Luke's eyes flashed a fierce golden hue, molten sunlight trapped in his irises, burning with a quiet, lethal promise. He raised his hand, voice low and deliberate.
"NOX AETERNUM."
The rusty old sword at his side shuddered violently. Rust cracked and peeled away like dead skin, revealing gleaming gold beneath. In a heartbeat, the blade stretched—longer, thicker, heavier—its edge humming with concentrated mantra energy. The air around it warped, shimmering like heat rising from sun-baked stone.
For a single, suspended moment, the world fell silent. Even the waves seemed to pause, their crashing forgotten, as if the sea itself were holding its breath.
Brock's lips curled into a slow, predatory grin. His massive frame loomed against the darkening sky, muscles coiling beneath scarred, weather-hardened skin.
"Nice sword you got there, kid," he drawled, voice rough as gravel.
"Too bad it's about to get broken."
The words hit Sora like a slap to the chest. His heart thundered, still raw from the Kraken's final thrash. Blood trickled from a deep gash on his arm, mixing with the seawater beneath his feet. Yet the mantra energy inside him surged hotter, coiling like fire through his veins—sharp, insistent, demanding release.
Luke shot him a sidelong glance. Calm. Deadly. Unyielding.
"Sora… let's go."
They exploded forward. Sora veered left, Luke surged right, both tearing across the surface of the sea at blistering speed. Water detonated beneath their feet in violent sprays. Brock didn't flinch. Massive tentacles ripped free from his back, stretching outward like living whips, slicing the air with lethal precision.
Sora struck first. He unleashed everything he could muster—fists blazing with mantra energy, each blow snapping through the air with raw force. Brock met him head-on, countering every attack with brutal precision. Each punch Brock threw detonated shockwaves across the sea, sending ripples tearing outward and nearly throwing Sora off balance.
"Don't forget me."
Luke's voice cut through the chaos as he leapt high into the air. Mantra energy wrapped around Nox Aeternum, the golden blade blazing as he descended in a lethal arc.
"Oh, I didn't," Brock muttered. Tentacles snapped upward, colliding with Luke's strikes in a storm of sparks and violent force. Then—impact. Brock twisted and landed a devastating blow to Luke's limbs, sending him flying across the sea like a broken missile.
Sora's eyes widened—but he didn't hesitate. He seized the opening. Mantra energy roared through his arm as he drove a Platinum Punch straight into Brock's back. The impact was thunderous. Brock skidded violently across the surface of the water, carving a trail of exploding waves behind him.
Before Brock could fully regain his balance, Luke appeared behind him. No warning. No hesitation. The blade plunged forward.
Brock's body froze. Slowly—unnaturally—his head twisted a full 360 degrees, locking eyes with Luke. A wide smile spread across his face.
"Did you really think," Brock said softly,
"you could stab my heart that easily?"
Brock's tentacles cinched tighter around Luke's wrists, hoisting him higher until his boots dangled uselessly above the raging sea. The golden glow in Luke's eyes flickered—not fading, but straining, like a flame starved of air.
A slow smile crawled across Brock's face.
"Let's see how long you can hold," he murmured.
Then the punches came. Not wild. Not sloppy. Clean. Precise. Merciless. Each fist buried itself into Luke's stomach with brutal accuracy, driving the air from his lungs again and again. The sound was wrong—deep, hollow, like metal striking a bell submerged underwater. Luke's body jerked with every blow, ribs screaming, organs rattling as the sea below churned violently from the force alone. Blood sprayed from his lips, vanishing instantly into the waves.
"Luke—!" Sora snapped. Something inside him broke. Mantra energy detonated through his veins as he lunged forward, the sea exploding beneath his feet.
"LET HIM GO!"
The air screamed with him. Brock's head snapped toward Sora, grin widening as if he'd been waiting for that exact moment.
"Oh?" he said calmly. The ocean answered for him. Tentacles erupted from the sea itself, tearing upward like living spears. They wrapped around Sora mid-charge, yanking him off balance before slamming him down into the water. Once. Twice. Again.
Each impact sent towering shockwaves rippling across the surface, the sky itself trembling as if struck by invisible fists. Water exploded upward in massive plumes, rain crashing down as Sora's body was smashed deeper and deeper. Salt burned his eyes. Bones screamed.
But he didn't black out. He clenched his teeth, mantra roaring like wildfire in his chest. Move. MOVE.
Brock finally released Luke, letting him crash into the sea like a broken statue. He turned his full attention to Sora, tentacles tightening as they lifted him halfway out of the water.
"You Saints break so beautifully," Brock said, voice almost amused. "Struggle more."
Sora coughed, blood mixing with seawater as his hands trembled. Then—his eyes hardened. The sea around him began to boil violently, waves twisting and churning, pushed by an unseen force. Mantra energy surged outward in violent pulses, cracking Brock's tentacles with sharp, echoing snaps. The pressure grew heavier, denser, warping the air as if reality itself resisted him.
"No," Sora growled, voice low and feral. "You don't get to decide that."
Far behind Brock, the water rippled. A golden light stirred beneath the surface. Luke rose—slowly—dragging himself upright, Nox Aeternum trembling violently in his grip. His body shook, blood dripping freely, but his eyes were steady. Locked on Brock's back.
"Shatter Slice!" Luke roared, swinging Nox Aeternum in a deadly arc across Brock's back. The golden blade bit deep, leaving a trail of sparks and molten light in its wake. Brock's eyes flicked to the wound, then he instantly abandoned Sora, letting him sink into the sea's crushing depths. His focus locked fully on Luke now.
"That stung… a lot," Brock muttered, smirking.
Luke planted his feet, spreading into a battle stance. Mantra energy erupted violently from his body, tendrils of molten gold whipping across the water's surface. The air warped, waves shuddering as if the sea itself feared him.
"Keep blabbering," Luke growled, eyes sharp, "because this is the last face you'll ever see."
Meanwhile, beneath the waves, Sora struggled. Saltwater filled his mouth, lungs screamed for air, and everything blurred to black. His vision dimmed, heartbeat pounding in his ears. He kicked, clawed, gasped—but the ocean's pressure was unrelenting.
Then… a shadow appeared. A figure hovered above him, silhouetted against the dark water, calm and unshakable.
"You… pathetic," the figure said, voice cold as steel. "Do you even know what strength is? You think that golden fire you carry makes you powerful? No… it only highlights how weak you've always been."
Sora's chest heaved, mantra energy sputtering, but the figure didn't flinch. It circled him like a predator, eyes boring into his soul.
"You panic. You fail. You cling to others because you are nothing alone. That's why you'll drown, Sora… that's all you've ever been good for—weakness incarnate."
The words cut sharper than any tentacle, sharper than Brock's fists. Saltwater stung his eyes, but even as the world went black, the figure's presence burned in his mind—relentless, mocking, impossible to ignore.
Those cruel words cut deep, sinking into Sora's chest. He remembered… his mom's face. Her smile. The warmth of her hands. The promise she once made that he would never give up.
Heat erupted violently from his body, mantra energy spiraling outward like molten sun. His pupils flared—red, with a golden plus sign at their center—burning through the haze of fear and pain.
Brock loomed above Luke, claws digging into his chest, preparing to tear out his heart. The sea around them churned violently, waves climbing like mountains, water spraying like rain.
Then—everything exploded.
"NOW DIE!" Brock bellowed, swinging his full weight.
But the next instant, he went flying across the ocean like a boulder hurled from a cannon. Water erupted in a thousand jagged columns, waves crashing and roaring. Salt stung the air. Lightning flashed across the stormy clouds. Brock's form smashed through the surface, tumbling, stunned, utterly unprepared.
And then the chaos cleared.
Sora stood there, golden-red pupils glowing, mantra energy writhing around him like fire-twisted serpents. The sea itself seemed to shrink back from him, trembling at the pressure radiating off his body.
"How delusional of you," Sora said, voice low, calm… yet sharper than a blade. Every word dripped with power and disdain—a promise that this storm was far from over.