5th Day of the 1st Fire Cycle[1], 2000 g.c.
Omnia wrapped herself around me like she'd never left.
Her corporal body coiled into mine, smooth and warm, the deep ocean-blue tint of her skin casting a twilight glow across my chest and arms. The contrast between her cool hue and the lingering heat of my aura created something intimate. Private. Dangerous. The kind of closeness a man could get addicted to if he wasn't careful.
I wasn't letting myself long for that again.
But I could feel it. She was home.
"If I didn't know any better," her voice purred inside me, silk over velvet, "I would think you've missed me."
I didn't look down at her. Didn't soften my face. But my thoughts answered quickly.
"Call it jealousy. I couldn't stand the idea of another man holding control over you."
"Mmm," she hummed, and I felt it in my ribs. "I love it when you're possessive."
"Good. I wouldn't have it any other way."
A second presence stirred in my core.
"Welcome back, Twilight Goddess," Victorya Umbra spoke, her tone calm and frost-laced.
Omnia's grip around me tightened slightly, curious.
"I knew I felt another presence. Master, I come back to find you with another Guardian Armament. Why so?"
The White Empress's essence pulsed faintly along my arms, white-indigo rings orbiting like silent sentinels.
"Victoryais my failed attempt to save Nicole's life. Be a good girl and play nice."
There was a pause.
A flicker of understanding.
"Wait... she's a reincarnation?" Omnia whispered. "I see it now. This is what became of my failure. My apologies for disappointing you, Master."
"We'll discuss your punishment for failing my request later. For now, let's focus on the current situation."
The silence that followed wasn't the emptiness you would expect.
It bloomed, instead.
There was a small, budding joy in her reaction. I felt it ripple through our bond, warm and eager. My veiled threat excited her.
"Yes, papi."
Victorya reintroduced herself with composed grace. "A pleasure to meet you again, Lady Omnia."
"It appears we are now sister-wives and sisters-in-arms, White Empress," Omnia replied smoothly. "Let's serve our master to the highest potential."
"I could never see myself doing anything less," Victorya responded. "And please, call me Victorya."
"It's starting to get crowded in here," [Midnight Star: Belial] muttered dryly.
"An infinity has no lack of room," [Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi] countered, cool and precise. "Even with your many complaints."
Omnia giggled softly. "I'm glad to see you two haven't changed."
Her return didn't simply shift my emotions. It altered my entire aura.
The very air around me changed texture. It smelled sweeter now. Thicker. Almost sticky in a way that clung to the back of the throat. It cut through the crisp, linen-like pressure Orion's signature was producing.
Thanks to [Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi]'s scan, I realized that scent wasn't just Orion's presence. It was a side effect of Orion's active anti-magick field. Now that I understood how his Vessel Skill operated, I could see it—an invisible dome layered in subtle frequency distortions. A hidden area of effect woven into space itself. It was architectural. One that couldn't be ignored. Yet, I didn't give a fuck.
If I adjusted the spatial dimensions and frequencies around my mana output, his disablement wouldn't affect me the same way again. He might've been stronger than Taurus. But the fuck nigga wasn't untouchable. Still riding the high of killing Taurus, I felt... different. My spirit hummed like a tuning fork struck by something ascended. Magickal strength thrummed through my Soul Core in a way I'd never felt before.
I wasn't the only one who noticed.
"With his reclamation of that faux ingénue," Orion murmured to himself, eyes locked on me, "Xiro's Soul Core has completed its crescendo bloom. It is finally time to harvest it."
That made my jaw tighten. He could read that much just by looking at my aura. Angels were skilled at soul-reading, sure. But Orion? He was surgical with it. Taurus had brute strength. Orion had understanding.
Steez's voice cut through my thoughts.
"I still don't get how your girl was kidnapped," he said, scratching his chin. "But it looks like he got her back."
"That bitch ass Angel snatched her Biodoll is the best way I can explain it," I replied. "But I'll fix that with the future upgraded one."
Across from us, Orion casually surveyed the wrecked Fighting Pits. His eyes drifted over the shattered floors, the crater, the debris. He paused briefly on Kiranna's headless corpse and the artifact near it before returning to me.
"Demon Lord Xiro," he said, voice smooth as aged wine, "did you kill Luvina and the other witches as well? I'm having difficulty locating their presence."
"Nah," I answered. "They live for now. They are under my protection while I deal with you."
He arched a brow faintly.
"You're quite the chivalrous hero to provide asylum for women who seek to use you like a tool. I'm starting to see a pattern."
"My dislike for the Heavens outweighs my dislike of manipulative bitches," I said flatly. "You know, the enemy of my enemy type shit."
"Riveting," he replied, gently rubbing his bearded jaw as if nursing phantom pain from my punch. "Is your ego always this disproportionate to your capabilities? Sure, you hold the core of the Night Archon, but you are still far from his immeasurable strength."
"I'm sorry," I said, tilting my head. "I couldn't hear you over the sound of bitch in your voice."
His smile didn't falter.
"You know, Sonata Syn of Pride, you should thank me. Deeply thank me. If not for my intervention of Taurus during your first encounter, you would have been harvested already."
"You Angels keep speaking about me like I'm some kind of food," I replied. "You saw how Taurus ended up after making that mistake."
"Out of all Omnia's lil' pet projects," Orion continued calmly, "you are the first to reach this stage of strength. You should be on your knees, thanking me profusely for leading you to this level."
His eyes slid to Luda. Then to Alex.
"And from the amount of divine magickal power you two are holding," he added, "you as well, Syn of Greed and Syn of Wrath."
Alex blinked. "Me? Why the hell would I thank you, chump?"
"I placed the events that helped position you all here," Orion replied smoothly. "I even provided Prince Luda Braye with his Bible. Guiding free will by the nose like a puppy with a treat."
Luda's eyes sharpened.
"So you were aware of Roxy's presence in the grimoire? Seems foolish to provide me such an advantage to use against you."
"The Aeon of Oblivion, you say?" Orion tilted his head slightly. "Fascinating knowledge to learn. No, I had no idea she resided in the grimoire."
He smiled faintly.
"Destini expressed that I delivered it to the strongest child of the Braye Clan. But I didn't think she was giving away her favorite daughter. Still, it matters not."
Inside Luda, Roxy's voice went cold.
"This Dominion is in cahoots with my mother. Be wary of the web he may spin with his words. Those Angels are weavers for fate and manipulation."
"It sounds like she was destined for me from the start," Luda replied coolly. "Your story makes you out to be nothing but a courier. You get no thanks for simply doing your job."
"If responsibilities are held with such esteem," Orion answered, "then you will have no qualm with those bestowed upon you by the Archon of Fate. How is your [The Fated One] skill looking these days?"
The look he gave Luda was insidious.
Calculated.
He knew exactly where to press.
"What the fuck did you just say?" Luda snapped. "Are you behind this cursed mark?"
"Sadly, no," Orion replied. "That impressive spiritual design belongs to the Archon of Architecture. Our Primordial Godking, Order."
"The Outer Gods keep topping off my 'shit list,'" I muttered.
"The irony of your counter-balance becoming your closest friend is poetic," Orion continued, voice smooth as satin. "The prince here is the reincarnation of the original light used to help Destini kill the Abraxas."
He looked at Luda like he was admiring a weapon.
"Luda was fated at birth to be the answer to the rebirth of the unstoppable void. To become the Archon of Day needed to keep the Prime Realm System secure."
"An Archon?" Luda barked. "Are you fucking kiddin' me? So what is Xiro exactly to the Outer Gods?"
"A threat to the very system itself," Orion replied without hesitation. "He is the death of determinism. Unmatched power that even fate herself envies and fears. The Night's Void."
"Get off my dick," I said calmly. "It's not going to stop me from killing you."
"Forgive my tongue," Orion replied lightly. "I speak of the Abraxas Code within you. You, yourself, are just a useless meat sleeve for the Noetic Operational Virtual Architect."
"You even know about that, huh?"
My eyes narrowed into a thin leer.
He noticed.
"The true source of your limitless growth," he continued, "and what powers you, that is what I admire. That is the only thing to respect."
Omnia's voice turned serious inside me.
"Orion was the first created of Destini's Dominions. He once worked for Archon Laniakea, but now he's seeking to usurp her and my mother to rule the Heavens using your power."
"If you believe that I would turn my weapon against my closest nigga after all we've been through," Luda said firmly, "simply because the Heavens desire it, then you're as stupid as you look."
"Well, worry not," Orion replied calmly. "As I'm here to rid Demon Lord Xiro of his life before you are ever needed. In fact, you should be worshipping me for saving you from such hardship. Go on, kneel like a good little mortal."
Alex's scarlet eyes tracked Orion's every step as the Angel walked. His knuckles turned pale from how tightly he was clenching his fists.
"This guy's mana signature is insane," Alex thought. "It's the strongest pressure I've ever felt. I hope Xi has a plan, or otherwise we're dead as fuck."
"First a 3rd Sphere," Danica whispered within him, "now a 2nd Sphere Angel? I'm starting to think he has the worst luck, Master Alex."
"I'm starting to think it's contagious."
Steez yawned loudly, elbowing Alex. That snapped him out of it. Unlike Alex, Steez looked almost bored. My gaze drifted past Orion. Trappist hung there behind him, a larger jade planet dominating the sky. Its shadow stretched across the bottom half of the sky's green jewel. The faint glow of approaching sunlight kissed its edge. Morning was coming. It was time to get busy.
"Let's get this over with, Orion," I said. "Morning will be here soon, and I gotta search for the rest of the Zodiac Keys over on Trappist."
"You mean the planet behind us?" he replied smoothly. "That world is only good for the outpost we have stationed there. The original Trappers were mostly killed off during the planet's Rapture. You will find no other living beings there."
I didn't respond with words.
Instead, I gathered a dense sphere of Anti-Mana coated in Lunar Mana in my palm. The energy compressed with a low hum, cerulean-silver light spiraling around a black core. It looked like a miniature dying moon wrapped in a void.
Without warning, I launched it.
The bolt tore through the atmosphere, a streak of abyssal light racing toward Trappist. It exited the sky in seconds, everyone staring in confusion about who I was aiming at. I didn't look back. I locked my eyes on Orion.
"My patience is running thin," I said evenly. "So when that start signal goes off, I'm going to start beating yo' ass. If there is anything else you want to get off your chest, now is the time. If not... Knuck if you're buck."
Orion glanced over his shoulder toward the planet I'd just fired at. Then he looked back at me. Silent understanding passed between us. I needed a few moments to prepare a buff for the Wolfpak. And knowing his ego? He wouldn't resist the bait.
For all the Angels' talk about superiority, Orion wasn't above the pride he sought to downplay.
Not even close.
The wind shifted first.
Not a breeze. Not a warning. But a full-bodied inhale from the exoplanet itself.
The night clouds dropped low, sagging toward the jagged rim of the Sycamore Tree's stump like heavy curtains being drawn before a final act. Mist pooled along the broken roots and stone, spilling over the arena floor until it looked like we were standing on the surface of a pale, lifeless sea. Gaia was dramatic like that. She always liked a proper backdrop for bloodshed. The sky had maybe an hour left before dawn cracked it open. I'd been stalling—talking my shit, letting Orion talk his—while quietly stacking mana beneath my skin, threading it. Compressing it. Letting it hum.
Behind me, Luda and Alex stood shoulder to shoulder, eyes locked on Orion like they were studying a god they planned to dethrone. Steez? Broski was fighting demons of boredom. Yawning so wide I thought he might swallow the mist. Across from us, Orion was calm. Too calm. He unbuckled the cuffs of his black button-up with precise, elegant movements, rolling the sleeves just enough to free his wrists. Like he was about to prepare tea while attempting murder.
"While I'll be getting my hands dirty with this," he said smoothly, flexing his fingers as faint gold light flickered beneath his skin, "do not misunderstand it. You and your brothers may house Sonata Soul Cores, but those failures are just the Aeon of Death's pathetic attempts at creating potential Tru-Devil Lords. They will not change this outcome."
His lip curled, faint disgust in the angle of it.
"If only she knew those same cores would be used to expedite our evolution. Further proving that Destini's Fugue Soul Frame is the unbeatable blueprint."
Inside me, Omnia's voice rippled like silk over water. "Little does he know, I completed my goal. The success of your Core Zero was the day the Heavens learned fear."
I smirked.
"The Outer Realms got this inferiority complex, huh?" I called out.
Orion's gaze sharpened.
"You think your meager display of strength is enough to make all of the Heavens envious? To take on the Archons? Just because you defeat a Principality like Taurus?"
"You can't stop me from bringing down Paradiso."
His laugh was quiet. Almost pitying.
"You simply know nothing of the Outer Realms. You defeated Taurus and think the Choir of Heaven trembles? The Zodiac Keys are filters for humanity. Nothing more."
"Matters not," I said, rolling my neck as lunar mana shimmered faintly silver beneath my collarbones. "I got enough fight and hatred to go around for your kind."
Orion bent casually and picked up Kiranna's artifact dagger from the cracked floor. He examined it like a scholar handling a relic, then smiled as a sheath manifested on his belt in a ripple of gold light. With a smooth motion, he slid it home.
"You are peculiar," he said. "Your delusion in your strength is palpable. I deeply hope you entertain me during your final hours. This could turn out to be great research."
And then the sky flared.
No sound reached us at first. Just light. Behind Orion, Trappist—the jade sister to Gaia—imploded inward like a collapsing star before erupting outward in a bloom of incandescent ruin. A massive, silent flower of fire expanded in the void, swallowing continents in a blink.
Several heartbeats later, the shockwave hit. The atmosphere rippled like a pond struck by a stone. Magick—raw, unfiltered magitons—flooded Gaia in a cascading invisible rain. Every Soul Core on the planet drank. You could feel it. A pressure lifting. A surge.
Steez's yawn died mid-breath.
Luda shook his head, lips curling as he fought back a laugh. "This nigga…"
But Alex?
Alex didn't laugh or wait. He chose to move. A sonic crack split the mist as he blitzed forward, bō staff already mid-swing. The Dawn Goddess screamed through the air, heat warping the fog around it. That blow could've split an island clean in half.
Orion caught it with one hand. Effortlessly... caught it. The impact folded the arena floor inward, fissures spiderwebbing out beneath his feet, but he didn't budge. He stared into Alex's scarlet eyes and leaned in slightly, sniffing the weapon like it carried a scent.
"If I'm not mistaken, that's the same heat as the Aeon of War. Meaning all of Destini's daughters are here. Yet, these—"
He never finished.
Luda flashed into existence on Orion's right, teal and gold light wrapping his dual axe as he slammed the Meridian Goddess horizontally. On the opposite side, Steez appeared, his new Spirit Weapon fully extended—a stunning ice-coated locked sansetsukon, a.k.a. a three-section staff, frost blooming across its joints.
Heat and cold crashed toward Orion's ribs at the same time.
This time?
The Angel moved. Releasing Alex's bō, Orion twisted upward, yellowish aura flaring as he attempted to let the opposing weapons collide beneath him in a concussive explosion of steam and frost shards. Cute. But I had other plans. I paused time.
The world went gray. Mist froze mid-swirl. Ice crystals hung suspended in the air like glittering stars. Steez adjusted his swing instantly, pulling his weapon back to avoid friendly fire. Orion's body strained—he forced himself through the frozen moment, divine power cracking against my temporal hold as the colorless world began to crack—but I was already behind him.
Kiss of Twilight materialized in my hand, the greatsword drinking in the lunar glow around us.
I swung.
Time snapped back. The blade tore across his exposed back in a crescent of void-tinged silver. It cut through his divine barrier like yarn, carving flesh beneath. Golden ichor sprayed in a radiant arc, splashing against shattered stone. Orion slammed into the arena floor hard enough to crater it again, sliding through debris and vanishing into a cloud of dust. The mist swallowed everything. But my [Heaven's Kaleidoscope] showed me the truth. Threads of iridescent still pulsed beneath the rubble.
The fight wasn't over.
I landed lightly beside my brothers, aura simmering as Bio Mana pooled beneath my skin.
"At least you were ready for the signal this time, Alex."
He stared at me, mana wings of heat flickering faintly around him. "I still can't believe you blew up a planet."
"I've done that by mistake earlier this week," Steez muttered.
Alex blinked. "Word? So you ended up in outer space during the trials, too? I thought it was only me."
Luda's smile faded as he kept his eyes on the dust cloud. "Xi, I know you hit him, but he went down too easily. I don't like it."
"Maybe Xi is just stronger than even we know," Alex offered.
Steez's gaze sharpened, mana flickering cobalt at his pupils. "Nah, that divine energy is hard to miss once you learn what to look for. He's still alive."
Slow clapping echoed through the clearing. Each clap vibrated wrong. Twisted. Like the sound itself had teeth. The dust thinned. Orion stood there, back sliced open, golden ichor dripping down his spine—yet his posture was still regal.
"Marvelous," he said. "The side effect of Trappist's destruction produced an unforeseen magickal swelling for you all. How did you know the planet's core was a reservoir of extracted and unconverted magitons?"
His eyes gleamed as his body repaired itself. His smile was now more fanatic as he glanced at his closing wound.
"That knowledge was secret to only Paradiso."
He brought his hands together, aligning his fingers with surgical precision before separating his palms.
Thin metal strings shimmered between them—barely visible, catching starlight in cruel little glints.
"Honestly," I shrugged, "I was just trying to be an asshole. I didn't know the planet was stealing mana from Gaia."
While he processed that, I finished what I started.
My aura collapsed inward, compressing until it felt like a star folding into my veins. Lunar light raced down my arm, pooling into my palm before bursting outward through the aether. [Crest Link] activated. Nihility-fueled mana surged through invisible channels, slamming into my brothers' Soul Cores like tidal waves.
Their bodies reacted instantly.
Muscles expanded. Veins flared with glowing lines as their cores struggled to stabilize the multiplied output. I wasn't sure if their cores would survive it, but each one fought to prove me wrong.
Alex convulsed slightly as [Lucifer's Wrath] auto-triggered—then something shifted.
The Prime Realm System chimed.
«Upgrading [Morning Star: Lucifer]. The subskill [Lucifer's Wrath] is now [Lucifer's Azure].»
Mana-coated tattoos erupted across his body—striping down his face, arms, legs. The white line down his skin ignited into a blazing azure glow as massive energy wings unfurled from his back, feathers sculpted from pure blue light.
"Holy fuck! What is happening right now?"
"That's a brilliant idea," Luda breathed.
Not to be outdone, Luda activated [Journey of Ra]. Teal and gold divine solar energy wrapped him in a roaring halo. His green dreadlocks lifted, suspended in heavenly radiance, eyes blazing with calm fury. His Soul Core was shaking from the extreme stress of power. But he didn't blink.
He was ready to fuck shit up.
Steez's reaction was different. The Vessel Marks etched along his arms shifted color, yellow bleeding into brilliant cobalt. His eyes glazed over with pure mana as he flexed his fingers with a twitch in his motion.
"I feel even faster, now."
They didn't get a chance to admire themselves.
I felt it before I saw it.
"Move."
I yanked them through space as lightspeed metal wires sliced through where we'd been standing. Three seconds later, the air those strings traveled through tore open with a violent rip—then collapsed inward in tiny implosions that crunched the mist like crumpled paper.
The next sweep was wider. The Fighting Pits were split down the center.
Stone groaned as the arena began sliding apart, severed clean by invisible blades. The remaining trunk of the Sycamore Tree—ancient and proud—was dissected in sections, its massive structure peeling away in slow, horrifying symmetry.
As the ground separated beneath us, the Wolfpak leapt. I created magnetic bubbles around Luda and Steez, stabilizing their descent midair while Alex and I took to the sky with our own flying abilities.
Below us, Arcadia's grand flora finished collapsing into ruin.
And for once?
I wasn't the only one responsible for the destruction.
The Sycamore Tree began to unravel. You would have thought that the stump finally had enough of the bullshit we were putting it through.
The remaining thirty-five-dimensional floors—those warped interiors layered inside the ancient stump—spilled downward into base reality like a butcher carving through tender meat. Massive sections peeled apart in slow, grotesque slides. Corridors, chambers, ritual halls—entire pocket realms—crashed into the forest below in a fourth apocalyptic impact that shook Endora to its roots.
The sound?
Sonically disturbing.
Not just thunderous. Not just gritty, breaking stone.
It was simply an uncomfortable, scraping screech—different interiors grinding together, dimensions overlapping for half a breath before snapping into place. Rubble clogged the air. The arena imploded into itself.
Rocks rained. Wood splintered.
And scattered among it all were severed, bloody body pieces of Sociovores—limbs still twitching from leftover neural signals, blood steaming as it touched the cold night air.
Above that historical mess, the Wolfpak and I floated, suspended in the aftermath while Trappist's fading destruction still painted the sky in dying embers. I scanned the debris cloud, searching for Orion's signature through the chaos. That's when [Danger Sense] screamed.
Divine strings burst from the center of the dirt cloud like a web fired from a cosmic predator. Near-invisible. Silent.
I shoved Luda and Steez's magnetic bubble sideways with a sharp flick of will just as the filaments ripped through where they'd been.
Too late for me.
A wire coiled around my torso, another around my thigh, then my wrist—tightening instantly. I expected to be yanked downward into the crater.
Instead?
Orion rose. Pulled by his own filament like a fisherman reeling in prey, his body stretched into a fully extended kick. His heel drove straight into my stomach before I could break free. The impact folded the air around us.
We arched across the sky in a brutal curve, crashing a mile away into Endora's deeper forest. He kept the tension on the wires and treated me like a damn surfboard—dragging me across rocks before snapping his leg forward again.
I skipped across the ground like a stone across water.
Tree trunks shattered against my back. Soil tore open beneath me.
The filaments binding me weren't normal. Nah, shit could never be that simple. They felt more alive. Divine arachnid threads with a vampiric thirst. They drank the mana straight off my skin and aura, siphoning it into their structure. The more they fed, the tighter they got.
My breath left in a hot grunt as I slammed through another bark.
"Enough."
I flexed my core and forced Anti-Mana through my pores in a violent pulse, overloading the threads. The strain made them hum and pop, but I muscled free, snapping the wires apart in silver sparks as I dug my heels into the earth and killed my momentum.
I stood up slowly, brushing soil from my shoulder.
"What the fuck is he? Spider-Man?"
Omnia's voice rippled with faint amusement. "While Dominions were the muse for the Arachnida design, he is nothing like your previous primordial realm's fictional character."
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi] chimed in, relaxed and clinical. "The Divinity Mana filament has been analyzed."
I extended my right arm.
The Kiss of Twilight reformed in my palm, magitons and spiritons spiraling together into the black-bladed greatsword. Lunar sheen kissed its edge. Through my [Kaleidoscope Eyes], I saw it before it happened—future strands slicing through trees as Orion repositioned.
Forty-one micro-sized divine filaments shot at me in a lethal grid.
I swung.
Light-speed arcs of black steel parried and carved through each one. It took reality four whole seconds to catch up with what I'd done. Sound lagged behind. Inertia hesitated. Then the trees around me slowly separated at clean angles, trunks splitting and sliding apart. The smell of ozone sliced through wet amberwood and fresh soil, sharp and electric. The strings retracted.
Silence fell.
As the moonlight poured down over our newly carved battlefield, I held my stance. My blade angled low, eyes scanning. Blood pumping. If I were honest? I was starting to have fun for the third time that night.
His voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere.
"The mythical eyes of the Abraxas truly live up to the praise of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I couldn't conceive that you could see my Gamma Webs, let alone break free of them."
I smirked into the trees. "Honestly, I thought you'd be much tougher. I'm starting to think Taurus was more of a threat."
A faint chuckle.
"Tempting to rattle me by striking at my ego? You will find that I am beyond pride. The only thing that matters is my goal of becoming the Demiurge. To reach heights only reached by the High King Supreme, Xero. Never to answer to any Archon again."
"Again," I sighed, rolling my neck, "hop off my previous existence's dick. You're taking up the space from my Guardian Armaments."
He stepped into view between split trunks, expression twisting.
"Such a hillbilly tongue. To think that you are the ruling noble of your land."
His bright blue eyes flared.
"Divinity Mana Arts: Tachyon Web Extension."
The ground beneath me exploded.
Millions of divine tachyon filaments erupted upward at faster-than-light speeds. Even with my reflexes, my reaction lagged a fraction too long. Hooks snagged my limbs mid-shift. They wrapped. They cocooned. My barrier flared to life, preventing the threads from touching skin again, but that just left me suspended in a glowing prison of crisscrossing light.
"These webs are transdimensional," Orion said calmly, walking closer. "There is no dodging them. They guarantee I catch whatever prey I hunt."
"Catch these!"
Steez's voice cracked the air from behind him.
Orion's head turned slightly—just enough.
Steez appeared on his blindside, sansetsukon snapping forward in a seamless three-section arc. The staff slammed across Orion's jaw with an explosive crack, ice erupting outward in jagged crystal bursts shaped like frozen shockwaves. Orion's head snapped sideways. But his recovery was immediate.
He grabbed Steez by the front of his gi and yanked him in—driving a brutal punch into my baby brother's face. The hit broke the sound barrier, and Steez's body blasted into the dirt, carving a trench through roots and stone.
I didn't hesitate.
Magnetic control yanked Kiss of Twilight forward as I tore free from the cocoon and rushed in, blade aimed to take his head clean off.
He didn't block.
He dodged—again.
Gamma Webs shot to my ankle mid-swing. With a casual spin around his own axis, he used the tension to sling me upward like a damn slingshot.
I rocketed uncontrollably into the sky—straight toward Alex.
Alex was already dive-bombing, Dawn Goddess raised high, face twisted in rage.
We were seconds from colliding.
I teleported.
Reality popped during my spatial relocation. The spiritual sting of the filaments echoed throughout my body in annoyance.
When I reappeared, I heard Luda above me, falling fast.
"Xiro! Paper Planes combo!"
I didn't need to hear more than that.
Muscle memory kicked in.
I flipped upside-down midair and stabilized myself. Luda landed both feet on the soles of my boots like a gymnast sticking a landing. I became his platform.
Alex reached Orion first, swinging the Dawn Goddess with comet-level force. A protective web snapped into existence in front of the staff. It hit and stopped cold.
Alex blinked—confused, furious.
Orion's fist moved.
One punch.
Sound shattered again. Alex was launched through the forest like a missile, trees exploding in his wake.
But that second bought us what we needed.
Dozens of orange-hued portals cracked open around Luda like ruptures in sunlight. Divine Solar Mana poured through in the shape of folded paper birds—hundreds of them, wings fluttering with lethal radiance.
I matched him, forming the same kuji-in.
Devil Mana sparkled into the air around me, folding itself into sharp indigo paper airplanes, each one vibrating with condensed destruction. The sky was clogged with our combined fleet.
"Dual Combined Arts: One Thousand Paper Planes!"
We shouted in unison.
The swarm descended. Orange and indigo origami turned into bunker-busting missiles mid-flight, slamming into Orion's position in a relentless chain of detonations. Each impact shook the mountains. Hills buckled. Shockwaves flattened acres of forest. Light swallowed everything.
A mushroom cloud rose into the night.
The shit was enough to erase a mountain range.
But Angels? Those fuckers were tougher than mountains. From the center of the cloud came that vexing slow clap again. Wind quickly peeled the smoke away. Orion stood there. Vest singed. Pants scorched. His right arm was swiftly growing back before I could mention it. Our combined attack shaved a great part of Endora's forest from existence. Ruination that could be marveled at. Although the surrounding area would not say the same.
"Bravo. Bravo," he said, hands coming together. "You four have truly grown in such a short amount of time. It's outright remarkable, if I'm being candid. Not even the Zodiac Keys showcased such potential."
My eyes narrowed. Destroyed Gamma Web remnants hung in the air around him. He'd absorbed most of the damage with layered barriers. He didn't want it to be noticeable, but Orion was doing his best to pretend to be untouchable.
"I didn't expect that the Syn series cores would resonate with each other," he continued. "Everyone's power is growing due to their connection to you, Demon Lord Xiro. This is remarkable, indeed."
Then his body changed.
Four new arms sprouted from his sides and back with wet, tearing sounds. His face shifted—six smaller eyes opening across his brow. Facial fangs grew from his jawline as a citrine halo ignited behind his head, shimmering with iridescent sparks.
The pressure that followed was silent.
Dense.
Suffocating.
Then it boomed.
"Since you four are capable of such," he said, voice layered with something ancient, "I shall put some true effort into our scrimmage."
That fuck nigga wasn't lying. Even with the boost, I felt the difference. Luda and I landed on the ground before him. Steez and Alex reappeared at our sides, bruised but upright. They felt it too. The Wolfpak wasn't idiots.
And instead of fear? They gritted their teeth and stepped forward. Weapons in hand. Anxiety hardened into courage. I couldn't help the pride swelling in my chest.
From that point? I was lit.
The Kiss of Twilight split apart in a shimmer.
The Red Queen formed in my left hand, ōdachi blazing crimson with raw passion. The Blue Queen settled into my right, cerulean barrel gleaming under moonlight. The White Empress redressed my gloves and shins in colorless radiance. The Noir Empress hummed low around my body with darkened magick at my core.
Fully armed.
Fully aware.
Fully charged.
I looked at Orion through the glow of my Guardian Armaments and let a slow grin spread.
He was dealing with more than a problem.
He was dealing with the Devil of Velonica—the newly crowned Midnight King.
And I wasn't about to be stopped by anyone.
[End of Chapter]
[1] April on Earth