Chapter 60: The Weight of the Throne (4)
The very air trembled as the two domains clashed, their opposing laws battling for supremacy. The ground beneath them quaked, deep fissures splitting through the reinforced arena floor as raw power surged outward.
Mankhaura’s domain roared, the nine floating boulders orbiting him like celestial bodies, each infused with his essence. The brownish aura around them pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, the sheer weight of his authority pressing against everything within his range. The earth was his to command—absolute domination.
Thutmose, however, remained undeterred. He took a single step forward, and the entire battlefield shifted in his favor. His domain wasn’t one of brute force—it was one of absolute control. The tremors beneath him stilled, the chaos within his range bending to his will. His enemies’ movements became sluggish the longer they stayed as if gravity itself had conspired against them. His armor glowed faintly, his body pulsing with empowered strength, his very presence reinforcing his indomitable nature.
For a moment, it was as if the battlefield had been split into two separate realities—one where the earth obeyed Mankhaura’s furious will, and another where it yielded only to Thutmose’s quiet command.
Then, they moved.
Mankhaura launched the first attack, sending two of his orbiting boulders hurtling forward at blinding speed. The air howled as they tore through it, each stone large enough to flatten a man with a single hit. But Thutmose didn’t flinch. With a flick of his wrist, the ground beneath him rose in a spiraling wall, catching the projectiles mid-flight before crumbling them into dust.
Mankhaura snarled, slamming his spear into the ground. Instantly, jagged spikes erupted from below, a tidal wave of sharpened stone aimed directly at Thutmose’s chest. But just before impact, Thutmose vanished. No, not vanished—he had synchronized with the earth beneath him, allowing it to carry him forward with a speed that defied expectation.
He reappeared right in front of Mankhaura, khopesh gleaming, already mid-swing.
CLANG!
Mankhaura barely raised his spear in time, but the impact sent him skidding backward. His teeth clenched, but instead of retreating, he twisted mid-motion and used the momentum to hurl a third boulder at Thutmose from behind.
Thutmose smirked.