For Xia Nan, the world in his eyes fell into stillness the instant that pink rainbow light reflected in his pupils.
It was different from when he had once faced the Basilisk's "Petrifying Gaze," when he could clearly feel that sinister energy seeping from the pores of his skin into his flesh, blood, and bones.
And he had been able to resist its petrifying effect through his own will and body.
The pink ball of light Ingram released seemed, at a glance, to have much the same effect: both caused someone to fall into a stagnant state where they could not move.
But in Xia Nan's perception, compared with "Petrifying Gaze," it was almost an entirely different thing.
He did not even know by what means he was supposed to resist this energy.
All he saw was a flash of pink light before his eyes, and in the next second, he had completely lost the ability to act.
His vision was unaffected; he could clearly see everything happening before him. His consciousness remained active as well, countless thoughts surfacing in his mind.
But when it came to his body, though he could clearly feel the faint coolness of the breeze brushing over his skin and the branches and leaves of the shrubs pressing against his trouser legs—
He could not move so much as a single finger.
It was as if his soul and flesh had been severed from each other in that instant.
Xia Nan watched almost with his own eyes as the Sheriff knocked Tim's head off with a hammer, then, expressionless, tore the other man's spine out through his back and placed it carefully into the magic array.
Then, with a cold face stained all over with blood, he walked toward Xia Nan, Prism Hammer in hand,