The ruined city was still crushed beneath Wang Wei's gravitational field.
Ernos lay pinned to the ground.
Celestial Dominion was active at 100%.
The air was dense.
The sky unnaturally still.
And then—
The heavens cracked.
It wasn't thunder.
It wasn't an explosion.
It was as if an invisible veil had been torn apart.
Clouds split in two.
Above them opened something vast.
Dark.
Endless.
Asher felt it first.
A cold void in his chest.
Sebastian's hands trembled.
"He's coming…"
And then—
Lord descended.
He did not fall.
He did not rush.
He simply… lowered himself.
As if gravity belonged to him.
His dark garments moved without wind.
The moment his feet touched the ground—
Wang's gravitational field trembled.
Celestial Dominion at 100%—
Shook.
Every hero present felt it.
Fear.
Not panic.
Not doubt.
Instinctive, crushing fear.
Asher struggled to breathe.
This presence was nothing like Ernos.
It was quiet.
But infinite.
Lord's gaze settled on Wang.
"You again."
Wang did not step back.
"You're late."
Lord's eyes shifted to Ernos, still crushed into the earth.
He raised one hand.
High above—
The remnants of the compressed black sun flickered back to life.
A spark.
Then more.
Fragments of solar energy began gathering again.
Ernos' body lifted from the ground.
Wang instantly increased gravitational pressure.
But this time—
Lord took one step forward.
The field distorted.
Ripples formed through space itself.
Asher stared in shock.
"He's… interfering with gravity…"
Lord spoke calmly.
"You command the sky."
"But I write the laws."
Ernos' body was engulfed in dark radiance.
The fractured sun above collapsed downward—
Not to explode—
But to merge.
Solar plasma, black-core energy, residual compression—
All fused into Ernos.
He screamed.
Not in pain.
In transformation.
His body expanded.
Flaming wings erupted from his back.
His eyes ignited with pure white light.
In the center of his chest—
A black sun core pulsed like a second heart.
Sebastian whispered,
"That's his final form…"
Lord stepped back.
"Now… fight again."
Wang moved immediately.
A gravitational pillar descended from the sky.
But the transformed Ernos hovered effortlessly.
He spread his burning wings—
And shattered the pressure with a solar detonation.
The shockwave blasted across the battlefield.
Asher was thrown backward.
Wang remained standing.
But—
He slid one step back.
Ernos laughed.
His voice now layered, distorted.
"Your gravity… no longer binds me."
Wang intensified output.
But something was wrong.
Celestial Dominion attempted to adapt.
Yet Lord's presence destabilized the field itself.
The laws Wang controlled were being bent from a higher authority.
Sebastian realized it instantly.
"He's weakening…"
Ernos surged forward.
A solar-infused punch collided with Wang's gravitational defense.
The impact tore apart the surrounding ruins.
Wang blocked—
But his knees bent slightly.
For the first time.
Ernos pressed the assault.
Each strike detonated like a stellar eruption.
Wang retreated step by step.
Celestial Dominion was still at 100%—
But no longer stable.
Its adaptive balance was slowing.
Lord watched from a distance.
He did not intervene.
He observed.
Asher gritted his teeth.
"Call us!"
Wang tried to speak—
But for a split second—
His voice faltered.
Ernos sensed it.
The black sun in his chest pulsed violently.
"Your era is over."
He unleashed a massive wave of dark solar fire.
It swallowed Wang completely.
An explosion tore upward into the sky.
Flames and debris filled the air.
Seconds passed.
The dust cleared.
Wang was still standing.
But his breathing was heavier now.
His coat burned and torn.
Celestial Dominion remained active—
But it trembled visibly.
Lord spoke softly.
"Even gravity can bend."
The sky darkened once more.
Ernos hovered above, fully transformed.
Radiating destructive solar divinity.
Wang lifted his gaze.
For the first time—
Strain was visible on his face.
The advantage was no longer secure.
And the war had only just escalated.