The duel high in the sky was a silent war.
The rainbow-colored elemental light and the pitch-black beam of nightmare energy were like two dragons locked in combat, madly devouring and annihilating each other.
There were no world-shaking explosions in this duel, only pure, absolute silence.
As time ticked away, Ye Ziji felt immense pressure.
His magic was pouring out of him like a torrential flood.
His four hooves trembled slightly, and his breathing grew heavy.
Merging the seven elements consumed too much energy to sustain for long, whereas the nightmare opposite him, born of pure negative emotions, seemed to possess infinite power.
“No, this won’t do… I can’t hold on much longer…”
Ye Ziji grit his teeth.
Even with all his effort, the rainbow light began to dim.
He could feel his power being devoured bit by bit by her unreasonable darkness.
If this continued, he would be completely swallowed up within minutes, with nothing left of him.
Then he really would be subjected to some imprisonment play!!!
He stole a glance at Nightmare Moon.
She had completely transformed into a shapeless, violent mass of energy.
Her entire consciousness was focused on pouring out her power without reservation, destroying everything before her.
Her attacks grew wild and reckless.
But because of this, Ye Ziji keenly sensed that the barrier locking down the surrounding space—which had previously been as tight as a drum—was weakening!
She had poured all her focus into pure offensive output, neglecting to maintain the spatial lock!
An opportunity!
A sliver of hope in a desperate situation!
“Time to run! If I don’t get out of here now, I’m history!”
“Why on earth am I risking my life against this crazy lady?!”
Ye Ziji’s mind screamed in panic as he stealthily split off a portion of his focus.
Amidst the brutal onslaught, he began to secretly channel spatial magic.
This was an extremely dangerous move.
Distracting oneself during such a high-intensity magic clash was like performing acrobatics on a tightrope; probably no pony could pull it off besides Pinkie Pie.
But he had no choice.
He set the spatial coordinates to a vague, random location as far away as possible.
He didn’t know where he would end up.
A forest, a swamp, or even the bottom of a lake?
It didn’t matter, as long as he could leave this place!
He silently constructed the spatial beacon, waiting for the one and only opportunity.
The moment had arrived!
Ye Ziji’s gaze hardened.
He made a desperate, do-or-die decision.
He abruptly funneled most of his remaining magic into the rainbow elemental light!
*Hummm!*
The fading rainbow light suddenly erupted with brilliant, dazzling radiance, momentarily pushing back the pitch-black beam!
This sudden counterattack caught the frenzied Nightmare Moon slightly off-guard.
She immediately focused her attention, channeling even more nightmare power to crush this final resistance.
Now!
In this window of less than a second, while Nightmare Moon’s entire mind was distracted, the spatial magic Ye Ziji had prepared was triggered!
There was no grand portal, nor any dazzling light effects.
His silhouette merely rippled like a reflection in water, and then, with a soft *pop*, he vanished into thin air.
He left quietly, taking not even a single cloud with him.
The balance of power shattered instantly.
Bereft of its target, the nightmare beam shot like a runaway horse straight into the empty night sky.
After piercing through several layers of clouds, it slowly dissolved into nothingness.
A dead silence suddenly fell over the sky once more.
Nightmare Moon’s chaotic energy body slowly coalesced back into her Alicorn form.
She stared blankly at the empty space before her, sensing the faint, almost imperceptible spatial fluctuations lingering in the air.
He…
escaped?
In her strongest form, in the face of her all-out attack that cost her very sanity, he actually…
ran away?
*(Ye Ziji: What else was I supposed to do, stand there and die?)*
A sense of humiliation far worse than defeat—of being utterly abandoned and rejected—swamped her mind.
This was not the anger of losing a battle.
It was the endless loneliness and resentment of being forsaken by the entire world, of having the very last straw pulled away.
He wasn’t even willing to fight her!
“AAAAAHHHHH—!!!”
A shrill, un-pony-like shriek tore from her throat, turning into a visible shockwave that set the entire forest and sea of clouds trembling.
She threw her head back and screamed a venomous vow into the empty night sky.
“Ye—Zi—ji!”
“I swear! No matter where you hide, I will find you! I will!!!”
——————Line of Demarcation~
The sensation of spatial teleportation should have been as natural as breathing to Ye Ziji.
Of course, the last time didn’t count.
But this time, not only was it a random teleportation, but he also lacked the energy to stabilize the portal.
He had practically thrown himself into a spatial tempest—like being shoved inside a washing machine on a violent spin cycle.
The raging spatial turbulence tore at his body.
The immense strain of the random teleportation, combined with the backlash of draining his very last drop of magic, sent sharp pangs of agony through him.
By the time his body was finally spit out of the warped space, he only had enough time to catch a glimpse of an entirely unfamiliar sight—a lush, green meadow illuminated by the moonlight.
Not far away stood a cozy, peculiarly shaped cottage that looked like a giant mushroom, surrounded by blooming, nameless night flowers.
Compared to the Everfree Forest, which had just been consumed by destruction and darkness, this place was absolute heaven.
However, he no longer had the strength to appreciate this tranquility.
“Ugh…”
The moment he confirmed he was out of danger, his tightly strung nerves snapped completely.
An overwhelming wave of exhaustion swallowed his remaining consciousness.
His vision went black, and with a soft *thud*, Ye Ziji collapsed onto the soft grass like a stone, passing out completely.
Now, only his heavy, shallow breathing broke the silence of the meadow.
Before long, a small white figure emerged from the nearby bushes.
It was a pet rabbit—Angel.
Standing on his hind legs, his pink nose twitched warily as he sized up this uninvited guest who had literally dropped from the sky.
He circled Ye Ziji, seemingly checking if this large, black creature posed any threat.
Seeing that the stranger remained completely motionless, Angel grew bolder.
He hopped onto Ye Ziji’s head and rudely kicked his cheek with his tiny hind legs, as if to say, *Hey!
Wake up!
No sleeping in front of my house!*
“Angel, don’t do that!”
A voice, gentle enough to melt moonlight, called out with a hint of urgency and gentle scolding from the doorway of the nearby cottage.
A butter-yellow Pegasus trotted over quickly, her long, pink mane swaying gently in the night breeze.
It was Fluttershy.
Fluttershy carefully scooped Angel off Ye Ziji’s head, cradling him tightly in her arms before turning her gaze to the strange pony.
When she saw the state Ye Ziji was in, she couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp.
This strange Unicorn looked terrible.
His coat was covered in dirt and grass clippings, and his mane was a tangled mess.
There were even a few faint singe marks visible on his body.
He lay there silently, his chest rising and falling so weakly it seemed as though he might stop breathing at any moment.
Fluttershy’s kind instincts immediately overrode her fear of the unknown.
She couldn’t just leave a dying pony out here.
“Oh, goodness… you poor thing…” she murmured in a tiny voice.
Setting down Angel, who was still kicking his legs in protest, she mustered every ounce of her strength to try and prop up the unconscious Ye Ziji.
For someone as delicate as her, this was undoubtedly a monumental task.
In the end, exerting the strength of nine ponies and two bulls, she dragged and pulled until she finally managed to move Ye Ziji from the damp grass outside into her warm cottage.
Inside, the fireplace crackled merrily, bathing the entire room in a warm, golden glow.
The air was filled with the cozy scent of hay, sweet nectar, and various small animals.
Fluttershy settled the strange pony on a rug in front of the fireplace, then turned to Angel.
“Angel, quick, could you help me get that blanket and pillow over there? Oh, please.”
Though Angel looked thoroughly displeased, he huffed and dragged over a blanket larger than himself along with a fluffy pillow.
Fluttershy expertly slipped the pillow under Ye Ziji’s head and gently draped the blanket over him.
Having done all that, she knelt down and reached out with a hoof, checking Ye Ziji’s condition with concern.
She gently pressed her hoof against his forehead and checked his pulse at his hoof.
After a thorough examination, her worried face finally relaxed, and she let out a long sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness… He’s just exhausted and fainted from extreme stress. His life isn’t in danger.”
Once she was sure Ye Ziji was going to be fine, the heavy weight lifted from Fluttershy’s heart.
She stood up, patted Angel on the head, and asked coaxingly, “Angel, could you keep an eye on him here for a bit, please?”
“I’m going to the kitchen to whip up some warm carrot porridge. Once he wakes up, having some hot porridge will definitely make him feel much better.”
Angel crossed his arms, looking rather disgruntled at being assigned babysitting duty, but he ultimately nodded in agreement.
Only then did Fluttershy head to the kitchen with peace of mind.
Soon, a sweet, fragrant aroma began to waft through the cozy cottage.