The Ruined Bridge stretched across nothingness—once a path between realities, now a broken monument suspended in a sea of void and memories. On one end stood Steven, Aetheron, and the newly awakened Primordial Keepers.
On the other...
Calyx emerged first, draped in obsidian armor, eyes burning with chaos. Behind him walked Barrick the Soul-Eater, a titan of bone and steel, dragging a scythe carved from the essence of a dying sun. Then came Neyzifa, the Storm Wraith, her body a cyclone of rage, lightning arching from her fingertips.
The void between them crackled.
Steven stepped forward. "You're here."
Calyx sneered. "You summoned relics of a forgotten age. Cute. But the gods you woke are dust compared to what we've become."
Aetheron drew his blade. "Still afraid to face him yourself, Pain?"
Calyx grinned. "Why waste divinity when hounds can tear the lamb?"
Steven raised the Codex. "Then let's see if they bite."
The battle exploded.
Aetheron and Calyx clashed first—magic and swordplay colliding in sparks of golden fury. Aetheron's blade struck in holy arcs, but Calyx moved like a shadow reborn, his fists crashing like dying stars.
Elymara weaved spells through time, reversing Barrick's attacks before they landed—until Barrick screamed, unhinging his jaw, unleashing a roar that erased moments. Steven barely raised a barrier in time.
Meanwhile, Neyzifa hurled storms at Zethion, shouting, "Traitor!" with every bolt. But Zethion welcomed the fire, his body turning blue and white-hot, matching her strike for strike. "You serve a death that devours itself," he growled. "I fight for one who remembers."
Steven, at the center, held the Codex aloft. It shimmered—calling out to the broken Bridge. Runes reactivated across the surface.
The battlefield awoke.
The Bridge itself responded to the Codex, recognizing its bearer. Tendrils of forgotten reality formed around Steven's hands—spells older than time.
He launched a sigil at Barrick, tearing half his armor away. Another wave slammed into Neyzifa, short-circuiting her storm for a breathless second.
But it wasn't enough.
Calyx broke free of Aetheron and rushed Steven, fist blazing with decay. Steven met him halfway—magic against entropy.
BOOM.
The impact shattered the Ruined Bridge in half. Both armies fell into voidspace. Steven caught himself with pure will—but Calyx reached him, grinning with bloodied teeth.
"You think this is war?" he hissed. "This is foreplay."
Suddenly, the void twisted—and a voice deeper than time echoed.
"Enough."
Pain had arrived.
He hovered above the void, robes endless, wings spread wide like collapsing galaxies. His presence alone made the stars scream.
Steven looked up, his breath stolen. The Codex trembled in his grasp.
Pain extended his hand.
"Come home, shard. Let me make you whole again."
Steven raised the Codex. "I'd rather shatter the universe."
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To be continued