Chapter 23: Absolute Darkness

The marble floor of the ballroom was cracked beneath her palms as Yerah pushed herself back up to her feet, her breath sharp and uneven. Blood streaked down the side of her face, mixing with the dust that hung heavy in the air. She winced, her legs trembling as she steadied herself, but she forced her weight forward anyway. Across the room, massive chunks of stone floated where they shouldn’t, Fletris’s power twisting the once grand ballroom into a fractured battleground. A sudden flash of light cut through the haze.

Before Yerah could react, Sen was there, his body already in motion. His light blade flared to life in his right hand as he lunged, closing the distance in an instant. He slashed at Fletris midair, aiming for the side of his neck. Fletris twisted, the movement deceptively fast for his size. His forearm darkened as the stone around it hardened, blocking the strike with a heavy clang that echoed through the shattered hall. The force of Sen’s blow sent cracks spidering across the stone shielding Fletris’s arm, but it held. With a guttural sound, Fletris shoved forward, his hardened fist slamming against Sen’s chest with brutal strength. Sen was thrown back, skidding across the marble before landing in a low crouch beside Yerah.

Yerah: Sen!

Sen didn’t answer right away. His eyes flickered back toward Fletris, watching the brute drop to the ground, stone cracking beneath his boots.

Sen (quietly): Stay close… Clearly, he’s an earth user, but we should be able to handle him. He’s probably nothing like Zarnem.

Yerah: Right. Where’s Dain?

Sen stood slowly, his light blade pulsing brighter in his hand as a dark tendril curled around his other. His gaze never left Fletris.

Sen: He’s fighting another one.

Yerah: On his own?

Sen: He’ll be fine. I didn’t sense much power from his opponent… but this one in front of us… a different story.

Fletris moved his massive arms sweeping forward as stones both from the shattered floor and those still suspended in the air rocketed toward Sen and Yerah. The chunks of debris howled through the air, their sheer weight causing the cracked marble beneath them to tremble with each passing second. Sen reacted instantly, raising his hand as a barrier of light burst forth, forming a radiant shield just in time. The stones slammed into the wall of Intergy with explosive force, splintering on contact, but the barrier itself groaned under the impact, spiderweb cracks racing along its glowing surface.

Behind the light barrier, Yerah was already moving. Her breathing ragged, she pushed through the burning in her muscles and summoned sharp shards of ice with a sharp sweep of her arms. The jagged spears hovered for a brief second, glinting in the fractured light, before they shot over the top of Sen’s shield in a deadly rain aimed for Fletris’s chest. But Fletris was already responding. A swirl of dust and sand gathered at his feet, rising rapidly as he dragged his heavy hand through the debris on the ground. The sand coalesced into a violent wave, carrying shards of broken marble and splinters of wood in its wake. The churning mass surged upward, colliding with Yerah’s ice barrage. The resulting clash exploded in a chaotic spray of mist and dust, the two attacks canceling each other out in midair with a sharp hiss.

Taking advantage of the momentary cover, Sen’s form blurred forward, propelled by a sudden burst of light Intergy that left searing streaks in his wake. In his left hand, a blade of darkness materialized, the edges jagged and trailing tendrils of shadow as he closed the distance to Fletris. With precision, Sen swung, the blade cutting a silent arc toward Fletris’s side. Fletris was prepared. His arm once again hardened, the skin darkening as stone rippled across it in thick, impenetrable layers. The dark blade struck with brutal force, connecting with a deep crack and a ringing sound that reverberated through the ballroom. Yet this time, Sen’s strike did more than just impact. The intense cold of the dark Intergy spread instantly across Fletris’s stone-armored skin. Frost bloomed across the hardened surface, the cold creeping in delicate, deadly veins as it climbed toward Fletris’s shoulder and neck.

Fletris’s eyes narrowed, his body jerking back just before the freezing darkness could reach his throat. With a thunderous roar, he reared back his free fist and drove it into the ground. The floor buckled beneath him, shattering outward in all directions as deep fissures spread like lightning bolts. Entire sections of the marble floor heaved upward, jagged chunks of stone breaking free as Fletris manipulated them with a brutal, practiced ease. With a violent flick of his hand, the broken floor surged toward Sen like an avalanche of jagged stone. Sen reacted immediately, dark Intergy whipping around him in thick, smoky strands. He thrust his hand out, and the shadows coalesced into a powerful wave, slamming into the flying debris. The chunks of stone twisted violently midair, diverted away from him by the consuming cold of his dark energy. Some pieces shattered outright, falling harmlessly to the ground in a spray of dust and ice.

On the opposite flank, Yerah’s hands wove sharp motions through the air, streams of water forming around her like serpents before solidifying into sleek, crystalline spears of ice. She sent them streaking toward Fletris’s exposed side. The spears whistled through the air, aimed to pierce through the gaps in his stone armor. Again, Fletris was ready. His entire body darkened once again as his skin hardened into solid rock. The ice spears struck with brutal force, splintering on impact and leaving fine cracks along his surface. Yet he stood firm, enduring the assault with an immovable strength. Small shards broke off from his exterior with each hit, but Fletris remained grounded, unmoved, and unrelenting.

Sen (calling out): Yerah! Stay back for a moment!

Sen surged forward again, his movements silent but ferocious, leaving streaks of shadow in his wake. Dark energy coiled around his arms like living smoke, thickening with each strike as he unleashed a flurry of attacks. Blades of condensed darkness formed and dissolved in his hands, each swing slicing through the air with surgical precision. Fletris met him head-on, his massive arms rising in brutal counters, fists hardened with stone crashing into the gloom with shattering force. The room darkened with every exchange. Sen’s strikes released bursts of shadow that splattered against the cracked marble, staining the ground and walls with black residue. The darkness spread, thick tendrils creeping along the floor and crawling up the broken pillars like a rising tide. Fletris grunted as his stone-armored fists smashed through one of Sen’s shadowy blades, sending fragments of black energy scattering like ash in a storm. Yet for every blow Fletris landed, Sen was already moving, already attacking again, each swing laced with more darkness, more pressure.

The air between them grew colder, heavy with the weight of Sen’s relentless offense. Fletris drove his foot down with thunderous weight, the impact sending a tremor through the ground, but Sen maneuvered through it, his dark-coated body weaving between the quakes. Shadows trailed behind him like smoke in high wind, each step leaving stains that refused to fade. Another slash carved through the gloom, Sen’s blade of darkness aimed low. Fletris blocked, his arm cracking again under the cold energy, but he retaliated immediately with a sweeping punch. Sen ducked under it and countered with a burst of dark Intergy from his palm, the blast striking Fletris square in the chest and staggering the brute a few paces back. The force left a smear of darkness over Fletris’s torso, the cold gnawing at the stone like rot.

Without pause, Sen pressed in. He launched a spinning kick, his leg wreathed in shadow that sliced the air itself. Fletris caught it on his forearm, but the sheer chill bit deep, forcing him to recoil. Sen followed with a downward slash, his blade humming as it cut toward Fletris’s collar. The earth-user twisted away just in time, fragments of his stone armor shearing off and falling into the creeping gloom below.

All around them, the darkness deepened. The field was becoming a blur of twisting shadows. Sen’s attacks carved into the air, lines of cold and black that hovered before dissolving into the thickening dark. Fletris’s breath grew rough, his head turning in slight jerks as he tried to follow Sen’s movements in the haze. His strikes became wider, heavier, searching for an opponent slipping deeper into shadow. The room was disappearing around them. The battleground, once bright and broken, was vanishing under the weight of Sen’s darkness. Step by step, swing by swing, Sen was drawing Fletris deeper into his world.

Yerah (thinking): He’s darkening the room.

The darkness thickened now, swallowing the room whole. Fletris’s gaze darted through the black haze, his breaths coming rough and uneven. He turned sharply at every sound, but each footstep, each ripple of shadow, blurred together into a suffocating void. Sen had become a phantom in the dark, his presence felt more than seen. He appeared behind him, a blade of pure darkness forming in his hand. The weapon pulsed cold in his grip as he stepped in low and fast, swinging with precision at the back of Fletris’s ankle. Fletris reacted on instinct, channeling stone across the limb in a desperate attempt to shield himself. But he was too slow. The edge of Sen’s blade tore through before the stone could fully harden, carving deep into the joint. Black frost raced along the wound as shards of fractured armor and flesh splintered away. A guttural sound escaped Fletris as his leg buckled, driving him down to one knee. Dust swirled violently around him as his hand shot out to stabilize his weight, but the ground beneath him seemed to shift in time with Sen’s approach.

Sen was already moving again, his expression unreadable in the gloom. A dark fist of Intergy materialized over his right arm, thick with swirling shadow. He drove his fist across Fletris’s jaw. The impact was seismic. Stone shattered and blood sprayed as Fletris’s head whipped violently to the side. His body followed, the blow lifting him from his kneel and sending him hurtling across the room. He slammed into the far wall with a heavy sound of a crack, stone and debris raining down as the impact cratered the marble behind him.

Sen didn’t stop. His hand rose, and a series of dark energy bombs swirled into existence, each one crackling faintly with unstable energy. He released them in rapid succession, each bomb soaring through the gloom before slamming into Fletris’s crumpled form. Each explosion was precise. Controlled. Fletris’s stone armor cracked in several places now, jagged fissures spreading across his torso and limbs as Sen continued the barrage, bomb after bomb thundering into him, leaving no room to recover. The room trembled with each detonation, the remnants of the once-grand ballroom slowly collapsing.

Fletris in the debris could be seen getting back on up his feet.

Fletris: It’s really unfortunate I have to fight you.

Sen readied himself with more dark Intergy around his fists. Fletris looked over to the side at Yerah.

Fletris: I went for her because I didn’t want to deal with you.

Sen: Too bad.

Fletris: As soon as I saw you, I knew who to avoid.

Sen: Me?

Fletris: Yes, you.

Sen pulled back his dark Intergy from his fists.

Sen: You know me?

Fletris: Aku.

Sen’s jaw tightened. The dark Intergy coiling around his fists wavered completely, pulling back. His breathing slowed, controlled.

Sen: You’re not the only who mentioned that name to me.

Fletris: Oh, you don’t know?

Sen: Are you calling me Aku?

Fletris: Maybe. Maybe not.

Sen: Tell me, damn it!

Fletris (smiling): Ahh, I see. You’re lost.

Sen’s eyes narrowed, the faint glow of his light fading completely as shadow took over. The darkness around him thickened, condensing in the air like a gathering storm, then creating a sword of darkness in his hand. He clenched at his dark Intergy blade and surged forth. The coldness in the room deepened. He drove his blade toward Fletris with lethal precision, but the brute reacted fast, stone-hard arms rising to block the strike with a thunderous crack. The impact sent a ice cold shockwave through the air.

Fletris’s erupted a violent burst of raw Intergy. The force blasted out from his body in a concussive wave, slamming into Sen’s chest and hurling him backward across the fractured marble. Instead of pressing the advantage, Fletris pivoted sharply, his heavy frame crashing toward Yerah in a dead sprint. She met him head-on, weaving ice and water into desperate strikes. She managed to land a glancing blow, a spear of sharpened ice cutting across his shoulder, and followed with a reckless, desperate lunge aimed for his throat.

But Fletris stood unshaken. His massive hand snapped forward, catching her wrist mid-strike. In a single, brutal motion, he wrenched her arm downward and swung her with devastating force, slamming her into the ground. The marble cracked beneath the impact, her body rebounding once before falling still, pain ripping through her with every shallow breath.

Fletris: You’re dead now.

Fletris raied his hand over Yerah’s weakened body, and the stones around responded. Thick tendrils of rock coiled around her body, winding tightly across her arms, chest, and legs, crushing her. The crushing pressure increased with a slow, merciless grind. Yerah’s body, limp at first, tensed violently as the pain surged through her. A raw scream tore from her throat, echoing through the darkened ruin.

Sen: No! Yerah!

Before Fletris could finish the job, beams of dark Intergy streaked across the battlefield. They hit with sharp, concussive force, slamming into Fletris’s side and driving him back a step. The stone bindings around Yerah remained locked tight, but their crushing movement stalled as Fletris turned his attention back toward Sen.

Sen was already charging. A blade of pure darkness extended from his arm, jagged and wreathed in cold shadow. He moved like a storm, silent but unstoppable, closing the distance in a blink. Their clash was immediate, Sen’s dark blade cutting a harsh arc toward Fletris’s neck. Fletris raised an armored forearm to block, the stone cracking under the blow, but he countered instantly, his other fist swinging wide. Sen ducked low, his free hand snapping out to blast a wave of dark energy into Fletris’s midsection, staggering him back. Fletris roared and retaliated, shards of stone erupting from the ground around them, aiming for Sen. Sen sidestepped and deflected the projectiles with sharp slashes of his dark blade, then drove forward again. Their strikes collided in brutal succession, fists hammering against hardened stone, Intergy blasts exploding on contact, and the ground shattering beneath their feet as they moved. But Fletris was slowing. His defenses, once solid and methodical, grew desperate under Sen’s relentless assault. Each of Sen’s strikes carved deeper, his dark Intergy sapping the strength from Fletris’s limbs with every hit. Fletris’s movements became heavier, his swings wider, as he struggled to keep up with the speed and precision of Sen’s attacks. Step by step, blow by blow, Fletris was being overwhelmed.

Sen surged forward, slipping through Fletris’s faltering defenses. His hand shot out, gripping Fletris by the neck with crushing force. In his other hand, dark Intergy coiled and condensed, forming a heavy, brutal fist of shadow that hummed with raw, freezing power. Without hesitation, Sen reared back, aiming directly for Fletris’s exposed jaw, the blow certain to shatter stone and bone alike. But Fletris wasn’t finished. Fletris twisted his body at the last possible second. His free arm snapped up, massive fingers clamping around Sen’s wrist just before the strike could land. Fletris’s grip tightened, then with a sharp, brutal motion, he yanked Sen off balance and drove his massive forearm across Sen’s throat. In a blink, the earth-user locked him into a vicious choke hold, his stone-hardened bicep clamping around Sen’s neck like an iron vice. Fletris planted his feet, his weight bearing down as he squeezed, forcing Sen’s dark Intergy to flicker chaotically under the crushing pressure.

Fletris (into Sen’s ear): Aku would never be in this position.

Sen’s vision tunneled, everything narrowing to the crushing pressure on his throat and the burning heat of Fletris’s words still hanging in the air. But Sen didn’t fight with wild desperation. He focused. The dark Intergy swirling around him snapped inward, condensing in an instant, channeling violently into the arm Fletris had locked around his neck. The shadow energy turned cold, the kind of cold that bit through stone and steel without mercy. In seconds, frost bloomed along Fletris’s arm, spreading in jagged, sharp veins from elbow to shoulder. The stone armor cracked violently as the cold deepened, racing toward the point of contact. Fletris’s grip faltered, and a guttural scream tore from his throat as his entire arm broke apart under the freeze as Sen tore himself free. Fletris’s shattered limb crumbled into brittle chunks, falling to the ground.

Fletris wasn’t done. His chest heaved, seeking true vengeance. He turned back toward Yerah, where the stone coils still gripped her broken form. With his remaining arm, Fletris clenched his fist. The stones responded immediately, tightening with renewed force, squeezing Yerah’s body like a vice. Her back arched as she cried out, the sound ragged and desperate, her ribs cracking under the strain. Sen struck fast, dark blades slicing into Fletris’s stone-hardened flesh with merciless precision. His strikes were brutal, aimed to cripple, but Fletris didn’t flinch. He stood his ground, enduring the punishment, ignoring Sen entirely as he focused on crushing the last breath from Yerah’s lungs.

The ground cracked beneath Sen’s feet as his fury deepened. His dark Intergy lashed outward, the cold intensifying, frost racing across Fletris’s body with every hit. Slowly, the stone binding Yerah began to loosen, the frost weakening Fletris’s control as cracks split across his armor. Yerah gasped as the crushing force relented just enough for her to breathe again, tears spilling down her cheeks as she coughed in shallow, broken gulps of air.

Yerah: Sen, please!!!

Sen saw it, the slight release, her cry… and something inside him snapped.

The room went black in an instant, darkness swallowing every inch of the shattered ballroom. It wasn’t just the absence of light. It was suffocating, absolute, as if the world itself had been snuffed out. Ice erupted in the silence, jagged sheets forming in seconds, racing across the walls, the floor, the ceiling. Frost bloomed outward, spreading through the halls, spilling out beyond the broken doors of the ballroom and into the grounds beyond. The temperature plummeted so sharply that the very air cracked, a sharp, brittle sound filling the void. In the center of it all, Sen stood motionless, his form outlined in the faintest glow. And then he raised his hand. A single blade of light formed in his grip. It was thin, sharp, and blinding against the endless dark. It hummed quietly, the only sound in the frozen silence. In silence, Sen stepped forward, his movements precise, deliberate. Fletris turned just as Sen drove the blade through his chest. The sword pierced straight through hardened stone, flesh, and bone, erupting out from Fletris’s back in a burst of cold light and shadow. The tip of the blade shattered Fletris’s spine as it emerged, severing everything in its path. Then the sword of light turned into a complete sword of darkness, freezing all that is inside Fletris. For a breath, Fletris remained standing, frozen in shock. His eyes widened, his mouth falling open as if to speak, but no sound came out as his lungs became frozen. His body sagged forward, collapsing as the strength left him all at once. He dropped like stone, hitting the ice-covered ground with a hollow, final thud. Fletris was dead.

The darkness slowly receded, pulled back like a tide at Sen’s silent command. The air remained cold, sharp, and biting. The suffocating blackness that had swallowed the ballroom began to thin. Cracks ran like veins along the marble floor, and the ice that coated nearly every surface.

The stones that bound Yerah fell first. The weight that had been crushing her limbs vanished in an instant, and her body fell, limp and pale against the ice. Her shallow breaths were harsh in the quiet, rasping faintly in the cold. Sen was already moving. He erased his sword of darkness, letting it dissolve into mist as he crossed the ruined floor in a few swift steps. Kneeling beside her, he placed his hand carefully against her, feeling the bruised, broken bones beneath his fingers. Her skin was freezing to the touch. His jaw clenched, realizing the darkness that had swallowed the room had drained the warmth from her as much as it had drained the life from Fletris.

Sen (quietly): Yerah… I’m here.

He exhaled slowly, and the light returned. Soft at first, then steadily brighter from his hands. It warmed the space around them, melting the frost that clung to her hair, her clothes, the edges of her skin. The sharp cold faded, chased away by a gentle heat that seeped deep into the stone beneath them. The room remained broken, but around them, there was warmth again. His hands moved over her injuries with precise care, the glow healing Intergy as he focused. Cracks in her ribs slowly mended, the bruising along her arms fading as the fractures healed. She winced once, a quiet, breathless sound escaping her lips, but her breathing evened out after that. Still shallow, but stronger. Sen kept his hand at her, the light steady and controlled. His brow furrowed in concentration, but his breathing was calm now. The cold rage that had filled him moments before in the battle were gone.

Sen (softly): You’re going to be okay...

Her eyes fluttered open just slightly, though she said nothing. He didn’t press her. He simply stayed there, the warmth of his light shielding them both from the cold that still lingered in the air. Yerah’s breathing steadied under the gentle pulse of Sen’s light, her chest rising and falling with a rhythm that slowly returned to normal. Her eyes watered. She was alive. She could breathe. Then she buried her face into his chest, finding comfort in him.

Yerah (weakly): Sen…

Sen: I’m not done yet. Just stay—

Before he could finish, Yerah shifted. Slowly, weakly, she pushed herself up. Sen blinked, confused for just an instant… then their lips met. The kiss was soft. But it was real. And it was happening. For a second, Sen didn’t move. His body went rigid, the warmth of his healing light faded, and his hand slipped away from her side. He pulled back. Just a few inches. His eyes met hers, wide with something between shock and disbelief. His breath caught in his throat, and for a long moment, there was nothing but silence between them.

Sen: Uh… Yerah?

Yerah: I’m so sorry.

She didn’t say anything more. Her lips parted as if to speak, but no sound came. Her gaze searched for his, but Sen turned away, looking down. Slowly, she let her hand fall away from his shoulder. Sen’s mind was spinning, but his body stayed frozen. The darkness he had conjured still lingered faintly at the edges of the room, cold and heavy, but it wasn’t that cold that made him shiver. In this moment, he didn’t know what to do.

The battlefield was a ruin of flame and blood, the polished courtyards of Luria now cracked and broken under the weight of war. Smoke curled in thick plumes across the skies as the screams of Zagons and the clash of Intergy raged on. The Lurian soldiers, disciplined and fearless, fought in tight formations, their polished armor streaked with blood and ash. They drove their spears forward, but even they struggled to hold the tide of monsters pouring through the broken archways. Zagons swarmed from every direction: Claws, Aeris, Vipers, Sabers gnashing, clawing, and tearing through anything in their path.

Zarnem’s fist cracked into the side of a hulking Hybrid Zagon, his earth Intergy exploding on impact. The creature’s armored plating shattered in a spray of brown ichor as its body crumpled into a heap. Without slowing, Zarnem spun, driving a brutal kick into the next Hybrid as it lunged at a line of soldiers. His boot sank deep into its chest, collapsing ribs with a wet crunch before sending it flying. Lessa moved through the carnage like she was dancing. Her water carved through the ranks of Hybrids, streams tightening into razor-sharp blades that sliced through limbs and throats with precision.

Shera and Makota fought back-to-back near the center of the courtyard, the ground slick with water and blood. Shera’s wind spiraled in tight, vicious currents, slashing through two Viper Zagons as they coiled toward her. She spun low, the air blasting beneath her boots and propelling her upward as Makota raised a towering wave from the puddles at their feet. He slammed it down hard, crushing a Saber Zagon beneath its weight, the creature’s skull exploding under the force.

Dain fought with fire that blazed hotter than anything the Lurian soldiers had ever seen. Flames roared from his hands, sweeping across the battlefield in great arcs that consumed entire groups of Zagons. He moved with speed, closing the distance between himself and the beasts before they could react. A Saber lunged at him from his right, its jaws wide. Dain ducked low, catching its head in his hands and slamming it down into the stone with bone-crushing force. The moment it hit, he drove his knee into its skull, fire igniting along his leg and burning straight through the beast’s head. He didn’t stop moving. He grabbed the next Saber by its throat mid-leap, twisting in a brutal arc that sent them both crashing to the ground. Dain locked his arm around its thick neck, teeth gritted as he wrestled the thrashing beast under control. Flames surged from his body in rolling waves. The Zagon roared, but Dain held it firm, crushing its windpipe in the crook of his elbow. The fire intensified. Flesh and bone bubbled and melted away under the relentless heat. Its body writhed violently, then went still, smoke pouring from its limp form as Dain released it, letting the corpse fall in a smoldering heap at his side.

Dain (quietly): I think that’s the last one.

The team regrouped at the gates that led to Krutone, their bodies bruised, burned, and slick with sweat and blood. They stopped in a loose circle, surrounded by the broken remains of the palace, the air heavy with the stench of ash and scorched flesh.

Zarnem: Where are the rest?

Through the lingering haze of battle, two figures emerged from the far end of the courtyard, stepping over the wreckage of fallen Zagons and shattered stone. Sen moved with steadily. On his back, Yerah clung to him, her arms loosely wrapped around his shoulders, her body weak but held securely in his grasp. The moment the others caught sight of them, relief swept through the group, but it was tempered by the weight of everything they had just endured. Sen’s gaze flickered up, unreadable as ever, his jaw tight, his eyes colder than they had been before.

Dain: Sen!

Dain ran to Sen to check on him. Sen gently let down Yerah as Dain helped.

Dain: Hey, man. You good?

Sen (softly): … Yeah. I’m alright.

Sen dropped to his knees, exhausted.

Dain (turning to Yerah): Are you ok, Yerah?

Yerah nodded slowly.

Sen: Are you good?

Dain: I’m more than good. Looks like my opponent was a lot easier than yours. You both look beat.

Sen: Yeah… yeah… that guy was something.

From across the courtyard, a sharp, piercing scream tore through the air, cutting through the heavy silence left in the wake of battle. Everyone’s head snapped toward the sound. Shera. It echoed from the hallway that led deeper into the palace ruins. Dain stayed behind, kneeling beside Sen as Yerah rested against him. Sen gave a small, almost imperceptible nod to him.

Sen: You can go.

But Dain shook his head. He stayed where he was, planting himself beside Sen and Yerah, unwilling to leave them unguarded.

They found Shera collapsed in the middle of the hallway, her body shaking as sobs tore through her. Ira was sprawled across the cold stone floor, her body broken and battered, her severed arm lying just feet away from where she’d been left. Blood was everywhere, pooled around her body, and splattered along the walls like something had tried to erase her by force. The worst part was her head was missing.

Zarnem: Fuck… Ira…

Makota dropped to Shera’s side, comforting her, but even he was shaken.

Lessa: Oh, damn. So sorry for the loss here.

Shera (sobbing): Professor Ira!

Zarnem stared at the scene, trying everything in his power to remain calm.

Zarnem: She really wanted to see Krutone.

Lessa: Oh, hell… she almost made it too…

Zarnem: Yeah… almost…

From the shadows of the broken palace wall, Scray crouched low behind a jagged column of stone, his breathing slow and silent. He watched them, Zarnem, Lessa, the others as they gathered around Ira’s body. He could hear every word, every ragged breath, the soft, trembling cries that broke from Shera’s throat. He saw Dain’s hand close over Sen’s shoulder, grounding him, steadying him. Scray tilted his head, his gaze unreadable. Then, without a sound, he turned and slipped deeper into the ruins, disappearing. Scray moved like a shadow through the fractured remains of Luria with a bag strapped around him, his footsteps silent over broken stone and blood-slick streets. He ducked beneath hanging banners torn by fire and wind, skirted around patrols of Lurian soldiers. Every movement was precise. Calculated. By the time he knew it, he was outside the walls of Luria, far enough to not be seen.

A faint ripple distorted the air ahead of Scray, the shimmer of a portal forming silently. On the other side, Josar stood waiting in the dim light of the Void, his expression urgent, beckoning Scray to cross. Scray didn’t hesitate. He leaped forward, his movement barely whispering against the ground. The portal closed.

The Void was silent. Sicrus leaned against a boulder, his gaze distant but sharp. Josar stood off to the side, eyes lowered, saying nothing. Mayzen sat perfectly still on a raised stone slab, watching them all. Zan paced in lazy circles, a crooked grin playing on his face. Penim sat on a stone nearby with an expression that read excitement.

Josar: You’re alive.

Scray: They all died. All of them.

Mayzen: Expected.

Zan: You should thank your buddy. Josar was so adamant about saving you all.

Scray looked to Josar.

Sicrus: It was risky.

Mayzen: Too risky.

Zan: We didn’t know if we could travel in and out of Krutone with the portal. But I guess since we already made our way in, our Intergy now allows us to go back and forth.

Mayzen: It was reckless, but now we know what we can do.

Scray nodded to Josar, expressing thanks.

Zan: Josar wouldn’t shut up about how we should at least try to save any of you. I guess it worked out for the better.

Josar (to Scray): Are you sure you’re the only one who lived?

Scray: Positive. I did manage a kill on them though.

Scray reached in his bag. He pulled out Ira’s head.

Zan: Fuck dude, carrying a head around like that. Haha!

Scray: It’s for Mayzen.

Mayzen stepped forward to Scray holding Ira’s head.

Scray: I’m not sure if it works like this, but I thought it’d be a good thing to try out.

Mayzen pointed his finger to Ira’s head, inserted his vein into her skull, retracted the vein and turned away.

Sicrus: So, does it work?

Mayzen: Indeed.

Penim: What did you find?

Mayzen: They’re lost. All of them.

Sicrus: In what sense.

Mayzen: Their Queen Lessa knows who Aku is. She never forgot him. In fact, she confused Sen for Aku.

Penim: Makes sense.

Zan: Your ability is fucking freaky. Hahaha!

Scray: So, we can go in and out of Krutone now. What then?

Penim: Finish the job. I’m killing Zarnem.

Mayzen: Not yet, Penim.

Penim: The hell do you mean, not yet?

Mayzen: It’ll warn Krutone about us. Let us do our part first.

Penim: What the fuck? That wasn’t a part of the deal. We talked about this!

Mayzen: The main mission must be completed.

Sicrus: Screw things up, and I’ll kill you, Penim… before you can even talk to Zarnem again.

Zan: Don’t worry, Penim. Your little Zashy will always be there.

Penim: Damn it! You can’t just break the deal like that!

Sicrus: Technically, the deal was for us to finish our part first.

Penim: No! Technically, the deal was to push Zarnem forward, so you could have your opening to Krutone. And I did my part!

Mayzen: Please have patience, Penim. Bare with us.

Penim: I’ve done enough of that! Sick of this shit! I’ve had to sit in the same circle as that acid fucker over there! Brainless assassin over there!

Penim points to Josar.

Penim: And that useless fuck over there who doesn’t contribute shit!

Sicrus: He’s the reason we got past the barrier without being seen!

Penim: No, fuck you all! I get to have my part!

Sicrus raised his finger to Penim and Intergy formed. The air felt heavy with Intergy, not with Penim’s gravity, but with something more frightening, and it was all coming from Sicrus. Zan prepared himself to leave.

Zan: Oh shit…

Mayzen: Sicrus, stay down.

Josar: Sicrus, not here!

Sicrus: Fuck this guy.

Penim began releasing his own Intergy as well. Gravity became heavier. Then suddenly, another source of Intergy could be felt in the air. The dirt beneath them grew cold. Ice bloomed across the stones, crawling in jagged veins. Penim’s mouth clamped shut. Sicrus lowered his hand, but his gaze sharpened like a blade. Josar’s shoulders stiffened. Immediately, Sicrus and Penim held back their Intergy.

Sicrus: Aku…

From the far edge of the darkened plain, his footsteps sounded. Soft, deliberate, but carrying an unnatural weight. His presence alone was enough. He walked slowly, hands at his sides. His face like Sen’s, carved from the same bloodline, yet it wasn’t Sen. A scar ran down his right cheek, a mark that twisted slightly. His dark eyes were cold and empty, yet somehow filled with knowing. There was no fire in them. No rage. A deep, hollow sadness lived in those eyes, a grief so profound it seemed to silence the world around him. Calm. Steady. Unshaken. No cruelty. Only purpose. And that was what made him dangerous. He moved with the certainty of a man who had already decided what must be done. As he came to stand before them, the weight of his Intergy immediately vanished. No diminuendo.

Aku: You all did well. Great job. Really. Great job.

Aku looked around and could sense the tension.

Aku: We do very well together when we cooperate. Let’s not fight.

Sicrus: Aku, we need to follow through with the plans.

Penim: And we also need to own up to our agreements.

Aku nodded.

Aku: Sicrus, all will be ok. Penim, thank you for carrying your part.

Mayzen: What do we do from here?

Aku paused.

Aku: Well, if Penim allows for it, we can wait until they finally have their summit.

Penim: That’s going to take longer.

Aku: I understand that, so if you want to follow through with your own goals, I can respect that… but I do ask that you just wait a little longer? Can you do that?

Penim tightened his fist, then rolling his eyes.

Penim: Yeah… I can wait, I guess.

Aku: Thank you, Penim. I promise we will help you with anything else if we can.

Penim: No… You’re fine.

Penim took a step, facing away from the group.

Penim: You already granted me powers from The Orb and the abilities to control the Zagons… Just make sure your slaves don’t take so long.

Aku: Of course. We’ll always do what we can.

Sicrus: And if he doesn’t own up to his words?

Penim: Clearly, I own up to my words. It’s you who changes the agenda. Not me.

Aku: Again, please stop the fighting.

Silence.

Mayzen: So, we’re only waiting for the summit then?

Aku: It would appear so. We can get into Krutone from this point on?

Mayzen: It would seem so.

Aku: I see. Good job, Josar.

Josar glanced to Aku, and Aku nodded to him.

Aku: So, how is he?

Mayzen: Who?

Aku: Sen…

Silence.

Zan: He’s a real work. Haha. He’s definitely a soft version of you.

Aku slightly smiles and gives a small chuckle.

Aku: That’s good to hear.

Zan: No, it isn’t. We don’t need another Josar with us.

Josar ignored his comment.

Aku (smile fading): I was soft once…

Sicrus: Do you really think he’ll join us?

Aku: He might. He just needs time.

Penim: And if he doesn’t?

Aku: Then we let him be.

Penim: I say we just kill him.

Aku looked at Penim and gave him a slight smile.

Aku: Sure… go for it.

Penim was stunned for a moment as he met Aku’s eyes, then diverting away.

Penim: Never mind…

Aku: I am thankful for all of you. You’ve each carried out your parts very precisely. I couldn’t have asked for a different team. Sure, you quarrel with one another, but the job still gets done.

Aku looked up at the many moons.

Aku: I wish I could’ve helped out, but I’m done with my part now… Finally…

Sicrus: They’re all made already?

Aku: Yes. All ten thousand Zagons.

Penim: Beautiful. I suppose I can get working on some more hybrids since they were all just killed.

Aku nodded in agreement to Penim.

Aku: Let’s keep the momentum going. Everything is falling into place. Questions?

A moment of silence. No one asked anything.

Aku: Ok, then we wait until summit. Again, thank you all.

One by one, they dispersed into the dim expanse of the Void. Sicrus lingered for a moment longer, watching the others peel away. Penim was the first to move. Then Zan left casually in the emptiness. Mayzen next. Sicrus exhaled quietly, his gaze drifting toward Josar, already preparing himself to speak. But Josar was already with Scray. The two of them walked in silence, their footsteps muffled against the endless grey of the Void. Neither rushed the pace.

Scray: Thanks for coming back for me.

Josar: Not just you. All of you.

Scray: They always liked you.

Josar: Oh…

Scray: Weren’t you afraid?

Josar: Of what?

Scray: Ruining it all?

Josar didn’t answer.

Scray: The was no guarantee returning to Krutone with the portal if you leave. What would you have done if we couldn’t get back in?

Josar: I guess figure out another plan.

Scray: Right, because you would come up with another plan.

Josar didn’t reply.

Scray: Or is it something else?

Josar: Hm?

Scray: I can read it all over your face, Josar. You wanted to ruin the plan didn’t you?

Josar: I wanted to save you all.

Scray: I know… even if that meant screwing over the mission.

Josar didn’t respond.

Scray: You’re going to break at some point.

Josar: What do you mean?

Scray: You’re going to break… and turn your back on everyone here.

Josar: Why would you think that?

Scray: Because it’s obvious.

Josar stayed quiet.

Scray: Your silence already tells me your answer.

Josar: What am I supposed to say then?

Scray: You’re supposed to argue back.

Josar stopped walking. Scray stopped and looked back to him.

Scray: But instead you only ask why I think this way.

Josar sighed.

Scray: Like I said, you’re going to break—

Josar: I’m already broken…

Scray looked away.

Scray: I see… Because like I said, it’s obvious you’re going to turn your back on the mission. It’s just a matter of when you feel you’ve had enough.

Josar: It’s… obvious?

Scray: To me it is. Not sure what the others think.

Josar: What do you think then?

Scray sighs quietly.

Scray: Just don’t do it when I’m alive.

Josar: But… my question is, what do you think?

Scray: I think you have the right to feel the way you feel. I can’t persuade you otherwise. I won’t snitch. You came back for me after all. My only thing I can’t make sense of is why you haven’t done anything yet… and why you opened that portal in Krutone if you’re going to turn away eventually.

Josar was stuck.

Scray: I think I get it, but I’m not sure. It’s your loyalty to Sicrus and Aku? Right? But something inside you says you want to handle things differently.

Josar gave no answer.

Scray: I see. Again, your silence answers it for me. Well, I’m going to get some rest. Don’t think so hard.

Scray gave Josar one last glance then turned. His footsteps were slow at first, then steadier as he moved deeper into the Void. Soon, the sound of his steps faded into the grey silence, leaving Josar standing there, unmoving. Alone. He stared at nothing for a while, his hands loose at his sides.

Aku and Sicrus remained where they had been.

Aku: Thanks for leading.

Sicrus: Yeah.

Aku: Must be hard organizing this bunch.

Sicrus: You’re telling me?

Aku: You did well though.

Sicrus: Yeah, well I had Mayzen also.

Aku: True. Mayzen really is useful.

Sicrus: Can you still feel its presence?

Aku slowly extended his hands, and there, The Orb formed just above Aku’s open palms, suspended effortlessly in the still air. It was flawless in shape, a perfect sphere that seemed almost too smooth, too polished, to have been crafted by any hand. Swirling within its surface were currents of black and white Intergy, coiling and twisting around each other. The white was blindingly bright in places, streaks of light that cut like blades, while the black was thick and heavy, a darkness so deep it seemed to absorb all light around it. Where the two met, they spiraled together, neither overpowering the other, constantly shifting in an intricate balance. It was beautiful. Terrible. Alive.

Aku: Yeah. Same thing. The Orb has a conscious. It doesn’t speak, but it exists.

Sicrus: Can you sense anything deeper from it yet?

Aku: I can…

Sicrus: What is it?

Aku looked down.

Aku: Pain…

Sicrus: And you continue to hold it.

Aku: Someone has to.

Silence. Aku looked deeper into The Orb.

Aku: The Orb is interesting.

Sicrus: How so?

Aku: Every time I look at it, it’s symbolic.

Aku breathes deeply, and Sicrus listens.

Aku: Its shape is a sphere… endless. No beginning. No end. It turns always returning to where it started. There’s dark and light inside, always shifting, consuming, becoming each other. Neither one winning. Neither one losing… spinning forever. When I watch it, I realize it’s us… People… Our world… An endless cycle of hope and despair… We’re all lost… We’re just looking for something to make sense. Hoping the next turn… the next life… the next war… will mean something. We were never going anywhere… We were always here…

Cold silence. Just the faint hum of The Orb, returning in Aku’s hands.