. The flick on the soul and the impact of it flying back into place sent her mind into shock, and she instantly fell unconscious, both in and out of the domain.

As the domain withered away around him, Astaroth inspected it.

'Thank you, Psyche.'

When he opened his eyes, Titania was sprawled on the ground before him, eyes turned inside her head, as he could see foam coming out of her mouth.

There were still a few seconds left to his meld, so he used them to end the fight before he fell unconscious as well.

Switching the Ad Astra into a greataxe, he used a skill he seldom used, Severing Strike, and separated her head from her body, instantly killing her.

With this, her body shattered into pixels of light and vanished.

The next second, he was returned to the training floor, where he collapsed.

Phoenix had expected this and caught him before his body crumpled to the floor, cradling him against her chest.

She was looking at him in awe. The last moments of the battle had been so weird, for both her and the gnome.

They had seen him slumped over, health falling, and then he was standing upright, and Titania was dashing at him, only to collapse to the ground next, as he towered over her, his eyes glowing in golden light.

They had stayed this way for a moment, before Astaroth finally moved and severed the Fey's head, winning their bout.

She had no idea what had happened, but she knew it was nothing so simple as just mind control or something of the sort.

She would have to ask him when he woke up, which she had no idea how long it would take.

Phoenix called some Royal Guards over, asking them to bring Lady Grove's unconscious body to a room on the second floor, where she could rest until she came to. As for Astaroth, she brought him to their chambers herself.

It was funny for some to see the queen carry the king in a princess hold, his head and arms dangling off the side. For others, it caused a slight panic as they wondered what had happened.

Phoenix had to assure them the king was fine, and only out cold, as they tried inquiring on the matter.

She kept brushing them aside, as she had no idea what to reply. She didn't know what had happened, after all.

When she reached their room, she slowly laid Astaroth on the bed, his head sinking into the soft pillow.

"I hope you tell me everything when you get back on your feet. You just took down a Mythical being in a single attack. You may be strong, but that was beyond even you…" she mumbled to him, as she sat on the bed's edge.

If she could find a way to make a spell like he had, that could take down creatures this powerful, then she would be unstoppable.

But she doubted it was that simple.