Northern's skull crashed against Kryo's with the recoil of every absorbed strike. The world seemed to rupture—the mountain itself caved inward, ridges shattering and peaks collapsing as a wave of annihilation burst outward. Valleys split open like wounds across the land, and the heavens shook with a deafening roar.
Kryos reeled backward through the air, rolling across clouds with unstoppable momentum before suddenly halting himself mid-motion.
He moved his hand while suspended in the air and touched his nose, then brought that single finger to his eyes. There was a smear of silver liquid on it.
Kryos's expression twisted darkly as he muttered:
"A human… made… me… bleed?"
His stone-cold expression cracked for the first time, his gaze narrowing with genuine malice. His body trembled with barely contained violence, as though his own essence had been turned against him.
