Corrupt Creations

Unfortunately for Qiao Xuan, apart from that immense pain brought by the loss of two arms and the pain brought by the poisoning infection, there was still another huge problem happening at that moment. His Mana was leaving his body at a fast rate. 

If things kept going on like that, his transformation would be undone in a few minutes and his fate was going to be sealed forever. 

But he couldn't accept that. He would never accept that. 

"No! No! No! No! No! Damn it! NOOOOOOOOO!!!" 

"ARGH!!!" 

Lightning started to wildly dance around his massive body, as if it was in resonance to his indignation. 

"I"LL FUCKING DESTROY YOU!!!" 

Qiao Xuan suddenly entered in a hysteric mode, not being able to accept his defeat. Out of nowhere, many fissures started to appear on the surface of his skin, from where a golden light left in torrents. Those rays of golden light carried an absurd amount of Mana, but instead of being shot towards everywhere, they were just omens for the final judgement. 

'Is he crazy?' 

Arwen quickly stood up and realized what he was trying to do. Qiao Xuan was practically using his Mana and powers, to generate a huge self-explosion. 

In reality, he was trying to use a skill that Qiao Duyi had tried to, while fighting against First Shadow. That skill was named Golden Sun Ascension, since it generated a magnifying sun-like bright explosion. However, fueled by his prideful madness, the Lion King was charging even his remaining life essence inside of that attack. 

If he were to explode, his Mana Sovereign energy would thoroughly wipe out the whole area from the map. The Lion's Pride Golden Palace, Arwen, Seth and everyone else would be the ones suffreing from that explosion. 

Roar! 

Qiao Xuan Mana went out of control and the fissures around his body increased in size, consecutively revealing the golden sun that was lying underneath. The sky changed colors and the ground started to tremble; those were signs that told Arwen that his skill was almost ready. 

The Elf Queen knew it was too late to say anything and her only option was to stop him and his madness once and for all. 

ROAR!!! 

Inside his head Qiao Xuan shouted: "Golden Sun Ascencion!" 

Swoosh! 

BOOM! 

The Lightning Winged Golden Lion body of Qiao Xuan, suddenly imploded, releasing a massive quantity of golden energy towards every single direction. It was like a golden sun was really blooming right at the middle of that destroyed valley, ascending to the heavens and purging the lives of the mortals as it came to be. 

The sound of that explosion was so strong, that every single individual, be it human, elf or beast in a radius of hundred kilometers, was able to hear it. They just didn't know, that at moment, there was a huge quantity of golden rays coming their way, bringing inverse salvation. 

When Seth heard it, he turned back to look at that golden radiance, immediately realizing that Arwen was probably having a difficult fight against Qiao Xuan. 

'I have to trust her...' Seth chose to keep moving forward, quickly disappearing inside the shadows while carrying Serene. 

The people from the Lion's Pride Golden Palace that were still alive, knew what the appearance of that golden sun entailed. However, there were two unsuspecting Lion Guardians, that had just arrived at the scene where Qiao Xuan was fighting against the Elf Queen, right when the Golden Sun Ascencion was released. 

They had followed their king in order to support him in this tough situation, but were greeted with a golden annihilation. 

There isn't even a need to say what was their outcome. Qiao Shan, known as Old Man Shan and his partner, didn't even have enough time to turn back and flee, before becoming dust particles by the hands of their own king. 

Arwen on the other hand, seemed to be stranded there, patiently waiting for the force behind that attack to reach her. 

When the energy liberated by that golden sun arrived a right before her, ready to consume Arwen's entire body, everything abruptly stopped. It was like the natural order of things had been overturned. 

The Elf Queen inhaled some fresh air and mildly pronounced two words. 

"Evergreen World." 

Swoosh! 

In the span of a mere second, the entire golden sun had turned dark green. Arwen's Mana and vital force were vibrating together, creating an area where she was not the Queen anymore, but had turned into an Empress. 

A huge Evergreen Domain had suddenly formed, blooming with poisonous flowers and plants, that rapidly corroded and consumed the golden energy particles, like they were delicious food. 

Every single person and every single beast, could see the golden sun from far away, feel how mighty and bright it was. But what shocked them to the core, was that in a single second, the golden color had completely turned into green and the sovereign prestige behind that almighty golden sun, was thoroughly swallowed by that dark green color. 

Arwen watched as an entire world made of Evergreen Essence was being born in front of her. Not only there were myriads of venomous plants feeding from that golden energy, but even some wild poisonous animals had appeared. All of that were just projections born from her Sovereign middle-stage Realm Mana. 

In those seven to eight months that Seth hadn't seen her, Arwen had done her utmost to develop her powers even more. The incident that happened at the Ereinrith City, had left a big scar deep down on her heart. Because of that, she kept studying more about her Evergreen Essence and testing many things with it, together with her Mana Sovereign energy. 

That's how she stumbled upon that power she had just released. It was called Domain. A power that could create a special domain over an area, where everything obeyed the laws of the caster's powers. 

Actually, Arwen's Domain was still incomplete, but it was already able to display a power above what normal Mana Sovereign entities could. 

After swallowing everything, that Evergreen Domain started to shrink down and fade away. Arwen closed her eyes and leaned in a broken tree, feeling thoroughly spent. She was in a serious state of weakness, that made it impossible for her to try catching up with Seth. 

At least, all the hard work she had put into getting stronger and more interconnected with her powers, had paid off. Arwen had a relationship of love and hate with her Evergreen Essence before Seth arrived in her life, but after he unlocked it for her, finally letting her stay in control of her own powers, she was able to realize how strong her abilities really were and like them a bit more. 

As everything returned to normal, Qiao Xuan's bestial body wasn't at the spot he was before any longer. His entire body was destroyed by his own implosive strength and the rest of what had left of it, was eaten by those venomous animals from Arwen's domain. 

Arwen looked to where Seth had gone to and silently prayed everything went well for him. Her figure vanished in a blow of a silent wind, and only a totally destroyed valley was left behind. 

. 

. 

. 

Seth was dashing through the plains, totally hidden inside a curtain of shadows. His speed was certainly extraordinary and he was already very far away from the place Arwen was fighting with the Lion King. 

It was a bit strange, why he hadn't stopped to treat Serene's body and soul yet, but even after crossing many valleys, that idea hadn't crossed his mind, not even once. 

Why? 

Because Seth didn't feel comfortable to. He felt there was a presence following and looking at him, but he didn't know where it was or if it was just something built up inside his head. That's why he chose to find an advantageous area, where he could pretty much see the entire terrain, to finally stop. 

Seth stopped and the first thing he did, was to release his Soul Sense at its maximum. Since that power wasn't something that a mortal could have access to, he was able to capture a presence in his radar, that he shouldn't have been able to. 

"So, it is you..." 

Just after he said those words, First Shadow revealed herself for him. She left the darkness and rejoined the normal world, leaving behind that mantle of dark matter. 

"Oh? You were able to discover me? I guess you've improved a lot. Or maybe, you've been hiding some things from us..." First Shadow was wearing a very simple black robe, that wouldn't bother her while fighting. There was a sweet smile on her lips, showing the confidence she had in herself. 

As for Seth, he was frowning already. There were many things he remembered while looking at First Shadow's face and none of them were pleasant.. However, for some reason, those darkest times he had spent with her, would always resurface when he was in her presence.