[The Fall of a God]
In the cold vacuum of space, Gudmaro didn't even have time to stabilize. Techyon moved like a glitch in the universe's code—one frame he was light-years away, the next he was a blur of white light directly behind the "Perfect" being.
CRACK.
A heavy, mana-reinforced kick sent Gudmaro hurtling back toward Earth like a falling star. He screamed as he re-entered the atmosphere, his body igniting into a ball of violet fire. He was inches away from crashing into the Northern Mountains when the "glitch" happened again.
Techyon appeared directly in the path of the collision, his fist already cocked back. He drove a punch into Gudmaro's jaw that stopped his momentum instantly, sending a shockwave that flattened the surrounding forest for miles.
"I will not... I will not die like this!" Gudmaro roared, his face a mess of shattered soul-fragments. "Final Annihilatio—"
"Enough," Techyon whispered.
He thrust both palms forward. The white and blue auras surrounding him didn't just flare—they funneled into his hands. "Concentrated Light Beam!"
A pillar of pure, blinding white light erupted from his palms. It wasn't a messy explosion; it was a surgical strike of absolute erasure. The beam swallowed Gudmaro whole, incinerating his cosmic armor, his stolen mana, and finally, his very cells.
"CURSE YOU!"
With a final, desperate shriek, the "Perfect Being" vanished into nothingness. Not even ash remained.
[The Price of Victory]
As the light faded, the silence that followed was deafening. Techyon stood in the center of the crater, his white glow flickering like a dying candle. The 5-minute timer hit zero.
The light snapped off.
Techyon's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed forward, his body hitting the dirt with a heavy thud. He was completely unconscious, his mana core silent for the first time in his life.
"Everyone! Fast! Catch him!" Yoru shouted, her voice filled with a mix of relief and terror.
Lapis, Cynthia, and Alya scrambled into the crater. Lapis looked down at the exhausted hero and gave a weak, blood-stained thumbs up. "That was a nice shot, Techyon," he coughed. "The best I've ever seen."
Alya dropped to her knees beside him, her hands already glowing with a soft, green light. "Techyon? Techyon, are you okay? Please, let me heal you..."
[The Grove of Eternity – 3 Hours Later]
The air was thick with the scent of blooming jasmine and ancient magic. Sunlight filtered through the massive, translucent leaves of the Tree of Life, casting a peaceful green hue over the mossy ground.
Techyon groaned, his eyelids feeling like they were made of lead. He forced them open, squinting at the canopy above. "Where... where am I?"
Before he could sit up, a blur of blue hair and robes collided with him. Alya wrapped her arms around him in a tight, trembling hug. "Techyon! I am so glad you are fine! I thought your mana core had shattered!"
Techyon gave a weak, tired smile, patting her shoulder. "That's okay, Alya. I'm tougher than I look."
Neweland stepped forward, crossing his arms with a look of profound respect. "Techyon, you really did a very good job. I have never seen a mortal—or a god—move with that kind of intent."
"For one time, I honestly thought we lost," Yoru admitted, leaning against a nearby root. She looked exhausted, but her green eyes were bright. "But then you came back. You weren't just fighting; you were the light itself."
Lapis laughed, giving a shaky thumbs-up. "You were just too fast, man! It's like you were teleporting without even using a skill. I couldn't even track you with my eyes."
Techyon's expression suddenly turned serious. He looked around the grove, his heart sinking. "Really? Thanks, guys. But... where is my sister? Where is Cynthia? I want to talk to her. In the middle of all that chaos, I forgot to tell her... I forgot to tell her I'm her lost brother."
The Arcon of Life stepped out from the shadows of the Great Tree, her face sympathetic. "She is gone, Techyon. As soon as she saw you were stable, she went back to her home, Netland. She has duties that cannot wait, even for a victory."
Techyon looked down at his hands, a pang of regret hitting him harder than any of Gudmaro's punches.
"I am leaving too," Yoru said, checking a glowing notification on her wrist. "My mom is calling me... she's probably worried sick. Bye everyone, and thanks for the help. We make a good team." With a flicker of gold, Yoru used Instant Teleportation and vanished, heading back to her family.
Neweland turned to Techyon. "And you? Where will you go? The Arcon's grove is safe, but it is not a home for a warrior."
Techyon stood up, wincing as his sore muscles protested. He looked at his shredded, charred tunic and the dirt-stained rags that used to be his gear. "I am going to Hydro City with you and Alya. I need to take some rest in the Hydro Palace... and I really need some new clothes. Mine didn't exactly survive the 'Intergalactic Punch.'"
...Lapis he stood up, brushing the stardust from his cloak. "I am also going back," Lapis added, his expression turning uncharacteristically serious for a moment. "I need to go and see what my sister is doing... something tells me she's been just as busy as we have. Bye everyone!"
Before anyone could ask who his sister was, Lapis snapped his fingers. A rift of Space Warping energy opened behind him, swallowing him whole as he teleported to parts unknown.