'Why won't these guys leave me alone?' Baines seethed, recalling his dismissal of the old man's overtures about the Ashen family. Now, one of their own stood before him, materialized in a misty realm of twin mountains.
'This feels like a domain,' he thought, scanning the alien space, his senses sharp.
"Are you curious about this place?" the figure taunted, as if reading his thoughts. The figure had a feminine voice, meaning it was a female.
Without hesitation, she lunged, her sword forcing Baines back with relentless strikes. "This is our ruin," she said, arms spread. "More like our domain, since we use neither mana nor aura."
Baines's brows narrowed with a troubling sensation; his 6th-star aura had been reduced to 5th-star strength. 'What is this?' The domain was sapping his power to boost hers. 'Is that possible?' he wondered, parrying her attacks with practiced precision.
"Aren't you curious why my abilities are boosted and yours diminished?" she pressed, her blade a blur.
