Liam's eyes narrowed as he looked at the token tattoo on his palm, its golden glow pulsating with the promise of safety and escape. One touch, one thought, and he would be out of this hellish void, away from the crimson heat that threatened to consume him. It was the safe choice, the logical choice. But Liam had never been one to choose safety over opportunity.
His gaze shifted beyond the flickering barrier. He could feel it—something vast, ancient, and powerful looming just beyond the veil. His heart raced with anticipation. Whatever was out there, it was too good to pass up. Too valuable to walk away from.
His fingers tightened, curling away from the tattoo. No, he wasn't leaving. Not yet. The crimson light writhed around him, pulsing with anger and malice. He immediately activated three of his dao seeds at the same time.
Liam's icy domain expanded outward, frost spiraling into intricate fractals, crystallizing the air itself. Yet, the crimson heat barely faltered, its malevolent energy pressing down on him, defying his cold aura. But Liam was prepared. The icy domain was just the beginning.
His eyes narrowed, and the space around him darkened as he activated his nether domain. Black mist seeped from his body, curling through the air, merging with the frost to form a shadowy blizzard. The temperature dropped sharply, the oppressive heat yielding under the combined force of ice and nether. The black mist danced through the cold, devouring the remnants of heat, converting it into energy that Liam absorbed, his aura growing stronger.
Yet, the crimson light pulsed angrily, resisting the dual domains. It was ancient, relentless, a force that defied the natural order. Liam gritted his teeth. The ice and nether alone wouldn't be enough. He needed more. He needed something to catalyze, to transform this raging force into something he could control, something he could wield.
His eyes glinted as he summoned his third domain—Alchemy.
While at first glance the dao was completely unrelated to ice or nether, Liam knew that anything could be compatible with the dao seed of alchemy as long as one catalyzed it in the right way. This was a piece of knowledge he had siphoned out of the two transcendent souls in his possession.
Golden wisps flickered around him, weaving through the frost and mist, infusing them with alchemical power. The wisps spiraled outward, dancing through the icy darkness, catalyzing the energy around him, transforming it into something new, something powerful.
Liam's icy domain glowed with golden light, the fractals shimmering as the wisps merged with the frost. The cold grew sharper, and denser, as the alchemical power amplified its properties, turning it into something even more deadlier. The black mist followed suit, swirling through the golden wisps, condensing into solid shadow, and its devouring power intensified.
The crimson light shuddered, its malice wavering as the transmuted domains bore down on it, freezing its wrath, and devouring its hate. But it wasn't enough. Not yet. The heat was still oppressive but at least it was now a little bearable.
Liam's aura fluctuated wildly, his body trembling under the strain of maintaining all three domains at once. He gritted his teeth, his breath coming in ragged gasps as the oppressive heat continued to bear down on him, but he held on. Barely.
Liam's vision blurred, his muscles straining, his soul shaking under the immense pressure. His consciousness flickered, the darkness at the edges of his vision threatening to consume him. He was at his limit.
His soul wasn't strong enough to control all three domains in perfect harmony. Not yet. Especially after his interaction with the cauldron. Perhaps if his soul had been whole. It was right at this time, he heard a cold snort echo in his mind.
"You will not grant entrance to my chosen?" A wave of nourishing warmth entered his soul and the next second all the damage from his meeting with the mysterious cauldron spirit disappeared. "What? This is not cheating. I am not helping him in any way. I am only healing what I broke in the first place."
Liam's eyes widened as the warmth coursed through his soul, mending the fractures, piecing together the broken shards here and there. He did not have time to think about whom the cauldron guy was talking to as the next second all of his dao seed domains surged with a renewed vigor.
Liam's aura exploded outward, the golden vortex roaring as the alchemical power catalyzed his domains, transmuting them into something even more potent. The ice solidified, fractals sharpening into deadly crystalline blades. The shadows deepened, transforming into solid obsidian barriers. The golden light danced through them, merging the energies into a single, cohesive force.
The crimson light howled, writhing under the onslaught, its malevolent heat struggling to maintain its hold. But it was no match for the power surging through Liam's aura. The golden vortex consumed the heat, devoured its malice, and transmuted its wrath into pure mana that Liam absorbed, his mana cores growing stronger and brighter. They looked as if they were about to burst open.
Soon, the air cleared, the heat dissipated, and the barrier around the platform shattered. Liam instantly froze as he realized something. The barrier was the only thing protecting him from the void. Without the barrier would he be able to survive the all-consuming environment of the void?
In front of the great void, this heat he had struggled to deal with was nothing. He might even be obliterated in a second. It did not matter how many dao fields he erected. It simply wouldn't be enough. His gaze landed on the token in his palm.
Was there really no other way? Did he need to take the shortcut out? His finger hovered over the tattoo as his heart was unwilling to accept defeat. Thankfully, he did not press it as the world outside of the platform's barrier became visible a second before the barrier collapsed.
Instead of the weight of the void crushing him, Liam found himself standing on the burning sands of what looked like a vast endless desert.