A blue rift opened in the forest sky.
The air around it distorted. The clouds were pulled inward for a brief moment — as if the sky itself were being drained.
Then Luis emerged.
Floating.
As if reality had torn itself open just to let him pass.
"I'm back…" he murmured.
"Now let's see how Frederin's doing."
His eyes scanned the forest.
Burned trunks.
Melted snow.
Black ashes still smoking between the trees.
"Fire…" he said. "He's over there."
Luis shot forward.
Within seconds, he spotted the battlefield.
"Frederin's right below…"
On the ground, Frederin ran in zigzags, gasping for air.
Ice stakes fell like deadly rain. He dodged by inches — rolling, leaping, forcing a body that had already gone far beyond its limit.
He raised his hand.
An invisible cut sliced through the air.
The pterodactyl's neck was superficially torn. Scales fell. The creature roared — more irritated than injured.
Frederin looked up.
He saw Luis in the sky.
"Help me out here, man!" he shouted. "I'm running out of aura!"
Luis didn't take his eyes off the creature.
"We're all going to die…" he replied coldly, "if you can't."
The pterodactyl opened its mouth.
Something different began to form inside.
It wasn't just fire.
It wasn't just ice.
An orange-and-blue sphere condensed, spinning over itself, compressing the air. The ground began to crack under the pressure.
Frederin felt his instincts scream.
"This attack…" he murmured. "It's different."
He took a deep breath.
The aura around his body flickered. Failed.
"My last cut…"
He crouched. Trembling — but firm.
"One chance. All or nothing."
The sphere was fired.
The air burned and froze at the same time.
"Neo Jutsu…"
"Gainen Danetsu!"
The cuts tore through space.
Trees were severed. Rocks split apart. The wind itself was divided into invisible lines. The pterodactyl's skin opened in multiple places.
But the sphere…
Remained intact.
Advancing.
Unstoppable.
Frederin smiled faintly.
Exhausted.
"Yeah, Luis…" he murmured. "Guess that's it."
"We're going to die."
His left eye, once overtaken by Hagan, lost its glow.
The iris returned to its normal brown.
His body gave out.
Frederin collapsed unconscious.
The sphere struck.
A contained explosion shook the forest.
(Pterodactyl's Perspective)
"The boy's cuts were impressive…" it thought. "It was only a matter of time before he broke my shell."
The dust began to settle.
"But now… it's over."
Then it saw.
A silhouette.
Standing.
Untouched.
"How dare you…" it growled, "still stand?!"
Luis stared at the creature without emotion.
"Your attack didn't even hurt," he said.
"I'll show you what real power looks like."
He raised his hand.
"Neo Jutsu…"
"Silent Cataclysm."
A small black sphere appeared.
Blue and red details ran across its surface — like lightning trapped inside an abyss.
He threw it.
"That's it?" the pterodactyl mocked. "I will—"
The sphere passed through.
No explosion.
No impact.
Silence.
"My… shell…"
The pterodactyl's body exploded from the inside out.
No spectacle.
No light.
Just rupture.
Massive pieces began to fall from the sky. Trees were crushed. Craters opened. The wings disintegrated midair.
The head rolled across the ground.
Stopped in front of Luis.
Still alive.
"I survived a Dinark…" it murmured, its voice failing. "Lived more than three hundred years after that… and now I die to another Dinark…"
A weak laugh escaped.
"What a disappointment…"
Luis watched it.
"It's not your fault," he said.
"Maybe it's mine."
"Why…?"
"Half… whatever the rest of your name is…"
"You weren't weak."
He stepped closer.
"You just fought someone above your level."
The creature slowly closed its eyes.
"Thank you… for killing me…"
"The pain… has finally ended…"
Luis frowned.
"Pain? How are you still talking? Your body was destroyed."
"I'm a mythical being… the strongest of my species… it takes me longer to die… but now… I can finally feel free from—"
Its voice ceased.
One final breath escaped.
Silence.
Luis looked away.
"I believe the pain came from the dimensional fragment fused to it…"
"A parasite."
He turned.
Walked toward Frederin's unconscious body.
Grabbed him by the collar and began dragging him across the ground.
"You almost died, kid…" he said quietly. "But you did your part."
Pause.
"Let's go home."
"It's time for you to meet everyone."
Frederin slightly opened his right eye.
The forest returned to silence.
The journey was silent.
Luis crossed the sky without hurry, holding Frederin by the collar. The boy's body swayed slightly in the air. He breathed with difficulty.
Alive by a thread.
The forest was left behind.
The mountains too.
Then… the world itself seemed to grow distant.
When they landed, the place was different.
An isolated structure, built upon ancient stone. A subtle bluish energy field surrounded everything. There were no trails. No signs of passage.
The air there was stable.
Safe.
As if space itself had been folded to keep that point beyond ordinary reach.
Luis passed through the barrier.
Frederin let out a deep sigh — even unconscious. As if his body recognized that there… it didn't need to fight.
Inside, the silence wasn't empty.
It was attentive.
Luis laid him down on the cold stone floor, leaning him against the wall.
He watched him for a few seconds longer than necessary.
"You survived…" he murmured.
"That already says a lot."
Footsteps echoed.
Presences began to move.
Luis straightened up.
"Well…" he said quietly. "Now the hard part begins."
From the darkness, six shadows emerged.
They stopped in front of them.
Luis sighed.
"Turn on the lights in this place…"
"I can't see who's who."
And the silence returned.