Rise Of The Infinite Sovereign-Chapter 457: Crystal Sprite

Ezra sprints through the passage towards the opening with the chamber collapsing around him.

He leaps over jagged crystal formations and dodges falling debris, the sound of the collapsing chamber echoing in his ears. freёwebnoѵel.com

But just Ezra would rejoice, he spots something flashing past him to then stand in his way.

Observing the creature, whose features he had been briefed on, Ezra clicks his tongue in displeasure.

’Of course. You were here’

In his sights lay a creature with dazzling but equally terrifying visage.

Its body, long and sinuous like a serpent’s, shimmered with an otherworldly luminescence.

Every scale was a prism of light.

Translucent, it reflects and refracts the surrounding golden glow into a kaleidoscope of colors, while currently dim, the crystal could drastically increase its brightens in combat to disorientate opponents.

Then, rather than just one head, this creature has two heads, each head twisting and turning in eerie synchronicity, making for a deeply unsettling gaze.

The heads are adorned with sharp, angular features, their crystalline eyes devoid of pupils and glowing with an intense cyan light.

Along its serpentine length were six segmented legs, each joint tipped with razor-like claws that dug into the crystalline ground.

They lay separated into three pairs across segments of its elongated body like that of a lizard, but with an extra pair in the middle of its body.

The legs seem out of place yet hold steady, the claws leaving behind faint scratches on the surface as the creature shifted

The body itself is sleek, like polished crystal, with veins of energy visibly coursing the semi-transparent scales it, pulsing in rhythm with the faint tremors around them.

In summary, a enormous crystal snake.

Its mouth opens simultaneously, revealing rows of jagged, crystalline teeth that gleamed like shards of a broken mirror.

Its hiss was not a sound but a resonant vibration that sent sound waves across the crystal, causing them to light up.

Then, without warning, the creature lunges.

Ezra responds, diving to the side as one of its heads snapped at the space he had occupied moments before.

Simultaneously, he switches Skyfall to twin swords form, within a space such as this, a scythe’s reach would restrict it.

The creature’s movements are incredibly fast, its lithe body curling and twisting with fluid precision.

Seeing this, Ezra takes back his claim that its legs seemed out of place.

These thing moved with an unnatural grace! One that sought to chomp his head off.

’Still. This much is doable’ Ezra remarks, dodging the creature’s rebound tail swipe.

Here, Ezra learns that it’s scales aren’t only delicate but also sharp.

In that the scales are all riddled with multiple tiny spikes like a brush, thus making for an additional layer of protection and a particularly vicious attack that would brutally scrape off skin with each strike.

Despite its speed, Ezra could still keep up with it, thus dodging its tail and claw strikes while making slow steps forward to the exit in the distance.

But even this is thwarted, as the snake coiled around him in a circle, extending its body to the fullest.

To this, Ezra doesn’t hesitate to concentrate his energy into Skyfall, letting off a energy slash.

With the slash travelling towards it with a speed beyond that which it could react to, Nd it’s senses reporting that it would considerable damage, the snake showcases why it had been classified as a crystal sprite.

It’s entirely body lights up, the energy within its veins glows to which the snake promptly melts into a mass of energy and descends into the crystals melded with the ground.

It’s body dissolves into the reflective surfaces like a phantom.

This is the exclusive ability of the crystal sprite race, each one of them could travel through crystals linked together or simply with their tips touching one another.

This ability is the reason previous entrants suffered a lot within this section of the secret realm.

After all, a creature that couldn’t stand and tank Ezra’s attacks should be no problems for ascendants? Wrong.

Beyond just using it for a quick getaway, the ability came with additional perks.

For one, within this state, any injuries and wound it may have sustained would begin to heal as it’s body absorbs energy without interruption and slowly regains it’s stamina.

Lastly, the snake could enter or exit this state by will alone, allowing for an unlimited number of attack patterns within an environment layered in crystal.

Ezra’s eyes dart around, trying to track its movement, but the chamber is alive with refracted light, making it nearly impossible to pinpoint the creature’s location.

"Great. Just great," Ezra mutters.

The atmosphere grew still, heavy with tension.

Then, without warning, the ground beneath him erupts.

The snake burst forth from a crystalline formation, its heads lunging at him in tandem.

Ezra twists his body, narrowly avoiding one set of jaws, before sending a concentrated energy beam piercing through the second head.

Having being shot with fire beams multiple times a good while back, Ezra had endeavoured to use a similar attack on his future opponents.

Thus the current situation.

There was no stopping the smile that creeps into Ezra’s face seconds after the attack.

While he felt pride, the snake was feeling the pain.

Boring a hole through the snake’s head, the other head shrieks in pain before quickly diving back into the crystal environment.

The creature’s ability to immerse itself within crystal is as infuriating as it was fascinating.

The snake merged seamlessly with its surroundings, its form largely indistinguishable from the countless crystalline structures around them.

"You’re persistent, I’ll give you that," Ezra mutters, his mind racing for a strategy.

He couldn’t stay for long.

The collapsing chamber was already narrowing his options, and the snakes ability to appear and disappear at will only made matters worse.

Ezra closes his eyes , focusing on the ambient energy of the realm.

The chaotic hum of the collapsing chamber was a constant backdrop, but within it, he could sense faint distortions—ripples in the energy field caused by the snake’s movements.

Ezra’s eyes sparkle.

Behind just him, the collapsing cave is also causing trouble for the snake as well.

Watching the snake’s movements, Ezra could see that it avoided parts that cracks spread onto, meaning it’s ability has limitations.

Though, Ezra ha been briefed that could move across crystals, even broken ones as long it was clustered or just touching one another, he wasn’t going to let thy stop him from seeking to exploit this weakness he had discovered.

Without a second thought, Ezra put Skyfall in Scythe form and makes a wide downward swing, embedded the scythe info the ground like a pickaxe, accelerating it’s destruction.

Once he does this, Ezra instantly turns around and runs.

There you are," he whispered, pivoting just as the snake’s emerged again, this time from a cluster of jagged formations to his left.

And already waiting for the inevitable attack, Ezra instantly spots a difference.

’Its slower’

The speed at which the snake’s reforms into material is not visibly, but subtly slower than before.

Ezra slashes Skyfall in a wide arc with energy infused into ot, the blade emitting a sharp, metallic hum as it struck the creature’s crystalline body.

Sparks fly with the blade and the sharp skin, and the snake’s recoil, its heads hissing in unison.

The snake recoils from the strike, its twin heads jerking back in unison.

The clash of Skyfall’s energy-infused blade against its crystalline form sends a cascade of multicolored sparks scattering into the chaotic air.

Ezra doesn’t wait for it to recover.

Without missing a beat, he surges forward, the scythe in his grip shifting seamlessly into a twin-bladed staff.

He spins it with practiced precision, each strike aimed to exploit the cracks forming on the creature’s glittering scales.

The chamber’s unstable terrain, collapsing walls, and falling debris work both against and for him, creating opportunities he refuses to squander.

The snake’s glowing veins pulse erratically, its rhythm no longer smooth but disrupted.

Ezra knows he’s wearing it down, but the aim isn’t to kill the snake but to exit the current section of the secret realm.

The snake’s retreating form flickered in and out of the crystalline environment, its shimmering scales pulsing with uneven light.

Ezra adjusts his grip on the staff form of Skyfall, his breathing steady but his mind working in overdrive.

He didn’t need to defeat this creature outright—that would only waste time and energy he couldn’t spare.

He needed a way out, and fast.

The chamber’s ceiling groaned ominously, a deafening crack splitting the air as a massive chunk of crystal plummets down.

Ezra leapt sideways, narrowly avoiding being crushed, the shockwave sending him skidding across the jagged ground.

The snake, too, seemed affected by the chaos, its heads darting around in visible agitation.

The serpent reappears, its twin heads emerging from a crystalline pillar ahead of him.

This time, its movements were less fluid, its once-perfect synchronicity marred by slight hesitations.

The glowing veins along its body flickered like a faltering heartbeat.

"It’s tiring out," Ezra realized. "Good."

The snake lunges again, its jaws snapping inches from his face.

Ezra ducks low, spinning the twin-bladed staff to deflect its follow-up strike.

Sparks flew as the razor-sharp scales scraped against the reinforced edge of his weapon.

Without pausing, he twisted his body into a counterattack, slicing a deep gash along one of its heads.

The creature shrieked, a soundless vibration that resonated through the chamber, shaking the ground beneath them.

"Are you seriously trying to kill us both?!"