[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/465fa0d8-1c3f-41c9-99ff-906613ba03eb.png[/img]

Ifrit had done it. Manifesting into an nth degree of power he only theorized of. In truth, his search for Devil Slayer magic started a while ago, while he was still in service to the King. While scrolling through forgotten tomes and legends on his search for the Esoteric Art: Time Magic, he came across one constant rule. A blatant weakness of Time Magic. It does not work on Demons. Something about their anatomy or inherent nature. Some time after the guild was formally created, he started experimenting with his magic. Seeing as it was a Lost Art, much of his own magic he had to learn himself.

What became blatantly clear, after establishing connection to Kronos' domain, was that he would be able to tap into a reserve of power beyond this Material Plane. To tap into the realm of divinity and harness a raw power that could combat any Demon. Time Demon Slayer Magic. Something that goes beyond his Esoteric Art or his Eye of God. For weeks, he drew up theories, treatises, and essays explaining his findings and establishing outcomes. Once he finished his work, he presented them to Azuria. He wanted to show her what he had discovered.

Her opinion on it was clear. Using this awesome power would be prohibited unless absolutely necessary. Ifrit was already a once-in-a-generation mage, alongside his peers and guildmates. But tapping into divine power is best kept as a trump card. Especially since Ifrit's base power was already extraordinary.

And so, he bid his time. Between paperwork, official meetings, and cleaning up after his Guildmates messes, he would practice. He made a secret bunker deep beneath the Guild Hall. He encrusted protective wards and runes into the walls and reinforced the bunker with magic. All so that he could have a place where he could practice his Time Magic without worry of collateral.

And now is where it pays off. Here he stands, at the precipice of an era-defining battle. Something he would only read in books or stories about legends. His opponent was a Demon of great caliber. If he can defeat her... Surely even Elektra and the Roundtable Knights would hear about this.

Taking a moment to collect himself after his blitz, he peered into the Temporal Sea around him. He took notice of where his allies were. [color=aba000]"Eris, Gwen, Lucas, Nirvana and Jericho are near... Good, they are alive. Jaina, Shinra, Ruel, they are fine as well."[/color] He muttered to himself. Because of his elevated state, his voice was distorted. As if it was fracturing between the ebb and flow of time. He wanted to reach out to them, to aid in their fight. But he did not. His original purpose was to observe, intervening only when a substantial threat was sighted. He must trust in his Guildmates. He must trust in Eris. [color=aba000]"Everyone... Stay alive. Live through this."[/color]

His focus locked back to Setsuka. Her evolution was complete. A visage of blood and ice. A servant of a malevolent entity, hell bent on bringing it back. To Ifrit, she was a threat to everything he fought to protect. His ultimate enemy. Someone you should show no quarter too. As her metamorphosis completed, she screamed out.

[quote][color=orange]"You will know the name of Setsuka Cocytus Vanisis of the Underworld's Level 306, an Absolute Demon."[/color][/quote]

Ifrit placed his hands together, signing a series of forgotten gestures. His presence was growing greater, now physically clashing against hers. After completing this series, he opened his eyes. In Lieu of his Eye of God was a completely golden hue. Above him, massive golden pillars descended out of wormholes. Golden and gothic, they began to swing back and forth. Each time they did, a chime emanated. This echoed throughout all of the Icy Fjord that was their battlefield. It rang past the bridge, beyond seas, to the forgotten corners of the world. He was powering up for something.

[i]One... Two... Three...[/i]

[color=aba000]"Then hear me, Setsuka Cocytus Vanisis! You face an agent of the King of Bargrovyzaria! Chronicler of the Fenix Tear! And Master of the Lost Arts! I have weaponized paradoxes! I have held the flow of time in my palms! What you face is your death manifest!"[/color]

[i]Five...Six...Seven...[/i]

[color=aba000]"I have seen my own demise countless times, Demon. And it is not by your hands. I declare this my victory day! TIME/ACCELERATE!"[/color]

Imbuing himself with a rapid temporal current, He rushes Setsuka at blinding speeds. Imbuing his fists with the weight of a lesser paradox, he strikes her. His punches do more than damage her, he actively severs her connection to time. Bobbing and weaving through devastating attacks, he slowly but surely locks her temporal flow into this immediate moment. No past, no future, only present.

[i]Twenty... Twenty one... Twenty two[/i]

Ifrit senses power manifesting from beneath him. And using his Time/Accelerate, he launches himself backwards just in time to dodge a barrage of icicles. Only one second sooner and he would have been impaled. Unlucky for his opponent, he is a master of time. While midair, he coalesces his lesser paradoxes into his open palms. Willing them to strike at Setsuka. A break in reality occurs at his hands, and primordial, chaotic beams of magic are launch at his opponent. [color=aba000]"CENTENNIAL!"[/color]

[i]Forty four... Forty five... Forty six...[/i]

He kept counting his chimes, he knew he was getting close to his spell's end. All he had to do was keep the attack up. Don't give her a moment to recover. If he does this, he can win! [color=aba000]"Dagda Tuatha Dé!"[/color] From the space around Setsuka, A golden, etheric cathedral manifested. Chains bound her in place, just as before. They were digging into her skin. But her recovery factor was keeping her alive. Ifrit knew this spell wouldn't hold. But he didn't need it to hold. He just needed to buy a few more seconds.

[i]Fifty eight... fifty nine... SIXTY...[/i]

As Setsuka was beginning to break through the chains. Ifrit once again sped himself up. Within a second, he weaved together complex spells and wards. He added more chains and hindrances onto Setsuka, compounding on top of the Dagda Tuatha Dé. Within the cathedral itself, Setsuka was bound to the Nave. Now practically hovering over the Apse like an angelic figure, Ifrit spoke. His voice echoed with the authority of the universe itself. It was heard, felt, and comprehended as truth.

[i]SIXTY FOUR...[/i]
[color=aba000]"Infinitesimal waves, scouring the etheric sea. Observance, deliverance, and reverence to the shores of Kronos' domain. By her authority do I ordain your defeat...[/color]

[i]SIXTY FIVE..[/i]
[color=aba000]Aeon..[/color]

[i]SIXTY SIX...[/i]
[color=aba000]Era..[/color]

[i]...SIXTY SEVEN![/i]
[color=aba000]Origin of Creation."[/color]


All around the translucent golden cathedral, in the area surrounding the now fractured land that was a battlefield, there was true stillness. Not the stillness you find in a dark room. Nor in the peace of a serendipitous heart. No, this stillness was beyond that. It was unnatural. It was eldritch. It was true stillness.

To those that can see time, it is often presented to them like a delta. Veins of rivers that lead to oceans and seas. Those that can feel the ebb and flow can sense temporal fluctuations. If they were to peer into the temporal sea now, they would view something that shouldn’t be possible. There was no ebb, nor a flow. There wasn’t a current or a passage. The veins of time held still. The golden chimes and clocks jutting from the sky held position like a soldier at attention. The wind was frozen, the birds in the sky laid still. Time itself stopped. The only thing that moved was this Angel of Time.

Ifrit collected himself as he held his position above the frozen Setsuka. Her face was contorted in a frozen rage. A defiant roar carved into her visage like a statue. He knew he could only stop time for a short while. Even in his Devil Slaying from, it took most of his concentration to keep the walls of reality from shattering into a million different paradoxes. But this is exactly what he wanted.

This was his greatest spell. Aeon, Era, Origin of Creation. A spell that could stop time. In theory, there was no limit to its range. But even with a small, localized zone he knew its dangers were great. Paradoxes would run rampant, or even worse. Luckily for him, he could weaponize this. Similar to the spell he used previously, Centennion, he channeled all the energy brought upon by the time stop and localized it into an ever growing ball in front of him. It grew and grew until it was the size of a basketball. He held his hands around this ball of primal energy, keeping it in a controlled state until he was ready to unleash its power.

Thirty seconds passed, he knew his time stop would soon be breaking. His eyes, now absent of any gold, stared down at the frozen Devil in front of him. He couldn’t keep his smile hidden. [color=aba000]“And now, you are beaten. Setsuka Cocytus Vanisis,You are nothing but an overambitious demonling. Know your place, vermin…”[/color]

[color=aba000]“EPOCH”[/color]

Just as his time stop fractured, a torrent of primal mana jutted from his contained paradox. A blast the size of the cathedral itself. It roared like a bat out of hell, releasing a howl that shattered the sky like a knife. It engulfed everything in front of him, disintegrating it past its subatomic principles. He yelled out in pain and defiance, as he maintained the wards he placed on himself just to be safe from this attack. 

After a moment. The energy finally dissipated. He fell from his hovering position, barely managing to catch himself on the snow ridden ground. His Demon Slayer form fizzled in and out of existence as he panted and regained his energy. He looked back up, towards where he chained Setsuka. The phantom-cathedral was long shattered, and he only manages to catch the last vestiges of his golden clock hands being engulfed back to the heavens. There was no remains of where Setsuka was. As he looked to the horizon, he saw a physical scar he left on the land. A chasm that went on past the horizon. 

He couldn’t contain his laughter. He cackled like a madman, far from his usual composed self. He did it. Something that was only theory he made into reality.

He stopped time.

He beat Setsuka.

He won.
No.
Fenix Tear won.

[color=aba000]“ARE YOU SMILING NOW, ELEKTRA?! DID YOU WITNESS ME??? I AM GREATER!! I AM ABOVE!!! I AM BEYOND!!!!”[/color] He yelled out cathartically. Only the wails of the wind answered him.