The storm came at dawn.
But it wasn't of wind or snow.
It was of fire, thunder, and light.
The Council's army stretched across the horizon — banners shimmering with resonance, airships hovering above like silver phantoms.
Their war engines hummed with precision, fueled by elemental cores that pulsed in perfect rhythm.
From the high walls of Valenreach, the Reclaimers stood ready — outnumbered, outgunned, but unbroken.
Xander gripped the railing, eyes narrowing as the first airship broke formation.
"They're moving into attack range."
Selra adjusted her gauntlets, the runes along her armor glowing faint gold.
"Then we move first."
Mira's voice crackled through the comm-line.
"All defense towers charged. Resonance cannons at 82% capacity. Just give the word."
Xander raised his hand.
"Fire."
The mountains roared.
Blue and silver energy lanced through the sky, colliding with the leading airships. Explosions bloomed like fractured suns — shards of metal raining down into the valley.
But the Council responded instantly.
Dozens more ships opened fire, raining resonance bolts onto the fortress. The ground trembled as the walls shook, snow turning into clouds of steam and flame.
Rina shouted over the noise, "They're breaching the southern wall!"
"On it!" Renn yelled, drawing his sword as his squad sprinted toward the breach.
Lightning crackled through the courtyard as Xander extended his arm — his resonance forming a barrier that absorbed an incoming blast.
"Mira, keep the cannons stable!"
"Working on it!"
Selra leapt onto the front lines, her blade glowing gold and azure as she deflected enemy projectiles midair. The sheer force of her strikes split the ground, sending shockwaves rippling through the battlefield.
On the southern wall, chaos erupted.
Council soldiers in advanced resonance armor charged forward, their weapons glowing with elemental power — fire, earth, lightning, ice.
Renn's unit met them head-on.
Blades clashed, sparks flew, and the air filled with the screams of resonance discharges.
"Hold the line!" Renn shouted, his blade swirling with storm energy.
One soldier aimed a pulse cannon — Renn ducked just in time, countering with a blast of compressed wind that sent the attacker flying.
But there were too many.
"We can't hold them forever!" Rina called out.
"We don't need forever," Renn growled. "Just long enough."
On the battlefield's far side, a figure descended from the largest airship — tall, armored in obsidian and gold. His eyes burned like molten metal.
Councilor Dren.
He unsheathed a sword etched with ancient runes — Seraph's End, forged from resonance crystal and warfire steel.
Selra's expression darkened.
"So they sent you."
Dren smirked.
"Who better to end a traitor than her former mentor?"
Their blades clashed, releasing a thunderous shockwave that shattered the snow around them. Sparks of gold and red scattered across the field as they traded strikes — precision against fury, discipline against defiance.
Selra spun low, cutting through his guard, but Dren countered with a brutal surge of heat that melted the frost beneath their feet.
"You were the best of us, Selra," Dren snarled. "You could've led the entire Council!"
"Then maybe that's why I left," she spat.
He struck again, each blow heavier than the last. Selra's blade began to crack — and still she didn't fall back.
"Valenreach was never about control," she said between parries. "It was about balance."
"Balance is an illusion," Dren hissed. "Power is truth!"
Their next clash sent both flying backward — Selra landing hard in the snow, Dren advancing with blazing fury.
But before he could strike again, a thunderous surge split the air.
Lightning and water intertwined.
Xander landed between them, the ground cracking beneath his feet. His aura blazed — blue and silver spiraling into a radiant storm that rippled through the entire battlefield.
"Step away from her," he said quietly.
Dren sneered. "The heretic himself. I've heard about your condition."
"It's not a condition," Xander said, eyes glowing. "It's evolution."
Dren swung his sword, unleashing a torrent of molten energy. Xander met it head-on — lightning and water colliding, forming a shimmering sphere of compressed resonance.
The blast imploded, sending shockwaves across the valley.
For a heartbeat, the battlefield froze — every soldier, every recruit, staring at the boy who had just absorbed a Tier-II energy burst.
Selra's eyes widened. "Xander, stop — you're overloading!"
He didn't hear her.
The resonance inside him spiraled out of control — water and lightning fusing into something new, something alive.
The air around him warped, his body outlined in shifting light.
Elemental Fusion.
Lightning flowed like liquid. Water shimmered with electricity. His every movement left trails of luminous energy across the snow.
Dren stepped back, disbelief on his face.
"That's impossible."
"So was Valenreach," Xander said — and vanished.
A flash.
A strike.
Dren's sword shattered in his hands, the force of Xander's blow sending him crashing into the ground.
The earth shook.
The Reclaimers rallied at the sight.
Mira's cannons lit up the sky. Renn and Rina charged with renewed strength.
Selra stood beside Xander, breathing hard, her blade fractured but unbroken.
"You did it," she said.
He exhaled slowly, his aura flickering dangerously. "No. It did me."
For a brief moment, the two of them looked out over the battlefield — soldiers retreating, airships burning, Valenreach still standing amid the storm.
But the First Flame beneath the academy pulsed violently — reacting to Xander's power.
Selra turned sharply. "Xander, the Flame—"
A deafening roar cut her off. The mountain trembled. The sky cracked open with light.