final form(chapter 169)

Chapter 169

But Grey was beyond them. His three heads moved independently, each responding to their attacks with terrifying ease and creativity. The central head roared, and the lava wave froze in midair — not into ice, but into an intricate sculpture of glass, shattering with a single pulse of his will. The left head exhaled a gust of wind that carried Elise's words back at her, the force of her own attack slamming into her chest and sending her sprawling. The right head turned to Imari's charge, and with a flick of its eyes, her daggers melted into liquid metal, warping around her hands and hardening into shackles. She hit the ground, struggling as Grey stepped forward.

Cao Shen's shadows swarmed around Grey's legs — but they found no purchase. The ground beneath him twisted into reflective crystal, and the shadows were swallowed, their darkness turning to radiant light. The tendrils lashed upward in one final desperate strike — only for Grey's claws to slice through them, severing the darkness itself. Althea's mind spear struck next, driving directly into his consciousness — and for a heartbeat, the world went still. The Order pushed in, their combined power converging in a single instant. Viridian summoned a lightning storm so vast it split the heavens, and Elise's voice called forth a word of annihilation, the sheer force of it making the earth tremble.

But Grey's evolving domain consumed them. The storm turned to golden mist, the word of annihilation became a gentle breeze, and Althea's mind spear shattered into a thousand shards of light. And then he struck back. The central head lunged for Imari first — and she didn't even have time to scream. Teeth like obsidian blades closed around her torso, and with a savage crunch, she was gone. Blood sprayed in a crimson arc, and her domain shattered — the power flowing into Grey like liquid fire. His form shifted, his scales darkening, his aura swelling as the battlefield twisted further, the environment warping into chaotic, shifting terrain.

The others froze. It was a heartbeat of hesitation — but it was all Grey needed. The right head turned to Althea, and with a surge of impossible speed, it struck. She tried to retreat, her form blurring as time warped around her — but it was useless. His teeth sank into her shoulder, and with a savage rip, she was torn apart. Her blood painted the air in wide, violent splashes, and her domain collapsed, her omniscient light flickering out. Grey swallowed, and the knowledge of worlds flowed into him. The battlefield shifted again, the sky fracturing into mirrored shards, the ground rippling with reflections of infinite possibilities.

Viridian's face twisted in horror, his molten eyes wide with disbelief. Elise staggered back, her glowing robes dimming as her voice faltered. Cao Shen's shadowy form trembled, his liquid darkness rippling with fear. They had never imagined this. They were the most powerful mages alive — and two of them had just been devoured. Grey stood before them, his three heads raised high, his body swelling with stolen power. And he wasn't finished.

The transformation was unlike anything the universe had ever seen. Grey's body twisted and writhed, his very essence evolving as the power of five domains surged within him — Mind, Destruction, Endless Night, Voice, and Change. His form melted and reshaped, the boundaries between flesh, energy, and concept dissolving into something transcendent. When the light of his evolution faded, he stood there — no, existed — in a form that defied mortal comprehension. His hair burned a vivid, blood-red, flowing like liquid fire, and his skin glowed with an ethereal light. A thin, black robe clung to his body, rippling like the fabric of space itself. Every step he took warped reality around him; every breath sent ripples through the essence of existence. He was no longer just a man — no longer even a dragon-kin. He was a god. A god of change.

He knew it the moment he raised his hand and the sky above the crumbling citadel split apart. Planets trembled in their orbits, and distant stars flared violently as if they felt his will brush against the fabric of the cosmos. With a flick of his fingers, the very concept of gravity bent and twisted — stone floated, space folded, and time wavered like a heat mirage. He turned his gaze to the side, his eyes filled with endless shifting colors. "You are crueler than I thought," he said, his voice calm, measured, and yet powerful enough to crack the already collapsing walls around him. "Watching as I devoured your subordinates without lifting a finger." The citadel shook with every word, stones disintegrating into dust, and the air itself shivered as the weight of his power distorted reality.

A slow, amused clap echoed through the broken space, and suddenly, he was there — Merlin. The ancient sorcerer stood with a nonchalance that belied his power. His long white beard flowed like stardust, his eyes glimmering with the knowledge of infinite worlds. The wizard's robe shimmered with constellations, and the brim of his hat seemed to brush against unseen dimensions. "Oh, those idiots?" Merlin's voice was light, dismissive, as he gestured vaguely. "They were toys — little diversions I played with when eternity grew boring." His eyes twinkled with condescension as they settled on Grey. "But you… you were supposed to be nothing. A little anomaly in a weak universe. And yet, a task given to me by my father to weaken goldie forces…" He smiled, the expression equal parts curiosity and anticipation. "Look at you now. You've become something interesting. Finally, I have a reason to stay awake."

Grey's rage boiled over, though his face remained calm — as always, the numbness kept his fury locked beneath his skin. "And you let me evolve to this level? Why?" he asked, his voice low, dangerous. Space itself bent as he spoke, his words carrying a weight that even reality couldn't withstand. Merlin shrugged, the gesture infuriatingly casual. "Killing you when you were weak would've been boring," he said. "Even at your strongest, you'll barely last a few moves — so i had to give you motivation" he paused as he smiled at levi, "lucky you had a wife and a child, with them taken, you would have a goal to strive towards, a reason to grow strong and you did, so now, I'll be entertained." That was the breaking point. Grey moved — or rather, he didn't. Space shifted, obeying his will, and in an instant, he occupied the space right before Merlin, his hand a spear aimed at the ancient sorcerer's heart. The air screamed with the force of his attack, the sheer pressure obliterating the ground beneath them.