The battlefield had become a furnace of fury—light, shadow, flame, time, and steel clashing in a chaotic crescendo. The cries of warriors echoed through broken skies, the ground scorched with remnants of fallen beasts and shattered relics. Kael stood at the center of it all, his heart pounding like a war drum as the tide of battle raged around him.
He couldn't afford to stop now.
Across the field, Hana and Tetsu were still locked in combat with Lilith. Blood dripped from a gash across Hana's arm, but her eyes blazed with defiance. Tetsu's Will flared brighter than ever, waves of disruptive energy pulsing out and forcing Lilith to constantly recalibrate her time distortions.
"You're running out of tricks, Lilith!" Hana shouted, her ribbon fluttering like a war banner as she charged again.
Lilith's voice was calm but sharp. "You're both naive. Time always wins."
A ring of energy surged outward from Lilith, slowing their movements and speeding up her own. But Tetsu's Will countered with a snap, creating a zone of temporal stability that shielded both him and Hana.
"We trained for this," Tetsu growled. "You're not the only one who learned how to manipulate the flow."
As they battled, Kael's eyes shifted toward the eastern ridge where Ryuu and Kaede were exchanging brutal blows with Veyron. The shadows danced unnaturally, shaped into blades and spikes, weaving a deadly tapestry of void energy.
Kaede's face was bleeding, his robe torn. Still, he stood firm. "Ryuu! Go high, now!"
Without hesitation, Ryuu launched upward, flames bursting from his arms. Kaede unleashed a vertical slash that created a brief gap in Veyron's defenses, just long enough for Ryuu to come down like a meteor.
BOOM!
Veyron was sent skidding backward, his cloak tattered, a small crater marking the point of impact.
"Still think we're weak?" Ryuu spat, steam rising from his body.
Veyron laughed—blood dripping from his mouth. "You're persistent. I'll give you that. But none of you truly understand what's coming."
Elsewhere on the battlefield, the top Wielders—Magnus Kreel, Seraphine Vale, and what remained of Zhen Kairo's command—fought against the monstrous elite beasts. Giant serpentine Wills, corrupted dragons, and brutal horned titans filled the sky and ground.
Seraphine spun mid-air, her frost magic locking a corrupted phoenix in a tomb of frozen flame.
Magnus, with his colossal strength and gravity-based Will, lifted an entire beast off the ground and slammed it into another. "They just keep coming!"
A Wielder beside him shouted, "We're holding! We won't break!"
Kael took a deep breath. His fingers curled into fists. It was all happening at once—every friend fighting their own battle, every warrior giving everything.
And then came the quake.
The earth trembled as a dark aura bloomed in the distance. A single pillar of crimson energy erupted into the sky from where Kurojin stood, his power now awakened fully. The sky cracked—literally fractured—under the pressure of his presence.
Kael's heart dropped. That wasn't just power.
That was dominion.
Kurojin had finally begun to reveal his true form.
Raizen clutched his side, still wounded but watching with grim recognition. "It's starting. The final shift."
Kael turned to Kaito. "We stop him now. Together."
Kaito nodded, stepping beside his brother. "For the family. For everyone."
As they approached Kurojin, the villain's laughter echoed like thunder. "Come, then. Show me if this world is worth saving."
Behind them, the war raged on—heroes and beasts locked in the storm.
But the storm was far from over. It was only beginning.