The Dome roared like a living god as sound rolled through the colossal structure in layered waves. Chanting, applause, and the thrum of anticipation vibrated through reinforced steel and energy lattices. Holographic banners shimmered high above the arena floor, replaying highlights from the past week: flame storms, gravity ruptures, tidal collisions of Aura.
Eight contenders had entered when it first began, now, only two remained.
Spotlights carved pillars of white through drifting artificial mist. Every major hero in Aegis Prime was present, either seated or watching from suspended decks. Media drones hovered like metallic birds with their lenses gleaming.
The world was watching. At the center stage, a massive circular battlefield gleamed with pristineness, reinforced with adaptive shielding to protect the mass. It looked clean. But it would not stay that way.
The hallway smelled faintly of ozone and coolant.
Blue Volt stood in the shadows with his arms folded and lightning flickering faintly across his skin. Across from him, Asol rolled his shoulder once and flexed his Adamantium arm. The sigils glowed faintly in the dark.
"You're sure about this?" Blue Volt asked quietly.
"You've asked me that three times," Asol replied.
"Then I'll ask a fourth."
Blue Volt stepped closer.
"628 doesn't fight like a brawler. He doesn't overpower you. He studies every strike, every technique, and every pattern. He adapts and evolves in real time."
Asol exhaled slowly.
"I've fought things that adapt. Namely, Kaijus."
"Kaijus are different," Blue Volt said flatly.
Asol smirked faintly.
"So I shouldn't hit him?"
Blue Volt didn't smile back.
"I'm serious."
"As am I."
Asol stepped forward and placed a hand briefly on Blue Volt's shoulder.
"As long as you get the evidence," he said quietly, "none of this matters."
Blue Volt's jaw tightened.
"The vault won't be easy."
"Neither is this."
Asol's gaze lifted slightly toward the ceiling—toward Providence's unseen vantage.
"The whole world's watching today."
Blue Volt nodded once.
"If Providence suspects—"
"He already does," Asol interrupted. "He told me himself."
Blue Volt's eyes darkened.
"Then something will go wrong."
"Something always does."
Blue Volt hesitated.
"…If I'm not back in time—"
"You will be," Asol said simply. "Plus, I had already made a tape as well. Just in case."
For a moment, lightning flickered. Then Blue Volt stepped back.
"Don't die," he muttered.
"You too."
In a quiet crackle of compressed light, Blue Volt vanished and Asol turned toward the entrance ramp.
(The Previous Night)
On a shadowed rooftop, Kazuma stood at the edge with his arms folded and eyes fixed on the city lights.
He didn't turn when Asol approached.
"So, what is it this time?" Kazuma asked.
Asol stepped beside him.
"Blue Volt's in."
Kazuma went still.
"…What?"
"He defected."
Kazuma turned sharply.
"You're lying."
"Wouldn't blame you for thinking that."
Asol's expression didn't change.
"But he's getting the evidence from Providence's vault. You remember the Saviors, right? Well, its a long story."
Asol had told Kazuma all the things that he discovered. But he stared at him like he'd just suggested the moon might fall.
"That's impossible."
"So is half of what's happened this week."
Silence.
Then Kazuma's jaw tightened.
"I never knew that the Saviours were a part of this as well," he said quietly.
Asol nodded.
"And he told me he'd be watching."
Kazuma's gaze sharpened.
"He isn't going to just 'watch.'"
"I know."
A long pause.
"If something goes wrong tomorrow," Asol said, voice steady, "will you fight?"
Kazuma didn't answer immediately.
Wind whipped across the rooftop.
"Something will go wrong," Kazuma said flatly. "That's not a possibility. It's a guarantee."
"I'm aware."
Kazuma's fists clenched.
"You don't understand what he's capable of."
"Then help me understand."
Kazuma looked away.
"…If Providence moves," he said slowly, "there won't be time to debate morality."
"I'm not asking for a debate."
Asol stepped closer.
"I'm asking for an answer."
Kazuma's breath trembled once.
And then—
"…Yes."
(Present)
The announcer's voice boomed across the Dome.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN—THE FINAL DAY!"
The crowd erupted.
"And now—your finalist—"
A pause.
Energy crackled along the arena walls.
"—an exhibition match will take place before the championship bout!"
A murmur rolled through the audience.
"What?"
"Exhibition?"
"Where's Blue Volt?"
At center stage, Asol stepped into the light.
The reaction was immediate confusion.
"Who's that?"
"That's not Blue Volt!"
"Is this a substitution?"
High above, Providence's calm voice echoed throughout the Dome.
"Due to unforeseen scheduling adjustments, the Tournament Committee has arranged a special exhibition match."
His tone was warm. Assured.
"A demonstration of power befitting this historic finale. And, the astute alliance between Aegis Prime and Earth as we all know it! A hero from this world versus a hero from another!"
Applause began—hesitant at first, then swelling. The world loved spectacles. Kazuma sat alone. He had expected something like this. Asol was right. But so was he. Providence had always foreseen these variables.
But one thought gnawed at him.
Where is Aoi?
She wouldn't miss this. Not the final day. And definitely not an exhibition match that was unannounced which would have made her jump from her seat in excitement. His pulse quickened. And then a darker thought appeared in his mind.
If this is an exhibition match, who was Asol fighting?
The lights suddenly dimmed, and a single spotlight ignited at the opposite end of the Dome. Music began. It was soft at first, and then it swelled and the crowd gasped. A pathway of radiant cyan light extended from the upper tier down toward the arena floor and a figure emerged.
Her light blue hair flowed like starlight. She wore her hero-idol costume adorned in crystalline accents that shimmered with cosmic hues, with fabric itself seemingly alive and woven with threads of luminous energy.
The Dome erupted.
"AOI!"
"SHIGURE!"
"ITS PROVIDENCE'S SISTER!"
Kazuma's heart stopped.
No. No, no, no—
Aoi Shigure descended the path with serene grace.
Title:
"The Grand Diva of the Universe."
She had earned that title after participating in an event hosted by The CEO to name the most prominent idol on Earth as the strongest. BUt that was on Earth. Here in Aegis Prime, there was an unspoken but universally understood ranking amongst the heroes.
She is second only to Providence.
Kazuma's pulse exploded into chaos. Asol wouldn't survive this. It wasn't going to be like the old times when he and Aoi had trained Asol together to take down the Saviors and the Leader on Earth. This was different. They had taught him what he needed to know and learn. But they never taught him what they knew.
On the field, Asol stared.
"Aoi?"
She stopped ten meters away. Her head was lowered, and her eyes were obscured by a shadow. But her Aura was dense. He could feel it. It was coiled. Cold even. The announcer's voice trembled with excitement.
"EXHIBITION MATCH—BEGIN!"
There was no wind-up. There was no warning. Aoi vanished and Asol's instincts flared uncontrollably. She reappeared above him, initiating the start of the fight with a dropkick that was empowered by her own Aura. Asol crossed both his arms instinctively, but just barely in time. The collision rang like a bell struck by a star, and the battlefield cracked outward in a circular fracture. A miniature Aura Clash ignited between them. The pressure alone forced the first row of spectators to shield their faces as Asol's boots gouged into reinforced stone as he absorbed the force.
Too fast—
She was way faster than Blue Volt when he had fought him. He looked up and saw her eyes and there was no light, no warmth, and certainly no recognition. Was she the same person he met for the first time? Her eyes were filled with killing intent and hatred. Asol's breath caught as he struggled to keep his guard up.
"Aoi…"
Her leg pressed harder onto him as Aura surged violently from her frame. Asol was fighting someone renowned for their battle prowess and power on Earth. But here on Aegis Prime, that person is second to Providence.
High above, Providence watched and smiled.
The exhibition had begun.