"Get ready." He muttered.

Ruby nodded.

Gray's Artifact eye widened whilst the other narrowed.

[Future Sight: Level 1]

His other eye widened, hastily flashing left and right while he slowly turned his head to the right.

They were coming, from every direction.

Gray leapt to the side, pulling Ruby along with him.

A large fanged mouth rose up out of the ground where they had been standing simultaneously a large disfigured beast's mouth emerged from the ground.

It's body was filled with eyes, all them were locked onto the two.

Ruby felt her heart sink, chills were forced down the spine of the two.

Neither of them had the chance to catch their breath as Gray kicked a paused platform of air, pushing them away from where they were going to land.

Another giant disfigured eyed beast rose out from the ground before them, biting down into the air as it had just missed him.

[Future Sight: Level 1]

[Three seconds.]

Through his future sight, Gray could see it. Highlighted needles bursting out of the shadow monster's figure whilst being propelled at them.

Not even a second after, the ground beneath them would rise out in spikes, impaling both of them.

Three seconds, that was all they had.

Gray quickly acted, [Pause Stepping] them as far away as possible before looking around in search of the main body.

Instead, he was greeted by giant eyeballs all around, staring right at him.

He was surprised that they had managed to find him so quickly, but didn't think too much of it.

He ignored it, and looked around for the main body with Ruby.

But just as he did-

"Gray!" Ruby called out to him

"Yeah, I know."

A slight growl came from above as the beasts lunged right at them.

With their heads moving upwards to look, and the disfigured shadow beasts large fanged mouth drawing closer with every margin of a second at high speeds.

Ruby assumed there wouldn't be any time to avoid it, and so she was about to use her ability.

[Blood manipulation-]

Before she could even execute it however, Gray who was still holding on tightly to her hand, sighed.

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"Pause."

That was all he said, as he instantaneously raised his hand and grabbed a hold of the tooth of the closest beast.

And from just that, all the beasts which were in close proximity and contact with it, all halted in the air.

With countless beasts suspended in the air above him, Gray rubbed the back of his head.

Ruby was at a loss for words. With a shocked expression she kept her eyes locked to him.

'This... How is... It hasn't even been a month... Just how? How is he getting so strong, so fast?'

'Or was he always this strong?'

"Is this it?"

"You were smart to hide and trap us in here, but is that as far as your intelligence goes?"

Gray let out another sigh. The attacks had stopped. The shadow figure was listening.

"I guess getting consumed and becoming a monster must have made you dumber."

It realised it was being mocked. The attacks resumed once again, this time not only needles and spikes manifested but also weapons of all kinds.

The shadows were all taking the shape of whatever the shadow wanted, whilst propelling it's attacks at them.

But Gray and Ruby simply leapt up onto a platform of paused air, before sitting down inside of a [Chronos Field] which he had manifested.

Seeing as how none of it's attacks were working, the shadow became confused.

[Pause Level 5]

[Pausable Objects: 25/30]

[Cooldown: 0]

[Limitations: Maximum size pausable through visual lock: 1.5 meters. Maximum size pausable through contact: 200 Meters cubed.]

With these changes, Gray could stop even a falling building from pausing with pause, not to mention how he could keep thirty active.

And on top of that.

[Race: Chronos Noble.]

Gray wasn't completely sure of the full effects which this race change could possibly bring.

But there was one thing he knew for sure.

"At my current state, there is no chance for you to win." He said.

Another mockery directed at the shadow figure as he searched for it.

The Artifact eye was also searching for it at full throttle, but it would always give the same answer.

[The enemy is all around you.]

Based on this assumption, Gray could only assume he had completely merged with the shadow, dealing with it would be a pain.

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So to pass by time, he was showering it with mockery.

He didn't expect it to work, his mind was constantly thinking up of different ways he could go on with dealing with this.

'Ah, I got it. I'll just break everything-'

Just when he finally thought of an idea, the shadow figure suddenly manifested in the middle of the room, surrounded by darkness.

Although she could see fairly well in the night, because of how well it blended in with it's surroundings which was just pure darkness, Ruby couldn't see it.

Gray on the other hand, couldn't help but smile.

The shadow figured stared directly at Gray with all of it's eyeballs squirming around inside of it.

It cocked its head to the right, indicating that it was visibly confused.

"So you've finally decided to show yourself." Said Gray as he appeared beside it, leaned in towards it with his finger touching it's forehead.

[Pause.]

To Gray's surprise, his fingers passed right through it. He couldn't feel any contact.

"An illusion.."

He looked back, all the way towards the corner of the large cube and there it stood, it's hands holding on tightly to a dark sword which it had manifested.

There were countless eyeballs squirming around the blade of the sword, Gray doubted that it would be able to cut him with how contorted it was.

Still, he knew better than to underestimate.

Regardless of what ability it had, he'd kill it before it could make it's move.

*SWOOSH!*

Just as he was about to take a leap forward, with just a blink of his eyes, everything had changed.

In just a blink, the walls which had been surrounding them, the dark celling which had been blocking off their light, it had all completely disappeared.

Their surroundings had slightly lit up as a cold wind blew over them.

The cold dark night sky had returned once again.

"...?"

Gray was visibly confused, why would it suddenly throw away it's zone? Didn't it give it an advantage?

Just as he was about to look around in search of it, once again. She called out to him.

"G-G...Gray...?"

Gray turned towards her, instantly narrowing his eyes in a glare as he did so.

"I-I... Can't move..." Said Ruby with her body trembling.

The more she struggled to move, the more her body trembled. Her blood was flowing down her arm, dripping down to the floor from her recent cut.

From just a few meters away from her, the shadowy figure drew closer, approaching her at a steady pace whilst it stared at Gray.

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[Shadow Bind]

It's shadow was connected to hers in a straight line, and was probably the reason why she couldn't move.

"Hoh..."

Gray hadn't expected this move at all. The fact that it went for Ruby knowing fully well that Gray would have sensed and avoided it.

"I take it back, you are quite smart..." He added, as he watched it move closer.

Despite the sitaution at hand, Gray didn't seem worried at all.

'If it's gotten like this, I'll just have to kill it.'

[Pause Level 4: Incomplete Time Stop.]

With just a single blink, the world before him changed completely.

The feeling of wind passing by his skin, the sound of the loud gears of the airship turning and the feeling of life in the air, had all disappeared.

Gray found himself being once again, the only one standing in the middle of this cursed world.

The world of frozen time.

While in this world, Gray quietly made his way towards the shadow figure.

He appeared before it, and instantly launched a barrage of punches at it's figure.

But after the fifth punch and second kick, he stopped.

Why? Because all of the punches were phasing right through it.

It was as if it wasn't there, it was as if it's entire figure was fake, or more specifically, just a shadow.

"Then... Guess I'll have to use it again." He said.

Gray stretched his arm out.

[Pause Level 5: Authority Over Frozen Time.]

"Break." He muttered.

At that instant, the space ahead of him where the shadow had been standing cracked like a fragile piece of glass. It was on the verge of shattering right after he did so.

[Break Executed.]

Authority Over Frozen Time. That was his new and evolved ability of Pause which he had gained from the evolution.

From the moment he got it, he understood how it worked.

It worked something similar to a command. After saying a certain command and pouring his energy to it, the command would be executed. Hence the Authority.

The only command Gray knew as of now was, Break.

But this command alone, was the strongest move he had in his Arsenal.

There was a lot more to this move, but for Gray, this was enough. He'd learn more eventually.

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