The heavens opened as if the sky itself had ruptured under the weight of mortal suffering. Rain hammered the battlefield in relentless sheets, merging storm and war into a single hostile force. But even this overwhelming deluge failed to wash away the residue of devastation—the acrid sting of scorched air, the fading trace of corrupted magic, and the oppressive silence of the fallen.
The ground had dissolved into a thick, red-tinged mire, clinging to the boots of the few warriors who still remained upright. Lightning carved violent wounds across the clouds, revealing brief, jagged snapshots of the ruined terrain—splintered weapons, collapsed bulwarks, and exhausted fighters forcing themselves to stay upright through sheer will.
Kaelith drove his spear through the chest of the lesser Oni. The creature dissolved into a cloud of dark vapor as Kaelith sagged to one knee, his breath sharp and unsteady. Rain flattened his hair, rolling down his cheeks in cold rivers. Through the storm, a silhouette approached with grounded certainty.
Saturu.
Even strained, he moved with contained discipline. His expression held stern focus tempered by concern.
"You're badly wounded," he said, voice steady with an undercurrent of urgency. "Can you stay on your feet?"
Kaelith exhaled. "You're one to talk. And yes. Still operational. I just don't want to overstrain Lumina more than she already is."
"We need everyone alive to survive for what's coming," Saturu replied. "You need healing."
"Healing takes too long." Kaelith's gaze lifted toward the sky—toward the dim, pulsing red light gathering high above. "The second wave is almost here."
The air split with a thunderous crack. The dimensional crack widened, yawning like a wound torn open in the fabric of reality. From its depths poured another surge of Oni—hundreds, then thousands—charging across the ruined expanse with feral aggression.
Saturu drew his twin blades, steel glinting under flashes of lightning. Kaelith summoned his spear-blade and forced himself upright. No further words were required—the two warriors moved.
From the rear line, Garrick slammed his gauntleted palm into the earth. "Lion's Pride—Authority! Hyaaaa!"
A wave of golden force burst outward, intercepting the advancing swarm. The impact threw dozens of Oni back and bought the frontline a narrow operational window.
But the ground trembled.
Deep red light erupted from the rift's core, rising in molten waves. It condensed—heavy, massive, towering—until the full silhouette formed.
The Grand Oni.
Four times the height of a veteran warrior, its body fused raw power with ancient malice. Its magma-like skin dark, cracked, glowing radiated the promise of internal red energy. Even the storm winds recoiled from its presence.
A pulse of crimson energy burst outward. Everything within the radius soil, stone, lingering energy vanished in a single devastating impact.
Saturu and Kaelith exchanged one look—an unspoken recognition.
This wasn't a battle.
This was survival.
When the flare dissipated, only few allies remained standing: Garrick with his cracked shield, Lyra with her glowing bow, and Togi braced against the storm, blades raised.
They had survived only because of Lumina her barrier, her authority, her sacrifice. But the cost was visible: one eye bleeding, blood at the corner of her mouth. She had pushed herself to the brink.
Saturu and Kaelith advanced as the others opened lanes of support.
Garrick launched upward and drove a fist into the ground, destabilizing the earth beneath the Oni. Saturu and Kaelith charged forward at full speed, weaving through its attacks as they gathered their own power. In a single, fluid motion, their swords flashed out with unerring precision, and their slashes struck true.Dust surged upward, and when it cleared, the creature's visage fully revealed itself—jagged horns, red energy features, burning red eyes cutting through the storm.
The Grand Oni inhaled.
Its horns glowed.
The world exploded.
Columns of condensed red energy carved molten trenches across the battlefield. Rain evaporated on impact, vanishing in hissing bursts of steam.
Lumina used the last of her strength to shield them.
Kaelith's voice cracked. "Lumina—!"
"You've got this..." she whispered, collapsing into the mud.
Saturu surged through the flames, armor scorched. His Authority of Adaptation flared—strengthening, shifting, recalibrating under the hostile conditions. He blitzed past the Grand Oni, creating an opening.
Kaelith caught it immediately.
The monster prepared its Wings of Destruction. Saturu walked straight into the chaos—unfazed, unyielding—leveraging his authority to hold space. Kaelith's remaining strength ignited, his aura flaring red as Lumina's last gift activated within him.
Saturu moved with ruthless acceleration, carving into the Grand Oni in blinding arcs. Light flared with each strike. But his authority faltered—his limit breached. The Oni capitalized, its horns generating a destructive beam. Saturu reacted too late. Kaelith used his spear then spun it to block the shockwaves from the impact as Lyra shot an arrow to the sky then multiple arrows appeared, all of them attacking the Grand Oni simultaneously. The Grand Oni roared, releasing violence to the field, releasing multiple Onis which screamed and roared, releasing a massive explosion.
BOOM
The blast struck.
The ground erupted.
Saturu in the impact of the explosion as green energy pulsed from Saturu's core, pushing him above his limits.
"Hyaaaaaaaa.....I will not fall!"
He invoked his full battle-blade potential, cutting a brutal arc across the creature's face. The Grand Oni instantly knew that if Saturu lands another attack it will be done for. The Grand Oni struck Saturu and launched him into the earth with crushing force.
Kaelith's eyes widened.
He met Saturu's gaze.
No words required.
Then—sharper, louder:
"SATURU! Don't die just yet!"
Kaelith charged through gathering flames, not avoiding them but penetrating directly through their path. His spinning blades generated a vortex of pressurized air, spearing into the exposed gap at the base of the Oni's neck. He drove his spear deeper, severing critical tendons.
The Grand Oni staggered.
Kaelith split his weapon into three stakes, anchoring the wings and legs. One final surge severed a horn. The creature spasmed, destabilizing, energy fluxing wildly.
A final blast tore from its core, striking Kaelith full force. It hurled him backward. With the last of his strength, he hurled one spear segment toward Saturu.
The Oni was fatally exposed.
Saturu screamed, voice tearing through the storm. "KAELITH!"
But he didn't break.
He couldn't.
Fueled by grief and fading strength, he advanced. His blade ignited with a brilliant purple-blue aura as he pierced the creature's chest—directly into its body and throughout. A massive dark blue purple energy explosion obliterated the Grand Oni inside to outside.
White light erupted.
When it cleared, the Grand Oni froze—then shattered into black dust.
Silence followed. Heavy and wrong.
Saturu dropped to one knee, sword planted in the mud. His breath trembled. His burned arm hung limp. The battlefield around him was a wasteland of steam and ruin.
He scanned the field. Garrick, barely standing. Lyra, vision dim, arrows spent. Togi, expression unreadable.
Relief should have come. Instead, the air shifted.
Their stances changed. Weapons lifted. Eyes hardened.
Saturu coughed blood. "We did it. We can restore the realm… bring them back… Kaelith… Lumina… We're going home."
Togi stepped forward, every movement deliberate. "Home, yes. A new world." His voice dropped to a cold, final tone. "But a new world requires a new hierarchy. A new operational framework."
Garrick tightened his grip on his blade. Lyra did not look away.
Dark energy from the fallen Oni seeped into the soil, coiling around Togi's feet. "The Grand Oni's power falls to us," Togi said, a smirk twisting his lips. "What did you hope to achieve with this betrayal??"
Saturu's head lifted slightly, his eyes burning. "Tell me—what do you gain from this?"
"Unmatched power," Togi answered, his voice dripping with malice. "With this Oni stone, I will claim what was always meant to be mine. It wasn't enough to end you—I needed you broken, spent, exactly like this. And it is done. Kaelith, Lumina… they are gone. I think it's time you joined them."
Garrick struck, his blade cutting a deep gash across Saturu's back. Saturu roared, gripping his sword, his eyes flashing red as he prepared to strike back.
But Togi was faster. A precise, efficient slash severed Saturu's arm at the elbow.
"Kyhaaaaaa!" Saturu cried out, blood pouring into the wet ground as Togi pushed him on the edge of the cliff.
He stumbled toward the cliff's edge, the roar of the waterfall rising behind him. His final thought was not of himself, but of Kaelith—his unwavering eyes, his absolute trust.
I'm sorry… I failed you.
I failed everyone.
His footing slipped.
The world dropped away.
Cold.
Weightless.
Silent.
As consciousness dimmed, a voice echoed within him—ancient, resonant, absolute.
A vow unbroken.
A will unyielding.
You are granted the Authority of the Creator's Fragment.
The darkness claimed him as the cold faded, and the thunder became a distant murmur. A profound silence enveloped him, broken only by the slow, heavy beat of his own heart, a drum counting down to nothing. Or perhaps, to something else entirely..