Elsewhere, Phoenix hears this and panics. "Wolfy!" She calls out before being attacked by a Torn. Yoko covers their ears hearing her screams as Axe looks over his shoulder. "Oh no." He says before the Rascilian soldier quickly strikes him across the face.
Maxus lets Wolf go as she collapses on the floor. She breathes heavily as she rolls onto her stomach in pain. She tries to crawl away as her eyes shake rapidly and her soul pulses erratically in her chest. Her ears ring as her senses begin to get overwhelmed.
"W-What… d-d-did you do to me..?" Wolf asks, barely able to talk properly. Maxus grins as he stares at her trying to crawl away.
"Your Instability. I just yanked on it a little more than the curse already was. All I really did was bring out the part of you that you refuse to embrace." Maxus says before stepping on her hand. She screams in pain before Maxus grabs her shoulder and rolls her onto her back. "Give me the Dark Arm." He commands. Wolf holds her hand as her soul shakes rapidly in her chest. She hyperventilates while trying to answer.
"I-I don't know.. what t-that is.." she says between breaths. Maxus then stomps Wolf in the stomach before quickly grabbing her by the neck and throwing her into a nearby wall. She yelps in pain as she slides down only for Maxus to grab her neck again.
"The more you resist, the more it'll hurt when it comes out. Now be a good boy and give it to me." Maxus says as Wolf looks at him.
"My.. p-power.?" She asks. Maxus smirks at her.
"Exactly." He says. Wolf, still hyperventilating, lowers her head a bit before a smile comes across her face. To Maxus' surprise, she starts laughing a bit before lifting her head back and smiling at him.
"Fuck you." She says before Maxus punches her in the face. Blood spills from her nose as he pulls his fist back only to hit her a few more times, cracking the building behind her, even throwing one of her teeth across the floor. Wolf eventually collapses before Maxus grabs her by the throat once again and slams her against the wall.
"Give it to me." Maxus commands as he chokes her more. Wolf struggles under his grasp as she gets out weak words.
"I won't… l-let use my p-power… to hurt people…" Wolf chokes out. Maxus grows subtly frustrated but keeps a composed look as he says.
"Then die." coldly as he chokes her harder. Wolf chokes and panics as much as she can but her body is giving out as her soul only spasms more and more until it stops.
In an instant, her body goes limp. Her senses go silent as her soul instantly stops and fades. Wolf's eyes dull as Maxus lets her go and steps back, her body dropping to the ground. Maxus just stares at her for a moment with a blank stare, as if waiting for something.
Suddenly, her body convulses for only a moment before arching her back intensely with the sound of her bones creaking. She screams an awful scream as suddenly bright purple energy starts exploding out of her. Maxus' hair and coat flap from the force as his grin returns, watching this unfold.
"Finally. Another to replace the one lost and a Sovereign Power in my grasp-" Maxus speaks before suddenly stopping as his eyes grow wide. The pouring of purple energy stops in less than a second as everything around seems to grow still. Maxus stands there, his gaze fixed on the spot Wolf's body just was but now it's gone. And behind him stands someone who wasn't there before.
Maxus slowly turns around and stares at this figure before him. It stands just a bit taller than Wolf, and its body seems to be a bit different, but the outline is unmistakable. Wolf stands before him, but now as a totally blacked out figure with glowing eyes and a black and purple aura around it. Despite this sudden event, Maxus' gaze relaxes as he watches the figure.
"That was Saido. Impressive." Maxus says as the figure doesn't respond, doesn't even move. "You truly are quite the specimen. I think he'll be quite pleased with this addition." Maxus says as he quickly raises his hand towards the figure with the red Frequency around his hand again only for in that moment, his hand is swiped away. Maxus reacts only slightly from the force of the swipe but simply looks at the stump halfway up his arm where his wrist and hand once was. He then looks at the figure that didn't seem to move at all. His gaze sharpens a bit but his demeanor stays just as calm. "I see."
Maxus says before suddenly two large blades of the same design stab through his body so fast it is almost as if they just appeared there. Maxus coughs out much blood before suddenly a force like manipulated gravity grabs tightly onto his neck and legs, slight cracking being heard from his body. Slowly, Maxus is lifted into the air as the figure does the same. They both float slowly high into the air as Maxus has his head lowered. Once high in the sky, Maxus lifts his head with a bloody smile on his face.
"You're.. keeping you distance from me.. Smart.. You know if I use my Frequency on you again.. I'd be in control-" he says before the force restraining him starts tightening around him, even bending him sideways, cracking bones, almost wringing the very blood from his body. Despite this, his smile never leaves as he speaks through a broken voice. "You truly are quite the specimen indeed. But with all your awareness... you have to know... this isn't enough to stop me.."
Maxus says as he slowly begins to straighten himself out, pushing against this figure's hold. It doesn't react once again but seemingly releases its hold on him. Maxus straightens out before, with the one hand he has left, he grabs onto the blades impaled into his body and pulls one out. He lifts it up as he examines it.
"Now this is something. I can't say I'm shocked, but I am certainly surprised. I didn't expect you to be so proficient with your abilities, let alone in this state." Maxus says as he tosses the blade aside. "No matter. You will obey me." He says before suddenly latching onto the shadow Wolf's neck tightly with a grin. "Listen closely now." He says before trying to inject his Frequency into her once again but he looks surprised when it doesn't react. Despite the intense difference in power a moment ago, Maxus' Frequency has no effect.
Suddenly, with a snap, shadow Wolf grabs onto Maxus' neck as well, holding him firmly in place. He looks upset as he struggles under its grasp before letting go and trying to free himself. At the same time, the shadow Wolf starts emitting a dense, heavy pressure from itself as the dark aura around it begins to brighten and expand.
Maxus watches as it gets bigger and heavier, enveloping him with the bright light and pressure. He smirks as he stares at the figure staring back at him.
"I see now. I know what you are. You really shouldn't exist." Maxus says as the figure twitches subtly before the light begins bursting out and pressure exerting all around.
Around, Phoenix suddenly feels it and flinches harshly at it, grabbing her chest.
"This pressure… what is that?.. it's suffocating…" She says as she opens one eye to try and look up only to see the Torn before her struggle to stay up before screeching and dissipating as it's crushed under the pressure. Moshiro feels it too, and so does Yoko. Axe looks back with wide eyes and a shocked look.
"No way. We need to-" Axe says before his focus is snapped forward.
"Axe! Now!" Komori shouts as he looks at the Rascilian soldier, now missing an arm and with one eye, charging with a wicked scream. Axe focuses sharply before quickly swiping giant knife Komori around, slashing along the soldier's body before sliding behind him. They both quickly turn around but in a moment, the blade is run straight through the soldier's chest.
They stand for a moment before the soldier collapses to his knees as blood spills from his mouth. His eyes go dull as his body finally gives in, his soul leaving his body. The red soul carries a black core, unlike the white ones we've seen from other humans. Axe stares at it for a moment before suddenly looking up at Maxus and the figure above the city.
"Can you find the students?" Axe asks, not moving his gaze from them.
"Yeah, probably-" Komori responds before Axe takes off running with a strained look.
"Do it now!" he shouts as she does just that.
Somewhere else, Yoko gets up and looks to see the same thing everyone else is turning to see. People stop and look up to see the sight above the city as some people pass out from the pressure. Yoko looks worried and panics.
"Moshi… Moshiro!" They shout before extending their wings and dashing into the air. Moshiro watches with wide eyes as she stands in the street.
"Wolf?.." she says softly when Yoko quickly flies to her. Moshiro turns with a surprised look before Yoko quickly grabs her and takes back off into the sky.
"We have to leave!" Yoko shouts as they do. Phoenix steps closer in the direction of Maxus and the shadow Wolf as each step seems to get harder than the last.
"Wolf… Wolfy…" Phoenix says as the pressure weighs heavy on her. "I will… save you…" Phoenix says when suddenly Axe comes dashing in front of her, grabs her and takes off in the opposite direction. Phoenix looks shocked as they leave.
"Wait! Wolf is still back there!" Phoenix shouts as Axe ignores her, running away. Phoenix looks sad as she cries out one last time. "Wolfy!!"
Somewhere else, scarily close to Wolf and Maxus, the child Jolyn wanders by herself holding her little plushie. She looks scared as she walks around, but then she stops. She looks up at the sight above her and smiles. She raises a hand out, reaching up as all the fear leaves her body for just a moment, a feeling of comfort coming over her.
"Wolf!" she calls out when suddenly everything stops. There is no noise. There is no motion. As if everyone freezes, they hold their breath as a blinding light overcomes them. Maxus smirks as he experiences it first.
"You really are a monster." He says as the light drowns him out. Light overcomes Jolyn reaching out. Axe looks back with intense eyes as Phoenix looks shocked as the light overwhelms them. Moshiro and Yoko look back as the light blinds them too. The reporter on the news looks away as their screens and cameras are overtaken by the light. Killian watches on his phone with wide eyes as his screen of the news lights up.
In one single moment, in a deafening silence, this blinding light takes everything before the anchoring sound of destruction booms loudly, quickly setting the reality they are all in. In this place, in a single moment, the city of Yupond ceases to exist.
As the blast fires off with an echoing, almost genuinely deafening boom, Axe holding Phoenix leaps barely avoiding the blast radius. The shockwave from the blast causes them to go flying through the air as Axe holds Komori as a blade in one hand and Phoenix in his other arm. They fly across the street and directly into a car as Axe does his best to shield Phoenix from any damage.
Experiencing a similar thing, Yoko is blasted out of the air from the shockwave as they and Moshiro flip through the air. Quickly, Yoko grabs onto Moshiro once again and wraps their wings around them both as they smash through a tree and slam across the ground, Yoko letting Moshiro go from the pain as they crash on the ground, both of them flipping repeatedly until coming to a full stop.
Moshiro groans a little as she shakily props herself up, bruised and hurt. A bit of blood drips from her mouth as she looks in quite a lot of pain, but she opens her eyes and falls back on her butt with her head thrown back. She catches her breath before looking over and noticing something.
Not too far from her, Yoko lies on the ground on their side. They kick and squirm a little as they whimper in pain, their tail whipping the ground every now and then. Moshiro watches as Yoko grabs their large, sensitive bat ears tightly as they bleed a bit. Yoko whimpers and whines as they thrash lightly from the intense pain. Moshiro looks softly as she slowly gets up.
She approaches her partner on the ground and, amidst their pained thrashing, gently places a hand on their shoulder. Yoko slowly opens their eyes and looks up to see Moshiro looking at them gently.
"..ey… ar… ..ou oka..?" Yoko barely hears Moshiro speak through ringing, but it slowly begins to get better. Yoko stares at her for a moment before tears begin to fall from their eyes. Moshiro exhales softly as she helps Yoko to their feet as they cry silently.
Moshiro looks around for a moment as smoke covers the sky and dust surrounds the area. As fast as the blast came, it only lingered for a few moments before disappearing just as fast. She stares with narrow eyes, trying to see through the dust before her eyes widen.
Wolf, a young girl about 15 years old, stares with wide eyes, her face bruised and bloody. Her eyes express confusion and shock as her hands tremble. She sits on her hands and knees as she stares with horror across her face.
"What… happened?.." she asks softly as she stares into a crater where a city once stood filled with thousands of innocent lives.