Aro, now in control of Lucas's body, took a step forward, his smirk widening as he muttered the words, "Rule Breaker."
The transformation was instantaneous. Lucas's hair turned partially black, streaks of darkness weaving through the strands like ink in water.
One of his eyes shifted to a deep, glowing amethyst, while the other remained its usual red color, creating an eerie contrast.
Ancient black runes began to crawl across his skin, glowing faintly with an otherworldly light.
From his back, a pair of massive black wings unfurled, their feathers shimmering with a dark, ethereal energy.
With a single, powerful flap, Aro lifted himself off the ground, rising to Zahara's level in the air.
He summoned a lean, rapier-like longsword from the space ring on his finger, the blade gleaming with a faint, ominous light.
Twirling it casually, he looked at Zahara with a mocking grin. "Come on, Zahara. Don't tell me you're scared of little old me."
Zahara's expression remained blank, but her eyes narrowed slightly.
Without a word, she raised her staff, and the massive sphere of darkness she had been gathering shot toward him with terrifying speed.
Aro didn't flinch. Instead, he muttered, "Rule Break: Space no longer exists before me."
The moment the words left his lips, it was as if space itself had been erased.
The sphere of darkness simply dissipated into nothingness, vanishing as if it had never existed.
Zahara's eyebrow twitched, the first sign of surprise she had shown.
Below, Katherine's eyes widened in shock, her mouth hanging open as she struggled to comprehend what she had just witnessed.
Zahara didn't waste time. She disappeared in a blur of speed, reappearing behind Aro in an instant.
Her staff glowed with dark energy as she swung it down with enough force to crush a mountain.
The impact created a deafening BOOM, the shockwave rippling through the air and sending debris flying in all directions.
The ground below cracked and crumbled, a massive crater forming where Aro had been slammed into the earth.
But when the smoke cleared, Aro stood unharmed, his smirk still firmly in place.
He brushed off his shoulders as if he had just been hit by a light breeze. "Is that all you've got?" he taunted, his voice dripping with amusement.
Zahara's eyes narrowed further, her expression hardening. This wasn't just some reckless kid anymore. This was a threat. A real one.
Aro's or rather Lucas' power, Rule Breaker, was unlike anything she had ever encountered.
It allowed him to nullify the rules of the world and rewrite them as he saw fit.
For example, the universal rule that 'all beings can be harmed so long as the attack is strong enough' had been nullified.
In its place, Aro had written his own rule: "Lucas Morningstar cannot be harmed."
And so long as Rule Breaker was active, no being—no matter how powerful—could harm him unless they were a god capable of wielding divinity.
The fight escalated quickly. Zahara launched a barrage of attacks, her movements a blur of speed and precision.
Dark spikes erupted from the ground, aiming to impale Aro, but he simply waved his hand, muttering, "Rule Break: Lucas's speed goes past the norm."
Instantly, his movements became impossibly fast, dodging every attack with ease.
He darted around Zahara, his rapier-like longsword flashing as he struck at her from every angle.
Zahara countered with a wave of telekinetic force, but Aro muttered, "Rule Break: Lucas's strength goes past the norm."
His next strike shattered the telekinetic barrier, the force of the blow sending Zahara skidding backward through the air.
She recovered quickly, her staff glowing as she summoned a massive wave of darkness to engulf him.
Aro smirked and muttered, "Rule Break: Lucas's magic is unblockable."
His sword glowed with a dark, chaotic energy as he slashed through the wave of darkness, the attack dissipating harmlessly.
He followed up with a flurry of strikes, each one faster and stronger than the last, forcing Zahara to defend herself.
Despite the overwhelming power of Rule Breaker, Aro was still outmatched in raw strength and skill.
Zahara's attacks were relentless, her movements precise and calculated.
She was an [SS] rank, after all, and even with his rules, Aro couldn't land a decisive blow. But he didn't need to. His goal wasn't to win—it was to survive.
The battle raged on, the ground shaking with each clash.
Buildings crumbled, the air filled with the sound of explosions and the crackle of dark energy.
Katherine watched from below, her heart pounding as she struggled to keep up with the sheer speed and power of the fight.
Aro was losing, but he wasn't taking any damage.
Every time Zahara landed what should have been a devastating blow, Aro's rules protected him.
He was a nuisance, a fly she couldn't swat, and it was infuriating.
Finally, Zahara stopped, floating in the air as she stared at Aro with cold, calculating eyes. "You're persistent," she said, her voice calm but laced with irritation. "But this ends now."
Aro grinned, his wings spreading wide. "Oh, I'm just getting started."
The real fight had only just begun.