Smoke curled around the edges of the broken courtyard as Ryuu Takashi and Kaede Mizuno stood across from Veyron—the tactician of shadow and void, second-in-command to Kurojin Tsukiro. He stood calm and collected, his cloak fluttering behind him like torn paper. The darkness around him pulsed with eerie sentience, tendrils of shadow twitching at his feet.
"You two," Veyron said with a chilling smile. "You're not here to win. You're here to delay the inevitable."
Kaede narrowed his eyes, drawing his blade, its edge gleaming with a mix of elemental energy and honed precision. "You talk too much for someone who hides in the dark."
Ryuu cracked his knuckles. "We beat you once. This time, we finish it."
Without another word, Ryuu charged, lightning arcing from his fists as he accelerated in a blur. Veyron didn't move—his shadows did. Tendrils erupted from the ground, clawing at Ryuu's limbs mid-dash, slowing him.
Kaede flanked the side, his movements precise and deadly. Veyron parried with an arm of solidified void, deflecting Kaede's sword. Sparks flew.
"You're both more coordinated than last time," Veyron said, twisting his body and releasing a pulse of darkness that shoved them both back.
"Kael taught us more than moves," Ryuu growled, charging again. "He taught us how to fight like we've got everything to lose."
Kaede and Ryuu began rotating their attacks. Kaede's slashes opened space while Ryuu's strikes closed it. Veyron danced between them, predicting movements with inhuman awareness, countering with his signature move—Abyssal Convergence—merging his shadow with their own to entrap their feet mid-movement.
But Kaede was ready.
He slammed his blade into the ground, sending a wave of energy that shattered the shadow bonds. Ryuu used the moment to dash in and uppercut Veyron, lightning exploding across his jaw.
Veyron tumbled back, laughing under his breath as blood dripped from his lip. "Impressive…"
He wiped it with his sleeve, then activated his full Will—a dome of shadow energy swallowed the battlefield in black silence, where time seemed to warp and the only light came from the two Wielders' glowing Wills.
Inside the dome, Kaede and Ryuu's breathing slowed. Visibility was near-zero.
But Kaede muttered, "You feel it too, right?"
Ryuu nodded. "Yeah. His void is linked to fear. It feeds on doubt."
"So don't doubt."
They leapt in unison, trusting instincts, training, and each other. They struck from different angles—one from above, one from below.
The dome cracked.
Veyron stumbled again, this time holding his ribs.
Kaede planted his sword in the ground beside him. "We're not who we were a year ago."
The dome dissolved as Veyron steadied himself, eyes narrowing.
"No," he said. "You're something worse… you're hopeful."
As the next phase of the fight began, the storm of battle echoed across the war-torn field—Lilith still fighting Hana and Tetsu, Kael and Raizen preparing for the clash of legends with Kurojin, and above it all… the world watching.