Lightning split the blood-soaked sky as the ground beneath the battlefield trembled from the clash of titans.
Kael and Kaito moved like twin storms, their blades flashing through shadow and flame. Kurojin parried with inhuman precision, his corrupted Will now radiating across miles. Each of his strikes sent shockwaves strong enough to displace stone and split open the ground beneath them.
But Kael didn't flinch.
He didn't retreat.
He advanced.
Again and again.
"You're faster," Kurojin admitted, spinning to block a synchronized cross-slash from both brothers. "You're more in sync. But it won't be enough."
Kurojin's eyes glowed blood-red. The mark of his true Will—a symbol of extinction—flared to life across his chest. A storm of black tendrils erupted from his back, swirling with distorted souls and screeching echoes. The sky dimmed.
"I'll show you what it means to carry the power of ten thousand fallen Wills!"
With one gesture, Kurojin unleashed a wave of spectral energy that swallowed a hundred meters of the battlefield. Kael and Kaito vanished inside it—then came bursting out through the other side, scorched but still standing. Kaito's cloak was shredded. Kael's eyes flared brighter, the void-fire around him intensifying.
Meanwhile, the battle across the field escalated.
Tetsu, beaten and bloodied, faced Lilith as time blades swirled around them in a sphere of fractured seconds. Hana stood beside him, body glowing with phoenix fire, keeping the pressure on Lilith who was slowing with each passing moment.
"You think your friendship makes you stronger?" Lilith hissed, her voice echoing through time.
"No," Hana said. "Our Will does."
Behind them, Magnus Kreel let out a roar as his war hammer smashed through three beast generals in one swing. Seraphine Vale levitated above, casting prism barriers to shield injured Wielders while slicing through enemies with blades of pure windlight.
Kaede and Ryuu had Veyron on the ropes. Veyron bled shadows from his shoulder and thigh, his void cloak flickering. Still, he grinned. "You're strong… but not strong enough to stop what's coming."
Kaede narrowed his eyes. "Then we'll die trying."
Back at the heart of the battlefield, Kael finally locked blades with Kurojin again. Sparks exploded. Kaito came from the flank, unleashing a spiraling wave of wind-void fusion. Kurojin was forced to dodge—but he smiled through it.
"You think you've changed the tides?" he whispered, voice like a creeping storm.
Kael growled, "No. I've become the tide."
Suddenly, Kael's Will pulsed—once.
Then again.
And something… else answered from within him.
A deeper energy.
Ancient.
Even Kurojin paused.
"What… was that?" he murmured.
Kael's flame dimmed, his breath heavy. He didn't know what stirred inside him, only that it had been asleep until now. Something older than the Last Will. Something darker.
But the war wasn't done.
And he would harness whatever it took… to finish it.