EPISODE 323; THE RUPTURING! KNOWLEDGEABLE HOUSE OF THE WHITE LIGER! UNSEALING THE LIMITERS OF THE ETERNAL TITAN TEMPUS ROMA! THE SECOND BARRIER! INTEGRATING THE ZODIAC SYSTEMS INTO THE ETERNAL TITAN TEMPUS ROMA! THE CELESTIAL SKILL TREE PART III: ACCLIMATIZING TO THE ELEMENTS! THE HUMAN BODY! HOST TO THE ELEMENTS! THE GUT! HOST TO FIRE! TEMPUS ROMA MODE DRAGON!
Mitsuki(Selene), Arlene(Undine), Helios and Tempus Roma stood within the Hall Of Libra.
"Mitsuki, follow me to the Crucible Of Fire" Tempus Roma motioned.
"Arlene, you'll have to stay here and keep watch with Helios. These are trials Mitsuki will have to overcome on her own" Tempus Roma said.
Soon enough, Mitsuki and Tempus Roma stood within the Crucible Of Fire. Walls Of Flame sealed off the Walls and Entrances.
"First, you will need to acclimatize to the Element Of Fire and what better way to do that than actual combat! ETERNAL TITAN! TEMPUS ROMA! MODE DRAGON! ACTIVATE!" Tempus Roma called out as her appearance began to alter.
Scales like those of a Dragon began to materialize on her limbs and body and she sprouted the Wings Of A Dragon. Her stature also grew in size and Mitsuki began to feel an oppressive atmosphere all around the Crucible almost weighing her down with its sheer force. The Crucible became darker till only the lights generated by the flames shielding the Walls and Entrances were visible.
"TORRENTIAL PUSH OF THE MOON'S GRAVITATIONAL FORCE!" Mitsuki called in an attempt to weigh Tempus Roma down.
A torrential wave of Gravitational Force began to weigh everything within the Crucible down.
"GRAVITY NULLIFICATION!" Tempus Roma called as Mitsuki's Field Technique was dispelled.
Tempus Roma disappeared. Mitsuki studied her surroundings carefully. She activated her Zone Perception which she had unlocked in the Elemental Halls.
"I should try to locate Tempus Roma by extending my Field Of Vision. This should make me immune to surprise attacks" Mitsuki thought.
She began to feel her Gut tighten and burn as an ominous sense of foreboding began to manifest within her.
"I have a bad feeling" she thought as she studied her surroundings.
Beads of sweat began to roll down her face.
"Is it just me or is this space suddenly getting hotter?" she wondered.
She looked around herself and noticed the ground ahead of her begin to turn black. She quickly dived out of the way as a massive force of fiery energy blasted past her previous location. She somersaulted to regain her balance and faced the direction from which the blast came.
"A targeted blast of Fiery Energy...then Tempus Roma must be!" Mitsuki thought and charged straight ahead.
As she charged towards the location she believed Tempus Roma was concealed she felt her back begin to heat up and her Gut tightened again. Mitsuki dived to the right as another targeted blast narrowly missed her. She somersaulted while aligning her body in reverse and landed on her feet while facing the direction from which the blast came.
"Attacking from behind isn't very chivalrous" Mitsuki said.
"That's the kind of thinking that will get you killed by the Weaver Of Calamity. You should never expect your adversary to play by your rules" Tempus Roma's voice sounded from all around the Crucible.
"Her voice…it's not coming from a single direction and the Wavelengths Of Sound are all the same. Has she formed an encirclement all around me with clones?" Mitsuki wondered.
Suddenly, the weight of oppressive atmosphere began to be felt again.
"I should prevent her from taking a clear shot at me by interfering with her line of sight! TORRENTIAL ENCIRCLEMENT OF THE SUN'S GRAVITATIONAL FORCE! HIGHLY PRESSURIZED BLACK HOLE!" Mitsuki called as explosions triggered in the air around the Crucible.
"This way, I should be able to interfere with her movements as well" Mitsuki thought then she heard words that made her hairs stand on edge and her gut tighten.
"GRAVITY NULLIFICATION!" Tempus Roma's voice sounded as the explosions ceased.
It was then that it dawned on Mitsuki that her Lunar and Solar Gravitational Abilities were completely useless against Tempus Roma. As this reality dawned on her, she froze in terror and failed to notice a Portal materialize behind her. Tempus Roma emerged from the Portal brandishing a Reaper's Scythe. Mitsuki felt her Gut tighten and dived out of the Path just as the Scythe missed her. She somersaulted and aligned her body in reverse, landing on her feet while turning to face the direction of the assault. The force of her charge carried her slightly further back than she had intended. She came to a stop as the friction of her feet acting on the Ground slowed her down. She knew a single moment of delay spent lying on the Ground could be the end of her. Her Zone Perception wasn't helping her at all. Tempus Roma had already disappeared and remained completely concealed.
"Apparently, you haven't yet noticed" Tempus Roma said.
"Noticed what?" Mitsuki questioned.
"Even a Goldfish in a bowl can still see the Light Of The Sun" Tempus Roma said as the Ground to the left of Mitsuki began to heat up and turn black.
Mitsuki felt her Gut tighten and performed a reverse somersault just as a powerful blast of targeted fiery energy incinerated her previous location.
"Even a Goldfish in a bowl…can still see the Light Of The Sun? Wait a minute…how exactly am I evading Tempus Roma's attacks if I can't even see her. I just instinctively seem to sense that something is out of place followed by a sudden rush of heat…a sudden rush of heat? Am I sensing her intent to kill?" Mitsuki thought and activated her sense of intuition by bonding to the Waves Of Heat around her.
That was when she noticed that her Gut was on Fire and this Fire was spreading throughout her body.
"What's this?!" she exclaimed in shock.
"You finally noticed" she heard Tempus Roma's voice clearly from behind her for the first time.
She turned around and noticed Portals Of Fire all around her. Tempus Roma would disappear behind one Portal and appear instantaneously through another while moving. When she stood still, she was present in all Portals.
"Pay attention to your body" Tempus Roma said as she fired a barrage of Flames at Mitsuki.
Mitsuki noticed the Flames in her Gut strengthen and flow through her body. She felt an ominous sense of foreboding as the attacks approached her. She avoided the barrages that required minimal movement to evade them by sidestepping and evaded those that would have hit her either square in the front, behind or from the sides by leaping out of the way and somersaulting. The Flames missed her.
"I see" she realized.
"TEMPUS ROMA MODE DRAGON! DISENGAGE!" Tempus Roma called as her features reverted.
The Crucible brightened. She stood before Mitsuki.
"You've began to realize just how dependent you were on your Gravitational Abilities. Just nullifying that was enough to put you into a state of vulnerability" Tempus Roma said.
Mitsuki nodded in realization.
"If you had not awakened your Senses in the Elemental Hall Of Water, you would have lost this battle and may have even perished. You also seemed to believe that it was an obligation for your adversaries to fight fair. You'll need to correct that notion. It is a chivalrous thing to fight fair. Just don't expect that kind of chivalry from your adversaries and you will avoid setting yourself up for defeat" Tempus Roma said.
Tempus Roma smiled and patted Mitsuki on the head.
"The Virtue Of Fighting Fair is that it makes the defeat of those who rely on dirty tactics even more glaring" Tempus Roma said. "Rest for a while and we'll head into the Crucible Of Wind".