In a completely different location, far away from the city of Solara and even farther from the continent of Celestara itself, high above an endless sea of clouds at an altitude no ordinary measurement of meters or feet could properly describe, two figures floated opposite one another in complete silence. Beneath them the clouds stretched endlessly like a white ocean, while above them only the empty blue sky remained. There was no land, no city, and no living being around them, Only the Queen of Angels and the unknown Monster remained inside this isolated stretch of sky.
Queen Solaris stared at the monster with calm amusement. Her arms remained crossed as her expression stayed completely composed, even after seeing the monster’s severed arm regenerate the very next second they had appeared in this place.
The torn shoulder had closed almost instantly before a new arm grew back as if it had never been damaged to begin with. Such regeneration would terrify anyone else, but to Solaris it meant very little. The creature before her already stood far beyond the ordinary monsters born inside common Ruins, so recovering a lost limb was hardly worth paying attention to.
Instead, what truly caught her interest was the creature itself. Those hollow white eyes remained fixed on her without wavering. There was no madness within them, nor the instinctive bloodlust monsters usually possessed. It looked as though the creature was carefully observing her, attempting to understand the individual standing before it.
’Can it really think and understand like a person?...Hmm...one surprise after another.’
At the same time, her senses never stopped examining the strange pressure surrounding its body. Spirit Energy was something she had mastered long ago, yet this unknown force felt fundamentally different. It continuously spread around the monster in faint waves, and wherever it passed, space itself seemed to distort before returning to normal. It did not resemble any Ability or Fundamental Force she had ever encountered during her countless years of cultivation.
’I have to figure out where that energy came from and what exactly this monster is...but to do that I will eventually have to use my Ability. The problem is that strange energy...it appears capable of erasing anything around it. If my Ability comes into direct contact with it, there is a chance even it may be affected.’
Solaris calmly organized one possibility after another without making the first move. She had already trapped the monster here, so there was no need to rush. Surprisingly, the creature also remained completely motionless, simply watching her with those empty white eyes.
That unusual patience only convinced her further that this was no ordinary monster acting on instinct alone. It was waiting...though whether it was waiting for an opportunity or trying to understand her first, even she could not tell.
Several quiet moments passed before the monster’s face suddenly distorted. The smooth surface where its mouth should have been twisted unnaturally as cracks slowly spread across it. From within those cracks, a pale substance drifted outward. It resembled fog at first glance, yet unlike ordinary mist, it did not disperse into the surrounding air. It simply floated around the creature before disappearing entirely.
Then...
For the first time since it had appeared above Solara, it spoke, "Interesting...prey..."
The heavy, distorted voice echoed across the empty sky, vibrating through the surrounding space itself. It sounded unnatural, as though several voices had overlapped into one before being forced through a broken throat. Solaris’ eyes widened for a brief moment before narrowing again, genuine shock flashing across her face for the first time since the creature had appeared.
Even that unknown energy surrounding its body had not surprised her this much.
’It can...talk?...How in the world is that even possible?’
Before that thought could settle, the monster spoke once more.
"You...are...strong...prey."
Its twisted mouth moved slowly as each word emerged with obvious difficulty, making the already distorted voice sound even more unsettling. Yet despite hearing it, Solaris quickly recovered her composure. She looked directly into those hollow eyes before replying in the same calm tone she had maintained from the beginning.
"You think I am prey? Well, you are a monster, so perhaps that is all you understand...but in reality, you are the prey here, not me."
As she spoke, she finally uncrossed her arms. Her golden gown fluttered gently despite the still air while her wings spread slightly behind her, "Don’t you understand how you suddenly arrived here?...Or why you can no longer teleport away?"
The moment those words reached it, the monster shifted its attention away from Solaris and looked around the surrounding sky. It had indeed tried moving the instant it appeared here, but every attempt to teleport away had failed. Since then it had remained motionless while observing the prey before it, all the while attempting to leave this place again and again without success.
It could still move freely through the air using its own body, but any attempt to vanish across space, just as it had done above Solara, simply failed. Even after examining every direction around itself, it could not identify what prevented it from escaping. After several moments, its hollow gaze slowly returned to Solaris.
"What...have...you...done...prey?"
"Heh...what have I done? Why not try figuring that out with that strange energy of yours?" Solaris let out a faint laugh, genuinely amused by its question. Although hearing it speak had surprised even her, fear was something she never felt. She was not merely the Queen of Angels by title alone. She truly stood at the peak of Celestara, the strongest Angel alive on the entire continent.
If someone knew her cultivation rank, they would not even bother judging the outcome of this battle because the difference between them would appear overwhelmingly one-sided. That was also the reason she still had no intention of killing the monster. From the moment she brought it here, her objective had been to understand the source of that unknown energy rather than eliminate the creature itself.
As for why the monster could no longer leave this place, the answer was simple. The moment both of them arrived above the clouds, Solaris had silently sealed the surrounding space for nearly a kilometer in every direction.
Everything inside that area had become completely isolated from the outside world. Teleportation, spatial movement, dimensional travel, or any similar method of escape had all been rendered useless within that sealed region. Even the flow of space itself remained firmly under her control. Unless someone possessed greater authority over space than she did, leaving this place by anything other than physical movement was impossible.
The monster continued staring at her without speaking, yet the strange Null pressure surrounding it gradually became heavier. Spirit Energy also began rising from its body until both forces mixed together and spread throughout the sealed region, causing even the surrounding clouds beneath them to disperse under the overwhelming pressure.
Seeing that change, Solaris smiled slightly.
"So...you’ve finally decided to stop watching."
The next moment, the monster’s body leaned forward ever so slightly. There was no roar, no unnecessary movement, and no expression upon its face.
It had finally decided to attack...
Solaris’ smile remained unchanged.
"Now...that’s more like a monster."
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